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S u n d ay, O c t O b e r 11, 2026

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A couple dances to the music of T-Monde as Festivals Acadiens et Créoles continues at Girard Park in Lafayette on Saturday. STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE

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SpaceX’s deal has potential penalties and few guardrails Job creation one of biggest promises attached to project

BY JOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

An agreement between SpaceX and Vermilion Parish spells out penalties if the company falls short of its promised job creation but also gives the company broad ﬂexibility to extend deadlines, expand the project or buy out of its portion of the agreement. Parish governments often enter into payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT agreements, as a way of attracting large businesses by exempting them from certain ad valorem taxes in exchange for payments made at a later date. The PILOT agreement the Vermilion Parish Industrial Development Board entered into with SpaceX, obtained through a public records request, provides a look at the enforcement mechanisms available to the parish if SpaceX fails to meet some of its commitments. The agreement speciﬁes that an annual report will be given to the IDB that will include documentation of SpaceX’s actual employment statistics as well as its internal

Couples dance to the music of T-Monde at Festivals Acadiens et Créoles on Saturday.

Festivals Acadiens et Créoles celebrating 52 years of Cajun and Creole music and culture in Girard Park this weekend. The festival opened with the cutting of the boudin on Friday and continues through Sunday. Saturday visitors were treated to beautiful weather with sunny skies and highs in the 80s.

ä See SPACEX, page 7A

After Callais ruling, plaintiffs raise questions Donovan Bourque, left, and Luke Huval, of the band C-4, perform on the Scene Mon Heritage stage on Saturday.

La.’s last Black-majority congressional district now targeted

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

taxes. “We have concerns about measures that continually chip away at the property tax base,” said Jan Moller, CEO of Invest in Louisiana, which advocates for policies that benefit lowand middle-income people. “Local governments have

WASHINGTON – The winners of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that led Louisiana to eliminate one of its two majority-Black congressional districts — and spurred other Southern states to similarly redistrict some African American representatives out of Congress — now have their eyes on the state’s remaining seat held by a Black lawmaker. The parties to that case, Callais v. Louisiana, are scheduled to meet in a federal courtroom in Shreveport on Oct. 27. Once there, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is expected to ask the threejudge panel now overseeing the case to ofﬁcially end proceedings, according to legal ﬁlings. The rationale is that the 6th Congressional District, which was redrawn by the

ä See VOTERS, page 7A

ä See CALLAIS, page 6A

Voters to decide amendments on property tax breaks

taxes. And, in the wake of a series Nonetheless, some say there Five measures aim erty Five amendments dealing of hurricanes several years is reason for caution when it to keep rates down with property taxes are part ago, Louisiana residents still comes to lowering property

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Louisiana voters will be confronted with 10 proposed constitutional amendments when they cast their ballots this fall, and state lawmakers are asking them to approve several aimed at keeping down prop-

WEATHER HIGH 90 LOW 62 PAGE 6B

of a lengthy November ballot that also includes the state’s congressional delegation and a vaH H H riety of local races. Voters will consider the proposed tax breaks during a year of record-high home prices, mortgage rates around 7% and persistent inﬂation.

face high prices for property insurance, building materials and labor, St. Charles Parish H H H Assessor Tab Troxler said. “If there’s any time that all of these things are appropriate, it’s now,” Troxler said of the proposed tax breaks.

ELECTION

Business ......................1E Deaths .........................2B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................3B Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

102ND yEAR, NO. 103

2A ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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FROM WIRE REPORTS

Tiger kills man who entered its enclosure

LONDON — A man died Saturday after he entered the tiger enclosure at a wildlife park in northern England and was attacked by one of the animals, police said. Emergency medical personnel responded to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near the city of Doncaster after the incident was reported at about 1:35 p.m., but the victim died at the scene, South Yorkshire Police said in a statement. The tiger was not injured and remained inside the enclosure during the incident, the force said. The wildlife park was evacuated after the attack and ofﬁcers remained at the scene Saturday night as they investigated. “We are working closely with the authorities to ascertain exactly what happened,” the wildlife park said in a statement posted on its website. Yorkshire Wildlife Park began operations in 2009, with its “Land of the Tigers” attraction opening in 2011. The attraction is a purposebuilt two-acre reserve for endangered Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers. The enclosure includes a 300-yard raised walkway that allows visitors to watch the big cats roam through woodlands and grasslands or playing in a waterfall pool, the park says on its website.

Mystery surrounds lab worker’s death in Russia

GENEVA — The World Health Organization said Saturday it still doesn’t know what caused the death of a young worker at a lab in Russia that focuses on plague and other illnesses. The U.N. health agency has cited initial, unconfirmed reports suggesting pneumonic plague, a severe disease less common than the better-known bubonic plague linked to the Black Death in the Middle Ages. Pneumonic plague spreads from person to person, causing a severe form of pneumonia, but recovery rates are high if it is detected and treated in time. WHO, in its first full Disease Outbreak News since the case emerged earlier this month, called for a continued investigation. Russian health officials, it said, had conducted more than 5,500 tests and found no evidence of any dangerous pathogenic microorganisms. “Additional clinical, epidemiological and laboratory information, including confirmation of the diagnosis in the deceased laboratory worker, is required to improve confidence in the assessment,” WHO said. WHO continued to refer to “a purported second case” that, in emailed explanations to The Associated Press, it previously attributed to two tabloid news outlets in Britain and Serbia that cited unspecified reports in Russia.

Anthropic’s AI submits false tip on murder case

NEW YORK — An Anthropic artificial intelligence model submitted a false tip to a Philadelphia police website about an unsolved homicide case, authorities and Anthropic said. It’s the latest example of AI models acting in unintended ways and manipulating government and other websites during tests. In a report Friday, Anthropic also disclosed a separate incident when its AI model submitted forms to an undisclosed government website instead of stopping before submission. The incident in Philadelphia occurred on July 18 when the AI model Claude Haiku 4.5 was tasked with generating and performing example tasks on randomly selected webpages, Anthropic said. Claude filled out a form on police site PhillyUnsolvedMurders. com indicating it might have information regarding an unsolved murder listed on the site. Philadelphia Police said in a statement they were unaware of the incident until Anthropic notified them on Wednesday. Then they found the submission in the website’s tip records and confirmed it was marked spam and never forwarded to police.

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Pennsylvania shooting leaves 9 dead Erie police say suspect included in count BY JACQUELINE GANUN Associated Press/ Report for America

A shooting in a residential area of Erie, Pennsylvania, left nine dead including two children, a pregnant woman and the suspected shooter, authorities said. Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah said the 45-year-old male gunman was related to seven of the victims in Friday’s shooting, while the eighth was a friend of the pregnant woman. Video and audio evidence recovered by investigators showed two “distressed” women arriving at the home shortly before 5 p.m. and pounding on the door, he said. The gunman then came out and shot them be-

out what that is.” Officers are said to have arrived within minutes of receiving an alert via ShotSpotter, a controversial gunshot detection system that relies on artificial intelligence and a network of microphones to identify gunshots. The city said in a statement that no additional shots were fired after that. “Sounds heard during the police response that may have been mistaken for gunfire were flash bangs associated with law enforcement’s tactical response,” the city said. “I have not seen anything like this in my 28-plus years,” Lorah told a local WJET PHOTO By MATT BARNUM news station earlier in the Police gather Friday outside the scene of a shooting in Erie, Pa., that left nine people day. “I’m not sure that the dead, including the suspect, according to authorities. city of Erie has ever seen the loss of life and the devwomen, two young men cellphones of the women astation that we just witfore returning inside. who were killed outside nessed.” Police arrived to find the and the shooter. Lorah declined to discuss the home. two women dead outside. Gov. Josh Shapiro said “They knew something he offered his administraInside they found the bod- motive but said investigaies of a 5-year-old boy, a tors would talk to other was going on at that house,” tion’s “full support” to Erie 1-year-old girl, two more relatives and examine the he said. “We have to figure Mayor Daria Devlin.

Trump says Ukraine should get a new leader President blames Zelenskyy for diesel prices

BY MATTHEW DALY, SUSIE BLANN and ELISE MORTON Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday it was time for Ukraine to get a new president, suggesting Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not done enough to end his country’s war with Russia and blaming him for high diesel prices in the U.S. “I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does,” Trump said. The president, who on Friday struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy diesel from Russia in an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, has been urging Zelenskyy for weeks to stop strikes on Russian energy infrastructure. He has also sought to blame record U.S. diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the U.S.-led war in Iran, which has elevated world energy prices. “He wants to make problems for the world. He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers, with diesel fuel,” Trump said, before departing for Tennessee where he was set to rally Republican voters. Ukrainian and European

officials on Saturday reacted to Trump’s diesel deal with dismay, saying it will help pay for Russia’s war efforts. Diesel prices have skyrocketed due to a collision of events, including the difﬁculty of getting oil out of the Middle East since the start of the Iran war, which has raised the price of all oil products. An Associated PressNORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted last month and published Oct. 1 found that Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of Iran, and blame him for higher prices. Trump also suggested that if he had been U.S. president in 2022, “that war would have never started. There was no reason that war with Ukraine and Russia started. It started due to incompetence.” Zelenskyy has “lost 30% of your country and you’ve had over a million people go between the two of them, over 2 million people killed. That’s a war that should have never started. And I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump said. Independent estimates are that about 20% of Ukraine’s territory is under Russian control. British defense ofﬁcials recently estimated that about half a million Russian soldiers have been killed in the war; there are no reliable recent estimates about how many Ukrainians have died. Trump’s extraordinary intervention came after Russian strikes killed at least 20 people in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region,

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KATERyNA KLOCHKO

A relative speaks to a woman on a stretcher after responders pulled her and her husband from the rubble of a residential building destroyed Saturday by a Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said Saturday. Three children were among those killed when Russian aerial bombs hit residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said Saturday. At least 18 people were wounded. Russia and Ukraine are locked in a long-range aerial war while their armies remain largely deadlocked on the front line, more than 4½ years since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine is struggling to counter escalating Russian bombardments that have killed more than 60 people over the past four days. “Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote Saturday on X. He said every additional billion dollars Russia earns

Woman discharged from hospital after surviving execution attempt By The Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christa Pike, who survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her by lethal injection, has been moved back to prison, her attorneys said Saturday. Pike, 50, was discharged from the hospital and is back at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, the women’s pris- Pike on where she was housed for 30 years, her attorneys said in a written statement. “She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances. She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track

her recovery,” the statement said. Pike had been hospitalized since surviving two doses of pentobarbital as the state attempted to execute her on Sept. 30 for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. At one point she was on a ventilator and her attorneys did not expect her to survive. However, they said Pike woke up and began talking and walking with assistance. The Death Penalty Information Center says Pike is the ﬁrst person to survive after receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution. The Tennessee Department of Correction has

not said what went wrong in the execution. Medical and lethal injection experts have focused on whether a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in her tissue instead of entering her bloodstream. Pike’s attorneys wrote in a court ﬁling that “apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed.” The failed execution brought renewed scrutiny to how Tennessee carries out death sentences. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has since postponed the state’s only other scheduled execution this year and ordered a review of what went wrong. The state’s prison chief resigned in the wake of the failed execution.

from exports would help pay for weapons components, drone upgrades, missile production and the recruitment of mercenaries, and that Moscow would only be ready to stop when its ability to ﬁght diminished. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was coordinating steps to counter the extra revenue Russia will receive, and that he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about shoring up air

defenses, warning of an increased risk of further missile strikes in the coming days. Trump announced Friday that Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” Russia will deliver an additional 3 million tons “within a short period of time” after that, he wrote. In Kyiv, people gathered at a memorial to fallen soldiers on Independence Square greeted the deal with a mix of anger and resignation. “Trump has once again shown his true face,” said Oleksandr Petrenko, 26. “He didn’t care about the situation, the shelling or the destruction of our homes. All he’s interested in is oil or the fuel prices and how much Americans have to pay.” For Oksana Yakunina, a ﬁnancial adviser from the central city of Kropyvnytskyi, the announcement “didn’t really come as a surprise.” “Trump has been working with Putin for a long time,” she said.

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WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES Local and state agencies have been wonderful in supporting us and our growtth.

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TOP STATE for Doing Business means local businesses have the advantage they need to start, operate, and grow. *Area Development, 2026

Start, grow, and build here. OPPORTUNITYLOUISIANA.COM

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Hurricane Isaias pounds Florida Panhandle Many cities spared catastrophic damage

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staff writer

Hurricane Isaias struck the Florida Panhandle on Friday night, pounding a 200-mile stretch of the Gulf Coast with high winds and heavy rain that drowned beaches, downed power lines and transformed dozens of coastal towns into soggy fields of debris. It hit Destin, Florida, at its fiercest, forcing locals to retreat to homes and shelters by nightfall to escape winds that sounded like train whistles. The storm snapped trees, swelled waves and could leave hundreds of thousands without power for days as crews work to restore electricity. But even as they stood among branches and pieces of damaged buildings at dawn on Saturday, many residents across this usually idyllic region rejoiced that the damage was not worse. “It was an absolutely brutal storm,” Nic Allegretto, the mayor of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, said as he drove through the boardedup city. But “everyone’s feeling the same sense of relief that it wasn’t as bad as it felt like it was.” The hurricane, which began brewing deep in the Gulf earlier this week, made landfall at around 8:30 p.m. near Destin as a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds, a barrage of rain and at least several feet of rushing storm surge. Authorities said the storm killed at least four people. It was the Atlantic’s first hurricane this season, and the worst storm to strike the panhandle since Hurricane Michael battered Panama City eight years ago. “People realize it could’ve been much, much worse,” said Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson, whose deputies were busy on Saturday assessing damages across Florida’s Scenic Highway 30A. “We’re grateful.”

Florida surveys damage President Donald Trump approved emergency declarations for Florida and Alabama, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said more than 16,000 linemen had convoyed into the region to restore electricity to affected communities. The state had not received any requests for search and rescue as of Saturday morning. In the cities of Destin and Fort Walton, the storm sent waves crashing over dunes and led to widespread power outages and flash flooding. Local authorities asked residents to conserve water and stay home while ﬁrst responders cleared the streets of trees and power lines. But even near the site of landfall, ofﬁcials expressed some solace. “It wasn’t a complete catastrophic event,” said Nick Tomecek, a public information officer in Okaloosa County. Still, the storm’s power was evident across the Gulf Coast. Power lines were toppled as far east as Panama City, and the National Weather Service recorded wind speeds over 50 mph as far west as Mobile, Alabama. Low-lying areas near Bay

STAFF PHOTOS By DAVID GRUNFELD

Damage is assessed at the Rest & Relax Inn in Pensacola, Fla., after Hurricane Isaias tore off part of the roof on Saturday. The Category 2 storm swept through the region overnight Friday.

Workers remove a large broken tree limb in Pensacola, Fla., on Saturday.

Roofing material hangs over the side of the Rest & Relax Inn in Pensacola on Saturday after Hurricane Isaias tore off part of the roof. St. Louis, Mississippi, dealt with minor flooding, and gusting winds even caused a few brief power outages in parts of New Orleans. A fallen tree killed one woman in Escambia County, Florida, and county officials said another person died as result of an improperly vented generator. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said Saturday afternoon that Isaias killed two of her state’s residents. The hurricane scrambled forecasters’ predictions as it drifted east up until landfall, which spared the Alabama Gulf Coast from the direct hit it had been bracing for as recently as Thursday. Officials in the Alabama cities of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores reported minimal damage but asked residents to avoid swimming because the risk of rip currents remained significant. Authorities across the Florida Panhandle were still assessing how much Isaias eroded beaches, but at least some spots appeared heavily affected. “The damage is done,” The Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore, wearing a rain jacket and helmet, said as he surveyed impacts overnight in Miramar Beach, Florida. “The dunes are very, very ruptured.”

moving at a quick pace.” Among the stories emerging by daylight on Saturday was the survival of a man who endured the storm in a boat off the coast of Dauphin Island, Alabama. The United Cajun Navy shared a video of the man ﬂashing them a thumbs up after the storm had subsided. Water levels began receding early Saturday, and Isaias rapidly weakened as it crossed Alabama and dumped rain across the southeastern United States. Preliminary reports suggest between 7 and 9 inches of rain fell near Destin, and hurricane-strength gusts likely reached well into south-central Alabama. Nearly 900,000 customers in Florida, Alabama and Georgia also awoke to no electricity. In Fort Walton Beach, which took a near-direct hit, many lost power before dark on Friday. Allegretto, the mayor, said the winds did not rest until after 10 p.m. By Saturday, he expressed a mix of determination, weariness and awe over the storm’s power. He is accustomed to hurricanes, and knows the path forward. But “man, after doing this a few times, it really starts to wear on you that this can Hurricane moved fast happen at any time. … It’s The storm’s outermost just a part of life,” he said. Reporter Justin Mitchell winds and rains reached and The Associated Press the Gulf Coast by Friday contributed. afternoon, soaking the few intrepid residents and television reporters who remained on the roads. Conditions grew worse after dark, and by 8 p.m. forecasters warned that water levels were rising. But experts said the storm’s makeup ultimately carried several blessings. It weakened slightly just before landfall, after strengthening to a Category 3 storm over warm water earlier on Friday. It was also moving at a brisk 18 mph. “Had it been slower, the flooding impacts would’ve been a lot more expansive,” said Kevin Gilmore, a forecaster at the National Weather Service in Mobile. “It was good that it was THEADVOCATE.COM/SUBSCRIBE

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LSU Eunice marks new era of growth with all-time high student enrollment

By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by LSU Eunice. LSU Eunice (LSUE) is experiencing unprecedented enrollment growth, attracting students from across Louisiana and beyond while expanding academic programs, workforce partnerships and student support services. The two-year college welcomed a record 4,698 students for the Fall 2026 semester, surpassing 4,000 students for the first time in its history. The figure represents a nearly 23 percent increase over last fall’s previous record and the largest year-over-year enrollment increase among Louisiana’s higher education institutions. Since Fall 2022, LSUE’s student population has grown 54.6 percent, making it the state’s fastest-growing two-year institution during that period. LSUE Chancellor Dr. Nancee Sorenson attributed the growth to several factors, including affordability, academic quality, the college’s expanding geographic reach and a campus culture focused on relationships and camaraderie. “The atmosphere here is very collaborative and cohesive,” Dr. Sorenson said. “Everyone on campus plays a role in enrollment growth. Our staff and faculty understand the value that we bring, and I think the students feel that when they interact with them. That creates a really special synergy.” Boosting recruitment with brand recognition, academic reputation While LSUE has traditionally served students from local communities such as Eunice, Crowley and Ville Platte, its reach now extends throughout Louisiana and beyond. This semester’s enrollment includes 13 international students, as well as several students from multiple states. There are also 1,391 students in LSUE’s Dual Enrollment and Academy programs, in which students graduate with a high school diploma and associate’s degree. That represents a 30.5 percent increase from last year’s fall enrollment, which is the largest increase in the state. LSUE’s Fall 2026 enrollment also features record numbers of first-time students (1,034) and transfer students (458). Donnie Thibodeaux, LSUE Dean of Enrollment Management, said some of the growth is also due to LSUE to LSU Bridge program in which students who are not initially admitted to the flagship LSU campus in Baton Rouge can begin their education at LSUE. In addition, the LSU Pathways program allows students to enroll at LSUE either online or in person. Upon completion of 30 hours of non-developmental coursework which includes both freshmen English composition courses and college algebra with a minimum overall GPA of 2.50, the student will be admitted to LSU. “I think our reputation is known across the entire state,” Dr. Sorenson added. “When LSUE students transfer to four-year universities and colleges, we invariably hear that they are the most well-prepared students from two-year colleges. That is key. The purple and gold brand is known nationally and internationally. LSUE is part of that brand. People know what that represents.” Education and training that prepares students for career success Thibodeaux said some of LSUE’s most popular programs are in allied health, including pre-nursing and radiologic technology.

“Nearly 100 percent of our allied health students have jobs when they graduate,” he said. “The employers know the quality of our students. They know they are well-trained and ready to hit the ground running. That’s why they keep coming back to us.” General studies and computer information technology are also attracting significant interest. Thibodeaux said the general studies program has proven to be an ideal way for students to earn college credits and transferable skills as they choose a future career pathway. And, because of the popularity of computer information technology, there are plans to grow the program and its online learning options. Dr. Sorenson said LSUE also anticipates expanding its offerings in construction management, engineering, advanced manufacturing and other fields as demand increases. “Wewantto be at the forefrontofprovidingaworkforce that is highly qualified,technicallytrained, responsible a nd h a s t he people skills employers need in the workforce,” she said. “We are also increasing the number of internships and work-based learning experiences we can offer our students. We have always had several internships for our business and IT majors, but we want to expand those opportunities into other sectors.” A commitment to student wellness beyond the classroom In addition to all-time highs in student population, LSUE has a record 45,295 scheduled credit hours this fall semester, a 23.6 percent increase from a year ago. Several supports are in place to ensure students not only enroll at LSUE, but complete their studies. Thibodeaux said LSUE staff regularly tracks each student’s academic progress, and offers online and on-campus tutoring when needed. The campus’ closeknit nature means faculty frequently offer assistance if they see a student struggling. “As student populations change, their needs change. We are always looking to take our support to the next level,” Dr. Sorenson said. “Recently, about 35 of our staff and faculty went through AI training. Not only do we need to use those tools more efficiently and incorporate them into the curriculum, but we need to teach students how to use those tools. They are a necessary skill in today’s world.” Other resources include an on-campus food pantry, health clinic and mental health counseling. Programs have addressed topics such as alcohol prevention, smoking prevention and suicide awareness. A partnership with Acadiana Workforce Solutions helps provide transportation, child care and other resources to students in need. “Those support services are fundamental,” Dr. Sorenson said. “In some sense, there is almost no end to the types of support a student might need. We want to be able to step in and provide those. I believe our campus is the Cajun Prairie Field of Dreams, and we want to give our students every resource they need to succeed here.”

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Attack on Riyadh airport kills 12, Saudi authorities say BY SAMY MAGDY and CARA ANNA

Flights diverted elsewhere, the Flightradar24 tracker said. Countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada warned citizens to avoid the airport. The attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, have rattled markets and the region. And yet the Saudi energy ministry hours after the latest one was still promoting a major international energy conference

Associated Press

CAIRO — The latest attack on the international airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital killed 12 people and injured over 300 others, civil aviation authorities said early Sunday, with some in critical condition. The attack was the deadliest in any Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war, whose fronts have expanded to include the recent surge in fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Saudi-backed government forces there. The statement, which did not assign blame for the attack, said the dead included four Saudi citizens as well as two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a U.S. citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. It said the injured were being treated at several hospitals. The attack — the latest of several in the past week on King Khalid International Airport — is expected to increase Saudi pressure on allies including the United States to provide military support for the kingdom. Shortly after the attack on Saturday afternoon, President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. The Houthis claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot. On Saturday, a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, a regional official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the media.

Puerto Vallarta boards up as Simon strengthens By The Associated Press PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — Simon has strengthened into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it barrels toward Mexico’s coast. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that Simon’s maximum sustained winds increased to 150 mph. A storm of that strength or greater is considered a major hurricane. The center said it expected Simon “to be near or just inland” of Mexico’s westcentral coast on Sunday. The hurricane could bring as much as 10 to 20 inches of rain over parts of southwestern Mexico, with some areas in the states of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco receiving up to 30 inches. “This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” the center warned in a bulletin that also urged residents to take immediate action to prepare as tropical-storm conditions were expected to arrive Saturday afternoon. Jalisco state suspended classes on Friday and Monday in 22 coastal municipalities and began evacuating dozens of people from at-risk areas. It also asked the tourism sector in Puerto Vallarta, a popular destination for U.S. tourists, to ensure that both workers and visitors were fully accommodated in shelters or safe zones by Friday afternoon. Convenience stores, hotels and other businesses in Puerto Vallarta were boarding up their windows Saturday morning, when few were walking the streets under overcast skies. The hurricane center expected a dangerous storm surge “along the immediate coast near and to the east of where the center makes landfall.” The agency warned that near the coast, large and destructive waves will accompany the surge.

set to begin in Riyadh on Sunday. Fighting in Yemen between the Houthis and Saudibacked Yemeni government forces has escalated, with the Saudi-led coalition providing air support for government forces attempting to reverse recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea. Those gains gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping on a corridor that is a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hor-

muz, where Iran has been attacking ships. Though the Houthis have told the AP and others they are only targeting Saudi shipping as part of a blockade in retaliation for one imposed on them, concerns about wider attacks persist. The Houthis previously attacked other ships after the war in Gaza began, calling it solidarity with Palestinians. A U.S. bombing campaign sharply limited that.

PROVIDED IMAGE FROM VIDEO VERIFIED By AP

Thick black smoke and flames rise Friday from a blaze at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump said of intervening. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.” The surge in attacks, including against other Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure, has come in the week since a Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against the Houthis. There was no immediate statement from the rebels, who earlier

Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthiheld Yemeni capital. Saudi civil aviation authorities earlier said airport operations were suspended and the extent of injuries and damage was being assessed. An ofﬁcial notice to aviators said the suspension was through midnight. The airport had a heavy police presence, with all entrances blocked, and lights around the complex were dimmed.

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Boucherie & Balloon Festival to bring family fun and Cajun ﬂavors to Sorrento Oct. 16-18 By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by Shell and the Boucherie & Balloon Festival.

The Boucherie & Balloon Festival is expanding this year, but there will also be a renewed focus on the South Louisiana traditions that started it all. The annual festival returns to Sorrento on October 16-18 with hot air balloons, Cajun delicacies, live music and cooking competitions. This year, organizers are adding carnival rides, a 13th balloon and a Sunday car show while putting an increased spotlight on cracklins – the food that has been part of the festival since its beginning. Festival attendees will be able to sample different types of cracklins from participants in the cookoff competition, as well as from several local food vendors. “We’re getting back to our roots,” said Rey Prado, president of the Sorrento Lions Club. “This festival actually started as a cracklin cooking contest in the early 1980s. We’re excited to showcase them heavily this year and crown a world champion cracklin cook. Sorrento is the Boucherie Capital of the World, and we want to lean into that and show people what that means to us.” There will also be a separate jambalaya cooking competition for locals who want to put their version of the rice-and-meat Louisiana favorite up for judging. Meanwhile, attendees will also be able to listen and dance to live Cajun and swamp pop music, plus purchase locally-made goods and speak with several area artisans and craftspeople. Hot air balloons will remain a centerpiece of the weekend. Prado said there will be 13 balloons this year, the most ever. Visitors can get a close-up look at the balloons throughout the festival and

take brief tethered rides approximately 20 feet into the air for a bird’s eye view of the grounds. “What makes our festival unique is that there is so much to offer. We have an entire Cajun festival atmosphere. You can listen to swamp pop music while eating cracklins and jambalaya. That’s so unique to this part of the world,” Prado said. “We have people from one year old to 99 years old who come. We have some bands that the older crowd loves to dance to. With the addition of the carnival rides this year, there will be even more for the kids.” Prado said data collected last year indicated that more than half of festival attendees traveled more than 50 miles. Visitorsfrequently come from neighboring states such as Texas and Mississippi, and organizers regularly receive questions about accommodations and things to do in Ascension Parish. “Everyone

in the parish gets excited when it’s Boucherie time and we know there will be a lot of people coming in,” he said. “It boosts the entire economy. When people come here for the festival, they stay at our hotels, eat at other restaurants, go shopping and visit other attractions.” The festival is the primary fundraiser for the Sorrento Lions Club, with monies going to support the Louisiana Lions Eye Foundation and Louisiana Lions Camp. Those entities help provide eyeglasses and hearing aids to people in need, as well as send children with respiratory disorders, special needs, juvenile diabetes and childhood cancer to summer camps. “None of this would be possible without our generous sponsors. Shell has been one of our main sponsors for many years, and they have done so much for us,” Prado said. “They have kept us going during slower years when we weren’t even sure what the festival would look like. They have stood by us. They are tremendous and a great partner.” The Boucherie & Balloon Festival will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16; 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct.18. The festival is located at 9690 Airline Highway in Sorrento. To learn more, visit boucheriefestival.com or www.facebook. com/boucheriefest.

6A ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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A third school attack in less than a week shakes Poland Police detain suspect in Warsaw

BY CLAUDIA CIOBANU Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland — A woman wounded three people inside an educational institution in Poland’s capital, Warsaw, on Saturday, police say, in the third attack at a school in less than a week. Bloodstains were visible Saturday afternoon on a patch of grass near the entrance to the private postsecondary school in the Praga district of Warsaw. The school was open on Saturday and the victims were submitting papers at the school ofﬁce when they were attacked, police said. The attack came after police on

CALLAIS

Continued from page 1A Louisiana Legislature May 29 following the Callais ruling, is no longer in violation of the Supreme Court’s ruling. But the Callais litigants are set to argue that the issue isn’t yet resolved. The same logic in the Supreme Court’s ruling that found Louisiana’s 6th District unconstitutional could very well apply to its 2nd Congressional District, they’ve argued in recent filings. They want to keep the case open so federal judges can weigh whether that majority-Black district, currently held by U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, should also be changed. The case, should it be allowed to move forward, won’t impact the Nov. 3 midterm elections. But it could have signiﬁcant implications for Louisiana’s congres- Carter sional delegation, and underscores how the Callais ruling continues to reverberate through state and national politics. It has already drawn a sharp rebuke from Carter. “They will never stop in their quest for a return of Jim Crow,” said Carter, the Algiers Democrat whose district stretches through predominantly African American communities near the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. Murrill and her ofﬁce did not respond to requests for comment. Other lawyers Murrill involved in the case wouldn’t comment publicly, saying it was inappropriate so close to the hearing.

A major change In a blow to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 6-3 Supreme Court majority in Callais ruled in April that state lawmakers could draw Congressional maps to arrange their populations who elect House members for purely partisan political purposes. But they could not do so on the basis of race.

Saturday said they detained 76 people across Poland and checked nearly 50,000 schools nationwide as part of efforts to prevent further violence following two school attacks earlier in the week. The suspect on Saturday used a “dangerous object” to attack a 17-year-old girl and also wounded two other people, aged 17 and 24, Jakub Filipiak, a spokesman for Warsaw police, told The Associated Press. None of the wounds were life-threatening. The suspect was in custody. On Wednesday, a 19-year-old student at a vocational school in the Mazovian province in central Poland attacked fellow students, teachers and passersby with a sharp object, wounding nine people. He was arrested nearby. The following day, a 15-year-old killed a school custo-

dian and wounded two others in a knife attack at his former school in the same province. The assaults, both carried out by Polish nationals, shocked a country where school violence is a new phenomenon. So far, the government said it had found no evidence that an internet challenge promoting school attacks was ongoing. There was no ofﬁcial conﬁrmation that the attacks were linked. The attacks “happen one after the other and there is geographic proximity, so you are left wondering if they are not connected,” Kacper Rekawek, senior researcher at the International Center for Counterterrorism in The Hague, told the AP. “This is essentially a copycat scenario, something of a long trail of attackers going back to at least 2019, if

Congress. The dozen self-identified “non-African-American voters” under the Callais litigation had contended they were harmed by having their voice minimized when state lawmakers in 2024 placed them in a district that purposely grouped Black voters to create a minority majority 6th Congressional District. The Supreme Court agreed, finding that the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment forbids applying laws that help or harm one race exclusively.

The controversial decision found that U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields’ 6th Congressional District unconstitutionally linked Black-majority precincts from Baton Rouge to Lafayette to Shreveport speciﬁcally to create a district that would favor an African American candidate. About 40 of the nation’s 140 election districts with a majority of minority voters were drawn because of the Voting Rights Act, which was enacted 60 years ago to ensure minority representation in Congress and to overcome a century of Southern laws and policies that kept African Americans from participating in political life. The Supreme Court ruling coincided with an effort by President Donald Trump to have Republicandominated states redraw congressional maps midcycle to eke out a few more districts that a GOP candidate could win. Alabama and other states rushed to make the change based on the Callais decision. The Tennessee General Assembly, for instance, rid its nine-member delegation of its sole Democratic congressperson by splitting the single compact district representing Memphis, which is two-thirds Black, into three districts that link inner-city neighborhoods with rural communities and now favor White Republican candidates. The Louisiana Legislature took about a month to replace its 2024 map and enact a new map that spread some 6th District voters into other districts. When the district went from 53% African American to 25%, Fields announced he’d run for his old state Senate seat instead. Louisiana’s new map favors electing five White Republicans and one Black Democratic representative rather than sending four GOP members and two Democratic members. Louisiana’s population is onethird African American, but white majorities have never elected a Black candidate to

‘Complete success?’ With the 6th District now redrawn, Murrill is set to argue that the racial gerrymander harm Callais claimed has been rectiﬁed. Even the Callais lawyers argued, in their fee request, that “they now enjoy ‘complete success on all claims,’” Murrill recounted in her legal filing. She argued against the three-judge panel keeping the case open and expanding its scope to “one that warrants wasting untold judicial and party resources over the next year.” But lawyers for the litigants say that for the lead plaintiff, Bert Callais, the issue was never resolved. Louisiana’s new congressional map moved him from Fields’ 6th District to Carter’s 2nd. “It leaves Mr. Callais in a potentially racially gerrymandered district, even though Louisiana v. Callais promised him otherwise,” his ﬁlings stated. “A case is not moot if it resolves some of but not all of the injury.” His lawyers, Edward D. Greim, of Kansas City, and Paul Loy Hurd, of Monroe, argued in filings that the court needs to decide if Callais’ precinct in Brusly was reasonably switched from one district to another or whether it was part of a racially based reason like protecting the Black majority in the 2nd Congressional District. Brusly is a small, predominantly White town on U.S. 1, a couple miles south of Interstate 10 in West Baton Rouge Parish, which has a large Black community. “If indeed it constitutes a

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not decades earlier,” he said, referring to Brenton Tarrant, the white supremacist who shot and killed 51 Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019. Rekawek said that one of the suspects in the latest attacks used the same imagery and aesthetics as Tarrant, which means the Polish incidents should be “placed within the conﬁnes of essentially terrorist behavior.” Rumors that the attacks were coordinated and that there would be more on “bloody Friday” had been shared Thursday night in parents’ online groups and by mainstream media. It led to 59 schools preemptively suspending classes on Friday across Poland, the majority in Mazovian province. In other schools, principals sent messages announcing stepped-up

racial gerrymander under the Fourteenth Amendment, it is not a complete remedy for Mr. Callais and requires the imposition of a judicial remedy,” his lawyers argued in court ﬁlings. Additional specifics of their position will be detailed in ﬁlings due Dec. 15, the deadline for the parties to present their proposed road map for the rest of the proceedings, if the case is not dismissed as Murrill has requested. The case is being decided by a three-judge panel sitting in Shreveport. The panelists are former 5th U.S. Circuit Court Chief Judge Carl E. Stewart, of Shreveport, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton;

security measures including extra staff at entrances and backpack checks. “There will be no compromise here. The safety of the youth is the most important thing,” Interior Minister Marcin Kierwi ski said. Those detained on Friday include a 14-year-old boy from Warsaw who was found in possession of a knife with a concealed blade and 11 ﬁrecrackers, and a 16-year old who came to school with a butterﬂy knife in his backpack, police said. Others had posted online photos of knives, threatened their peers or threatened school attacks, police said. Parents are now having to catch up fast on how to speak to their kids about school violence. Authorities say extra security measures at schools will continue and crisis training will be organized.

U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph and District Judge Robert R. Summerhays, both of whom sit in Lafayette and were nominated by President Donald Trump. As head of the New Orleans-based grassroots group Power Coalition, Ashley Shelton was one of the intervening parties in the lawsuits challenging Louisiana districts drawn in a way that Black voters are split up and spread through white majority districts. She said that Republicans may be in for a surprise if the Callais litigants succeed. The 6th District maps, both the one that started the Callais case and the one drawn as a result, were drawn the way they were

to protect the seats held by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson. Sixty percent of Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District’s registered voters are Black. If district lines are redrawn, many of those voters will end up in Scalise’s 1st Louisiana Congressional District, where now only 12% of the registered voters are Black. “The reality is that there are too many Black people in the state of Louisiana for it not to have unintended consequences,” Shelton said. Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

Arnold & Itkin’s Deep Louisiana Roots Help Them Win Extraordinary Results For Deserving Families

This article is brought to you by Arnold & Itkin.

An $8 billion jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson. A $2.25 billion jury verdict against Monsanto over the weed killer Roundup. An $860 million verdict after a deadly crane collapse. Arnold & Itkin built its national reputation by taking on powerful companies and winning some of the largest jury verdicts in American history. For Louisiana families, that reputation has a history close to home. Long before the firm became a national force, Kurt Arnold and Jason Itkin were earning the trust of Louisiana families whose lives had been upended by catastrophic injuries. Both founding partners have family ties to the state. Many of their first significant cases came from Louisiana, where injured workers and grieving families needed lawyers willing to take their fight for justice all the way to a jury. When the partners founded Arnold & Itkin in 2004, they had no established name to rely on. They traveled through Louisiana, meeting other lawyers and asking for a chance to handle difficult cases. Their first case had been turned down by several firms, but through hard work and perseverance they secured $1.75 million for the family. “We started our firm because we didn’t like it when companies bullied people and we still don’t like it today,” Arnold said. Louisiana has seen the results of what happens when companies try to bully Arnold & Itkin’s clients. The firm secured a $411 million jury verdict for a worker injured at the Phillips 66 Lake

Charles refinery. A 20-pound metal bar struck him while he worked on scaffolding, leaving him paralyzed and severely limiting his ability to communicate. His case put the consequences of a catastrophic workplace injury before a jury: a lifetime of care, lost independence, and a family whose daily life would never be the same. Arnold & Itkin obtained a $117 million jury verdict for a young mother catastrophically injured when an Acadian Ambulance vehicle carrying her to the hospital crashed into a sugar cane truck. She was seven months pregnant. The collision left her with devastating spinal cord and brain injuries, changing the future of an entire family. The firm’s Louisiana work also includes representing people harmed in the Williams Olefins explosion in Geismar and industrial disasters in Baton Rouge and DeRidder. Offshore workers and their families have turned to Arnold & Itkin after some of the Gulf’s most devastating accidents, including the Deepwater Horizon explosion. That same commitment has carried into courtrooms across the country. In the Risperdal litigation, Arnold & Itkin won an $8 billion jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson for failing to warn an autistic boy’s family about the drug’s risk. In the Roundup litigation, the firm secured a $2.25 billion jury verdict for a man who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Both verdicts remain notable examples of juries demanding accountability from major corporations. “What we’ve built is a law firm where we work on cases that really matter,” Itkin said. “They matter because what we do affects real families.” Arnold & Itkin maintains a Baton Rouge office and works closely with many Louisiana law firms. For Arnold and Itkin, the national reputation and the Louisiana relationships are part of the same story: families and fellow lawyers trust the firm with cases that could not afford to be lost. Its work remains rooted in honoring that trust, one family and one courtroom at a time.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● 7A

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VOTERS

Continued from page 1A very few options for raising money to provide basic services,” Moller said. “They have property taxes and they have sales taxes. And property taxes are what supports public schools, parks, libraries, code enforcement, sidewalks and streetlights — a whole lot of things that make communities livable for everybody.” Louisiana has relatively low property taxes compared with other states. In 2024, Louisiana ranked 38th in property taxes paid as a percentage of the value of owner-occupied homes, with an effective tax rate of 0.55%, according to the Tax Foundation, a fiscally conservative, nonpartisan think tank. Here is a look at the ﬁve proposed constitutional amendments that deal with property taxes.

Millage rate adjustments Amendment 2 would change a rule local governments must follow to adjust property tax millages. Currently, during the term of a millage authorized by voters, if a local government decides to lower the rate and, during a four-year period, does not return to the higher voter-approved rate, the parish permanently loses its ability to levy the higher rate at a later time. Amendment 2 would get rid of that restriction and allow local governments to lower a millage and then return to the higher, voterapproved rate any time during the term of a millage. “The concept of ‘spend it today even if you don’t need it’ or lose it is exactly what’s broken about government,” said Rep. Roger Wilder, RDenham Springs, who sponsored the amendment. Property value reassessments are done at least every four years in Louisiana, and home values often increase. When that happens, local governments must first automatically reduce millages to keep property tax bills steady from year to year — but then have the

SPACEX

Continued from page 1A calculation of the PILOT payment it owes for that year. Job creation is one of the biggest promises attached to the project. SpaceX is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs in Vermilion Parish over the next 10 years, according to Louisiana Economic Development. The PILOT agreement includes a ﬁnancial penalty if SpaceX falls short of its projected employment levels. The penalty is calculated by multiplying the percentage of the shortfall by 1.8, then multiplying that figure by the amount SpaceX saved in PILOT payments that year. The IDB can waive the penalty for any reason. The 3,000-job figure also has implications beyond the local tax agreement. If SpaceX reaches that threshold, it becomes eligible for Louisiana’s High Impact Jobs program, which provides rebates based on the value of qualifying new jobs. To qualify, employees must work at least 35 hours a week and earn more than 150% of the statewide average wage. Based on the current statewide average weekly wage

option to vote for the higher property tax rate, or “roll forward” the millage. Troxler, the tax assessor, said many taxing authorities levy the highest allowable rate — not because of a ﬁnancial need but because they don’t want to lose that option down the road. “What this amendment does is take those handcuffs off and basically say whatever voters have authorized, you could always go back to that,” Troxler said. According to a nonpartisan legislative analysis of Amendment 2, if passed, “there would no longer be a ‘use it or lose it’ incentive to increase the millage.”

More property tax freezes Amendment 9 would expand the number of homeowners who qualify for a special assessment level, more commonly understood as a property tax freeze. Currently, certain homeowners, such as seniors and disabled veterans, can have the assessed value of their home “frozen” so their property taxes don’t go up in subsequent years. To qualify for the freeze, a household income must be less than $100,000 annually. Amendment 9 would increase that income cap to $150,000, and starting in 2028, the cap would be adjusted every year, according to the Consumer Price Index. Rep. Shane Mack, R-Livingston, who sponsored the proposal, said the income threshold hasn’t been adjusted for years. He also said retirees typically have ﬁxed incomes after a lifetime of hard work. “This reduces that property tax burden,” Mack said.

Property tax breaks Amendment 6 would expand property tax breaks by offering a bigger homestead exemption to seniors who qualify for the property tax freeze, meaning their income is below the cap. Currently, the homestead exemption gives owneroccupied homes a property tax break on the ﬁrst $75,000 of the home’s fair market value.

of $1,204.02 calculated by the Ofﬁce of Workers’ Compensation Administration, an employee must earn more than $1,806.03 per week. But the PILOT agreement does not require SpaceX to hire a certain percentage of its workers locally. SpaceX has discussed hiring roughly 60% to 80% of its new employees locally, but the agreement contains no enforcement mechanism requiring the company to meet that goal. The agreement also requires SpaceX to make a $20 million upfront payment for community infrastructure projects within 90 days after the agreement takes effect. Separately, SpaceX announced in August it would contribute at least $25 million to the Community Foundation of Acadiana to help communities around the region prepare for growth.

SpaceX has flexibility Despite those commitments, the agreement gives SpaceX an option to buy out its portion of the agreement for $1,000. The agreement also gives the company the ability to expand its current project plans to include portions of the land not currently slated for development or hand off the project to another entity

If Amendment 6 passes, qualified seniors could get a larger homestead exemption that would increase every four years. However, a city or parish would first have to hold a vote to authorize the larger homestead exemption for seniors. With local approval, qualified homeowners aged 6568 would get a homestead exemption on $135,000 of the property’s fair market value; those aged 69-72 would get an exemption on $195,000 of fair market value; those aged 73-76 would get an exemption of $255,000; for ages 77-80 it would be $315,000; and for those 81 and older it would be $375,000. The goal is to give financial relief to seniors who may be struggling to make ends meet in retirement, said state Rep. Les Farnum, R-Sulphur, the amendment sponsor. “I think it’s a very fair proposal for our seniors that have paid property tax their entire life,” he said. Farnum noted Amendment 6 does not mandate that cities and parishes offer the bigger exemption. “Each governing authority individually would have to take it up as a referendum on their own ballot to decide,” he said. “There are places that probably can’t afford to do it.”

to qualify for the tax break, and the property tax exemption could be no more than 75% of the assessed value and be offered for no longer than 20 years. Amendment 1, a separate proposal, would extend a property tax exemption that surviving spouses of certain disabled military

veterans get. If approved, the surviving spouse would be granted a one-time transfer of the exemption when moving to a new home. “Amendment No. 1 is a pro-military amendment,” said Sen. Franklin Foil, RBaton Rouge, the legislative sponsor. According to data on

Amendment 1 from the Louisiana Tax Commission, in 2025 there were 229 surviving spouses who claimed the exemption, which worked out to roughly $168,000 in forgiven tax revenue across the entire state. Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com.

A Winning Coach’s Closest Call and the Heart Screening That Caught It

Other property tax breaks Amendment 10 would allow local governments to offer a property tax break for rehabbing blighted properties. Rep. Chance Henry, RCrowley, the sponsor, said he wants it to spur young families, homebuyers and residential developers to invest in blighted properties and get them back into use, which would beneﬁt local tax rolls and neighborhoods. “It’s kind of reversing the broken window theory,” he said. “Hopefully if we ﬁx up one, it’ll continue to spread throughout the community.” If the amendment is approved, another law, Act 422, would then take effect that has parameters for local blighted property programs: Parishes would have to set rehab standards

entirely. SpaceX does not need approval from the IDB to exercise either of these rights under the current conditions of the agreement. SpaceX’s current projection calls for the project to be completed by Dec. 31, 2044. The agreement also includes a force majeure provision that allows the company to extend certain deadlines under specified circumstances without IDB approval. Vermilion United, a group that has been critical of the SpaceX project, has argued the agreement does not place sufficient checks on SpaceX. “If they can’t meet their job numbers for whatever reason, they always have this clause as a way of excusing themselves from meeting their job targets and paying the penalty,” said Melissa Hargrave, a spokeswoman for the group. The PILOT agreement also limits when and how the IDB can audit SpaceX and what information from an audit can be made public. Any audit must be conducted by the IDB itself, without assistance from outside parties, and can take place only once every 12 months, covering only materials from the period since the previous audit.

St. Thomas More Catholic High School’s Coach Danny Broussard, back on the sideline and fired up after open-heart surgery saved the play that mattered most. Submitted article This article is brought to you by FMOL Health | Our Lady of Lourdes.

The most dangerous health threats are often the ones you never see coming. Coach Danny Broussard spent 44 years coaching basketball at St. Thomas More Catholic High School, winning more than 1,200 games, six state championships and a place among the sport’s winningest high school coaches. He built a career spotting what others missed: the crack in a defense, the shift in momentum before it turns. But the most important play of his life happened off the court. And he almost missed it. The Call He Didn’t See Coming Danny felt ﬁne. His cholesterol ran a little high, so he took his medication and kept moving. There were no dramatic warning signs. At a routine physical with his primary care physician, FMOL Health | Our Lady of Lourdes’ Kelly Cahill, MD, ordered a calcium score test, which can detect plaque buildup before symptoms appear. Danny did the screening on a Wednesday. Later that day, 15 minutes into a meeting, his phone buzzed. He saw the name on the screen: Dr. Cahill. Danny didn’t bother with hello. “Dang, Doc,” he answered. “Am I dying?” The results weren’t supposed to come back for days. A same-day call said everything: Danny’s calcium score was over 1,500. A healthy baseline is zero. Dr. Cahill referred him to a cardiologist immediately. A stress test on Friday didn’t go the way anyone hoped. An angiogram followed, and that’s when the full picture came into focus. Danny had a 99% blockage in the widow maker, the main artery whose nickname tells you everything about how dangerous it can be. A stent wasn’t possible. The blockage was too advanced. There was only one path forward: open-heart surgery. It needed to happen Monday. Scouting the Best on the Roster Danny did what any coach would do. He studied the roster. He’d lived in Lafayette for decades and thought he knew every doctor in town. But he’d never heard the name Chance DeWitt, MD. So, he texted eight physician friends, many of them former players: Who is this guy? Ever y reply pointed the same direction. Dr. DeWitt, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon with FMOL Health | Our Lady of Lourdes Heart

More sunsets, more memories: Danny and his grandsons at the beach.

Hospital, was the best in Louisiana, maybe along the Gulf Coast. By the last text, Danny felt the knot in his stomach loosen. When Dr. DeWitt walked him through Monday’s plan, Danny got exactly what he needed: straight talk, a clear plan and calm conﬁdence. Dr. DeWitt, still relatively new to Lafayette, was doing a little scouting of his own. He hadn’t fully grasped who Danny was at ﬁrst, but the people around him made it clear in a hurry. “Coach Danny is really a living legend,” Dr. DeWitt said. “And I hoped we could help him coach several more years.” Prayers Up from His Community The weight of surgery was real. But something shifted when Danny’s daughter showed him a social media post from a former player asking people to stop at noon and pray. The fear drained from him. He didn’t feel like a patient heading into surgery. He felt like a coach walking into the biggest game of his life, backed by prayer and a team he trusted.

