The Advocate 04-01-2026 by The Advocate

Tiger Stadium concert boosts BR economy

Ex-LDWF official pleads guilty

Zach Bryan drew about 70,000 for his show in Tiger Stadium Saturday as part of the Death Valley Live concert series.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By

Death Valley Live event generates $25M in visitor spending

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Tiger Stadium’s newest concert series

raked in big bucks for the Capital City

The Death Valley Live concert series which began Saturday with a performance from Grammy award-winning country music singer Zach Bryan, generated an estimated $7.6 million economic impact on the city, according to a Visit Baton Rouge estimate. A crowd of about 70,000 ﬁlled 75,000 available seats on Saturday, directly spending about $17.5 million on tickets, parking and concessions and $7.6 million outside of the event on needs like hotels and meals.

That’s a total of $25.1 million in visitor spending for the concert Most of the

“The energy of 70,000 music fans in Tiger Stadium on Saturday was infectious — but the impact stretched far beyond Death Valley A concert of this scale boosts small businesses and elevates Baton Rouge’s cultural profile.”

LAURA CATING, senior vice president for marketing and communications for Visit Baton Rouge

event-based revenue, including tickets, concessions and parking, went back to the university’s athletic department, LSU Athletics Chief Revenue Officer Clay Harris said.

“The energy of 70,000 music fans in Tiger Stadium on Saturday was infectious — but the impact stretched far beyond Death Valley,” Laura Cating, senior vice president for marketing and communications for Visit Baton Rouge, said in a statement. “A concert of this scale boosts small businesses and elevates Baton Rouge’s cultural proﬁle.”

Visit Baton Rouge has said that a big LSU home football game adds $18 million to the local economy City-parish sales tax revenue collected from event-related sales on Saturday and the May 23 Post Malone and Jelly Roll concert will be given back to the artists’ entertainment promoters, thanks

ä See CONCERT, page 6A

Eminent domain bill fails in committee

Measure would have barred taking property for CO2 pipelines

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

A bill barring companies from taking private property for carbon dioxide pipelines and underground storage areas failed Tuesday in committee as industry and legislators voiced concerns about stymying carbon capture and storage infrastructure planned across the state.

Known as the Louisiana Landowners Protection Act, House Bill 7 is ﬁrst of more than 20 bills addressing carbon capture and sequestration to receive a hearing The technology would pump carbon dioxide emitted by industrial processes deep underground and store it there permanently to cut emissions of climate change-inducing gases. The prospect, however, has riled up parts of rural Louisiana where pipelines and massive storage sites encompassing tens of thousands acres are planned State and industry leaders

ä See DOMAIN, page 6A

in jeopardy.

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

tence of five years and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Zachary Keller, in a news conference following the court hearing, said prosecutors entered a plea deal where four of the five charges were dropped because the sentence they’ll get with the plea will be appropriate. Federal prosecutors, he added, will advocate for prison time for Montoucet.

See PLEADS, page 5A

Legislative efforts to regulate AI stall

Trump administration threatens broadband funding

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

in the

siana Legislature this year aims to grapple with the rise of artiﬁcial intelligence, but some are being placed on hold amid opposition from President Donald Trump’s administration. One proposal would bar health insurance companies from relying solely on AI to deny coverage. Another would restrict how

employers can use AI when making hiring and ﬁring decisions. Those are two of myriad measures, sponsored by Republicans and Democrats, that have shown signs of bipartisan support. But now those proposals are hitting a roadblock: the White House. Ofﬁcials have been told Louisiana could lose federal funding for high-speed internet in rural areas if certain bills pass, according to multiple legislators.

In December, Trump issued an executive order saying his administration would attempt to pull federal funding for

ä See STALL, page 5A

STAFF

WESTBROOK

Montoucet,

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, said he has ‘parked’ Senate Bill 246, which would regulate how insurance companies could use AI, after learning it could put federal funds

CHRIS GRANGER

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

BRIEFS

All systems go for NASA on Wednesday’s launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. After weeks of fuel leaks and other issues, NASA faced a troublefree countdown Tuesday on the eve of astronauts’ first trip to the moon in more than half a century Officials reported the moon rocket was doing well on the pad, and the weather looked promising. Forecasters put the odds of favorable conditions at 80%.

“Everybody’s pretty excited and understands the significance of this launch,” said senior test director Jeff Spaulding.

The four astronauts assigned to the Artemis II mission will become the ﬁrst lunar visitors since Apollo 17 in 1972. They’ll zip around the moon without landing or even orbiting, and come straight back.

It’s the closest NASA has come to launching Artemis II. Hydrogen fuel leaks bumped the flight from February to March, then clogged helium lines pushed it to April. The space agency has only a handful of days every month to send the three Americans and one Canadian to the moon. Confident that all of these problems are fixed, the launch team plans to begin fueling the 32-story Space Launch System rocket on Wednesday morning for an evening send-off.

Hegseth lifts helicopter pilot suspensions

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Army pilots who hovered two helicopters near Kid Rock’s Tennessee home during a training run while he clapped and saluted have had their suspension lifted, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday “No punishment. No Investigation. Carry on, patriots,” Hegseth said in a social media post. The Pentagon didn’t immediately respond for comment.

Earlier, a U.S Army spokesperson said the crews of the two AH-64 Apache helicopters were suspended from flying, pending an investigation into their actions. The suspension was a discretionary but not unusual — step when an investigation is underway, Maj. Montrell Russell said.

“The Army has confirmed that on March 28, two Apache helicopters from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell conducted a flight in the Nashville area that has attracted public and media attention,” according to a statement from the Army on Tuesday The Army said it would review whether the flight complied with FAA regulations and aviation safety protocol Kid Rock, who is an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, told WKRN-TV on Monday that it’s not uncommon for helicopters from nearby Fort Campbell to fly near his home. He said he is a big supporter of the military and he’s performed for troops overseas in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries.

Speaking at the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump suggested maybe the crews shouldn’t have done it before adding, “I like Kid Rock, maybe they were trying to defend him, I don’t know.” Duggar posts $600K bail in sex abuse case FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Reality TV star Joseph Duggar posted a $600,000 bond Tuesday and is ﬂying home to Arkansas after making a first appearance in Florida on molestation charges involving a child under the age of 12, his attorney said. Duggar was arrested earlier this month in Arkansas and was transferred to the Bay County Jail in Panama City Florida, to face charges of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 12 and lewd and lascivious contact.

Judge Brantley Clark on Tuesday also barred Duggar, 31, from having unsupervised contact with any person under 18, court documents show Duggar, who starred with his parents and siblings in TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting,” was arrested March 18 in Tontitown, Arkansas, after police ofﬁcers interviewed a 14-year-old girl who told them Duggar had molested her several times during a family trip to Panama City Beach, Florida, when she was 9.

Sanctioned Russian oil tanker docks in Cuba

Shipment eases a dire fuel shortage

BY MILEXSY DURÁN Associated Press

MATANZAS, Cuba A Russian tanker docked Tuesday at the Cuban port of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the ﬁrst time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump had allowed the Anatoly Kolodkin to proceed despite an ongoing U.S. energy blockade Cubans including Energy and Mines Minister Vicente de la O Levy cheered the ship’s arrival. A shortage of petroleum has exacerbated a deep economic crisis that has left the population mired in long blackouts and facing a severe shortage of food and medicine.

“Our gratitude to the Government and People of Russia for all the support we are receiving. A valuable shipment that arrives amid the complex energy situation we are facing,” de la O Levy wrote on X.

Cuba produces barely 40% of its required fuel and relies on imports to sustain its energy grid. Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about

180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.

“The arrival of an oil tanker to a country has likely never generated so much news as the Russian one to Cuba,” Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío wrote on X. “It’s a sign of the brutal siege Cubans endure with heroism and stoicism It’s a demonstration of the criminal cruelty of imperialism against a nation that refuses to be dominated.”

Some Cubans, however, wondered who would beneﬁt from the newly arrived shipment

“A ship comes; it gives us aid. But who does it go to? Because we don’t get anything here,” said 54-year-old Matanzas resident Leticia Almeida Barceló. “The ships that come in with oil or anything else don’t give us anything. Because we’re still stuck with blackouts, with water shortages, with shortages and shortages, and we need everything.”

The vessel’s arrival was watched by some ﬁshermen as it docked. “We’ve been waiting for the ship to arrive because it’s been some time since any ship entered,” said 50-year-old Armando Ramirez. “And it is needed here for the people, for Cuba.”

Others celebrating the arrival included Matanzas resident Ca-

milo Galves, who watched the ship dock from his home.

“This is undoubtedly a great relief for the Cuban people and a moment of great joy for us amid so many hardships we are experiencing,” he said. “It’s yet another sign that we are not alone in the world.” Cuba used to receive most of its oil from Venezuela, but those shipments were halted ever since the U.S. attacked the South American country and arrested its leader in January

Since then, Mexico also has halted its oil shipments to Cuba as Trump threatened in late January to impose tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to the island. The U.S. administration is demanding that Cuba’s government ease political repression and liberalize its economy for a lifting of sanctions.

On Sunday night, Trump had said he had “no problem” with a Russian oil tanker off the coast of Cuba delivering relief to the island. “We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload because they need they have to survive,” Trump told reporters as he ﬂew back to Washington.

“Cuba’s finished,” he added. “They have a bad regime. They have very bad and corrupt leadership and whether or not they get a boat of oil, it’s not going to matter.”

Trump administration ordered to halt White House ballroom work

Federal judge grants preservationist group’s request for injunction

BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to suspend construction of a $400 million ballroom it demolished the East Wing of the White House to make space for barring work from proceeding without congressional approval.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington granted a preservationist group’s request for a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project.

Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, concluded that the National Trust for Historic Preservation is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims because “no statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have.”

sion.

Construction of the ballroom would mark the most significant structural change to the White House since President Harry S. Truman added a balcony on the south side of the mansion.

The judge’s decision came two days before the National Capital Planning Commission, the agency that signs off on construction on federal property in the Washington region, is expected to approve the addition.

Stephen Staudigl, a spokesperson for the commission, said the judge’s ruling does not affect the schedule for Thursday

Trump

“The President of the United States is the steward of the White House for future generations of First Families He is not, however the owner!” the judge wrote at the beginning of his opinion

The ruling was the ﬁrst major rebuke of Trump’s sweeping efforts to overhaul the White House, but it wasn’t immediately clear what it would mean for a sprawling project in which crews have long since torn down the East Wing, radically transforming the look and feel of the historic grounds.

The Trump administration ﬁled a notice of appeal shortly after Leon’s deci-

Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which ﬁled the lawsuit, that prompted Leon’s ruling, said, “We are pleased with Judge Leon’s ruling today to order a halt to any further ballroom construction until the Administration complies with the law and obtains express authorization to go forward.”

“This is a win for the American people on a project that forever impacts one of the most beloved and iconic places in our nation,” Quillen said in a statement The group had sued in hopes of obtaining an order pausing the ballroom project until it undergoes multiple independent reviews and receives congressional approval.

The judge suspended enforcement of his order for 14 days, acknowledging that the case “raises novel and weighty issues, that halting an ongoing construction project may raise logistical issues.” He also recognized that the administration is likely to appeal his decision Leon ruled that any construction work that’s necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House is exempt from the scope of the injunction.

Gulf drilling exempt from endangered species rules

Critics pan Trump administration move

BY MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press

The Trump administration on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said environmentalists’ lawsuits threatened to hobble domestic energy supplies as the U.S. wages war against Iran.

Critics said the move by the government’s Endangered Species Committee could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life. Nicknamed the “God Squad” by groups who say it can decide a species’ fate, it comprises several Trump administration ofﬁcials and is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. It met Tuesday for the ﬁrst time in more than three decades amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war The U.S. pumps more oil than any other nation, but that hasn’t insulated it from spiking prices: The national average for a gallon of gasoline topped $4 Tuesday

“Disruptions to Gulf oil production doesn’t hurt just us, it beneﬁts our adversaries,” Hegseth told the committee. “We cannot allow our own rules to weaken our standing and strengthen those who wish to harm us. When development in the Gulf is chilled, we are prevented from producing the energy we need as a country and as a department.”

The exemptions were not expected to immediately impact prices for crude or at the pump. Putting new oil wells into production takes years of planning and development. Environmental groups sought unsuccessfully to block Tuesday’s meeting and pledged to challenge the exemption. They say the exemption would speed the extinction of the rare Rice’s whale, which is found exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico. Government biologists say only about 50 of the animals remain.

“If Trump is successful here, he could be the ﬁrst person in history to knowingly extirpate a species from the face of the earth That’s how precarious the condition of the Rice’s whale is,” said Patrick Parenteau, emeritus professor of law at Vermont Law School. Parenteau dismissed Hegseth’s claims of a security threat, since companies have continued to look for and extract oil in the Gulf despite legal challenges over the critically endangered whale.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RAMON ESPINOSA

Journalists film the docking of the Russian-flagged oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin in Matanzas, Cuba, on Tuesday

CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Trumplashesout at allies over Iraq

Says securing the Strait of Hormuz is ‘not forus’

BY JON GAMBRELL, MIKE CORDER and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the U.S. war effort against Iran, telling them to “go get your own oil” and saying it was not America’sjob to secure the Strait of Hormuz.

The president said the military could end its offensive intwo to three weeks and that the U.S. “will not have anything to do with”what happens next in the strait that has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told reporters, the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will restwith countries that rely on it.

There’s“no reason forustodo this,” Trump said aftersigning an executive order that seeks to restrict mail-in voting. That’s not for us. That’ll be for France. That’ll be for whoever’susing the strait.”

TheWhite House said Trump would deliver aprime-time address Wednesday eveningto update the public on the war.

In other developments,the closure of the strait sentaverage U.S. gaspricespast$4a gallon, and U.S. strikes hit the central city of Isfahan, sending amassive fireball into the sky.Tehran attacked afully loaded Kuwaitioil tanker in the Persian Gulf.

The attacks showed the intensity of the war more than amonth after the U.S. and Israel launched it.The conﬂicthas left more than 3,000 dead and caused major disruptions to the world’ssupply of oil and natural gas, roiling global markets and pushing up the cost

of manybasic goods.

Trump, whose commentshave vacillated between talkthat diplomatic progress is being made with Iran and threats to widen thewar, had earlier shared footage of the attack on Isfahan.

Iran’sstranglehold on the strait, the waterway leading out of the PersianGulf through which aﬁfth of the world’soil is transported during peacetime, hasdrivenup global oilprices, as have Tehran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure.

In asocial media post, Trump directed blame at U.S. allies such as the United Kingdomand France, who have refused to enter awar with noclear endgame that they were not consulted on.

“You’llhave to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A.won’tbe there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iranhas been, essentially,decimated.The hard part is done.Go getyourown oil!” Trump wrote.

He singledout France for not letting planes ﬂy over French ter-

ritory while takingmilitarysupplies to Israel.

France has allowed the U.S. Air Forcetouse theIstresbasein southern France because it had guarantees that planeslanding there would notbeinvolvedin carrying out strikes. Spain, whichhas emerged as Europe’sloudest critic of the war said Monday that it had closed its airspacefor U.S.planesinvolved in the conflict. Italy recently refusedtoallow U.S. military assets to use the Sigonella airbase in Sicily foran operation linkedtothe offensive, an official with knowledge of the matter said, confirming alocal press report. The official spoke on conditionofanonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote on XthatItaly is still allowing the U.S.touse its bases,adding that there has been no coolingofrelations between thetwo countries. The aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush deployedTuesday

from Norfolk, Virginia, and is slated to head to the Middle East, two U.S. ofﬁcials said. Theyspoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans. It would be the third carrier sent outtosupport the Iranwar, along withthe USS Gerald R. Ford, which is now undergoing repairs, and the USS Abraham Lincoln, which arrived in the region in January Trumpwarned this weekthat if aceaseﬁreisnot reached “shortly,” and if the strait is not reopened,the U.S. would broaden its offensive, including by attacking theKharg Island oilexport hub and possibly desalination plants.

Speaking at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not say if U.S. ground forces would enter the war.“We don’t want to have to do moremilitarily thanwehave to,” he said.

Aground invasion could alienate Iranians who despise the ruling theocracy and who rose up in massprotests that werecrushed earlier this year.Some could see it as an attack on Iran itselfand rally around theﬂag.

Sincethe Iran war began, 13 U.S. service members have been killed and 348wounded, six seriously,according to aformal count provided Tuesday by Capt.Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command.

The Israelimilitary saidearly Wednesday that it had killed asenior Hezbollahcommanderand another senior leader in twoseparatestrikes in the Beirut area.

Military officials said they launched strikes targeting what they described as Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital.

Defense Minister Israel Katzsaid Israel plans to control the area south of the Litani River —some 20 miles north of the border

Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the wider war

Security forces launching search

BY QASSIMABDUL-ZAHRA and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press

BAGHDAD An American journalist was kidnapped on Tuesday in Baghdad and Iraqi security forces are pursuing hercaptors, Iraqiofﬁcialssaid. Thejournalist wasidentiﬁed as freelancer Shelly Kittleson.

AU.S. ofﬁcial blamed the Iranbacked Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.

The Iraqi interior ministry confirmed aforeign journalisthad been kidnappedbut didn’tgive more details.

TwoIraqi security ofﬁcials, who spoke on conditionofanonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, saidthe kidnappedjournalist is a woman and aU.S. citizen. They saidthat twocars wereinvolved in the kidnapping,one of which crashedwhile being pursued near the town of Al-Haswa in Babil province southwest of Baghdad. Thejournalist was then transferred to asecond car that ﬂed the scene.

The interior ministry said security forces had launchedanoperation to track down the kidnappers, and intercepted avehiclebelonging to thekidnappersthatoverturnedas they tried to ﬂee. Onesuspect was arrested andone of thevehicles used in the kidnapping was seized, but others remain on the loose, the statement said.

The two Iraqi security ofﬁcials said the journalist was abducted in centralBaghdad, andthat an alert wassent to all checkpoints, leading to the pursuit of the kidnappers as they headed toward Babil province.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MANUEL BALCE CENETA

Secretary Pete Hegseth

broadband projects from states that pass “onerous and excessive” lawsregulating AI. The Trump administration, which has been largely reluctant to set restrictions on AI, says it is workingona national framework to regulate the technology,one that would avoid having apatchwork of laws that differs from state to state.

“This approach will protect children, prevent censorship, respectintellectual property,and safeguard communities while ensuring America remains the undisputed leader in AI and technological innovation,” a White House ofﬁcial said in astatement.

Trump’sexecutive order warns that if states pass or enforce AI regulations, they couldlosemoney from the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program Congressestablished that initiative in abid to bring high-speed internet to rural andother underserved areas. It is unclear how much direct power the Trump administration has over broadband funds.

State Rep. Daryl Deshotel, R-Marksville, who chairs the House Commerce Committee andhas worked on legislation that governs how broadband grants are administered, said Louisianais set to receive another $800 million in broadband funding this year

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“The citizens of Louisiana deserve and demand honestyand integrity from those entrusted with public office, including when they contract for services on behalf of our Louisiana communities,” Keller said.

“Ofﬁceholders like Mr.Montoucet who abuse that trust undermine confidence in government and the public contracting process, and our Ofﬁcewill continue to work with our law enforcement partners to prosecute these abuses and seethat offenders face justice.”

In anews release, IRS CriminalInvestigation Atlanta Field Office Special Agent in ChargeDemetrius D. Hardeman said, “Public officials are entrustedwith serving the people —not enriching themselves. Today’s guilty pleamakes clear that the defendant abused that trust by engaging in a scheme to manipulate the contract process and steer contracts for personal gain.” Montoucet is aretired Lafayette fire chief and former state representative. Former Gov.John Bel Edwards appointed him Wildlife and Fisheries secretary in January2017, whereheoversaw services such as issuing citations for boating and hunting violations. He was set to retire in January 2024 when Edwards left office. Instead,Montoucet re-

The federal government approved$1.3 billionin broadband funding last year, he said, and thestate has so farspent $700 millionofit to deploybroadband. Louisiana administers that money through aprogramknown as Granting UnservedMunicipalitiesBroadband Opportunities.