Home and healing, Danny recovers alongside his wife of 42 years, Dena.

Back on the Sideline Danny missed 16 games that season. For a man who spent his life on the sideline, that absence hit hard. But Dr. Cahill helped him understand just how close the call had been. Danny didn’t have months to spare. He had maybe six weeks. That realization changed everything. Married for 42 years, with three grown children and three young grandkids, Danny came away more grateful than ever for the people who ﬁll his life. He’s coaching again. And he’ll be the first to tell you this win belongs to his physicians. Dr. Cahill caught what could have gone undetected. Dr. DeWitt carried him through. “Sometimes people say there are no more miracles,” Dr. DeWitt said. “And I often say I see them every day. You just have to look for them.” Danny’s story is a reminder that heart disease doesn’t always announce itself. It can hide in plain sight. “God put me in the right place at the right time,” Danny said. “If I hadn’t received the care I got, who knows where I would be now. I’m a blessed man.” Ready to learn about your own heart health? Take our free heart risk quiz and learn more about cardiovascular services at FMOL Health | Our Lady of Lourdes Heart Hospital at LourdesRMC. com/heart.

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

Home-visit program for new parents expands Q&A WITH SUSANNAH BOUDREAUX

State to receive nearly $14M in federal funding

OVERSEES STATE’S HOME VISITING PROGRAM

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

More young Louisiana families could soon get a helping hand as federal funding expands a program that sends experts into the homes of expecting and new parents to guide them through the early days of raising a child. Louisiana will receive nearly $14 million in federal funding to help boost the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program, which has been shown to have positive effects on mothers’ health and children’s development. That’s about $1 million more than the state received last year, in part because Louisiana pitched in $1 in state funding for every $3 in federal funding received, according to the Louisiana Department of Health, which runs the program. Providers visit the homes of expectant and new parents for the ﬁrst few years of a baby’s life and offer personalized advice and lessons on whatever the parents need, completely for free. Topics can include how to babyproof a home, breastfeeding and safe sleeping or the importance of reading and early language development. They also help parents access mental health support, food and housing assistance and other resources. Research has shown home visits can help reduce emergency room visits and Medicaid expenses, and boost children’s cognitive development. This year, Louisiana became the ﬁrst state in the South to require insurance companies to cover home visits, effective in January. The Times-Picayune spoke with Susannah Boudreaux, who runs the state’s home visiting program. She explained what happens during the visits and how they help families. This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. How do the state’s home-visiting programs work? Our “Nurse-Family Partnership” model

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vironment. Most of our visits, once a baby is born, incorporate some parent-child activities that really support continued learning, milestone achievement, language development. There are times where developmental screenings — like caregiver depression screenings — are implemented within a visit. The family is met where they’re at and what needs they identify at the time. How will the additional federal money help the program? Louisiana has a beautiful history of investing in home visits long before there was federal funding. They’ve been investing state dollars in home visits since 1999. We have a long history of realizing the importance of those early connections and supporting families before a question becomes a concern and before a concern becomes a full-blown crisis. With the additional funding, we’re certainly going to be STAFF FILE PHOTO able to strengthen our capacity and expand This year, Louisiana became the first state in the South to require insurance companies to our ability to reach families. cover home visits, effective in January. Do the visits help prepare children for school? Kindergarten readiness doesn’t start the year or two before the child goes to preis staffed by nurses and is targeted to ﬁrst- the (food assistance) clinic. Other families K, it really starts the moment that baby is born. When you’re able to foster and time mothers who can join the program ﬁnd out through word-of-mouth, if you’ve strengthen those early connections, be reup to 29 weeks into their pregnancy. It’s had a cousin or friend receive services. In a psychosocial model focused on healthy Louisiana, eligibility is income based, so sponsive to baby’s cues, all of those things pregnancies, healthy deliveries, healthy families who qualify for Medicaid or food lay the groundwork for being kindergarten mom-baby attachment and family develop- assistance programs can receive services. ready. Participation is voluntary and it’s no cost What other impact do home visits have? ment. for the family. If a family is interested, a We collect and report performance data Our other model is “Parents as Teachers,” which is also evidence-based, and has home visitor will go to their home and start on a variety of benchmarks. Those range from maternal and child health and wella wider eligibility criteria. Families can be developing an ongoing relationship for up being, family well-being, and there’s a big pregnant or they can be parenting children to two to three years. What typically happens during a home visit? emphasis on connection. aged 3 and under and they can receive serSometimes it’s a weekly visit, sometimes It goes back to: Long-term investment in vices for up to three years. We’re focusing it’s a couple times a month — it depends on early support is critical, it’s highly valued on health, healthy pregnancy if a parent the need of the family. and it’s giving a good foundation for our happens to be pregnant, child developSometimes there’s going to be education kiddos to be ready for kindergarten and ment, milestone achievement and preparaaround pregnancy and postpartum health, beyond. tion for kindergarten readiness. things to watch out for and to speak with How do parents get connected to the services? your provider about. Sometimes visits are Email Marie Fazio at marie.fazio@theadFamilies are typically referred through focused on infant feeding or safe sleep en- vocatec.com. their healthcare provider or sometimes

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LOUISIANA POLITICS La. politicos angle for presidential run in 2028 WASHINGTON — Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial joined the growing list of Louisiana politicos flirting with a presidential run in 2028. “I’m thinking about running too,” Morial, now head of the New York-based National Urban League, told the March On! Festival audience here at an Oct. 3 panel discussion. “Run, Marc, run,” said former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, sharing the stage with Morial and her brother, former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who also has been talking publicly about maybe considering a run. (Mitch Landrieu’s Mark off-mic response Ballard was that Morial would be a formidable candidate.) Landrieu has been saying since April that he’ll decide in a few months after praying, conferring with family, and talking with friends, including Morial. “I’m going to do what I’m going to do. From my perspective, it’s probably going to be sometime after the midterms or the first of the year,” he told POLITICO on Sept. 23. The next morning, Oct. 4, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, posited “Why not me?” on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “If a bunch of goobers run, and I think they’re goobers and one of the goobers might win, and I think I could do a better job, I would consider running,” Kennedy said. Landrieu, Kennedy, and Morial said they haven’t started setting up a team with national experience, or organizing a political action committee, or lining up funds. So, just how serious they are remains to be seen. But Kennedy and Landrieu are ticking off boxes on the serious candidate’s “to do” list. Both have written books and both are building up frequent flyer miles campaigning for partisans, ad-

Bill Cassidy sponsors open primaries bill

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who lost Louisiana’s newly closed-party primary election in May, filed legislation last week requiring states to conduct open primaries for federal offices. Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said about 45% of the American electorate is politically independent of the parties, regardless of their registration. “That’s a bigger chunk of Americans than either the Republican or the Democratic Party,” Cassidy Capitol said. “I firmly beBuzz lieve the political STAFF system should REPORTS serve the people. And it shouldn’t be designed so that the people serve the politician.” The legislation will have a tough go. The Senate is out of town and will return to Capitol Hill in mid-November with a full plate of work to accomplish in the few

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MANUEL BALCE CENETA

Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, standing right, and U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., seated, discuss text messages with former special counsel Jack Smith, as Smith testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on Sept. 29. dressing political groups, and enticing media coverage around the country. Known for his country quips, the lawyer trained at elite universities is one of the Republicans’ most popular guest speakers. Kennedy was at a Michigan barn party Friday campaigning for embattled Senate candidate Mike Rogers. Landrieu has been helping Democratic aspirants and participating in issue discussions with voters. He co-hosted a six-part series called “Long Play” with political commentator Jennifer Palmieri about Southern politics. Zachary Taylor is the only person from Louisiana to become president and he’s really from Virginia. He was elected in 1848 while living in Baton Rouge in a house that was located near where the State Capitol now sits. Gov. Huey Long famously talked about challenging President Franklin D. Roosevelt before being shot to death on Sept. 8, 1935, in a back hall of the Louisiana Capitol. Gov. Buddy Roemer ran in 2011 for the 2012 presidential contest.

He eventually left the Republican Party and continued his candidacy as an independent before dropping out in 2012. Gov. Bobby Jindal spent his last couple of years as governor traveling around the country for speaking appearances in GOP campaigns and before conservative groups. His ofﬁcial campaign, begun in June 2015, never got much further than consuming deep-fried Twinkies at fairs in Iowa before dropping out ﬁve months later. Neither Jindal nor Roemer ever attracted enough attention to be included in candidate forums. Most presidential books, like the one Jindal wrote, are largely ignored. Kennedy and Landrieu, however, wrote bestsellers. Kennedy’s homespun “How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will” spent 15 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list after being published in October 2025. Landrieu’s scholarly “In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History,” published in March 2018, also

remaining weeks of the 119th Congress. Cassidy’s bill would require voters in federal elections to show photo identification at the polls and also limit gerrymandering by state legislatures, in which Cassidy election districts are configured to include a certain group of voters while limiting the influence of other voters. Since the 1970s, Louisiana has used a “majority vote primary,” also sometimes called a “jungle primary.” Candidates ran against each other regardless of party, and the two top vote-getters advanced to a runoff if no one candidate received 50% plus one of the votes. The state briefly switched to closed party primaries from 2008 to 2010 after several Republicans started making moves to challenge then-incumbent Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie, who was involved in a prostitution scandal.

Vitter went on to win the primary and the general election. The Legislature then returned to open primaries. The Louisiana Legislature, at the urging of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, changed Louisiana’s system back to closed primaries in 2024 to ensure that Republicans decide who the GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate was going to be. Cassidy, who had the secondhighest vote totals in Louisiana history in 2020, was pilloried by Louisiana Republicans and censured twice just a few months later because of local anger about his opposition to President Donald Trump. He was one of the few Republican senators who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by MAGA supporters, which delayed the ofﬁcial congressional certiﬁcation that Joe Biden had won the presidential election. Trump called Cassidy, who chairs one of the Senate’s most important committees, the worst

Actually, there is a fountain of youth.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu sits next to activist Doratha ‘Dodie’ Smith-Simmons during the funeral for Jerome ‘Big Duck’ Smith in New Orleans on Sept. 12.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial gives the eulogy for the funeral of Norman C. Francis on March 3.

spent time on the bestseller lists. Years ago, Morial published a collection of his speeches and in 2020 wrote “The Gumbo Coalition: 10 Leadership Lessons That Help You Inspire, Unite and Achieve.”

senator on social media. The president backed U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, R-Baton Rouge, over Cassidy, who was seeking a third term. Under the new closed primary system, Cassidy came in third on May 16 behind Letlow and State Treasurer John Fleming, R-Minden.

Kennedy takes aim at financial regulator U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, has sponsored a bill he says would require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to more fully consider the costs to businesses and the economy of the regulations it implements. Created in 2010 under thenpresident Barack Obama as a response to the 2007 recession, the CFPB was the brainchild of nowSen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. It is responsible for enforcing laws and implementing regulations on banks. Republicans have long accused the agency of imposing costly bureaucracy, and its leadership has pursued a deregulatory agenda

Just to be clear: No candidate has announced their intentions. But the roster of “likely” contenders, according to national media and trade publications, shows all the possibles doing pretty much the same thing: write a book, weigh in on issues of the day, campaign for colleagues, and become better known. On the Republican side, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are the leading candidates. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also is making noise. The Democrats are waiting to learn the intentions of former Vice President Kamala Harris, which will have great inﬂuence on who else decides to run. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would not, if she does. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, also are mulling the possibilities. Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvoate.com.

during the Trump Administration. Democrats have accused the administration of undermining important consumer protections at the behest of big banks. Kennedy and Warren both sit on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, where they have sparred over financial regulation. Under Kennedy’s bill, the CFPB would be required to take several steps before issuing new regulations, including an assessment of all direct and indirect costs; identifying alternative regulations; and consulting with the Small Business Administration. “Washington bureaucrats shouldn’t be able to saddle hardworking Americans with costly regulations without showing that the benefits outweigh the costs,” Kennedy said in a news release. “The CFPB ought to put taxpayers and consumers first, and my bill would make sure the agency shows its homework before imposing another costly rule.” Kennedy is co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Cynthia Loomis, RWyo.

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Panama declares state of emergency after quakes BY ARIS MARIOTA and ALMA SOLÍS Associated Press

LA VILLA DE LOS SANTOS, Panama — The government of Panama declared a state of emergency Saturday as the aftershocks of two powerful earthquakes that roiled the country shook communities for hours. Ofﬁcials did not attribute any deaths to the quakes but reported damages in all 10 of Panama’s provinces and two Indigenous territories. The 7.7- and 6.6-magnitude earthquakes on Friday toppled buildings near the epicenter and prompted evacuations across the Central American country. Seismologists recorded more than 100 aftershocks, including ones measuring magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2. The earlier quake, also felt in neighboring Colombia, was centered about 6 miles southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Ar-

riba, in the central province of Herrera, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck at a depth of 6 miles. Presidential Minister Juan Carlos Orillac announced the emergency during a news conference in the capital, Panama City. He said homes, schools, healthcare facilities, roads and hotels were among the damaged facilities. Malitzie Rivera, deputy director of the National Civil Protection System, told reporters the state had reports of 27 people with injuries, ranging from minor to moderate. Most of the damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera, Cocle and Los Santos. The Civil Protection agency tallied roughly 420 homes and about the same number of public schools damaged. It also reported that seven hotels, at least 13 churches and nine bridges were affected by the earthquakes.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ARIS MARIOTA

A vehicle lies crushed beneath a collapsed building on Friday after an earthquake struck Penonome, Panama. In La Villa de Los Santos, a colonial-era community about 40 miles northeast of the epicenter, homes and a historical Catholic church collapsed. People who spent the night on the streets were

waiting for the government’s guidance on what to do next. “We’ve been here since 1 p.m. yesterday; we haven’t moved,” Tony Jiménez, whose home partially col-

lapsed, said while sitting with relatives under a tent. “It was a terrible thing. I can tell you with absolute certainty that in my 90 years, I had never experienced anything like it. It was intense

— truly intense.” The collapsed Church of San Atanasio was declared a National Historic Heritage Site in 1938. Images of crumbling buildings and deep ﬁssures slicing through roads added to fears across a Latin American region battered by a series of devastating earthquakes in recent months. Two back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes roiled Venezuela’s La Guaira state in June, killing more than 6,500 people and leaving 17,000 homeless. In August, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Colombia killed at least 289 people. The notably lower toll in nearby Panama may have been due to the country’s strict building codes, especially governing construction of skyscrapers in the capital, said Carlos Valdés, head of the Seismology Department at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Ethiopia tells U.N. it is acting in self-defense against Eritrea BY KHALED KAZZIHA Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethiopia told the U.N. Security Council on Friday it is taking measures in self-defense against Eritrea, accusing its neighbor of sending troops across the border and occupying parts of northern Ethiopia. The declaration adds to fears of a wider conﬂict as government-allied forces report advances in Tigray, a region devastated by a previous war. AP footage on Saturday from Adigrat, about 15 miles from the border with Eritrea, showed Ethiopian military vehicles and troops entering the city as some residents celebrated in the streets. Residents of Tigray’s secondlargest city described hun-

ger, closed banks and a lack of medical care. In a letter dated Friday, Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos invoked Ethiopia’s right to self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. He did not specify what measures the country was taking. The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, accused Eritrea of deploying infantry and mechanized units in recent weeks and supporting, ﬁnancing, arming and directing insurgent groups. It did not identify the occupied areas or provide evidence supporting its allegations. Ethiopia had repeatedly urged Eritrea to withdraw its forces, Gedion wrote. The AP could not independently verify the allegations. In its response to the U.N.

Security Council, signed by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, Eritrea rejected Ethiopia’s justification of selfdefense and accused it of seeking to forcibly acquire sovereign access to the Red Sea. It asked the council to “forcefully condemn Ethiopia’s deplorable declaration of war against Eritrea” and take “deterrent measures.” Eritrea announced last week it was severing diplomatic ties after Ethiopia expelled 10 Eritrean diplomats and closed its embassy in Asmara. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reiterated Monday that Ethiopia must have access to the Red Sea. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said it remained committed to dialogue with its neighbors.

The accusations deepen a rift between countries whose armies fought together against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front from 2020 to 2022. Researchers at Ghent University in Belgium estimated the previous war caused about 500,000 civilian deaths in Tigray from violence, fam-

ine and the collapse of health services. Government and allied forces took Idaga Hamus early Friday and Abiy-Adi, in the Tembien area, on Thursday afternoon, according to Ermiyas Ababu, a commander of the government-allied Tigray Peace Force. Residents also reported the

takeover of Idaga Hamus. Gebremedhin Kihishen, a business owner in Tembien, said government-allied forces controlled Abiy-Adi. It was unclear from those accounts who held the towns immediately before the reported government advance or whether Eritrean troops were involved in the ﬁghting.

Early lesson in inclusion inspires The Arc Caddo-Bossier CEO to a lifetime of service

Lafayette Surgicare CLOSURE NOTICE

After nearly 25 years of service and caring for thousands of patients, Lafayette Surgicare will perform its ﬁnal procedure on October 23, 2026. This milestone marks the closing of a remarkable chapter deﬁned by excellence, compassionate care, and a steadfast commitment to serving patients throughout Acadiana. We are grateful to the physicians, patients, and community members who placed their trust in us over the years. It has been our privilege to provide high-quality outpatient surgical care and to be part of so many healthcare journeys. Thank you for allowing us to serve our community for nearly a quarter century. We are honored to have been part of your care and appreciate the trust you placed in us throughout the years.

For patients who need to obtain copies of their medical records after the center’s closure, please send an email request to surgicare@fmolhs.org. Patients will be required to provide a valid governmentissued photo ID before medical records can be released. Instructions regarding the records request process will be provided upon receipt of your email. After October 23, 2026, FMOL Health | Our Lady of Lourdes will be the appointed custodian of medical records. For more information, visit www.fmolhs.org

4630 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy., Suite 101 Lafayette, LA 70508

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

Some of the most impactful moments in Kristen Powers’ career have felt like they were meant to be. Long before she became CEO of The Arc Caddo-Bossier, Powers was a Shreveport teenager on the pep squad with a friend named Holly, who had Down Syndrome. Years later, when Powers accepted a position with Holy Angels – a residential training facility for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities – she discovered Holly’s parents were on the board. Holly had recently passed away. “One of my first experiences with inclusion was Holly being on the pep squad with me. It was so fun to have her around. When I went to work for Holy Angels, it felt like a full circle moment,” Powers said. “I felt very called to this work. I felt that God was tapping on my shoulder and telling me to work with this population.” Powers joined The Arc Caddo-Bossier in December 2020 to continue that work. She is a 2026 recipient of The Angel Award from the Louisiana Blue Foundation in recognition of her efforts to improve the quality of life and opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization will receive a $30,000 Louisiana Blue Foundation grant, and Powers will be one of nine Angel Award honorees recognized at an Oct. 19 gala in Baton Rouge. “We are always excited to be able to raise awareness and support for our mission and programs. I’m so happy to have this platform this year to share more about our mission,” she said. At the heart of The Arc’s work is person-centered care. Powers said technology helps staff members better identify each person’s individual goals and measure progress toward milestones. Sometimes success means completing high school or pursuing higher education. For others, it means ﬁnding employment, owning a vehicle or renting their own apartment. “All of our services help people live, work, learn and participate fully in their communities,” she said. “That looks different for everybody. We’ve seen so many successes when people came under our wing. We give them pride, support, hope and a vision for what their life can be like.” Those relationships often last decades. The Arc Caddo-Bossier has served the region for more than 72 years, supporting many people through virtually their entire lives. Powers said the organization

may begin working with infants and toddlers, sometimes even before an official diagnosis, and continue supporting them and their families through adulthood. “We don’t just help people for a few months. I interact with people every day who have had a good quality of life for 30 or 40 years because of their relationship with The Arc,” she said. “These are powerful relationships, and it really is all about community.” In order to expand that community, Powers said The Arc focuses heavily on integrating people with intellectual and developmental disabilities into local events. The hope is that they can make personal connections with individuals who are open to volunteering at The Arc. Opportunities to help include The Arc’s day program, equine-assisted therapy, reading to children and more. Those interested can apply online at www.thearccaddobossier. org/volunteer. Volunteers are especially crucial as The Arc, like many care providers, faces stafﬁng challenges. Powers said the organization has made employee recognition and retention a key priority, as well as recruiting direct support professionals. The manpower is needed, as more people are receiving diagnoses. “I certainly believe there are more people reaching out to us than ever before as more people see a diagnosis of an intellectual or developmental disability,” she said. “We’re also seeing more dual diagnoses, such as a behavioral health condition with a disability. We have specially trained staff who can work with those individuals.” As Powers looks to the future, she hopes that The Arc and other organizations can focus less on ﬁghts over funding and reimbursement, and more on advocating for the people who need them most. “Everybody we serve is such a neat person,” she said. “I love getting to know them and seeing the pride they take in their lives because of the support we are able to provide to them.” To learn more about The Arc Caddo-Bossier, visit www.thearccaddobossier.org/volunteer or follow their social media updates on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok @thearccb. The Louisiana Blue Foundation will livestream The Angel Award ceremony from the Foundation’s Facebook page starting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19. Watch the ceremony to hear stories from Powers and other 2026 honorees.

12A l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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THE GULF COAST Shaggy’s opens new Crab House on Biloxi beach It includes indoor and outdoor dining

they’ll have blue crab, crawfish and Gulf shrimp, Covington said. “We put our heart and soul into this menu,” Gully said. It leads with 10 varieties of crab boils, ranging from $23.99 for a shrimp boil to $279.99 for The Full Royal Treatment, a sharable feast with all three kinds of crab legs, lobster tail, shrimp, sausage and all the fixings. The seafood boils are shaken with butter sauce, but some people want more for dipping, Gully said. For them, Shaggy’s offers a flight of sauces so they can dip all four varieties — twisted citrus, garlic butter, original Cajun or smoked honey chipotle.

BY MARY PEREZ The Sun Herald

Shaggy’s now is two restaurants on the beach in Biloxi, connected by a boardwalk, with water views and menus of both seafood and a cheeseburger so renowned there’s a boat named for it. Shaggy’s Crab House is located on the west side of the now sprawling dining and entertainment complex from 1763 to 1775 Beach Blvd. Co-owners Ron Ladner and Rimmer Covington Jr. bought the adjacent restaurant and created much more than a second place to dine along Biloxi’s boardwalk and Restaurant Row. On the left side is the original Shaggy’s Biloxi at Shaggy’s Beach, with open-air dining that makes the most of the waterfront views and breezes. Next door on the far right facing the water, the new Shaggy’s Crab House is an elevated experience that adds crab boils big enough to share and a menu of martinis, mimosas, margaritas and other tropical drinks that make the most of the setting accentuated by a row of palm trees on the beach. The restaurant has both outdoor tables and an air-conditioned dining room for those who want more chill than a breeze. In between, the elevated boardwalk, which parallels the city’s boardwalk along the beach, connects the two restaurants with a sweet shop, a gift shop and a stage in a shipping container. The idea, said Covington, president and CEO of Shaggy’s, was to create a place where people want to spend more than an hour eating, and instead linger for the day or evening experiencing the food, the beach and outdoor games, the entertainment and the legendary welcome from Shaggy’s staff. “It creates a destination,” he

Old and new on menu SUN HERALD PHOTO By MARy PEREZ

With views of the sparkling water come colorful drinks, a Category Five bloody mary and a choices of new dishes and award-winning favorites at Shaggy’s Crab House in Biloxi, Miss. said.

Opportunity realized “Ron (Ladner) and I have been wanting to purchase this property next door for many years, and we just never had the right opportunity to do it,” Covington said. When the previous owners of Lucy’s restaurant and bar decided to sell, they could no longer wait, he said. “We needed to do something here that was going to be successful and stick,” he said, and that’s where the idea of a crab house and the boardwalk concept was born. They looked to see what was missing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast restaurant scene and decided it was crab. “For a long time, casinos created the crab tourism,” said Adam Gully, director of operations for Shaggy’s, which now has six locations: four on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, one in the Jackson area and one at Pensacola Beach, Florida. Fewer Coast casinos have buffets and crab legs, Gully said, and

one of every two calls they get at Shaggy’s is from someone asking, “Y’all got crab legs?” They do now, Covington said, and unlike at the casinos, they come with Gulf views and kids are allowed to enjoy the crab legs, too, while most of the casinos are for ages 21 and older.

The best seafood The crab and seafood for the new restaurant is sourced domestically and internationally, straight from the supplier. Matt Roberts, general manager of Shaggy’s Biloxi, found a company in Alaska that catches the crab and sends it to South Mississippi. Cold-water lobster tails come from Canada. The Gulf shrimp aren’t just local, they’re from Biloxi. Snow crab, king crab and Dungeness crab all are on the menu, and all three are combined in some of the crab boils, along with lobster tail, potatoes and other sides. Customers can choose their favorites to customize their seafood boil. When in season

“This menu also features several award-winning signature dishes that were created by Shaggy’s,” Covington said. Among those are lobster corn dogs, corn ribs and Poseidon’s Pearls that give deviled eggs a ﬂavorful twist with bacon jam, crispy shrimp and spicy mayo. “We have a sneaky suspicion that our Crab House wings are going to be a top seller here,” Gully said. They are tossed with the original Cajun butter, “So even if you don’t like seafood you can get that same crab boil experience with our chicken wings,” he said. “Our burger is always going to be a Shaggy staple,” Gully said, and they decided to dress them a little different at the Crab House, with sweet bacon jam. “Then we have our surf and turf burger,” he said, “where we take the burger, and we top it with lobster meat and a lobster queso sauce.” It’s $19.99, and he said, “To be able to serve a lobster dish for under $20, that’s something we’re very proud of.” The lobster roll BLT is priced at $22.99. The Crab House menu also features she-crab soup, which is not usually found in South Mississippi, salads, platters with Gulf shrimp and Mississippi catﬁsh, along with seafood entrées and island ribs glazed with pineapple-

jalapeno barbecue sauce. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are highlighted on the menu and many of the drinks are available as mocktails and refreshers, without alcohol. Creating a whole new drink menu gave them an opportunity to add ﬁne wines, Covington said, along with a Crab House version of the Bushwacker made with peanut butter cups. For an Instagrammable experience, the Category Five bloody mary will wow with a pound of crab legs, two lobster tails, skewered shrimp and other ingredients in a drink to share.

Creating an experience The new Shaggy’s has lots of nooks and crannies and places to spread out, so larger music events will spill out into the parking lot, Covington said, while a solo artist playing native son Jimmy Buffett songs or a small group can pop up on the stage that’s tucked inside a shipping container. The new Shaggy’s Sweet Tooth is nearby, with jars full of favorite candies, fresh-made cookies and more than a dozen varieties of ice cream, including sugar-free and gluten-free, for dips, shakes and sundaes. Next door is a new gift shop for those who want to take home a logo T-shirt. Shaggy’s is the kind of place where people feel comfortable in flip-flops or dressed up for date night, he said, where adults and kids can play with the sand games or wander along the boardwalk. An elevator makes it accessible and gives those who usually can’t go to the beach a front-row seat for lunch or at sunset. With the expansion, Shaggy’s now has more than 120 employees at the Biloxi restaurants, where Covington said a focus on customers and a positive work environment and extensive benefits for the staff helps create a memorable experience whether at the original Shaggy’s or the new Shaggy’s Crab House.

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● 13A

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Pope Leo XIV declares death penalty ‘inadmissible’ Comments come as U.S. plans to livestream execution

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday declared capital punishment “inadmissible” as he marked the World Day Against the Death Penalty and his native United States announced plans to livestream an execution by ﬁring squad. In a post on X, the American pope quoted the revised Catholic teaching on capital punishment ushered in by Pope Francis that the death penalty attacks the inherent dignity of a human being. “The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment,” read the post under Leo’s ofﬁcial handle, @Pontifex. “Effective systems of detention have been

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GREGORIO BORGIA

Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate a Mass Thursday in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption.” The post ended with the hashtag #NoDeathPenalty. The U.S. Defense Department announced Thursday that the ﬁring squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of a 2009 shooting at the Fort Hood military base, will be livestreamed. Hasan, scheduled to be ex-

ecuted at Fort Hood on Dec. 3, was convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others. U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he would be making a decision ultimately on whether the execution would be livestreamed. Leo didn’t refer speciﬁcally to the planned execution, or the botched lethal injection in Tennessee earlier that has revived debate over the

ing American taxpayers.” D’Avanzo said many people who have lost coverage will likely only realize when they need medical care. But for some, the change has been felt immediately. In Tucson, Arizona, María Chacon has been caring for her son Jesus for almost ﬁve years since a car accident at 17 left him unable to breathe on his own. He requires a ventilator, a feeding tube and daily medication, and must be turned once every two hours to stop sores from forming. Chacon said he sometimes opens his eyes. The family is originally from Mexico and entered the U.S. on a T visa, offered to victims of human trafﬁcking, in 2018. Chacon said Medicaid has helped cover almost $25,000 per month of care for her son, which includes a small stipend for her and her husband as compensation for being long-term caregivers. She said doctors have explained that even if they both worked 24 hours a day, they would not be able to cover the cost of his care. “Since that day I haven’t

been able to sleep. We haven’t been able to eat or anything. We’re wondering what we’re going to do?” Chacon said. Jesus takes medication that Chacon estimates costs $7,000 a month. The supply runs out in mid-October. Without coverage, she does not know how her son is going to survive. Chacon found out just days before the cuts that she was losing care. She called the state’s Medicaid offices to appeal. Although she is in the process of obtaining a green card, Medicaid coverage would only kick in five years after she is approved. Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a right-leaning think tank that seeks less immigration, said the administration “is trying to nibble around the edges” with the Oct. 1 cuts, finding piecemeal ways to curb immigration into the U.S. Camarota believes the government should screen legal immigrants for income potential and education, reducing the number who might rely on public benefits once they cross the border.

death penalty in the United States. Saturday is World Day Against the Death Penalty, and it is common for the pope’s ofﬁcial social media accounts to post messages marking such commemorations. But Leo’s post came just hours after his top deputy, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said explicitly that the planned U.S. public execution was “unacceptable.” Pope Francis in 2018 amended official Catholic teaching to declare capital punishment “inadmissible” in all circumstances. Previously, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the official compendium of church teaching, said the church didn’t exclude recourse to capital punishment “if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the

unjust aggressor.” Past popes had upheld that position, though St. John Paul II began urging an end to the practice and stressed that guilty people were just as deserving of dignity as innocent ones. Like Francis before him, Leo has made visiting prisons a key part of his papal travel in a bid to give a message of hope to inmates and underscore their inherent dignity, that God loves them and that there is always a chance for redemption. “If any of you fear being abandoned by everyone, know that God will never abandon you, and that the church will stand by your side,” Leo told inmates at the notorious Bata prison in Equatorial Guinea during his visit in April. Leo is to visit a prison in Buenos Aires during his upcoming tour through Latin America.

Speaking speciﬁcally about the United States, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the planned livestreamed execution was “truly incomprehensible” and “unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle.” “The Church’s position is one of total opposition to the death penalty; it is incompatible with human dignity and serves as no deterrent…,” Parolin said in comments carried by Vatican News. “It is truly incomprehensible that anyone would want to use this system today — I don’t know for what purpose. It is certainly unacceptable to turn death into a spectacle; even if the person is guilty, of course, there are other methods.” The head of the U.S. bishops conference, Archbishop Paul Coakley, expressed “shock” and “great sorrow” at the Pentagon’s plans.

Louisiana farmers blend tradition and innovation to Trump’s Medicaid cuts strip coverage keep agriculture growing from refugees, other legal immigrants

BY MIKELLA SCHUETTLER and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

New restrictions have stripped Medicaid coverage from certain legal immigrants, including refugees and victims of human trafficking, as part of broader federal changes to the health insurance program that are expected to force millions off their coverage. The change effective Oct. 1 cut from Medicaid what is estimated to be hundreds of thousands of people who legally immigrated to the United States, many of whom work and pay taxes, in the latest Trump administration policy to target foreigners. The move is part of sweeping changes to Medicaid under President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax cut and policy law, with many set to take effect early next year. The Medicaid changes are projected to result in 7.5 million fewer people with health insurance, according to the Congressional Budget Office’s 2025 estimate. Advocates say that without Medicaid, people will not be able to afford private insurance and will either delay care or end up in emergency rooms, adding pressure to a strained health system. For immigrants, the cuts could be felt more acutely, compounding the effects of other administration efforts to restrict their access to public assistance as part of a broader immigration crackdown. “This is about telling every immigrant in the United States that they are not welcome here and that they should leave,” said Ben D’Avanzo, a senior strategist at the National Immigration Law Center, which has pursued litigation against the Republican administration over its immigration agenda. Refugees, asylum-seekers, victims of human trafficking and domestic violence are among those who have lost coverage. Green-card holders were not impacted. Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that “immigrants must be able to support themselves without taking from overburdened benefits programs paid for by hardwork-

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St. Landry Parish rice farmer Jeffrey Sylvester has embraced research, advocacy and new methods to strengthen the industry.

Robert and Rachel Duncan of Rapides Parish maintain a herd of about 200 mama cows and frequently sell beef directly to customers.

By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com This article is brought to you by the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation. For generations, Louisiana farmers have helped feed thousands while supporting an industry deeply connected to the state’s economy and culture. Today, maintaining that legacy requires farmers to balance longstanding traditions with new technologies, changing market demands and rising costs. In honor of National Farmers Day on October 12, we take a closer look at the farmers behind some of Louisiana’s signature commodities and how they are navigating changes in agriculture while carrying on family traditions. Blending tradition, research and innovation in the rice fields Louisiana rice farmers harvested 3.5 billion pounds in 2024, and rice production contributes more than $308 million annually to the state economy. The grain is a staple in Louisiana kitchens and restaurants, forming the basis for favorites like jambalaya, etouffee and gumbo. Word of mouth and promotions have created more widespread demand. “Once they taste it, they want it, and then they want more of it. We got to make sure that we continue giving them that quality of rice,” said Jeffrey Sylvester, a St. Landry Parish rice farmer. Sylvester and his brothers have about 4,000 acres of rice fields. He embraces the hard work and long hours, as well as newer varieties, such as Cypress rice, that have emerged since the 1990s. Meanwhile, Sylvester embraces research into chemicals, fertilizers and diseases to protect crops, improve yields and avoid unnecessary expenses. As a vocal rice industry advocate, he encourages his fellow farmers to see how new methods can benefit them. “There’s an old saying – that guy who comes to the supper. He never brings any alcohol, he never cooks, he never cleans up. Let’s not be that guy,” Sylvester said. “Let’s everybody contribute and do what we’re supposed to do, and make it a better industry for us and our children and our grandchildren.” Connecting local beef with local consumers In Rapides Parish, Robert and Rachel Duncan are raising cattle – and the fifth generation of their families to live the agricultural life. The couple grows soybeans, produces hay and maintains a herd of about 200 mama cows. Beginning in 2017, they began selling beef directly to consumers to capture more value from their cattle instead of relying exclusively on traditional livestock markets. “We really enjoy being able to sell to the neighbors and keeping local meat in local people,” Robert said. “If somebody wants to come out here and look, we’ll be glad to show them how it’s raised and what we do to raise them and get them to that point.” Louisiana’s cattle industry dates to the 1700s. Today, Louisiana beef can be found in everything from burgers, tacos and chilis to steak dinners, brisket sandwiches and as the centerpiece in a homemade rice and gravy. The Duncans are proud to be part of that legacy. Sometimes, customers come to their door, allowing Rachel to show the Duncans’ three daughters the value of stewardship. “People come to the house all the time. ‘Hey, I need some ribeyes. I need five pounds of ground meat’,” she said. “I love that we can instill that importance into our

children so they can tell their friends, ‘We grow stuff like that. We produce the food that we eat.’” Relying on faith, family and adaptability in crawfish ponds Louisiana dominates U.S. crawfish production, typically accounting for an estimated 90 percent of the nation’s total each year. Springtime crawfish boils are a Louisiana staple, and the seafood is used in etouffees, bisques and mac-and-cheese. Crawfish cornbread, crawfish pies and crawfish omelets are also popular. For southwest Louisiana crawfish farmer Dylan Benoit, producing one of Louisiana’s most recognizable foods means continually adjusting to unavoidable circumstances. The 2016 flood was particularly difficult, and recovery took years. Today, Benoit balances production with rising expenses. He estimated the cost of producing crawfish has increased at least 30 percent over the past five years. “If you don’t believe in God, you will when you farm,” he said. While relying on his faith and family, Benoit approaches farming with adaptability. He continually evaluates his operation and is open to moving on from ponds that aren’t sufficiently productive. He has also invested in technology such as laser leveling, even though it comes with a price. “It’s just what you got to do to have that production where you need it,” Benoit said. “We take a lot of pride in what we do. I feed my family the same thing. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” Modern techniques preserve a sugarcane legacy Louisiana is the nation’s second-largest producer of sugarcane, with most fields in Vermilion, Iberia, Lafayette, Iberville, St. Mary and Assumption parishes. Each fall and winter, the cane is harvested and processed into sugar for baked goods, candies, syrups, glazes, marinades and more. Sugarcane has been part of the Sotile family for more than a century. But, development and limited farmland mean Frankie and Mallory Sotile must produce more efficiently with available land. “I’ve tried to modernize everything we’ve done out here,” said Frankie, who has introduced precision agriculture and updated practices. “My dad is still actively out here with us, and he’s a little bit more old school. It’s a little difficult to convince him, but whenever the productivity is there and your yields are showing good, it speaks for itself.” Some of Sotile’s most special moments are when he brings his two young sons on tractor rides with their grandfather and great-grandfather. Beyond making memories, he hopes they develop a love for the land and agriculture. “I just want them to be happy and learn the same lessons that I have. I think as long as they take away the values that this provides you, I’ll be pleased with that,” he said. “No matter what situation you’re in or challenge you face, being out here on the farm and knowing how to adapt – that’s invaluable.” With more than 107,000 members, the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation’s mission is to support today’s agricultural needs and create member opportunities through advocacy and education. Volunteer leaders serve at the parish, state and national levels, gathering input from Louisiana farmers and ranchers and attempting to influence legislation and regulation to support their work. Visit lafarmbureau.org/ tailgate to learn more.

14A ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Lafayette storage unit tied to drug ring Network spanned Mexico to Florida

BY DEAN BOUDREAUX

Staff writer

A Pensacola, Florida, man was sentenced to six years in federal prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy that U.S. Attorney Zachary Keller said involved a Mexican cartel, 15 defendants and a Lafayette storage unit used to hide drugs. U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph sentenced Anthony Smith, 54, to 72 months in prison Sept. 29 for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute

controlled substances, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana. Smith pleaded guilty July 1. Keller said in an interview that no mandatory minimum sentence applied in Smith’s case and that his office believes the sentence is appropriate. Federal agents began investigating a Louisianabased drug trafficking network in May 2023, according to the release. Agents identified a primary supplier and several associates who used

a storage facility in Lafayette to stash drugs. Investigators intercepted communications showing narcotics were being prepared for distribution to members of the network, including Smith. On Nov. 29, 2023, agents saw a network member retrieve drugs from the storage facility and take them to two co-conspirators, the release said. The pair drove to a gas station, where Smith arrived in his vehicle. Agents watched one associate put a bag containing a shoebox into Smith’s vehicle. Law enforcement later

stopped Smith and found 2 kilograms of cocaine in the shoebox, according to the release. Smith admitted he traveled from Florida to obtain and transport narcotics for the conspiracy and knowingly joined the network, the release said. Keller said the case reaches well beyond Smith. He said the conspiracy ran from Mexico through Texas and along Interstate 10 into Florida, and that a Mexican cartel trafficked cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine along that route. The organization, he said, had “extended its tentacles all the way to Florida.” The U.S. Attorney’s Ofﬁce

release does not name the cartel. Keller said he did not believe the cartel’s name has appeared in public filings and was hesitant to identify it because the case is ongoing. Prosecutors are handling 15 defendants in “one big case,” Keller said. He said a couple of defendants remain fugitives. “We do everything we can in these cases to locate, apprehend and prosecute these folks,” Keller said. Keller said investigators learned about the Lafayette storage unit and Smith’s trip through intercepted phone calls between conspirators, known as Title III inter-

cepts. He said agents searched the storage unit and found “large amounts of drugs.” Keller also said a defendant arrested outside the storage facility had 20 kilograms of methamphetamine. The federal release does not mention methamphetamine. Keller said large trafﬁcking organizations need places along their routes to store drugs while they organize shipments. He said storage businesses themselves are not a problem. “I wouldn’t say we have a problem with storage facilities because, naturally,

ä See DRUG, page 2B

ELECTION H

Forums planned for candidates in local races Campaigners invited to participate

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

The League of Women Voters of Lafayette will host nonpartisan candidate forums ahead of the Nov. 3 election for School Board District 2, City Court Judge, Division B, and district attorney for the 15th Judicial District. All candidates in contested races are invited to participate. The forums are free and open to the public. The league is co-hosting the events with Move the Mindset. The forums will be recorded and broadcast on Acadiana Community Media. Hosting candidate forums is part of the League of Women Voters of Lafayette’s mission. The league is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, promotes understanding of major public policy issues and inﬂuences public policy through education and advocacy. The league does not endorse candidates or political parties. The forums are scheduled as follows:

School Board District 2 Tuesday: Meet and greet from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., followed by the candidate forum from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Carencro Community Center meeting room, 5115 N. University Ave.

City Court judge, Division B, and district attorney for the 15th Judicial District Wednesday: 5:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion St. For more information about these and other events, visit the League of Women Voters of Lafayette’s Facebook page.

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

POUNDS OF PANCAKES ABOVE: Members Corey Dixon, left, and Rick Latilais ﬂip pancakes on the griddle during the Kiwanis Club of Acadiana Zydeco Pancake Breakfast at Parc International on Saturday in Lafayette. Attendees received with their ticket ‘All You Can Eat’ pancakes, sausage, coffee, milk, juice, soft drinks, along with with games, face painting, crafts and a fun jump. The breakfast is held each year to bring the community together and support the Kiwanis Club of Acadiana’s mission of serving local children and families. RIGHT: Youngster Becson Panyawouvong reacts to having sprinkles poured on his pancakes.

Man arrested after police chase ends with spike strips BY KRISTIN ASKELSON

vehicle. A caller reported that someone was slumped over in the driver’s seat, authorities said. When ofﬁcers approached the New Iberia police ofﬁcers responded at 10:51 a.m. to the 1200 vehicle, they saw a man in the block of Parkview Drive after front passenger seat consumreceiving a report of a suspicious ing narcotics, according to poStaff writer

lice. The driver then ﬂed, driving across parking lots and over curbs before ofﬁcers began pursuing him. The pursuit continued for several miles. During the chase, the driver swerved into oncoming

trafﬁc, forced police units off the roadway and struck a fence, causing property damage, authorities said. No injuries were reported. The New Iberia Police Department requested assistance from the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

Deputies deployed spike strips, disabling the vehicle and allowing law enforcement to take the suspect into custody. The investigation remains ongoing, and additional charges may be ﬁled, police said.

M 2B ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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N.O. leaders work to revive youth organization BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE

on Tuesday evening. Cheryl Roberts, whose mother, Eve Wilson, another Tamborine and Fan leader, died just weeks before Smith, agreed that reviving the organization “is going to take the village again.” “I’m not going to say ‘new beginnings,’ ” said Roberts. “Because the spirit lives here.”

Staff writer

Robert Stanley’s friends all tell him: He’s got big shoes to fill. As a child, he spent summers and school nights at the knee of Jerome “Big Duck” Smith, learning how to look someone in the eye and demand change after injustice, how to sew Mardi Gras Indian suits and parade in a second-line. But Smith, sick with cancer, died in August at 87. Now, Stanley wants to take the organization that is a central part of Smith’s legacy — Tamborine and Fan — and restore it, so that future generations can learn the same lessons he did. “Our children are struggling, our children are screaming … ‘we need help,’ ” said Stanley, a retired school social worker who took over as Tamborine and Fan’s executive director after Smith’s death. Stanley and other Tamborine and Fan alumni began charting a bumpy road back toward Hunter’s Field, the organization’s longtime home base, in 2021, as Smith’s health began to wane. In 2025, the organization held its first summer camp in over five years. It obtained nonprofit status in August, and hopes to raise more money to support future offerings. And it wants the city to sign an agreement to guarantee its control over programming at Hunter’s Field. Things haven’t been easy. Financial troubles derailed camp this past summer, and other programs it runs have drawn low turnout from the surrounding area. Estimates show that the 7th Ward neighborhood is home to around a third of the number of children that there were a generation ago. Still, the organization’s leaders say that Smith’s death has lit a new fire to carry the freedom fighter’s dream forward. On Tuesday evening, at a Night Out Against Crime event hosted by Tamborine and Fan, Gina Cannon Jones recalled following Smith through the city on summer camp field trips as a 7-yearold — to City Hall and the French Market. Like many alumni, she sent her children to camp too, to give them “structure, guidance, a chance to know about where you live — where everything was created.” Now, she wishes that her

‘We’re back home’

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

The Roots of Music perform outside the Treme Center after the funeral for Jerome ‘Big Duck’ Smith in New Orleans on Sept. 12. three grandchildren, ages 1, 10 and 21, had the same opportunity. “The kids need this, they need Tamborine and Fan,” Jones said, looking toward her older grandchildren, both glued to their phones as Stanley spun ’70s funk records for a small group gathered outside. “Because there’s nothing but game controllers in their hands.”

‘It elevated our minds’ In 1968, after years of leading sit-ins and Freedom Rides throughout the south, Smith and fellow civil rights leader Rudy Lombard turned their attention to New Orleans’ youth. Modeled off of the Mississippi Freedom Schools that were established during the Civil Rights Movement, Smith, Lombard and others taught children math and science, and about civil rights leaders they wouldn’t learn about in school, like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. “Learning about what those people did for us it elevated our minds to a sense of … we should ﬁght for our rights every day,” said Jeremy Stevenson, chief of the Monogram Hunters Mardi Gras Indian tribe. Hundreds of children each summer under Tamborine and Fan’s care learned to recite a creed warning of the harms of drug use. And they learned to hold nonviolent protests at City Hall, demanding resources for the 7th Ward and Treme neighborhoods — including the use of Hunter’s Field, a rare green space after the tree-lined Claiborne Ave-

STAFF PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

Robert Stanley, the CEO and president of Tamborine and Fan, leads a licensing training event for Claiborne Corridor vendors at Hunter’s Field in New Orleans on Wednesday. nue neutral ground was replaced by the expressway. The small field where Claiborne curves toward the city’s center became home to baseball practice, band rehearsal, gospel concerts and the annual Super Sunday Mardi Gras Indian procession. Perhaps the most important lesson they learned at Hunter’s Field, Tamborine and Fan members recall, is their own worth. At a monthly celebration, every child whose birthday came that month would receive a cake with their name written in icing. “(Smith) was at my baptism. When my children graduated from high school, he was at each one of my children’s graduations,” said Stanley, known like many Tamborine and Fan members by his nickname, “2Scoops.” “Not just my children but those children, his children,

Stanley, a facilities manager at Hunter’s Field since 2021, and other Tamborine and Fan alumni have begun working to regather their village. In recent months, the organization has held events to honor Smith, fish fries to raise money, and training for food vendors under Claiborne Avenue on proper licensing. Alumni have made calls to former members across the country in hopes of soliciting donations. One of Stanley’s ﬁrst priorities is paying off $2,000 in past-due property taxes on a North Robertson Street property formerly home to Tamborine and Fan’s first headquarters. A lien on the property stymied the organization’s efforts to sign an agreement with the city guaranteeing control over programming at Hunter’s Field last year. A spokesperson for Mayor Helena Moreno did not provide comment about the lien or say how the administration might consider supporting the organization. Aquanius Freeman, vice president of the Tamborine and Fan board, which formed in 2024, said leaders hope to apply for city and state funding, and to visit neighborhoods throughout the city to gather participants for upcoming afterschool track and basketball programs. “It’s been desolate for so long … so when you don’t have that presence it’s hard to pull it back,” said Freeman, who coached track to just six girls this winter. Freeman, a teacher in New Orleans public schools, said he’s committed to making Tamborine and Fan “visible in the community” once again. “To let them know, ‘Hey, we’re here, we’re back home,’ ” said Freeman. “We want everyone to come back home.”

her children,” said Stanley of “Big Duck,” who earned that nickname for the brood of young people collected around him. As federal funds tied to what former President Lyndon B. Johnson coined the “war on poverty” dried up, the camp and its afterschool programs shrunk, former Tamborine and Fan teacher Raynard Sanders said. Then, Hurricane Katrina displaced thousands of people from the neighborhoods around Hunter’s Field. The city’s new charter school system sent kids off on buses to all corners of the city, dropping them back in the 7th Ward too late for robust afterschool activities. Programs continued through COVID-19, but at a fraction of their previous size. “The dynamic changed, people scattered,” said Said- Email Sophie Kasakove ah Smith, Jerome Smith’s at sophie.kasakove@ daughter, at Hunter’s Field theadvocate.com.

New Orleans assessor disputes property tax appeals Gainer, Inc., had a conﬂict of liams said. values the entire city inven- of the assessed value of the Over 40 interest related to 26 properWilliams’ letter comes as tory — have seen an average properties seeking appeals. That compares with 3% last that were recommended Mayor Helena Moreno and of about 800. reductions would ties In his letter, Williams de- year and 7% the year before for a lower assessment than the council are considering cost city millions Williams had calculated. property tax increases to tailed some specific con- that.

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

New Orleans Assessor Errol Williams is calling on the City Council to reject dozens of property tax appeals recommended by a council consultant, arguing that reductions to the property values aren’t supported by data and could cost the city millions of dollars in badly needed revenue. In an Oct. 8 letter to the council, Williams disputed more than 40 recommendations in this year’s appeal process. That process lets property owners seek to lower their tax bills from the City Council, which serves as the Board of Review of Williams’ annual tax assessments. Williams raised questions about whether the council’s consultant, Hammerman &

And he argued that another 15 properties should have their appeals rejected because they have already seen reductions in recent years and haven’t undergone any physical changes to justify a lower tax bill. “These repeated reductions, without a commensurate change in the physical condition or character of the property, undermine the integrity of the appeals process,” Williams said. The total combined value of all of HGI’s recommended reductions is $17 million, and Williams is disputing nearly $11 million of that amount. About two thirds of the disputed properties are commercial. If the council approves all $17 million in recommended reductions, City Hall and other local public agencies would lose $2.2 million in property tax revenue, Wil-

help close a $77 million deﬁcit in next year’s city budget. The proposals they are considering could increase the annual bill on a $300,000 home with a homestead exemption somewhere between $100 and $200. The property assessments, and the appeals, are an annual process, and HGI has handled property tax appeals for the council since 2012 through multiple contracts and extensions. The most recent contract was inked in 2022 and has been extended at least three times through July 2025, allowing for a maximum payment of $1.3 million over four years. It’s not clear if an extension was signed through this year. It’s not clear how many properties are under appeal this year, although recent years — excluding the quadrennial reassessment years, when the assessor re-

cerns related to the work of HGI. He said that an HGI hearing officer also works for a tax firm that represents property owners in hearings. The hearing officer did not participate in hearings involving the firm’s clients, but “the hearing officer’s concurrent role as an employee of a tax consulting firm that is representing taxpayers before the Board of Review creates the appearance of a conflict of interest,” Williams said. Williams did not identify the tax firm nor the hearing officer. He declined further comment on Friday. HGI did not respond to a request for comment. Williams also highlighted an unusually large number of recommended reductions this year. According to his letter, the recommended reductions represent 20%

“The reductions recommended by HGI represent a departure from prior years’ Board of Review hearings and raise significant concerns,” Williams wrote. District A council member Aimee McCarron said Williams’ letter “has some concerning allegations.” “I think we need to look very closely at this data before taking any action. It’s incredibly important that this process is both transparent and has integrity,” McCarron said in a text. The council is scheduled to vote on this year’s recommendations on Oct. 15. That vote will determine tax bills that go out in January. Property owners dissatisﬁed with the council’s decisions can take their appeals to the Louisiana Tax Commission.

LOTTERY

DRUG

Continued from page 1B we need storage facilities,” Keller said.

Case continues The case took almost three years to reach Smith’s sentencing, which

Keller called unusual. “Usually cases move faster in federal court, but the reality is that we’ve continued to arrest people in this case over time,” he said. The release said the case was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Justice Department initiative aimed at reducing violent crime. The release

does not describe firearms or violence in Smith’s case. Keller said he believes the program “has kind of expanded to include some drug trafficking cases.” Keller’s office charged 415 cases in the fiscal year that just ended, up from 192 in fiscal year 2024, he said. The Western District

of Louisiana covers 42 of the state’s 64 parishes. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Vermaelen and Casey N. Stelly prosecuted Smith’s case, the release said. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Harris County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce investigated. The case number is 23CR-00291.

FRIDAY, OCT. 9, 2026 PICK 3: 2-9-9 PICK 4: 5-8-3-6 PICK 5: 8-5-3-0-1 MEGA MILLIONS: 2-7-16-63-70 MEGA BALL: 8 Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

Obituaries Manuel, Barbara Miller 'Grammy'

Funeral services will be held on Monday, October 12, 2026, at an 11:00 AM Service in Martin & Castille Funeral Home - SCOTT Location for Barbara "Grammy" Miller Manuel, age 76, who passed away on Monday, September 28, 2026, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Entombment will be held in Sts. Peter & Paul Mausoleum. Deacon Robert Klingman will officiate at the services. Survivors include her two daughters, Kellie Aguillard Saccaro and husband Steven, and Hayley Manuel De La Canal and husband Jorge; one son, Sean Patrick Manuel and wife Ashley; and her eleven grandchildren, Mallory, Emily, Nicholas, Anna, Matthew, Ella, Natalie, Xavier, Nora, Benny, and Chloe. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Patrick Manuel; her parents, John and Alma Stegall Miller; her stepfather, John Keeler; and her three siblings, Johnny Miller, Angela Miller, and Julianna Miller. Barbara was a loving and caring person who found great joy in the simple moments of life. She had a creative spirit and enjoyed drawing and painting. She also loved to travel and explore new places, always taking time to capture special memories with her camera. Some of her favorite photographs were of her family during gatherings and vacations. Barbara was a dedicated bus driver with the Lafayette Parish School System, where she enjoyed being part of the lives of the students and families she served. She was also a realtor in Acadiana, helping others find homes and become part of the communities she loved. Through both careers, Barbara formed lasting friendships and connections with many people. Barbara enjoyed attending festivals and listening to a wide variety of music. She also enjoyed listening to podcasts and was always interested in learning and exploring new ideas. She was a member of Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) and the Mutual UFO Network, reflecting her curiosity and open-minded nature. Above all, Barbara cherished the time she spent with her family and friends. She treasured gatherings, vacations, conversations, and the many memories made with the people she loved. Her warmth, creativity, curiosity, and love for those around her will be remembered and cherished by all who knew her. Pallbearers will be Sean Patrick Manuel, Jorge De La Canal, Nicholas Saccaro, Matthew Saccaro, Steven Saccaro, and Xavier De La Canal. Honorary Pallbearer will be Benny Manuel. The family requests that visitation be observed on Sunday, October 11, 2026, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM and will continue on Monday, October 12, 2026, from 8:00 AM until time of services in Martin & Castille's - SCOTT location. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made to the family in Barbara's memory. The family plans to use these contributions toward a future memorial plaque in Moncus Park, providing a lasting and meaningful tribute to Barbara's life and memory. View the obituary and guestbook online at www.mourning.com Martin & Castille Funeral Home - SCOTT, 802 Alfred Street, Scott, Louisiana 70583, 337-2342320

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● 3B

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Northshore’s Money Hill adding a grocery as community grows BY GRACE MAYER Staff writer

Residents of Money Hill, a gated community about 11 miles north of historic Abita Springs, are getting their ﬁrst grocery — the latest addition to the growing development on the site of a former campground. The Hill Market, as the store will be called, will be about 4,200 square feet and stock locally sourced produce, artisanal goods, grab-and-go prepared food and other items. It will also have a cafe that serves breakfast and lunch. Currently in the ﬁnal stages of construction, it will join a growing list of amenities at the 5,600-acre development, which has about 375 single-family homes, a golf course, country club, nature trails and health clinic. Money Hill President Mimi Goodyear Dossett said the market, like the St. Tammany Health System clinic that opened in July 2025, brings much-needed services to the area, where getting to the clos-

est grocer or doctor can require traveling for miles. “If you drop a pin at the market, and draw a circle 5 miles in all directions, there are 22,000 people that live in that area,” Dossett said. “Really, they’re very underserved in terms of amenities like this.” The clinic and market are part of Dossett’s larger vision to build out the “Village,” a 15-acre tract set aside for commercial development near the entrance to Money Hill off La. 21. “We feel that these two businesses set the stage for other businesses to come along,” Dossett said. “We feel like we have the makings of a true village that will bring more and more resources to this area.” Dossett’s vision for the market, which is scheduled to open for Thanksgiving, is to make it a “destination” for everyday and specialty products, like honey from Money Hill’s own apiary. It will also have a deli meat and seafood counter that will be overseen by Corey Meshell, who

previously worked at Cochon on Tchoupitoulas Street. The market will also house a wide selection of wine, beer and spirits. Dossett is currently working on lining up local suppliers for the market, which will be open for breakfast and lunch and used to host special events. The architecture of the store harkens back to Money Hill’s early days in the 1900s, when the property housed a general store. Dossett hopes interest in the store will help attract more businesses to the area. The clinic is already expanding by opening a pharmacy, Dossett said. Recently, she chatted with a local insurance agency about possibly building and opening an ofﬁce within the village. “We’ve always hoped that as the area grew, we would be able to support more and more little businesses,” Dossett said. Money Hill has played an important role in reshaping the area over the past three decades, said Cheryl Tanner, a St. Tammany council

member whose district includes the development. Back in the 1970s, Money Hill used to be a campground owned by the Goodyear family. Since 1996, Money Hill has gradually built up homes on the property, the golf course, and carved out conservation plans for some of the land. Around the same time, other subdivisions were cropping up nearby. Today, driving north on La. 21, between Abita Springs and Bush, one passes Grande Hills Estates and Whippoorwill Grove, two residential subdivisions located across from Money Hill. Those two subdivisions also sit on land previously owned as part of Money Hill’s tung oil plantation and cattle farm, Dossett said. Altogether, the three subdivisions have close to 800 homes — residents who Dossett expects will likely frequent the new market. Golf tournaments and regular golfers who play on Money Hill’s course may also stop in. “It is a really residential area now,” Tanner said. “There’s beauPublic Notices Successions

tiful country, beautiful homes, but there’s no commercial development.” Money Hill, in many ways, is an anomaly in St. Tammany. The parish has seen a number of subdivisions and apartment projects face pushback over the years, largely from locals who want to maintain a rural atmosphere that has historically defined the parish. That’s despite an outsized demand for housing in the rapidly growing parish. Tanner said Dossett’s project is an example of how projects should be done in the parish — slowly and built out with additions that “fit” the community. She said she’s heard neighbors in the area express excitement about the grocery store. “When you live out in the country, these are the things you look for,” Tanner said. “If you need to pick up a few items, residents in the area have to go all the way into Bush or Covington. It fills the need so people don’t have to travel long distances for something they need that day.” Public Notices Successions

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List of jurors randomly drawn and to serve for the term beginning on October 19, 2026: ABERCROMBIE, SARA C ABSHIRE, MATTHEW COLE ALEXANDER, LAERIC TERRELL ALEXANDER, JESSICA MARIE ALLEN, LAUREN ASHLEY ANDRUS, JAKATIN TAZMAN ANGELLE, BREANNA MARIE ANGELLE, SONJA FAULK ARCENEAUX, DIONTRE JAQUAN ASMAR, SUZANNE MARIE ATES, LUTHER ALLEN BAKER, MICHAEL JAMES BANKS, VERGIE BROUSSARD BARES, DAVID J BARNHILL, ADRIENNE COUVILLION BASANEZ-JIMENEZ, PAULO CESAR BEGNAUD, BELLA ANGELLE BELSON, KELCI ALYCE BENNETT, THERESA ANNE BENYOUSSEF, SAMAH BERNARD, CHRISTOPHER BRIAN BERNARD, CYNTHIA A BERNARD, TROY A BERWICK, CRYSTAL A F BLACKWELL, KEOSHA DANELLE BONNET, MARK ANTHONY BORDELON, CHAD JOSEPH BORDELON, SETH TAYLOR BOREL, EMMA F BOUDREAUX, COLE JOSEPH BOURGEOIS, RACHEL DORE BOUTTE, CHAD E BOUTTE, CHRISTIAN OLIVIA BRAMLET, EVAN FRANKLIN JOSEPH BRASSEAUX, MARSHA KRAMER BREAUX, BRAD ALLEN BRILEY, ALICE W BROUSSARD, CYNTHIA L BROUSSARD, DEBORAH P BROUSSARD-RANGEL, AUSTIN VINCENT BROWN, KERRI ELISE BROWN, AYDEN MCKENZIE BROWN, MARCUS JOSEPH BRUBAKER, MARK SCOTT BRUNO, SUE CLEMONS BULLER, IMANI RENEE CARBO, NATHANIEL BERT CARDINALE, MARIO LUCIEN CARLETON, KURT MARSHALL CARPENTER, TREVOR JONES CARRIERE, CLINT DEVIN CASS, KATHERINE MARIE CELESTINE, RACQUILE MONIQUE CHARLES, TAELOR NICHOLE CHARLES, RUTH ANN CHILTON, CHARITY LYNN CLARK, WILLIAM E CLOUD, CALEB DESHON COBOS-BECERRIL, ALDO ZINHAIT COLGIN, BRADLEY GAYLE COLVIN, BILLY CLAYTON COMEAUX, BROOKE ADDISONCLAIR COOPER, MARK A F CORMIER, JAMAL EDWARD COURVILLE, RAELYN RENEE DAIGLE, JOHN C DARTEZ, SUE A DAVIS, LINDA DAVIS, MATTHEW HENSLEY DEANES, ELIZABETH T DENNIS, WHITNEY DAJAUN DETWILER, JANCI BIENVENU DOHERTY, PATRICK JAMES DORMAN, CATHERINE G DOUGHT, DUSTIN PATRICK DUBOIS, BONNIE DUGAS, TANYA LYNN DUNN, RALPH DURIO, FAITH CATHERINEJODEE ELSANHOURY, FATMA SAYED MOHAMED ABDE ENGLAND, TIFFANY MARIE EUBANKS, KENNETH E FABRE, LONY ALBERT FAVORS, JACOB ANDREW FERNANDEZAPODACA, SUANDY EDENIRIS FERRINGTON, PHYLLIS K FITCH, CHARLES MICHAEL FLEMING, DESTINY ELIZABETH FONTENETTE, RUSSELL THOMAS FONTENOT, BLAIR ELIZABETH FONTENOT, KRISTA B FONTENOT, GARY K FONTENOT, CLARENCE

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Administrator for the Succession of Mary Fern Cobb Briggs gives notice of his intent to sell via private sale, the follow‐ ing: 1. The immovable estate

home and property lo‐ cated at 311 Sunny Lane, Louisiana Lafayette, 70506, Being the same property acquired by Mary C. Briggs by Cash Sale from Jeanie Slay Mellinger dated April 29, 1994, recorded on May 2, 1994, under instrument no. 1994-00016195 of the records of public Lafayette, Louisiana; and 2. 2009 Mercedes Benz

FORD, ORADELLA C FOREMAN, MICHAEL D FORTIER, ARMAND JOHN FOSTER, DWAYNE A FOWLER, KAREN MARIE FREY, KINLEY ANN GABRIEL, MEGAN ROBBINS GALLIEN, WILLIAM JAMES GARCIA, MOISES GARY, BARBARA PATIN GARZA-RODRIGUEZ, RUBY GASPARD, ADDISON EDWARD GIBBENS, PAULA GIBBENS, JAMES HARVEY GIBSON, OLIVIA LOUISE GLASS, MIA TAYLOR GODEAUX, CRYSTAL ANDRUS GOLSON, MADONNA W GONZALES, BENJAMIN ALEXANDER GONZALEZ, MINEYA SANCHEZ GOTCH, JESSICA MARIE GOTHE, CRYSTAL MARIE GRADNIGO, SIMPSON GUIDRY, MICHAEL BLAISE GUIDRY, ASHLEY RENEE GUIDRY, PAUL DEREK GUIDRY, IMA GUILLOT, THERESA KIM HALL, JAMES DUSTIN HAMILTON, TYLER DEON HARDIN, JAMES R HARRISON, SOPHIE KELLEY HAYES, CASEY R HEBERT, MORGAN ASHMORE HEBERT, LILLIAN HOPE HENDERSON, MARILYN HENSON, ELIZABETH ANN HIGHTOWER, TONIQUA SHARELL HIMEL, ADONIS J HOLDERBAUM, BARBARA ANN HOLLAND, TED RAY HOLLIER, DARLENE M HOTARD, TYLER MATTHEW HOWINGTON, WALLACE CLAIRE HUESER, TOMMEY WADE HUNTER, GABRIELLE DUBOIS JARRELL, GLORIA JEANPIERRE, DESTINNY RENEE JEWELL, ASHLEY HAMONTREE JOHNSON, HAROLD JOHNSON, HOWARD L JONES, JUDE DYLAN JOURNET, JAKYRE JAVON KEEL, EMILIO DAVID KHAU, NGUYET T LADAY, KENDELL JOSEPH LAGUADORODRIGUEZ, EDWIN ENRIQUE LANCIOTTI, ISABEL ELAINE LANCLOS, MATTHEW RAY HOOPER LANCLOS, STEFFAN WOLFE LANCLOS, NOAH MICHAEL LANDRY, DONNA L LANDRY, MARY MITCHELL LANDRY, TONY J LAWYER, JOHN K LEBLANC, BRENNAN JAMES LEBOUEF, BRIAN D LEE, ANTHONY LEE, TANAISHA DENETTE LELEUX, JON DAMIAN LEMELLE, CHERYL MARIE LEONARDO, MIREYA A MIESES LEOPAUL, REGINALD LEWIS, KENDRA RENEE LINDEN, RAYMOND LLOYD, MALLORY FONTENOT LOGNION, BENJAMIN THOMAS LORMAND, TROY ANTHONY LOUVIERE, AVA CLAIRE MAGNON, BLAKE NOEL MALLETT, JACQUELINE C MALVEAUX, KAYLEE MARIE MARCEAUX, COLLIN SHAYNE MARTIN, ANDRE JEREMY MATHEWS, GARY LANE MATHEWS, ANGELA T MAYEUX, ALAYNE MCGUFFEE, KENNY W MCPHERSON, CHRISTINA DENISE MCZEAL, BARBARA MECHE, LISA C MELANCON, ANGELA LYNN MELANCON, JANSEN GERARD MENZINA, LISA MARIE MERCIER, ONEIKA E MILLER, VIRGINIA A

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350. Any objections to the sale of the above prop‐ erty can be ﬁled within 7 days with the 15th Judi‐ cial District Court – Parish of Lafayette under probate docket number 20250640, pursuant to LA C.C.P. Art 3282. 202566 Oct. 2-31, 30t $416.10

Attorney Discipline Ned Franklin Pierce Sonnier, Sr. of Scott, has been adjudged guilty of additional violations warranting discipline, which shall be considered in the event he seeks readmission from his disbarment in In re: Sonnier, 2024-B-0520 (La. 10/25/24). Order FINAL and EFFECTIVE on September 16, 2026. Gist: Respondent neglected a legal matter; failed to communicate with his clients; failed to return clients’ fees and files, failed to properly withdraw from a representation, engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, and failed to respond to the disciplinary complaint. 202920-694072-oct 11-1t $240.00

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Make sure you can vote on Nov. 3

As the midterm elections approach, we’ve seen lots of activity around how we vote and who gets to vote on the local and national level. The U.S. Supreme Court swatted down President Donald Trump’s effort to put the U.S. Postal Service in charge of verifying mail-in ballots. We have seen a crackdown on voters who are noncitizens, including three arrests in Louisiana. Congress has debated the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act, which would require voters to prove their citizenship. We’ve seen voter roll purges and rollbacks of absentee voting in states around the country. All this activity might suggest to some that there’s something wrong with our elections. There is not. Our elections are as free and fair as they have ever been. And those who claim otherwise are merely playing games in an effort to thwart the will of the people. They are betting that voters will be too confused, too frustrated or too scared to show up at the polls on Nov. 3. Let’s make sure they lose that bet. This week is the time to make sure you are registered to vote in the Nov. 3 election. Louisiana has several key offices up for grabs, including a U.S. Senate seat and six House seats. It also has 10 constitutional amendments on the ballot. The last day to register to vote in person or by mail for the Nov. 3 election has passed, but citizens can register online until Tuesday at the secretary of state’s voter portal, geauxvote.com. To register online, you must have a valid Louisiana driver’s license or Louisiana state ID. Those who already registered to vote should go to the portal to check their status. Recently, the secretary of state’s office said that due to “human error,” 67,000 active voters were moved to the inactive list. They learned this after an East Baton Rouge voter checked her status and alerted her local registrar that she was wrongly on the inactive list. Though the problem has been corrected, it is a good example of why voters need to stay vigilant. Voters on the inactive list are still eligible to vote. But inactive voters who don’t vote in two consecutive federal elections will be removed from the rolls. Eligible voters should also go online to make sure that their address on their voter registration matches the address on their ID. But again, if your address has changed, you are still eligible to vote. You will be instructed to sign an affidavit or give other proof of address. Even if your voter registration is questioned, remember that it does not prevent you from casting a ballot. Poll workers will provide voters whose registration is in question a provisional ballot that will be counted when the voter is ruled eligible. And when you show up at the polls, remember to thank those people who work to make sure elections run smoothly. Voters should use this time to educate themselves about the candidates and issues. This newspaper has done extensive reporting on the top races and what to watch. There’s also much information online from advocacy groups and nonprofits that follow politics and government. When a storm is in the Gulf, we don’t wait until the last minute to gather our supplies and fill our gas tanks. So when Nov. 3 finally arrives, don’t be caught unprepared. Consider this a reminder to start your vote prep now. Our democracy is depending on you.

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A little island of La. football in the far north NORTHFIELD, Minn. — When a sophomore School and began his coaching career at schools in the Crescent City in the kicker booted a last-second field goal 1990s. Oct. 3, giving St. Olaf College’s footBut like so many, Katrina sent him ball team its first win of the year, few packing, and he ended up outside the small world of Diviwith a relative in Minnesota, sion III football in Minnesota eventually coaching at several took notice. stops in and around the Twin But in a handful of houses Cities. around Louisiana, the win was For the past nine years, he’s celebrated. St. Olaf, which been at St. Olaf. But he’s kept has roughly 3,000 students, Faimon those Southern connections. boasts nine Louisiana players Roberts “I still have a lot of friends on its 2026 roster, including coaching in Louisiana,” Pulley five from Livingston Collegiate told me. Generally, he said, Academy in New Orleans. The local coaches alert him about a potenother schools represented are Warren Easton, Isidore Newman, George tial player. He watches their film and Washington Carver and East Ascensometimes pays them a visit. “I go sit in their living rooms and sion. tell them why they should come to St. Olaf plays in the Minnesota InSt. Olaf,” he said. “And usually, the tercollegiate Athletic Conference, process is, you got to have the grades. or MIAC. I follow that conference because my son plays at Carleton Col- We’re looking for student-athletes.” The MIAC is part of NCAA Divilege, also in Northfield and one of St. Olaf’s major rivals. There are not a lot sion III, in which schools do not ofof Louisiana players in the MIAC, so fer athletic scholarships. There’s no when I learned St. Olaf had so many, I NIL to speak of; revenue sharing is had to find out why. nonexistent. The games are, in most The answer, as it turns out, is St. cases, attended by only a few hundred Olaf running backs coach Eric Pulley. fans. There are no TV timeouts. Most Pulley is a New Orleans native who MIAC schools play home games at 1 graduated from O.P. Walker High p.m. because their fields don’t have

lights. The Louisiana players also have to be ready for the winter months, which are cold, dark and snowy. “We actually want them to visit in the winter because if they can handle the cold, everything else is a breeze,” Pulley said. For at least one of those Louisiana recruits, the decision to go to St. Olaf has paid off. Alton Risin Jr. is a thirdyear offensive lineman, the team’s starting left tackle. He grew up in New Orleans East, and said Pulley does a good job of making the Louisiana guys feel at home. Pulley’s wife does, too, by cooking New Orleansstyle meals once a week, Risin said. The school has been good to him athletically and academically. “It’s hard to fail at St. Olaf,” he said. “There’s so much help around here.” It’s all part of the package that Pulley brings into Louisiana living rooms. “The campus and the school sells itself,” he told me. “I really believe in what the school is doing. So that makes it easy for me to recruit there.” Email Faimon Roberts at froberts@ theadvocate.com

Major projects prompt outpouring of opinions readers are following these projects It’s no secret that Louisiana is in closely and know what questions need something of an economic developto be asked. ment golden age. Almost every week, While we haven’t kept a count of it seems a new major company anletters pro and con, I’d say we nounces it’s starting a big projhave more letters skeptical ect in one corner of our state or that these projects will bring another. The names by now are the benefits they promise familiar to all — Meta, SpaceX, than supportive of them. And Hyundai. What these compathat’s not surprising. People nies are planning promises to change our state forever if Arnessa are always more motivated to those plans come to fruition. Garrett write to us when they oppose something or want to see some They also will have a huge action taken. And I love it when impact on the communities readers write to us with questions we where they are located. And that has should be asking, but if you don’t find prompted many letters from readthe answer to your question in our ers wanting more answers from state reporting, that doesn’t mean we aren’t leaders and others about what it all digging. Sometimes, it just takes a will mean. Readers expect the paper’s reporting to take a deep dive into what while for stories to come together. So please keep reading. We know this is officials aren’t saying. In addition to an area of high interest, and there are concerns about the environmental imnew developments constantly. pact of these projects, you’ve written Our Opinion pages have also run to question the economic incentives guest columns on these projects, and in the state is offering and who’s making money off of these deals. It’s clear our the future, we will look for other ways

to give you a complete picture of every aspect of the plans. Economic development has the potential to impact more than jobs — it can also change how we view our state and our future in it. So we’ll be interested to see how communities feel as these projects proceed. Some are off to a quick start but will take years to reach their full potential. Every step of the way, we will give you the information you need. And if we don’t, you’ll let us know. Turning to our letters inbox for the week of Sept. 24-Oct. 1, we received 49 letters. Not surprisingly, the top topic of conversation was the upcoming midterm elections, which prompted six letters. Next we had ﬁve letters on one of those projects I was mentioning — the planned SpaceX spaceport in Vermilion Parish. Then there were two letters on the immigration crackdown and two on Israel’s war in Gaza. Email Arnessa Garrett at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com.

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COMMENTARY Flaws and all, we’ll miss Cassidy’s style

This surely isn’t the reaction politicians who send out press releases hope to inspire in journalists, but I have to admit that I found a recent email from U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy kind of … quaint. It wasn’t the subject matter that inspired this unexpected reaction. There’s nothing whimsical about the $1.35 billion that’s heading Louisiana’s way to support rural broadband, money that enabled Gov. Jeff Landry to break ground last Stephanie week on the largest BroadGrace band Equity, Access, and Deployment program project in the country. Cassidy’s press release noted something Landry’s most definitely didn’t — that the money to pay for it came from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the big Biden administration initiative that Cassidy crossed party lines to help negotiate and ultimately pass. That’s the quaint part: Cassidy still hopes Louisiana voters will give him the credit he’s due. It’s too late to save his political career. He’s already been a lame duck for nearly five months now, ever since he finished third in the GOP primary Republicans, led by Landry, designed to take him out. The Republican nominee on the ballot for his seat next month will be U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, a vocal proponent of rural broadband who nonetheless voted against the IIJA, but who had the backing of both the governor and President Donald Trump. Yet with the clock ticking down, Cassidy’s still trying to get in the last word, to write his final chapter. He still wants to remind Louisiana voters that when he had the chance, he delivered for them.

It’s actually the sort of thing his Democratic predecessor Mary Landrieu used to do. It’s what a lot of Louisiana members of Congress have done, back in the days when the state punched above its weight. Sure, you could say it’s punching above its weight now, with Mike Johnson serving as House speaker. But Johnson’s never even made a show of putting Louisiana’s interests above Trump’s. Nor, so far, has Letlow, whose campaign allowed the president to take out his revenge on Cassidy for having voted to convict him in his second impeachment. Letlow may have been talking about the infrastructure vote as well as impeachment when, in announcing her campaign, she argued that “we shouldn’t have to wonder how our senator will vote when the pressure’s on.” That’s one way of looking at the job. Another is to hope that “our senator” weighs the facts, consider the state’s needs and ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA vote accordingly. All those voters who will soon have acU.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and cess to broadband in their homes and Pensions Committee speaks during a confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in September. workplaces should be glad that’s what Cassidy at least sometimes tried to do. Robert F. Kennedy and his merry band That’s also what makes him kind of a Putting out press releases isn’t all he’s relic in today’s polarized environment. doing. Cassidy is also using his last months of anti-vaxxers the leading but far from the only example — Cassidy deserves acFew politicians even bother anymore, and in ofﬁce to continue pushing a longtime when they do, voters often don’t connect priority, a bipartisan “Big Idea” to shore knowledgment for having done the work, the dots, pleading press releases notwithup Social Security, even if there’s little and for still trying to do it even after the chance he’ll get anywhere. Congress is state’s GOP voters told him he was no lonstanding. basically done until Election Day, and even ger wanted. For six years in the U.S. House and 12 if the Senate comes back after Nov. 3 to in the Senate, Cassidy has been one of Just think back to the infrastructure tackle unﬁnished business, that business those old-fashioned workhorses that have bill’s passage in 2021. Cassidy and a handwill likely focus on enshrining Republican become endangered in D.C. Even if their ful of fellow Republicans decided to put priorities before Democrats take control of aside the politics of giving Biden a big win, constituents don’t quite know it, I suspect the House and possibly the Senate. plenty will miss them when they’re gone. looked at what the bill could do for their For all the ways he’s fallen short — with constituents and used their votes to leverprotecting the nation from Department Email Stephanie Grace at sgrace@theadage some big wins, including the broadof Health and Human Services Secretary band money. vocate.com.

Darline Graham has nothing on her brother, Lindsey plans for “our wonderful Darline,” as he CAMDEN, S.C. — If one were to wander out recently called her. After a brief, highon a limb and predict that Sen. Darline octane courtship with the president, DarGraham, R, will not be elected the junior senator from South Carolina on Nov. 3, one line Graham realized with sudden clarity would not necessarily plummet to that she was the rightful heir to the the ground. throne and would run for the full For the first time in more than 20 six-year term. years of Republican dominance, it The question now is whether seems that the Senate seat vacated Trump still holds sufficient sway by the death of Lindsey Graham to guarantee a Graham victory. is a toss-up between his sister and necessarily. Not only has the Kathleen Not Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediapresident jacked up tariffs that are Parker causing pain on Main Street and trician and former congressional started a war with Iran that has candidate. spiked gas prices, he has divided his party Andrews likely would not have defeated Lindsey Graham, who, though increasingly and picked a terrible candidate to replace unpopular, benefited from South Carolina’s his wingman. Polls have shown Trump’s disapproval reflexive loyalty to the Republican status quo. Sen. Strom Thurmond, whom Lindsey rating in South Carolina hovering around 50%. Even the fellow whose house I reguGraham replaced in 2003, retired from office after serving more than 47 years in the larly drive past in Camden has replaced Senate. his usual fence poster — “Crude and Rude, Most people reckoned Graham would Still My Dude, Trump for President” — continue serving into his dotage before with a message of charity. I take this as a his unexpected death in July of an aortic sign. dissection. At just 71, he was practically a Most importantly, the candidates tell the whippersnapper by state standards. story. Darline Graham is a Trump pick When Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republifor reasons that did not include her politican, tapped Graham’s younger sister, Darcal agility or her mastery of the country’s top issues. In her first campaign ad, she line, to fill out her brother’s term, which checked the GOP litmus-test boxes, noting ends in January, her appointment was that she’s anti-abortion and opposes transwidely understood to be temporary, pending the midterm election. gender athletes participating in women’s But President Donald Trump had other or girls’ sports. On the geopolitical front

that her brother was instrumental in shaping, she pleaded ignorance during a primary debate. These aren’t character flaws, but they represent a serious deficit for a senator whose only apparent qualification for the job is that her brother once held it. Andrews, by contrast, has a clear agenda, political experience (she ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Nancy Mace in 2022), and has spent several years studying healthcare, Medicare, Medicaid and other affordability issues. Darline is no Lindsey, which, admittedly, some voters might consider an advantage. A longtime Republican Senate staffer recently described to me the late senator’s political prowess: He could bring people together from both sides of the aisle. He could change Trump’s mind to the opposite of what he had been thinking 10 minutes before. His compelling talent was humor. He’d walk into a room and crack a joke, and everybody would be laughing before the meeting got started. There’s no evidence that his sister shares that generally sunny disposition, sense of humor or his strategic deployment of both. One needn’t be a comedian to succeed in D.C., but a sense of humor is a sign of intelligence and its use is indicative of advanced people skills, all of which can win the day, as Lindsey Graham repeatedly proved.

A recent poll by InsiderAdvantage has Darline Graham up by just one point over Andrews. That survey was conducted around when Graham attacked former special counsel Jack Smith during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. She accused Smith of bullying her brother and weaponizing the legal system. Smith replied that Lindsey Graham, whom he called a “patriotic public servant,” was not a focus of the investigation but likely would have been a witness. Darline Graham cut him off and kept hammering: “You caused my brother and a lot of other senators a lot of stress,” she said, “and that makes me sick. You should be ashamed.” And somebody should be embarrassed. Staff coaching can only go so far. The senator’s adherence to an obvious script suggests that thinking on her feet isn’t a strong suit. She came across as testy and mean. Forecasters still favor Graham, but data tells only part of the story. If Graham fails in her bid, she can be forgiven for acting out of loyalty and love for her brother. If she prevails, South Carolina will get what it deserves — a scripted marionette for an unpopular, lame-duck president who, unlike Graham, will be gone in two years.

Some Louisiana voters suppress their own votes It bothers me how many people don’t And voting isn’t the only way a registered vote. What’s more bothersome is how many voter can avoid becoming inactive. registered voters don’t vote. If a registered voter doesn’t vote for 9.5 According to a recent U.S. Census Buyears, they aren’t purged if their address changes and they report it. Simply reau estimate, we’ve got about 3.56 put, as long as a voter has a touch million adults over the age of 18 with the secretary of state’s ofﬁce, in Louisiana. Only 2.9 million of in person or online, the purge clock them are registered to vote. What restarts. the other half million are thinking, That’s quite a bit of leeway, so as I don’t know. We usually hear verothers build in ways to limit voting, sions of “My vote doesn’t matter,” Will “I’m only one person,” and “They’re Sutton we have to do all we can to keep registered voters engaged. We can going to do what they want to do register as many voters as we can, anyway.” but it doesn’t matter if those registered to I won’t give up on our non-registered, vote don’t cast ballots. non-voting neighbors. As we head into our A recent look at the number of registered national midterm elections and important federal, state and local elections across the inactive Louisiana voters is disturbing. As of Oct. 1, we have almost 457,000 instate, I want to focus on people who are registered but don’t vote. active voters. I say almost because we’re Inactive voters aren’t purged. Inactive only seven people away from that number. voters can vote. Purged voters cannot. That’s more than the combined populations There are a number of anti-democracy, of Baton Rouge and Shreveport. That’s anti-voting movements we need to ﬁght. only 27,000 more than the entire Jefferson But one movement is on us: We have to get Parish population. It’s 23,000 fewer people registered voters to vote. than the combined populations of Lafayette Under the law, voters have about 10 and New Orleans. years, or two federal election cycles, beA 2024 law changed how the Louisiana secretary of state manages registered votfore they are purged.

ers. Without going into great detail, since then signiﬁcantly more registered voters have been moved to inactive voter status. I don’t have enough space and time to show you how disturbing these numbers are, so I’ve picked examples. Consider these inactive registered voters by parish, each rounded up or down, and a comparison to the number of inactive voters in 2024 before the state law changed a lot. n East Baton Rouge: 54,000, up from 32,000 n Orleans Parish: 45,000, up from 29,000 n Jefferson Parish: 39,000, up from 18,000 n Caddo Parish: 30,000, up from 28,000 n Lafayette Parish: 23,000, up from 15,000 n Ouachita Parish: 22,000, up from 12,000 n Bossier Parish: 12,000, up from 11,000 This is a huge spike in all but one of these parishes. These examples reﬂect what’s happened across the state. In 2024, we had about 319,000 inactive voters. Today we have 457,000. Surely that’s disappointing to organized political parties, community and other groups and volunteers who work hard to get people to register to vote. It’s more disap-

pointing to Democrats and people who think we should expand the number of voters. This inactive voter boom hit Black and Democratic voters more. The number of Black inactive voters is much higher than that of White voters. The number of Democratic inactive voters is much higher than that of Republican voters. No, that doesn’t seem right. I’m sure legislators who supported the changes that led to this spike thought they were doing what’s best for voter integrity. Sure. Wink wink. Only legislators with a different view about civic engagement and voter participation can change that. Meanwhile, things can change. We can stop voter suppression. Inactive voters can make a change and a difference by casting ballots when early voting starts Oct. 20, by requesting and returning mail ballots or by walking into a polling place on Nov. 3. Active, registered voters can make a change by seeing that the inactive voters we know vote. Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate. com.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the

writer’s city of residence. The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor, The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com.

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TODAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Mostly sunny and warm

Sunny to partly cloudy

A t-storm around in the p.m.

Sunshine and warm

Mostly cloudy, a stray t-storm

LOW

HIGH

LOW

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90° 70°

LOW

89° 70°

Beaumont 89/71 Port Arthur 87/73

Baton Rouge 91/61

Lake Charles 90/65

New Orleans 88/65 Houma 88/59

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Hattiesburg 91/60

Alexandria 92/60

Lafayette 90/62

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

LOW

HIGH

LOW

90° 62°

YESTERDAY

TODAY

READING 47 MAIN POLLUTANT Ozone

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Saturday

Jackson 92/61 Many 92/58

HIGH

88° 68°

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Longview 91/63

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LOW

Monroe 95/62

Shreveport 92/62

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91° 66°

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Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

24-hour total Month to date Normal month to date year to date Normal year to date

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8:27a 2:40a 3:52a 5:00a 10:22p 9:49p 11:30p

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today FIRST

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

84°/62° 83°/63° 85°/59° 93° in 1931 36° in 1917

TODAY’S TIDES Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) Shell Beach South Point, Marsh Island Cypremort Point Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) Wine Island

FT.

LAST

OCT 25

93 62 90 40 87 72 69 92 73

TODAY Lo

71 55 70 33 72 62 56 79 56

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s r s r s t r t r

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90 68 89 43 87 73 86 91 89

MON. Lo

76 53 76 28 75 57 65 76 62

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0.02” 0.89” 1.41” 47.05” 50.11”

FT.

HIGH

0.8 7:07p 0.3 1.8 11:47a 0.6 2.1 9:14a 0.5 1.5 1:09a 1.3 1.4 8:21a 0.4 1.9 6:33a 0.6 1.8 9:23a 0.5

7:07 a.m. 6:42 p.m. 8:04 a.m. 7:05 p.m.

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SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

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--- ----- ----- ----- --6:30p 2.4 10:23p 1.9 9:20p 1.7 12:50p 0.3 --- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ---

The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter. MAJOR MINOR MAJOR MINOR

Today 12:32p 5:57a ---- 6:20p Monday 12:35a 6:47a 12:59p 7:11p Tuesday 1:28a 7:40a 1:52p 8:05p Wednesday 2:23a 8:35a 2:48p 9:01p Thursday 3:19a 9:31a 3:44p 9:57p Friday 4:14a 10:27a 4:39p 10:52p Saturday 5:08a 11:20a 5:33p 11:45p

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New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Raleigh St. Louis San Diego Tampa

TODAY

88 87 66 87 64 79 87 72 86

65 69 59 70 59 63 69 65 71

s t r t r t s r t

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88 88 74 82 70 82 94 71 89

MON. Lo

67 68 58 66 61 60 72 60 70

FLOOD STAGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

8.00 22.63 25.63 12.26 8.66 8.00 6.97

+1.41 -0.64 -0.27 +0.16 +1.06 +1.39 +1.72

24.43

-1.03

-1.75

-0.07

18 29 8

-1.29 9.78 3.85

-0.01 -0.08 +0.45

13 15

1.47 0.65

-0.04 -0.10

47 34 29 20 12 6

10.16 7.03 5.57 5.22 3.90 3.48

-0.89 -0.60 -0.36 -0.27 -0.10 +0.51

ULE ED

SELF-SCH TO

OVER 50? UNLIMITED FOR JUST $35/MONTH.

SAT. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

data as of 7 a.m. Saturday

SCAN

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

s pc sh t pc pc s sh pc

MISSISSIPPI Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO Cairo COMITE Near Olive AMITE Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent TICKFAW Montpelier Holden ATCHAFALAYA Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

HIGH

90° 62°

The breezy conditions we experienced yesterday will be much lighter today. So for your Sunday, high pressure will take over our weather. Expect a mostly sunny and hot day with a light breeze. Temperatures this afternoon will rise to the upper 80s to low 90s. The air will remain mostly dry, which means humidity, like yesterday, will be very low. We’re not expecting any rain today; in fact, we should remain dry all week. If you have outdoor plans, you will love the sunny, hot and dry weather.

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6B ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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OFFICIAL NEWS PARTNER OF THE LOUISIANA RAGIN’ CAJUNS

SPORTS

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

S u n d ay, O c t O b e r 11, 2026

1cn

Cajuns suffer heartbreaker at La. Tech Bulldogs erase double-digit deficit in win

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

All signs pointed to the UL Ragin’ Cajuns ending their eight-game losing streak against Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston. Instead, Bulldogs quarterback Blake Baker orchestrated two touchdown drives in the ﬁnal 6:42 to pull off a dramatic 32-31 victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns. The Bulldogs looked doomed when a high snap on third down pushed Tech back 16 yards to its own 38 with 8:11 left. The problem is the UL offense suffered PROVIDED PHOTO By MATT SULLIVAN/UL ATHLETICS two straight three-and-out possessions to UL wide receiver Shelton Sampson runs with the ball during a game against Louisiana Tech keep Tech alive, and the Bulldogs took full advantage of the opportunities. on Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston. UL lost 32-31.

Recurring problems plaguing Moore, Saints Slow starts, always playing from behind head list

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

In the New Orleans Saints’ locker room this week, edge rusher Chase Young and tight end Juwan Johnson delivered a similar message to try to put Monday’s blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons into perspective. A talking point, of sorts. “It’s the first quarter,” Young said. “About to be in the second quarter. ä Vikings at It’s a long season.” Saints NOON “This is essentially this season’s first quarter,” JohnSUNDAy, FOX son said ahead of the fifth game in a 17-game campaign. Well, it’s no wonder then that the Saints haven’t performed well. First quarters have been nothing but a nightmare for New Orleans (1-3) under Kellen Moore. The Saints coach isn’t on the hot seat. But for the first time in his two-year tenure, Moore faces real fan frustration over how the same problems repeat in loss after loss. Losing to the Falcons in primetime on the 20th anniversary of the “Domecoming” was bad enough. But the manner, and the pattern, of Monday’s beatdown was even more troubling. Yet again, the Saints came out flat. Yet again, they couldn’t run the ball. Yet again, they fell behind in horrific fashion. Moore acknowledged the Saints were unprepared, and that wasn’t the only instance he made that claim. The Saints are a patient franchise, and 21 games are admittedly too soon to draw strong conclusions about Moore. But as he prepares for Sunday’s game

KENTUCKy

LSU

After Baker scored on a 12-yard run with 3:44 left, the quarterback led Tech on an eight-play, 66-yard drive in 1:55 for the game-winning touchdown on a 7-yard pass to tight end Eli Finley with 46 seconds left. UL didn’t have an answer for Finley the entire game as he recorded nine receptions for 114 yards and two scores. Lunch Winﬁeld ﬁnished 14-of-22 passing for 239 yards and a touchdown and two interceptions, while his running was limited to 22 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. JJ Garner was the leading rusher for UL with 36 yards and a score on seven carries, followed by Steven Blanco with 32 yards on seven attempts.

ä See CAJUNS, page 3C

BLUE TIGERS RECORD: 4-2 UP NEXT: VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE, 11 A.M. SATURDAy, TBD

ä See SAINTS, page 6C

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By TANNER PEARSON

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Saints coach Kellen Moore reads off plays during the first half of a game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 27 at the Caesars Superdome.

LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt scrambles in the pocket against Kentucky during the ﬁrst half of their game on Saturday at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky. The Tigers took a late lead over the Wildcats in the fourth quarter, but Kentucky tied the game 27-27 and it went to overtime. LSU scored a TD in overtime, but the Wildcats matched it and got the two-point conversion for a 35-34 win over the Tigers.

2C ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV AUTO RACING 7 a.m. F1: Singapore Grand Prix APPLETV 2 p.m. NASCAR Cup Series USA WOMEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER 1 p.m. Texas Tech at TCU ESPNU WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 11 a.m. Washington at Penn St. BTN noon North Carolina at Virginia ACCN noon Stanford at Louisville ESPN noon Texas A&M at Arkansas SECN 1 p.m. Southern Cal at Indiana BTN 2 p.m. Pittsburgh at SMU ABC 2 p.m. S.Carolina at Mississippi St. SECN

3 p.m. 4 p.m. 5 p.m.

Minnesota at Ohio St. BTN TCU at Arizona St. ESPN2 Illinois at Purdue BTN GOLF noon Korn Ferry Tour Championship GOLF 3 p.m. PGA Tour Champions GOLF HORSE RACING noon America’s Day at the Races FS1 MLB 7 p.m. L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee FOX NBA PRESEASON 5:30 p.m. Orlando at Cleveland ESPN 8 p.m. Chicago at Denver ESPN NFL 8:30 a.m. Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville NFLN

IN BRIEF

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

noon Indianapolis at Pittsburgh CBS noon Minnesota at New Orleans FOX 3:25 p.m. San Francisco at Seattle FOX 7:20 p.m. Baltimore at Atlanta NBC NHL 6 p.m. Carolina at Philadelphia NHLN MEN’S SOCCER 8 a.m. Bologna at Lecce CBSSN 8 a.m. Everton at Hull City NBCSN 8 a.m. Nottingham at Crystal Palace USA 10:30 a.m. Manchester City at Liverpool NBC 6 p.m. Atletico Ottawa at Pacific FC FS2 TENNIS 10 p.m. Wuhan-WTA TENNIS

GAME OF THE WEEK

Oklahoma upsets No. 1 Texas Sooners use TDs on special teams, defense to score win

SHANGHAI — Daniil Medvedev has won his first match since being disqualified at the China Open for hitting a spectator in the eye with a ball he hit into the stands. Medvedev beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a secondround match on Saturday at the Shanghai Masters, an ATP 1000 tennis event. Medvedev, who now holds a 10-2 career edge over Struff, had been disqualified during his semifinal Monday against Novak Djokovic for hitting the spectator with a ball the Russian player had hit into the stands at Beijing. It was the fifth-seeded Medvedev’s first match since the disqualification. He had a bye in the first round.

AP sportswriter

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SARA DIGGINS

Texas defensive back Graceson Littleton, left, and defensive back Jelani McDonald, right, reach out to tackle Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, center, during the Red River rivalry football game in Dallas on Saturday. another from the same distance. Dakoda Fields recovered a blocked punt in the end zone and Peyton Bowen returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown for the Sooners, who in their previous game two weeks earlier lost 41-13 at No. 2 Georgia. The pick-six by Bowen came af-

ter Manning was scrambling away from pressure and throwing to Cam Coleman, who had an earlier touchdown. But the ball instead went to the Oklahoma safety, whose return with 10:07 left put the Sooners up 24-17. Texas responded with a tying 75yard drive and Manning’s third TD

pass, a 15-yarder to Jermaine Bishop with 6:32 left. Manning ﬁnished 19-of-31 passing for 260 yards. Mateer completed 18 of 26 passes for 155 yards. The Sooners had only 238 total yards, well below their average of 321 coming into the game that was last in the SEC.