Rep. Vincent Cox, R-Gretna, saidhedecided to pull his two AI bills after learning fromGov.JeffLandry’s ofﬁce about the Trump administration’sopposition to them.

“As much as Ilike my bills, our rural parishes need broadband, and I’m not going to do anything to hurt that,”hesaid. He was disappointed the bills wouldn’t move forward but saw the benefits of having one national regulatory framework, hesaid Cox’s House Bill 157 attempted to protect Louisiana musicians by making it illegal to useAI-generated content of another person’s likeness or voice for commercial purposes without that person’spermission

His other proposal, House Bill 421, would have required employers to disclose when they useAI-run automated decision systems to choose whether to hire,ﬁre, disciplineorpromoteemployees. It also wouldhave required human beings to review adverse employment decisions

“I thoughtthey were both good bills, but IknewI wasn’t getting themout of committee,” Cox said

signed abruptly in April 2023, aday after The Advocate identiﬁed him as the unnamed Wildlifeand Fisheriesofficial who signed acontractwithLafayette businessman Leonard Franques for his company, DGL1, to provide online courses for sportsmen to resolve Wildlifeand Fisheries citations.

Theunnamed Wildlife and Fisheries official was mentioned in aMarch 2023 indictment againstDusty Guidry,aYoungsville resident at the time, who was the alleged mastermind behind theagency kickback scheme andanotherinvolving the District Attorney’s Ofﬁce of the 15th Judicial District in Lafayette. Guidry and Franques areserving time in federal prison for their roles in the schemes, as is former Assistant District Attorney Gary Haynes, of Lafayette.

In theWildlifeand Fisheries scheme, Montoucet’s andFranques’company, DGL1, signed acontract Oct. 8, 2021,courtrecords show. In return forhis help getting DGL1 the lucrative contract,Franques agreed to payMontoucet kickbacks thathewouldcollect after he retired from the agency,court documents indicate.

The Advocate obtained acopy of theOct. 8, 2021, contract which identified Montoucetasthe loneWildlife andFisheriessigner. He resigned the next day.

The contract with the agency was for10years.

“This approachwill protectchildren, prevent censorship, respect intellectual property,and safeguard communities whileensuring America remains the undisputed leader in AI and technological innovation.”

STATEMENTFROMA WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL

Kate Kelly,aspokesperson for Landry,declinedto comment.

Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, said he has “parked” Senate Bill 246, which would regulatehow insurance companies could use AI, after learning it could put federal funds in jeopardy

That measure, which was approvedbythe Senate InsuranceCommittee and needs avote from the full Senate to move to the House, would prevent health insurance companiesfromrelying solely on AI or anyautomated decisionsystem to deny coverage. It would require thatlicensedhealthcare providers independently review cases andcome to their own conclusions about whether coverage should be granted.

Luneau saidhewas unsure what type of federal funding wasatrisk. He hopedinsurance companies would police themselves for the time being, he said, adding that he did not feel thebill was so urgentthat it needed to pass this year

“Westand to lose alot of

The stateagency was to receive 20% to 40% of the money that DGL1 received for theeducation courses. The state also would receive 50% of the money that DGL1 collectedtohostclasses for those ticketed forcivil violations.

About 11,000 people per year usethe agency’shunter education program and 8,000 per year usethe boater educationprogram, according to thecontract. The courses would last three to sixhours andcost$29.95, ac cord website. about per

moneyinthe state of Louisiana that would help alot of people if we go forward with this bill,” he said.

State Rep. Jessica Domangue, R-Houma, conﬁrmed she would not runher bill restricting how health care providers use AI as she waited for “clarity” from the federal government.

Thatmeasure,House Bill 197, would barhealth care providers from relying on AI to makediagnoses or treatment decisions.Under thebill, providers also could not use AI to communicate directly withpatients.

On March 20, theTrump administrationreleased its AI policyagenda, which says Congress should block state AI laws that “impose undue burdens,”all with thegoal of ensuring “a minimally burdensomenational standard” to promoteAmericandominance in thetechnology States should notbeallowedtopass lawsthat regulateAIdevelopment, penalizeAIdevelopers for howthird parties use their

models or “unduly burden Americans’ use of AI foractivity that would be lawfulif performed without AI,” the White House’s policymemo says.

It suggests giving states leeway to write AI lawsthat protectchildren and consumers, prevent fraud and govern the placementofAI infrastructure. Some Louisianabills,including ones that would add criminalpenalties forusing AI to create child pornography, do notappeartobe facing pushback from the Trumpadministration.

“The White House fully supports child safety and has never told aState that it cannot enact child safety protections,”the White House’sstatement said.

Lastyear,the U.S. Senate rejected ameasure that would have required states to pump thebrakes on AI regulationsinorder to receive federal subsidies for broadband and AI infrastructure. The vote was 99-1.

But in Florida earlier this year,state legislators heeded Trump’sresistance to regulating the technology, declining to takeupanAI Bill of Rights even though it was supported by Republican Gov.Ron DeSantis, according to aNew York Times report. BrendanSteinhauser,CEO of The Alliance for Secure AI, said it is “disappointing and frustrating” to see state lawmakers back downfrom AI bills. “This is avery powerful technology that is getting better exponentially,and we have not solved the problem of control,” said Steinhauser, who worriedthe country could have major problems if AI is integrated into the economy too quickly TheAlliancefor Secure AI is anonproﬁt based in Washington, D.C., that aimsto build bipartisansupport for AI safeguards. Steinhauser also has worked as aRepublican strategist. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

see carbon capture as akey to the future of the state’soil and gas and petrochemical industries in an increasingly low-carbon world. The industry has already drawn tens of billions of dollars in investmentto the state, state ofﬁcials said.

TheHouse Natural Resources Committee shot down the landowner bill on a12-7 voteafter more than four hoursoftestimony from residents opposed the technology,industry lobbyists and lawyers, and state ofﬁcials.

Speaker of the House Phillip DeVillier,R-Eunice, watched inthe committee room for some of the testimony,occasionallychatting with members as people spoke.

Eminent domain is oftenused after property negotiations for infrastructure and other purposes break down. Aselect handful of businesses and state and local governments can force aresisting landowner to go to court toacquire the needed land.In the case of pipelines, the court must determine if the planned infrastructure serves apublic purpose and sets the price.

Last year,the Legislature tightened companies’ ability touse expropriation powerfor new CO2 pipeline routes and to createlarge

CONCERT

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to adeal approved by the East BatonRouge Parish Metro Council in the fall. Entertainment promoter AEGdeclined to commentfor this article. Bryan, known for tunes including“PinkSkies” and“Something in the Orange,” headlined the ﬁrst Death Valley Live show put together by LSU Athletics, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, GreaterBaton Rouge Economic Partnership and Visit Baton Rouge. The series is intended to build on the stadium’s allure with live music and economically beneﬁt to the city

Special Zach Bryan and LSUbranded merchandise was availablefor purchase before the event at the Walk-On’sSports Bistreaux on Burbank Drive.LSU receives royaltiesfor any university-brand-

units of landfor underground storage sites. But stateRep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, came back this year with HB7 and an outrightban for CCS projects, saying even thecurrentlaw violates privateproperty protections in the stateand federal constitutions Johnson argued his bill wasn’t “anti-CCS”but wasdesignedto force voluntary negotiationsbetween large oil companiesand working-classpeople withoutthe lingering threat of being taken to court or being forced intoaCO2 storage unit. He dismissed indus-

ed merchandise, which Harrissaid wasa“win-win”for the school and the artist.

“I thinkit’sa really bigwin for thecity just because it doesbring in thoseout-of-town guests when you’retalking about these largescale concerts,”Harris said. MemorialDay weekendmusic

Some downtown hotels,including the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center,weresoldout for the weekend In additionto concertattendees, localhotels sawaninﬂux of guests for other events like the Dupree Dance Competition, ayouth competitive dance event, said Gary Jupiter, general manager of the Hilton Baton RougeCapitol Center.

Asimilar turnout is expected on Memorial Day weekend, when Post Malone andJelly Roll will take thestage in theseries’ second set of performances. The

tryconcerns that sole holdouts could block projects “But let me be clear to you. What they maycalla holdout, theConstitution calls alandowner, an American and aLouisiana citizen. No one has aright to profit from someone else’sunwillingsacrifices,” Johnson said. “Ifa projectistruly beneficial, then it should succeed voluntarily withvoluntary agreements, notthrough state-granted powers to force asale.”

Industry lobbyists and some legislatorsopposed tothe bill argued it would treat CO2 infrastructure differentlythatoil andgas infra-

timing of that concert is reminiscentofBayou Country Superfest,amultiday country music festival hostedinTiger Stadium, Jupiter said.

Thefestival,which endedin 2020 after10years as aMemorial Day tradition, brought out-of-state visitors to BatonRouge,boosting businessduring an otherwise quiet time for thecity. In thelast fewyears of itsrun,the festival moved to New Orleans, bringing hotel occupancy rates down in Baton Rouge for that weekend.

The potential to makeMemorial Day weekend into an arena-concert holidayagain is promising, Jupiter said.

“Any opportunity we have to showcase our hospitalityindustry, that’salways exciting,”Jupiter said.

Elevatingthe scene

In recent years, cityleaders have been engagedinconversa-

structure, even though carbon capture is part of the sameoverall business.

State Rep. Joseph Orgeron,RCut Off, underscored this point.

He said he spent 18 months leading atask force on clean hydrogen anditwas clear from that work that carbon storage and hydrocarbon production will be inextricably linked in the future. He questioned how Johnson could propose separating the treatment of natural gas andoil pipelines from CO2 pipelines.

“Because what the task force I ran determined is thatthe global market is changing and the export of our hydrocarbon products going forward or those products that we producefrom the hydrocarbon, the world marketwill want alower carbon intensity,” he said.

“The worldmay change, but our Constitution remains thesame untilwechange it,” Johnson shot back.

If protecting the property rights of that one holdout is so important to him, Orgeron responded, Johnson should amend his bill to include barring expropriation for oil and gas pipelines.

“Would youlike to make that amendment?” Johnson asked.

“I am notgoing to make that amendment,” Orgeron said, drawing laughs in the committee room

Currently,companies trying to build out carbon capture opera-

tionsabout attractingmoreentertainment andmajor events to the Capital Region. Thediscussions resulted in plans fora new$400 millionarena on the LSU campus and for developing the Raising Cane’sRiver Center,though it will bar major events to avoid competing with the LSU arena.

In 2024,BRAF,The Partnership and Visit Baton Rouge backed LSU’sproposal to build the arena and supported an ordinance that allowed the city-parish to explore ways to addmeeting spacesand ahotel to the RiverCenter, hoping to boost talentattraction and retention, tourism and the city’s cultural scene.

LoriMelancon, president and CEOofthe Partnership, said strengtheningBaton Rouge’sentertainment scene will make it easier to attract peopleofall ages to theregion, which has struggled to retain talent.

“The shows are aboutmorethan

tions can use the power of eminent domain to gain theright to use private land forpipelines and, through aseparate process known as unitization, gain access to private land under which they can pumpCO2 deep into the ground. Eminent domain is generally a powerreserved for governments to buy land to build infrastructure to serve the generalpublic,suchas roads, bridgesand ﬂoodgates,but some industriescan also use that power,including railroads. In Louisiana, the oiland gas industry hashad thepower of eminent domain for pipelines that carry natural gasand crude oil. The idea is that moving energy products to market serves apublic purpose.

Separately,unitization allowsa whole swath of land to be pulled into aCO2 storagesiteafter 85% of thelandownership agrees to a deal. That can mean somesmaller landowners could pulled in to the unit against their will after that ownership threshold is met

JohnsonarguedTuesdaythat infrastructure to move and store CO2 doesn’tmeet apublic purpose that would allow eminent domain because the infrastructure is moving CO2 from aprivate company forprivate proﬁt.

DavidJ.Mitchellcan be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

asingle event series —they will create consistent, high-quality experiences that give residents more reasonstoengage locally andsignalthatthe Capital Regionisthriving,” Melancon said in an email. BRAF CEO Chris Meyer said theDeath ValleyLive concerts helpcreate asense of belonging and pride in Baton Rouge through music, while also bringing in tax revenue to the region and dollars to local businesses that can be reinvested in the community PlanBaton RougeIII,the third iteration of amaster plan for downtown,willincludesomesuggestions forentertainmentalong the riverfront, he said.

“TigerStadium is oneofour communities’ largest assets,yet we onlyuse it ahandful of days each year,” Meyer said in an email. “Death Valley Live helps put entertainment, and all of the beneﬁts thatﬂow fromit, front andcenter forthe capital region.”

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Proposed banonprop bets dies in Legislature

Lawmaker:Itwould cost statemillions

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Aproposal to ban propbets and live betting on sports died in theLouisiana Legislature on Tuesday afterthe state lawmaker sponsoring the measure said eliminating those kinds of wagers would cost the state too much money

Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, D-Monroe, said she was “shocked” by aﬁscal analysis of Senate Bill 354, which projects the state would have foregone millions of dollars in tax revenue from sports gambling platforms.

“It is an extremely serious issue that Ineed to revisit withoutthistypeofﬁscal note onit,” she said of the prop betting ban. “I realizethe seriousnatureof what it does to the budget.”

Fiscal notes estimate abill’s cost and are compiled by the Legislature’snonpartisan staff.

The note for SB354 projected that revenue going into the state general fund could decrease by $21 million annually,and revenue allocated to several other funds could decrease by $17 million annually Louisiana Gaming Control Board data shows that prop bets and micro betsaccount for approximately 40% of mobile sports wagering and 13% of retail sports wagering, according to the ﬁscal note.

However,the analysisalso includes acaveat noting that overall consumer demand for gambling products is unlikely to signiﬁcantly decline when speciﬁc options areremoved.

“Consumer activityis expected to shift to other available forms of gaming rather than be substantially reduced,” it states. “Tothe degree this happens, the projectednegative revenue impacts may be mitigated to an

unknown degree.”

In 2025, Louisianans wagered roughly $4 billion on mobile sports bettingplatforms, accordingtogambling revenue data compiled by the Louisiana StatePolice. Those platforms broughtin$492 million in revenue and paid $90 millioninstate taxes, thedata shows.

What arepropbets?

Prop betsare wagers that gamblers placeona speciﬁc occurrence during agame, rather than just on the final outcome, and “micro bets” refer to wagers made on particular plays oractionsduring alive, ongoingsporting event

Both would have been bannedunderSB354.

“My issuewith prop betting and micro betting is this, to be veryclear,isthat it’svery compulsive innature,” Jackson-Andrews said,addingthat Louisiana familieshavelost “substantial income” due to those types of bets

During apublic hearing on the measure Tuesday,JacksonAndrews agreedtoset it aside. She said she plans to revisitthe issue next year but won’tpursue it further during the currentlegislativesession.

Theoutcomewas awin for sportsbetting platforms, which argue that alegal sports gambling market enables strong consumer protections.

“Prop betsare how fans engage with sports andthe athletes that they follow,” said Cameron Onumah, policy director of Sports Betting Alliance, which represents major online betting platforms like DraftKingsand FanDuel.

“In the legalmarket, every oneofthese wagers is tracked in real time,”Onumah told lawmakers during the hearing. “Whensomething looks off, operators ﬂag it and share it with regulators,leagues and law enforcement. That system hasworked.Ithas led to investigations andcriminal

charges.”

It was alsoa winfor the Louisiana Casino Association, atrade group that represents the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos, which also offer sports gambling and said at thehearing prop betting should be allowed tocontinue.

Opposition to prop betting

Several groups on Tuesday went to the StateCapitol to support aban on prop betting, however

Prop bets underminefans’ belief in theintegrityof sporting events, said Peter Robins-Brown,executive directorofLouisiana Progress, aleft-leaning advocacy group that worked with Jackson-Andrews on the legislation.

In recent months,high-proﬁle scandals and indictments tied to prop betting and players intentionally underperforming have come to light.

JessicaWelman, of The Campaign for Fairer Gambling, saidbettors no longer have to waituntil theend of an event for a“dopamine hit” from sports gambling because there are “hundreds of opportunities in agame to place prop bets on the pitch, thenext play,the next point.”

“The dopamine hitdoesn’t come from the win,” she said. “It comes from the anticipationofthe result, and you’re able to trigger it over andover again hundreds of times within asingle athletic event.”

That “feedback loop” is different than placing asingle wager on agame, Welman argued.

Louisiana FamilyForum, which broadly opposes gambling, also supported the prop bet ban.

SB354 is a“commonsense measure”that would protect Louisianans from “highly addictive betting platforms” and from “scandals andrigged outcomes in sporting events,” said Kathleen Benfield, the group’slegislative director

BY SEUNG MIN KIM, ALI SWENSON, MATT BROWNand JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to createanationwide list of veriﬁed eligible voters and to restrict mail-in voting, amove that swiftly drew legal threatsfromstate Democratic ofﬁcials as the president demands further limitations on voting ahead of thisyear’s midtermelections.

Theorder,which voting lawexperts sayviolatesthe Constitution by attemptingtoseize the power to run elections from states, is the latest in atorrent of efforts from Trump to interfere with the way Americans vote basedonhis false allegations of fraud. The president has repeatedly lied about theoutcome of the 2020 presidential campaign and theintegrity of state-run elections, asserting againTuesday thathewon “three times” and continuing to cite accusations of voter fraud that numerous audits, investigations and courts have debunked.

Theorder signed Tuesdaycalls on the Department of Homeland Security, working in conjunction withthe Social SecurityAdministration, to make the listofeligible voters in each state. It also seekstobar the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots to those not on each state’sapprovedlist, although the president likely lacks the power to mandate what the PostalService does.

Trump is also calling forballots to have secure envelopes with unique barcodes for tracking, according to the executive order,which wasﬁrst reported by the Daily Caller. States and localities that don’tcomply could see their federal funding withheld, the order says.

“The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary.It’shorrible what’sgoing on,” Trumpsaid,repeating his false allegationsabout mail ballotsashesignedthe

order.“Ithink this will help alot with elections.”

Within minutes of Trumpsigning the order,top electionsofﬁcials in Oregon and Arizona, twostates that rely heavilyonmailballots,pledged to sue, arguing that the president wastrying to illegally encroach on the right of states to run elections.

“Wedon’t need decrees fromWashington,D.C.,” said TobiasRead,the Democratic secretary of state in Oregon, which votes entirely by mail. “My message to the President: We’ll see you in court.”

ArizonaSecretary of State Adrian Fontes said the state’svote-by-mail systemwas designedbyRepublicans and is now usedby80% of voters and said Trump is “attempting to pick his desired list of voters in each state with the Social Security Administration’shelp.” Maine Secretary of State ShennaBellowstold The Associated Press that the orderwas “laughably unconstitutional andsaidher state would not comply withthe order.More than aquarter of Maine voters cast mail-in ballots in the 2024 election.

“The president clearly didn’tget the copyofthe ConstitutionIsenthim,” Bellowssaid.

Legal experts also noted other potential ﬂaws with the order.David Becker,a former Justice Department lawyerwho leadsthe Center for Election Innovation and Research, noted that the Postal Service is run by aboard of governors, and the president has no power to tell it what mail it can and cannot deliver Aspokesperson forUSPSsaidTuesdaythe agency will reviewthe order Trump has sought to bring the independent agency under more presidential control, proposing to folditunder the Commerce Department —whose secretary,Howard Lutnick, wasonhand forTuesday’ssigning.

FBI agents ﬁle

class-action suit alleging ‘retribution campaign’

Trio were involved in investigation of President Trump

BY ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Three fired FBI agents sued on Tuesday to try to get their jobs back, saying in a class-action lawsuit that they were illegally punished for their participation in an investigation into President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

The federal lawsuit adds to the mounting list of court challenges to a personnel purge by FBI Director Kash Patel that over the last year, has resulted in the ousters of dozens of agents, either because of their involvement in investigations related to Trump or because they were perceived as insufficiently loyal to the Republican president’s agenda.

The lawsuit in federal court in Washington was technically filed on behalf of just three agents but may have much broader implications, given that its request for class-action status could

open the door for agents ﬁred since the start of the Trump administration to get their jobs back.