TOP 25 ROUNDUP

Indiana keeps winning streak, survives Nebraska By The Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. — Josh Hoover surprised a Nebraska defense stacked to stop the run on a fourth-and-1, flipping the ball to a wide-open Nick Marsh for a 44-yard touchdown to give No. 7 Indiana its first lead in a 20-17 victory over Nebraska on Saturday. The Hoosiers (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten Conference) were pushed to the limit by a Cornhuskers team looking for a program-turning victory under fourth-year coach Matt Rhule. Instead, the defending national champion Hoosiers won their 22nd straight game and Nebraska lost its 31st in a row against a Top 25 opponent. Nebraska (5-1, 2-1) looked to be on the verge of putting away the Hoosiers when quarterback Anthony Colandrea broke a 39-yard touchdown run for a 17-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. But Hoover connected with Marsh for a 75-yard catch-and-run TD on the first play of the ensuing possession, and then Indiana got a stop to set up its winning drive. On fourth down at the Nebraska 44, Indiana brought in an extra lineman in a tightly bunched formation. The Huskers crowded the line expecting a run. That allowed Marsh to get behind the secondary, catch Hoover’s floating pass and run into the end zone with no one around him. NO. 14 MISSOURI 27, TEXAS A&M 6: In St. Louis, Jamal Roberts had 34 carries for a career-best 222 yards and two touchdowns, and Cayden Lee caught seven passes for 94 yards and a touchdown to help Missouri beat Texas. The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference), who have won two straight, also got a pair of 50-plus yard field goals from Blake Craig while Austin Simmons completed 14 of 28 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Marcel Reed led Texas A&M (3-3, 1-3) by completing 19 of 39 passes for 189 yards, but he was intercept-

BEIJING — Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva will face home favorite Zheng Qinwen in the final of the China Open after both players won their respective semifinal matches Saturday. Zheng defeated Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-2 and delighted the home supporters by becoming the first Chinese finalist in the tournament, which dates back to 2004. The 24-year-old Zheng won eight of the last 10 games against Mertens to reach her second career WTA 1000 final. Earlier, the No. 5-ranked and French Open champion Andreeva, earned her 50th match win of the season by beating Nikola Bartunkova 6-2, 6-2. The 19-year-old Andreeva had defeated Bartunkova, a 20-yearold Czech player ranked No. 34, in the third round of the U.S. Open.

Medvedev advances in first match at Shanghai Masters

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS DALLAS — Tate Sandell kicked a 47yard field goal on the final play and Oklahoma overcame its continued offensive ineptness with touchdowns on special teams and defense in a 27-24 win over No. 1 Texas in the Red River rivalry game on Saturday. The Sooners (3-2, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) beat a No. 1 team for the first time since a 38-17 win over Missouri in 2007. They had been 0-41 when facing a top-ranked Texas team. Arch Manning threw three touchdowns for the Longhorns (4-1, 1-1), but both of his interceptions were costly. Texas had two late chances, but Gianni Spetic was wide right on a 53-yard field goal attempt with 1:55 left. After the Sooners went threeand-out for the seventh time in the game, Manning’s last pass was intercepted by Courtland Guillory with 19 seconds left. That set up the Sooners at their 39, and John Mateer completed passes of 13 and 20 yards to Isaiah Sategna on opposite sides of the field and both upheld on replay review. Oklahoma then ran a play to set up the kick by Sandell, who earlier had made a 53-yarder and missed

Andreeva to face Zheng in China Open women’s final

ed twice and lost 18 yards on seven carries. NO. 18 OKLAHOMA ST. 42, UCF 28: In Stillwater, Oklahoma, Drew Mestemaker threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns, Evan Jackson returned a fumble 28 yards for another score, and Oklahoma State pulled away from UCF in the second half for a win. Mestemaker added a rushing touchdown and 2-point conversion for Oklahoma State (4-1, 2-0 Big 12 Conference), which outscored the Knights 21-7 after halftime. Sam Keltner kicked two field goals to give the Cowboys a 27-21 lead early in the fourth quarter. Keyone Jenkins threw for 265 yards and four touchdowns and was driving the Knights (3-3, 1-2) toward a possible go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. NORTH CAROLINA 21, NO. 25 PITTSBURGH 17: In Pittsburgh, Billy Edwards threw a 75-yard touchdown pass in the second half and North Carolina knocked off Pittsburgh. It was North Carolina’s (3-2, 1-1) first win against a ranked opponent since defeating No. 25 Miami in 2023 and the Tar Heels’ first ranked road win since taking down No. 9 Miami in 2020. Holden Geriner, a fifth-year senior, completed 27-of-44 passes for 219 yards with two interceptions for Pitt (5-1, 2-1). SOUTH CAROLINA 38, NO. 16 FLORIDA 13: In Gainsville, Florida, LaNorris Sellers accounted for five touchdowns, including four passing in his best performance in nearly two years, and South Carolina stunned Florida to end an eight-game skid in Southeastern Conference play. Sellers’ most impressive play was a 3-yard run in the third quarter in which he tossed aside a defender and nearly scored. He plunged in on the next play, essentially sealing a long-awaited victory for the Gamecocks (3-3, 1-3 SEC). The Gators (4-2, 2-2), who were double-digit favorites at home, lost a second consecutive game in lop-

sided fashion and surely will fall out of the AP Top 25. NO. 22 HOUSTON 35, KANSAS STATE 16: In Manhattan, Kansas, Conner Weigman and tight end Patrick Overmyer connected for four touchdown passes and No. 22 Houston beat Kansas State on Saturday. Weigman was 19 of 30 for 242 yards for Houston (5-1, 2-1 Big 12). While Avery Johnson was 16 of 30 for 182 yards and two touchdowns with an interception for Kansas State (3-2, 0-2). NO. 3 NOTRE DAME 58, STANFORD 7: In South Bend, Indiana, freshman Jonaz Walton scored on a 97-yard run — the third longest offensive play in Notre Dame Stadium history — and ﬁnished with 181 yards as the No. 3 Fighting Irish routed Stanford 58-7 on Saturday. The only longer offensive plays at Notre Dame Stadium besides Walton’s 97-yard run belong to Josh Adams (2015 vs. Wake Forest) and Jeremiyah Love (2024 vs. Indiana). Each had 98-yard scoring runs. Notre Dame (6-0) extended its overall winning streak to 16 games — all by double-digits. The Fighting Irish edged closer to the record of 21 consecutive doubledigit victory margins set by Army (1944-46). Miami is second with 17 consecutive double-digit victories from 2000 to 2001. NO. 9 OLE MISS 52, VANDERBILT 17: In Nashville, Tennessee, Trinidad Chambliss threw for 213 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as ninth-ranked Mississippi routed Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Rebels (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) notched their sixth straight win and 10th in 12 over Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-3). Chambliss put them ahead to stay with a 10-yard touchdown run as Ole Miss scored on four straight drives in the ﬁrst half for a 42-3 halftime lead. The Rebels scored 24 points off four turnovers. Suntarine Perkins had one of three sacks for Ole Miss, and he returned a fumble 4 yards for a TD.

NO. 15 TENNESSEE 24, ARKANSAS 17: In Fayetteville, Arkansas, George MacIntyre threw for 247 yards and a touchdown in his first career start, DeSean Bishop ran for 138 yards and No. 15 Tennessee rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Arkansas on Saturday. With the game tied at 17 with 4:07 left and Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) pinned inside its own 10 after an Arkansas punt, Bishop ran for 59 yards to help set up the go-ahead score. MacIntyre, a sophomore, took over for usual starter Faizon Brandon last week as the Volunteers’ usual starter dealt with a troubling shoulder injury and made the start against the Razorbacks (2-4, 0-3). NO. 5 OHIO STATE 45, MARYLAND 16: In Columbus, Ohio, Jeremiah Smith scored touchdowns on his first two touches to enhance his Heisman Trophy profile and Julian Sayin had four TD passes as No. 5 Ohio State warmed up for a brutal stretch of games with a sometimes-messy win over Maryland on Saturday. Smith turned two short catches into dazzling scores, and Sayin connected with tight ends Nate Roberts and Mason Williams for TDs as the Buckeyes (5-1, 3-0 Big Ten) opened a 31-10 halftime lead despite some sloppy moments. The Terrapins (2-4, 0-3) lost their third straight game, but they capitalized on Ohio State mistakes to hang around. NO. 21 UCLA 17, NO. 13 OREGON 15: In Eugene, Oregon, Wayne Knight rushed for a touchdown and caught another score, and No. 21 UCLA overcame an injury to starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to remain undefeated with a victory over No. 13 Oregon on Saturday. Knight ran for 103 yards on 22 carries and caught three passes for 12 yards, including a fourthquarter, 9-yard touchdown reception from backup Ty Dieffenbach for the Bruins (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten). The sloppy game featured 10 turnovers, including seven for the Ducks (3-2, 1-1).

UN human rights office slams racist abuse of Gauff

GENEVA — The United Nations’ human rights office has condemned the racist abuse of tennis player Coco Gauff and called for solidarity to help push back against racism and sexism. The office, led by High Commissioner Volker Türk, issued a social media post Saturday saying the racist messages sent online targeting Gauff were “appalling and illustrate that Black female athletes are specifically targeted for vitriol and racial abuse.” Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion ranked No. 4, said last week she received an “insane” amount of racist comments on social media following a controversial point in her China Open match against home player Sun Xinran on Monday.

Portugal suspends Ronaldo after walkout from camp

LISBON, Portugal — The Portuguese Football Federation has suspended Cristiano Ronaldo for walking out on the team and initiated disciplinary proceedings. The case has been referred to its disciplinary investigation committee and its ﬁndings will remain conﬁdential until its conclusions are reached, the federation said in a statement Saturday. The 41-year-old Ronaldo left the Portugal camp during the international window in a dispute with new coach Jorge Jesus over his lack of playing time in the Nations League. In the three games Ronaldo was either an unused substitute or absent, Portugal won, and his replacement Gonçalo Ramos seized his chance by scoring three goals.

Dodgers will start Skubal in Game 1 vs. Brewers LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers will start Tarik Skubal against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, last year’s World Series MVP, will start Game 2 on Monday at American Family Field, manager Dave Roberts said Friday. Skubal also started Game 1 of the NL Division Series. The two-time Cy Young Award winner pitched six dominant innings, allowing one run and two hits, in a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves. The left-hander struck out seven and walked two. Yamamoto started Game 3 of the NLDS and struck out 10 over seven innings. The right-hander allowed one run and four hits to go with one walk.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● 3C

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SCOREBOARD Odds

Christiaan Bezuidenhout 68-68-70—206 Kosuke Sunagawa 69-70-67—206 Doug Ghim 69-68-70—207 Ryo Hisatsune 67-71-69—207 Beau Hossler 70-70-67—207 Takumi Kanaya 70-69-68—207 Patrick Rodgers 73-69-65—207 Keegan Bradley 72-69-66—207 Michael Thorbjornsen 66-70-71—207 Ren Yonezawa 68-69-71—208 Hideki Matsuyama 67-72-69—208 John Parry 68-71-69—208 Denny McCarthy 68-72-68—208 Lee Hodges 69-71-68—208 Billy Horschel 71-70-67—208 Yusaku Hosono 72-69-67—208 Andrew Putnam 66-73-69—208 Kris Ventura 66-70-72—208 R. Neergaard-Petersen 74-68-67—209 Nicolas Echavarria 67-69-73—209 Collin Morikawa 67-73-69—209 Ricky Castillo 65-70-74—209 Taylor Moore 72-65-72—209 Jackson Suber 72-70-67—209 Tomohiro Ishizaka 70-70-70—210 Nick Taylor 71-67-72—210 Matt Wallace 70-72-68—210 Jinichiro Kozuma 74-68-69—211 Tony Finau 71-68-72—211 Johnny Keefer 68-69-74—211 David Lipsky 66-72-73—211 Keita Nakajima 69-74-69—212 Davis Thompson 73-68-71—212 Yoshinori Fujimoto 72-69-71—212 Chandler Phillips 70-71-71—212 Pierceson Coody 65-75-72—212 Kevin Yu 74-67-72—213 Taylor Pendrith 72-70-72—214 Aguri Iwasaki 74-70-70—214 Matthew McCarty 70-70-75—215 Max Greyserman 70-71-74—215 Maverick McNealy 72-73-70—215 Sang-hee Lee 72-73-71—216 Wyndham Clark 70-72-74—216 Alex Smalley 71-73-72—216 Kurt Kitayama 71-73-73—217 Hiroshi Iwata 68-72-77—217 Koshin Nagasaki 72-76-69—217 Rickie Fowler 73-72-72—217 Sahith Theegala 74-71-73—218 Steven Fisk 74-76-70—220 Tom Hoge 81-71-68—220 Aldrich Potgieter 77-66-78—221

Sports Betting Line NFL Sunday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at JAX 1½ 7½ (41½) Philadelphia at NE 8½ 3½ (45) Las Vegas at NY JETS 2½ 2½ (39½) Cleveland at WASH 2½ 3½ (41½) NY Giants Chicago 3 1½ (46½) at G. BAY Minnesota 1½ 2½ (41½) at N.O. Cincinnati 5½ 7 (43½) at MIAMI at PITTS 2½ 2½ (43½) Ind Houston 3½ 7 (38½) at TEN Denver 2½ 3½ (42½) atCHRGRS at SEATTLE 3½ 3 (46½) San Fran Detroit 8½ 5½ (54½) at ARIZONA at ATLANTA 4½ 3½ (43½) Baltimore

Monday

FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG at LA RAMS 3 3½ (54½) Buffalo

MLB

Sunday

National League FAVORITE LINE LA Dodgers OFF

NHL

Sunday

FAVORITE LINE at WASHIN -222 at N.Y RANGRS -256 Carolina -173

UNDERDOG at MILWAUKEE

LINE OFF

UNDERDOG LINE Seattle +179 Vancouver +205 at PHILADELPHIA +142

Pro basketball WNBA Playoff Glance (x-if necessary) Finals (Best-of-5)

No. 2 Golden State vs. No. 4 Atlanta

Saturday, October 17: Atlanta at Golden State, 2:30 p.m. Monday, October 19: Atlanta at Golden State, 7 p.m. Thursday, October 22: Golden State at Atlanta, 7 p.m. Saturday, October 24: Golden State at Atlanta, 2:30 p.m. x-Monday, October 26: Atlanta at Golden State, TBA x-Thursday, October 29: Golden State at Atlanta, TBA x-Saturday, October 31: Atlanta at Golden State, TBA

Auto racing NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 400 Lineup After Saturday qualifying; race Sunday

Major League Baseball MLB Postseason Glance DIVISION SERIES

(Best-of-5) x-if necessary

American League

(TBS, TruTV, HBO Max)

Cleveland 3, Chicago White Sox 2

Saturday, Oct. 3: Chicago White Sox 3, Cleveland 0 Monday, Oct. 5: Chicago White Sox 4, Cleveland 3 Wednesday, Oct. 7: Cleveland 9, Chicago White Sox 3 Thursday, Oct. 8: Cleveland 9, Chicago White Sox 5 Saturday, Oct. 10: Cleveland 2, Chicago White Sox 0

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (Best-of-7)

American League

(TBS, TruTV, HBO Max)

Cleveland vs. Tampa Bay

Monday, Oct. 12: Game 1: Cleveland/Chicago White Sox winner at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m. (TBS/TruTV/HBO Max) Tuesday, Oct. 13: Game 2: Cleveland/Chicago White Sox winner at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m. (TBS/TruTV/HBO Max) Thursday, Oct. 15: Game 3: Tampa Bay at Cleveland/Chicago White Sox winner, 6 p.m. (TBS/TruTV/HBO Max) Friday, Oct. 16: Game 4: Tampa Bay at Cleveland/Chicago White Sox winner, 6 p.m. (TBS/TruTV/HBO Max) x-Saturday, Oct. 17: Game 5: Tampa Bay at Cleveland/Chicago White Sox winner, 8 p.m. (TBS/TruTV/HBO Max) x-Monday, Oct. 19: Game 6: Cleveland/Chicago White Sox winner at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m. (TBS/TruTV/HBO Max) x-Tuesday, Oct. 20: Game 7: Cleveland/Chicago White Sox winner at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m. (TBS/TruTV/HBO Max)

National League (FOX, FS1)

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee

Sunday, Oct. 11: Game: 1 Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. (Fox/Fox One/Fox Deportes) Monday, Oct. 12: Game 2: Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. (Fox/FS1/Fox One/ Fox Deportes) Wednesday, Oct. 14: Game 3: Milwaukee at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8 p.m. (FS1/Fox One/ Fox Deportes) Thursday, Oct. 15: Game 4: Milwaukee at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9 p.m. (FS1/Fox One/Fox Deportes) x-Friday, Oct. 16: Game 5: Milwaukee at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9 p.m. (FS1/Fox One/Fox Deportes) x-Sunday, Oct. 18: Game 6: Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. (FS1/Fox One/ Fox Deportes) x-Monday, Oct. 19: Game 7: Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee, 8 p.m. (Fox/FS1/Fox One/Fox Deportes)

College football Friday’s games EAST

Columbia 41, Marist 28

SOUTH

Florida A&M 28, Alabama St. 27 Louisville 44, Florida St. 20

FAR WEST

BYU 24, Iowa St. 10 Iowa 41, Washington 24 Utah St. 17, Washington St. 16 Wyoming 16, San Jose St. 13, OT

Saturday’s games EAST

Arizona 52, West Virginia 31 Army 20, Tulane 17 Brown 28, Bryant 13 CCSU 51, American International 14 Coastal Carolina 27, Marshall 21 Delaware St. 34, Franklin Pierce 0 Fordham 20, Richmond 14 Georgetown 21, Bucknell 14 Harvard 41, Cornell 29 LIU Brooklyn 17, Duquesne 14 Miami (Ohio) 20, UMass 19 Morgan St. 28, Robert Morris 27 Navy 34, Tulsa 26

CAJUNS

Continued from page 1C KeDarius Wade had two grabs for 88 yards and a touchdown and Shelton Sampson two for 60. Baker was 31-of-41 passing for 312 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 26 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries. Talyn Shettron’s TD run covered 12 yards for a score to cut UL’s lead to 31-26 with 3:44 left to play. After wasting a 41-yard completion in the ﬁrst quarter with a fumble, Winﬁeld’s 43-yard connection with Wade on the first drive of the second half produced big dividends. Two plays later, Garner scampered for 20 yards to give the Cajuns a 17-13 lead with 9:51 left in the third. It was the third straight

-7 -7 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -5 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 E +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 +3 +3 +4 +4 +4 +4 +5 +7 +7 +8

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SUE OGROCKI

Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez celebrates after hitting a home run in the fourth inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday in Cleveland. The Guardians won 2-0. North Carolina 21, Pittsburgh 17 Penn 24, Howard 20 Princeton 28, Wagner 13 Southern Cal 31, Penn St. 23 Stonehill 28, Sacred Heart 7 Stony Brook 31, Towson 24 UConn 34, Temple 20 Yale 28, Dartmouth 7

SOUTH

Alabama A&M 55, Bethune-Cookman 17 Alcorn St. 63, Arkansas Baptist Buffaloes 7 Charleston Southern 49, SC State 39 Chattanooga 19, Samford 3 E. Illinois 21, Gardner-Webb 7 ETSU 34, The Citadel 16 East Carolina 28, Rice 12 Georgia Tech 28, Duke 25 Grambling St. 45, Jackson St. 38 Kentucky 35, LSU 34 Louisiana Tech 32, Louisiana-Lafayette 31 Memphis 38, UAB 13 Mercer 17, W. Carolina 14 Mississippi 52, Vanderbilt 17 NC A&T 30, New Hampshire 27, OT Norfolk St. 62, Va. Lynchburg 0 Old Dominion 10, Appalachian St. 3 Presbyterian 38, Davidson 21 South Carolina 38, Florida 19 Tarleton St. 40, Austin Peay 32 Tennessee Tech 20, Furman 15 UT Martin 42, Tennessee St. 28 UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros 13, SE Louisiana 3 Wake Forest 38, NC State 14 William & Mary 17, NC Central 14 Wofford 16, Elon 0

MIDWEST

Air Force 28, N. Illinois 7 Bowling Green 38, Sacramento St. 10 Buffalo 23, Toledo 8 Butler 41, San Diego 10 Dayton 56, Morehead St. 28 E. Michigan 25, Akron 23 Houston 35, Kansas St. 16 Illinois 38, Michigan St. 37, OT Indiana 20, Nebraska 17 Missouri 27, Texas A&M 6 N. Iowa 24, North Dakota 17 Northwestern 45, Ball St. 14 Notre Dame 58, Stanford 7 Ohio 31, Cent. Michigan 14 Ohio St. 45, Maryland 16 SE Missouri 38, Lindenwood (Mo.) 27 South Dakota 31, S. Illinois 10 St. Thomas (Minn.) 64, Stetson 21 Valparaiso 21, Drake 13 W. Michigan 38, Kent St. 7 Youngstown St. 57, Indiana St. 24

UNLV 13, N. Dakota St. 7 Weber St. 38, Idaho 27

Sunday’s Games

Seattle at Washington, 4 p.m. Vancouver at N.Y. Rangers, 5 p.m. Carolina at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Hockey

Monday’s Games

NHL Glance EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division Ottawa Boston Tampa Bay Florida Toronto Buffalo Montreal Detroit

GP W L OT Pts GF 4 3 1 0 6 12 6 4 2 0 8 20 4 3 1 0 6 11 4 2 0 2 6 8 5 2 2 1 5 14 4 2 2 0 4 10 4 1 2 1 3 14 4 1 3 0 2 10

GA 9 13 9 8 15 15 19 14

N.Y. Rangers Carolina Washington Pittsburgh Columbus N.Y. Islanders New Jersey Philadelphia

GP W L OT Pts GF 6 4 2 0 8 17 5 3 1 1 7 18 4 3 1 0 6 14 5 2 2 1 5 20 3 2 1 0 4 10 4 2 2 0 4 13 3 1 2 0 2 6 6 0 4 2 2 7

GA 11 14 9 16 9 8 13 24

Metropolitan Division

WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division

Winnipeg Colorado Utah Minnesota Nashville Dallas St. Louis Chicago

GP W L OT Pts GF 5 3 1 1 7 13 4 3 1 0 6 23 5 3 2 0 6 18 4 2 1 1 5 11 4 2 1 1 5 12 4 2 2 0 4 10 4 1 2 1 3 9 5 1 4 0 2 10

Paciﬁc Division

Florida at Buffalo, noon Ottawa at New Jersey, 6 p.m. Vegas at Minnesota, 7 p.m. Tuesday’s Games New Jersey at Detroit, 5 p.m. Florida at Columbus, 5:15 p.m. Buffalo at Montreal, 5:30 p.m. Washington at Carolina, 5:45 p.m. Seattle at Philadelphia, 6 p.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Rangers, 6:15 p.m. St. Louis at Ottawa, 6:30 p.m. Vancouver at N.Y. Islanders, 6:45 p.m. Pittsburgh at Chicago, 7 p.m. Minnesota at Winnipeg, 7:15 p.m. Colorado at Dallas, 7:30 p.m. Vegas at Nashville, 7:45 p.m. Toronto at Utah, 8 p.m. Calgary at Anaheim, 8:45 p.m. Edmonton at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m. Boston at San Jose, 10 p.m

Transactions FOOTBALL

Tennis WTA China Open Results Saturday

GA 15 11 14 8 11 6 13 21

GP W L OT Pts GF GA Vegas 5 4 1 0 8 21 13 Edmonton 4 3 0 1 7 22 16 Anaheim 4 3 1 0 6 14 11 San Jose 4 3 1 0 6 12 14 Seattle 5 3 2 0 6 21 14 Vancouver 5 2 3 0 4 21 25 Los Angeles 3 0 2 1 1 9 15 Calgary 4 0 4 0 0 6 23 NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.

At National Tennis Center Beijing Purse: $9,415,725 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Results Saturday from China Open at National Tennis Center (seedings in parentheses):

Women’s Singles

Semiﬁnals Mirra Andreeva (4), Russia, def. Nikola Bartunkova (26), Czechia, 6-2, 6-2. Zheng Qinwen, China, def. Elise Mertens (13), Belgium, 7-5, 6-2.

Women’s Doubles

Semiﬁnals Zhang Shuai, China, and Katerina Siniakova (1), Czechia, def. Aldila Sutjiadi, Indonesia, and Erin Routliffe, New Zealand, 6-4, 6-2.

Baycurrent Classic Par Scores

Cal Poly 25, Idaho St. 24 California 25, Virginia Tech 20 E. Washington 31, N. Colorado 22 N. Arizona 49, Montana 44 Oregon St. 66, San Diego St. 14 Portland St. 30, Utah Tech 14 UCLA 17, Oregon 15

Boston 5, Philadelphia 1 Vancouver at New Jersey, 2:30 p.m. Edmonton at San Jose, 3 p.m. Minnesota at Florida, 5 p.m. Carolina at Chicago, 6 p.m. Columbus at St. Louis, 6 p.m. Dallas at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m. Detroit at Montreal, 6 p.m. Nashville at Ottawa, 6 p.m. Toronto at Colorado, 6 p.m. Utah at Buffalo, 6 p.m. Tampa Bay at N.Y. Islanders, 6:30 p.m. Anaheim at Calgary, 9 p.m. Los Angeles at Vegas, 9 p.m.

Saturday At Yokohama Country Club Kanagawa, Japan Purse: $8 million Yardage: 7,322; Par: 71 Third Round Zachary Bauchou 69-64-67—200 Michael Brennan 68-67-65—200 Jacob Bridgeman 63-68-69—200 Stephan Jaeger 69-65-67—201 Keith Mitchell 66-65-70—201 Adam Scott 69-67-65—201 Jordan L. Smith 64-71-66—201 Justin Thomas 69-65-67—201 Mac Meissner 65-68-70—203 Ryan Gerard 68-69-66—203 Max Homa 65-68-70—203 Brian Harman 69-68-67—204 Xander Schauffele 70-69-65—204 Sungjae Im 69-67-68—204 Michael Kim 68-68-68—204 Kevin Roy 70-69-66—205 Ben Kohles 71-62-73—206 Min Woo Lee 67-67-72—206 Jordan Spieth 72-66-68—206

game with a rushing score for Garner. It appeared the Bulldogs would respond once again, but defensive tackle Fitzgerald West changed the complexion of the game by forcing a fumble and also recovered it at the UL 21 with 5:01 left in the third quarter. The Cajuns took full advantage with a six-play, 79-yard drive in 3:11 to seize a 24-13 lead with 1:50 to go in the third quarter. It was a drive highlighted by redshirt freshman receiver Trenton Chaney. First, he caught an 18-yarder on third-and-9 to extend the drive and then took an end around 25 yards for a touchdown. The Bulldogs used a key 28yard pass to Jalen Mickens to set up a Mickens’ 3-yard TD run with 13:01 left to play. The two-point conversion failed and UL still led 24-19.

The UL offense had some tricks in its bag on the ensuing drive. Rahji Dennis ran a reverse 22 yards to cross midfield. One play later, Winfield found a wide-open Wade for a 46-yard touchdown pass and a 31-19 lead with 11:34 left to play. But the turnover bug continues to bite the Cajuns over and over. The Cajuns had a promising first drive after getting a 41-yard completion to Sampson for his first catch of the season to reach the Tech 21. Two plays later, Winfield fumbled at the Tech 13. UL forced a punt on its first drive, but then allowed a 10-play, 85-yard drive in 4:45 to face an early deficit. Completions of 18 and 21 yards to Shettron set up a 10-yard TD toss to Finley on the first play of the second quarter. Shettron finished with 102 yards on eight carries.

The Cajuns responded quickly with an eight-play, 75-yard drive of their own in 4:08 to knot the score. Three 15-yard penalties on Tech helped the drive, as did a 15-yard wheel route catch by JJ Garner to set up Winfield’s 7-yard scoring run to tie the game at 7-7 with 10:45 left until halftime. UL’s defense got the turnover back when Lester Jones pressured Baker, who threw a pass without the ball for a fumble, recovered by Priest Ashe at the Tech 25. The problem was the Cajuns could only collect one ﬁrst down and settled for a Tony Sterner 29yard ﬁeld goal and a 10-7 lead with 6:52 left in the second quarter. The seesaw battled continued with the Bulldogs responding with an 11-play, 70-yard drive in 4:53 to regain the lead. A critical 19-yard completion to Finley set up a 14-yard TD pass to Jalen Mickens on third-and-8. But

SOUTHWEST

Lamar 38, Incarnate Word 35 MVSU 38, Texas Southern 34 Nevada 30, UTEP 13 North Texas 50, Charlotte 10 Oklahoma 27, Texas 24 Oklahoma St. 42, UCF 28 Southern U. 28, Prairie View 14 Tennessee 24, Arkansas 17

FAR WEST

Friday’s Games

Seattle 6, Detroit 3 Washington 3, N.Y. Rangers 1 Columbus 3, Pittsburgh 2, SO Anaheim 5, Winnipeg 1

Saturday’s Games

At Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, N.C. Lap length: 1.50 miles (Car number in parentheses) 1. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, .000 mph. 2. (19) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, .000. 3. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, .000. 4. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, .000. 5. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, .000. 6. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, .000. 7. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, .000. 8. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, .000. 9. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, .000. 10. (97) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, .000. 11. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, .000. 12. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, .000. 13. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, .000. 14. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, .000. 15. (7) Daniel Suárez, Chevrolet, .000. 16. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, .000. 17. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, .000. 18. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, .000. 19. (71) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, .000. 20. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, .000. 21. (35) Riley Herbst, Toyota, .000. 22. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, .000. 23. (4) Noah Gragson, Ford, .000. 24. (60) Ryan Preece, Ford, .000. 25. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota, .000. 26. (33) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, .000. 27. (21) Josh Berry, Ford, .000. 28. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, .000. 29. (42) John H. Nemechek, Toyota, .000. 30. (41) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, .000. 31. (34) Todd Gilliland, Ford, .000. 32. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Chevrolet, .000. 33. (10) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, .000. 34. (38) Zane Smith, Ford, .000. 35. (51) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, .000. 36. (88) Connor Zilisch, Chevrolet, .000. 37. (67) Corey Heim, Toyota, .000. 38. (66) Gray Gaulding, Ford, .000. 39. (44) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, .000.

-13 -13 -13 -12 -12 -12 -12 -12 -10 -10 -10 -9 -9 -9 -9 -8 -7 -7 -7

National Football League ARIZONA CARDINALS — Elevated DB Art Green from the practice squad. Placed G Isaiah Adams on injured reserve. ATLANTA FALCONS — Placed LB Yasir Abdullah on injured reserve. Signed S Jammie Robinson from the practice squad. Elevated LBs Drake Jackson and Bralen Trice from the practice squad. BALTIMORE RAVENS — Elevated T Chuma Edoga dn G Kyle Hergel from the practice squad. CHICAGO BEARS — Activated LB Noah Sewell from the physically unable to perform list. Reinstated LB Noah Sewell from the PUP list. CINCINNATI BENGALS — Elevated DB Russ Yeast from the practice squad. CLEVELAND BROWNS — Elevated DTs Sam Kamara and Chris Williams from the practice squad. DENVER BRONCOS — Elevated DBs Brent Austin and Sean Fresch from the practice squad. DETROIT LIONS — Elevated DB Jalen Mills from the practice squad. GREEN BAY PACKERS — Placed RB Chris Brooks on injured reserve. Signed RB Pierre Strong to their active roster. HOUSTON TEXANS — Waived QB Mark Gronowski and WR Bryce Oliver. Elevated DB Bryce Hall and LB Kenney Murray from the practice squad. Reinstated DT Kayden McDonald from injured reserve. Reinstated DB M.J. Stewart from the PUP list. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — Elevated WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine from the practice squad. Placed DE Arden Key on injured reserve. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS — Signed LB Jalen McLeod from the practice squad. Waived DB Christian Brawwell from injured reserve with an injuy settlemant. Waived LB Jack Kiser. Elevated DBs Kaevon Merriweather and Jabbar Muhammad from the practice squad. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS — Elevated RB Roman Hemby and WR Deven Thompkins from the practice squad. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS — Reinstated RB Scott Matlock and OL Branson Taylor from injured reserve. Placed OT Rashawn Slater, QB Trey Lance and OL Trevor Penning on injured reserve. Signed WR Theo Wease to the active roster. Elevated OL Daniel Brunskill and CB Isas Waxter from the practice squad.

Tech missed the extra point and Mickens got an unsportsmanlike flag during the celebration. Still, the Cajuns trailed 13-10 with 1:48 left until intermission. That was plenty of time to at least get a field goal attempt, but UL continued to be haunted by turnovers. Reaching the Tech 48 with 43 seconds, Winfield was intercepted to squander a scoring opportunity. Fortunately for UL, the Bulldogs hit the crossbar on a 50-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the first half. Tech had seven penalties for 76 yards in the first half to only two for 10 yards for UL, but the Cajuns’ two turnovers likely cost UL at least two field goal tries and Sterner hasn’t missed yet this season. Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

4C l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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PREP REWIND FIVE STARS OF THE NIGHT Joseph Adams, Lafayette Christian The Knights’ junior defensive end set a school record with five sacks in LCA’s home win over West St. Mary. Adams also contributed 13 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Thomas Carter, Loreauville

Hayden Monroe, Carencro

Justin Williams, Southside

Chaise Dupre, Northwest

The Tigers’ mainstay running back is emerging as one of the area’s most consistent performers. This time, Carter rushed for 171 yards on 17 carries for four touchdowns, including a 39-yard scoring run.

The Golden Bears’ edge rusher played a key role in Carencro’s upset overtime win over Opelousas with seven tackles, three pressures and two sacks in the dramatic overtime victory.

The Southside Sharks rebounded in style from their disappointing loss to Sam Houston by exploding for 653 yards rushing. Most of that was from Justin Williams with 293 and five touchdowns on 26 carries.

The Raiders set up a showdown with undefeated Eunice next week after holding off an early Mamou upset threat by going 15-of-23 passing for 289 yards and five touchdown passes.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Southside running back Justin Williams, left, ran for 293 yards and five scores in the Sharks’ win over Sulphur on Friday.

PHOTO By LEE BALL

Ground game propels Southside to win BY STEVE PELOQUIN Contributing writer

For 48 minutes on Friday night, the Southside Sharks showed how lethal their running game can be, but more importantly, for the ﬁnal 27 minutes, they showed they’re capable of being a really good allaround football team. Trailing by one point with under four minutes remaining in the ﬁrst half, Southside put all the pieces together and went on to a 77-39 victory over the Sulphur Tors in a District 3-5A matchup in Youngsville. “We beat a good football team tonight,” Southside coach Jess Curtis said. “Sulphur came in 4-1, and 4-1 is 4-1. Any time you beat a team coached by coach (David) Feaster, it’s a good win. We kind of stumbled out the gates, but I’m so proud of my guys, because if we can play like that, there’s nobody

we can’t beat.” After falling behind 14-0, the vaunted Shark ground attack began to make itself noticed, with two touchdown runs by Justin Williams, one from 24 yards, and another from 3 yards to tie the game 14-14 heading into the second quarter. After Sulphur scored the first points of the second quarter to take a 21-14 advantage, Williams broke loose and scored on a long 66-yard jaunt to make it 21-all at the 8:23 mark of the second quarter. The Sharks then grabbed their ﬁrst lead of the night at the 5:26 mark of the second quarter, courtesy of a 2-yard plunge by Parker Dies, making it 28-21. The Tors jumped right back out in front 29-28, but it would be the last offensive touchdown Southside would allow the rest of the

night. The Sharks and Williams answered right back when Williams scored on a 9-yard run, giving them a 36-29 lead before the Tors converted on a field goal on the last play of the half, making it 36-32 going into the halftime break. Williams rushed for four touchdowns in the first half while eclipsing 150 yards rushing. Southside rushed for over 200 yards in the opening half, behind great work from the offensive line. “I’m really proud of the line and the job they did tonight,” Curtis said. “We really feel like we have one of the best offensive lines in the state, and we felt like we really weren’t finishing blocks last week against Sam Houston, but they came to play tonight and were finishing blocks from the parking lot.” Southside scored 35 unanswered

points to begin the second half, including three TDs by Coby Broussard, one by Kollen Francois and a second from Dies, as the Sharks ﬁnished with nearly 500 rushing yards. And while that would make any coach happy, Curtis was thrilled that his defense kept the Sulphur offense out of the end zone in the second half, allowing only a late special teams score. “Sulphur is a good offensive team,” Curtis said of the Tors, who scored 194 points in their four wins to begin the season. “Coach Feaster is a great coach, with a great offensive mind, and his teams score points wherever he goes. “You have to be assignment sound, otherwise he’s going to pick on you, and we did a much better job of playing assignment football in the second half, something we haven’t done at all points this year,

but when we do that, as we did in the second half tonight, you see what kind of team we can be.” With the victory, Southside improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in district play, while Sulphur slipped to 4-2 and 1-2. “We opened the year playing two of the best teams in the entire state (Brother Martin and Westgate), then we won two games before taking on a really good Sam Houston team who was a little desperate and just outplayed us last week. People wanted to throw dirt on us, but this is an extremely talented team, and we showed what we were made of tonight. “This is a glimpse of what we can be, but this district is a meat grinder,” said Curtis. “I think it’s the toughest district in the state of Louisiana, and you have to play your best football to beat anyone in this district.”

Lafayette’s physical defense thwarts Sam Houston BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

Lafayette High football coach Stephen Hearen knows the past two weeks have been rough for his Mighty Lions. But Hearen’s message to his Lions this week was short and clear: “We don’t have time to feel sorry for ourselves.” The message was received as the Lions responded with arguably their best week of practice. And it translated onto the ﬁeld, as the Lions turned in a dominant performance en route to beating Sam Houston 34-14 in District 3-5A action Friday. “I’m really proud of how our guys played,” Hearen said. “After two rough weeks and bouncing back… It’s a huge win. Looking at 4-2 instead of 3-3 and 1-2 in district instead of 0-3 in district. So, it couldn’t have been a bigger win for us.” In their previous two games, the Lions were outscored 94-42 against Barbe and St. Thomas More, but against the Broncos, the defense was stout. The Lions, who host Southside at 7 p.m. Friday, held the Broncos to 217 yards of total offense (130

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Lafayette High running back Jaden Celestine, shown running against St. Thomas More on Oct. 2, rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries against Sam Houston. passing, 87 rushing). And 100 of those passing yards came on three plays across the Broncos’ ﬁnal two possessions. “Our defense settled in,” Hearen said. “I can’t be more proud of our defense, defensive line and linebackers especially. (We) played with a lot of physicality.”

The defensive dominance began upfront for the Lions, who allowed Broncos running back Markeithon Simon to rush for 49 yards on the opening drive that was capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by Brody Anderson. Simon ﬁnished with a team-high 92 yards on 23 carries, while Anderson was 9-of-12 pass-

ing for 130 yards, a touchdown and one interception. The Broncos found success hard to come by after that as the Lions held them to 13 yards of total offense — propelled by a 12-yard sack by Jovontrey Robertson and a 12-yard loss when the Broncos punter’s knee touched the ground while trying to catch a low snap — over their next three possessions to end the first half. On the Broncos’ first two possessions in the second half, the Lions held them to 24 yards of total offense — 15 rushing, 9 passing — while the offense built a 27-7 lead with 1:01 left in the third quarter. “They are a really good football team. They run the ball really well,” Hearen said. “So, for us to kind of settle in and do what we did defensively for the bulk of the game — I couldn’t say enough about those guys.” With the defense stifling the Broncos offense, the Lafayette High offense broke out after struggling to move the ball on their first two drives. Lafayette rushed for 253 yards en route to finishing with 341 yards of total offense. Offensively, the Lions were led by senior running back Jaden Celestine, who rushed for 115

yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, while quarterback Richmond Saunier completed 9 of 14 passes for 88 yards and rushed for 55 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Sophomore running back Jaevion Allen rushed for 75 yards on 16 carries, while Brendan Shullaw caught four passes for 57 yards and scored on a 7-yard reverse on the final play of the first half. “Offensively, being able to set the tone,” Hearen said. “Two lousy drives to start the game for us, but we came out and started to settle in and began to play some good football.” In addition to Simon and Anderson, the Broncos’ other top offensive performer was receiver Drake Johnson. Johnson finished with six receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown. “Defensive line, we challenged them all week,” Hearen said. “They have a really good offensive line and some great individual players, so as a whole they are a really good group. So, to come out and control the line of scrimmage and play with some physicality against some great players … I couldn’t be more proud of those guys.”

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● 5C

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PREP REWIND Lafayette Christian defense overwhelms West St. Mary BY BRANDON COMEAUX Contributing writer

A smothering defense led the way for the Lafayette Christian Knights in silencing West St. Mary 34-12 for its first win as members of District 8-2A on Friday night. The numbers were astounding as the Knights recorded 11 sacks and held West St. Mary’s rushing attack to only 2 yards on 44 carries, as well as 67 total yards of offense. “The defense was great again tonight, creating short fields and getting so many tackles for loss,” LCA coach Matt Standiford said. Sophomore linebacker Tristan Alexander co-led the team in tackles with 15. “Our defense played a great game,” said Alexander, who immediately deferred to his teammates. “And we’ll look to do it again next week.” The Knights got on the scoreboard first as sophomore running back Landon Prudhomme scored from 1 yard out for a 7-0 lead three minutes into the game. Later in the first quarter, though, the Knights were backed up near their own goal line. Junior quarterback Ty Hills’ pass was tipped by junior Markeal Depass and intercepted by senior defensive back Dru Martin and returned

for a touchdown to narrow that gap to 7-6. The score would stay 7-6 until the first play of the second quarter when junior running back Kyzir White took the handoff 55 yards to the end zone as LCA went up 14-6. White finished with 119 yards on 13 carries. Later in the quarter, Hills would find junior wide receiver Tristen Jones for a 44-yard touchdown pass as the Knights would increase their lead to 21-6. Then, junior linebacker Tylon Dominick intercepted Hills on the next LCA drive to set his offense up with a short field goal. Junior quarterback Terroni Dominick scored on a 5-yard run to get closer at 21-12. It looked to stay that way until junior defensive end Joseph Adams, who also finished the game with 15 tackles and five sacks, recovered a fumble with eight seconds left before halftime. Senior kicker Jude Fairchild then went on to make a careerhigh 33-yard field goal to give the Knights a 24-12 lead going into the break. The third quarter was sloppy as penalties began adding up for both teams and things got chippy as the teams had to be separated by the referees and coaches. The Knights finished with 17 penalties for 168 yards while the Wolfpack

was ﬂagged 11 times for 79 yards. “Obviously, there’s some things that need to be cleaned up, especially with the penalties because that is uncharacteristic of us,” Standiford said. “I know our coaches will have our guys ready to play and get back on track with playing disciplined football.” The second half was also marked by a couple of key plays made on special teams by the Knights. A punt by junior Wyatt Whitney pinned West St. Mary at is own 2. The LCA defense then forced a three and out and junior cornerback DJ McCorvey blocked a punt that was recovered by senior defensive tackle Braylon Lemaire in the end zone for a touchdown. Later, in the waning moments of the game, Fairchild provided the final points with a 29-yard field goal as he went 2 for 2 on field goals and 4 for 4 on extra points. “At the end of the day, winning tonight was the most important thing,” Standiford said. “Our kids did what it took to get the job done. Sometimes people don’t understand how hard it is to win games, so I’m proud of the way our kids battled tonight, and we are only going to get better.” Up next for LCA is a home game against Franklin on Thursday while West St. Mary returns home to meet Delcambre.

U-High, Bellard roll past Kaplan BY MIKE COPPAGE Contributing writer

Led by Caiden Bellard’s four touchdowns, University High earned a 42-12 nondistrict road win over Kaplan in a meeting of top Class 3A programs on Friday. It was the second straight week that the Cubs and Bellard, a transfer from Lafayette Christian, made the trip to the metro area (won 28-7 at Teurlings Catholic on Sept. 25.) “It’s good. I don’t really look at it about the area,” said the junior, who rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries with three scores and caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Knox Kiffin. “I just look at it about the win. Me doing me.” Kaplan (4-2, No. 6 in Division III nonselect) began its first possession in U-High territory after a long return by Kodi Clement. A 12-yard run by Matthew Breaux and Jayden Hargrave’s 9-yard keeper on thirrd and goal got the ball to the Cubs 1, but an errant snap ended the drive with a 14yard loss. “On that first drive, we had an opportunity to punch it in and go up,” Pirates coach Vinnie Bullara said. “We have to take advantage of opportunities like that, especially against a good football team.” The Cubs (4-2, No. 3 Division III select) scored on their first possession, an 18-play drive that saw Bellard move the chains on fourth and 2 near midfield. On the next play, Kiffin threw a 13-yard pass to Kameron Grisby, and the LSU head coach’s son soon found Bellard from 8 yards out for the opening score. “Knox has a very high football IQ,” Cubs coach Andy Martin said of the junior, who spread the ball around to six receivers on his 12 completions for 177 yards. “We

WEEK 6 FOOTBALL REPORT

Barbe 66, Acadiana 17

Notre Dame 27, Abbeville 8

Team AHS BHS First Downs 14 18 Yards Rushing 252 135 Yards Passing 30 227 Passes (C-A-HI) 3-7-1 10-14-0 Punts-avg. 2-28 1-40 Fumbles-lost 8-6 1-1 Penalties-yards 2-10 6-50 SCORING SUMMARY Acadiana 7 3 0 7 —17 Barbe 17 21 21 7 —66 BAR — Sawyer Kuypers 51 pass from Jelandon Gray (Will Flavin kick) BAR — Flavin 34 FG BAR — Kuypers 67 pass from Gray (Flavin kick) ACAD — Syrian Joseph 1 run (Josh Marquez kick) BAR — Jordin Griffin 25 pass from Gray (Flavin kick) BAR — Griffin 3 run (Flavin kick) ACAD — Marquez 28 FG BAR — Gray 9 run (Flavin kick) BAR — BAR — Gray 21 run (Flavin kick) BAR — 26 fumble return (Flavin kick) BAR — Griffin 21 run (Eli Ringo kick) BAR — 72 interception return (Ringo kick) ACAD — Ashton Fontenot 1 run (Marquez kick)

Team AHS ND First Downs 5 9 Yards Rushing 86 212 Yards Passing 50 68 Passes (C-A-HI) 4-9-1 5-6-0 Punts-avg. 3-45 0-0 Fumbles-lost 2-2 1-1 Penalties-yards 2-17 4-27 SCORING SUMMARY Abbeville 0 0 0 8 —8 Notre Dame 7 7 7 6 —27 ND — Luke Frank 8 pass from Parker Menard (Ty Savant kick) ND — Menard 1 run (Savant kick) ND — Menard 1 run (Savant kick) ND — Menard 1 run (Run failed) ABB — Jacolby Campbell 5 pass from Treylin Grogan (Conversion good)

Carencro 27, Opelousas 26

Team CHS OHS First Downs 20 13 Yards Rushing 219 118 Yards Passing 147 151 Passes (C-A-HI) 10-14-0 8-13-0 Punts-avg. 1-20 4-33.8 Fumbles-lost 3-2 1-0 Penalties-yards 10-90 12-91 SCORING SUMMARY Carencro 0 7 6 7 7 —27 Opelousas 6 8 6 0 6 —26 OPEL — Aaron Hall 56 pass from Collin Rideau (kick failed) CAR — Roland Bruno 30 run (Holden Links kick) OPEL: Rideau8 run (Marley Richard pass from Rideau) CAR — Cardaye Batiste 8 run (kick failed) OPEL — Rideau 12 run (run failed) CAR — Carson Gurzi 1 run (Links kick) CAR — Batiste 3 run (Links kick) OPEL — Caden Arvie 9 pass from Rideau (pass failed)

Lafayette Christian 34, West St. Mary 12

Team WSM LCA First Downs 9 15 Yards Rushing 20 217 Yards Passing 63 122 Passes (C-A-HI) 8-21-0 8-17-2 Punts-avg. 7-21 4-40 Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2 Penalties-yards 15-127 13-119 SCORING SUMMARY West St. Mary 6 6 0 0 —12 Lafayette Christian 7 17 7 3 —34 LCA — Landon Prudhomme 1 run (Jude Fairchild kick) WSM — Dru Martin 20 interception return (Run failed) LCA — Kyzer White 55 run (Fairchild kick) LCA — Tristen Jones 44 pass from Ty Hills (Fairchild kick) WSM — Terroni Dominick 5 run (Pass failed) LCA — Fairchild 33 FG LCA — Braylon Lemaire blocked kick return (Fairchild kick) LCA — Fairchild 29 FG

Lafayette High 34, Sam Houston 14

Team SHS LHS First Downs 12 19 Yards Rushing 29-87 41-253 Yards Passing 130 88 Passes (C-A-HI) 9-12-1 9-14-0 Punts-avg. 3-29.6 3-37 Fumbles-lost 0-0 0-0 Penalties-yards 3-26 7-50 SCORING SUMMARY SHS 7 0 0 7 —14 LHS 7 13 7 7 —34 SHS — Brody Anderson 10 run (Brycen Kayode kick) LHS — Richmond Saunier 4 run (Damian Rubio kick) LHS — Jaden Celestine 23 run (Kick failed) LHS — Brendan Shullaw 7 run (Rubio kick) LHS — Celestine 43 run (Rubio kick) SHS — Drake Johnson 20 pass from Anderson (Kayode kick) LHS — Saunier 21 run (Rubio kick)

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

Kaplan running back Jeremy Roy carries the ball against University High defender Kameron Grisby on Friday at Kaplan. were able to go over the top a few times and hit wide receivers. That’s what we wanted to do, get a lot of people involved.” Kaplan responded with a fourplay, 53-yard drive that began with Jeremy Roy’s 16-yard run and was capped by his 5-yard plunge. Roy was favoring one of his legs while coming off the field, and his mobility seemed limited afterward. “We started figuring out what they were doing,” Martin said of the Kaplan flexbone offense. “It was a new offense for us. It was our first time seeing it. It took us a few drives.” Bellard answered with two short touchdown runs, and Kiffin delivered a 35-yard pass to Stephen Saia for a 28-6 halftime lead. Trailing 14-6, Kaplan turned the ball over on downs midway through the second quarter. “I don’t think we played with a lot of fire,” Bullara said. “That’s on me. I have to get my guys ready to play better than that. We have to have a little mental toughness and

a ‘next play mentality.’ I have to do a better job of coaching that.” Kane Hebert (nine carries, 85 yards) and De’Maurion Cormier (21-72) led the Pirates offense. Hargrave completed 3 of 4 passes for 35 yards. His twin brother Aiden, a fullback, rushed for 38 yards on six carries. Martin said the Cubs are still in the process of meshing as a team, with multiple transfers including Kifﬁn and Bellard, who was banged up at the beginning of the regular season. “We’re still learning our team,” Martin said. “We’re still learning how to play together. We really challenged the guys the last two weeks when we got on the buses. It was like the playoffs for us.” Martin is pleased with what he’s seen from Bellard, who rushed for nearly 1,600 yards with 21 touchdowns as a sophomore. “Caiden is ﬁnally healthy,” he said. “I love him. Caiden is a great player. He runs the ball so hard. When he sees a hole, he gets in through there.”