The three agents Michelle Ball, Jamie Garman and Blaire Toleman — were fired last October and November in what they say was a “retribution campaign” targeting them for their work on the investigation into Trump. The agents had between roughly eight and 14 years of “exemplary and unblemished” service in the FBI and expected to spend the remainder of their careers at the bureau, but were abruptly ﬁred without cause and without being given a chance to respond, the lawsuit says.

“Serving the American people as FBI agents was the highest honor of our lives,” they said in a statement.

“We took an oath to uphold the Constitution, followed the facts wherever they led, and never compromised our integrity Our removal from federal service without due process and based on a false perception of political bias is a profound injustice that raises serious concerns about political interference in federal law enforcement.”

The investigation the agents worked on culminated in a 2023 indictment from special counsel Jack Smith that accused Trump of illegally scheming to undo the results of the presidential election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

The complaint names as defendants Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi, accusing them of having orchestrated the ﬁrings despite being “personally embroiled” either as witnesses or attorneys in some of the legal troubles Trump has faced.

Patel, for instance, was subpoenaed in 2022 to appear before a federal grand jury investigating Trump’s retention of classiﬁed documents and had his phone records subpoenaed, while Bondi was part of the legal team that represented Trump at his ﬁrst impeachment trial, which resulted in his acquittal.

“And now, by virtue of presidential appointment to the pinnacle of federal law enforcement, Defendants are abusing their positions to claim victories that eluded them on the merits,” the lawsuit states.

Supreme Court seems likely to rule for inmate in Miss. racial bias case

Justices agreed defense, judge didn’t handle case well

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed likely to rule for a Black death row inmate from Mississippi who claims there was racial bias in the makeup of the jury that convicted him.

The justices took up an appeal from Terry Pitchford in a case with similarities to that of another Black man on Mississippi’s death row, whose conviction the high court overturned seven years ago. The jury that sentenced Pitchford to death for his role in the killing of a grocery store owner in northern Mississippi had one Black juror Doug Evans, a now-retired prosecutor with a history of dismissing Black jurors for discriminatory reasons, had excused four other Black people

The Supreme Court ruled 40 years ago in Batson v Kentucky that jurors could not be excused from service because of their race and set up a system by which trial judges could evaluate claims of discrimination and the race-neutral expla-

nations by prosecutors.

Pitchford’s case focuses on whether his lawyers did enough to object to Judge Joseph Loper’s rulings and whether the state Supreme Court acted reasonably in ruling they had not.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he thought one of Pitchford’s lawyers had spoken up. Reading from the trial transcript, Kavanaugh said, “She’s trying to make the objections right there.”

There was broad agreement that neither the judge nor the lawyers performed especially well when the jury was chosen.

“This is the most timid and reticent defense counsel that I have ever encountered,”

Justice Samuel Alito said.

But Alito also faulted Loper, who accepted Evans’ explanations and moved on without analyzing whether race was the reason “The judge didn’t handle this the way it should have been handled,” Alito said.

In 2019, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence and conviction of Curtis Flowers, because of what Kavanaugh described as a “relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of Black individuals.”

Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart sought to distinguish Pitchford’s case from Flowers’.

“In Flowers versus Mississippi, this Court faced an extraordinary case and ruled against the state,” Stewart said. “This case is also extraordinary but in a very different way that requires a very different result.”

The Supreme Court could rule for Pitchford but still leave it to lower courts to sort out whether his conviction should be overturned.

Pitchford, now 40, was 18 when he and a friend decided to rob the Crossroads Grocery, just outside Grenada in northern Mississippi.

The friend shot store owner Reuben Britt three times, fatally wounding him, but was ineligible for the death penalty because he was younger than 18. Pitchford was tried for capital murder and sentenced to death.

The case has been making its way through the court system for 20 years. In 2023, U.S. District Judge Michael P Mills overturned Pitchford’s conviction, holding that the trial judge did not give Pitchford’s lawyers enough of a chance to argue that the prosecution was improperly dismissing Black jurors.

Mills wrote that his ruling was partially motivated by Evans’ actions in prior cases. A unanimous panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the ruling.

Judge blocks order that ends funding for NPR, PBS

BY MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON Citing the First Amendment, a federal judge on Tuesday agreed to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, two media entities that the White House has said are counterproductive to American priorities.

The operational impact of U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss’ decision was not immediately clear — both because it will likely be appealed and because too much damage to the public-broadcasting sys-

tem has already been done, both by the president and Congress.

Moss ruled that President Donald Trump’s executive order to cease funding for NPR and PBS is unlawful and unenforceable.

The judge said the First Amendment right to free speech “does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type.”

“It is difﬁcult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints that the President does not like and seeks to squelch,” wrote Moss, who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said

Moss’ decision is “a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law.”

“NPR and PBS have no right to receive taxpayer funds, and Congress already voted to defund them. The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” Jackson said in a statement.

PBS, with programming ranging from “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” to Ken Burns’ documentaries, has been operating for more than half a century NPR has news programming such as “All Things Considered.” and cultural shows like the “Tiny Desk” concerts

Court weighs man’s death sentence

Ineffective counsel cited in restaurant double-murder case

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

State corrections officials on Monday asked a federal appeals court to reinstate the death sentence of a man convicted nearly three decades ago of a Baton Rouge double-murder, a case that could hasten the next use of Louisiana’s death chamber

Todd Wessinger, who landed on

Road to narrow to one lane for work

Baringer Foreman 1 of 20 rehab projects

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

A popular cut-through between Airline and Jefferson highways is being narrowed to one lane over the next two months, as an East Baton Rouge Parish road rehabilitation project gets underway

The Baringer Foreman Road in the city of St. George will get new pavement and be restriped, with the work to start south of Airline and continue to Jefferson. The project, which began this past weekend, is expected to be completed by May 8, according to a notice from the city of St. George. Fred Raiford, director of transportation and drainage for the parish, said the overlay on the road is expected to begin next week. The parish’s Sales Tax Street and Road Rehabilitation

See ROAD, page 2B

Rouge needs The

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

The Varsity Theatre, a Baton Rouge institution for live music, has closed its doors. For now The Chimes Restaurant on Highland, which is connected to the nearly 90-year-old theater, is expanding its rooftop terrace seating over what is now The Varsity lobby The Varsity will be closed until further notice because of the renovation.

The Chimes Restaurant & Tap Room owns and manages The Varsity The music venue and event space had a reunion night for friends and family Saturday Several social media posts referred to it as the “last call” for the theater According to J.T O’Neal,

death row for killing two former co-workers at Calendar’s restaurant in Baton Rouge in 1995, is the nearest of more than 50 death row prisoners to exhausting his avenues of appeal in state and federal courts, ofﬁcials say

A three-judge panel of the U.S.

5th Circuit Court of Appeals seemed ill-convinced Monday by arguments from Wessinger’s attorney that he deserves another chance at a new sentence due to a prior lawyer’s failures to provide complete evidence during the sentencing phase of his 1997 trial.

U.S. District Judge John deGravelles sided with that argument in a ruling last year that sent Wessinger’s case back to the 19th

Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge.

DeGravelles ruled that Wessinger deserved a new sentencing due to ineffective counsel.

Attorney General Liz Murrill and the Louisiana Department Public Safety and Corrections appealed.

They argued Monday that the ruling from deGravelles, who was nominated to the federal bench by

former President Barack Obama, was riddled with ﬂaws.

One of the three appeals court judges on Monday’s panel, Andrew Oldham, seemed to agree as he peppered Wessinger’s attorney with questions about the legal turns of Wessinger’s nearly 30-year appeals process and related case law Oldham was nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump.

ä See SENTENCE, page 2B

FIND yOUR BAA-LANCE

BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By MICHAEL JOHNSON

on Monday as Old Rust Gate Farm holds a goat yoga session for Chi Omega

STAFF

PHOTO By OLIVIA TEES

Roul’s Deli officials said they had to put up a fence at the Plank Road location because employees were finding human waste, needles and used drug paraphernalia on the front door every morning

Wessinger

State trooper accused of domestic battery

BY ELLYN COUVILLION Staff writer

A Louisiana State Police trooper was arrested Tuesday, accused of domestic abuse battery, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office said. James Jefferson III, 41, of Baton Rouge, was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on one count each of aggravated seconddegree battery, domestic abuse battery by strangulation and domestic abuse battery in the presence of minors, along with other charges, according to the Attorney General’s Ofﬁce. The incidents happened multiple times in 2025, investigators said. The case was referred to the attorney general by Louisiana State Police.

Investigators learned that Jefferson committed multiple incidents of physical abuse, as well as “efforts where he directly inﬂuenced and/or interfered with law enforcement investigations associated with his abuse of the victim,” the Attorney General’s Ofﬁce said.

Among his efforts to interfere with investigators, Jefferson “willingly destroyed evidence capturing events of domestic violence he committed,” the statement said.

In addition to the above counts, Jefferson was arrested on two counts of ﬁling false public records and three counts of obstruction of justice. The investigation is ongoing.

ROAD

Continued from page 1B

Program was introduced in 2023 under former East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome. The road rehab projects, which involve new pavement and re-striping, numbered more than 20 projects when the program was unveiled. More than 70 other roads were to receive re-striping. The Baringer Foreman Road work was bid at the same time and as part of the same project as another road rehab, that of Anselmo Lane from Bluebonnet Boulevard to Essen Lane, Raiford said. When completed, the new restriped pavement on the two roadways will total 2 miles of improved streets, Raiford said.

Email Ellyn Couvillion at ecouvillion@theadvocate. com.

SENTENCE

Continued from page 1B ST.

A second judge, Stephen Higginson, another Obama appointee, also questioned what he seemed to view as inconsistencies in attorney Rebecca Hudsmith’s arguments.

The appellate court has already rejected separate appeals in Wessinger’s case twice, in 2017 and 2022.

Oldham and Hudsmith parried back and forth during Monday’s arguments, occasionally speaking over each other “I’m trying to give you as much leeway as I can here,” Oldham told Hudsmith.

The arguments marked the latest from a yearslong string of appeals in a case that featured prominently two years ago as Republican state ofﬁcials pressed to resurrect capital punishment in Louisiana after 15 years.

Amid Wessinger’s push

“I was told I had an April 1 deadline for booking shows,” O’Neal said, “and the theater was closing because of The Chimes’ terrace extension.” Attempts to contact management for comment were unsuccessful.

O’Neal started working at The Varsity in 2022, and he said booking national talent

for relief, Gov. Jeff Landry brought the parents of one of his victims, Stephanie Guzzardo, to the State Capitol in Baton Rouge in a push to persuade lawmakers to add electrocution and nitrogen gassing to lethal injection as legal execution methods, while sealing some related records.

Louisiana has executed one person since that legislation became law: Jessie Hoffman Jr., who was convicted of the 1996 abduction and murder of Molly Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive who was shot dead in rural St. Tammany Parish.

Hoffman died last March with a mask afﬁxed to his face inside the death chamber at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

On Monday, Murrill conﬁrmed that nitrogen hypoxia remains the most viable method for the state. She said Wessinger appears the nearest in the state to having his death sentence car-

has been a struggle because the venue doesn’t have a contract with a booking group. He said local shows that are well-promoted have had high ticket sales with packed houses.

The Varsity ﬁrst opened its doors in 1937 as a movie theater until it closed in 1988. In 1990, The Varsity reopened as a live music venue. For about 30 years, it was the place to see upand-coming national bands before they became popular and the place to go for ’80s

ried out.

The Guzzardos attended Monday’s oral arguments.

Ste phanie’s father Wayne Guzzardo, nodded along as Oldham sharply questioned Hudsmith.

A federal district judge vacated Wessinger’s death sentence in 2015. The order by the late U.S. District Court Judge James Brady landed before the U.S. Supreme Court, which reinstated Wessinger’s death sentence in 2018 after rejecting his claims that his defense lawyers’ miscues amounted to a constitutionally deﬁcient defense.

DeGravelles ordered Wessinger’s resentencing in 2022 and again last year, citing shifts in case law

The attorney general and East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III, whose ofﬁce

and ’90s theme nights.

From rap icons like Ice Cube and Public Enemy to country stars like Willie Nelson and Pat Green to bands like Incubus and Korn, The Varsity hosted a wide variety of talent.

Multiple generations saw their favorite artist or movie there.

The Varsity brieﬂy closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and has had fewer promotions and events since it reopened in 2021, O’Neal said.

prosecuted Wessinger, appealed the latest order Monday’s oral arguments in New Orleans came before an appeals court widely viewed as among the nation’s most conservative. Along with Oldham and Higginson, Judge Don R. Willett, another Trump appointee, was the third panelist who heard the arguments.

In the days before his Hoffman’s execution at Angola last year, the 5th Circuit rejected a plea by his lawyers that the act of gassing him would violate his Buddhist values. The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 not to intervene.

In that case, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch joined three liberal justices in dissent. Gorsuch argued that both the federal judge and the 5th Circuit should have considered Hoffman’s claim that nitrogen hypoxia would violate his faith under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Per-

O’Neal attended shows at the theater for years before he began working there. As a touring sound engineer, he often works remotely for The Varsity He said he wants it to continue as a live music venue in Baton Rouge. With an occupancy of 800 people, it’s an optimal size for many shows and events.

“Baton Rouge needs The Varsity,” O’Neal said.

Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.

sons Act.

Instead, a spiritual adviser chanted and then knelt on a mat nearby as Hoffman, cloaked in a mask and blanket, gasped his final breaths.

James Finn covers federal law enforcement and courts for The TimesPicayune | The Advocate. Email him at jﬁnn@ theadvocate.com or contact him on Signal at jamesﬁnn.82.

LOTTERY

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2026

PICK 3: 0-6-1

PICK 4: 7-0-6-5

PICK 5: 3-8-4-0-1

POWERBALL: 7-11-3141-57 (20)

Unofficial notification, keep your tickets.

“It was not fair to our employees, managers, owners having to come and clean it EVERY single morning,” the restaurant said on its Facebook page. The local restaurant said in the Facebook post that they tried every avenue to avoid putting the barricades up, like asking homeless people to go behind “the back of the store near the dumpster and no one listened.” The post concluded with an apology for the updated look and said the owners hope that customers will understand and continue to support their business.

“We

The Varsity Theatre, a Baton Rouge institution for live music, has closed its doors during a renovation to expand

W. Guzzardo

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Job openings slide to 6.9 million in February

WASHINGTON U.S job openings fell last month to 6.9 million and hiring was weak, more signs of sluggishness in the American labor market.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that job vacancies slid from 7.2 million in January

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, showed that layoffs rose. Just 2.97 million people quit their jobs in February Typically, people giving up their jobs is a sign of confidence in their prospects for ﬁnding better pay or working conditions elsewhere. The number of people leaving jobs last month was the fewest since August 2020.

A measure of hiring also deteriorated: The jobs report showed 4.85 million gross hires in February, the fewest since April 2020. The hiring rate the number of hires as a percentage of employment — dropped to 3.1%, also the lowest since April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down economic activity.

Employers added fewer than 10,000 net jobs a month in 2025, the weakest hiring outside a recession since 2002 This year started out with a decent 126,000 new jobs in January

But in February, the United States lost 92,000 jobs. When the Labor Department releases March jobs numbers Friday, they’re expected to show that hiring rebounded and that companies, nonproﬁts and government agencies added 60,000 jobs this month.

McCormick latest to combine with Unilever NEW YORK Spice and ﬂavorings company McCormick announced on Tuesday that it’s combining with Unilever’s foods division, which includes brands like Hellmann’s and Knorr

The merger is the latest in a string of actions in the packaged food sector as companies contend with inﬂation and changing consumer tastes. Last year, both Keurig Dr Pepper and Kraft Heinz announced plans to unwind huge mergers, although Kraft later put that plan on hold. Mars recently bought Cheez-It maker Kellanova while Nutella maker Ferrero bought WK Kellogg. The combined company will maintain McCormick’s name and leadership. But upon closing, Unilever and its shareholders are expected to own 65% of the food company’s outstanding equity, amounting $29.1 billion Unilever would also get $15.7 billion in cash. Meanwhile, McCormick shareholders will own 35.0%.

McCormick and its redcapped array of spices is a $15 billion company and the stable of brands it’s adding from Unilever are worth billions more. The companies said on Tuesday that McCormick and Unilever would have a combined revenue of $20 billion for the 2025 ﬁscal year

McCormick said the deal will give it better access to high-growth regions like Latin America and Asia, where Unilever has an extensive presence. It will also expand Unilever’s footprint in North America, where McCormick has a stronger proﬁle.

JetBlue raises checked bag fees as costs grow

U.S. carrier JetBlue has raised its checked bag fees by as much as $9 as the war in the Middle East disrupts global oil supplies and increases fuel prices. The new fees took effect Monday For most domestic economy passengers, the ﬁrst checked bag now costs $39, up from $35. During peak travel times such as April spring breaks, major holidays and the summer, passengers will have to pay $49 instead of $40, the airline said.

JetBlue increased the charge to check a second bag from $50 to $59 for off-peak periods, and from $60 to $69 for periods of peak demand.

Dow has best day since last spring

Stocks surge more than 1,100 points

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK U.S. stocks surged to their best day since last spring, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 1,125 points on Tuesday as doubt swung back to hope on Wall Street about a possible end to the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 leaped 2.9% for its largest gain since May Just a day before, worries about the war had sent the main measure of Wall Street’s health more than 9% below its all-time high set early this year

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 2.5%, while the Nasdaq

composite jumped 3.8%.

The rebound came as financial markets seized on a couple of tenuous signals for hope about a possible end to the war It’s the latest manic swing following weeks of frenetic back and forth amid uncertainty about the war The moves also came as Wall Street marked the end of the year’s ﬁrst quarter, a milestone that can cause a ﬂurry of trading as fund managers close their books.

Analysts said optimism entered markets overnight following a report from The Wall Street Journal saying President Donald Trump told aides he’s willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

Oil prices then took a sudden and sharp turn lower in midday trading

following a news report from the Middle East quoting Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian as saying it has “the necessary will to end the war” as long as certain requirements are met, including “guarantees to prevent a recurrence of aggression.”

The worry on Wall Street has been that the war may last a long time and keep oil and natural gas from the Persian Gulf out of global markets, which could create a brutal blast of inﬂation.

Following Tuesday’s possible signals of hope, the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, eased 3.2% to settle at $103.97. Benchmark U.S. crude erased a gain from the morning and fell 1.5% to settle at $101.38.

ery

within the S&P

rose. Marvell Technology shot up 12.8% after

invested $2

Tech stocks were the strongest forces lifting the market in a widespread rally where four out of

lion in the company and announced a partnership with it. Nvidia rose 5.6% and was the single strongest force lifting the S&P 500. Centessa Pharmaceuticals soared 44% after Eli Lilly said it was buying the company working on treatments for excessive daytime sleepiness and other neurological conditions. Lilly which is paying up to $7.8 billion if certain conditions are met, rose 3.7% All told, the S&P 500 jumped 184.80 points to 6,528.52. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1,125.37 to 46,341.51, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 795.99 to 21,590.63.

Gas prices eclipse $4 a gallon in U.S., the highest since 2022

High fuel costs will trickle to other industries

BY WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS

Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the ﬁrst time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide.

According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now $4.02 over a dollar more expensive than it was before the war began on Feb 28. That’s the largest monthly jump the motor club has seen on record. And the last time U.S drivers were collectively paying this much at the pump was nearly four years ago, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The price is a national average, meaning drivers in some states have been paying well over $4 a gallon for a while now Prices vary between states due to factors ranging from nearby supply to differing tax rates.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran a month ago, the cost of crude oil — the main ingredient in gasoline

— has spiked and swung rapidly That’s because the conﬂict has caused deep supply chain disruptions and cuts from major oil producers across the Middle East. Both Brent crude, the international standard, and benchmark U.S. crude are now going for more than $100 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before the war

Motorists around the world are coping with higher gas prices. In Paris, for example, gas is at $2.68, which is about $10.27 a gallon.

Higher gas prices arrive as many households continue to face wider cost-of-living strains. And as drivers pay more to cover necessities like gas, or even utility bills impacted by soaring fuel costs, many may be forced to cut their budgets in other places That threatens broader consequences for the economy overall.

Before launching the war, President Donald Trump bragged about keeping gas prices low Consumer prices and the cost of living already have become flashpoints in this midterm election year A recent AP-NORC poll found that 45% of U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” concerned about being able to afford gas in the next few months, up from 30% shortly after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

Beyond visits to the pump, analysts say high fuel costs will trickle into groceries,

which have to be restocked frequently and could also see price hikes as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up. Other cargo has also been impacted. The U.S. Postal Service is seeking a temporary 8% added charge on some of its popular products including Priority Mail.

U.S. diesel, used for many freight and delivery trucks, is now going for an average of $5.45 a gallon, up from about $3.76 a gallon before the war began per AAA.

“It’s going to mean more expensive bills for truckers, tractors and trains that move the U.S. economy with diesel fuel. It’s going to mean consumers are likely greeted by rising grocery prices and broadly speaking, a rise in U.S. inﬂation,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel-tracking service GasBuddy It’s possible those prices could jump even higher To Trump’s frustration, most tanker movement in the key Strait of Hormuz — where roughly one-ﬁfth of the world’s oil once sailed through remains at a halt. That’s led to cuts from producers in the region who have no way of getting their crude to market. Meanwhile, Iran, Israel and the U.S. have all struck oil and gas facilities, worsening supply concerns.

Alisa Howell, of Charlotte, North Carolina,

normally ﬁlls up her tank entirely when she goes to the gas station. But now, she says just gets enough fuel to do what she needs to do each day Howell hopes gas prices will go down as Trump once promised, but stressed that the “foolishness with the government” continues to impact peoples’ livelihoods. She blamed the administration for making the decision to attack Iran, adding that she doesn’t believe it was worth going to war

“It’s just unfair to all of us. It doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat or Republican. It’s everybody,” Howell said.

Many drivers are on the hunt for cheaper prices where they can ﬁnd them. Danielle Ervin, of Novi, Michigan, stopped at a local Speedway station Tuesday morning because it offers an 11-cent per gallon discount.

Still, overall, Ervin said what she pays now is “terrible.” She noted she’s had to cut other parts of her budget.

“I had to cut back on some of my streaming services at home, so the kids are a little upset about that. I had to change which grocery stores I buy my fruits and veggies at,” Ervin said. “And then, I’m not buying stuff for myself — sneakers and clothes and all that other stuff because I have to maintain for the household.”

Consumer confidence up despite soaring costs from war

BY MATT OTT AP business writer

WASHINGTON U.S consumer confidence inched higher in March despite soaring energy prices brought on by the war in Iran.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer conﬁdence index rose modestly to 91.8 in March from 91 in February

The board said that while rising costs due to tariffs and spiking oil prices induced by the conflict in the Middle East did not affect the topline confidence reading, there was increasing pessimism in other measures of the survey, including expectations of higher inflation.

Respondents’ comments about oil, gas and the war spiked and consumers’ 12-month inflation expectations surged to levels last seen in August when anxiety over

tariffs peaked.

U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the ﬁrst time since 2022 on Tuesday as the war caused fuel prices to soar worldwide.

According to motor club AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now $4.02 — up more than a dollar before the war began. The last time U.S. drivers were collectively paying this much at the pump was nearly four years ago, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This is the key concern as the war in Iran enters the second month will the oil price shock turn into a demand destruction shock?,” wrote Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. Long said that Navy Federal’s credit card data from March

showed that consumers were still making purchases across categories even as gas prices rose But she said that could change in the second quarter “as the worst of the inﬂation shock hits consumers.”

A measure of Americans’ shortterm expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market fell 1.7 points to 70.9, remaining well below 80, a marker that can signal a recession ahead.

It’s the 14th consecutive month that reading has come in under 80. The index for consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation rose by 4.6 points to 123.3. Government data from earlier in March showed that an inﬂation gauge closely monitored by the Federal Reserve moved 2.8% higher in January in the latest sign that prices were persistently elevated even before the Iran war caused

spikes in oil and gas costs.

Excluding the volatile food and energy categories — which the Fed pays closer attention to — core prices rose 3.1%, up from 3% in the prior month and the highest in nearly two years. Consumer prices and prices at the wholesale level also remain elevated.

Those higher prices and the prospect of even higher inﬂation due to the Iran war make it unlikely that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates any time soon.

The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate three times to close 2025 in an attempt to support a ﬂagging labor market. However, because lower rates can exacerbate inﬂation, which remains above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed has left its overnight lending rate alone at its past two meetings.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROBERT F BUKATy A sign shows the price of gas hitting $4.29 a gallon Tuesday at a store in Freeport, Maine.

Bill to shrink N.O. courts advances

Measurewould abolishseveral

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

Efﬁciency of New Orleans courts remains ahot-button issue in Baton Rouge, where aSenate committee on Tuesday passed abill that aims to abolish several judgeships in the city’scriminal, civil, juvenile, trafﬁc and municipal courts.

Senate Bill 217 cleared the Judiciary ACommittee on a4-3 vote along party lines and is set to go beforethe full Senate.

Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, presented an amended bill to remove two civil district judgeships an df our from t he cr im inal courthouse. Ajuvenile court section would dissolve through attrition, and a judgeship in the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans would also go away under Morris’ bill Republican committee members Gregory Miller, Rick Edmonds, Beth Mizell and Alan Seabaugh favored the measure. Democratic Sens. Gary Carter Jr., Jay Luneau and Sam JenkinsJr.

opposed it.

Morris is sponsoring three measures this session that target the Orleans Parish court system for reform. The judiciary committee passedall threeTuesday, each on the same 4-3 split.

Senate Bill 197would reduce therosterofjudges from 12 to eightinthe 4th CircuitCourt of Appeal, which handles criminal and civilappeals from Orleans, Plaquemines andSt. Bernard parishes. The third, SB256, stands to merge the civil and criminal clerks forOrleans Parish, doing away withthe Criminal CourtClerk’sOfﬁce.

Another Morris offering, SB123, would applytothe judiciary statewide, empoweringthe Legislature to remove state judges for “malfeasance, gross misconduct or incompetence committed while in ofﬁce.”

It wouldplace aconstitutional amendmentonnext year’sballot askingvoters for the change, under which the Legislature could ax ajudge with amajority vote of the House and atwo-thirds vote from theSenate. Currently,only the Louisiana Supreme Courtcan toss astate judge,and only on the recommendation of theLoui-

siana Judiciary Commission.

Morris is not alone in seeking an overhaul of Orleans Parish courts. In New Orleans,unlikeother parishes, civil, criminal and juvenile courts operate as independent entities.

In theother legislative chamber,Rep. Dixon McMakin,R-BatonRouge, has sponsored House Bill 911, which seeks to consolidate civil, criminal and juvenile courtsinNew Orleans beginning Jan. 1.

Fourcivil judges, three criminaljudgesand two juvenile court judges would be removed under McMakin’sbill, which aHouse judiciary committeesupported last month.

He andMorrishaveboth said their proposals strive to bring Orleans Parish —an outlier —inline with other judicial systems across the state and reduce theburden on taxpayers by cutting costs thestate pays intoNew Orleans’ courts.

Both legislators have touted rawpopulation and caseload datareported to the Louisiana SupremeCourttosupport theirrespective bills,arguing that shrinkingnumbers from Orleans Parish warrant adrastic change.

Butseveral elected officialsraised concerns about the proposed merger and the

Foundation announces

JamesBeard awardfinalists

Four from N.O. continue to next round

BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer

When the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for its 2026 awards, New Orleans, Louisiana and the GulfCoast region had along roster of contenders,including well-known names, rising talent, bakers and pros in the wine realm Now four continue to the next roundasfinalists, all from New Orleans, including twoupfor nationalhonors and two for regional awards. They are:

OutstandingRestaurateur

Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski,LinkRestaurantGroup (which includes Pêche Seafood Grill, Herbsaint, Cochon, Gianna, Cochon Butcher, La Boulangerie, and Chemin ÁLaMer with theFourSeasonsHotel). These two chefs started working together at Link’s ﬁrstrestaurant, Herbsaint, andstarted apartnership with the next, Cochon. As a restaurant group, they have six James Beard awards for restaurants, chefs and Link’s cookbooks and numerous

nominationsthrough the years.

Emerging Chef

E.J.Lagasse,Emeril’sRestaurant, 800 TchoupitoulasSt. The son of restaurant founder Emeril Lagasse is now chef at the ﬂagship, which he has transformedintoa world-class tastingmenu experience built around Louisianaﬂavor.Lastyear, it made anextraordinary twostar debut in the Michelin Guide.

Best Chef,South Thisregional award covers Alabama, Arkansas, Florida,Louisiana, Mississippi andPuertoRico.

AnaCastro,Acamaya,3070 Dauphine St. With her sister, LydiaCastro,the chef opened this modernand stylishMexican seafood restaurant in the Bywater, which has gained manyaccolades. Castro has been a semifinalist or finalist for numerousJames Beard awards for her prior work at other restaurants and for Acamaya. The Castrosisters are now developingasecond casual restaurant, Casamiro (800 Louisa St.), also inthe Bywater Serigne Mbaye,Dakar NOLA, 3814 MagazineSt. The chef started with apop-up andin 2022 with partner Efﬁe Rich-

ardson as amodern Senegalesetasting menu restaurant.It’sbeen amagnet for high-proﬁle accolades since. The James Beard Foundation named it BestNew Restaurant in 2024, andlast year it landed at No. 6onNorth America’s 50 Best RestaurantsList.

The ﬁnalistswere named on March31. Chefand restaurant awards winners will be named during agala event in Chicago on June 15.

New Orleanstypically has many contenders, but has won fewer awards in recent years. This year’sslate of four ﬁnalists is areturn to past form for thecity’s showing in the awards.

In 2025, more than adozen local nameswere listedas semifinalists, though just one made the cut to ﬁnalist, Lagniappe Bake House, the newbakerycafeinCentral City from Kaitlin Guerin, and none won chef or restaurant awards.

Dooky Chase’sRestaurant was alsonamed lastyear to thegroup’sAmerica’sClassics, an honor recognizing restaurants that are notable contributors to their community’s food, culture and traditions.

Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate. com.

data supporting the cuts, as aparade of critics spoke out Tuesday against Morris’ proposal.

Many said the issue was much morecomplex than comparing total caseﬁlings from different parishes. Others worried thatreducing the number of judgeswould clog the courts and spike street crime.

Morrisattimesscrolledon his phone or offered muted answers when questioned by lawmakers who challenged his proposal.

Carter grilled Morrison the data and pressedhim to divulge anyOrleansParish judges or attorneyshespoke to when drafting the measures.

Morris said he sought advice from Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jay McCallumand spoketoGov.Jeff

Landry.Morris said he did not venture into NewOrleans.

“I didn’tgomeet with people thatare absolutely going to oppose everything I was going to do,” he said. “It wouldn’thavemadeadifference. There was no pointin that.”

Later,Jenkins asked Morristoexplain his push for thebills andemphasized that Morris did not consult with Orleans Parish stakeholders on his proposed legislation

“Didn’tsound like you felt the need to even have adiscussion with asenator from NewOrleans about the matter,” Jenkins said. “Does that notraise anyconcern for you?”

“Nope,” Morrisanswered Sitting behind him was

Clerk of Criminal Court-elect Calvin Duncan,who in five weeks is set to be sworn into an ofﬁce that Morris is proposing to eliminate.

Aformer life prisoner and inmate counsel over 28 years at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola,Duncan argued against Morris’ proposal. He said it doesn’teven address responsibilityfor the election process in Orleans Parish,arole that currently falls to thecriminal clerk. Duncan testified that the trio of bills will hurt crime victims,defendantsawaiting trial and New Orleanians generally “Ittakes manyyears to correct the harms of laws once they takeeffect,”Duncan said. “It destroys people’s lives and does all kinds of harm. We’ve got the opportunitytoprevent it from happening right now.”

Aydell, Shirley

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Obituaries

David, Paul

Paul David, passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 30, 2026 at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital after battling a lengthy illness. He was 52. Paul was agraduate of False River Academy and attended Baton Rouge School of Computers. He enjoyed spending time on his computer, streaming and was an avid gamer. Paul is preceded in death by his grandparents, Percy and Eula Knapps. He is survived by his mother, Bobbie Knapps David. The visitation will be held at Niland's Funeral Home in New Roads, La on Thursday, April 2, 2026 from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm. Aprivate burial will follow at alater date

He is survivedbyhis wife of 31 years, Theresa Bozeman; children,Savannah (Dillon) Funk; Bryson (Hannah Wolfe)and Colin Evans; grandson, Beau Evans; granddaughter, Quinn Funk; sister,Diane (Joe)Graphia, brothers, Lamar,William, Robert (Linda Miller), James (Gloria), and Mitchell (Avay) Evans; and extended family. He is preceded in death by parents,Clara &William Evans; in-laws, Mary Charline and Francis Bozeman; sisters, Linda Douthettand PaulaEvans; sister-in-law, Patricia Evans; nephew, Josh Evans; &niece, Heather Hauser. Services willbeon4/1 &4/2 in Illinois

Louise MumfordTwilley, of Lafayette, Louisiana,a dedicatedwife, mother and teacher passedaway on Saturday, March 28, 2026,atthe ageof73. Louise was born on November 21, 1952,inPitt Memorial Hospital, and grew up in the small but charming community of AydeninEastern NC where herDad ran afamily grocery businessfor twogenerations serving the local community.

Louisewas precededin death by herparents, Harry Gardner Mumford of Greenville, NC andLenora Haller Mumford, of Hopewell, VA. She is also precededindeath by two sisters, Anne Smith (Allen "Buddy") of Beaufort, NC and Christine Beaman (Malcolm) of Charlotte, NC. Sheissurvived by her husband, RobertR.Twilley; her sons,RyanTwilley (Andrea),Russell Twilley (Anna) and her daughter,Leah Anne Denis (Jean). She was Mom-Mom to three lovely grandchildren, Caroline, Charlie, and Brannon. They were the angels in Louise's life,asshe provided them the arts, crafts, and cooking experiences they will carry with them the rest of their lives. Louisehas

threeveryspecial nieces, Shaye Ray(Howard)ofIsle of Palms, SC,Tammy Hunsucker (J.P. Gooch) of Beaufort, NC,and Kathy Hunsucker of Morehead City, NC., who shared so much of their livestogether with Louise which brought laughter throughout their journey. Louise was agraduate of AydenHighSchool (AHS) where she was editorofthe highschoolannual, The Wheel 1971. She attended East Carolina University where she was aproud 'PirateFan' showing thepurplepridetoanyone who wouldlisten. She married her highschool sweetheart in 1974 and they began ajourney lasting 51 years that followed Robert throughthe academic worldofhigher education. They left Pitt County and ECU in 1976 to live in Gainesville,FL, forfive wonderfulyears. From theretheytraveled back to Robert'sroots on theEastern Shore in Cambridge, MD, where her twosons were born. FromCambridge, Louise and family finallysettled in Lafayette, LA,in1986 where she quickly fellinlovewiththe culture and friendships that supported her therest of herlife.Ateachstop alongthisjourney, Louise taught elementaryschool, usually in small rural communitieswhere she loved thehonestyand valuesof thechildrenshe taught Louise gave her all to make sure that her students builtskills to carry them throughtheir earlyyears of youth. She retired from Green T. LindonElementary in 2013 with 24 cumulative years in various schoolsystems (including GuchereauEarly Childhood Development)working withfaculty, staff and students. Her daughter, Leah, teaches at Green T. Lindon todaycarrying on her mother'slovefor teaching kids thevaluesoflife Louise was also honored to be theinaugural queen, Queen I, of the Krewe of Sans Sous, asmall group of family friends. She is survivedbyQueen II Cindy Barry, Queen IIIMimi Anderson, and Queen IV Diane Keogh. Thesefamilies enjoyed twenty years of Mardi Gras partieswith Louise as one of the key planners

The family requeststhat visitationbeobservedat Martin &Castille's SOUTHSIDE locationonFriday,

April 3, 2026 from5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.A funeral service will be held in La Fleur de LisChapel at thefuneral home on Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 1:00 PM followed by acelebration of life in Le CafeatMartin &Castille Funeral Home

KyleDeroche, Director of Spiritwind WorshipMinistry, Asbury United Methodist Church, willlead theservices Special thanks to the many family members, friends, and caregivers who offered their love prayers, and support during this difficult time.

In lieu of flowers,donations can be madein Louise Twilley'sname to theUnitedWay of Acadiana. Martin& Castille Funeral Home -SOUTHSIDE -600 E. Farrel Rd,Lafayette, Louisiana 70508, 337-9842811.

John Paul Weathersby, 80, of Central Louisiana, passed away on February 10. Born to Ida& James Weathersby and raised in McComb,Mississippi,he graduated from Mississip-

pi State University and spent much of his life working as aCPA John lovedcampingand hada special gift for turningordinary momentsinto adventures.Whether rescuingbabybirds, tending a garden, workingoncars, or visitinghis ailingmother,hebroughtjoy,stories, andlove wherever he went He is survived by his children, Jeremy Weathersby, Jeffrey Weathersby (Kelly), and Allison Weathersby; hisgrandchildren, Shiri, Elijah, andEden; his sisters, Jimmy Dale Pezant andMae Vlasak; andhis

loving companion, Rita Boucher.Healso shared a special bond withRita's childrenand grandchildren,who broughtadded love andjoy to hislife. Acelebration of life will be held at alater date.

IN LOVINGMEMORYOF

John Bellot Sr Oct19, 1934 -Mar 31,2016

Born in Youngsville, Louisiana, moved to Lafayette, in the late 40's after his father, Robert Francis Bellot Sr passed. Lived with his mother, Olive Mouton and siblings, Robert Francis, Jr and Mary Girlie Mabry. Was aplayer on the Lafayette Bayou Bengals baseball team, studied morse

Whenyou’recomparing plans

 Look forcoveragethat helps pay formajor services. Some plans maylimit thenumber of procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.

 Look forcoveragewithnodeductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to pay hundredsout of pocket before benefits are paid.



Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1

Previous dental work canwearout

That’s right. As good as Medicare is,itwas never meanttocover everything. That means if youwant protection, youneed to purchase individual insurance.

Early detectioncan prevent small problemsfrom becomingexpensive ones

The best way to preventlarge dental bills is preventive care. TheAmerican Dental Association recommends checkupstwiceayear.

Even if you’ve hadqualitydentalworkinthe past, youshouldn’t take your dentalhealth forgranted. In fact, your odds of havinga dentalproblemonly go up as youage.2

Treatment is expensive especially theservicespeople over 50 often need

Consider these national average costsof treatment. $274for acheckup $299 for afilling $1,471 foracrown.3 Unexpected bills likethiscan be areal burden, especially if you’reonafixed income

Weathersby,JohnPaul

It’sbeen nearly four decades since thelast time apontiff set foot in Louisiana,but locals still talk about the time Pope John PaulIIcame to town

Justimagine the memories that would be created should the ﬁrst American popehonor his family’sancestral home with avisit.

Chicago may claim Pope Leo XIV as its own, but the former Robert Prevost’selevation last year unleashed atorrent of emotion in these parts, as details of his family’shistory —first reported by the Historic NewOrleans Collection’sJari Honora and soon amplifiedbygenealogistsworldwide —definitively linkedhim to New Orleans’ Creole community

The researchplaced Leo’sstorysquarely into auniquelyAmerican narrative, as both aproduct of our celebrated meltingpot anda descendant of people who wrestled with thecountry’s complicated legacy of race.

It also created awhole class of people,both here and elsewhere, who feel adeep connection to the pope, including more than afew whoare pretty sure they just might somehow be related. Indeed, Leo’sascent has already inspiredajoyfulfamilyreunion of sorts,asdescendants of relatives who identiﬁed as Black andthose who passed for White ﬁnallymet New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson and Archbishop James Checchio reportedly discussed those family ties duringa 35-minute audience with the pope atthe Vatican lastweek, during which they invited him to include New Orleans on afuture itinerary

We’d like to echo that invitation to aplace that boasts not only one of thelarger percapita Catholic populations in the United States,but one where Catholicculture touches everything from football to Carnival to ourfamous cuisine.