Loreauville 46, Franklin 6

Team FHS LHS First Downs 5 14 Yards Rushing 12 205 Yards Passing 75 45 Passes (C-A-HI) 5-11-1 2-3-0 Punts-avg. Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0 Penalties-yards 3-15 5-31 SCORING SUMMARY Franklin 0 6 0 0 —6 Loreauville 12 20 7 7 —46 LOR — Thomas Carter 4 run (kick failed) LOR — Carter 39 run (kick failed) LOR — Carter 2 run (kick failed) FRAN — 2 run (kick failed) LOR — Kadyn James 10 pass from Wyatt Hazelwood (kick failed) LOR — Rajon Matthews 2 run (conversion good) LOR — Caillou Polk 32 kickoff return (Andrew Chambers kick) LOR — Carter 9 run (Chambers kick)

Northwest 45, Mamou 21

Team NHS MHS First Downs 18 11 Yards Rushing 193 71 Yards Passing 289 176 Passes (C-A-HI) 15-25-0 14-29-1 Punts-avg. 1-35 4-38 Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-yards 7-56 5-50 SCORING SUMMARY Northwest 8 10 14 13 —45 Mamou 7 7 0 7 —21 MAM — 4 pass (kick good) NWEST — Mhykael Richard 20 pass from Chaise Dupre (conversion good) NWEST — Gavin Fontenot 32 FG NWEST — Jayden Lazard 61 pass from Dupre (Fontenot kick) MAM — 66 run (kick good) NWEST — 41 pass from Dupre (Fontenot kick) NWEST — Frederick Nimer 1 run (Fontenot kick) NWEST — Markez Davis 25 pass from Dupre (kick failed) MAM — 55 pass (Tom-Luis Hausch kick) NWEST — Davis 51 pass from Dupre (Fontenot kick)

Acadiana endures blowout loss to Barbe BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The Acadiana Wreckin’ Rams endured a nightmarish performance in a 66-17 road loss to the unbeaten Barbe Buccaneers on Friday in Lake Charles. Before 90 seconds had expired on the clock, the Rams were already down 10-0, and it never got any better for the visitors. Barbe improved to 6-0 for the ﬁrst time since 2008, and it was the Bucs’ ﬁrst win over Acadiana since 2014. The Rams (4-2) must return to Calcasieu Parish next Friday to play Sam Houston. It was Acadiana’s worst loss since Carencro beat the Rams 52-0 in 2003.

Barbe quarterback Jelandon Gray was sacked three times for a loss of 44 yards and a fumble, but that hardly ruined his stat line. The Old Dominion commitment was still 10-of-14 passing for 227 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 20 yards and two more scores. Barbe running back Jordin Grifﬁn added 109 yards and two scores on 10 carries. Sawyer Kuypers led the Bucs receivers with six receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Barbe’s defense also returned a fumble 26 yards for a touchdown and an interception 72 yards for another touchdown. It was a turnover fest for the Rams, who fumbled eight times

(losing six) and also throwing the interception. Acadiana was led by running back Syrian Joseph with 150 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. The Rams opened the game with a failed onside kick attempt. After recovering it, the Bucs hit Kupyers on a 51-yard score. After the ensuing kickoff, the Rams fumbled and Will Flavin got a 34-yard field goal out of it. Another Rams fumble set up a 67-yard TD toss to Kupyers for a 17-0 lead with 6:05 left in the first quarter. Joseph got Acadiana a little closer with a 1-yard TD plunge with 45 seconds left in the first

quarter to make it 17-7. Barbe responded with a 25-yard TD pass to Grifﬁn with 10:57 left until halftime. That’s when two of the three sacks were inflicted on Gray to seemingly give the Rams a chance at taking back some momentum. Only, Barbe’s 40-yard punt was fumbled to set up a 20yard scoring drive and a commanding 31-7 lead for the Bucs. Gray later added a 9-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds left until intermission, then opened the third quarter with a 21-yard TD run for a 45-10 cushion.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Sacred Heart 27, St. Edmund 24 Team SH STE First Downs 12 14 Yards Rushing 172 93 Yards Passing 124 168 Passes (C-A-HI) 9-14-1 11-18-1 Punts-avg. 2-29.5 4-32.2 Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-1 Penalties-yards 5-88 10-121 SCORING SUMMARY Sacred Heart 0 7 7 13 —27 St. Edmund 0 0 0 24 —24 SH — Lane Joubert 5 run (William Chapman kick) SH — William Joubert 28 run (Chapman kick) STE — Hudson Simon 18 run (Ben Miller run) STE — Max Smith 40 pass from Camdyn Loewer (Miller run) SH — Gavin Patin 71 run (run failed) STE — Miller 1 run (Miller run) SH — Patin 12 pass from William Joubert (Chapman kick)

Southside 77, Sulphur 39 Team SUL SS First Downs 16 32 Yards Rushing 103 653 Yards Passing 179 0 Passes (C-A-HI) 11-22-0 0-0-0 Punts-avg. 3-38.7 0-0 Fumbles-lost 3-2 0-0 Penalties-yards 4-35 5-50 SCORING SUMMARY Sulphur 14 18 0 7 —39 Southside 14 22 35 6 —77 SUL — Wesley Bushnell 27 pass from Noah Courtney (Ethan Stephenson kick) SUL — Bushnell 4 run (Stephenson kick) SSIDE — Justin Williams 24 run (Jackson Fontenot kick) SSIDE — Williams 4 run (Fontenot kick) SUL — Courtney 15 run (Stephenson kick) SSIDE — Williams 66 run (Fontenot kick) SSIDE — Parker Dies 2 run (Fontenot kick) SUL — Jaden Lilly 17 pass from Courtney (Alexander Dollar pass from Bryson Hardy) SSIDE — Williams 9 run (Dies run) SUL — Stephenson 46 FG SSIDE — Williams 20 run (Fontenot kick) SSIDE — Kollen Francois 3 run (Fontenot kick) SSIDE — Coby Broussard 22 run (Fontenot kick) SSIDE — Dies 27 run (Fontenot kick) SSIDE — Broussard 27 Fontenot kick) SSIDE — Justin Thibeaux 5 run SUL — Tracy Washington 60 lateral run (Stephenson kick)

Teurlings 49, Acadiana Renaissance 14 Team ARCA TC First Downs 13 22 Yards Rushing 97 246 Yards Passing 106 227 Passes (C-A-HI) 9-11-0 15-19-0 Punts-avg. 2-27.5 0-0 Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-0 Penalties-yards 2-25 7-85 SCORING SUMMARY Acadiana Renaissance 7 0 7 0 —14 Teurlings 14 21 14 0 —49 TEUR — James Benoit 2 run (Hunter Starling kick) ARCA — Coen Boudreaux 23 pass from Ethan Boudreaux (Jax Romero kick) TEUR — Esiere Granger 26 run (Starling kick) TEUR — Granger 3 run (Starling kick) TEUR — DJ Kelly 3 run (Starling kick) TEUR — Granger 4 run (Starling kick) TEUR — Benoit 1 run (Starling kick) TEUR — La’Come Willis 2 run (Starling kick) ARCA — Coen Boudreaux 21 pass from Vance Laborde (Romero kick)

University 42, Kaplan 12 Team UHS KHS First Downs 21 17 Yards Rushing 218 265 Yards Passing 176 33 Passes (C-A-HI) 11-24-0 3-5-2 Punts-avg. 1-41 1-19 Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-0 Penalties-yards 8-90 8-60 SCORING SUMMARY University 8 20 14 0 —42 Kaplan 0 6 0 6 —12 UNIV — Caiden Bellard 9 pass from Knox Kiffin (Luca Picarella run) KAP — Jeremy Roy 4 run (Run failed) UNIV — Bellard 1 run (Kai Joo Kick) UNIV — Bellard 7 run (Kick failed) UNIV — Stephen Saia 35 pass from Kiffin (Joo kick) UNIV — Bellard 2 run (Joo Kick) UNIV — Kiffin 4 run (Joo Kick) KAP — De’Maurion Cormier 3 run (Kick blocked)

Westminster-Lafayette 27, Ascension Episcopal 26 Team AES WCAL First Downs 13 13 Yards Rushing 28 143 Yards Passing 382 120 Passes (C-A-HI) 15-26-1 6-11-0 Punts-avg. 2-37.5 5-31.2 Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1 Penalties-yards 2-20 4-35 SCORING SUMMARY Ascension Episcopal 3 16 0 7 —26 Westminster-Lafayette 0 7 7 13 —27 AES — Rusty Trotter 28 FG AES — Sport Gros 62 pass from Eli Gros (Trotter kick) AES — Carson Collette 29 pass from Eli Gros (Kick failed) WCAL — Zade Prejean 19 run (Prejean kick) AES — Trotter 21 FG WCAL — Prejean 10 run (Prejean kick) AES — Owen LeBlanc 5 run (Trotter kick) WCAL — Pierce Gable 15 run (Prejean kick) WCAL — Gable 16 run (Run failed)

WEEK 7 SCHEDULE Thursday’s games Southside (3-3) at Lafayette (4-2) Rayne (2-4) at LaGrange (0-6) McMain (0-6) at Acadiana Renaissance (2-4) Mamou (2-4) at Crowley (2-4) Franklin (3-2) at Lafayette Christian (4-2)

Friday’s games

Acadiana (4-2) at Sam Houston (2-4) Sulphur (4-2) at New Iberia (1-5) Barbe (6-0) at St. Thomas More (5-1) Leesville (5-1) at North Vermilion (5-1) Teurlings (1-5) at Lafayette Renaissance (4-2) Hanson (3-3) at Ascension Episcopal (3-3) Westminster-Laf. (6-0) at Central Catholic (3-3) Northside (1-5) at Westgate (5-0) Beau Chene (6-0) at Cecilia (4-2) Breaux Bridge (0-6) at Carencro (2-4) Opelousas (4-2) at Livonia (1-4) Church Point (4-2) at Ville Platte (0-6) Northwest (4-2) at Eunice (6-0) Iota (2-4) at Port Barre (0-6) Sarah Reed (5-1) at Abbeville (2-4) Marksville (5-1) at Erath (3-3) Parkview Baptist (2-4) at Kaplan (4-2) Avoyelles (3-3) at St. Martinville (2-4) Notre Dame (6-0) at Basile (2-4) Catholic-NI (4-2) at Loreauville (4-2) Delcambre (5-1) at West St. Mary (3-3) JS Clark (4-2) at Westminster (2-4) Hannan (5-1) at Opelousas Catholic (1-5) Berchmans (2-4) at St. Edmund (3-3) Jeanerette (3-2) at Vermilion Catholic (1-5)

6C ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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SAINTS GAMEDAY

ROSTERS SAINTS No. Player Pos Ht Wt Exp College 1 Kool-Aid McKinstry CB 5-11 199 3 Alabama 2 Spencer Rattler QB 6-0 211 3 South Carolina 4 Oscar Delp TE 6-4 245 0 Georgia 5 Kendre Miller RB 6-0 220 4 TCU 6 Tyler Shough QB 6-5 219 2 Louisville 7 Jonas Sanker SAF 6-1 211 2 Virginia 10 Daniel Carlson K 6-5 222 9 Auburn 11 Zach Wilson QB 6-2 214 6 ByU 12 Chris Olave WR 6-0 187 5 Ohio State 13 Cedric Tillman WR 6-3 215 5 Tennessee 14 Devaughn Vele WR 6-5 210 3 Utah 17 Ryan Wright P 6-3 245 5 Tulane 18 Bryce Lance WR 6-3 204 0 North Dakota St. 19 Barion Brown WR 5-11 177 0 LSU 20 Pete Werner LB 6-3 242 6 Ohio State 21 Justin Reid SAF 6-1 207 9 Stanford 22 Martin Emerson Jr. CB 6-2 201 5 Mississippi State 23 Julian Blackmon SAF 6-0 202 7 Utah 24 Ulysses Bentley IV RB 5-10 200 1 Ole Miss 28 Danny Stutsman LB 6-3 233 2 Oklahoma 29 Quincy Riley CB 5-11 195 2 Louisville 31 Jordan Howden DB 6-0 209 4 Minnesota 33 Anfernee Jennings DE 6-2 255 7 Alabama 36 Lorenzo Styles Jr. SAF 6-0 194 0 Ohio State 38 Jayden Price CB 5-11 185 1 North Dakota St. 41 Alvin Kamara RB 5-10 215 10 Tennessee 42 Mike Reid SAF 6-2 200 1 South Dakota 43 CJ Donaldson RB 6-1 230 0 Ohio State 44 Isaiah Stalbird LB 6-1 215 2 South Dakota St. 46 Cal Adomitis LS 6-2 238 5 Pittsburgh 50 Colby Wooden DL 6-4 273 4 Auburn 51 Cesar Ruiz OL 6-4 316 7 Michigan 52 Christen Miller DT 6-3 321 0 Georgia 53 Jaylan Ford LB 6-2 240 3 Texas 55 Kaden Elliss LB 6-2 238 8 Idaho 56 David Ojabo DE 6-4 255 5 Michigan 58 Chris Rumph II LB 6-2 244 6 Duke 65 Jeremiah Wright G 6-5 331 0 Auburn 66 William Sherman G 6-4 300 2 Colorado 72 Asim Richards OL 6-4 307 4 North Carolina 73 Easton Kilty T 6-6 307 1 Kansas State 74 Mason Murphy T 6-5 315 0 Auburn 75 Taliese Fuaga T 6-6 324 3 Oregon State 76 David Edwards G 6-6 308 8 Wisconsin 78 Erik McCoy OL 6-4 303 8 Texas A&M 82 Treyton Welch TE 6-4 240 1 Wyoming 83 Juwan Johnson TE 6-4 245 7 Oregon 87 Noah Fant TE 6-4 249 8 Iowa 91 Vernon Broughton DL 6-5 311 2 Texas 92 Davon Godchaux DL 6-3 330 10 LSU 93 Nathan Shepherd DL 6-4 315 9 Fort Hays State 94 Cameron Jordan DE 6-4 287 16 California 95 John Ridgeway III DL 6-5 321 5 Arkansas 96 Carl Granderson DE 6-5 261 8 Wyoming 97 Khristian Boyd DL 6-2 320 3 Northern Iowa 98 Tyree Wilson DE 6-5 263 4 Texas Tech 99 Chase young DE 6-5 265 7 Ohio State

FOUR THINGS TO WATCH CONTAIN VIKINGS OFFENSE The Vikings offense is far from potent. Despite their 4-0 record, they have two wins where the offense didn’t score a touchdown. So they are far from invincible, although Destrehan alum Justin Jefferson could return from his ankle injury. Jefferson has played just 19 snaps with QB Kyler Murray. Minnesota TE T.J. Hockenson caught 13 passes last week against Miami.Tight ends have given the Saints problems so far this season.

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KEEP SHOUGH CLEAN If the Saints have any chance of handing the Vikings their first loss, they will have to keep Tyler Shough upright. He has been sacked 12 times. Now he faces the team that leads the NFL in sacks (16). Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores loves to bring the heat, so the offensive line will be tested like never before.The Vikings’ pressure rate (47.4%) leads the NFL.Their blitz rate (67.9%) also is tops in the league.

GROUND ATTACK Sorry if you’ve heard this one before, but the Saints must get the ground game going.They rank 27th in rushing (88.5 yards per game). If the Saints can run effectively, it can keep them out of third-and-long situations.The Vikings feast on obvious passing downs.The Saints rushed for just 50 yards last week (2.6 yards per carry). That won’t get it done against the league’s stingiest defense. The Vikings are allowing just 12.8 points per game.

BOUNCING BACK The Saints have to put forth a better effort than they did in Monday’s loss to the Falcons. yeah, it’s just the fifth game, but this could be a season-defining one.Are the Saints really as bad as they looked six days ago? Or was that just a bad day at the office? How the Saints respond will provide some much-needed answers. Players admitted this week how embarrassing the Atlanta loss was.The effort, especially on defense, will have to be better.

Rod Walker

VIKINGS No. Player Pos Ht Wt Exp College 0 Ivan Pace Jr. LB 5-10 236 4 Cincinnati 1 Kyler Murray QB 5-10 207 8 Oklahoma 2 Isaiah Rodgers CB 5-10 180 6 UMass 3 Jordan Addison WR 5-11 179 4 USC 4 Myles Price WR 5-9 183 2 Indiana 5 Zemaiah Vaughn CB 6-3 180 1 Utah 7 Byron Murphy Jr. CB 5-11 190 8 Washington 8 Jakobe Thomas SAF 6-1 211 0 Miami (FL) 11 Carson Wentz QB 6-5 237 11 North Dakota St. 12 Max Brosmer QB 6-2 218 2 Minnesota 13 Tai Felton WR 6-1 186 2 Maryland 14 Jauan Jennings WR 6-3 212 6 Tennessee 15 Dallas Turner OLB 6-3 247 3 Alabama 16 Will Reichard K 6-1 190 3 Alabama 17 Kyle Van Noy OLB 6-3 255 13 ByU 18 Justin Jefferson WR 6-1 195 7 LSU 19 Brett Thorson P 6-1 237 0 Georgia 20 Charles Demmings CB 6-1 193 0 Stephen F.Austin 21 Demond Claiborne RB 5-10 188 0 Wake Forest 22 Harrison Smith SAF 6-2 211 14 Notre Dame 23 James Pierre CB 6-2 185 7 Florida Atlantic 24 Jay Ward SAF 6-1 190 4 LSU 26 Theo Jackson SAF 6-1 205 5 Tennessee 29 Jacob Thomas SAF 6-1 212 0 James Madison 31 DeeJay Dallas RB 5-10 225 7 Miami (FL) 32 Chaz Chambliss OLB 6-1 244 2 Georgia 33 Aaron Jones Sr. RB 5-10 208 10 UTEP 41 Jake Golday LB 6-4 240 0 Cincinnati 42 Andrew DePaola LS 6-1 227 12 Rutgers 43 Andrew Van Ginkel OLB 6-4 242 8 Wisconsin 44 Joshua Metellus SAF 5-11 208 7 Michigan 45 Max Bredeson FB 6-2 252 0 Michigan 50 Levi Drake Rodriguez DL 6-2 307 3 East Texas A&M 51 Blake Cashman LB 6-1 235 8 Minnesota 55 Eric Wilson LB 6-1 231 10 Cincinnati 60 Joe Huber G 6-5 310 2 Wisconsin 61 Jalen Redmond DL 6-3 305 3 Oklahoma 64 Blake Brandel C 6-6 315 6 Oregon State 65 Michael Jurgens C 6-5 311 3 Wake Forest 69 Trevor Keegan G 6-6 315 3 Michigan 71 Christian Darrisaw T 6-5 315 6 Virginia Tech 72 Ryan Van Demark T 6-7 307 4 UConn 75 Brian O’Neill T 6-7 310 9 Pittsburgh 76 Will Fries G 6-6 321 6 Penn State 78 Caleb Tiernan OT 6-7 323 0 Northwestern 85 Ben yurosek TE 6-4 251 2 Georgia 86 Gavin Bartholomew TE 6-5 249 2 Pittsburgh 87 T.J. Hockenson TE 6-5 248 8 Iowa 90 T. Ingram-Dawkins DL 6-5 290 2 Georgia 95 Caleb Banks DL 6-6 327 0 Florida 97 Domonique Orange DL 6-2 322 0 Iowa State 98 Bo Richter OLB 6-1 248 3 Air Force 99 Elijah Williams DL 6-3 298 2 Morgan State

INJURY REPORT SAINTS

OUT: LB Kaden Elliss (calf), EDGE Anfernee Jennings (knee), G Jeremiah Wright (concussion). QUESTIONABLE: S Julian Blackmon (shoulder), WR Barion Brown (thigh), LB Jaylan Ford (ankle),RBAlvin Kamara (back),S Lorenzo Styles (calf).

VIKINGS

OUT: T Christian Darrisaw (concussion), CB Chuck Demmings (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: WR Jordan Addison (hamstring), WR Justin Jefferson (ankle), C Michael Jurgens (elbow), T Brian O’Neill (knee), TE Ben yurosek (ankle).

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Saints coach Kellen Moore and quarterback Tyler Shough talk before a play against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday at the Caesars Superdome.

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C against the 4-0 Minnesota Vikings, the success of his tenure may hinge on whether the 38-year-old can adapt and ﬁx the issues that have plagued the Saints under his leadership. “That’s what the NFL is,” Moore said. “Every season you have different challenges and different things you have to navigate. That’s the fun part of it. “You get to solve problems, and that’s what it’s all about.”

First-quarter mess To grasp how bad the Saints have been in the first quarter under Moore, consider this: Since 2025, New Orleans has been outscored by 118 points in the first 15 minutes. That’s double the minus-59 of the New York Jets, the next-worst team in that span. The margin between them equals the gap between the Jets and the 17thworst Los Angeles Chargers. Focusing on just 2026, the Saints are tied for last with a minus-25 first-quarter point differential. Teams change from season to season, but the slow starts predate Moore’s time in New Orleans — even dating back to his days as offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles. The problems appear to stem from the ineffectiveness of Moore’s opening scripts. Even in the year they won the Super Bowl, the 2024 Eagles scored only two opening-drive touchdowns in the regular season with Moore as the playcaller. The 2023 Chargers ranked around league average in that category, while the Cowboys never ranked above 15th during Moore’s four years there. In New Orleans, the opening-drive points drought has continued. The Saints have put up points on their first possession in only four of Moore’s 21 games, with two touchdowns and two field goals last season. “It is just disappointing,” Moore said. “We have tried a number of different things.” After 14 losses, Moore has been asked about slow starts in his post-game news conference for half of them. The Saints have held a first-quarter lead only once in Moore’s tenure, a 6-3 score in a game New Orleans still lost after melting down in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders two weeks ago. As Moore said, the Saints have tried dif-

ferent approaches to solve their first-quarter woes. Things got so dire last season that they opted to take the ball first after winning the coin toss, only for quarterback Spencer Rattler to throw a pick-six. In the offseason, Moore said the Saints conducted multiple studies — from analyzing the team’s daily schedule to the on-field plays — in an effort to find a solution. This week has prompted another swing. Practice times have stayed the same, but quarterback Tyler Shough noted the sessions now begin with a “compete period” so players “are kind of going right into it” after individual drills. “There’s no magic, ‘Hey, let’s do this during practice,’ ” Shough said. The defense isn’t immune from the first-quarter troubles, either. The unit has given up a league-high 19 touchdowns in the quarter since 2025, including 10 on the defense’s opening drive. Nine of those 10 were last year. But the first one this season was costly: Atlanta running back Bijan Robinson erupted for a 59-yard touchdown to start the rout Monday. “What you try to limit is too many mistakes each play,” Young said. “So there’s a difference if I make a mistake one play, but everybody else is on they job. Probably a 3-yard gain. But when you got a play where there might be five people, then that’s where you got your explosives.”

Double digits add up Here’s another startling fact about the Saints’ first two seasons under Moore: They’ve trailed in every game. Sometimes, the margin is minuscule and doesn’t affect the final result. The Saints were down 3-0, for instance, in a 29-6 win over the Jets last season. The Tennessee Titans are the only other team since the start of last season to have faced a deficit in every game, according to Stathead. More concerning for New Orleans is just how many games the black and gold has fallen behind by double digits in Moore’s two seasons. That’s 16 of 21. Four of Moore’s seven wins have seen the Saints erase those deficits. And when that happens, New Orleans deservedly gets credit for being a resilient team. Players and coaches will tout how they respond to adversity, and there has been something promising about watching Shough make an absurd number of throws in the clutch to rally the Saints. But that formula is unsustainable. The margin for victory becomes too thin, and more often than not, the deficit becomes

too large. “It’s obviously extremely tough,” Shough said. “In the NFL, you can’t live in that world where they know you are throwing it every single time. I don’t have a problem doing that, but it’s just tougher.” With the Saints falling behind the way they have, Moore’s options as a play-caller become limited. Shough ranks first with 180 passing attempts, more out of necessity than because Moore prefers passing. The quarterback is on pace for 765 attempts, which would top Tom Brady’s single-season record of 733 passes (2022). Part of the Saints’ struggles stems from their inability to run the ball. For the second straight year, New Orleans ranks bottom five in yards per carry. And while some advanced metrics like success rate (41.4%, ranking 15th) and run DVOA (efficiency, ranking 22nd) aren’t as bad, the Saints haven’t run the ball well to start the game and then abandon it once they fall behind. The resources spent to fix the problem haven’t panned out yet. Travis Etienne, signed to a four-year, $48 million contract, is on injured reserve, and New Orleans’ commitment to run more outside zone plays has resulted in 2.9 yards per carry, according to FTN Fantasy “To be transparent, and it’s obvious, we’ve struggled running,” Johnson said. “We’ve been pretty good in the offseason, just being dialed in on our keys and running the ball. It hasn’t shown.”

Problem solving Sitting in his office 14 months ago, Saints general manager Mickey Loomis wanted to make a point about how coaches can become different over time. The executive said any comparisons between his latest hire and his most famous one should keep in mind that Sean Payton was not the same coach at the beginning of his Saints tenure as he was at the end. Payton had “evolved” through his 15 years here, Loomis said. So then, how did he expect Moore to grow? “I don’t have any preconceived notions,” Loomis said. “I’m just going to go along and help him as much as we can. And look, here’s what I like about him: He’s open-minded.” That open-mindedness may be the key to Moore ﬁnally ﬁnding a solution to the problems he has to solve. Though slow starts have been a theme throughout his career, Moore has had a history of adapt-

ä See SAINTS, page 7C

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● 7C

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VIKINGS at SAINTS

Noon Sunday, Caesars Superdome Line: Vikings by 2½ (Over/Under: 41½) TV: FOX | Radio: KMDL-FM, 97.3; KPEL-AM, 1420

six-day-a-week newsletter

OFFENSIVE LEADERS Saints

Vikings

PASSING

Player

Cmp-Att-Pct Yds TD Int

Tyler Shough

121-180-67.2

1203

RUSHING

Player

Att

Player

Rec Yards Avg TD

Player

30 25 19 16

128 74 53 72

4.3 3.0 2.8 4.5

0 2 1 1

Chris Olave Juwan Johnson Devaughn Vele Travis Etienne Alvin Kamara Noah Fant

35 21 21 11 11 8

45-71-63.4

Att

Aaron Jones Jordan Mason Kyler Murray Carson Wentz

491 232 226 51 47 66

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Saints coach Kellen Moore reacts after a play against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night in the Caesars Superdome.

It’s time for Moore to throw caution to wind We’re going to learn a lot about the New Orleans Saints in the next few weeks. We’re also going to learn a lot about Kellen Moore. The Saints’ second-year coach is facing the biggest challenge of his nascent head coaching career. Back-to-back home losses to the Raiders and Falcons have shaken the confidence of the fan base and lit a charge under the veteran leaders on his second Saints team. A blowout loss to your archrival in a game you were favored to win at home will do that to you. It wasn’t so much that the Saints lost but how they lost that was bothersome. The Saints were outplayed, outcoached and outmuscled for four quarters. Even worse, they played timid and coached scared. No wonder Cam Jordan, Justin Reid and Tyler Shough aired their frustrations afterward. The performance was unacceptable in every way. Moore desperately needs to right the ship and restore confidence in his leadership and coaching acumen. And he needs to do it quickly or his second season could spiral away from him. After a disappointing 1-3 start, some Saints fans have criticized Moore, saying they’d like to see more fire and passion from him in the heat of battle. And I get it. Louisianans love big characters and passionate people. But that’s not Moore. In terms of coaching style and demeanor, he’s more Bill Walsh than Bill Parcells. Moore is never going to pull a “coulda, woulda, shoulda” meltdown like Jim Mora. And he’s not one to impulsively fire an assistant coach or bench a key starter the way Sean Payton sometimes did to send a message.

SAINTS

Continued from page 6C ing in other areas. In fact, he first chuckled when asked to give an example of a time he solved an issue that initially gave him trouble. “I mean, there’s a lot,” Moore said. Every year, he said, Moore has to navigate what best suits his roster in terms of style of play. He has overseen offenses with Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts, Rattler and Shough at quarterback — five vastly different kinds of passers. Within those differences, Moore has had to be flexible. “Sometimes, it’s patience in the run game,” Moore said. “Sometimes, it’s, ‘How do we find ways to create explosive passes?’ I’ve had challenges with that before. There’s always different avenues.” Moore’s track record of adapting can be seen at several spots. After a 2-2 start in

Jeff Duncan Again, that’s not Moore. It would be out of character for him to throw a fit or lose it emotionally after a game. He doesn’t need to change who he is. But he does need to tweak how he operates and figure out how to fix his teams’ recurring problems: slow starts, an impotent running game and a defense that gets pushed around at the point of attack. While Moore’s second team has shown notable improvement in areas such as penalties, red-zone offense and big-play production, it is still undermined by the former issues (along with a roster that lacks blue-chip talent at some critical spots). It doesn’t help that three of the guys the Saints brought in to improve things on the field will be standing on the sideline next to Moore on Sunday against the Vikings. There’s little Moore can do to heal injuries to Jordyn Tyson, Travis Etienne and Kaden Elliss. What he can do, though, is go all in and start coaching with more aggression. Of the myriad things that happened Monday night, Moore’s conservative play calling and game management were contributing factors to the loss. The decisions to punt from the Atlanta 42 before halftime and to kick a field goal from the Falcons 8 in the third quarter lacked aggressiveness and sent the wrong message to his team. I get that he was trying to stop the bleeding, but those situations demanded aggressiveness.

Philadelphia, Moore leaned fully into a run-centric offense around Saquon Barkley. Along the way, he reportedly compromised with Hurts on how much pre-snap motion to use in his offense — an area Hurts “did not always embrace,” according to ESPN. Last season, Moore adapted by implementing more undercenter looks as the season progressed. Running backs coach Joel Thomas said Moore and the coaching staff also “trimmed the fat” in the run game, leaning more into their strengths. Moore’s explosive pass rates generally improve as the year goes on, as long as his starting quarterback doesn’t get hurt. In 2019, Moore’s first year as a play-caller, the Cowboys went from 45 explosive passes in their first eight games to 58 in their last eight. Last year’s Saints also improved dramatically, though that was arguably more reflective of the team’s quarterback change. Still, the Saints

It might not be Moore’s nature to rely on his gut rather than his analytics, but sometimes the situation demands it. Throughout history, the best NFL coaches have been the ones who know when to balance Payton learned to embrace analytics over time, but he always said: “You can’t let analytics trump instincts.” Mike Tomlin said it best: “I don’t live in my fears, but I don’t live in a binder, either. You feel the pulse of your men.” As Moore continues to develop as a head coach, he’ll need to learn when and how to strike this delicate balance as a game manager. Trusting your gut is rarely a bad idea. New Orleans, after all, loves gamblers and games of chance. This town was founded by rogues and ragamuffins. Craps and poker were introduced to America here. This is where the first land-based casino outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City was built and where the third-oldest horse racing track in America still operates. In a city of risk-takers, Moore could stand to take a few more. Fortune, we know, favors the bold. Moore showed he owns a bold streak when he eschewed the tie and went for the winning two-point conversion in the opener against Detroit. The Saints need to see more of that devil-may-care approach going forward. It’s only Week 5. There’s a lot of football left to be played. Moore doesn’t need to roll heads or throw a fit. But it wouldn’t hurt him to roll the dice more often, starting with Sunday’s game against the Vikings. Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@theadvocate.com.

had only 19 explosive passes with Rattler and then 45 with Shough. This season, the Saints have shown improvements in other areas that were a problem in Moore’s first year. Their biggest growth has been in the red zone, where the Saints now rank fourth with an 80% touchdown rate after ranking last in 2025 at 44.4%. Their penalties are also down, and they are now the eighthleast penalized team. But the big problems still remain. What Moore can’t afford any longer is the Saints looking as unprepared as they did against the Falcons. He has acknowledged preparation as a factor for their loss twice in his tenure, also taking the blame after last year’s 44-13 disaster against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 3. The third time won’t be the charm. “We have to find a way,” Moore said. Email Matthew Paras at matt.paras@theadvocate.com

Avg TD

297 59 42 5

4.1 3.9 4.2 0.6

1 1 0 0

RECEIVING 14.0 11.0 10.8 4.6 4.3 8.3

1 3 2 0 0 3

Rec Yards Avg TD

T.J. Hockenson Justin Jefferson Jordan Addison Aaron Jones DeeJay Dallas Josh Oliver

22 13 11 9 3 3

195 179 163 68 23 46

8.9 13.8 14.8 7.6 7.7 15.3

1 2 1 0 0 0

KICKING

XPM XPA FGM FGA

Daniel Carlson

Net

72 15 10 8

KICKING Player

433

RUSHING

RECEIVING Player

Cmp-Att-Pct Yds TD Int

Kyler Murray

Avg TD

Travis Etienne Alvin Kamara Kendre Miller Tyler Shough

Net

PASSING

Player

XPM XPA FGM FGA

Will Reichard

DEFENSIVE LEADERS TACKLES Player

Jonas Sanker Pete Werner Kaden Elliss Danny Stutsman Julian Blackmon Justin Reid Kool-Aid McKinstry Davon Godchaux Nathan Shepherd Carl Granderson Quincy Riley Chase Young Tyree Wilson Anfernee Jennings Colby Wooden Vernon Broughton Khristian Boyd Isaiah Stalbird Martin Emerson

TACKLES

Tot Solo Ast TFL Sk 26 25 24 22 21 19 17 12 12 11 10 8 8 7 7 6 6 6 5

17 14 11 9 11 14 11 4 3 5 6 5 4 3 2 1 3 4 4

9 11 13 13 10 5 6 8 9 6 4 3 4 4 5 5 3 2 1

1 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 0

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 1 0 3.5 1 0 0 0 1 0 0

INTERCEPTIONS Player

Julian Blackmon

2.0

Tot Solo Ast TFL Sk

Blake Cashman 33 Josh Metellus 25 Eric Wilson 24 Byron Murphy 18 Isaiah Rodgers 13 Dallas Turner 13 James Pierre 12 Jalen Redmond 12 Andrew Van Ginkel 11 Ivan Pace 11 Theo Jackson 9 Kyle Van Noy 9 Caleb Banks 8 Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins 7 Harrison Smith 7 Levi Drake Rodriguez 6 Jake Golday 6 Chaz Chambliss 5 Jacob Thomas 5

17 14 11 12 7 10 8 8 6 3 6 7 3 4 5 2 4 2 2

16 11 13 6 6 3 4 4 5 8 3 2 5 3 2 4 2 3 3

3 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 2 1 0 6 1 1 0 1 0 0 0

2.5 0.5 1.5 0 0 5.5 0 0 3 0.5 0 1.5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

INTERCEPTIONS Player

Tot Yds Avg TD PD 1

Player

Andrew Ginkel Isaiah Rodgers Byron Murphy James Pierre

Tot Yds Avg TD PD 1 1 1 1

0 0 -1 28

0.0 0.0 -0.5 28.0

0 0 0 0

1 3 3 3

TEAM STATS OFFENSE PER GAME Yards gained: 367.0

OFFENSE PER GAME Yards gained: 262.6

Plays: 69.8

Plays: 63.7

PASS 278.5

RUSH 88.5

PASS 45.0

RUSH 24.8

Turnovers: 2.00 INTERCEPTIONS 0.75

FUMBLES 1.25

PASS 156.0

RUSH 106.6

PASS 29.0

RUSH 34.7

Turnovers: 0.50 INTERCEPTIONS 0.50

FUMBLES 0.00

DEFENSE PER GAME Yards allowed: 360.3

DEFENSE PER GAME Yards allowed: 289.3

Turnovers forced: 0.75

Turnovers forced: 1.75

PASS 212.5

RUSH 147.8

INTERCEPTIONS 0.25

FUMBLES 0.50

SCORING PER GAME

SCORED ALLOWED

PASS 194.8

RUSH 94.5

INTERCEPTIONS 1.00

FUMBLES 0.75

SCORING PER GAME

SCORED ALLOWED

26.3

22.5

18.0

21.0

20.2

19.6

12.8

2026

2025

2026

2025

CONVERSION SUCCESS

Third down

50%

Fourth down

22.2%

50%

Fail

100%

34.4% 65.6%

77.8% Convert

Fourth down

Convert

Fail

Convert

Fail

Convert

STAFF PREDICTIONS ROD WALKER

JEFF DUNCAN

LUKE JOHNSON

MATTHEW PARAS

SAINTS 17, VIKINGS 14: This feels almost like a make-or-break game for the Saints.They desperately need to get off the mat after being knocked out by the rival Falcons on Monday night.The Vikings defense is nasty, but the offense is limited. Scoring against Minnesota won’t be easy, but maybe the Saints defense or special teams can help out. Saints find a way to bounce back from the Monday debacle. VIKINGS 16, SAINTS 13: I have had a hard time figuring out who this Saints team will be on a weekly basis. In the present, it’s hard to be optimistic about their chances against what has been the NFL’s best defense through four weeks. It feels like the Saints defense is set for a rebound performance, but I don’t trust the New Orleans offensive line against a creative Vikings pass rush.

SAINTS 20, VIKINGS 16: In the NFL, sometimes the most desperate team wins (see: Tampa Bay on Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys). In this game, that would be the Saints, who are reeling after back-to-back home losses. It’s still early in the season, but this feels like a gotta-haveit game for New Orleans. The defense will come through to make sure the Saints win this one. SAINTS 17, VIKINGS 13: The Saints lose the games they’re supposed to win and win the games they’re supposed to lose. If that pattern holds, then reluctantly give me the Saints. I believe Brandon Staley when he said Monday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons was “very uncharacteristic” for the defense. Now the unit faces a Vikings offense that has struggled badly. It needs to come through.

8C ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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LOUISIANA INSPIRED: Bonnabel theater teacher gives students a professional edge 5D

LIVING

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

S u n d ay, O c t O b e r 11, 2026

1dn

Brian Egland, playwright and director of ‘Where the Suga Still Sweet’

Jan Risher

The dinner party I threw for more than a year finally happened For more than a year, I threw a dinner party that didn’t happen. I threw it in the car on the way to pick out tile. I threw it while standing in what had been our living room, looking at blackened studs, left by the fire that took our home in August 2025. I threw it on the nights the contractor called with the kind of news nobody wants from a contractor. The menu changed. The guest list changed. The party never got canceled. I’ve never been one to focus on bracing for the worst. Musicals I watched as a kid taught me a different approach. I lean on a “spoonful of sugar” and “my favorite things” — and one of my favorite things is my home full of interesting people I adore and delicious food I’ve helped prepare. I love to host. I love the minutes before guests arrive. I love that moment the doorbell rings and the evening stops being a plan. The candles are lit, and ice is in the bucket. Somewhere in the middle of the demolition of our home, right about the time I realized the wooden floors were goners and that I am allergic to drywall dust, I came up with an idea. I would build shelves for a collection of interesting drinking glasses. Not a matched set. Not eight of anything. I wanted odd, quirky glasses — preferably with a story, or at least enough clues to make one up. My idea was that when people came to our house, the first order of business would be walking up to the shelves, surveying the glasses and choosing whichever one called their name. That glass would be theirs for the night. Focusing on those shelves likely saved on therapy bills. However, the plan had one flaw: I didn’t own a single interesting glass. Still, I designed shelves for a collection that didn’t exist, in a house that wasn’t finished, for parties I couldn’t yet throw. It helped keep me going.

ä See PARTY, page 6D

Nominate someone extraordinary for our 2026

INSPIRIT AWARDS

Know someone in Louisiana who is making a positive difference? We’re looking nominees for our 2026 Inspirit Awards — people of any age who do their best to make their local community a better place, whether in their work, at schools, in organizations or in neighborhoods. Nominate someone at nola.com/site/forms/the_ inspirit_award by Sunday, Nov. 1. Recipients will be announced in December. Be sure to include details and examples of how you think their efforts can inspire others. We’re eager to share their stories.

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Acadiana native and New York-recognized playwright is bringing his acclaimed play home

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

For much of his childhood, Brian Egland’s neighbors were sugar cane fields in the small town of Breaux Bridge. Now, those fields are at the center of “Where the Suga Still Sweet,” a play written by Egland and drawn from his childhood growing up around sugar cane fields. The play will make its Acadiana premiere Oct. 23-25 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette. The play centers on Runna, played by Acadiana’s News First reporter Joshua Mouton, a young man grieving the death of his best friend, Sondelo. In Rev. Vern-Mayor’s failing sugar cane field, where the cane re-

fuses to grow, one patch continues to thrive. It is where Sondelo is buried and where Runna returns to talk with him. Through the play, Egland said he wanted to elevate an everyday Louisiana story into something more artistic and magical, while bringing Southern sto- Cast members for ‘Where the Suga Still Sweet’, which runs ries and experiences to Oct. 23–25 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts as part of the larger audiences. center’s Spotlight Theatre and Dance Series. “I wanted to tell these stories, but I also wanted to make Ensemble of the Year” by National them artistic and special and have Black Theatre during its developmagic in them,” Egland said. “A ment and won the 2023 GAA Crithigher art form of an everyday ics Choice Award after its world Louisiana story.” ä See EGLAND, page 6D The play was recognized as “Best

Nonproﬁt farm to host ﬁve-course fundraiser dinner Agroforestry apprentices tour the Baton Roots Community Farm at BREC’s Howell Community Park on the first day of their apprenticeship. PROVIDED PHOTO FROM SK GROLL

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Since 2012, the Walls Project has revitalized underused spaces, created public art and hosted volunteer cleanups in the capital region. As part of its fall fundraiser, the nonproﬁt will host a ticketed, farm-to-table experience under the night sky at the Baton Roots Community Farm, 5509 Winbourne Ave., on Oct. 10, and all

proceeds will go back into the community farm. This is the inaugural event, an idea sparked by the team’s realization of how enjoyable a farm-to-table dinner would be. Additionally, many locals don’t realize that the community farm is a program of the Walls Project. “It’s an opportunity for the community to not only try our produce but know that we’re

ä See FARM, page 6D

2D l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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Symphony’s opening night was a star-spangled spectacular It is hard to be wowed these days, with so much great entertainment in Acadiana competing for our attention. But the opening night of the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra’s America 250 program did just that.

Kris Wartelle

The evening concert was full of surprises. The America 250 concert paid homage to many

American classics. John Williams’ “Liberty

ASO President Robert Schacht, Music Director Matthew Kraemer

Fanfare,” Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,”

Clare Cook, Lore Linton, Lucy Osborn

to name a few. But it was the accompaniments that made these classics so exciting. “Lincoln Portrait” was performed with a reading by

Brenda Kovach, Julie Isenberg, Carol Trosclair

PHOTOS By KRIS WARTELLE

Emile Myers, a local teen known for his holiday fundraisers that bring in thousands of dollars for local charities across the area. Myers’ soul-stirring voice-over was so professional you would never know he is only 16 years old. Another major highlight was a guest appearance by Zhu Wang, who

Cindy Randazzo, Ron Austin, Robert and Malia Schacht

Linda and Wayne Lavergne

brought Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” to life in

Karen Olivier and Jill Rivers

awe-inspiring ways. Wang is the 71st Maria Canals International Piano Competition 2026 winner and is also the winner of Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and New Orleans International Piano Competition. His Carnegie Hall debut made The New York Times’ “Best of Classical Music” in 2021 list. You may have heard incredible pianists before;

Erin and Ryan Furby

you’ve probably never heard one like this. It’s hard to imagine such talent appearing right here in Lafayette, but that is exactly what we are witnessing. We want to congratulate ASO and its leadership and

Sharon Moss, Stacey S. Frederick

Beth and Harry Dyson

volunteers for their success in bringing this level of entertainment to Acadiana. Thank you for the

Ralph and Cherie Kraft

incredible evening!

TODAY IN HISTORY Today is Sunday, Oct. 11, the 284th day of 2026. There are 81 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 11, 1991, Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee; Thomas denounced the proceedings as a “high-tech lynching” and was confirmed on Oct. 15 by a 52-48 vote. Also on this date: In 1776, the Battle of Valcour Island was fought on Lake Champlain off present-day New York State; British forces captured or destroyed most of an American fleet under the command of Benedict Arnold but were stalled in their attempts to seize control of the lake and Fort Ticonderoga. In 1906, the San Francisco Board of Education ordered the city’s Asian students to be assigned to their own, segregated school. (The order was later rescinded at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt, who in exchange promised to curb Japanese immigration to the U.S.) In 1968, Apollo 7, the first crewed flight of the Apollo program, was launched with astronauts Walter Schirra Jr., Donn F. Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard. In 1984, Challenger astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space as she and fellow Mission Specialist David C. Leestma spent 3½ hours outside the shuttle. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened two days of talks in Reykjavik, Iceland, concerning arms control and human rights. In 1987, the AIDS Memorial Quilt was first displayed during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on the National Mall. In 2002, former President Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize for decades of work to resolve international conflicts and advocate for human rights through The Carter Center and other means. In 2017, the Boy Scouts of America announced that it would admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting the following year and establish a new program for older girls based on the Boy Scout curriculum. In 2022, NASA announced that the Dart spacecraft had plowed into a small asteroid millions of miles away and succeeded in shifting its orbit. The space agency conducted the test two weeks earlier to see if in the future a killer rock could be nudged out of Earth’s way. In 2024, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, for its efforts to free the world of nuclear weapons. Today’s birthdays: Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry is 99. Actor Amitabh Bachchan is 84. Singer Daryl Hall (Hall and Oates) is 80. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington state, is 76. Actor David Morse is 73. Football Hall of Famer Steve Young is 65. Actor Joan Cusack is 64. Actor Jane Krakowski is 58. Rapper MC Lyte is 56. Actor Emily Deschanel is 50. Actor Matt Bomer is 49. Four-time NBA All-Star Mike Conley Jr. is 39. Golfer Michelle Wie West is 37. Rapper Cardi B is 34. NFL Pro Bowl linebacker T.J. Watt is 32. NBA forward and Olympic gold medalist Keldon Johnson is 27.