In addition to Leo’sfamilial connection,the group that visited also discussed the state of Catholic education in Louisianaand therestoration of historic St. Louis Cathedral inNew Orleans, where the pope’sgreat-grandmotherwas baptizedin1840, according to research by Katie Beeman, the director of the archdiocese’sarchives. Benson is leadingthe fundraising drive for the restoration.

During the visit, Checchio soughtand received Leo’spermission to name the upcoming renovation of thecathedral rectory thePope LeoXIV Centerfor Evangelization, in honor of both him and his family.

The gesture “moved the Holy Fatherdeeply,” said Greg Bensel,the Saints’ andPelicans’ senior vice president of governmentrelations, who also attended the meeting To sweeten the invitation still more, Benson presented Leowith acustomized Saints jersey, and —incase the team’sAll Saints’ Dayorigins aren’tenoughtoentice him—Checchioshared some localrecipes. Call it asmall taste of thecelebrationNew Orleans would throw if Pope Leo XIV decided to visit.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com. TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

BR residents deserve transparency from BREC

In theintroduction to BREC’s Imagine Your Parks 3plan, former superintendent Corey Wilson described avision rooted in community engagement, equity and the belief that parks serveasthe social heartbeat of ourneighborhoods. The plan promised to break down barriers, connect people and places and ensure investments reﬂected theneeds of residentsacross East Baton Rouge Parish.

Thoseprinciples matter because parks arepublic trust assets that shape quality of life, accessto green space and opportunity in communities that have historically been overlooked. Voters across theparish reinforced that vision just lastyear when they approved adedicated millage to fund BREC’sstrategic master plan. That votewas an investmentinapublic system residentswere told would prioritize equity,access and long-term stewardship.

Since that vote, BREChas undergone signiﬁcant leadership and governance changes.The board’s composition shifted following state legislation, and new leadership has begun reshaping the agency.At thesame time, thecommission is

Fiveyears ago, theBaton Rouge Alliance for Students challenged thecommunity to confront an uncomfortable reality: Toomany children in East Baton Rouge Parish were trapped in chronically underperforming schools, and too little was being done to change it. Since then, real progress has followed real accountability.Today 12,000 fewer students are enrolled in D- and F-rated schools. Alongoverdue facilities realignment has moved thousands of studentsinto higher-performing schools while reinvesting millionsintothose still in need of improvement.

The district has adopted amore transparent budgeting process, publicly postscontracts and makes decisions withaclearer focus on student outcomes.

We’ve alsoseen stronger policies that reward high-performing schools, the replacement of persistently failingschools and perfor-

considering sellingseveral parks labeled “obsolete,” while BREC has announced plans to expand private partnerships and outsourcecertain services Taken together,thesemoves representasigniﬁcant shift in how our public parksystem mayoperate. Historically,when public assets are soldorprivatized, the impacts are rarelyneutral.

Communities that have historically experienced disinvestment, often Black neighborhoods, are theones mostlikely to lose nearby green space, programming andthe social infrastructure parks provide.

Residentsdeserve transparency about which communitieswill be affected, how decisions are being made and how revenues or savings will be reinvested to strengthenaccess across the parish.

The truetest of leadership is not thelanguage of astrategic plan. It is whether thecommitments made to votersand communitiescontinue to guide decisions whenthose decisions become difﬁcult.

KRYSTAL ELLIS formerIyP3community advisory committee member Baton Rouge

mance-based incentives tied directly to improving student outcomes. Most importantly,more students are now performing on grade level. This forward momentum is not coincidental. It is the result of strong leadership making difﬁcult choices and of the school board’s willingness to put students ahead of politics.

Butprogress like this is fragile.

Sustained improvement will require continued servant leadership, aconcrete plan to attract and retain highqualityeducators and the resolve to stay the course. Losing focus now would risk undoing hard-won gains for thousands of students.

East Baton Rouge has proven that change is possible. The question now is whether we have the will to continue it. Ourstudents are counting on the answer to be yes.

ADONICA PELICHET DUGGAN founding CEO,

Baton RougeAlliancefor Students

Iwant to thank Mitch Evans forhis opinion on March 11. Iwas also born and raised in Baton Rouge and cannot imagine having Baton Rouge without the historic City Park GolfCourse. When Ifell in love with golf,City Park waswhere I went to practice. When agolfer only has timetoplay nine holes, where do they go? City Park. When agolfer is on alimited budget, where do they go? City Park. When a parent wants to spend quality timewith their child whoislearning golf,where do they go? City Park. When ahigh school or LSU student only has timefor nine holes of golf,where do they go? City Park. When young adults have to pay for their own green fees, where do they go? City Park. Concrete and structures will only create moretrafﬁc and ﬂooding in the area. As Mitch Evans said, it is anine-hole gem and aBaton Rouge oasis. Please keep the historic park the wayitis. Ihave contacted the executive members of BREC and encourage others to do so.

NANCY G. KORA Baton Rouge

City Park golf course a destinationfor many La.Inspiredsection highlighted atrue BatonRouge gem

The article “Baton Rouge’s‘Pit Boss’ in arecent Louisiana Inspired section was indeed inspirational as it acknowledged the talented wheelchair repair technicians, Lynn Serio and Donavan Laiche, and highlighted the unifying goodness of the 35th annual Cajun Classic Wheelchair Tennis Tournament as presented by the Greater Baton Rouge Community Tennis Association. This tournament welcomes morethan 120 of the world’stop professional and amateur wheelchair tennis players representing 20 countries from around the world and 22 states from the U.S., including amateurs from right here in Louisiana. This competition continues to take place right here in Baton Rouge and is a testament to our community’sadvocacy and inclusiveness and arecognition of the incredible resilience, determination and talent displayed by these athletes and coaches, all while breaking down societal misconceptions about disability and uniting behind the common causes of empowerment, competition and celebration.

ROSE L. OLIVIER Baton Rouge

Welcomeback, Columbus

Sometimes Humpty Dumpty can be put back together again

Back in 2020, during thespasm of violence in the wake of the killing of George Floyd,vandals inBaltimore, Maryland, tore down astatue of Christopher Columbus. They shattered the figure of the iconic explorer and tossed the piecesintothe Inner Harbor,including the severed head. That seemedtobring to adecisive end astatue that had stood since 1984. This act of iconoclasm, though, hasa happy ending. Areplica now stands in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, courtesyofaWhite House committed to the memory of the great navigator The assailed statue found afriend in alocal artist and fishermannamed Tilghman Hemsley.Hegot diverstofish outthe pieces, and then his son, Will Hemsley,set aboutcreating areplica,a painstaking,expensiveeffort. Columbus is worth it. Hisstatueshave been afrequenttarget of protestersand his honorary day has beendowngraded to ashotgun marriage with Indigenous Peoples Day,afaux holiday meant as a rebuke to Columbus and all his works.

The famous explorer is hardly the monster of the left’simagination. There’snodoubt that he was ﬂawed and aproduct of his time, a15thcentury that was red in tooth and claw Columbus was wrong on afundamental question, thinking that he’d discovered Asia, when he hadn’tcome close. He enslaved natives and could be highhanded, although he wasn’texceptionally cruel by the standards of the day.The devastation of native populations wasa terrible tragedyowing to the spreadof disease, not deliberate policy.

His worst failing was that he was an abysmal administrator.Atone point, Columbus was sent back to Spain in chains to answer for his misgovernance

The other side of the ledger is truly epic. How many people have played acentral role in knitting together two hemispheres, and doing it at considerable personal risk?

What Columbus pulled off wasthe equivalent, in today’s terms, of travel-

ing to Marsina jerry-rigged spacecraft, without proper navigation or anysense of whatmight await on the Red Planet.

Right before Columbus made landfall during his ﬁrst voyage,the crew of the Santa Maria was ready to mutiny; he came closetohavingtoturn around.

After making landfall in theBahamas Columbus barely made it back to Europe. Repeatedlyhit by brutalstorms, he tossedabottle overboard with adescription of what he hadfound in case he didn’tmakeit.

Hisfeats of navigationand exploration were extraordinary; he,and other explorers of his era, catalyzed advances in map-making and geography; andhe madeanoutsizedcontribution to forging the Atlantic bridge between Europe andthe Americas that was one of the keystothe creation of the modern world

The maritime historian Lincoln Paine writes, “This era was unprecedented not only because extraordinary ﬂoods of people, ideas and material wealth, as well as ﬂora,fauna andpathogens, were unleashedaround the world, but be-

cause Europeans were for theﬁrsttime in the vanguard of world change.” It is this epochal development considered adisasterbythe woke left —thatisatthe root of thecampaign to dethrone, andevendecapitate, ChristopherColumbus.

Sincethe inception of cities,there have been statues to honor heroes and to establishthe valuesand history that define aplace. These choices are fraught with meaning —the public displayofahistorical figure in marble isn’t merely adecorative elementina park or trafficcircle, but astatement about whoweare.

This is whythe restoration of the Columbus statue is so gratifying. In this instance, an act of destruction carriedout by revolutionaries seeking to change ourpublic landscapeand the story we tell about ourselves has been resisted andreversed.

For now, Christopher Columbus is together again andhonored on theWhite House grounds.

Rich Lowry is on X, @RichLowry

Nation’s leadersare stuckina time warp

Economist John Maynard Keynes once remarked, “Practical men,who believe themselves to be quiteexempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of somedefunct economist.” The wry commentary eventuallycurdled into ironic prophecy, as Keynes became one of those defunct economists. His prescription for countercyclical stimulus mutated into abelief that government spendingwas a kind of perpetual motion machine: Since spending creates jobs and jobs create spending, youcould fuel an increasinglyvirtuous cycle with ever-expanding outlays. This garble led to unnecessary stimulus during post-pandemic recovery and then some unnecessary inflation. Alas, this is common in public policy fights. Expert debates grounded inthe conditions of aparticulartime getfiled down to sound bites in media reports. Years later, half-remembered versions inspire policies that are at best inappropriate to the current moment and,at worst, counterproductive. We’re seeing alot of that now,inpart becausethe Great Recession wasso damaging, its politics so formativefor so many people,that many of them seem stuck in atime warp.

Nutrition Assistance Program, stronger protection for unions, tighter utilityrate regulation paired with expanded subsidiesand,ofcourse, a“root causes” approach to public safety. There are some standard technocratic transportation ideas, such as congestion pricing and some vague gestures toward economic development, but theanimating logic is pure Democratic SocialistsofAmerica: make life harder for landlords, bigbusinesses and afﬂuent taxpayers, and easier for those at the bottom.

urban core. Meanwhile, making life harder for landlords will discourage developers, who are reeling from higher interest rates and lower rents. They’re already pretty discouraged: In 2019, developers pulled permitsfor 5,777 units of multifamily housing. In 2025? It was 1,410.

Facebook,Instagram and WhatsApp are running content very harmful to children. So said ajury in NewMexicothat just slappedtheir owner, Meta, with a$375 millionﬁne.The state accused the company of spreading pornographic imagesand helping adults contact vulnerable children. Meta faces thousands of suits, but in alandmark case decidedinCalifornia, the company wastoldtopay 20-yearoldplaintiff KaleyG.M. $4.2 million in combinedcompensatory andpunitive damages. Kaley blamed its products on avariety of mental health issues, including depression and dangerous distress over her body shape. All the abovechargesring true, but large remedies for reducing the hazards through legislationand suits seem almost impossible.The webisalot biggerthaneventhe media giants. There will always be operators spreading the nastiest content, and tech-savvy users, including adolescents, will be able to ﬁnd it.

Meanwhile, a$375 millionﬁne is arounding errortoMeta, whose revenuesinone recentquartertotaled 160 timesthatamount. The companyhas just unveiled anew stockoptionplanthatcould hand outdollars in the hundreds of millions to topexecutives if theyhit steep growth targets. With that kind of incentive, how picky do youthink Meta execs will be about content drawing viewers?

Whatmakes it so hard to protect young people fromdamaging content is social media’s addictive pull. The platforms observe what keeps youengaged and keep sending youmoreofthe same type of content. That’s why my feeds arefull of videos showing dogs being rescued.

Forteen girls worriedabout their looks, as they’ve always been, the platforms’ barrage of content portraying unusually perfect young bodiesexposes them to hurtful comparisons. Some pictures aren’teven of real females. And some that are have been very muchdoctored Suchcontent promotesobsessive media use amongteens, according to arecent study by the Journalofthe American Medical Association. The messages fuel humiliationand anxiety andcan triggereating disorders.

Aworthy goal, one might say, and if it’sa mite optimistic, well, she can trim it back when she getsthe job.But theproblem with her platform is not that it’s too focused on working families who are struggling with affordability. The platform feels designed for adifferentera, when D.C. was booming, and the only question was how to manage that growthand distribute thefruitsofthe boom.

If elected, Lewis George will learn the samelesson as Mamdani, only more so: Youcannot govern a2026 city with 2016 ideas. They are not the only ones who need to learnthat lesson.

Take California’sbillionaire wealth tax referendum,which assumes that most of the billionaires will obediently stick around to fork over 5% of their assets. Given the size of the tax, that would have been adubious notion even 10 yearsago, but it’s much more dubious in theZoom era, when it’seasier to relocate or keep an eye on things remotely No one should be surprised that some of the state’slargest taxpayers have already left or made plans to leave, for lessonerous jurisdictions.

It’snot easyfor parents to rein in children’ssocial media use in asocietyswimming in technology andthose cool delivery systems, but theycan try.I’m always surprisedtosee family dinners at restaurants where childrenare engaged with tablets, offintheir ownworld. Many otherwise good caregivers encourage use of these devices to keep childrenoccupied and out of their way.

The best schoolsare banning tablets and phonesintheir classrooms.Theyoften store the devices on the way in andgive them back as the students leave. Some parents make this harderbydemanding the ability to contact their childrenatany time in the day. The schoolstellthem that the main ofﬁcecan be called in the event of an emergencyand the student taken out of class. Bear in mind thatfor centuries, parents didn’thave24/7 access to children at school or outatplay. Earlier generations somehow survived.

In my beloved home of D.C., democratic socialist JaneeseLewis George is running amayoral campaign that you might call “Mamdani Lite”: half the charisma and one-thirdfewer freebies than the classic version. Awise adjustment, given that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has already retrenched because of legislative opposition and asizable budget gap. Nonetheless, she’sstill got plenty of ambitions. Lewis George, whohas a history of pro-tenant, anti-landlord politics, wantsD.C. to beef up theTenant Opportunity to Purchase Act,expand the ﬁrst-time home buyer program and invest in public housing. She promises auniversal child care beneﬁt,free bus rides for people in the Supplemental

Today’sD.C. is in adifferent position. Sincethe pandemic, rising crimeand remote work shifted housing and ofﬁce demand toward thesuburbs. Though crime has fallen, President Donald Trump’sfederal workforce cuts dealt thecity another blow.D.C.’sofﬁce vacancy rate stands at 18.1%, and rents are stagnant; wage and job growth trail the national economy; and the housing market has weakened compared to the Virginia suburbs.

Glen Lee, the district’s chief financial officer,recently notified theD.C. Council that revenue growth is down sharply andis“estimated to be at or below the rate of inflation for the foreseeable future.”

Taxhikes, you say? Or perhaps cut police spending now that crime is down? Unfortunately,D.C. is an unusually small city,which makes it easy for taxpayers andbusinesses to decampfor thesuburbs when things get tough. Any declineinpublic order —orincrease in taxes or commuting costs —could prove catastrophic for the already-struggling

In case you thinkI’m beating up on theleft too much, let’stake the right’s obsession with wokeness. That’san obsession Ishared —five years ago, when people were shouted down or fired everywhere you looked. It seems quaint today,asinstitutions race to dismantle their diversity,equity and inclusion initiatives, right-wing influencers openly embrace antisemitism and thecancellation artists are reduced to shouting at each other on Bluesky

Nor do voters seem to care much. Republican WinsomeEarle-Sears hit transgender issues hard in the2025 Virginia gubernatorial race, which did nothing to revive her campaign.

Perhaps Lewis George will have better luck playing thegolden oldies this time around. Buteven if audiences enjoy her nostalgia tour,governing requires something more contemporary Current problems call for current ideas, not thegreatest hitsofyesteryear Megan McArdle is on X, @asymmetricinfo.

The most manipulative content can be hard on adolescents, but howaddictive is it really? Ichangedsome unhealthy habits without going coldturkey.

Fora while, Iwas hooked on rage-bait. That’scontent designed to make me angry Rage-bait is the gateway to doomscrolling, which is the obsessive search for negative posts. Icouldn’tcount the hours I’ll never getback scrolling through aggravating posts, many of which were basically ﬁctiondisguisedasreal news or real news designedtodistort the reality,which can be worse. But YouTube,owned by Google,has wonderful videos on history,goodthings to read andhow to do stuff. Sure, there’smind rot, but yougenerally must click to getit. As for the less noble platforms, Istill followthe dogrescues.

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com

ega McArdle M n

Rich Lowry

Froma Harrop

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA

Anew statue of Christopher Columbusstands in front of the EisenhowerExecutive Office Building,onthe White House complex in Washington.

Worth talking about

Buzz lends insight into Saints’ thinking on Kamara, Jordan, Davis’ departure

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

PHOENIX When Kellen Moore says there’s a process that has to unfold with Alvin Kamara, the coach hasn’t directly stated the next steps. So what does he mean?

ä Saints notebook. PAGE 4C

Based on buzz from the NFL owners’ meetings this week, a clearer picture is emerging The Saints still would like to address Kamara’s contract, even after deploying a quietly used salary-cap tactic to lower his cap hit from north of $18 million to roughly $10.5 million.

Addressing that could mean asking Kamara to take a pay cut. Or it could mean parting ways entirely, whether through a trade or cutting him. The Saints have yet to decide which path they want to take, preferring to let the draft unfold ﬁrst.

New Orleans had informed Kamara that the team planned to add another running back regardless and the Saints did exactly that when they signed Travis Etienne to a four-year, $52 million contract.

Etienne’s arrival does not preclude the Saints from adding even more at the position in the draft. With the draft another three weeks away that puts the Saints and Kamara in a wait-and-see mode.

Here’s what else the TimesPicayune heard at the three-day event.

Demario clarity

One of the more curious developments of free agency for the Saints was Demario Davis signing a two-year, $22 million deal ($15 million guaranteed) with the New York Jets only for New Orleans to then sign Kaden Elliss for the same average annual salary ($11 million per year), a bigger guarantee ($23 million) and a longer term (three years). Did the Saints prioritize Elliss because they wanted to get younger — Elliss is 30, Davis 37 — and he is viewed as more

ä See SAINTS, page 4C

SPORTS

out

LEFT PHOTO: LSU runner Chris

Stanfield is safe at first after an infield single as Southern first baseman Brant Stewart waits for the throw in the first inning The start of the game was delayed for 30 minutes because of the weather and then again for more than an hour in the bottom of the fourth inning

For a recap of the game, please visit theadvocate.com.

Kiffin: Reliford injury ‘signiﬁcant’

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

College football rosters aren’t as deep as they were four or ﬁve years ago. Coach Lane Kifﬁn offered that observation on March 24 when he said his first LSU roster could have some “depth issues.” Most programs do nowadays.

The transfer portal, Kifﬁn said, spreads talent across the country Which means that it’s now more difﬁcult than it used to be for top teams to overcome injuries like the one that LSU edge rusher Gabe Reliford suffered last week in spring practice when he tore his ACL

“This was a signiﬁcant loss for us,” Kifﬁn said.

Reliford, a former four-star recruit from Shreveport, is a re-

line in 2026. Now the Tigers may have to rely even more heavily on the top two edge rushers they signed from the transfer portal: Princewill Umanmielen from Ole Miss and Jordan Ross from Tennessee.

Other players could emerge, especially because Kiffin said Tuesday that he’d like to rotate defensive linemen so the Tigers can keep up with the up-tempo offenses he expects them to face next season.

But Reliford was one of LSU’s most experienced edge rushers. Now he’ll have to rehab another major injury

“That’s a difﬁcult injury,” Kifﬁn said. “Really challenging for him after missing time last year He was doing a great job.”

Here’s what else stood out on Tuesday from a glimpse into

turner who missed all but four games last season with a torn ro-

tator cuff, and he was expected to play a role on the LSU defensive

ä See LSU, page 3C

New Sugar Bowl president discusses challenges

BY LES EAST

This might appear to be a slow time of the year for the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The next contest, which will be a College Football Playoff semiﬁnal game, is less than 10 months away But there are a whole bunch of other events that involve the Sugar Bowl, and working on the game is closer than it seems. Just ask Riley Busenlener, who was installed as the 68th president of the Sugar Bowl committee on Feb. 5 for a one-year term

“Ever since I’ve been here (33 years), the Sugar Bowl has had an uncanny habit of picking the right person at the right time as president,” Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley said. “That’s very much

“It seems like I’ve been on the job for quite a while,” Busenlener said. “It’s only going to get busier.” Busenlener has been on the committee since 2006, served as a Sugar Bowl officer for the past ﬁve years and was the longtime chairman of the ﬁnance committee.

the case with Riley.”

Hundley cited Busenlener’s legal and business acumen as well as an acute ability to bring clarity to cumbersome negotiations as coming in handy as the Sugar Bowl, like all the CFP-affiliated bowls, has had to play catch-up because the CFP didn’t settle on its format for the 2026 season until January

The Sugar Bowl has been working on more than 50 contracts for the next several years after all CFP-related contracts for the last six years, including those with Allstate as the Sugar Bowl’s title sponsor and even the Caesars Superdome, expired when Indiana defeated

Miami for the 2025 championship at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 19.

As a result, the Sugar Bowl hasn’t ﬁnalized the contracts necessary to formalize next season’s game, which will be the 93rd edition and be played Jan. 15 in the Superdome, though Busenlener assured “It will absolutely happen.” Hundley said the Sugar Bowl and the CFP are “very close” to signing the primary contract.

The CFP bowls agreed to “a letter of intent” for a new six-year deal last fall, but that didn’t guarantee anything until a continuation of the 12-team format and the inclusion of the particular bowls was ofﬁcially

adopted in January

“There are a lot of new contracts that need to be negotiated,” Busenlener said, “so being able to see both the legal side and the business side of these things is, I think, a relatively unique advantage that I have, and can offer a little bit of guidance and meaningful voice in the room.”

The Sugar Bowl, which has served as a CFP quarterﬁnal game during the ﬁrst two years of the 12-team format, will move from its traditional New Year’s night spot to two weeks later on a Friday night.

ä See SUGAR BOWL, page 3C

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU edge rusher Gabriel Reliford, center runs on the field before kickoff against South Carolina on Oct. 11 at Tiger Stadium. Reliford, who missed most of last season with a torn rotator cuff, suffered a torn ACL during spring practice last week.

Kamara Davis

RAINY NIGHT FOR SOUTHERN-LSU

TOP PHOTO: Southern runner KJ White tries to steal second base as LSU second baseman Seth Dardar awaits the throw during the first inning Tuesday night at Alex Box Stadium. White was

on the play

PHOTOS By PATRICK DENNIS

Schaefer chasing an elusive title

Texas coach in his fourth women’s Final Four

BY JIM VERTUNO AP sportswriter

AUSTIN, Texas Texas coach Vic Schaefer has come agonizingly close to winning a national championship. Close as in three previous trips to the Final Four And two title game appearances, including one lost on a last-second 3-pointer The 65-year-old Schaefer is close again. Only he’s over being close in March Madness. He wants to win one. And the Longhorns just may have the team to do it this year Texas returns to the Final Four for the second consecutive year behind dominant three-time All-American forward Madison Booker and dynamic ﬁfth-year point guard Rori Harmon. The Longhorns are chasing the program’s first national championship since 1986, when Texas and Hall of Fame coach Jody Conradt barnstormed through a 34-0 season to become the ﬁrst undefeated title winners.

And for Schaefer, it’s a chance to exorcise some “close” ghosts from the past. The Longhorns (35-3) play UCLA (35-1) on Friday night. Texas handed the Bruins their only loss, 76-65, back on Nov 26. Win again and they’ll play either South Carolina (35-3) or UConn (38-0) in the ﬁnal.

“With this team, how special they are, they’re good enough” to win the championship, Schaefer said. “I keep telling ’em, they’re good enough.”

Games that got away

Schaefer is leading his fourth team at two different schools to the Final Four He won a national title as an assistant at Texas A&M in 2011, but the trophy has been elusive for Schaefer in 21 seasons as a head coach.

His Mississippi State Bulldogs played in the championship game in 2017 and 2018. The 2018 nail-biter against Notre Dame still leaves a bitter taste after the last-second defeat.

And before Texas advanced to the Sweet 16 this year, Schaefer

Texas

said the best team he ever had was his 2019 Mississippi State team that lost to Oregon in the Elite Eight, a matchup in Portland that effectively was a home game for the Ducks.

“That team was better than the two previous teams that played in the national championship game,” Schaefer said. “If we’d have beat (Oregon), we’d have won the national championship, no question.”

After Texas dismantled Michigan 77-41 on Monday night, Schaefer came around to saying his current team might be that good.

“Right now,” Schaefer said, “they’re playing as good as any team I’ve ever had.”

Schaefer left the power program he’d built at Mississippi State for Texas in 2020. A Texas native, he loves to note how he was born in an Austin hospital right next to campus. The hos-

pital has since been torn down, but the Longhorns’ arena is just a short walk from the vacant lot.

Schaefer’s impact in rebuilding Texas was immediate.

In his first season, the Longhorns made a surprising run to the Elite Eight They have made it to at least the Sweet 16 in five of his six seasons. Last season’s run to the Final Four was the program’s first since 2003, when Conradt was still at the helm.

Along the way, he has recruited players like Harmon, the only player in Division I history with more than 1,500 points, 900 assists, 600 rebounds and 350 steals, and Booker, whose allaround skills and playmaking lead Schaefer to call her “a generational talent.”

After Texas beat Michigan, he and Harmon shared a long hug.

“We’ve been together for ﬁve years,” Harmon said. “There’s so much hard work, tears, blood,

sweat, adversity that we go through together.”

Schaefer believes he must win a national championship at Texas, not just compete for one. If he can get to Sunday’s ﬁnal, he’ll face either UConn’s Geno Auriemma, who has won 12 championships, or South Carolina’s Dawn Staley, who has won three. Schaefer recently recalled a meeting of Longhorns coaches across all sports a few years ago. He noted the success that was in the room.

“(Texas) is a place of elite. It’s a place of greatness,” Schaefer said. “There’s 10 head coaches at the table. As I’m sitting at the table, I look around, and there’s ten head coaches that played for the national championship. Ten. Four of them won it. Six of them finished second. I finished fifth in the country and went to the Elite Eight, and I’m not even in the top half in the room.”

Tough love

Schaefer is not easy on his teams. Even this one. At times, he can be downright harsh. Schaefer benched Harmon for most of the fourth quarter in regular-season losses at LSU and Vanderbilt. After an 18-point loss in Nashville on Feb. 12, he went on a postgame rant that questioned his team’s heart and called the Longhorns “probably the softest team I’ve had in years.”

Booker said the team responded to the scolding. Texas hasn’t lost since, and the Longhorns have been in another gear in the postseason. They have won four NCAA Tournament games by an average of 36 points. Booker scored a career-high 40 in a second-round win over Oregon.

“For me and my teammates, we never want to hear our coach say that about us, especially because he does so much for us,” Booker said. “We say we have heart, and I think after that game we kind of turned it around. You know, I hope he sees we have heart now Yeah, like, that will never happen again.”

Mulkey hires former Tennessee assistant Lazo

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Coach Kim Mulkey announced Tuesday that she has hired former Tennessee assistant coach Gabe Lazo to her LSU women’s basketball staff.

Lazo is an ace recruiter who’s spent the last four seasons in the Southeastern Conference two with Mississippi State and two with the Lady Vols. In 2025, he helped Tennessee land its most highly rated freshman class since 2017. That group, which ESPN said was the second-best haul in the country, featured three McDonald’s All-Americans: guards Mia Pauldo, Deniya Prawl and Jaida Civil Lazo, a Miami native, also helped the Lady Vols sign 6-foot3 forward Oliviyah Edwards the second-best recruit in the 2026 class, according to ESPN

“Gabe will be an outstanding addition to our staff,” Mulkey said in a statement. “He has been an invaluable member of two SEC staffs with an unbelievable ability to teach the game and recruit the best players in the country.” Mulkey had two openings to fill on her staff this offseason because one of her former assistants, Gary Redus, accepted the Rutgers head coaching job on March 8. Daphne Mitchell, a former Baylor assistant who followed Mulkey to LSU in 2021, joined Redus’ staff.

During his two-year stint at Mississippi State, Lazo helped coach Sam Purcell land nationally ranked freshman and transfer classes In 2025, Purcell said he expects Lazo to become a head coach someday Lazo, he said, was “a major part” of why Tennessee signed one of the nation’s best freshman classes that year

“He’s a big, strong dude, but he’s a teddy bear inside,” Purcell said. “And his life and where he’s been man, he can relate to a lot of kids. And he has a passion and energy for life that sets him apart from other people.

“He’s just an absolute workhorse. He gets after it, and when you got those ingredients, it makes for a special person, and that’s why he’s doing a special job.”

Lazo played college basketball at Florida International and Barry University from 2004-08. He started his coaching career in the high school ranks, then made stops as an assistant at FIU, Stony Brook and George Washington.

“Gabe will impact our program at the highest level,” Mulkey said, “and his unmatched work ethic will lead to great results on the court and on the recruiting trail. It doesn’t matter if Gabe is out recruiting or coaching on the ﬂoor because the contributions he will make toward our program will be signiﬁcant.”

Lazo resigned from his job at Tennessee on Friday. Under sec-

LSU coach Kim Mulkey walks onto the court for the first-round NCAA Tournament game against Jacksonville on March 20 at the PMAC.

ond-year coach Kim Caldwell, the Lady Vols ﬁnished the 202526 season with only 16 wins — the fewest in the program’s NCAAera history They drew a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to No. 7 seed NC State in the ﬁrst round.

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

Pelicans center Jordan finalist for best teammate

New Orleans Pelicans center DeAndre Jordan is one of 12 ﬁnalists for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.

The award recognizes the NBA player deemed the best teammate based on selﬂess play, on- and offcourt leadership as a mentor and role model to other players, and commitment to the team.

Jordan is in his ﬁrst season with the Pelicans.

“He’s an extension of our staff,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said earlier this season. “Maybe I should put him on staff. He’s got a great voice. Wisdom. The guys respect him. So it’s like having another coach out there on the ﬂoor.”

The award, which began in the 2012-13 season, is named after former Rochester/Cincinnati Royals’ Jack Twyman and Maurice Stokes.

Bulls waive guard Ivey after anti-LGBTQ+ comments

SAN ANTONIO The Chicago Bulls waived guard Jaden Ivey on Monday in the wake of anti-LGBTQ+ comments and remarks about religion he made in videos on his Instagram account.

“They proclaim Pride Month in the NBA,” he said “They proclaim it. They show it to the world. They say come join us for Pride, for Pride Month to celebrate unrighteousness.They proclaim it on the billboards. They proclaim it in the streets. Unrighteousness. So how is it that one can’t speak righteousness? How are they to say that this man is crazy?”

Coach Billy Donovan said the Bulls have employees from “all different walks of life” and Ivey’s comments don’t reﬂect the values of the organization.

Florida 7-9 center Rioux to enter transfer portal

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The world’s tallest college basketball player is on the move.

Florida’s Olivier Rioux, a 7-foot-9 center from Canada and the most popular athlete on campus, announced Tuesday he is entering the transfer portal. The portal ofﬁcially opens April 7.

Rioux played sparingly in two years with the Gators, redshirting as a true freshman during the team’s national championship season and then getting on the court in mop-up duty this past season. He played 15 total minutes, ﬁnishing with seven points, six rebounds and an assist.

“After taking time to reflect on my journey and what’s best for my future, I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal,” Rioux wrote in an Instagram post.

NFL taps Seahawks to be featured on ‘Hard Knocks’ SEATTLE The Seattle Seahawks will appear on the HBO show “Hard Knocks” ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the Seahawks nor the NFL had formally announced the agreement to have the team on the league’s training camp documentary The NFL’s behind-the-scenes show is in its 26th year

The Seahawks didn’t have to participate in “Hard Knocks” for many years because of a rule giving a team the option if they made the playoffs each of the previous two seasons. That rule was changed a year ago.

Seattle has a handful of intriguing storylines ahead of the 2026 season.

Jaguars to play home games in Orlando during 2027

The Jacksonville Jaguars are going to Disney World.

The Jaguars will play most of their 2027 home games in Orlando after NFL owners rubber-stamped a proposal Tuesday that has been years in the making and essentially a done deal for months.

Owners voted unanimously at the league’s annual meetings in Arizona to allow the team to temporary relocate next year’s home slate during the ﬁnal stages of a $1.4 billion stadium renovation. Jacksonville started searching for a

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By TONy GUTIERREZ

head coach Vic Schaefer celebrates after beating Michigan during the Elite Eight on Monday in Fort Worth, Texas.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU golf represented again at Augusta amateur

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

For the sixth straight year, LSU

will be represented in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

LSU sophomore Rocio Tejedo from Castellon, Spain, and signee Raegan Denton of Adelaide, Australia, will tee it up Wednesday in the event, which has rapidly risen to become one of the premier events in women’s amateur golf since starting in 2019.

“It probably is” the biggest, Tejedo said. “It’s a different tournament. They treat us so nicely, and it’s a dream to be able to walk around Augusta.”

The 2025 Southeastern Conference freshman of the year, Tejedo is trying to break through to the final round at Augusta for the first time after missing the 36-hole cut in her first two appearances.

“I’m very excited,” said Tejedo, who qualified by being one of the top 30 non-Americans in the world amateur rankings at No. 47 overall. “It’s always nice to get an invitation, because you have to keep working every year to stay on top.”

Tejedo said she is going into this Augusta National Women’s Amateur determined to have a differ-

ent mindset.

“You can get a lot of pressure in your head,” Tejedo said. “That’s kind of what happened to me in past years. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is the most important tournament that I’ve ever played, I want to do well.’ But in the end, you’re just playing golf.

“I think that’s what I’m going to do differently this time. I enjoy every year I play but want to take a different perspective.”

Denton, ranked 43rd in the world, signed with LSU in November and will enroll this fall. Making her first appearance in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Denton has had eight victories the past two years, including three straight to end 2025 and start 2026.

Tejedo tees off Wednesday at 7:12 a.m Denton is schedule to start at 7:46 a.m.

Tejedo is the fifth LSU player to compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Older sister Carla (now on the LPGA Tour) played in 2023; Ingrid Lindblad from 2021-24; and Latanna Stone from 2022-24. Lindblad and Stone were co-runners-up in 2022. Former LSU golfer Kendall Griffin also played in 2023. The 72-player field will contest

rounds at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia, near Augusta, on Wednesday and Thursday The

on Thursday at

LSU

Continued from page 3C

LSU’s fourth spring practice and a news conference with Kifﬁn The on-ﬁeld session was open to reporters for roughly half an hour.

Handling tempo

One of the pass rushers who could carve out a role next season is Lamar Brown, the former University High star and top-ﬁve national recruit who signed with the Tigers in December

Brown has not enrolled at LSU, so he isn’t practicing. But on Tuesday, he was spotted on the sideline, watching as the rest of the defensive linemen begin to condition themselves against Kiffin’s uptempo offense. Kiffin said after the ﬁrst day of practice that the group had fatigued quickly “I thought it was better (today),” Kiffin said Tuesday “I thought their mindset was better.”

Sometimes fatigue can lead to fights. The Tigers had “like six” of them in one of their first three sessions, Kiffin said, but none on Tuesday, and that’s a sign that things are slowly improving in the

trenches.

“Up front has a long ways to go,”

Kifﬁn said, “and that was apparent today But I like that because we’re giving them the hardest tempo they’re going to see all year already.”

Kiffin on Will Wade

Kiffin said Tuesday that he’s talked to new LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade.

Wade is beginning his second tenure with the Tigers. He was ﬁred in 2022 amid an investigation into NCAA recruiting violations and rehired on Thursday after a two-year stint at McNeese and a one-year run at NC State.

“They break up,” Kiffin said, “and then he makes the decision to come back. To me, it says a lot about LSU.”

Both Kifﬁn and Wade took controversial jumps from one job to another Kiffin left his Ole Miss team shortly before it began its College Football Playoff run last season, and Wade left after only one year with the Wolfpack. Both coaches were booed and jeered at airports before they boarded ﬂights to Baton Rouge.

Kifﬁn said he knows that Wade faced “judgment” for his decision

to return to LSU, so he offered him some encouragement.

“Everything is everybody’s story,” Kifﬁn said. “They got one life to live. And what they want to choose to do and what they believe their story is after they get the best information they can from the people that are closest to them, and they make their decisions.

“And then, in my opinion, it’s that person’s job to go prove that decision right.”

No spring game

During his tenure at Ole Miss, Kifﬁn ditched the program’s annual spring game because opposing teams could use it to scout players who may enter the transfer portal.

Now, for the ﬁrst time in the last few years, the portal won’t reopen in the spring, but LSU still won’t play a traditional spring game Kiffin confirmed that fact Tuesday and said he isn’t even sure how he’ll structure his team’s remaining 11 practices.

“I kind of look at that as it goes,” Kifﬁn said, “and instead of being completely set — like how many plays, how many scrimmages, how much tackling — just kind of continue to get a feel for the team and how they’re developing.”

SUGAR BOWL

Continued from page 1C

“It’s not a holiday and it will be a Friday,” Busenlener said. “So to attract people to the game from either our community or the visiting schools, they will have to ﬁnd time to take off work and travel to watch a gamem and that presents a challenge after the general football season is over

“People have done Christmas and they’ve done New Year’s, and New Orleanians have already started Carnival. So it’ll be a challenge to keep people’s minds on football and try to attract them to the game on a Friday evening in the middle of January.”

The trade-off is that the game will have the attraction of producing one of the two participants in the championship game 10 days later in Las Vegas.

Busenlener’s tenure also coincides with groundwork for the Sugar Bowl’s next turn as host of the CFP title game on Jan. 24, 2028.

“It won’t happen under my tenure as president,” Busenlener

said of the championship game, “but we’re working as a group to make sure that we get all of the prerequisites in line and everything taken care of, so that the transition happens and there’s no problem between the presidents or our organization pulling off a world-class event.”

Busenlener is active in the community, having served on numerous boards, including that of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana, which serves him well as the Sugar Bowl continues to sponsor and host numerous prep and other youth events.

“I know that sports in a young person’s life can really help them feel a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose and help form who they may be in future years,” Busenlener said.

Busenlener’s father John has been a member of the Sugar Bowl Committee since 1984 and served as the organization’s president in 2001-02.

“It’s a nice thing and it’s both personally and professionally rewarding,” Busenlener said, “but also it’s great to see the smile on his face and a little bit of pride.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, left, and running back

Kewan Lacy hold the trophy after beating Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 in the Caesars Superdome.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU defensive tackles Deuce Geralds, center and Richard Anderson, right, prepare to run a drill at spring practice

LSU’s practice facility

DUI case.

Woodstoseektreatment, pleadsnot guilty to DUI

BY MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

ORLANDO,Fla. Tiger Woods said Tuesday he’ll step away and seek treatment,daysafter hisvehicle crashed in Florida and he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the inﬂuence.

“This is necessary in order for me to prioritize my well-being and work toward lasting recovery,” he said in apost on the social-media platform X. Woods pleaded not guilty in his driving under the inﬂuence case in Florida on Tuesday,hoursafterasheriff’s reportsaidhehad pain pills in his pocket andshowed signs of impairment at acrash last week. The online court docket for MartinCounty,Florida, showed Woods enteredawritten plea of notguilty and planned to waive hisappearance during an arraignment hearing next month.

Woods’ eyes were bloodshot and glassy,his pupils dilated, and he had opioid pills on him when interviewed at the scene of the crash according to the arrest report re-

leased by the Martin County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

Woods’movements were slow andlethargic, hewas sweating as he talked to deputies and told them he had taken prescription medication earlier in themorning, according to the report. Woodstold deputies he had been looking at his phoneand ﬁddlingwiththe radio before he clipped atruck in front of him, thereport said.