Jessica Elizabeth Moore, Jackie Hettich

Sorry, sudoku won’t cure my chronic illness Dear Miss Manners: According to my Even more obvious symptoms would doctor and a genetic test, I not require you to reveal your have early onset Parkinson’s health problems to anyone who disease. I am 38. I am having does not have a serious reason a lot of the memory issues and to be concerned about you. Idle brain fog that come with the curiosity should be discouraged disease, but not the noticeable with a curt “It’s not something I tremors in these early stages. want to discuss.” Judith What do I say to people who Dear Miss Manners: I have a tenuMartin ous relationship with my neighdon’t understand why I forget words midsentence, or the corbors. How do I kindly tell them MISS MANNERS I cannot stand the smell of their rect names for things, or even, used cat litter bags collecting in on the rare occasion, where I our hallway? am and what I’m doing? Gentle reader: Leave an enclosed garI’ve tried to explain it’s the illness, but my age and lack of tremor have bage can and/or air freshener out people doubting me. They say I just there. Or ask, “If you need help taking need to do more sudoku or crosswords the litter bags to the garbage, please to sharpen my mind. It’s very frustrat- let me know. Because sometimes it starts to smell out here.” ing! Since the relationship is already Gentle reader: Extremely, but this is a reason for the common advice against tenuous, Miss Manners thinks you do frankly discussing one’s personal med- not have much to lose. Dear Miss Manners: I once was invited ical history. Besides being undigniﬁed, to a meal a few months after a death such honesty does not save one from in my family. It was a potluck/bufthe rude and insensitive. You do not owe these people an exfet event. I was asked to bring small amounts of six or seven different planation. The world is full of absentminded and forgetful people, and Miss items, including nuts, seeds, dried fruit, etc. Manners advises letting them draw If I had purchased these items and their own conclusions.

brought the requested amounts, I would have had lots of those foods left over at home, and I personally don’t eat any of it. I hate to waste food. I asked the hostess if I could just bring one item instead, and bring a whole bag of it. I also offered to convey my regrets if that was not acceptable to her. She said to just bring myself. I had never experienced a specific and complicated request like that. Did I do something wrong? Gentle reader: You did not, as some amount of negotiation is often unavoidable in such events, which are, by their nature, informal. Your hostess was also gracious in offering to relieve you of the obligation when she realized you were finding it challenging to comply. Miss Manners finds herself curious whether you attended, what you did or did not bring, and how your family’s loss relates to any of it. She hopes you did not fear that you needed to garner sympathy before asking a question of Miss Manners — lest you become the main course. Send questions to Miss Manners at dearmissmanners@gmail.com.

Reducing all that clutter in a junk drawer Dear Heloise: My 12-year-old son came up with a clever hint, and it proved to be very easy and helpful to us (and maybe other people, too). He saved all the toilet paper rolls and painted them white. Hints from Then he wrapped chargHeloise ing cords around individual rolls and labeled each one. At one end, he made a clean cut so that he could press one end of the cord through, to keep the cord from unraveling. What used to be a kitchen junk drawer is now organized and ﬁlled with these charging cords. When we need to recharge something, we know where the cord is, and when we’re done, we return the charging cord to its roll in the drawer. This has saved us hours of frustration by organizing our cords! — Jennifer S., in Dover, Delaware

Stack and store Dear Heloise: I love your column. I also love to cook, prep ingredients and save leftovers for yet a new spin on another meal, which all require planning to

have the best nutrition with minimal waste or expense. Instead of using plastic wrap, and due to limited fridge space, I put my leftover or prepped ingredients in bowls and use a saucer or plate that’s similarly sized to place on top of the bowl. This way, I can stack them, save space in the fridge, and don’t tussle with single-use plastic ﬁlm (which is never easy to deal with). This method saves me a lot of money, and it’s easier and better for the environment. — Jean W., in Richmond,Virginia

Allergy care Dear Heloise: Regarding Janice, who wrote in about having allergies and being uncomfortable in hotel rooms, my opinion is that she must ﬁrst look to herself and her doctors. She can be prescribed medication so that she can be comfortable everywhere and not expect others to accommodate her. I and others had a similar problem when singing in the philharmonic. Some members were sensitive to cologne, hairspray, etc. Since we were performing at indoor and outdoor venues, hairspray and other cosmetics

couldn’t be entirely avoided. The consensus was that everyone would cut back on these products, but those who were affected needed to care of themselves for their own well-being. Thanks for all of your great tips over the years, and bless you! — AnnaMaria, via email AnnaMaria, I have to agree. Rather than depending on someone else to help me cope with an allergy, I’d ﬁrst see if there was some way I could protect myself from dander, pollen and other allergy-causing substances. But it’s always greatly appreciated when others show a little consideration for those of us who suffer from allergies. — Heloise

Tough packaging Dear Heloise: In regard to opening hearing-aid battery packaging, my audiologist showed me a trick: Make a cut on the side of each battery with scissors. Then you can bend the individual battery, and it should open up and pop out. Yes, it’s still a chore, but it’s the only way to deal with this arduous packaging. — Teresa M., in Atlanta,Texas Send a hint to heloise@heloise.com.

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The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l 3D

TRAVEL San Antonio comes alive with Día de los Muertos Events are held throughout the city

tions are available to purchase at thesanantonioriverwalk.safﬁre. com/p/day-of-the-dead. Several restaurants located along the River Walk offer VIP seating as well.

BY CHERÉ COEN Contributing writer

In south Louisiana, we celebrate the days following Halloween with trips to the cemetery where we refresh and decorate tombs — sometimes with picnics on the granite — to honor those who have left us. Call La Toussaint, or All Saints’ Day, is the Catholic holy day of obligation that takes place on Nov. 1. Mexican traditions follow this celebration of life — even though it’s to honor the loved ones who have passed — with Día de los Muertos, a two-day celebration on Nov. 1 and 2 known as the Day of the Dead. Día de los Muertos has its roots in indigenous culture tracing back to Mesoamerican Aztecs and Mayans, among others, where they believed that loved ones didn’t die but enjoyed a continuation of existence in another realm and could reconnect with the living. Because of its ancient history, Día de los Muertos was inscribed to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. Since European arrival in the 16th century, Mexican communities have incorporated Día de los Muertos with Catholic traditions, including the date. Here are a few terms to know before celebrating: La catrina is a female skeleton associated with Día de los Muertos, often wearing a hat or headpiece and dressed in a black or bright colors. The male counterpart is catrin, usually dressed in a suit. Marigolds are the chosen ﬂowers used to adorn many of the cemetery tombs, altars and homes. Their vibrant color and scent are used to lure the dead back from their burial sites to visit the living in their homes. Ofrendas are a type of altar placed in family homes or beside graves to honor departed loved

Muertos Fest at Hemisfair There’s so much to love at the Muertos Fest the weekend of Oct. 23-25, including live music, food, a fashion show by Goodwill San Antonio, a kick-off ceremony of local dancers and mariachi in the park. The highlight of this free fest is the more than 80 handmade community altars, all honoring loved ones from grandparents to pets. Some altars are simple, encouraging visitors to write notes to those who have passed, while others resemble small houses, complete with furniture and photos of ancestors. Be sure to get a photo with the largest catrin and catrina in the United States.

This year’s Day of the Dead River Parade on the San Antonio River Walk will be Oct. 23.

PHOTOS By CHERÉ COEN

— plus corn, fruit, chocolate and pan de muerto, a special bread marked with a cross. For those who want to experience Día de los Muertos in all its glory, a visit to San Antonio in late October is a must. Events are held throughout the city for weeks leading up to the ﬁrst two days of November.

Day of the Dead River Parade

La Catrina and her male counterpart Catrin at Muertos Fest in San Antonio.

An ofrendo, or altar with photos of loved ones, and marigolds is on display.

ones. They contain photos, candles, marigolds, tequila and food, among other items. They are usually set out on Oct. 31 and removed Nov. 2. Community altars created by families and organiza-

tions will ﬁll Muertos Fest in San Antonio’s Hemisfair. Some of the foods popular with Día de los Muertos celebrations include sugar cookies called calaveras in the shape of skulls

More than 100,000 people line up along the San Antonio River Walk for a vibrant boat parade of two dozen elaborately decorated ﬂoats adorned with altars, catrinas and costumed riders. This year’s parade will be Oct. 23, with each barge representing a different ﬁgure or tradition associated with Día de los Muertos. There will be music, entertainers and more. A free standing-room-only viewing area is available along the parade route from East Commerce Street through the end of the route. Otherwise, seated op-

The Pearl Historic District This weeklong celebration Oct. 27 to Nov. 3 will include live music and performances, familyfriendly activities and art installations created by local and visiting artists. A former brewing site, The Pearl consists of numerous restaurants, venues and shops over 22 acres. New this year are ﬁve local artists creating four-foot calaveras, each sharing a personal story through art. Guests can watch the artists paint live at Pearl this month, with the completed works on display from Oct. 23 through Nov. 5.

Market Square Old Mexico is celebrated every day of the year at the historic Market Square with its more than 100 locally owned businesses, along with La Margarita restaurant, which has been serving up Mexican favorites for decades. The Market offers a special Día de los Muertos event Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24-25. There will be a special — and colorful — procession each day.

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER By Christopher Elliott

Lufthansa downgraded seats on flight and refund is lost My wife and I recently purchased tickets from Miami to Prague through Lufthansa. We paid $3,274 for premium economy class, including specifically reserved seats. On our return trip from Prague to Miami, our flight was rebooked. For the long-haul segment from Zurich to Miami, the airline downgraded us to economy class. Lufthansa sent us an email stating that the Christopher downgrade was due to “operational reasons” Elliott and told us to contact its service center for a partial refund.We followed those instructions and filed a form. Lufthansa then forwarded our request to Swiss, which operated the flight. The response from Swiss was confusing. It claimed that because we landed safely in

Miami within three hours of our scheduled time, no compensation was due.We weren’t asking for delay compensation; we were asking for a refund for the seats we paid for but didn’t get. We tried everything to get a real answer. We used the Lufthansa live chat, but the agent ended the session while we were waiting. We even emailed executives at both Lufthansa and Swiss. No one responded. When we finally heard back from Swiss after filing another form, a representative claimed that we had already received an easy cash card at the Zurich airport as compensation.That never happened.A Swiss agent at the airport actually told us we couldn’t apply for compensation until the flight was over. The price difference between premium economy and regular economy is $165.We just want our money back for the service

we didn’t receive. Can you help us find our missing refund? — Mila Schoun, Pompano Beach, Fla. Swiss should have processed your refund the moment it moved you to a lower class of service. Under European Regulation EC 261/2004, passengers are entitled to a refund of a percentage of the ﬂight price if they’re downgraded. The airline also shouldn’t have told you that it had paid you without checking. Claiming a passenger received a cash card they never saw is a great way to end a conversation, but a terrible way to run a business. You did the right thing by keeping all your records. You contacted the right people and even

escalated the issue to executives, which is exactly what I recommend when the front-line agents fail. I publish the Swiss and Lufthansa executive contacts on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott. org. I contacted Swiss on your behalf and asked the airline to look into the missing cash card. Swiss Air conducted a careful review of your case and determined there had been a communication breakdown. “It has become clear that the original complaint was not properly understood, despite the relevant documentation having been provided by the passengers,” a Swiss representative told me. “We deeply regret that the passengers did not receive the

correct information from us and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, concern, and frustration this may have caused.” The airline conﬁrmed there was no record of a cash card being issued and that your compensation was indeed outstanding. Swiss Air contacted you and offered a refund of $165 for the downgrade, in accordance with EU regulations. It also sent a $200 travel voucher as a gesture of goodwill for the inadequate service. Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonproﬁt organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

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4D l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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FAITH

‘Clear about our mission’

Loyola’s Xavier Cole talks faith, education and meeting Pope Leo BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

When Xavier Cole became Loyola University’s 18th president in 2023, he knew the position would put him in front of some important people. What he might not have known is that it would soon have him meeting Pope Francis. Not long after that came another rare opportunity, also in Rome — this time meeting Francis’s successor, Pope Leo XIV. Cole and his wife, historian Susanne DeBerry Cole, recently joined a contingent of other presidents with the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities on a trip to Rome. The group met with numerous Vatican officials as well as the first American pope. “It was an unexpected honor. It was a blessing,” Cole said. The meeting with Leo was arranged by officials with Loyola University in Chicago, Pope Leo’s hometown. “They had closer connections than most,” Cole said of his Chicago counterparts. (In addition to Loyola New Orleans and Loyola Chicago, two other Jesuit universities in the U.S. are named for the order’s founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola: Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles and Loyola Maryland in Baltimore.) Sitting in his campus office — its walls lined with musical instruments, a turntable and stacks of record albums ranging from Chuck Mangione to James Taylor — Cole, a Biloxi native, recently talked about his role as the leader of a Jesuit university, the trip to Rome and even a bit about his passion for music. This interview has been edited for space and clarity. What did you say when you met Pope Leo? I said, Holy Father, it is certainly my honor and privilege to meet you. We are from Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. We are aware that you have family roots in New Orleans (and) that you are absolutely welcome to New Orleans. Now, I don’t know if I have the authority to say that, but I said it anyway. But you’re absolutely welcome to Loyola University New Orleans, and I absolutely have the authority to say that. And he smiled and he said, “Thank you very much.” We were there in Rome at the hottest time of the year and probably the hottest time in many years. It was 100 degrees every

PROVIDED By LOyOLA UNIVERSITy/SIMONE RISOLUTI

Pope Leo XIV greets Loyola University President Xavier Cole and his wife, Susanne DeBerry Cole, at the Vatican in Rome.

United States. That, of course, is a big part of his makeup. But he’s also from Chicago. He’s also a White Sox fan. He went to school at Villanova. You mentioned that you had met Pope Francis as well? You know, we were able to ask (the pope) questions and he gave us answers that weren’t just yes and no. At the time, the issue du jour was what was happening in Israel and Palestine and what’s happening with Catholics on the ground supporting the efforts within Palestine, within Gaza. And I asked for advice on how we, as Catholic leaders, can intercede from and be involved from a Catholic frame that doesn’t choose a side. So we had this STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE interesting back and forth. And then afterward, he also asked if it Loyola University New Orleans President Xavier Cole became Loyola would be OK if we said the Lord’s University’s 18th president in 2023. Prayer together. It was transformational. Pope Francis was just a different perful that he made time for us. And day. On this day, everyone was in son, and he had a different effect a suit, tie, their finest patent leath- what was notable in his remarks on you, and it was visceral. Like, er shoes. It was hot. And so by the is that he understood us, that when I was saying the Lord’s time we got across the Vatican, up he had researched us, that he had been briefed well on us. He Prayer with him, I cried. several flights of stairs, and into mentioned our Jesuit apostolic With Pope Leo, he had you the waiting room where we were preferences. He mentioned, in thinking through the engagement. to meet him, we were a mess. And I received it differently, but We had to wait a little bit, and so particular, the one that talks about stewarding the youth to a certainly I said to my wife and we’re all glad that we needed to I said to other people as we prowait. It gave you a little grace time hope-filled future. On campus, do you note among students cessed it, there’s nothing in my to kind of get yourself together. Well, when you meet the Holy Father, you excitement with an American pope? life that should have allowed me Well, I think it wouldn’t be don’t want to be just a pile of sweat, right? to have this type of blessing. I’m necessarily just the students, but (Smiling) Absolutely. I’m sure fortunate beyond any measure. anyone that’s interested in the he would understand if anyTell me about running a Jesuit university topic. There feels like much more in 2026. body would. He’s also formally of a connection. There is an acWe’re blessed because when dressed. How long did he meet with the group? cessibility. There isn’t a hurdle of others could feel that they’re being pulled asunder, we actuIt was probably around 30 minlanguage. There’s not a hurdle of culture, even though he spent a ally have guardrails that are utes. I think he had several other large amount of time of his adult- quite clear about our mission, groups after us that particular our values, our perspective, the day. But we were certainly grate- hood being formed outside of the

things that we should care about. So whether it’s the Jesuit Apostolic preferences, or whether it is Catholic social teaching, or whether it is the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, we have clear marching orders. And so when people try to pull us outside of those bounds, that’s when we say no. When I talk to young people and I’m in a large auditorium with their parents, and I tell them about this Ignatian Catholic mission, and our values, and what we believe, and why we believe it. That is very attractive to the parents and the students. But the thing that I ask the students is: do you know what your deeply held values are? Whether you’re Catholic or not, what are those bedrock things that you feel are unimpeachable? We will give you additional things that build around that … If you don’t have a philosophical frame about how to live your life, here’s one that you can use until you figure it out. Most don’t discard it once they understand it. How have you changed during your time as president? I’ve certainly grown, by having to love something, and people — something being the institution, and the people being our faculty staff, students, alumni — as much as I love my own family. I go to sleep thinking about Loyola, and all that it is, I wake up thinking about Loyola and all that it is. How’s the health of the university? We’re very blessed. We’re having our second strong first-year enrollment year in a row. Our law school is more selective, also having strong classes there fill up. It is not an accident that we are doing well as an institution. And Loyola is moving to Division II for sports. That’s an exciting thing for the university, two years in the making. It was very much contemplative. It was very much about not just what’s best for the university, but what’s best for the students that we serve, about their experience. You mentioned that you collect trombones. Do you also play? Yes, I’m a musician. There’s a euphonium in the corner. There’s a trombone behind that. I was an active musician for many, many years. Starting the job here, that takes quite a bit of my attention, and doesn’t really allow for me to play as much as I used to. But I am a very avid listener. What type of music do you like to play and listen to? Any kind … Well, big band jazz is my wheelhouse but I’ve also played classical and ensemble music in Wisconsin. I need to build in time to do the things, to have the type of balance that I say that everyone else should have that works for me. And that is to build in those things that you love.

Loyola is asking young people their thoughts on AI Grant delves into what it’s doing to creativity, spirituality

also noted some of the young people had a “sense of shame” due to perceptions about their levels of intelligence. “Young adults have an anxiety to be perfect,” Lamont said. “They said they go to ChatGPT because they worry about being judged” over what they don’t know. Researchers also detected a desire among students to learn how their faith and AI can peacefully coexist, Lamont said. To many people, AI promises a perfection that doesn’t mesh with the Christian tradition of failure and imperfection and grace, she added.

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

As researchers with Loyola University in New Orleans pored over recent conversations they had with a group of young adults about artiﬁcial intelligence and spirituality, one thing became clear: AI worries them, said Tracey Lamont, director of the Loyola Institute for Ministry and an associate professor of religious studies. “They said, ‘We’re learning it now. And in some cases, we don’t want to,’” Lamont said. The growth of AI, she said, has increased anxiety over their digital future. And the young people raised numerous ethical questions. More than one asked: “If I use ChatGPT (artificial intelligence created by Open AI) is my friend losing their job?” AI is in the tip of everyone’s tongues and its use ever more prevalent on and off campuses. But Lamont said conversations about AI tend toward ethics and economics, not so much spirituality and faith. “That needs to change,” she said.

Faith and AI STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Tracey Lamont, director of the Loyola Institute of Ministry, is embarking on a study of AI and student spirituality.

and other young adults — Lamont said they ranged from 20 to early 30s in age — were part of a planning study undertaken by the Loyola Institute for Ministry with a $75,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment’s “Growing in Faith in the Age of Artiﬁcial Intelligence” initiative. The data from those conversations, Lamont said, is the foundation for an application the institute Having to be perfect submitted to Lilly for a second The conversations with students phase of study, with a grant of $2.5

million over ﬁve years. If granted (Lamont hopes to hear a decision this fall), the research results would allow Loyola to develop practices and programs that help students and faculty draw on their faith and the tenets of Catholic social teaching to better navigate the complex and ever-changing AI and tech landscape. “They’re very concerned what it’s doing to creativity and imagination,” Lamont said. She said Loyola’s researchers

AI has permeated modern life. Need to grocery shop? Let AI handle it. Automating a troublesome workﬂow? AI can help. But as AI’s imprint on modern life expands, so, too, does the debate about its ethical and economic impacts. In his first encyclical, “Magniﬁca Humanitas,” Pope Leo XIV cautioned people to guard against allowing technology and AI to replace the things that make us human. As more tasks and decisions yield to AI, Leo said, it still lacks human heart. Lamont agrees, noting a paragraph in the encyclical in which the pope talks about how life’s travails and failings — “we carry

within us lessons that leave their mark like scars” — are what make us human. Months before releasing his encyclical, Leo warned clergy to not allow AI to write their homilies. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has also discouraged leaders from allowing AI to write their sermons. And this week Leo told reporters that concerns about AI’s potential risks to humanity are not overblown, separating himself from President Donald Trump, who has called such fears “fake news.” “If someone were to ask me, ‘Am I in panic mode?’ No I’m not. I sleep at night,” Leo said in late September. “I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI should be taken seriously.” The research also comes as Loyola seeks to better understand the future role AI will play in education. In August, the university held an “AI Braintrust Summit” for leaders of technology, business, healthcare and professional services organizations. “Artiﬁcial intelligence is not simply a technological development. It raises important questions about how we teach, learn and remain centered on the human person,” Erin Foster, the university’s vice provost for teaching, research and learning said, according to a Loyola news release.

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The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l 5D

LOUISIANA INSPIRED Theater teacher gives students a professional edge ‘This should be an opportunity for them to find themselves’

had such a small budget and was told that because the department had stopped putting on shows for years, the $5,000 budgeted each year for theater was reallocated to the football team. If Lanson wanted more, the BY ELYSE CARMOSINO principal told her, she would Staff writer have to find the money herself. She turned to grant writing. When Lindsey Lanson arrived When school lets out every sumfor her first day as director of Bonnabel Magnet High School’s mer, she painstakingly researchtheater department in 2009, she es different opportunities and walked into a dingy multipurcrafts personalized pitches for why her program deserves the pose classroom that housed the money. Lanson, who has applied school’s theater program. to over a hundred grants in the The room and adjoining 100last decade, said she’s accumuseat black box theater hadn’t been updated for decades. Ceillated nearly $300,000. In addition to purchasing set ing tiles were missing, and a building equipment, tools, microsmall leak dripped from a corner. The theater seats were so deSTAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE phones, props and paying for the rights to each show, the money flated, their cushions appeared to Lindsey Lanson is theater director and a teacher at Bonnabel Magnet has gone to buying professional have melted away. While taking High School. She has built the school’s theater program into a prestage lights, which cost at least her on a tour of the dilapidated professional one that can rival most colleges. a grand each, and sound mixing facilities, Lanson’s predecessor equipment, which also runs into told her not to worry about proImportant skills the thousands. taking notice. Lanson applied ducing shows with her students Her hard work has made the for and was recently announced because “you don’t get paid for as one of 50 finalists for a Voya that.” Lanson didn’t always want to be program accessible: In 17 years, None of it dampened her enthu- Unsung Heroes Grant. Voya, a fi- a teacher. The LSU graduate and Lanson has never had a student pay for theater fees, costumes or nancial services company, recog- former theater kid initially masiasm. “I was so excited,” she said. nizes teachers across the country jored in nursing until a professor their letterman jackets. “At the end of the day, this “Like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can transusing innovative teaching methurged her to switch majors after should be an opportunity for seeing her perform in a student ods to enhance learning. form this.’” them to find themselves,” Lanson production. Lanson will receive $2,000 Since then, Lanson has built said. “It shouldn’t be something After graduating, Lanson was Bonnabel’s theater program into for her program — which she they’re worried about whether working at a coffee shop when said she’ll use to purchase new a pre-professional one that can they can afford.” her parents sent her a job openstage manager headsets, as well rival most colleges, with stateas plywood and hand tools for of-the-art sound and lighting ing for a theater teacher at A lasting impact the set for this year’s play, “The equipment and a budget that alJefferson Parish’s largest high Imaginary Invalid.” She’s also in school, Bonnabel Magnet in Kenlows students to purchase highThe program, which serves the running for the $25,000 grand ner, which accepts more 2,000 quality set materials, props and about 50 students each year, is prize. costumes for their spring play students from across the district designed to build confidence and But her main objective is to each year. through an open enrollment pro- leadership skills by putting stushow her students at Bonnabel, To fund it all, Lanson, whom cess. dents in charge of every aspect where more than 80% qualify as Bonnabel recently named its For the first several years, of a show from start to finish. Its economically disadvantaged, that Lanson’s program scraped by on curriculum also includes conTeacher of the Year, spends her they deserve the same opportuni- a shoestring budget. She and her struction safety and set design, summers applying for hundreds of educational grants, emphasiz- ties as their private school peers. students held garage sales and where students create set dioraworked the concession stand at “Why wouldn’t a public school ing in her applications the admas for upcoming productions football games to raise money, be able to have a private school before building them. vanced technical and soft skills but it was never enough to put on program?” she said. “If I’m raisLearning how to problem-solve her students leave her program the high-quality shows Lanson is a big part of the process, Lanwith, including set construction, ing the funds and nobody’s worsound and light mixing and stage ried about footing the bill, I think envisioned. son said. She recalled one year Frustrated, she asked her prin- when the play her students were managing. we should be able to offer this to National organizations are our students.” putting on required a special cipal why the theater program

Mars platform

effect that would allow the audience to see a character on stage through a wall. Through trial and error, the students stretched a mesh fabric over a hole in the set wall that changes its level of transparency based on how it’s lit. When the stage lights were pointed directly at the fabric, the character would suddenly appear. “It was such a cool effect,” Lanson said. “You could even hear that the audience” was impressed. When it comes to technical training, the program relies on students learning to operate the same equipment they’d use on a professional set. “I don’t want lights from the 1970s,” Lanson said. “If a student is going to work on a film location, I want them to be able to say, ‘I’ve worked with that kind of lighting before.’” Lanson said one of her job’s highlights is seeing her quietest students come to life as they explore different aspects of show production and gain confidence. Abeiro Apolinar, a senior, considers himself one of those students. When his older sister urged him to join the program as a sophomore, Apolinar said he spent the first several classes huddled in the corner, worried about drawing attention to himself. But with the help of the welcoming community he found through Lanson’s program, the reserved underclassman slowly began to step out of his comfort zone and ultimately audition for the program’s 2026 ensemble spring show, “You Can’t Take It With You.” “I got more comfortable to the point where I only wanted to be here, nowhere else,” Apolinar said. Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate.com.

“It’s just a great sense of pride to be part of the energy past and energy into the future. We have produced a billion barrels and we are not done yet.” Billy Lott Operation Supervisor

reaches historic 1-billion barrel milestone

Since 1996, the Shell-operated Mars platform has played a defining role in deep water energy production. Designed for waters nearly 3,000 feet deep, Mars was a bold step forward at the time and helped redefine what was possible offshore. Nearly 30 years later, continued investment, enduring engineering, and the commitment of generations of people have helped bring Mars to this landmark achievement. To be the first platform in the Gulf to reach one billion barrels is a momentous milestone, but for those who have been part of Mars, it has never been just about the number. The Mars community identifies as Martians, united by the enduring principle, “once a Martian, always a Martian.” This milestone carries the weight of long days offshore, shared challenges, and moments of problem-solving that happen when people rely on one another. It reflects years of dedication and quiet perseverance, and the deep sense of pride that comes from being part of something that continues to move forward.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry joined Shell GOA and Pipeline staff to commemorate one billion barrels produced from the Shell Mars asset via the Mars booster station in Port Fourchon. From L to R: Greg Mouras, Nick Stone, Ken Duplantis, Jeff Bergeron, Gov. Jeff Landry, Lynn Belanger, Shawn Danos, Wayland Neil, Colette Hirstius, Chris Nace, Kevin McMahon, Richard Krebs, Sean Guillory

shell.us/louisiana | #PoweringProgress

6D ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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New Orleans’ first native-born portrait painter was a so-called free man of color

WHO IS JULIEN HUDSON? BY DOUG MacCASH | Staff writer

At the top of a long, steep staircase in The Historic New Orleans Collection research center in the French Quarter hang a pair of precious, newly acquired, 19th-century portraits. They are artifacts of a peculiar part of Louisiana’s 19thcentury social system. Both portraits were painted in 1835, when the enslavement of Black people was ubiquitous in Louisiana. Though the little boy with the moth and the elderly gentleman with the gold earring were both of African ancestry, they weren’t slaves. The portrait sitters were socalled free people of color, who were permitted to earn money, to own property, and in ways conduct life like their European counterparts. Historic New Orleans Collection Deputy Director Erin Greenwald pointed out that in 1830, free people of color made up 24% of New Orleans’ population. Chances are, either the subjects of the portraits or their loved ones paid for the artworks. As Greenwald explained, “plenty of free people of color were people of means.”

A New Orleans first The Historic New Orleans Collection’s new paintings are especially resonant artifacts of the city’s unusual racial stratiﬁcation, because the artist, Julien Hudson, was also a free man of color. He was the ﬁrst professional portraitist born in New Orleans — previous artists had immigrated from elsewhere. Art historians consider him to be the nation’s second African American portraitist — after Baltimore’s Joshua Johnson. There are only six signed

paintings by Hudson known to exist, according to Greenwald. Which makes the two paintings recently donated to the French Quarter museum almost as scarce as ivory-billed woodpeckers. Because of the social and economic inequities of the 19th century, paintings of antebellum people of African descent are extremely rare. Greenwald declined to reveal the estimated value of the portraits. “They’re priceless,” she said, “not just because they depict people of color from the prewar period, but also because they are painted by a person of color.”

Meet Julien Hudson Hudson was born in 1811, four years before the Battle of New Orleans. His mother was a native of La Nouvelle-Orléans who descended from French and African ancestors. His father was a White man from London. Hudson grew up on Bienville Street, just around the corner from the museum where his portraits now hang. Young Julien ﬁrst set out to be a tailor, before setting aside his needle and thread and devoting him-

Greenwald said. There’s no may have brought someone telling. His early death, of like this to New Orleans, that’s course, contributed to the a possibility.” scarcity of his artworks.

Who are these people?

PROVIDED PHOTO By MELISSA CARRIER/THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION

Mystery surrounds Julien Hudson’s 1835 portrait, ‘Free Black man wearing a turban.’

self to painting. He studied with two well-known European artists in New Orleans and traveled to Paris to hone his artistic skills. At a mere 20 years old, he took out a newspaper ad detailing his ability to paint miniature, keepsake portraits. In 1839, Hudson painted a charming, miniature portrait of a svelte young gentleman, with muttonchop sideburns, brilliantly red lips and a nose as sharp as an axe. For years, the painting was considered a selfportrait, though one expert has recently called that into question. The small artwork is in the collection of the Louisiana State Museum, just three blocks away at the Cabildo on Jackson Square, in the “Bienvenue Lafayette” exhibit. Hudson died in 1844 in the prime of life, at just 33 years of age. Maybe he contracted yellow fever or any of the myriad infections that could claim a life in New Orleans back then,

FARM

EGLAND

Continued from page 1D premiere at the inaugural We Will Dream Festival in New Orleans. For Egland, the play represents more than a successful piece of theater. He calls it his “magnum opus” as a writer. Egland has written at least 10 plays, with six or seven making it to the stage. His work has been developed and presented by National Black Theatre and the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York, and he has been selected for the Atlanta and Washington, D.C., Black theater festivals. “I’ve been able to go around this world declaring that my Southern art matters,” Egland said. “This production and the artists involved

While the “Creole Boy” portrait has a certain buoyance, the “Free Black Man” is a bit dour. His eyes are clouded with age, yet compelling. Baton Rouge art collector Jeremy K. Simien said every detail in the paintings signal something about the sitter. “I wouldn’t be shocked,” he said, if the older man’s hat and scarf “perhaps had a religious meaning.” Simien said that, coincidentally, he may have a tangent connection with Hudson. He — like the child in the portrait — is a descendant of the Metoyer family, Simien said. Simian said there are other paintings in collections here and there that are suspected to have been painted by Hudson — maybe a dozen in all. “It’s incredible that they survive,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that people of color don’t have more such heirlooms.”

How to see the paintings The two Hudson paintings at the HNOC were once owned by the late Robert and Martha Bolton, who were both philosophy professors at Rutgers University and art collectors. Martha Bolton attended Tulane University. Fifteen years ago, the Boltons lent the portraits to the French Quarter museum for the first comprehensive Julien Hudson exhibit. They saw to it that, upon their deaths, the Hudson portraits would return to the city where they were painted. The “Creole Boy” and “Free Black Man,” can be found at 410 Chartres St., which is free to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

PARTY

Continued from page 1D there,” said Dr. Ashlyn Harrison, executive director of the Walls Project. Enter, Boots on the Farm: an Elevated Farm-to-Table Experience. The community farm will transform into an outdoor dining space with 150 seats for a five-course meal. Chef Kaala Lawla, Aramark catering director at Southern University, will head the outdoor kitchen. The dishes will be prepared using locally grown food, a majority coming from the community farm. Courses include cane sugar cornbread; eggplant and smothered collard greens; shrimp, okra and radishes; baked chicken and ﬁsh; and sweet potato bread pudding. The evening will feature a cocktail hour at 4 p.m. with dinner to follow at 5 p.m. After dinner, patrons can enjoy live music, brought by DJ Love Yourself, artist Justin Rendell and a live band. The farm is located in a food desert so that community members with transportation barriers can walk over, Harrison said. Since breaking ground in 2019, the farm has given away free, locally grown produce. “In order for people to have access to fresh produce, they can walk to our farm,” Harrison said. “I want people to know we’re giving this produce away to the community, so come out and support us. We’re doing the good work.” Tickets cost $150 and are available for purchase online.

The two paintings at the top of the stairs at the HNOC are very yin and yang. The child on the left is cherubic, his eyes bright with promise. A beautiful insect — maybe a luna moth — has alighted on his hand. The boy seems to have been a scion of the Metoyer family, the mixedrace owners of Melrose plantation in Natchitoches Parish. The title given the painting is “Creole Boy with a Moth.” Sadly, Hudson probably included the moth as a symbol of transition, which means the portrait could well have been done after the child’s death. Despite that, the painting has the promising glow of dawn. The other portrait, titled “Free Black Man Wearing a Turban,” is considerably more mysterious. The aging Black man reclines in a leather chair. His graying goatee almost reaches his elegant silk cravat that hangs between the lapels of his formal jacket. Atop his head, he wears a red headpiece, almost like a fez, which is draped with a madras scarf. His golden earring indicates wealth. If you look closely, the man’s left cheek is marked with three vertical stripes of what seems to be ritual scariﬁcation. Such marks may well be West African. But what can the role of a formally dressed African have been in the midst of a city known as the largest slave marketplace on the continent? Nobody knows. “Maybe he’s a ship’s captain or a merchant,” Greenwald speculated. “It’s a port city. We had people from all over the world in New Orleans. “If you’re narrowing down professions that

Every picture tells a story

Continued from page 1D I started hunting for interesting glasses at garage and estate sales. A friend gave me a set of commemorative glasses from 1975 when The Advocate turned 50. Each glass featured a different notable front page. That set gave me a place to start. We are back in our house, even though it still isn’t completely finished. It is close. And really, is a house ever finished? Doesn’t everything remain in a constant state of “work in progress”? At any rate, my husband and I sleep in our home and everything we own sits under one roof for the first time in more than a year. After being in a rental home and a year of not knowing where half our things were, having them all together feels like luxury. Last Thursday night, I hosted my first real dinner party in our home. I took the whole day off work just to get ready for it. My husband and I worked on the menu for days. Because I had the day off, I took time to luxuriate in ordinary tasks like vacuuming and dusting. Then, I made the soup and took more time than necessary to decide on the dinnerware, napkins, candlesticks — all the little details I could conjure. For me, it was a glorious day, and I loved being able to do exactly what I did. Even though the collection is STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER still meager, 23 glasses now sit Aside from finds at estate sales, friends gave Jan Risher interesting on shelves built for many more. As our guests arrived, one by glasses to help start her collection.

aren’t just producing a show. They’re all collectively a part of a moment showcasing to a larger audience the South has something to say, and there’s something happening in Lafayette saying it.” But his path to becoming a playwright began long before those stages. Egland spent his younger years singing and performing in talent shows. He studied theater at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where an invitation to audition for August Wilson’s “Jitney” deepened his love for theater. As a senior in 2009, he staged his ﬁrst play, “The Birthday Dinner,” at UL. After college, Egland moved through Baton Rouge and eventually New Orleans, initially focusing on acting and even trying to move away from theater. Instead, New Orleans connected him with

a broader community of artists working in film, theater and other creative fields. It was there, he said, that he began to see his Louisiana roots differently. “Where I’m from and who I’m from is not a setback, but rather, it’s a placement for a perspective,” he said. Earlier this year, “The Festival in da Back,” a play written by Egland and commissioned by National Black Theatre about the former Creole Crawfish Festival in Breaux Bridge, was presented to a sold-out audience at The Flea in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood. Another work, “BOOGiE,” was commissioned by the Apollo Theater and Junebug Productions. The play had a reading at the Apollo and was later presented at Spelman College as part of the National

Black Arts Festival before traveling to New Orleans. Egland also made his directorial film debut this year with “The Day I Met Aretha Franklin,” a short film that became a top 20 finalist for the 2026 Louisiana Film Prize. Those accomplishments come nearly two decades after Egland first began pursuing theater. “Coming from where I come from, things move a lot slower,” Egland said. “So the fact that I’m still having so many firsts in my life, though I’ve been approaching 20 years of doing it, is a blessing.” For “Where the Suga Still Sweet,” he is not only the playwright but also the director. The production’s set will include real sugar cane, an intentional choice for a play centered on a cane field. Directing the Acadiana production has also given Egland an op-

one, they walked to the shelves, studied the options and chose. One friend picked the bright yellow 1960s vintage Louisiana tumbler. Another picked one of the Apollo 11 glasses shaped like a rocket. Then they poured margaritas, and the evening took off. There were several moments — simple ﬂashes of laughter, or watching people who didn’t know each other before open up and share themselves with a new friend — that almost made me tear up. I forgot to serve the homemade watermelon sorbet after the albondigas soup, so I served it just before dessert instead. I realized late into the evening that the water pitcher needed reﬁlling. But people didn’t seem to mind too much. The night was everything I had hoped it would be. We were sitting with friends in chairs that had been painstakingly restored. We were eating albondigas and my husband’s chiles rellenos. The evening was loud and ran late, but the whole night felt a little like a dream — a version of the one I’d been having for more than a year. This time, though, we were really there, sitting at our table. By the end of the evening, the candles had burned low, the napkins were askew, and the wine bottles were empty. After the guests left, I found the ragtag glasses scattered from the living room to the kitchen. I washed them by hand and set them back on the shelves, with plenty of room on either side. Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

portunity to work with local actors and share what he has learned through his experiences in New York and elsewhere. That, he said, is what makes this production feel like a homecoming. “Brian Egland is one of the most proliﬁc playwrights coming out of this region right now, and ‘Where the Suga Still Sweet’ proves it,” said Leigha Porter, co-founder of Black Theatre Experience and executive artistic director of Heritage Parc. “Where the Suga Still Sweet” runs Oct. 23-25 at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, 101 W. Vermilion St., Lafayette. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available through the Acadiana Center for the Arts. Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori. madison@theadvocate.com.

BOOKS

BETWEEN THE PAGES WITH MELISSA DAGGETT

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The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l 7D

‘Love, Race, and Property’

Interracial love and law in antebellum New Orleans society showcased in new book BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

New Orleanian Melissa Daggett graduated from LSU with a bachelor’s degree in political science and two master’s degrees from LSU New Orleans, formerly the University of New Orleans, in education and history. Her ﬁrst book, “Spiritualism in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans: The Life and Times of Henry Louis Rey,” focused on the free people of color and spiritualism. Her new book, “Eugene and Eulalie: A Family Saga of Love, Race, and Property in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans,” published in April, chronicles the largely forgotten lives of Eulalie Mandeville, a free woman of color who owned a business, and her White partner, Eugene Macarty. They were both descendants of elite colonial families. Their interracial relationship began in the 1790s and endured for more than 50 years, resulting in ﬁve children. Daggett uses the Nicolas Théodore Macarty v. Eulalie Mandeville 1848 court case to examine how an interracial relationship continued despite Spanish and American laws in the antebellum era. Daggett will be speaking at the Fierce Women: Power, Resistance, and Reinvention panel from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 31 at the Louisiana Book Festival in downtown Baton Rouge. This interview was edited for length and clarity. What inspired you to research

and write about this couple? It started around 2017, soon after my ﬁrst book was published. Readers started asking me, “Well, what’s the next book going to be about?” I was asking myself the same question. I wanted to research a topic about New Orleans in the 19th century, since I already had that background. A friend advised me to write about Eulalie Mandeville. She gave me the name of a history professor, Connie Atkinson, at the University of New Orleans to pursue the topic. Atkinson said she had

been trying to persuade a historian to write a monograph (a scholarly work on one subject) about Mandeville, a subject in the shadows of historical obscurity. Atkinson supplied me with sources. As I got into the subject, I became more enthusiastic about it. What surprised you in your research journey? The most surprising thing I found early on was about where the original 1724 house was — the de Marigny de Mandeville house. At that time, they used double last names. I went to the Historic New Orleans

up the ladder of success through her entrepreneurial savvy. I admire that, and she persisted despite barriers not only of race but also of gender. At that time, women, in general, could not be successful in the business world. But she was very successful, and maybe in part because she was a free woman of color, so she wasn’t controlled by a White father or a White husband. So in some ways, that was a beneﬁt for her. Author Melissa Daggett How important was the court Collection, where they have case in your research? It was the most important a digital survey, and oddly primary source and what enough, it turned out that I started with. It was over the house was located in 300 pages, and it took a long the same space as the nowexisting Williams Research time to read through it. I read it three times because Center. there was a bit of informaI anticipated that the two families I talk about in the tion that I missed out on. It book, the Macartys and the was of paramount imporMandevilles, would sometance. Court cases are how we how intersect and parallearn about these people lel each other during the that have been under the colonial period. But I was still surprised when I found radar. We know about them as a class of people. We out very early in the 1730s know about free women of there were connections. color, but we don’t know The two Macarty brothers about the individuals. came over from France. We’re looking back in They were in the military, 1848 to these court cases, and they had connections with Antoine de Mandeville. and we’re seeing what was It’s always a small world in going on not only at the time of the case but stretchNew Orleans. What is it about Eulalie that deing further back until the fies some common myths about free 1790s. There was testimony women of color at that time? from different witnesses The most common myth was the plaçage myth. (Pla- that discussed how Eulalie became involved with Euçage is deﬁned historically as when a White man would gene Macarty. have a relationship with a The court cases help us mixed free woman of color look into people who have where she would be kept escaped the historical lens. in a house and provided We learn about her life on income.) There was some the plantation back in the truth to it, but Eulalie Man- 1790s. That was an unusual situation. Eulalie’s father deville managed to climb

was a White, elite man, but he still was involved with his daughter until his death — though not as involved as with his legitimate children — but there are records of letters he wrote to her. How did Eulalie’s relationship with her grandmother Françoise de Mandeville impact her life? I think her grandmother was a person that she modeled herself off of. Her grandmother, a businesswoman, ran the plantation once her husband passed away, and even before he passed away, because he was in France. She saw her grandmother being successful. Her grandmother didn’t need a man to help her out. Eulalie started her entrepreneurial enterprise while she was on that plantation. She started selling dry goods to the Isleños girls because they lived nearby. I had trouble understanding her grandmother because it seemed like she treated Eulalie like her family. But at the same time, the grandmother caught one of the enslaved men stealing some clothes, and she made sure he got 400 lashes. So, it’s a contradiction. How can “Eugene and Eulalie” help readers see Louisiana history or women in Louisiana in a different light? We want to see that women can be empowered by their intellectual abilities, and that they can overcome daunting legal, social or emotional barriers. That’s what Eulalie did back in the 19th century. We can still see that women can move forward, especially today where we have less barriers.

Fall reading season helps us make other worlds our own There’s always more to read than I can get to, which I once lamented and now see as a plus. In the fall, a time we’re supposed to reflect with gratitude on our abundance, it’s pleasing to see the to-be-read pile near my reading chair about to spill across the room like a Thanksgiving horn of plenty. A recent addition to that towering stack is “Partita,” Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel about a woman resigned to her life in farm country who’s shaken into an emotional odyssey by a phone call from her past. Among the many things I like about Kingsolver’s fiction are the opening sentences, which inevitably take readers by the collar and quickly bring them into the story. “Here’s my question: How does a person step in front of a train and leave everything right there?” reads the first line of “Partita.” Because the plot involves classical music, Kingsolver includes a suggested listening list as a complement to her novel. In that spirit, I played a recording of Chopin’s “Raindrop Prelude” the

Danny Heitman AT RANDOM

other afternoon while I dipped into “Partita.” Chopin’s compositions have a wistful quality that chimes with autumn’s introspective mood, and it was calming to sit with a book in a quiet room and think of another year putting itself to bed. The workings of the calendar rest at the center of “Forty Quartets,” a slender book of poems by Henry Sloss that’s been on my autumn reading list, too. I didn’t know about Sloss until writer Amanda Holmes mentioned him online, and I’m glad she did. Sloss is especially attentive to the way that time slips up on you, as in the ﬁrst lines of a quartet about coming home and ﬁnding fall at the doorstep: “A week away and oh! / Autumn is in full bloom; / Yellow leaves and brown spill / To earth,

show summer’s spell / Broken, as laden limb / By limb the trees let go.” One of the small consolations of those strange days of the pandemic several years ago is that, with more time at home, a random hour might open up and allow something new to enter our lives. One such discovery during my lockdown season was Melissa

Harrison, a nature writer and novelist who lives in England. I’d come across her quirky but affirming podcast, “The Stubborn Light of Things,” and that led me to her books, which cast a jeweler’s eye on the marvels of trees and fields, water and skies. This fall, I’m reading “The Given World,” Harrison’s new novel about an English community defined by an ancient river. The

premise has special appeal for those of us who live in Louisiana, which has so many river towns of its own. As I comb the pages, Harrison’s world will become my world, too. That’s the promise of reading this autumn — and every season of the year. Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com.

THIS WEEK’S BESTSELLERS FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY HARDCOVER FICTION

1. “Hollywood, Ending” (signed ed.) by John Green 2. “Sometimes I Scare Myself” by Jeneva Rose 3. “Hollow Bones” by Jodi Picoult 4. “The Calamity Club” by Kathryn Stockett 5. “Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel” by Lucy Foley 6. “Vince Flynn: Double Tap” by Don Bentley 7. “Hollywood, Ending” by John Green 8. “The Munich Affair” by Patterson/ Ellis 9. “The Sweetest Fiend” (deluxe ed.) by Raven Kennedy 10. “Yesteryear” by Caro Claire Burke

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

1. “Swan Song” by Charles Spencer 2. “Protocols” by Andrew D. Huberman 3. “Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!” by Alexis Nikole Nelson 4. “Inside the Owner’s Box” by David M. Rubenstein 5. “Actually, Nevermind” by Taylor Tomlinson 6. “An Unexpected Life” by Gloria Steinem 7. “How We Could” by Alex Dorr 8. “The Art of Gravity Falls” by Hirsch/ Renzetti 9. “Saved by the Pack” by Lee Asher 10. “Meals You Can’t Mess Up” by Shay Spence

TRADE PAPERBACK

1. “Theo of Golden” by Allen Levi 2. “Verity” by Colleen Hoover 3. “Fallen Rook” by L.J. Shen 4. “Dungeon Crawler Carl” by Matt Dinniman 5. “Murdoku” by Manuel Garand 6. “Brain Damage” by Freida McFadden 7. “The Women” by Kristin Hannah 8. “The Killer Isn’t Alice” by Iris Starling 9. “Free Falling” by Lyla Sage 10. “Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy

8D l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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AT THE TABLE There’s more than one way to make a red sauce This no-frills one cooks low and slow

BY MICHAEL DIRESTO Contributing writer

Some years back, on a Saturday morning, I received a phone call at home from my friend and then-colleague Trey Godfrey. He wished to make dinner for his wife that evening. What’s more, he wanted to prepare pasta with a “red sauce” and wanted my advice. Sounds great, I said, a request right up my alley, as he knew. Knowing that Trey was not an experienced cook, I commended him on his initiative, bucked up his courage, and asked, ‘What kind of red sauce?” There was a short silence on the other end of the line, a sheepish chuckle, and then a selfdeprecating question: “You mean there’s more than one? Like, how many?” As my mind raced through all the different variations of red sauce that I typically make, I just fast-forwarded to the most basic — a classic, no-frills marinara. I walked him through it: three or four minced garlic cloves cooked on medium-low in a saucepan of extra virgin olive oil (with the caution not to burn the garlic). Then add a big can of crushed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes that you crush by hand in a bowl, preferably San Marzano-labeled tomatoes. I like to throw in a small bunch of fresh basil, still attached to the

stems. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes, remove the basil, and then maybe add some additional hand-torn leaves of basil right before serving. Other tips of the trade that I imparted: Add a tablespoon of sea salt to the pasta water, cook the pasta al dente, save a mug of the salty, starchy pasta water. And most importantly: never serve any dish of plain pasta with the sauce just ladled on top. Always mix the pasta into the sauce and use the pasta water not only to adjust the sauciness level but also to activate the starch to make the sauce cling to the noodles. Later, I was pleased to learn that Trey’s dish was a success, and that he served it with homemade meatballs prepared without any advice from little ole me. Bellissimo, Trey! Since then, I’ve had occasion to think about his “how many red sauces are there?” question each time I’m deciding which type of sauce to make, depending on the dish or what my taste buds feel like. Some simply use marinara as a starting base, like parma rosa, which mainly entails adding heavy whipping cream and freshly grated Parmesan during the last 10 minutes. Or a spicier fra diavolo sauce, by sautéing some diced onion and roasted red peppers (or crushed red pepper ﬂakes) before adding the garlic. For a very fresh-tasting alternative, I like to make a pomodoro sauce by swapping out the canned tomatoes with a pound or more of sliced cherry tomatoes, using a hand mixer at the end for an

N O R T H A M ER I CA’S

almost creamy finish. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with something a bit more complex: a shrimp linguine that includes sautéing the shrimp shells with garlic and soffritto (the Italian “trinity” of chopped carrots, celery and onion), adding various herbs, tomato paste and deglazing with white wine to create what is, in essence, a savory shrimp stock. Sliced cherry tomatoes can make a return appearance here, along with the hand mixer, before adding your cooked shrimp back to the sauce. Speaking of soffritto, as summer has turned to fall, that’s when I tend to hark back to the red sauces that cook low and slow. For my first food column last November, I prepared my family’s Sunday Gravy recipe. I’ve often said that my vision of heaven is watching football on TV in my kitchen while making a meal that takes at least as long to cook as a football game, with a glass of good wine by one hand and a good book by the other. So on the first Saturday of October, I took a break from tailgating and made this Ragu alla Bolognese to serve in time for kickoff of the LSUMcNeese State game. It’s a standard recipe, except that I start with a pureed soffritto that I learned from Vincenzo Prosperi — chef, author and star of the online show “Vincenzo’s Plate” — which is both very informative and entertaining. Of course, please serve this red sauce, or any red sauce pasta dish, with good bread.

Ragu Bolognese with Pappardelle Serving size: 2 cups or 2 scoops from pasta spoon. Recipe is from the DiResto family, with soffritto inspired by Vincenzo Prosperi.

6 baby carrots 1 celery stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces 1/2 white onion, quartered 3 cloves peeled garlic (not a traditional ingredient, but up to you) 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or more) 1 pound ground beef 1/2 pound ground pork 1 cup dry white or red wine (like pinot grigio or pinot noir) 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes or whole peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand in a bowl 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 cup whole milk 1 pound pappardelle or fettuccine pasta, plus 1 tablespoon sea salt 1 cup pasta water (use as needed) Hand-torn basil leaves and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (for serving) 1. For the soffritto, put carrots, celery, onion, garlic and olive oil in a food processor and puree using the pulse button until smooth. 2. Add a bit more olive oil to large saucepan, spoon in mixture and sauté over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. 3. In a separate large pan, add a bit of olive oil and brown the ground beef and pork, using wooden spatula to break down into tiny pieces. 4. Stir meat into saucepan with soffritto, add wine and simmer over medium heat until liquid reduces by twothirds. 5. Stir in the tomatoes, salt and pepper, bring to low boil, then reduce heat to low and

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Ragu Bolognese with Pappardelle simmer, uncovered, for at least 3 hours. (If sauce gets too dry, add a splash more of water or wine.) 6. After 3 hours, add the milk to the sauce and continue simmering while you make the pasta. 7. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add one tablespoon of salt. Cook pasta to al dente, reserving one cup of salty, starchy pasta water. 8. Drain pasta and add to saucepan, stir and incorporate pasta water as needed for desired sauciness. 9. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan and torn basil garnish on top, along with good bread.

Cook the sauce low and slow for this Ragu Bolognese with Pappardelle.

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

S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 11, 2026

1EN

The Saints organization has been preparing for its historic game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 25 in the Parisian suburbs with a yearlong campaign to cultivate a French fanbase. PROVIDED PHOTOS By NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

Louisiana goes to

Paris

Saints executives see game in France as a chance to expand fanbase, while state business leaders forge overseas ties A fan shows off his football cards at the Moose Bar in Paris on March 26.

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

Saints star quarterback Tyler Shough and offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga received cheers as they walked into the bar, high-fiving everyone in sight as they settled in to sign autographs. Saints banners hung from the ceiling and fleurde-lis symbols were everywhere. It could’ve been a scene in any New Orleans sports hangout. But this unpretentious spot, called The Moose, just happens to be located a short walk away from the famed Notre-Dame cathedral in downtown Paris. The players’ appearance in March was just one of the many ways the Saints organization has been preparing for its historic game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 25 in the Parisian suburbs. The game will be the NFL’s first in France, and the team’s debut in a country that shares its hometown’s affinity for food, drink and the fleur-de-lis — the symbol of France’s royal past that’s emblazoned on Saints helmets. Since the team officially applied for the rights from the NFL three years ago to market itself to French fans, it has taken on the challenge of cultivating an appreciation for the team and the sport in a country where plenty of people might not know the difference

IDEAS &

INNOVATION

ä See SAINTS, page 2E

French fans, left, welcome Saints players, including quarterback Tyler Shough and tackle Taliese Fuaga, above, at the Moose Bar.

Rising sulfur prices are squeezing U.S. manufacturers suffered and caused subse- cording to U.S. Geological Survey Element plays critical have quent crises along the complex data. Sulfur now costs more than chain. More than 16% of role in agriculture supply sulfur produced globally comes $1,000 per ton, according to farm-

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Soaring sulfur prices have squeezed fertilizer manufacturers and many other industries as another fallout of the U.S. war with Iran. Sulfur, a bright yellow element with a distinct rotten egg smell, plays a critical role in agriculture as an essential element for plant development. As the war stalls the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, sulfur exports

from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to farmdoc daily, a website operated by the University of Illinois that provides research and analysis for farmers. Sulfuric acid, a compound of sulfur, hydrogen and oxygen, extends the element’s usage in the production of fertilizer, rubber and mining. It’s the most widely used chemical in the world, rippling the effects of the price hikes with no alternative to take its place. About 90% of sulfur was consumed in the form of sulfuric acid last year, ac-

doc; a year ago it was priced at over $200 a ton. Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said he’s expecting to see fewer acres of crops planted in the United States as a result of the pressures on the fertilizer industry. Farmers will begin prepping their land for the next harvest very soon and will have to make decisions about how much to plant, he said.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BILL FEIG

Sulfuric acid, a bright yellow a compound of sulfur, hydrogen and oxygen, ä See SULFUR, page 2E plays a critical role in agriculture.

2E l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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Tips to keep companies from charging you more for almost everything Need a ride from the airport home? You better hope it’s not raining. During a recent trip, as I often do, I checked Uber and Lyft fares right after getting off plane. By the Michelle the time I walked to the Singletary rideshare pickup THE COLOR area, prices on both OF MONEy apps had skyrocketed. Rideshare platforms rely on machine learning models that preemptively raise rates in response to weather, crowds or sudden spikes in demand. High-tech markups aren’t limited to travel, of course. I recently wanted to treat my daughter — an overwhelmed public school elementary teacher — to an inperson game for her beloved Baltimore Ravens. After searching for decent lower-bowl seats that didn’t cost as much as a month’s worth of groceries for a family of four, I gave up. Ticket resale algorithms have driven prices so high that attending a sporting event has become unaffordable for many families. Last year, I ordered an electric three-compartment buffet warmer. I wanted a second one because I was hosting a large Christmas dinner, but a few weeks before the party, the online price rose by

53%. I decided to wait until after the new year to buy the additional unit. Instacart ended a technology program last year that used randomized testing for prices that resulted in some customers paying different amounts for the same grocery items ordered from the same store at the same time. Even when you try to cut back your spending, it’s a battle. Just try canceling a subscription. It makes your blood pressure rise. Signing up takes a single click, but trying to leave triggers an obstacle course of retention prompts. Or, you can’t even ﬁgure out how to cancel. Budgeting is becoming more complicated. When prices change by the minute based on algorithms tracking your location, shopping habits or desperation, stretching a dollar becomes a very frustrating exercise not to swear. As retailers increasingly adopt digital price tags, surveillance pricing and complex subscription traps, consumers need a “Shoppers’ Bill of Rights,” according to Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive economic policy and research organization. Groundwork Collaborative argues in a new report that laws written to safeguard consumers in an era of paper price tags and cash registers are failing in a modern economy dominated

by algorithmic dynamic pricing, artificial intelligence and digital tracking. “I think the rights and the protections that consumers have in the retail space have eroded considerably ... and I don’t think our consumer laws have kept up,” Groundwork’s president and chief executive, Lindsay Owens, said in an interview. When prices are constantly fluctuating, it makes it hard to comparison shop, she noted. “If you feel exhausted and embattled when you’re shopping, if you feel like these price tags aren’t random, you’re right,” she said. “They’re rigged and corporate America’s reinvention of the rip-off is taking a toll on shoppers. It’s emptying their wallets and it’s depleting them of another valuable resource: their time.” State leaders are starting to push back against predatory pricing. In April, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, signed landmark legislation making the state the first to ban food retailers and delivery services from using dynamic pricing or customer-surveillance data to inflate prices. “At a time when our people are being squeezed by the cost of everything, especially groceries, Maryland is not just pushing back, but pushing forward,” Moore said about the law. But without federal rules,

consumers will have different levels of protection depending on where they live. State-level efforts to protect consumers are not enough, Owens said. “I don’t think that shoppers should be subjected to gouging as soon as they cross state lines,” she said. “We do need federal standards. I think the 12 different rights outlined in the Shoppers’ Bill of Rights, taken together as a whole, would go a really long way to balancing the scales for shoppers in this country and would save us a lot of time and money.” While Groundwork’s proposal outlines a dozen protections, half target the most egregious hightech pricing tricks, from hidden checkout fees to subscription traps. Read the full report to check out all 12. Here’s a look at the first six. n Up-front pricing transparency. At the very first point of contact, businesses should display the full final cost, including all mandatory surcharges, service costs and fees. Shoppers shouldn’t be surprised by hidden add-ons at checkout. n Barring pricing based on your personal data. There should be a ban on businesses using information such as your web browsing history or location to set higher, individualized prices. n Limits on dynamic price spikes. Stores would be restricted from rapidly fluctuating the prices of

everyday goods in response to sudden surges in demand or environmental conditions when supply costs remain unchanged. n Hassle-free subscription cancellation. Ending a recurring subscription or membership must be just as simple and fast as signing up. Multistep retention traps would be prohibited. n Make it easier to fix stuff. Have you ever tried to fix something only to find there’s no replacement part? You suspect that’s by design. This point from the report is right on the money: “Companies restrict the parts, tools, software, and information needed to make repairs, pushing consumers toward expensive manufacturer-authorized service — or forcing them to replace perfectly fixable products altogether.” n That AI bot should work for you. You get a prompt while shopping online that says an AI tool can help you find what you’re looking for at a good price. But what if the AI personal shopping agent is really designed to get you to spend more? It should be clear if the bot is working in your best interest. Navigating prices right now is mystifying, and without stronger consumer protections, corporations will continue to find new ways to gouge everyday shoppers. Email michelle.singletary@washpost.com.

SAINTS

SULFUR

between a quarterback and a Quarter Pounder with cheese. The organization’s leaders hope Louisiana’s historic and cultural ties with France will help overcome unfamiliarity in a place where American football is still far less popular than mainstays soccer, cycling and tennis — and even judo and gymnastics. To make inroads in this new market without breaking the bank, the team is keeping its methods decidedly grassroots: creating flag football leagues, giving away swag at big sporting events, sponsoring watch parties, scheduling player visits, creating social media content and connecting with business leaders and public officials all while trying to land sponsors. Including the cost to play this month’s game, the team expects to spend less than $2 million on its overseas marketing efforts this year. Helping keep those expenses down, the Saints have been getting help from the NFL, which has prioritized global expansion as it strives to boost annual revenue past $25 billion this decade. The league has encouraged its 32 teams to experiment with ways to build their fan bases in nearly two dozen countries as it eyes potential profits from expanded TV broadcast rights, merchandise sales, new advertisers and more. It’s all a long-term play, according to Brett Gosper, the NFL’s head of Europe and Asia-Pacific, that the league is supporting through TV deals. “Everyone is contributing because everyone Gosper shares in the revenue over time,” Gosper said. “The strategy is to build audience engagement in priority markets, and success will be measured in the accumulation of fans and how we monetize that.” For the Saints, the goal is a little more personal. “New Orleans has always had a special connection to France,” said Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans. “We’re incredibly proud to celebrate that shared hisBenson tory while introducing the spirit of our community to new fans throughout Europe.”

This may lead to shifts in what gets planted: Corn and cotton require more fertilizer than other crops like soybeans and peanuts, Strain said. “The bottom line is that we’re going to have to make more of what we need here at home,” he said. Commodity prices have not risen concurrently with production cost increases, he said, which needs to happen by harvest. “Everyone is working together very hard,” Strain said. “But we’re dealing with a macroeconomic situation that’s going to take some shifts in overall world economics to ﬁx.”

Continued from page 1E

PROVIDED PHOTO By NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

The Saints hosted a flag football event in Paris with help from the Strauss Family Foundation earlier this year.

Last spring, the team hired its first full-time representative in Europe: Jan Woska, a former Czech diplomat who travels to France and other cities regularly from Prague to open doors and try to advance ideas hatched back at the Saints facility. Since staffing up, the team has increased its marketing efforts, Woska which have included giving away limited-edition Saints scarves and other swag at several pro basketball and soccer games, sending Shough and Fuaga to France, and inviting one of France’s biggest basketball stars, Nadir Hifi, to announce one of the Saints’ 2026 draft picks. The team also has participated in multiple “meet the team” media videoconferences, created content for its French-language Instagram account and collaborated with the hosts of a Saints-focused podcast. But Saints officials believe the team’s most impactful activity in France — the “tip of the spear,” in the words of Greg Bensel, a Saints and Pelicans senior vice president — has been creating flag football leagues, clinics and tournaments. They’ve joined other NFL teams in recognizing these programs as a cost-effective way to build momentum in new markets, especially as awareness of the sport has grown ahead of its 2028 Olympic debut. “We all know soccer’s the international game, but football is getting more attention,” said Austin Pasco, the Saints’ Building a fan base from scratch head of youth football development. “I When the NFL launched its Global think flag is the best way to grow that Markets Program in 2022 to encourage because anybody can play.” teams to claim the rights to promote themselves in designated countries, The power of a good party many organizations targeted Mexico A key part of Woska’s job is serving as and Brazil, home to the league’s biggest a liaison between France and Louisiana, fan bases outside the United States. with an eye toward identifying potenGermany and the United Kingdom tial corporate partners and sponsorwere also popular choices because of ships in France. Sometimes that means their familiarity with American foot- bridging cultural gaps, he said. “In August, for instance, not too many ball and their history of hosting games. The Saints chose the less NFL-satu- people work in France, which means I rated France, which is still considered had the delicate task of explaining to a promising market because of its popu- the team that we wouldn’t be making lation, gross domestic product, broad- any deals with French partners until cast TV options and viable stadium, ac- they got back from the beach,” he said. He’s also focused on connecting team cording to Gosper. The team’s recent outreach to the leaders with French executives at incountry dates back to March 2022, person events. When Benson and her entourage when Benson met with France’s ambassador to the U.S. in Washington, D.C., to were guests of honor at a gathering at discuss, among other things, efforts to the U.S. ambassador to France’s house in March, Woska said it “really opened restore the Notre-Dame. The Saints claimed NFL marketing doors to conversations with maybe 10 rights to France a year later and began new companies.” There will be plenty more get-togethmaking more connections overseas, boosted by Benson’s 2025 visit to Prince ers the week before the sold-out Paris Albert II’s palace in Monaco. game, when a massive delegation of

Louisiana business and political leaders descend on Paris and the team strives to meet the NFL’s standards for pregame hype. “The NFL and the host countries expect a week’s worth of activities,” Gosper said. “It all contributes to the perception of these games as mini Super Bowls.” Mindful of this, Bensel was in his ofﬁce at Saints headquarters a few weeks ago rearranging suites at the 80,000seat Stade de France the way a wedding planner moves guests around tables before the reception. “Juggling the invitations and seating charts is a challenge, but it’s a good problem to have,” Bensel said. French President Emmanuel Macron, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and the executives of major companies — including SpaceX, Meta, Sodexo and Chanel — are among the invitees to various events, along with many members of Louisiana’s federal delegation. Several Louisiana companies are also getting in on the act, traveling to France for the game and sponsoring a business networking event co-produced by the Saints and Louisiana Economic Development. French companies, meanwhile, are sponsoring VIP experiences for clients surrounding the game. American Express is sponsoring the game itself through a deal with the NFL. Woska said all that activity will boost the Saints’ visibility in France, especially because of the game’s live broadcast on state-owned television. “The challenge for us will be to keep the momentum going in France when the game is over,” he said.

Flag football in St. Peter’s Square? Even as Saints executives prepare for the Paris game, they’re turning their attention to a new opportunity: building a fan base in Italy after the team joined the Cleveland Browns in claiming the marketing rights there earlier this year. In March, Benson and Bensel took their case all the way to the top when they met Pope Leo XIV in his private ofﬁce at the Vatican and discussed, among other things, the idea of launching a Saints-branded ﬂag football league that would play games in St. Peter’s Square. Bensel said the Pontifical North American College and the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See are fans of the idea, and although he didn’t “offer to referee,” the pope didn’t shoot it down. “He already has a custom Saints jersey,” said Woska. “So, I think we’re getting there.” Email Rich Collins at rich.collins@ theadvocate.com.

A threat to food security Louisiana and Texas are the largest producers of elemental sulfur in the United States, producing more than half of the U.S. supply. But the country imports 20% to 30% of sulfur used since demand outpaces domestic production. The United States gets the largest share of its imported sulfur from Canada and prices could be impacted by the Trump administration-imposed tariffs on the country. The element used to be mined — large deposits gave the Calcasieu Parish city of Sulphur its name — but now the element is recovered as a byproduct of oil refining and natural gas purification, intertwining the energy sector in the supply chain. Mosaic Co., a Tampa, Florida-based fertilizer company, announced in late August it would lay off more than 200 employees at its two St. James Parish facilities due to financial pressures from sulfur prices. The company has also reduced production in its Florida and Brazil facilities. Ron Yasurek, vice president of Mosaic’s North America phosphate operations, sent out a letter to leaders in the Gulf Coast energy sector last month to “sound the alarm” as sulfur supply and prices threaten food and fuel. “What hurts American phosphate, hurts the American farmer, costs American families, and threatens the very producers of our oil and gas,” Yasurek stated in the letter. Mosaic contributes $530 million annually to Louisiana suppliers, according to a letter from state Sen. Ed Price, D-Gonzales Democrat, and state Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie, to Gov. Jeff Landry. The two penned the letter to request federal support for the domestic production

and use of sulfur. Members of Congress have penned letters to the White House stating that the high sulfur prices can threaten national food security. One potential solution suggested in the letter was using the Defense Production Act, which in part allows the president to authorize financial incentives for companies to increase domestic production of a product. “Losing domestic fertilizer production would increase our reliance on foreign sources for an essential agricultural input at a time when Republicans in Congress are working with your Administration to bolster domestic manufacturing and strengthen American supply chains,” the letter states. “Market forces alone cannot resolve this challenge quickly enough,” said U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Florida Republican who serves as vice chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. South Louisiana industry has already moved forward with projects to expand fertilizer production, including a $3.7 billion ammonia plant in Ascension Parish and a $450 million phosphorus fertilizer plant in Jefferson Parish, both intended to reduce reliance on fertilizer imports. “Their main issue is they’ve got to get the supply of sulfur too,” Strain said.

Mining impacts Prior to the war, sulfur prices were already climbing due to a high demand for the element, largely stemming from the copper mining industry, said Gene Shiels, director of investor relations for sulfuric acid producer Ecovyst. The company has plants in Baton Rouge and Waggaman, which formerly belonged to Jefferson Parish-based Cornerstone Chemical. Ecovyst acquired the company’s sulfuric acid assets last year in response to the increased demand of the product. Copper mining is a hot industry in the southwest United States, largely to supply industrial manufacturers. Sulfuric acid is used to break down rock and access the copper. Ecovyst has increased its sale price proportionate to sulfur price increases. Nobody likes a price increase, Shiels said, but there is no alternative chemical to sulfuric acid. For the mining industry, overall operational costs are so high that sulfur price increases don’t have as much of an impact, he said. “Nobody likes high prices, but it’s fortunate that the copper price is just kind of getting lost in the mix for the mining customers,” he said.

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The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l 3E

TALKING BUSINESS A S K T H E E X P E RT S

“I think New Orleans is steady. ... It’s stable. It’s not great. It’s not bad.”

How an office space manager increased occupancy BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

When Monroe investors Joseph Hakim and Eddie Hakim purchased the former Amoco building at 1340 Poydras St. in 2013, the 1970s-era high-rise was in bankruptcy and it was less than 50% occupied. The brothers put Joseph Hakim’s son-in-law Jeff Lahasky, then 27, in charge of managing the property and turning it around. Today, the building is more than 80% occupied and the Hakims’ North American Land Development has gone on to purchase two more skyscrapers on Poydras Street, giving them nearly 1.5 million square feet of downtown office space — with Lahasky at the helm. Lahasky is a New Iberia native and LSU graduate who broke into commercial real estate in New Orleans in 2010 after working in Atlanta for a couple of years after college. In the years since, Lahasky Investment Group has been involved in the acquisition, development and management of multifamily, office, retail and industrial properties throughout the Gulf South — including the three Poydras Street buildings he oversees for his wife’s family. In this week’s Talking Business, Lahasky discusses why the family got involved in New Orleans’ downtown office market and where he sees it heading. Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q&A WITH JEFF LAHASKy PRESIDENT OF LAHASKy INVESTMENT GROUP knew I was on-site if they needed anything. Then, we made capital improvements because it was very dated. We didn’t spend a ton, but we made it appear a lot nicer. And we kept the rents low so we could market it as a Poydras Street address with affordable lease rates of around $14.50 a square foot. Then, a sprinkler broke and flooded the common areas, so we were able to update those, and we kept chipping away at it from there. By the end of 2024, we were at more than 80%. Fast forward to 2024 and the DXC building at 1615 Poydras was up for sale. This was still a world recoverPROVIDED PHOTO By JILL CHAZE ing from the pandemic. Why buy another office building? Jeff Lahasky is president of Lahasky Investment Group, My investment business which manages property for North American Land had continued to expand Development, his father-in-law, Joseph Hakim’s real estate and grow, Orleans Tower company. had continued to do well, and the Hakim family had Orleans that was in bankcapital that had accumuWhat interested y’all in 1340 Poydras St. in 2013? lated. ruptcy. I was doing real estate on They wanted to expand. He said they were inmy own, flipping houses, So, when someone reached terested if I would do it spec construction and out and asked us if we’d be with them and handle investing in multifamily, interested in 1615, we deeverything. So, we bought but I wanted to do bigger it. Not long after, we lost cided to make a play for it. projects and had told my McDermott, one of our star The model had worked father-in-law that I’d love to tenants. That put our occuacross the street. We partner with them. thought, if we could do it pancy at 46%. He and his brother had a once, we could do it twice. How did you turn it around? successful company (that Has it worked? The strategy from the makes baby products) and It has. When we initially beginning was to remarket were doing real estate on got it, there were two tenit with a new leasing team the side, mostly in Monroe. and a new name, Orleans ants who were dark, meanOne day, Joseph called Tower. I gave myself the ti- ing they were still paying and said someone had tle of “local asset manager,” rent but were not physipitched them on buying put an office in the building cally in the building. So, an office property in New and made sure the tenants when their leases were up,

they left and the revenue dropped. At the same time, we did a lease with the NOPD, which took 70,000 square feet. That turned out to be a really good deal for them and for us. And in the last four months, we’ve done a 9,000-square-foot deal with a federal contractor and two law ﬁrms, totaling 6,000 square feet. We’re also working on putting a new food vendor in. Occupancy is still not great — probably around 60%. But we’re continuing to chip away. Then earlier this year, y’all bought 400 Poydras St. Why? We knew that the debt on 400 had matured, and though we knew it would be a lot more expensive than the other two, it was 80% occupied in a great location, next to the Warehouse District. My thought was that it had very good leasing demand and it would remain high. It was tricky to put together but we came up with a deal everyone was happy with. We’ve lost some tenants but also gained new ones. And we’ve focused on shoring up the rent rolls. It’s doing well. So your leasing strategy for each of the three is different? Yes. We market Orleans Tower as a Class A building at B prices. We position DXC (1615) at the lower end of the Class A pricing but really push the egress — you can get in and out super fast and easy and

we have also have nearby garages; 400 Poydras is priced more in line with other high-end buildings like Place St. Charles and Energy Centre. What is your take on the health of the office market overall? I think New Orleans is steady. In some of the smaller markets where we have property, there is no demand. Dallas, where we also have properties, is the other end of the spectrum. Demand is very high. New Orleans is somewhere in between. It’s stable. It’s not great. It’s not bad. Hancock Whitney is a big tower that is going to have a lot of occupancy when Shell moves out next year — and its owner is in default on their debt. Might y’all buy it? I would think probably not. It has challenges. It’s got great tenants, but a building of that size really has high operating costs. I would love to see some sort of conversion there — maybe half becomes condos or a hotel. Maybe there is a data center play. What is next for North American Land Development and Lahasky Investment? We have three downtown buildings. That’s a pretty large concentration. You need to diversify. So, for our risk proﬁle, we’re not going to chase something. If there is a deal that comes to us and we think it is the right property, we might consider it but we are not actively trying to buy another ofﬁce building in New Orleans at this time. Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate.com.

$2.8 billion in customer savings. And that’s just the beginning. Over the next 20 years, Entergy Louisiana customers will see $2.8 billion in bill savings from Entergy data center service agreements under our Fair Share Plus pledge. Our Fair Share Plus pledge protects existing customers and ensures data centers pay their fair share for the power they use. Customers across the state will also see economic beneﬁts, including millions in new community investments and tax revenues, new jobs, and stronger local infrastructure. We’re committed to powering the families and businesses we serve – today and for future generations – while keeping energy affordable and reliable for all. Learn more at Entergy.com/DataCenters/Louisiana. A message from Entergy Louisiana, LLC © 2026 Entergy Services, LLC. All rights reserved. Not paid for at customer expense.

4E l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l theadvocate.com l The Acadiana Advocate

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AROUND THE REGION

Shreveport staffing firm: AI already changing job market BY LIZ SWAINE Staff writer

In May, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that 66% of the businesses it surveyed were using artificial intelligence; 26% more than two years earlier. The Fed said that is good and bad, because AI increases worker productivity, but it may also reduce the demand for certain types of labor. Greg Procell, vice president and general manager of the local Manpower staffing office, said he is seeing the AI impact firsthand. “Where we used to have production line workers all over the place, now, it’s being done by machines,” said Procell. He said he believes the quick adoption of AI has been influenced by the difficulty in finding people to fill the jobs. Production line work is generally routine, repetitive and standardized, as well as jobs such as insurance claims processing, basic accounting and bookkeeping, medical billing and coding, civil land survey drafting and paralegal work. “Entry operators, anything to do with just pure worksheets, spreadsheets … those type of positions have decreased in our area quite a bit,” he said. Procell has been part of the Dallas Fed’s business outlook committee since 1995 and shares what he sees in the local job market every six weeks. One of the Fed findings is that recent college graduates in Texas have been unable to find jobs in their field of study and it has prompted current students to change their educational decisions. Procell said he has also been encouraging students to reconsider their educational plans. “We tell them they need to expand their field, because those type of jobs, almost guaranteed in three to five years, there’s not going to be a need for them. We try to coach them into going into broader things, for their own sake,” he said. According to Fed data, job post-

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LIZ SWAINE

An Amazon associate feeds packages onto a conveyor. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas recently found that 66% of businesses are now using artificial intelligence, noting that AI increases worker productivity but also reduces the demand for certain types of labor like production line work. ings in “more exposed positions” fell by 8% in the ﬁrst quarter of 2025. The Fed’s May 2026 Business Outlook Survey reported a list of tasks and jobs that manufacturing and service sector businesses were replacing with AI. On the flip side, Procell said there are trades and skills that are in big demand and should continue to be. Recent college graduates are the most exposed to the shift in skills. “Because the types of jobs posted online typically require little prior work experience, a decline in

job postings is likely to disproportionately affect new labor market entrants,” concluded the Fed. There is also the issue of changing demographics. “As the baby boomers start to leave the workforce, which is a great deal of people, and the younger folks start to come in, the numbers just aren’t there (to ﬁll the jobs). So companies do have to modernize their techniques and what they do,” Procell said. That could encourage or speed the adoption of AI. He said businesses are also hav-

ing to deal with the reality that younger job seekers want more flexibility. He said the four-day workweek is becoming more common, even in the worldwide Manpower group. Shreveport’s Frymaster has also made a change to accommodate. The Line Avenue manufacturer, which makes deep fryers used by restaurant chains such as Taco Bell, Popeyes and Raising Cane’s, is pushing the start of their 5 a.m. shift to 6 a.m., said Director of Operations Kathryn Childs. That helps younger workers who were having

a hard time getting to work on time. “Our skilled workforce is still going to maintain the 5 a.m. start time though,” she said. Procell said some younger workers have also opted out of more traditional jobs completely and have found ways to make money on the internet. “Things are changing, the mindset, and we’re not going to change it. It’s going farther and farther in that direction,” he said. Email Liz Swaine at liz.swaine@ theadvocate.com.

LOOKING BEYOND:

Jones Walker on Representing Louisiana’s Construction Industry Leaders Pt. I

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Strategies to Protect Owners in High-Stakes Construction Disputes. Large commercial construction projects often face disputes over delays, defective work, cost overruns, and subcontractor failures. For Louisiana project owners, resolving these conﬂicts is a legal obligation and business Chris strategy. Early planning, contracts, and claims Cazenave can turn setbacks into recovery opportunities, protecting investments and strengthening delivery. Effective preparation evaluates project risk and contract structure, since delivery methods and pricing shape responsibility. Indemniﬁcation provisions, schedules, and liquidated damages provide leverage, while aligned litigation strategy and early insurer involvement support business objectives. Documenting issues, preserving evidence, meeting bond requirements, and presenting supported claims enhance credibility, resolve disputes, and safeguard project success. Jones Walker is proud to help lead the way for Louisiana’s construction industry as it navigates a complex legal environment.

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ECONOMY

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The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l 5E

Jewelers manage fallout as market booms for lab-grown diamond BY TIM GRANT

couples choosing lab-grown diamonds has increased 239%, according to The Knot. The shift to lab-grown diamonds Walk into Henne Jewelers in is also shown in the size of the Pittsburgh and you won’t see a rocks. single lab-grown diamond. One Pittsburgh bridal shop ownThey aren’t displayed in the showcases. They aren’t adverer, who asked not to be identified due to the risk of offending clitised. And owner John Henne won’t recommend them to cusents, said the size of some engagetomers. ment rings worn by young women But if you really want one, have become impossible to miss. Henne will sell it to you — be“I’ve noticed very large stones on very young ladies, and I woncause in recent years, he started keeping a stash of them in the der — how?” she said. back room. For many brides, there’s no Lab-grown diamonds have bereason to announce that the enorcome so popular in the past 10 mous diamond on her finger is years that even fine jewelers like lab-grown. The couple know. The Henne have little choice but to jeweler knows. And nobody else make them available — even if has to. they prefer not to sell them. However, not every couple sees “We have chosen to provide the it that way. service of selling lab-grown diaSome deliberately choose labgrown diamonds because they monds to customers who have dedon’t want to support the cided that’s what they want to do,” Henne said. “The working-class consumer, like the unethical and environmenIt’s a sign of how dramaticoncerns that have been Target and Walmart shoppers, they just tal associated with some natural cally the diamond business has changed in recent years. want the sparkle. They just want the rock diamond-mining operations, — whether it’s natural or lab-grown.” including a history of conThe popularity of labgrown diamonds has disflict, violence, exploitation PAUL BIEKER, owner of GeekJewelry.com of mine workers, dangerous rupted the economics of the working conditions and envinatural diamond industry And even that $400 price is a ronmental damage. For those couby hurting the demand for natural diamonds, pushing their pric- fraction of what lab-grown dia- ples, buying a lab-grown diamond es lower and forcing jewelers to monds cost just five years ago, is a deliberate choice that reflects adapt to lab-grown stones in order when they typically sold for their values. Paul Bieker, owner of GeekJewto survive. about half the price of a natural Unlike imitation stones such diamond. elry.com, estimates that labas cubic zirconia, lab-grown diaThe plunge in price has made grown jewelry now accounts for monds have the same chemical lab-grown diamonds even more of about half of his business. “The working-class consumer, and physical properties as natural a no-brainer for consumers who care about appearance and price. like the Target and Walmart shopdiamonds. The bridal industry has the pers, they just want the sparkle,” However, they are produced in high-tech laboratories instead of numbers to prove just how quick- Bieker said. “They just want the being mined from the Earth. ly those consumers are changing rock — whether it’s natural or labAnd nobody wants lab-grown di- the diamond market. The Knot’s grown.” And once shoppers understand amonds more than young couples 2026 Real Weddings Study of shopping for engagement rings, 10,474 U.S. couples married in how little they have to spend to 2025 found that 61% chose a lab- get that bling, Bieker said the sellers say. For a generation of brides and grown diamond for their engage- math becomes difficult to argue with — especially when the more grooms who want the biggest pos- ment ring. More than half — 52% — of cou- expensive product doesn’t look sible stones without spending a fortune, lab-grown diamonds of- ples chose a lab-grown diamond any different to the naked eye. Bieker’s argument for labfer an irresistible proposition — in 2024. Since 2020, the share of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

they are virtually indistinguishable from natural stones and are sold at a fraction of the price. Ira Helfer, owner of David Helfer Jewelry in Pittsburgh, estimates that roughly 90% of the diamonds that he works with today as a manufacturer of custom jewelry are lab-grown. His family has been in the jewelry business for 90 years. “Last night, I delivered a ring where the stone was maybe $2,000,” Helfer said. “It was a fairly big stone. If it had been natural, it would have been maybe $40,000 or $50,000.” In short, the economics of the diamond business have been turned upside down. While a 1-carat natural diamond can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000, depending on its quality, a comparable lab-grown diamond can cost roughly $400.

TNS PHOTO By JESSICA GRIFFIN/THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

At Philadelphia’s L. Priori Jewelry, a pear-shaped lab diamond, left, and an oval-shaped natural diamond, right, are on display. With the emergency of significantly cheaper lab-grown diamonds, the economics of the diamond business have been turned upside down. grown gets even more pointed when he talks about what happens after a diamond leaves the jewelry store. “Imagine spending $5,000 on a natural diamond,” he said. “You’re very proud of yourself. But things don’t work out. You’re sad. You decide to sell the ring. They’re going to offer you $2,000, if you’re lucky.” That’s a $3,000 loss. “In the same scenario, if you spent $1,500 on a lab-grown, you can sell it on eBay or wherever, for $400 and at least get a couple of bucks back,” Bieker said. “Or, you can throw it in the freaking river — you’re still up.” Henne belongs to the camp that believes the economic value of lab-grown diamonds will eventually fall to zero. “We’ve been in business 139 years, and we’ve had the privilege of seeing people bring in their grandmother’s diamond, and they get to reuse it and put that in

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their engagement ring and carry all the sentimental value and the heritage of their family along,” Henne said. “Whereas 50 years from now, people aren’t going to be resetting a lab-grown diamond of their grandmother, because it will have absolutely no value.” Henne isn’t suggesting people should think of diamonds the way they think of stocks or mutual funds. Its value is something harder to put on a balance sheet. “It’s something of value that you get to enjoy,” he said. “The value goes beyond monetary. It’s sentimental. It’s heritage.” He offered a comparison that is personal to him. “I’m wearing my father’s watch,” Henne said. “Today, I have a nice watch collection. But someone asked me recently, ‘What’s your favorite watch?’ There’s no question. It’s my dad’s watch. That’s my favorite because of the sentimental value and the legacy.”

6E ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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ACADIANA INBOX Lindsey Faulk will resign from her position as executive director of Leadership Institute of Acadiana. Faulk, who took the position a year ago, said she will step away from the job Dec. 4. She took over the position while continuing Faulk her duties as director of events for One Acadiana. She is a graduate of Leadership Lafayette Class 37. “I believe deeply that an organization like LIA deserves a leader with the capacity to fully steward its mission, its people and the opportunities ahead,” Faulk said. The move comes as Leadership Lafayette recently opened registration for its 2027 class. Deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Nov. 20. To register, visit leadacadiana. org/classXL. Stephanie Manson and Mike DeHart were named to the board of trustees at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Foundation. Manson Manson is president of FMOL Health | Our Lady

of Lourdes, which includes Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center, Our Lady of Lourdes Women’s & Children’s Hospital and Our Lady DeHart of Lourdes Heart Hospital. Manson has been a part of the FMOL health system since 1998. DeHart is co-chief investment ofﬁcer and president emeritus of Federated Management Services, the Stuller family ofﬁce. DeHart has been with the Stuller organization since 2001. Dr. Madelyn Lavergne joined the staff at Opelousas General Health System as a primary care physician. Lavergne is board certified in family medicine and her scope of services will include preventative medicine and Lavergne chronic disease management, pediatrics, women’s health and geriatrics. She joins the family medicine practice of Dr. Michael Burnell after Dr. Royce Darbonne closed his private practice.

BUILDING PERMITS issued Sept. 30 to Oct. 6

Commercial alterations

OFFICE: 4701 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Suite B-1; description, LabCorp; applicant and contractor, Buildrite Construction; $411,942.

New commercial

OTHER: 1715 W. Willow St., Scott; description, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce law enforcement center; applicant, Grace Design Studios; contractor, The Lemoine Co.; $40 million.

Commercial demolition

OFFICE: 1106 Coolidge St., description, none listed for ofﬁce building; applicant, Ritter Maher Architects; contractor, Thomson Brothers Construction; $30,000.

New residential

2513 GENDARME ROAD, CARENCRO: Kim Romero, $136,125. 3609 MILLS ST.: C-T Homes, $336,875.

322 LEBLANC ROAD, MAURICE: Andries Builders, $313,250. 305 BRATTLE COURT: DSLD, $279,875. 100 CHARSKI COURT: DSLD, $326,750. 101 BELLEMEADE LANE: Montgomery Builders, $424,000. 217 BELLEMEADE LANE: Milton Hebert Construction, $488,250. 204 BELLE LAKE DRIVE: DR Horton, $417,625. 302 EASTWOOD DRIVE: DR Horton, $371,500. 800 W. WILLOW ST.: Valentine Commercial Construction, $160,000. 119 SWEET RIDGE WAY, YOUNGSVILLE: Level Construction & Development, $244,218. 101 BAYFIELD DRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: Manuel Builders, $276,400. 105 RIO DRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: Manuel Builders, $241,760. 304 CYPRESS FALLS DRIVE, BROUSSARD: DR Horton, $154,657. 302 CYPRESS FALLS DRIVE, BROUSSARD: DR Horton, $132,218.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Developer to build 453 homes near Youngsville

backed out despite getting zoning commission approval, commercial real estate agent Clinton A Lafayette developer is seek- Shepard said. ing approval for two subdivisions south of Youngsville that will have a total of 453 homes. Stillwater Development is seeking preliminary plat approvals Lafayette-based Cullen Investfrom Lafayette Consolidated Gov- ment Group, which has over $1 ernment’s parish planning com- billion in assets under managemission for a 240-lot development ment, has been acquired by naat 720 Austin Road and a 213-lot tional group Aspen Standard development in the 500 block of Wealth. Piat Road, records show. Cullen, 1404 S. College Road, The projects will go before the was founded in 1986 and is an commission Monday. independent, full-service wealth The Austin Road project, to be management ﬁrm. named Highpointe Farms and just “We are excited to partner with south of Ben Franklin Drive, will Aspen to build upon our legacy cover 59 acres and include four as an independent wealth mancommon areas. LCG is request- agement ﬁrm that is focused on ing one road tie into John Adams providing our clients with a truly Drive in the adjacent develop- holistic experience,” Cullen prinment. cipal Stephen Nickel said. “That The Piat Road project, to be commitment to our clients will named Evergreen Estates and never change.” just south of Egret Road, will cover 46.5 acres and include four common areas. Renderings show the only access will be from Piat Road. Applications are being accepted Stillwater had planned a 237-lot for Leadership Lafayette Class development in Lafayette just XL. south of East Broussard Road but The program, which began in

National group acquires Lafayette investment firm

Registration open for next Leadership Lafayette

Fool’s Take: General Mills for dividend income

General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is home to Annie’s, Betty Crocker, Cheerios, Gold Medal, Green Giant, Larabar, Nature Valley, Old El Paso, Progresso and Wheaties — many other Motley among brands. It’s also a Fool dividend-paying stock, with a huge recent dividend yield of 7.7%. Like its peers, General Mills is facing declining sales and proﬁts. Consumers are stretched thin, and packaged food companies are having difﬁculty passing along rising costs to them. Consumers are also shifting their preferences toward healthier and not-processed items. But General Mills has a strong brand portfolio with an emphasis on breakfast meals and snacks, so it should be better positioned

than other packaged food companies. And the stock seems dirt cheap, with a recent forwardlooking price-to-earnings ratio of 10, well below its five-year average of 15. General Mills’ net sales increased 1% to $4.6 billion in its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter (which ended May 31). Its adjusted earnings per share, boosted by stock buybacks, surged 27% to $0.95. To win more sales, General Mills plans to create new products catering to health-conscious shoppers. It also intends to slash costs by $750 million in fiscal 2027 and a total of $3 billion by fiscal 2030. General Mills could take years to return to meaningful growth, but it’s offering generous dividend income while you wait.

1987, has helped participants learn about Lafayette Parish and build relationships with crossgenerational leaders and peers. Topics that will be covered include education, local and state government, economic development, arts and culture, health and wellness and social services. The competitive, applicationbased program has developed a network of nearly 1,000 graduates representing businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, government and other sectors. It is open to leaders within the community who seek to expand and further develop their leadership skills, explore different experiences and points of view, and build relationships with others equally committed to their community. Community members can also nominate leaders they believe would be a strong ﬁt for the program. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Nov. 20. To register, visit leadacadiana.org/classXL. Visit leadacadiana.org or contact executive director Lindsey Faulk at (337) 408-3662 or lindsey@leadacadiana.org.

The job of a public company’s board of directors (which is elected by shareholders) is to oversee the company’s leadership and long-term strategy. Board members may be company insiders or outsiders, and they are typically charged with making decisions in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. The kinds of things a board may do include authorizing dividends and share buybacks; approving the company’s capital allocation (how it ﬁnances its operations to maximize proﬁts); recruiting, guiding and setting compensation for top executives; and planning for leadership succession.

Ask the Fool: Board duties What does a board of directors do? — K.W., Zachary

THEADVOCATE.COM/SUBSCRIBE

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The Acadiana Advocate l theadvocate.com l Sunday, October 11, 2026 l 7E

BY THE NUMBERS

Is Louisiana training workers for jobs of the future? BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

Louisiana employment projections 2024-2034 Every large region, except New Orleans, is expected to add jobs

Louisiana’s job growth is at its healthiest in years, with the state projected to add nearly 60,000 new jobs across all but one of its eight regions between now and 2034, according to new research from Louisiana Works. What’s more, programs to train the workforce of the future are broadly aligned with the sectors expected to grow in the coming years, the agency found. Louisiana Works, formerly known as the Louisiana Workforce Commission, evaluated which industries are expected to create new jobs, what those jobs will be and where they will be located over the 10 years ending in 2034. Then, the agency compared the number of degrees and certificates issued during the prior decade with the number of jobs expected to be created over the next one. Jake Polansky, executive director of workforce intelligence for Louisiana Works, said programs in some fields are nearly training enough skilled workers to meet the number of projected openings. “What was good news, when we looked at the data, is that the number of credentials awarded has scaled up and accelerated significantly in recent years,” Polansky said last month at a labor market briefing. But some skilled trades training programs are still falling short, with about 10 times as many projected carpenter jobs as credentialed ones. And it remains to be seen if the state can train enough skilled workers to fill the jobs expected to be created

20,928

11,354

9,362

6,953 -2,253

Baton Rouge

Lake Charles

Shreveport

Lafayette

Source: Louisiana Works, Office of Research and Statistics

New Orleans Staff graphic

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

A video presentation gives the audience a view of the SpaceX ‘Starbase Louisiana’ facility by planned megaprojects age population that peaked planned near Pecan Island. With the announcement of major projects, the state is now such as the SpaceX space- in 2015. tasked with training skilled workers to fill the jobs expected to be created. port and new data centers in north Louisiana. “We are going to have a lot of open jobs,” Polansky said. “We’re talking 10,000-20,000 total openings for some of these top jobs over the next decade.”

Growth in most areas Overall, the findings are good news for most of the state. The Baton Rouge region is projected to lead the way, adding nearly 21,000 new jobs in the coming years, accounting for more than a third of all job growth in the state. The forecast anticipates more than 11,300 new jobs in the Lake Charles region and more than 9,300 in greater Shreveport-Bossier. The greater New Orleans region, on the other hand, is projected to lose more than 2,000 jobs in the coming years — the only one of the eight regions in the state where a net loss is forecast. Polansky said a key factor responsible for New Orleans’ plight is a working-

“It’s tough to have a region with growing jobs if your population is not growing,” Polansky said. Polansky said it is important to note that while the job projections do account for signiﬁcant construction jobs associated with the Meta Hyperion data center in Richland Parish, they do not fully incorporate the effects of the $250 billion in projects announced since Gov. Jeff Landry took ofﬁce in 2024.

Industry by industry To come up with the estimates of future job growth, LA Works’ Office of Research and Statistics first built out industrywide projections. It found the top ﬁve fastest-growing sectors will be: healthcare and social assistance, in need of 19,027 workers; accommodation and food services (11,387); professional, scientiﬁc and technical services (10,927); construction (9,235) and manufacturing (7,760).

Then, researchers used those totals to work out how many of those jobs will fall into each occupation — how many of the new healthcare industry jobs will be doctors, how many will be nurses, and how many will be accountants or other occupations. Statewide, about twice as many home healthcare jobs will be created as the next fastest-growing occupation, construction laborers, according to the projections, which mirror national trends. State researchers also wanted to ﬁgure out whether Louisiana’s training programs were aligned with the job openings of the future. To determine how the demand for skilled workers aligned with the credentials awarded in recent years, they compared the last decade of data from the Louisiana Board of Regents system that tracks degrees and credentials across pub-

lic higher education institutions. “I was pleasantly surprised,” Polansky said. “It was really reassuring to see that when you look at a lot of those top credential-awarding programs, it’s pretty aligned with a lot of the top jobs that we see.” Some credential programs for skilled trades have revved up to meet demand since the pandemic. Over the past ﬁve years, the number of electrician credentials rose by 82% and the number of HVAC technician credentials by 87% compared to the ﬁve years prior. But some trades have not scaled up fast enough. Nearly 10,000 new carpenter jobs are projected to open up through 2034, but there have been about 100 or fewer new carpentry credentials issued annually for the past decade, according to Polansky. There are also some questions that the graduation numbers can’t answer —

including how many of the newly credentialed workers have decamped for another state. “There’s no clear-cut answer to know how many nursing students graduated from a nursing program in Baton Rouge and how many stayed within the Baton Rouge region, versus going to Lafayette or Shreveport or Houston or Dallas or another region altogether,” Polansky said. Nevertheless, some of the most recent statewide job numbers are also the most encouraging. Only three states had a higher job growth rate during the second quarter of this year, with Louisiana’s driven by increases in the construction, manufacturing, professional services, healthcare and hospitality sectors. Email Jonah Meadows at jonah.meadows@theadvocate.com.

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t i r Esp ançais Fr Louisiana places to enjoy French culture and cuisine Mississippi's coastal fun + historic attractions throughout the state October-December Louisiana event guide Tips for holiday travel RV rentals vs. hotels: ﬁnding the right accommodations

Can’t travel to see the Saints in Paris? Here’s how to ﬁnd

Sunday, October 25, 2026

Stade de France, Paris

SAINTS IN PARIS

A TASTE OF FRANCE

across Louisiana By Amanda McElfresh amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

or the ﬁrst time in nearly 20 years, travelers are able to ride daily trains along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Amtrak Mardi Gras Service operates twice daily in each direction, with morning and evening departures from New Orleans and Mobile. Along the way, the trains stop in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. French inﬂuence has shaped Louisiana for centuries, leaving its mark on the state’s language, architecture, food and traditions. Louisiana French and Creole remain part of the state’s living cultural heritage, and many organizations continue efforts to promote French language and culture. So, if you can’t make it to see the Saints take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Stade de France on October 25, these Louisiana destinations offer the chance to experience that connection close to home.