Deputies found two white pills, which were identiﬁed as the opioid hydrocodone used to treat pain, in hispocket, thereport said.

When asked by adeputy whether he took any prescription medications, Woods said,“Itake afew.”

Woods’ defense attorney,Douglas Duncan, didn’trespond to an email andphone call after the plea was entered on Tuesday

The golfer was traveling at high speeds on abeachside, residential road on Jupiter Island when his Land Rover clipped the truck and rolled onto its side, according to the sheriff’sofﬁce.

Thetruck had $5,000 in damage, accordingtothe report.

The truckdriver and another person helped Woodsout of his vehicle, withthe golfer needing to climb outfromthe passenger side. No one was injured.

During aﬁeld sobriety test, deputies noticed Woods limping and thathehad acompression sock over his right knee. The golfer explained he hadundergone seven back surgeries and over 20 leg operationsand that his ankle seizes up while walking. Woods, who was hiccupping during thequestioning, continuously moved his head during one of thesobriety tests and deputies hadtoinstruct himseveral times to keep his head straight, thereport said.

“Based on my observations of Woods, howheperformed the exercises andbased on my training, knowledge, and experience, I believed that Woods normal facultieswereimpaired,and he was unable to safely operatethe motor vehicle,” thedeputy wrote after thetests.

Woods, 50, agreed to aBreathalyzertestthatshowednosigns of alcohol,but he refused aurine test, authorities said. He was arrested and released on bail eight hours later

Woods, whohas been involved in manycrashes over the years, is charged with driving under theinﬂuence withpropertydamage and refusal to submit to alawful test. He is scheduled for arraignment April 23.

Jaguarscoach happyEtienne wasabletocashinwithSaints

BY MATTHEW PARAS andRASHAD MILLIGAN Staff writers

PHOENIX —Liam Coen can sympathize with Travis Etienne‘s revelation that his last name is pronounced like “achan” and not “ETN,” as the Jacksonville Jaguars coach and so many others called the newNew Orleans Saints running back over theyears. Growing up, Coen heard plenty of “lieums” instead of “lee-em.” And he commonly sees his last name spelled“Cohen,” even as recently as this month when he noticed it was wrong on agolﬁng trip itinerary

“I can kind of at least understandwhere he’scoming from,” Coen said withagrin Coen indicated he was not only happy to see his former player embrace the change but also to see Etienne land afour-year,$52 million contract with the Saints. Etienne’sdeparture meant the Jaguars had to replace their startingrunning back, but that didn’tstop Coen from enjoyingthe one season they had together. In Coen’s ﬁrst year with the Jaguars, Etiennehad a bounce-back season with 1,107 yards rushingasJacksonvillewent 13-4.

“He was apro’spro forus,” Coen said. “I think he took on the challenges of what we brought in as acoaching staff theright way.Heformed areally good relationship with Chad Morton, ourrunningbacks coach, but also with some of the players on our team. He got some captain votes in preseason.

“I’m very appreciative of what he was able to do for us this season.For him to be abletogoback home, get paid,change his family’sfuture and himself, that’srewarding for me.”

Italyrights

The New Orleans Saints announced the franchisehas been grantedinternational marketing rights in Italy,the latestaddition to the NFL’s GlobalMarkets Program. This is theSaints’ secondinternational territory within the initiative. France was given to the Saints in 2023.

The Saints are joined by the Cleveland Browns in having access tothe Italian market.

Tigerdominating Masterschatter for thewrong reason

SAINTS

SAINTS NOTEBOOK

Saintsowner GayleBenson recently visited the Italianarea,where shemet with Pope Leo XIV at theVatican on March 23.

New Orleans is the only NFL franchise with rights in France. FromMarch 25-27, Benson, quarterback TylerShough and offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga took atrip to France to promote theteam’sgame in the country this upcoming season.

Backup center

TheNew OrleansSaints understood Luke Fortner likely wasgoingtoleave in free agency

Theydidn’tnecessarily anticipatehim staying in the NFC South.

“TogotoCarolina in the division, Iwas alittle bummed on that part,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “But he’sgoing to do areally good job.Heobviously played areally valuablerolefor us.”

It’sa role the Saints still have to ﬁllfor nextseason. After Fortner signed aoneyear,$2.75 million deal to join the Panthers, New Orleans hasaholeatbackup center —a positionthathas becomevery important to the black andgoldoverthe last two years.

Fortner,whomthe Saints acquiredlast year in apreseason trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, ended up starting 10 games in place of an injured Erik McCoy

.McCoy is healthy now, but he has missed 14 games since 2024. The Saintsknow theyneed a contingency plan.

So,what are they going to do?

“Wedohave some guys who play the guard positionthathaveplayedfor us thelast year,year-and-a-half that could probablytransition intocenter,” Moore said. “We’ll give those guys opportunities throughthe offseason.”

CurrentSaintsguards Torricelli Simpkins and Cesar Ruiz are among the players who have experience playing center if McCoy goes down.

EmailMatthew Paras at matt.paras@ theadvocate.com

Tiger Woods is taking up all of the attention in golf with the Masters approaching. That’snot always agood thing. Woods has been the center of golf’s universe his entire professional career, if not longer,as one of thefew athletes whonot only lived up to his potential but also surpassed it. That hasn’t changed, even with him having not competed in aserious tournament in 20 months.

Toxicology reports indicated five medications in his system when he was found asleep behind the wheel of his running car in 2017. Woods didn’tknow where he was or howhegot there. At one point, apolice officer told Woods his shoe was untied. Woods fumbledwith the laces when the officer said: “It’s your other shoe that’suntied. Now that one is, too.”

ä April 9-12. ESPN,AMAZON PRIME Doug Ferguson

Anditdoesn’t matter whether he plays in the Masters. Woods was planning to be at Augusta National, anyway He was scheduled to appear with Masters chairman Fred Ridley on Sunday evening to celebrate the opening of “The Patch,” the refurbished municipal course where Woods’ design ﬁrm wasasked to build a short course. Then there’sthe Masters Club dinner Tuesday night, held exclusively forMasters champions since 1952. No one wants to miss that.

Does he go? Should he go?

These are uncomfortable questionsconsuming the Masters, thetournament golf fans look forward to morethan any other because of thefamiliarity of Augusta National and because it will have been 263 days since thelast major In golf, Georgia is always on themind.

At stakefor Woods is no longer aMasters green jacket or any other trophy.Now it’sabout his legacy That probably won’t change as agolfer.Even after returning following his sudden and shocking downfall in 2009 —sordid details of serial adultery that were exposed when his SUV crashed into aﬁre hydrant fans ﬂocked to watch him because he’sTiger Woods.

The other three car incidents —all in the last nine years raised adifferent set of questions.

Continuedfrom page1C

versatile at this stage of their careers? Not exactly

The Saints initially explored the idea of an Elliss reunion in addition to Davis coming back. But theSaintswere leftwith the impression that Davis simply preferred New York, withNew Orleans’ offer not that different from theJets.

The Saints then pivoted to focus fully on Elliss, raising their offer to meet what Elliss wanted.

Publicly and privately,the Saints and Davis have harbored no ill will after thesplit. The sides released lengthy statements about gratefulness for their eight years together,while Davis told reporters in New York that he felt his “mission personally was alittle incomplete” with the Jets.

“This wasn’tahappenstancesituation,” said Davis, who is on his third stint with the Jets, the team that draftedhim. “This was achoice, knowing who Iamand whatI am called to be. Iknow what I’m stepping into this timearound. Iknow whatI’m bringing into alocker room. Iknow Iplay the game at an elite level.”

Camstickingpoint

Likewith Kamara, the Saints are content waiting out the situation with Cam Jordan. New Orleanswould be open to areturn, even if the team drafts ayoungpass rusher.There will be atime when the Saints need to know Jordan’schoice so they can moveforward, but that’sfar from ahard deadline.

On apodcast with TerronArmstead, Jordan said he has a“set value” related to money and his role. The Saints don’t believe that money,inthis case, is what is holding up the deal. Instead, the issue could be related tothe role.

If the Saints draft Rueben Bain with the eighth pick, that seemingly would move Jordan fromthe team’s third edge rusher to its fourth. Jordan has said he wants to continue chasing history with an opportunity to rack up “10, 12, 13” sacks.

Olaveextension

No surprise here, but thereason the Saintsand Chris Olavehave yet to lock up an extension appears to be that the sides don’tagree on the price tag

Four years later,Woods was going nearly twice the 45 mph speed limit on acoastal road outside Los Angeles when his SUVstruck amedian and tumbled downahill. More than 20 surgeries were required on his right leg. Remarkably,he wasnever cited and authorities never sought awarrant fora blood test. The vehicle’sblack box indicated Woods never hit the brakes.

Why?

“All those answers have been answered in the investigation, so you can read about all that there in the police report,” he curtly replied in his first public appearance nine months later.Woods was the master of “no comment” even when he commented. More details emerged from his latest crash Friday in Florida, where Woods wasgoing at a “high speed” when he clipped a trailer being pulled by atruck and his SUVflipped on its side. He wasarrested fordriving under the influence when officers determined he was impaired. In the incident report released Tuesday,Woods told deputies he had been looking at his phone and fiddling with the radio. According to the report, Woods said he had taken his prescription medication that morning the accident time waslisted as 1:15 p.m.—and deputies found twohydrocodone pills in his pocket during asearch.

So much remains unknown except that he spent eight hours in jail Friday forrefusing a urine test and he faces an April 23 court date in Martin County Save foranot guilty plea he entered Tuesday,there has not been aword from his camp, or from anyone else whohas a stake in him

The Masters starts in eight days. Even if Woods is not there, he will be atopic no one can avoid.

Only three receivers averagemore than $35 million peryear,but nine makeatleast $30 million.The Saints haven’tbalked at the latterrange but don’tappear to have gotten there yet. Andthe guarantees are especially relevant to these talks.DespiteOlave playing 16 games last year without suffering a brain injury, the wide receiver’sconcussion history complicates the negotiation. The Saints are willingtotakeonsome risk to payOlave,but notall of it.

Regardless, the Saints want to add another body at his position. There are three notable prospects —Carnell Tate, Jordyn Tyson and Makai Lemon —who have been linked to New Orleans at No.8,but the Saints like the wideout depth in this year’s draftenough that even if they take another position in the ﬁrst round, they feel they can land acontributor afterward.

Rapid fire

n Beyond wide receiver and defensive end, other potential adds over the next few months include acornerback, an interior offensive lineman and arun-stufﬁngdefensive lineman.

n Don’tbesurprised if the Saints add another kicker to compete with Charlie Smyth in training camp. New Orleans was pleased with Smyth’semergence, but the team will explore adding someone to push the incumbent.

n The SaintssignedZach Wilson but might notbedone at quarterback.The plan is to re-sign Hunter Dekkers, thefourth-stringer who spent lastyear as adevelopmental quarterback,oncethe UnitedFootball League wrapsup.

n Bryan Bresee had only two sacks in 2025 after recording 71/2 in 2024, but the feeling is that last year was astep forward forhim in termsofthe rest of his game. That could inform what the team does in termsofthe defensive lineman’sﬁfth-year option, which must be decided by May n Whom the Saints use to replace Alontae Taylor remains to be seen. Internally there’sabelief that safety Julian Blackmon,cornerback Quincy Riley,safety Jordan Howden or even cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry could kick inside to cover the slot. But the latter depends on the Saints drafting another outside cornerback.

n With the quarterback market mostly settled, aside from Aaron Rodgers deciding on his future, the Saints still haven’t received any calls inquiring about retired quarterback Derek Carr

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JASON OTERI

TigerWoods stands by hisoverturned vehicle in Jupiter Island,Fla., on Friday. On Tuesday,Woodsentered anot guiltypleainhis

Woods

Heidbrinkfans11asBrusly defeatsParkview Baptist

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Brusly needed just two pitches to make its mark against Parkview Baptist.

Leadoff hitter Zoe Fabre

knocked aline-drive single to center ﬁeld to startthe game. LillyroseAlbarezthensmasheda two-run homertoleft ﬁeld, giving Brusly an early lead.

From there, Pantherspitcher

Abigail Heidbrink shut down the Eagles to keepBrusly in front the rest of the way.She struck out 11 in seven innings to help Brusly beat Parkview 3-1 at Parkview Baptist on Tuesday

Brusly coach Beau Bouvier said the early offense was crucial to Heidbrink settling in early against atalented Eagles lineup

“That took the pressure off,” Bouvier said. “She could go out there, and if she makes amistake, she makes amistake.”

Heidbrink credited the defense andher teammatesinthe dugout for building her confidence throughout the outing.

“Seeing the dugout get wild for every little play,” she said. “That was aclose game,but abig game all at the same time.”

Brusly (17-5) scored all three of its runs off of Albarez’s offense

She also hit an RBI single in the third inning after Fabre singled and stole two bases

Heidbrink allowed just one baserunner with five strikeouts through three innings butran into trouble in the fourth.

She allowed asingle andwalked two to load the bases with two outs. Heidbrink managed to strike out Parkview’sGrace Aucoin on three pitches to get out of the inning unscathed.

“The preparation goes into it,” Heidbrink said. “Knowing that I’ve seen this happen before and Ican execute it, that’sreally helpful in my head.”

After Heidbrink struck out two in the fifth, the Eagles’ AvaLandry reached first base after beating the throw on an infield single hit to second base. She stole secondto put a runner in scoring position.

Heidbrink forced Addie Young

into an infield popout to end the inning with ashutoutintact Parkview Baptist (22-4) put another runner in scoring positionafter Emmorie Lacy doubled to deep right field with oneout.Heidbrink struck out one batter and then forced aflyout to end thescoring opportunity In the seventh,Claire McDowell got the Eagles on the scoreboard after she homered over the leftfield fence to make thescore3-1 with one out. Heidbrink struck out theensuing batterfor thesecond

PREP REPORT

St. Amant 15, Denham Springs 0 St. Thomas Aquinas 16, Fisher 1 Belle Chasse 13, Riverside Academy1 Lutcher 12, Assumption0 Westminster Christian 13, Highland Baptist 9 Doyle 17, Pine0 Westminster Christian 19, North Central 0 LiveOak 9, East Ascension 3 Hannan 12, Ascension Catholic 7 St. Michael 16, Central Private 2 Monday ParkviewBaptist 6, St. John 2 St. John 000 020 0—2 32 Parkview Baptist 110 400 0—6 70 W—J.Slaughter, L—E.Lacy; Hitters:ST. JOHN: C. Neum (2-2, RBI), K. Bickham (1-2); PARKVIEW BAPTIST:A.Landry(2-, 2Rs),A Young (2-3, 3RBIs)A. Gawlik (1-2,R,RBI) Girls tennis

out. “Whenever Iwent out there to talk to her,Iwanted to do something else, andshe wanted to go withthis pitch,” Bouviersaid. “I trustedher,and we went with it, and it worked out.”

Landrybeat out athrow after she hit agrounder to shortstop to keep the Eagles’ rally alive with a single. Heidbrink forced aﬂyout to endthe comebackand seal thewin “Big-time win,” Bouviersaid. “That’sone of thebest teams around the metro area.”

Area athletes take home statetitles

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Thestate powerlifting meet featured several outstanding BatonRouge-areaathletesshowing out on thebiggest stage.

Lutcher,Episcopal and Live Oak all took home team state titles at the Pontchartrain Center last week in Kenner

Here’sarecap from the Baton Rouge-area winners.

Boys Division I

One of thebest performances of the state tournament came from Live Oak’sDylan Rockett. He totaled1,820 pointsfor ﬁrst place. Rockett ﬁnished ahead of St. Amant’sKent Pearson, who had 1,580. Rockett lifted 675 on the deadlift,benched 480and his best squat was675.

Woodlawn’sMung Lamaplaced ﬁrst in the 132-pound category He ﬁnished with ascore of 1,230, just ahead of EthanAndrews of Southside(1,225).

Joshua Thompson of Dutchtown wonthe 165-poundtitle after he scored a1,690 witha deadlift of 655, bench of 380 and asquat of 655.

Central’sDakota Buhler won the 198-poundstate title with a score of 1,595.

Division II

Lutchertook home ashare of theteam title with Lakeshore with each school totaling 61 points each.The winmarkedthe boys’ second straight state title. Coy Ruiz of the Bulldogs won the198-pound titlewith atotal score of 1,480. He squatted 605 pounds,benched 340and hada deadlift of 535.

Lutcher’sCollin Hastings won the 275-pound statetitle with a score of 1,565, which was five pointsahead of second place. He squatted625 pounds, benched355 and had adeadlift of 595.

Division IV

Episcopal wonthe boys team statetitle with 59 points, ahead of Many High, whichﬁnished with 49 points.

GirlsDivision I

Live Oak took homethe Division Iteam title on the girls side. The Eagles’ Kaila Maher won the 97-pound category with a score of 590. Her best performance came in the squatwitha 250-pound effort.

Brynn Catalano also won an individual title for LiveOak. She wonthe 123-poundclass with a totalscore of 875. Shedeadlifted 360 and also had asquat of 370 to go with abench press of 185.

Jenna Robertson was the third Eagle to winastate title after she wonthe 198-poundclass with a score of 1,020. She had adeadlift of 340, abench of 255 and asquat of 425.

NoemiBlancarte of Denham Springs wonthe 114-pound individual title with ascore of 685. She squatted 280,benched 145 and deadlifted 295.

Zachary’sGabrielle Anthony also wonthe 220-pound category with ascore of 1,030. The winincluded a465-pound squat.

Division II

Lutcher won its19th straight powerlifting team title with atotal of 112 points, ahead of Grant High, which had 92. The Bulldogs hadﬁve athletes winindividual state titles. Avery St. Pierre won the 132-pound classwith930 total points. She ﬁnished with adeadlift of 375, asquat of 360 and a bench of 195.

Danielle Louque ﬁnished ﬁrst in the 148-poundweight class witha 940 total. She squatted 355, deadlifted 355 and had abench press of 240.

Addison St. Pierre took home the 181-pound weight class. Her 220bench,370 deadlift and415 squat totaled 990 points.

Lutcher also had winners in Colbie Mitchell in the 220-pound weight class and Gabriella Bivona in thesuperheavyweight class.

Mitchell squatted 430, benched 235 anddeadlifted 405 fora 1,070 ﬁnish. Bivona squatted 440, benched225 and deadlifted385 fora1,015 ﬁnish.

Ascension Christian 0 Livonia 16, Breaux Bridge 11 Haynes Academy11, AcademyofOur Lady 1 Brusly 3, Parkview Baptist 1

Tuesday Parkview Baptist 4, Dunham 1 Singles 1. Jordan Hurt (PBHS) def. Bella Dupont (Dunham) 6-2,6-2 2. Campbell Banks (Dunham) def. Peyton Kennard (PBHS) 6-0, 6-0 Doubles 1. Anna ClaireMcCulloch/Callie Ingalls (PBHS) def. Elizabeth Ortiz/Bailey Adams (Dunham) 6-3, 7-5 2. Madeline Duplechin/EllianaPino(PBHS) def. Kate Adams/Ivanna Bonkachi (Dunham) 6-1, 6-0 3. Bri Trosclair/LexiPowell (PBHS) def. Tori

Turner/Ivanna Bonkachi (Dunham)6-4, 7-6(3)

Boys tennis

Tuesday Parkview Baptist 4, Dunham1 Singles 1. Jackson Belcher (PBHS) def. Parker Allee (Dunham) 6-0, 6-0

2. Wesley Bennett (PBHS) def. Hayden Cowen(Dunham) 6-0,6-0 Doubles 1. Gianni Pastore/EddieRedding (PBHS) def. Chris Oliver/Lucian Pham (Dunham) 6-1, 7-6(4) 2. Logan Parker/Cameron Leblanc (PBHS) def. Bennett Lasseigne/Cooper Eeingenburg (Dunham) 6-4, 6-3 3. Adam Nesheiwat/Jackson Simpson(Dunham) def. Frederic Smith/Owen Valnerdge (PBHS) 6-4,6-3 Gymnastics

Saturday At BRHS Teams: 1. St. Joseph Academy230.45, 2. Dutchtown 227.60,3.Prairieville 220.40

Level3 All-Around: 1. Landon LeBoeuf, SJA, 38.9, 2. Emma Freeman, Dutchtown, 38.65, 3. Kali Crochet, Plaquemine, 37.9

Level4 All-Around: 1. SophiaMarionneaux, SJA, 38.85, 2. Hannah Hernandez,Dutchtown, 38.6, 3. Audrey Lenguyen. SJA, 38.35 Level8 All-Around: 1. Aleigh St. Romain, SJA, 37.5, 2. Sue Ash, SJA, 36.8, 3. Hallie Westerhaus, Prairieville,36.3.