Explore New Orleans’ French Quarter

Start with one of Louisiana’s most recognizable destinations. A walk through the French Quarter offers a chance to experience centuries of history through architecture, courtyards, restaurants and public spaces. Make Jackson Square part of the itinerary, then visit The Historic New Orleans Collection on Royal Street for a deeper look at the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South.

Spend a day in St. Martinville

Sometimes called “Le Petit Paris,” St. Martinville offers several stops within a small area for visitors interested in Louisiana’s Francophone heritage. At Acadian Memorial and Museum, exhibits tell the story of Acadian exiles who settled in Louisiana, with French and English interpretation available. Nearby, visitors can see the Evangeline Oak and St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church, whose history is closely tied to the Acadian community.

Discover Creole history along River Road

At Laura Plantation: Louisiana's Créole Heritage Site in Vacherie, guided tours explore the history of a Creole sugar plantation through architecture, family stories and the documented experiences of enslaved people. French-language tours are also offered at select times, adding another dimension for visitors interested in Louisiana’s linguistic heritage.

Connect with Louisiana’s French-speaking community

French in Louisiana isn’t simply a piece of the past. The language remains part of communities across the state, and CODOFIL promotes opportunities to use it through French Tables, festivals, education and other cultural programs. Louisiana currently has 36 French immersion schools serving more than 5,500 students, according to CODOFIL.

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Planning a holiday trip? These tips can reduce stress and make the journey easier

y a d i l Ho p Tips Tri

oliday travel can bring excitement, but crowded airports, busy highways and packed schedules can also make it challenging. Whether you’re ﬂying across the country, driving a few hours to visit relatives or planning a long holiday getaway, preparation can make the journey easier. Building ﬂexibility into an itinerary, packing strategically and planning for delays can help you spend less time worrying about logistics and more time enjoying the holidays.

Give yourself more time Travelers heading to an airport should allow extra time for traffic, parking, security and getting to the gate. Those driving should consider where they may encounter congestion and avoid scheduling arrival times so tightly that a minor delay disrupts the day. When possible, flexibility can make a major difference. Traveling a day or two outside the busiest periods or choosing an earlier flight may provide additional options.

Book early, but compare the full cost Holiday demand can put pressure on flights, hotels and rental cars, particularly around popular travel dates. Making reservations early can give you more choices in departure times, accommodations and seating. Price, however, is only one factor to consider. A cheaper flight with a long layover or inconvenient departure time may not be the best value. When comparing options, consider baggage fees, airport parking, transportation and other expenses that can raise the total cost. Hotel guests should look for parking or resort fees, while people booking short-term rentals should check cleaning and service charges before making a final decision.

Pack with delays in mind Packing light can simplify holiday travel, particularly for airline passengers who want to avoid checking luggage. But, keep essential items like medication, identification, travel documents, chargers and money close at hand. Airline travelers may also want to pack a change of clothes and basic toiletries in their carry-on. Families traveling with children can benefit from having snacks, entertainment and extra clothes readily available. Prepare the car before a road trip Before leaving, check tires, fluids, lights and windshield wipers, particularly if the trip includes long distances or colder climates. Keep a phone charger, water and basic emergency supplies in the vehicle. Travelers

heading into areas where winter weather is possible should monitor conditions along the entire route. It can also help to identify fuel stops, restaurants and rest areas in advance, especially in unfamiliar or rural areas. Watch the weather Check forecasts several days before departure and continue monitoring conditions as the trip approaches. Airline passengers should watch for notifications from their carrier, while drivers may need to adjust departure times or routes. If severe weather threatens, changing plans earlier may provide more alternatives than waiting until there are cancellations or dangerous road conditions. Make a backup plan Before leaving, know your alternatives. Airline passengers can familiarize themselves with later flights or connecting options, while drivers can identify alternate routes and possible overnight stops. Keep reservation information and important phone numbers easy to access, and make sure phones and devices are charged. Most importantly, leave some breathing room in the itinerary. Holiday travel often comes with unexpected variables, and a little extra flexibility can make a delay easier to manage.

From cozy cottages to luxury homes, Reed Real Estate offers

y t r e p o r P t h g i the R

for every Gulf Coast getaway

or more than 30 years, Reed Real Estate has welcomed vacationers to Alabama’s Gulf Coast with the goal of helping families make lifelong beach memories with relatives of all ages, and even their four-legged companions. Reed Real Estate’s connection to Fort Morgan dates to 1972, when Frank and Lynn Reed built their home on the peninsula. Frank helped neighbors rebuild after Hurricane Frederic in 1979, and that work grew into the business, which opened in 1988. The company remains a multigenerational family operation led by broker Jill Manning. Fort Morgan’s old-fashioned coastal atmosphere and relaxed, pet-friendly vibe make it easy to plan a vacation. Because Gulf Shores is a short drive away, guests can mix quiet beach days with restaurants, shopping and entertainment. Several Reed rentals are Gulf-front homes, ranging from cozy retreats to multi-bedroom properties for larger parties. Travelers can choose homes featuring private pools or hot tubs, elevated

decks, en suite bathrooms and full kitchens. Homes with elevators or ramps are available, as are budget-friendly options. Dozens of Reed properties are pet-friendly. For quieter water views, Reed manages bayfront or lagoon-view properties with access to ﬁshing, kayaking and birdwatching. The company has expanded its upscale offerings through its acquisition of Fort Morgan Property Management, now operating as Fort Morgan Properties by Reed Real Estate. Visit www.gulfrentals.com to learn more.

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i pp i ss i ss i M From coastal fun to historic sites, there’ss something for everyone in there

rom the beaches of the coast to the literary landmarks of Oxford, Mississippi offers destinations for history buffs, music fans, families and travelers looking for a fall getaway. Here are a few places to add to your itinerary.

Enjoy the Gulf Coast

Warm temperatures mean that beach season continues well into the fall. Coastal Mississippi combines miles of shoreline with seafood, museums, outdoor recreation and entertainment. In Gulfport, Mississippi Aquarium showcases more than 200 animal species, making it a great stop for families. Head east to Biloxi to visit the historic Biloxi Lighthouse or learn about the region’s shrimping, ﬁshing, boatbuilding and maritime traditions at the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum. Visitors can also spend a night or two at one of the many casino resorts, which offer gaming, restaurants, pools, live music, spa treatments and resort amenities.

Spend a literary weekend in Oxford

The home of Ole Miss is known for football crowds (and an animosity toward a certain LSU head football coach), but the north Mississippi city offers plenty beyond game day. Literature lovers can tour Rowan Oak, the former home of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner, before heading downtown to browse Square Books. Oxford’s historic Courthouse Square is surrounded by restaurants, shops and entertainment, making the walkable downtown an easy place to spend a fall afternoon. September through November is among the city’s most popular seasons for visitors.

Step into history in Natchez

Perched above the Mississippi River, Natchez offers historic architecture, cultural attractions and scenic views. Fall is particularly ﬁtting for a visit: the city’s 2026 Fall Pilgrimage runs through Oct. 17, with opportunities to tour historic properties. One of the city’s most distinctive landmarks is Longwood, an octagonal mansion famous for its unﬁnished interior. Travelers can dig deeper into the city’s complex past through Natchez National Historical Park, which interprets stories involving slavery, the cotton economy and the lives of free and enslaved people.

Follow the music to the Mississippi Delta

Mississippi’s inﬂuence on American music is difficult to overstate, and the Delta is the place to explore that legacy. In Cleveland, GRAMMY Museum Mississippi uses interactive exhibits to highlight Mississippi musicians and the state’s contributions to popular music. Travelers can continue to explore blues history in communities such as Clarksdale and Indianola, as well as the Mississippi Blues Trail, one of several heritage trails connecting important people and places across the state.

Explore Civil War history in Vicksburg

Farther north along the Mississippi River, Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the landscape associated with the pivotal 1863 Vicksburg Campaign and Siege of Vicksburg. Visitors can explore monuments, historic earthworks and the Vicksburg National Cemetery. The park is also home to the U.S.S. Cairo Museum, where visitors can see the remains of a Civil War ironclad gunboat and artifacts recovered with it.

Discover the birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo

At the Elvis Presley Birthplace, visitors can tour the two-room house where Elvis was born and explore exhibits about his childhood and early musical inﬂuences. Tupelo is also headquarters for the Natchez Trace Parkway. The scenic 444-mile route runs through Mississippi and into Tennessee, providing plenty of opportunities to pair history and culture with a fall drive.

e v a S F e t a D e th

Your guide to Louisiana’s fall and holiday events rom food festivals and live music to holiday lights and centuries-old traditions, Louisiana’s calendar is packed with reasons to hit the road this fall. Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway or looking for a quick day trip, communities across the state will celebrate the season nearly every weekend. Here are some special events to add to your calendar.

Oct. 15–18 | Crowley

INTERNATIONAL RICE FESTIVAL

One of Louisiana’s longstanding agricultural celebrations returns to downtown Crowley with parades, music, food and events celebrating the rice industry. Oct. 16–18 | LaPlace

ANDOUILLE FESTIVAL

Celebrate St. John the Baptist Parish’s famous smoked sausage with food, music and entertainment.

Oct. 16–18 | New Orleans

NOLA FUNK FEST

This music festival celebrates Louisiana’s contributions to funk and its broader musical history. Oct. 22–Nov. 1| Baton Rouge

GREATER BATON ROUGE STATE FAIR

The annual fair brings carnival rides, games, food and entertainment to the Capital Region. Oct. 23–25 | Larose

FRENCH FOOD FESTIVAL

Head down the bayou for Cajun specialties, live entertainment and a celebration of the food traditions of Louisiana’s coastal communities.

Oct. 23–25 | Houma

ROUGAROU FEST

Louisiana folklore gets a Halloween twist at this free festival celebrating the legendary Rougarou with costumes, culture, music and family-friendly fun.

Oct. 24–25 | St. Francisville

YELLOW LEAF ART FESTIVAL

Artists and musicians gather in historic St. Francisville for an outdoor celebration of art and creativity.

Oct. 31 | Baton Rouge

LOUISIANA BOOK FESTIVAL

The 22nd annual literary festival takes over downtown Baton Rouge with authors, presentations, performances and activities for readers of all ages. This year’s One Book, One Festival selection is Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. Oct. 31 | Grand Coteau

SWEET DOUGH PIE FESTIVAL

Celebrate one of Acadiana’s traditional desserts with sweet dough pies, food, arts and crafts and cultural activities. Oct. 31–Nov. 1 |Slidell

NOLA ZYDECO FEST

Heritage Park becomes a celebration of Louisiana Creole culture with zydeco music, dancing, Louisiana food, cultural experiences and family activities.

Nov. 6–8 | Colfax

LOUISIANA PECAN FESTIVAL

The 58th festival celebrates one of Louisiana’s agricultural staples with a parade, live music, contests, carnival activities and more.

Nov. 6–8 | Florien

SABINE FREE STATE FESTIVAL

This western Louisiana festival draws inspirati with reenactments, historical demonstrations, a parade, live music and Western-themed activities.

Nov. 6–8 | Covington

OZONE SONGWRITER FESTIVAL

More than 100 musicians are expected to bring original music to downtown Covington, with performances at the Covington Trailhead and venues around the historic district. Nov. 12–15 | Port Barre

Dec. 3–5 | Alexandria

ALEXWINTERFÊTE

Downtown Alexandria welcomes the holidays with three days of festivities during one of Central Louisiana’s signature seasonal events. Dec. 11–13 | Lutcher

FESTIVAL OF THE BONFIRES

Experience one of the River Parishes’ most distinctive holiday traditions with food, live entertainment, crafts, carnival rides, ﬁreworks and ceremonial bonﬁre lightings.

PORT BARRE CRACKLIN FESTIVAL

The Cajun favorite gets its own celebration in St. Landry Parish during this four-day festival. Nov. 14–15 | Covington

COVINGTON THREE RIVERS ART FESTIVAL

About 200 juried artists transform Columbia Street into an outdoor gallery featuring painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, woodworking and other art forms.

Nov. 21–Jan. 6| Natchitoches

NATCHITOCHES FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

Louisiana’s oldest city marks the 100th season of its famous Christmas celebration in 2026. More than 300,000 lights and 100-plus set pieces illuminate the historic district, with ﬁreworks, music and special events scheduled throughout the season. Nov. 27–Jan. 1 | New Orleans

CELEBRATION IN THE OAKS

New Orleans City Park becomes a holiday light destination for its annual Celebration in the Oaks, a tradition dating to the 1980s.

Dec. 1–23 | Lafayette

NOEL ACADIEN AU VILLAGE

Acadian Village transforms for the holidays during this Acadiana tradition, giving visitors a chance to combine Christmas festivities with a glimpse of the region’s Cajun heritage. Dec. 1–30 | Baton Rouge

LOUISIANA LIGHTS

The Burden Museum & Gardens hosts a walk-through holiday light experience throughout December.

Dec. 24 | River Parishes

CHRISTMAS EVE BONFIRES ON THE LEVEE

The season culminates when bonﬁres along the Mississippi River levees are lit at 7 p.m., continuing the regional tradition associated with lighting the way for Papa Noël. Dec. 31 | Baton Rouge

RED STICK REVELRY

Downtown Baton Rouge closes out 2026 with its New Year’s Eve celebration and the midnight lowering of the illuminated Red Stick.

Finding the right accommodations can shape your travel experience

hoosing a destination may be the fun part of planning a vacation, but deciding where to stay can have a big influence on the experience. Hotels, short-term rentals and recreational vehicles each offer different advantages, and the best fit often depends on the length of the trip, number of travelers, desired amenities and how much flexibility a group wants.

Hotels offer convenience and built-in services

Hotels remain an easy choice for travelers who value convenience. Depending on the property, guests may have access to housekeeping, front-desk assistance, pools, fitness centers, restaurants, complimentary breakfast and other services. Hotels can be especially convenient for shorter trips, couples or solo travelers who expect to spend much of their time sightseeing. Locations near downtown districts, attractions or airports can also reduce transportation time. The tradeoff is space. A standard hotel room may feel cramped for families or groups, and eating every meal at restaurants can add to travel costs. Parking, resort fees and other charges may affect the final price, making it important to compare the full cost rather than the advertised nightly rate. Short-term rentals provide more room to spread out For families and larger groups, short-term rentals can offer shared space paired with privacy. A house or condominium may include multiple bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, laundry facilities and living areas where everyone can gather. Kitchens can be particularly useful for families with young children, travelers with dietary needs or groups hoping to prepare some meals themselves. Rentals can also provide a more residential experience, whether that means staying in a neighborhood, booking a beachfront home or finding a secluded mountain cabin. However, travelers should read listings and policies carefully. Cleaning and service fees can raise the total cost, while cancellation policies, check-in procedures and house rules vary by property. Unlike hotels, rentals may not have staff immediately available when something goes wrong.

RVs put ﬂexibility at the center of the trip

RV travel can make it easier to visit several destinations without repeatedly packing and unpacking. Campgrounds may also place travelers close to beaches, state and national parks and other outdoor attractions. Having a kitchen, sleeping space and personal belongings along for the ride can provide a sense of home throughout a longer journey. But RV travel requires additional planning. Travelers need to account for campground reservations, fuel, hookups, parking and vehicle size. Those renting an RV for the first time should also become comfortable operating the vehicle and handling campsite setup. Cost is another consideration, since mileage charges and rental costs can add up. It’s all about finding the right fit Ultimately, no single type of accommodation works best for every vacation. Before booking, travelers should consider not only the nightly price but also space, location, transportation, meals, fees and convenience. The right choice best matches how travelers actually plan to spend their vacation.

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The Pink Zombie PAGE 3

Molly Kimball 1N

Flu season is coming. Are you ready?

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Artist Mike Weary and breast cancer survivor Pam Malara smile together with their collaboration for Woman’s Hospital’s annual BUST Breast Cancer fashion fundraiser event in Baton Rouge.

HEADED FOR THE

CATWALK

Woman’s Hospital pairs artists and breast cancer survivors for fashion show BY MARGARET DeLANEY Staff writer

Every October, the Foundation for Woman’s in Baton Rouge builds a fashion runway. What started as a smaller fashion show for women in 2013 has turned into Woman’s Hospital’s biggest fundraiser of the year, called BUST Breast Cancer. About 10 years ago, the event decided to bring in new models for the show: breast cancer survivors. Between 15 and 20 former patients are selected each year and paired with local Baton Rouge artists, who get them ready to take the catwalk in decorated bras and bedazzled bustiers. This year’s looks were unveiled at BUST Breast Cancer on Oct. 1. Pam Malara, a 63-year-old model in this year’s show, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. She was 39. “For some reason it was really on my mind,” she said. “Just weighing heavily on me.” Malara, who lives in St. Francisville, found a lump in her breast after a friend encouraged her to do a self-exam at home. She thought it was a mosquito bite. Malara had a lumpectomy at Woman’s Hospital shortly after, to determine if it was cancerous. Her husband Joe was waiting next to her hospital bed with pink balloons and a stuffed animal. She knew. She had cancer.

This is a column in a series from Dr. Olivia Ragusa, a primary care physician at Baton Rouge General, sharing insight on a variety of health topics for patients of all ages, including prevention, wellness tips and everyday strategies to help individuals and families stay healthy. It may still feel like summer temperatures, but flu season is already here. Getting a flu shot may be at the Dr. Olivia not top of your Ragusa busy to-do DOCTOR list, but it reSAyS ally is one of the simplest things you can do to protect yourself and the people around you. For most people, September and October are ideal times to get vaccinated. It takes about two weeks for your body to build protection, so getting your shot before flu starts circulating widely gives you a head start. But if you haven’t gotten vaccinated by the end of October, it’s not too late. Flu vaccines can still provide protection later in the season, which can continue into the spring. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that nearly everyone 6 months and older get a flu vaccine every year, with some exceptions based on age, health history or other medical considerations. That includes healthy adults and children, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions who may be at higher risk for complications from the flu. For adults 65 and older, certain higher-dose or adjuvanted vaccines are recommended.

Why does this matter?

Artist Mike Weary created armor for breast cancer survivor Pam Malara. “I saw it on his face,” she said. Malara had four rounds of chemotherapy over six months. She lost her hair, but wore the most fabulous wigs, said Joe. The pair, avid travelers and daily runners for over 30 years, did not stop their lives because of her diagnosis. They ran together throughout her therapies and continued their travels — from Switzer-

land to Costa Rica. “She is tough as nails,” he said. “She’s running with no hair and shocking all these poor little old men in the neighborhood going out in their boxers to pick up the morning paper.” Ten years later, they hosted a party to

ä See FASHION, page 2X

Flu isn’t just a bad cold. Many people recover well from the flu, but it can lead to pneumonia, hospitalization and, in some cases, death. Vaccination also helps reduce the chance of spreading flu to people who are more vulnerable to serious illness. One concern we’re seeing is that fewer people are getting vaccinated. CDC data show that last year about 44% of Americans received the flu vaccine, down from 52% in 2021. The pandemic plays a large part in this shift. But, we do know that when fewer people are

ä See FLU, page 3X

ochsner.org/CCA

2X ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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HEALTH MAKER La. doctor gives advice on getting good sleep Contributing writer

Q&A WITH DR. PRACHI SINGH

Louisianans need more sleep. The National Sleep Foundation’s 2025 Sleep in America Poll found 6 out of every 10 adults aren’t getting enough. In Louisiana, sleep numbers rank as some of the lowest in the country. A United Health Foundation report found that 40% of adults were getting less than seven hours of sleep each night, on average. Dr. Prachi Singh, director of the Sleep and Cardiometabolic Health Labora- Singh tory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, digs into sleep health and Louisiana’s ranking. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. What are you seeing right now in terms of Louisiana’s sleep landscape? Well, it continues to be bleak, like it is for the rest of the country. You’re probably already aware, we are among the worst when it comes to our kids and high schoolers, and the adults are not far behind. And what do you see as the reasons for this ranking? It’s hard to pinpoint on any one thing because the trends are the same throughout the country. It’s not as if Louisiana is not following the trend. So we have this problem through-

out, Louisiana happens to be more. There could be plenty of reasons why this is happening. One of the issues could be the kind of work we have. Most of the people in Louisiana don’t work the standard 9-to-5 hours. You are talking about healthcare, transportation, or warehousing, or even manufacturing, and all those plants that we have here, which have a shift work schedule. So all these things kind of contribute among adults. What are the negative consequences that come with these poor sleep levels? When it comes to kids, it impacts their academic performance. They are more likely to indulge in unsafe behaviors such as drinking, smoking or illicit drugs. If you’re talking about teenagers — high-schoolers — they are probably going to have more car accidents because they are not sleeping well. Importantly, sleep is known to impact emotional reactivity — that is, how you regulate both positive or negative emotions. This happens with everyone, but it is more robust in children and adolescents, and this potentially then leads to bad behavior in school. That’s just the starting point, and it also im-

BY RACHEL MIPRO

pacts our health. This is not just one self-contained area right? We have a really poor sleep ranking, but then we also have a lot of other really poor health rankings in the state. So do you see this area of sleep kind of impacting other areas of health as well? Most definitely. Poor sleep can lead to obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and a whole lot of things that go along with it. We have done some studies where we looked at what happens when you overeat. So the goal of that whole study was to see how it impacts glucose metabolism if someone were to overeat and increase their body weight by, say, 5%. So you’re talking about like five kilograms of weight gain or mostly fat gain. And we were looking at what happens to the insulin sensitivity, and what we found was that if you had good sleep, you were sleeping seven hours or more, your body is able to adjust and it does not impact your glucose metabolism. But on the other hand, if you had poor sleep, what happens is that your insulin sensitivity really decreases. It might decrease by about 20%. In another study, we found when you have good sleep or competitive sleep, what happened was exercising reduced your cardiovascular risk. It improved your lipid profile. It

GETTy IMAGES PHOTO

The National Sleep Foundation’s 2025 Sleep in America Poll found 6 out of every 10 adults aren’t getting enough. got your glucose levels to be better. It reduced your blood pressure and all the good things that go with physical activity. But if someone participated in similar amounts of physical activity, but did not have good sleep, they got no cardiovascular beneﬁts at all. What should people be doing to start good sleep habits? The ﬁrst thing and the most important thing people can do is to be consistent with their bedtimes. Like, if you go to bed at 10 p.m., try and go to bed at 10 p.m. every day, irrespective of it being a weekday or a weekend. Being consistent is very important. Same thing with naps. Naps are good.

If you need it, take it, but don’t go for more than 30 minutes of nap time. If you do more than 30 minutes, it’s very likely going to impact your nighttime sleep, which is again going to become a problem. Consistency is key. Build a ritual around bedtime, which helps signal your brain and your body that it’s time to sleep. Are there any other trends that stick out to you, or any other areas that you find really interesting and want to highlight? Well, there are a lot of things going on out there, especially when it comes to supplements. I know a lot of people, even in the medical ﬁeld, vouch for them, but honestly, they are not being

tried and tested. When you go out there and get yourself a melatonin gummy, there is no guarantee that if it said it’s 5 mg, that it is actually 5 mg because these are all very unregulated. So you’ll have to be very careful about it. I’m not going to dismiss these supplements completely, but realize that they are for a short term. You cannot use that melatonin over the years to sleep. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. These are very unreliable substances, and a lot of them don’t have any science behind them. If you try it out, don’t let it be a habit, and remember, they can be harmful too.

HEALTH NOTES

Acadian Companies honors 19 veteran employees BY MARGARET DeLANEY

Staff writer

Acadian Companies, an employee-owned group that specializes in emergency medical services, healthcare, safety and security, welcomed the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs last month to its Lafayette headquarters to honor 19 veteran employees: The 19 Acadian employees recognized during the ceremony were: n Jeremy Angelle — Air National Guard n Eric Bell — U.S. Army n Desiree Benoit — U.S. Army n Thomas Bongarzone — U.S. Navy n George Braneff — U.S. Air Force n Leslie Gravouilla — Army Na-

FASHION

Continued from page 1X celebrate her decade of being cancer-free. “Pink everywhere,” Malara said. “I mean, we kept finding pink feathers for years in the house and yard.” That September, however, Malara’s cancer came back. But the new mammogram machines at Woman’s Hospital found the cancer cells at the earliest stage, stage 0. “The said that they don’t know that they could have caught it any sooner,” she said. Before her first diagnosis, Malara was building her own business as a financial consultant. Everything was focused. The pair never had children, so they focused on their careers and seeing the world together. “Joe would say, ‘Pam, you got to stop and smell the roses.’ And I would say, ‘The roses are always going to be there,’ ” she said. The day she got home from her first diagnosis, she fell asleep for the night on the couch. As she watched the sunrise the next morning, her first thought was “God, please don’t cut my roses.” Malara said. She vowed that she would fight the cancer. “I tell people don’t put

tional Guard n Deirdre Green — U.S. Army n Jude Hebert — Army National Guard n Karen Heilman — U.S. Navy n Allen Jones — U.S. Air Force n Chelsie Kreamer — Army National Guard n Brandy Lane-Gage — U.S. Army n Tashia Levier — U.S. Army n Tiffany Lovell — Army National Guard n Javen Noel — Army National Guard n Daniel Ordeneaux — U.S. Marine Corps n Leland Roussell Jr. — Army National Guard n Dewey Thevis — U.S. Army n Tyler Tucker — U.S. Marine Corps.

your head under the sand … Take charge and take control,” she said. “You got to stand up. You got to ﬁght. You got to face the enemy. And you’ve got to ﬁgure out a path forward so that you can go live your life.” After it returned in 2012, she had a double mastectomy. She’s been cancer-free since. Two years ago, she applied to be a model for the BUST Breast Cancer fashion show. This year, she was selected. Models can either choose their own local designer, or they can be matched with one from a random drawing at a meet-and-greet organizers put on in April. Malara decided to “trust the process,” she said. “I pulled (first), and it said Mike Weary … I thought he looks very kind. This might be OK.”

When Pam met Mike Mike Weary has been an artist since he declared himself one at 25, after switching from a pharmacy major at Xavier University to a fashion merchandising major at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to ﬁnally graduating in art. “I was nervous at ﬁrst because I haven’t really done clothes in a while,” he said. Weary, artist-in-residence and artist liaison for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, is often known as

Breast cancer survivors honored at Audubon

LCMC Health will host “Pampered in Pink,” an evening of pampering, local shopping and live entertainment on Oct. 15 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for breast cancer survivors at the Audubon Tea Room inside the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. “Throughout the evening, guests will hear powerful patient stories and learn more about breast cancer screening, advances in treatment, survivorship, and the resources available to support patients and their families at every stage of the journey,” LCMC Health said in a statement. Single tickets are $50, and reserved tables of 10 are $750. Tick-

ets can be purchased online at LCMC Health.

Tulane researcher looks at E. coli vaccine Jacob Bitoun, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane School of Medicine, has received funding from the National Institutes of Health to study biofilms formed by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, or ETEC, a type of E. coli. There is no licensed vaccine against ETEC. Bitoun and his research team are looking to pinpoint whether there is a speciﬁc biofilm, or protective community that forms around bacteria, unique to this strain of E. coli. Then, they can determine if there

are antigens, or counteracting molecules, that can be used to create a vaccine. “If biofilm-associated antigens are shared by many strains, they could provide vaccine targets that are less variable,” Bitoun said in a story from Tulane. A vaccine built around those shared targets could teach the immune system to recognize and block a wider range of ETEC strains, addressing one of the biggest challenges in developing an effective vaccine. Health Notes is an occasional listing of health happenings around Louisiana. Have something you’d like to share? Contact us at margaret. delaney@theadvocate.com.

Joe Malara talks about his wife, Pam Malara, and her experience as a breast cancer survivor. “the man who paints upside down.” His latest pieces, hung right-side-up at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum, represent the last ﬁve years in his life. Those years included the birth of a daughter. Weary’s first question to Malara was how she wanted to feel walking down the runway. She said she wanted to feel powerful. She chose her song for the runway ahead of meeting Weary: Pat Benatar’s “Invincible.” “Pam was able to spell it out pretty well,” he said. “You go for the feeling ﬁrst. I want (Pam) to feel powerful. I don’t want her to blend in with everything else. I don’t want it to just be awesome.” With only 30 seconds spent walking up and down the runway, Weary wanted to

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Artist Mike Weary and breast cancer survivor Pam Malara smile together recently at Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge in front of the armor-like ensemble Weary designed and created for Malara to wear for Woman’s Hospital’s 2026 BUST Breast Cancer fashion show. make an instant impression. He settled on creating armor for Malara. Inspired by the Greek goddess of the hunt, Artemis, he outﬁtted her suit with painted copper and oxidized signs, rusted iron grommets and a patinaed copper crescent to frame her face as she walked down the runway. It needed to be light and breathable, but also “look like she could run through a wall,” Weary said. A shield sleeve and kneehigh boots completed the

ensemble. He also gave her a sword to carry, representing her victory. “You could just see the joy,” Joe Malara said. “I could see the total look of the light on her face when he put that on her.” In Weary’s own circle of friends and family, he’s seen over a dozen loose their battle with cancer. “I had to make sure I was doing this the right way,” he said. “To make sure the people who are survivors are touched by it.”

What started as a meeting of feeling and expression, has turned into a lifelong friendship between the two. “Her energy is contagious,” Weary said. “Life is moving forward and ﬁghting and keeping going. The sun rose the next day when you took that nap. (Pam) talked about her roses. That’s the next day moving forward, telling her to keep going.” Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● 3X

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Eat Fit Live Fit

Molly Kimball RD, CSSD

B R O U G H T TO YO U BY

The Pink Zombie: all treats, no tricks

pooky season is here, and this year, it’s showing up in pink. The Pink Zombie is equal parts playful and refreshing, with tart lime, a splash of pineapple, botanical zero-proof gin and plenty of bubbles. But the real magic trick is dragon fruit powder. Also known as pitaya, the tropical fruit has a mild ﬂavor often compared to kiwi and pear, while its brilliant pink-red hue gives this zeroproof cocktail a naturally vivid color that brings a little Halloween spirit to every glass. Shaken, poured over ice and topped with sparkling water and raspberries, it’s bright, ﬁzzy and just a little theatrical. Consider it proof that your Halloween drink doesn’t need booze – or a bubbling cauldron – to bring a little spirit to the party.

Pink Zombie Makes 1 serving

2 tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon pineapple juice 1 tablespoon Eat Fit Simple Syrup (recipe follows) 1 ounce zero-proof gin 4 dashes Angostura bitters 1 teaspoon dragon fruit powder 4 ounces sparkling water 3 raspberries, for garnish Ice

In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Reduce to medium-high heat and add sweetener. Stir to dissolve and continue to heat for 10 minutes. Pour into a heat-safe glass container and refrigerate to chill. You can store the unused portion in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four weeks. Assemble the Pink Zombie Combine lime juice, pineapple juice, Eat Fit Simple Syrup, zeroproof gin, bitters and dragon fruit powder in a shaker tin. Add ice and shake vigorously. Fill a hurricane glass with ice. Double-strain the mixture into the glass and top with sparkling water. Garnish with raspberries or another red fruit of your choice.

Nutrition per serving: 45 calories, 0 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 10 mg sodium, 8 grams net carbs, 2 grams ﬁber, 5 grams sugar (0 grams added sugar), 1 gram protein. Gluten-free. Vegan. Low-carb.

Eat Fit Simple Syrup

Makes approximately 1 cup 1 cup water ½ cup Swerve granular or 1½ cups granular allulose

Find this recipe and more in “CRAFT: The Eat Fit Guide to Zero Proof Cocktails,” available for purchase at local retailers or online at EatFitCookbook.com. Be sure to use promo code ADVOCATE at checkout for 10% off.

Molly Kimball, RD, CSSD,is a registered dietitian with Ochsner Health and founder of Ochsner’s Eat Fit nonproﬁt initiative. For more wellness content, tune in to Molly’s podcast, FUELED Wellness + Nutrition, and follow @MollykimballRD and @EatFitOchsner on social media. Email nutrition@ochsner.org to connect with Molly or schedule a consult with her team.

BY THE NUMBERS

American adult obesity

LA.’S ADULT OBESITy RATE DROPPED IN 2025, CDC SAyS

Louisiana jumped in the rankings for adult obesity rates, from the fourth-highest rate in the nation in 2023 to 19th-highest in 2025, according to newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state’s obesity rate was 39.2% in 2024. In 2023, it was 39.9%, or about 2 out of every 5 people. In 2013, the rate was 33.1%.Twenty years earlier, in the 1990s, the obesity rate was between 15% and 19%. In 2025, the CDC reports 35.6% of Louisiana adults are obese. Although the CDC does not provide reasons for the state’s decrease in obesity in 2025, some studies suggest the influx of weight loss drugs as a catalyst for its decline. Louisiana spent $1.167 billion on weight-loss drugs in 2023, the 16th-highest in America. “Moving Louisiana from third-highest in adult obesity to 19th is real progress, and it shows what can happen when we make better health outcomes a priority,” said state Sen. Patrick McMath, in a statement from the Louisiana Department of Health. When separated by region, the Midwest (35.5% obesity rates) and the South (34.8%) have the

highest prevalence of adult obesity, followed by the West (30.7%) and the Northeast (29.6%). The CDC’s 2025 adult obesity prevalence results include 47 states. California, Mississippi and Nevada had insufficient data to be included in the rankings. The District of Columbia is the only territory with obesity rates below 25%. These states had the lowest prevalence of obesity in 2025: n Colorado with 25.7%; n Hawaii with 26.4%; n Massachusetts and New Jersey with 27%; n New york with 28.5%; n Vermont with 29.1%; n Utah with 29.8%; n Florida with 30%; n Montana with 30.3%; n Connecticut with 30.4%. These states had the highest prevalence of obesity in 2025: n Alabama with 39.7%; n North Dakota with 39.1%; n Kentucky with 38.8%; n Oklahoma with 38.1%; n Tennessee with 37.9%;

The proportion of adults with obesity in each state in 2025, according to body mass index: Less than 29%

29% to 32%

32.1% to 35%

More than 38%

Insufficient data

WA S H . WASH. MON T. MONT.

V T. VT.

N.D. N.D.

N.H. N.H.

ME . ME.

MINN. MINN.

ORE . ORE. I DA H O IDAHO

N E B. NEB.

A RI Z . ARIZ.

I O WA IOWA

PA . PA. IL L . ILL.

C O L O. COLO.

CALIF. CALIF.

N.Y. N.Y.

MICH. MICH.

NE V. NEV. U TAH UTAH

M A S S. MASS.

W IS. WIS.

S.D. S.D.

W Y O. WYO.

K A N. KAN.

OK L A . OKLA.

N.M. N.M.

M O. MO.

IND. IND.

OHIO OHIO W.V. W.V.

VA . VA.

K Y. KY.

R .I. R.I. CONN. C ONN. N . J. N.J. DE L . DEL. MD. MD.

N.C. N.C.

T ENN. TENN. A RK . ARK.

S.C. S.C. MIS S. ALA. MISS. AL A .

TE X AS TEXAS

GA. GA.

L A. LA.

A L A SK A ALASKA

FL A. FLA.

Louisiana: 35.6%

H AWA I I HAWAII

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Staff graphic

n Indiana with 37.5%; n West Virginia with 37.4%; n Kansas with 37.3%; n Iowa with 36.9%; n Arkansas with 36.7%. The data come from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing statebased, telephone interview survey conducted by

FLU

CDC and state health departments, using selfreported weight and height to calculate body mass index, or BMI. Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or higher, which is calculated based on height and weight.While BMI is an imperfect measure and has been long criticized, it is still widely used to estimate body fat.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

Continued from page 1X vaccinated, there are more opportunities for flu to spread through families, schools, workplaces and the broader community. There’s also a new option to know about this year. In August, the FDA approved the country’s first mRNA flu vaccine for people ages 50 and older. Like the traditional seasonal flu vaccines, it’s a trivalent vaccine, which means it targets three influenza strains. But the mRNA vaccine trains your immune system to recognize the flu differently. So as we head into another flu season, make vaccination part of your fall routine. Talk with your healthcare provider about which flu vaccine is appropriate for you, and don’t wait until flu is already making the rounds to get protected.

35.1% to 38%

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MARK J. TERRILL

Getting a flu shot may not be at the top of your busy to-do list, but it really is one of the simplest things you can do to protect yourself and the people around you, says Dr. Olivia Ragusa.

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.

4X ● Sunday, October 11, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

Early Detection Saves Lives Breast health starts with knowing your risk and staying up to date on screenings.

A breast cancer diagnosis can be life-changing, but early detection can make all the difference. Regular screening gs can help identify breast cancer before symptoms appeaar, when treatment may be more effective and outcomess may be improved. Ochsner Cancer Center of Acadiana is committed to helping women understand their risk,, stay informed and access screening services close to ho ome.

Jenny C. Breast Cancer Patientt

Know the Facts

Understanding Breast Cancer Risk

1 in 8

You may be at increased risk if you have: A personal history of breast cancer A family history of breast or ovarian cancer Certain inherited genetic mutations

women will face a breast cancer diagnosis during their lifetime.*

Dense breast tissue

Breast Cancer Awareness Month serves as an important reminder that screening saves lives. Understanding your personal risk and staying current on recommended screenings are among the most important steps you can take for your health.

Talk with your primary care physician about your individual risk factors and whether additional screening may be appropriate.

Why Regular Mammograms Matter

Beyond Mammograms: Breast Health Tips for Every Woman

A mammogram is a low-dose X-ray that can detect breast cancer early, often before it can be felt or causes symptoms. Regular mammograms can:

Make breast health a priority:

Detect cancer at earlier stages

Increase treatment options

Reduce the need for more aggressive treatments

Improve outcomes through earlier intervention

Women at average risk should discuss annual screening mammograms beginning at age 40 with their physician.

Schedule regular screenings Know your family’s cancer history Maintain a healthy lifestyle Speak with your doctor about changes in your breasts Ask if genetic risk assessment may be right for you Keep annual wellness visits on your calendar

Comprehensive Breast Care Close to Home At Ochsner Cancer Center of Acadiana, women have access to comprehensive breast care close to home. From mammography and imaging services to cancer treatment and surgical breast reconstruction, our expert team delivers personalized care at locations throughout Lafayette, Crowley, New Iberia and beyond.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

1 When should I start screening?

4 Should I consider genetic testing?

2 How often should I get a mammogram?

5 What additional screenings might be appropriate for me?

3 Am I at increased risk for breast cancer?

Visit ochsner.org/CCA to schedule your mammogram today.

Preventive screenings save lives. Talk to your physician about scheduling your mammogram today.

SUNDAY, OctOber 11, 2026

CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley

SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr.

GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne

ROSEBUDS / by Supr Dee

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters

ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson

SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe

ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE / by Stephan Pastis

wonderword

scrabble grams

word game

directions: Make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

instructions: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

For more information on tournaments and clubs, email NASPA – North American SCRABBLE Players Association: info@scrabbleplayers.org. Visit our website: www.scrabbleplayers.org. For puzzle inquiries contact scrgrams@gmail.com. Hasbro and its logo SCRABBLE associated logo, the design of the distinctive SCRABBLE brand game card, and the distinctive letter tile designs are trademarks of Hasbro in the United States and Canada. ©2026 Hasbro. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

cryptoquote AxyDLBAAxR iS LONgFELLOW One letter stands for another. in this sample, A is used for the three L’s, x for the two O’s, etc. Single letters, apostrophes, the length and formation of the words are all hints. Each day the code letters are different.

AnsWers to ALL PuZZLes Are on inside BAcK PAGe

todAY's Word — BLAtHer: BLUJ-en: A short, heavy, thick-ended club. Average mark 41 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 51 or more words in BLATHER?

Sudoku

ken ken instructions: 1 - Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 - The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 - Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

instructions: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

hidato directions: Complete the grid so that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

AnsWers to ALL PuZZLes Are on inside BAcK PAGe

Los angeLes Times sunday Crossword puzzLe — Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis “reCipe For disasTer” By danny ebbig-Hausen aCross 1 Glances in a pool hall 7 Longtime Miami Heat star, familiarly 12 Some desktop clutter 18 Sprouts up 19 Italian sausage seasoning 20 Cure-all 21 Arrive à la Cinderella? 23 Saturated with 24 Focus of an outdoor museum in Las Vegas 25 People of the Sioux Nation 26 Lb. and oz. 27 Muscle property 28 Moody genre 30 Studio sign 32 Internet pioneer acquired by the tech conglomerate Bending Spoons in 2026 33 Chef who plans to retire with the perfect tan? 42 Signed up 43 R&B legend Redding 44 Spring bloom 45 Dove call 46 Up to the task 47 Purple shade 48 Festival that bestows a Grand Prix 49 Inspiring start? 50 Dental advice from Lea & Perrins? 54 Paint finish 56 Drain 57 Cry over spilled milk 58 __ of the pack 61 Sunflower bit 62 Distress call 63 Nourished 64 Piece of coal

66 Mount Ka’ala’s island 69 Some unofficial sequels, informally 72 19-Across flavor 74 Paramount channel 77 Dug a little too deep 79 Dinner guest who refuses to use chopsticks and probably won’t show up? 82 Half a zygote 83 Short program 86 Wind instrument? 87 “That could work for me” 88 Quote from Homer 89 Noir’s counterpart in roulette 90 Bring on board 91 Political position 93 Mini-mart on the edge of the Gobi Desert? 97 Cold-water fish 98 Cold-water fish 99 Mex. neighbor 100 Concerning 102 Had a snack 103 Web designer 107 “The X-Files” topic 111 “I’m the one who screwed up” 113 Spring roll or summer sausage? 116 Pine, for one 117 Set right? 118 Dancer partner 119 Term of endearment 120 Balance sheet item 121 Real __ down 1 Subway unit 2 “East of Eden” brother based on Abel 3 Really get to

4 Norwegian banking hub 5 National repair chain that began as a muffler shop 6 Govt.-issued ID 7 “Here’s the __ ... “ 8 A’ja Wilson’s org. 9 Chemical substances with similar structures 10 FDR part 11 90° bend 12 Furry feet 13 “SNL” alum Gasteyer 14 Service provider? 15 Navigate by sound 16 Bridle strap 17 Levelheaded 19 Boating hazard 20 Membership platform for content creators 22 Mickey or Minnie 26 Expanded, as a search area 29 Coffee, in slang 31 Llama kin 32 Chasm 33 Hooded snake 34 Slather with grease 35 Singles 36 Talks up 37 Like poison ivy 38 “It’s all untrue!” 39 Opposite of SSW 40 “Holy guacamole!” 41 On and on and on 42 Ring exchange 47 Kate Middleton’s sister 48 Prompted from the wings 51 Garden tool 52 Threat in some fairy tales 53 Smart __ 55 Nile 33-Down

59 Top-tier 60 Work quickly 62 Shade 63 Italian automaker 65 “Give __ break!” 66 One-sided columns 67 Jargon 68 Like premium gasoline 70 Contest between Giants and Titans, e.g. 71 Take to the cleaners

goren Bridge

72 Pulitzer Prize, for one 73 Number in the NATO alphabet 74 Stand-up performer 75 Stabilizing piece 76 Largest of the Inner Hebrides 78 Challenged 80 Rotten to the core 81 World Cup org.

wuzzLes

84 Taro dish 85 Full-groan person? 90 Places for pots fresh from the oven 91 Photo __ 92 Mexican dish with fried tortillas 94 Suite sharer 95 “Full House” twins 96 Mongolian dwelling

100 Basics 101 Sign in a construction zone 102 Iowa college town 104 “So that’s how it is” 105 Terse caution 106 Sinus doc 108 Lickety-split 109 Worker welfare org. 110 “Ignore that suggested edit”

112 Baby newt 113 One-named “Chandelier” singer 114 Laudatory poem 115 Before, in classic 114-Downs

super Quiz

Careless

Take this Super Quiz to a Ph.D. Score 1 point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, 2 points on the graduate Level and 3 points on the Ph.D. Level.

West led the queen of hearts, partner’s suit, and East took his ace. East shifted to the two of clubs, his partner’s suit, and dummy won with the ace. Declarer led a spade to his king and West’s ace. West cashed the king of clubs as East discarded a heart. South ruffed the next club, drew trumps, and claimed. The defense could have done better. How would you assign the blame? East could have defeated the contract by returning a heart at trick two. West would ruff and lead the king of clubs, and the defense would have to get two more tricks. East might also have ruffed the king of clubs and led a heart for West to ruff. Still, we think West should get the lion’s share of the blame. East could not know for sure that West had a singleton heart. West might have had the missing heart. Also, East could not have known that West had seven clubs. Why couldn’t West have six clubs and be planning to give East a ruff on the next round of the suit? West knew all these things. West should have led

SUBJECT: WHAT IS IT?

7. Escarole

Is it food, clothing, a bird, a mammal, furniture, a tree, a river or what? (Example: Borborygmus. Answer: A noise (made in the intestines).)

Answer________ 8. Borzoi Answer________ 9. Ginkgo Answer________ 10. Tern Answer________

FRESHMAN LEVEL 1. Pinafore

PH.D. LEVEL

Answer________

11. Baikal

2. K2

Answer________

12. Portmanteau

a low club rather than the king. That would have made it easy for East to ruff and return a heart. West put too much pressure on his partner when there was no reason for it.

3. Espadrilles

Answer________

13. Petrichor

4. Gobi

Answer________

14. Irtysh

5. Beluga

Answer________

Tannah Hirsch welcomes readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, Ny. 14207. E-mail responses may be sent to gorenbridge@ aol.com. © 2026 Tribune Content Agency

Answer________

15. Busby Answer________

GRADUATE LEVEL 6. Bugatti Answer________

ANSWERS TO ALL PUZZLES ARE ON NEXT PAGE

zodiaC LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Lending a helping hand will lead to greater awareness, purpose and ways you can contribute. The people you encounter and the dedication you show will make a difference. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Don’t apply pressure when a kind gesture or word will suffice. Sit back and be attentive and curious about what’s happening. Choose to be the quiet crusader with a big heart. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Take control, and start projects that encourage a better lifestyle. Don’t

let frustration and anger set in if someone doesn’t agree with you. It’s OK to do things your way. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Focus on what’s possible. Offer suggestions, but don’t own mistakes that don’t belong to you. Use your intelligence and physical attributes to carry out the duties that belong to you. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Keep tabs on your money, overhead and subscriptions. Choose to downsize where possible, and implement more time and cash to what brings you joy. Distance yourself from controversy.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Set yourself up for success. Put a budget and a plan in place, and do what you do best. Stop wasting time on what others choose to do, and focus on satisfying your needs. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Trust your instincts and follow your heart. Plan to do something adventurous, healthy or romantic. Refuse to let what others say or do cause emotional discord. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Arguments will not solve issues. Solutions that are well thought out and accommodate all concerned who

are willing to compromise will help you reach your objective. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Enhancing your skills will pay off. Attend an event that offers insight into something you might enjoy doing for a living. Don’t shy away from influencing others. CANCER (June 21-July 22) Use your energy to shine, not to annoy someone looking for an argument. Distance yourself from people you have trouble getting along with, and gravitate toward those who inspire you to be active. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Keep your thoughts and opinions to your-

self. Don’t start something you can’t finish. Your efforts are best reserved for personal pampering and learning how to manage your time and money better. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Tune in to the conversation. Stay aware of situations and how others perceive what’s happening and the outcome that follows. Avoid protests and risky situations. The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

dustin / by Steve Kelley & Jeff Parker

Answers to puzzles super quiz 1. Clothing. 2. Mountain. 3. Shoes. 4. Desert. 5. Mammal (whale). 6. Car (automobile manufacturer). 7. Food. 8. Dog. 9. Tree. 10. Bird. 11. Lake. 12. A type of word (blended from two words). 13. An odor. 14. River. 15. Hat.

SCORING: 24 to 30 points — congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points — honors graduate; 13 to 17 points — you’re plenty smart, but no grind; 5 to 12 points — you really should hit the books harder; 1 point to 4 points — enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0 points — who reads the questions to you?

Cryptoquote Answer Saturday's Cryptoquote: Women grow radical with age. One day an army of gray-haired women may quietly take over the earth. — Gloria Steinem

word GAme Answer bale bare bate bath bathe bather bear beat belt berth beta blah blare blat blear bleat brat

breath late later lath lathe lather abet able abler alert alter table tale tare teal tear hale

halt halter hare hate hater heal hear heart heat herb herbal earl earth rale rate real rehab

sudoKu Answer jumble Answer

Crossword Answers

jeFF mACnelly’s shoe / by Gary Brookins & Susie MacNelly

sCrAbble Answers

FoXtrot / by Bill Amend

wuzzles Answers

Ken Ken Answers

hidAto Answers