TheKnights’ Laton Weng won the 123-pound category with 895 points. Remie Wimberleyadded to Episcopal’sbig day with awin in the132-pound category with 915 points.

Daniel Lindsey finished with 1,270 points to winthe 148-pound category for Episcopal. He had asquat of 480, benched250 and deadlifted 550.

Slaughter Community Charter had alone winnerinNoah Shotwell. He wonthe 242-pound state title with atotal score of 1,625.

Division V

AscensionChristianhad three individual winners in DivisionV CalebRobbins won the 114-pound category with ascore of 960.

ChristianGuitreau wonthe 123-pound category by a10-point margin. He finished with 860, over histeammate Nathan Debenedetto, who had 850. Guitreau squatted325, benched 230and deadlifted 330.

Noah Braud wonthe 148-pound title with ascore of 1,175. His best performance cameinthe deadlift with ascore of 480 pounds.

Justin Woods of Catholic-PC also won the 132-pound category with ascore of 1,065.

Division III

Doyle saw twowinners in the Division III slate.

OliviaWhite wona shareof the97-poundweightclass title with ascore of 560.Kayla Boudreaux of Mamou High also ﬁnishedwith 560. White deadlifted 290, squatted 185 and benched 85.

Harley Lovell won the 181-pound category with ascore of 955. She dominated with a deadliftof405, asquat of 385 and abench of 200.

Division V

St. John’sKennedy Watson and Ellie Rivet split the 123-pound class titlewitheach scoring 630. Watson squatted 250, benched 105 and deadlifted 280. Rivet squatted 250, benched 110and deadlifted 270.

AscensionCatholic’s Caroline Dieztook the 132-pound category with ascore of 700. Shesquatted 275, benched 110 and had adeadliftof315.

CentralPrivate’sAilya Martin ﬁnished with 900 to win the 220-pound class. She squatted 405, benched 210 and had adeadliftof340.

BY LARRYLAGE Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. Aday Mara was on his tiptoes when he helped cut down thenets in Crisler Arena a few weeks ago after awin against rival Michigan State, celebrating Michigan’sBig Tenchampionship.

The 7-foot-3 Spaniard looked around and lamented that he and German center Malick Kordel were the two Wolverineswithout family on the confetti-ﬁlled court.

to experience March Madness in person.

“Having them here is amazing because Ican spend time with them now and if we win it all, I can celebrate with them,” Aday

Mara told TheAssociated Press on Tuesday.“It’s special.”

The Wolverineswill face Arizona on Saturday night and the winner will advance to playConnecticutorIllinois forNCAA Tournament title on Monday night.

played 23 minutesagame— an increase of 10 minutes —and made the most of the opportunity

The Big TenDefensive Player of the Year seta single-season school record with 100 blocks,breaking arecord RoyTarpleyset four decades ago. Thethird-team allconference honoreealso forces opponentstoalter shots or simply not to takethem if they get past other Wolverines.

If Michigan wins two more games in the NCAA Tournament to claim its second national championship and firstsince 1989, Mara’s parents willbe there, and he will be thankful.

Mara

Mara’sparents, formerprofessional basketball andvolleyball players in Spain, have been able to attend just afew gameswhen they traveled to spend Christmas with him.

Javier Mara and Gely Gomez are with their son, staying at his apartment, and plan to join him at the Final Four in Indianapolis

Michigan’s versatilebig man will likelybea pivotal player

He transferred from UCLA last year,seeking alarger role with ateamlackinga true center and found what he was looking for under coach Dusty Mayafter VladislavGoldin and Danny Wolf left to playprofessional basketball.

“Vlad and Danny left so it was agreat place for me,” Mara said.

“Theyhad agreat year last year andwhenI talked with Dusty, I couldtell he is aperson you can trust. Iwas also impressed with his obsession with basketball and with helping his playersimprove.”

Mara started in 37 of 38 games afterstarting in just nine over twoseasons with theBruins and

“There have been so many timesthis year where we’ve been notafraid to be more aggressive thanwenormally are because of theshot-blocking that we have down there,”teammate Yaxel Lendeborg said. “It’skey to our defense.”

Maramakes plays at the other end of the court,too.

He averages nearly 12 points, almostdoubling his scoring average from last season, and had career highs with 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 assistsper gamewithahighscoring, pass-happy team.

“Everyone for the last 10 years has known he’shad talent,” May said. “But how do you unlock that talent? We weren’tsure we could. We did feel like we had thesystem in place where we could maximize what he does well.

PHOTO By APRILBUFFINGTON

Brusly pitcher Abigail Heidbrinkdelivers apitch during agame Tuesday at ParkviewBaptist. Brusly won3-1

Lauren Cheramie BONVIVANT

Bon

In theknow Easter Sundaybrunch:10a.m. to 3p.m. Sunday at The Colonel’s Club, 2857 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge

Curated by chef Chris Motto, the alacarte menu features whipped ricotta with hot honey pimento deviled eggs, lobster bisque, short rib grits bowl, herb-crusted lamp chops, monkey bread and white chocolate raspberry cake.Make areservation at thecolonelsclub. com/restaurant or call (225) 381-1514.

PROVIDED PHOTOByJENN OCKEN

The Colonel’sClub in Baton Rougeisserving an Easter brunch menu with French toast, lobster bisque and more.

Flavors of Louisiana:10a.m. to 4p.m. Sunday,April 26, at Capitol Park Museum, 660 N. Fourth St., Baton Rouge

Anew festival is comingto the city: Flavors of Louisiana. The culinary and cultural event celebrates food, music and community with an “Anything Over Rice” cookoff, tastings, live music and a Louisiana vendor marketplace. Tickets start at $5 for museum members and $10 for general admission, availablefor purchase at www.capitolparkfriends.org/fola. Proceeds support the Friends of the Capitol Park Museum.

Wine andspirits

Tequila pairing dinner:7p.m. to 9p.m. Thursday,April16, at Sullivan’sSteakhouse, 5252 Corporate Blvd., Baton Rouge

This ﬁve-course menu will include apaired tequila cocktail with each course. The menu includes tomatillogazpachowith aJalisco 75, chipotle shrimp with apineapple margarita, mojito-marinated swordﬁsh with ablood moon, prime rib mole enchiladas with atequila mockingbird and tres leches cake with atequila espresso martini. Tickets start at $95 per person, available for purchase at www.sullivanssteakhouse.com/promotions/tequilapairing-dinner-baton-rouge. Newfood,drinksonthe block

RubySlipper,3535 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, has a spring cocktail menu that includes awhipped pineapple mimosa, lavender 75, summer sangria and more.

There’sanew menu at Nino’s 7512 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge, that includesdishes like beets and goat cheese, acaprese sandwich, shrimp cakes and smoked lamb. Visit www.ninos-italian.com/menus for more information. Japanese cheesecakes from Em’sBakery are now available at Pho 97,15540 George O’Neal Road, Baton Rouge.

Sip into spring at Tallulah Crafted Food and Wine Bar 7000 Bluebonnet Blvd., Baton Rouge, withdrinks like the “Ponchatoula Mule,” made with Buffalo Trace,

BREAKING GROUNDS

Anew coffee shop andgrocery in MidCityBR features vintagefurniture,local honeyand more

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Inside Government Street’s newest coffeeand grocery store, every item seems to have astory behind it Las Brujas Coffeeand Grocery soft-opened on March 22 at 3101 Government St., Baton Rouge, in the same building strip as Elsie’s Plate& Pie. Owner David Villa sells coffee andanexpandinginventory of organic grocery productsfrom local businesses.

“Wereally hang our hat on the coffee program and the local grocery program,” Villa said. The interior is composed of a hodgepodge of local art and secondhand itemssourced from Facebookmarketplace,curbside pickups, estatesales and thrift stores. Think vintage, wooden furniture found in your grandmother’s housenext to warm lamplighting and flower arrangements from a BatonRouge flower farm,Mist and Mallow.Shelves hold photography prints, and on the walls hang handstitched fiber artwork.

The “Kid’sCorner” invites little ones to sit down and indulge in the bookshelf,which holds titlesfrom Dr.Seuss and otherslike “Spiderman” and “BabyShark.” The corner is alsohome to familiarcharacters, suchasa vintageGarﬁeld plushie and aHulk Smash action ﬁgure.

Coffee menu

Even thebathroom walls have meaning, bearing ahand-painted mural of ﬂora and fauna native to Envigado, Colombia, whereVilla was born at his family farm,called Las Brujas. He moved to Baton Rouge when he was 1year old, and he got his ﬁrst job at 17 years old at Raising Cane’s.

Behind thecoffeebar,baristas serve amenu of classic drinks like cafe conleche,cappuccinoand lattes. With the soft-opening menu, there arecurrently ﬁve specialty drinks such as themaple cream

Staff report Seafoodmanicotti

STAFFPHOTOSByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Customer Savanah Elfer works on her laptop while dining at Las Brujas Coffee and GroceryonMarch24.

Owner David Villa works behind the coffee bar while making acustomer’s drinkatLas Brujas Coffee and Grocery.

LAS BRUJAS

latte with doubleespresso, local pastured milk and homemade mocha. There are also blended cold brews made with scratch-made syrups.

“All my syrups are made from scratch daily,” Villa said. “I have abouteight more ﬂavors thatwe’re going to start teasing out. Stuff like caramel, five spice. We’ll have seasonalﬂavors like peppermint mocha.”

The beans are air-roasted in aﬂuidized bed of air rather than turning on adrum roaster.Villa said this process roasts the coffee more evenly for acleaner and sweeter taste. He tries to have something for everybody,sothere are multiple alternative milk options, including A2 milk, which is more digestible than traditional milk, Villa said. There’salso organic coconut milk that he makes from scratch and goat milk from Southern Maids Dairy, abusiness basedinFranklinton.

The coffee menu will eventually expand to include more loose-leaf teas, matcha and chai, he said.

Pastries andburritos

Samaj Morrow,owner of Lona Rai’sKitchenand Bakery,supplies gluten-free pastries including peach cobbler mufﬁns, strawberry muffins, double chocolate brownies, banana bread and gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.

Morrow has baked her whole life and started the business in October 2024 after having her daughter whothe business is named after.The bakery’sinception sold chocolate chipcookies and cinnamon rolls, andit’s taken offsince.

Meeting Villa was like serendipity,Morrow said. The two met at the annual White Light Night in Baton Rouge when their booths were next to each other “All of my treats are named after different rock

stars, musicians and artists because that’swhatinspires me,” Morrow said. “I’m a very artistic person,soIuse allthe mediums Ihave to create art, and that’swhat I think of baking.”

Thetransition toLas Brujas Coffee andGrocery was seamless, Morrow said “It waslike everything just kind of fell into place,” Morrow said.“Everything worked so easily,sosmoothly.Weinstantly understood thepassion and the dreams that each other had. From there, it became this.”

Morrow also supplies burritos to Las Brujas, made with candied bacon (orhash browns as avegetarian option), egg and cheese on homemade flour tortillas

Like Villa,Morrow also prioritizesfresh ingredients from farmers in the community.She getsmost,ifnot all, of her ingredients fromthe RedStickFarmer’sMarket or SouthsideProduce.

Localgrocery products

Villa sources goods from businesses and farmers largely in theBaton Rouge community for his grocery inventory.

There’ssourdough bread fromSt. Bruno BreadCo. andacooler filled with dairyproductsfrom Feliciana’sBest Creamery,a family-owned dairyfarm in Slaughter.There’sgrassfed groundbeef from Home PlacePastures, aregenerative,family-ownedfarmin Como, Mississippi.

Once LasBrujas gets the proper permits, Villa will sell bottled wine and beer

“We’re goingtobuild out thebodega side, like the retail, to have more meat, milk,eggs, produce, sourdough bread, honey,maybe grab-and-go meals out of the fridge,” he said.

The space also sells honey from AllenFabre, owner of BatonRouge BeeCo. Fabre started the honey business in 2000, but he’s worked with bees much longer before that through his former job as abee inspector at the DepartmentofAgriculture His honey business is based in Baton Rougewith production hivesinBaton Rouge, Breaux Bridgeand Central.

“I’vealways enjoyed bees,” Fabre said. “Once you start working with them, yourealize howunbelievably magniﬁcent they really are.”

Fabre’shoney is used to make honeysyrup, made from scratchdaily,and there’salso honey bottles for sale on the grocery side.

“It feels great,” Villa said about the opening of Las Brujas. “It’s just everything I’vebeen working toward for thelast 25 years.”

LasBrujas Coffee and Grocery is open 6a.m. to 4p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 7a.m. to 2p.m. Saturday and Sunday.The store is currently closed Monday,but this will eventually change as staff size increases.

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, April 1, the 91st day of 2026. There are 274 days left in the year.This is April Fools’Day Todayinhistory: On April1,1945, American forces launched the amphibious invasion of Okinawa during World WarII. (U.S.forces succeeded in capturing the Japanese island on June 22 after abattle in which more than 240,000 died, including as many as 150,000 Okinawan civilians.)

Also on this date: In 1924, Adolf Hitler was sentenced toﬁve years in prison for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. (Hitler would serve just nine monthsofthe sentence, during which time he completed the ﬁrst volumeof“Mein Kampf.”)

In 1946, amagnitude 8.6

earthquake centered near Alaska’sAleutian Islands triggered atsunamithat pounded the Hawaiian Islands with waves up to 55 feet tall, killing 159.

In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and television beginning in January 1971.

In 1976, Apple Computer wasfounded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.

In 1984, singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father after Gaye intervened in an argument between his parents at their home.

In 2001, the Netherlands becamethe ﬁrst country in the world to legalize samesex marriage.

In 2003, American troops raided ahospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, and rescued ArmyPfc.Jessica Lynch, whohad been held pris-

oner since her unit was ambushed by Iraqi forces on March 23. In 2025, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, in asymbolic protest against President Donald Trump’ssecond-term agenda,wrapped up the longest individualspeech on the Senate ﬂoor.Hebeganhis marathonaddress to the chamber on the evening of March31and concluded25hours and 5 minutes later on the night of April 1.

Today’sbirthdays: Actor Ali MacGraw is 87. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is 76. Actor Annette O’Toole is 74. Filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld is 73. Singer Susan

Boyle is 65. Hockey Hall of Famer Scott Stevens is 62. Political commentator Rachel Maddow is

Continued from page1D

Alatte sweetened with maple syrup is servedupatLas Brujas Coffee and Grocery

STAFF PHOTOSByJAVIERGALLEGOS

Owner DavidVillaposes for aportrait at Las Brujas Coffee and Grocery.

tionisnolongeraccurate.

Dear Miss Manners: Whenvis-

iting my home, friends and relatives sit down and immediately put their feet on the sofa, even though Ihave aleather hassock for resting their feet sittingdirectly in front of the sofa.

Irecently purchased anew sofa in adark blue fabric, as Idid not want to spot-clean after visits. Other chairs are covered in alightercolored fabric. Whilechatting during arecent visit, my niece stood next to achair and put one foot on the seat. Her father was seated on a chair with one foot tucked

under him, and her mother was sitting on the sofawith both feet curled under her They do taketheir shoes off at thedoor,even thoughweare wearingour shoes and tell them they may leave theirson, also. Thecarpets are clean —vacuumed every week and professionally cleaned every two years and therefore should notbeareason for guests to avoidputting their feet on the ﬂoor Other than postingsigns saying, “Feet belong on the ﬂoor, not the sofa,” what must Idotopreserve my

furniture and good humor? Perhaps Iamtoo judgmental as ahost.

Gentlereader: Have you considered garden parties? Miss Manners realizes this only works for half the year,assumes that you have access to agarden and risks people pouring drinks into theshrubbery On theplus side, you get to wear ahat, you can cut all kinds of things up into little bits and serve them as food —and you can go inside and go to bed once it’s too dark to see theguests.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com.

BEST

Continued from page1D

Enchiladas Suizas

n Superior Grill, 2320 Kaliste Saloom Road, Lafayette Enchiladas are probably my favorite thing to order at aMexican restaurant, alongside agood margarita and abasket of chips, of course. This trifecta was particularly delicious out on the patio at Superior Grill, with perfect weather and an atmosphere of people enjoying themselves. Itried Superior’sEnchiladas Suizas this time, and Ithink Ifound my new top order.The chicken inside the tortillas was perfectly diced, cookedand seasoned, and amild tomatillo sauce and blanket of cheeseﬁnished off the dish —with the requisite side of rice and refried beans. It was the perfect lunch forlinger-

BONVIVANT

Continued from page1D

strawberries, lime juice, strawberry puree and ginger beer Trythe new menu items

ing, followed by anap. —JoannaBrown, staff writer

Yakamein

n Street Food Munchies, 6401 Bluebonnet Blvd Baton Rouge

Yakamein is aNew Orleans street food classic abeef soupwith spaghetti noodles, ahard-boiled egg and green onions. (It’sfair to compare it to ramen, but theanalogy maycause you

at Bin77,10111 Perkins Rowe, BatonRouge,like the plancha-seared shrimp and barbecue chicken ﬂatbread.

Smalls Sliders,with multiple locations in the city, has a limited-time slider on the menu:the barbecuebacon

to run afoul of the folks who police these sortsof things). Yakamein is nicknamed “Old Sober” for its effectiveness as ahangover cure. The Creole-Asian fusion dish is traditionally found in neighborhood marketsand food trucks around the Crescent City. In Baton Rouge,it can be found at Street Food Munchies —located, in of all places,the Mall of Louisiana food court. The local version is salty and blisteringly spicy thanks to aliberal dash of dried chilis. There are lots of tender bites of beef in thesoup. If you’re in the mall, it’sanauthentic alternative to Sbarro. Street Food Munchies also sells yakamein out of itsfood truck, which makes stops across East Baton Rouge Parishfrom Perkins Rowe to Zachary

—Timothy Boone, staff writer

jalapeno slider.Pair it with astrawberry swirl shake or strawberry lemonade.

If you have an upcoming food event or akitchen question, emaillauren. cheramie@theadvocate. com. Cheers!

Dear Heloise: Iknow you warn people never to give out their personal information,but since this past Christmas, Ihave been blasted withphone calls from callers who claim to be from somefakegovernmentagency and are checking to see if I’m gullible enough to give out information about my Medicare card. Iusually hang up on them, but not everyone knows that they are scammers. Who should Ireport these callers to in order to stop them? —NaomiL., in Oklahoma Naomi, try the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.FTC.gov You’recorrect —we should never hand out personal information to anyone, but most especially to strangers

over the phone —Heloise Easy-to-read medication

Dear Heloise: Tubes of various over-the-counter or prescription salves have expiration dates that are, manytimes, hard to read without a magnifying glass. So, Istarted using ablack ﬁne-point permanent marker to write the month/ year on the outside of the tube in an easy-toread location. Problem solved! —LEO G., viaemail

Allgrown up

DearHeloise: Ihad to laugh when Iread aletter describing millennials as if theywerestill teenagerslearning basic life skills. Many people still use the word “millennial” as shorthand for young adults, but this descrip-

Most sources deﬁne millennials as people born between 1981 and1996. This means thatthe youngest millennials areapproaching their 30s,while the oldest arenow in their mid-40s.

Many millennials today have established careers, families, and homes of their own. The youngest adults who are now entering the workforce actually belong to Generation Z, which follows the millennial generation. It’sinteresting how generational labels can linger long after circumstances change. The group once described as “kids” has quietly become today’s parents, professionals and community leaders. —C., in Wisconsin

Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Hints from Heloise

STAFF PHOTO By TIMOTHy BOONE yakameinfrom Street Food Munchies in Baton Rouge

STAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN

Enchiladas Suizas from Superior Grill in Lafayette

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Think creatively, and you'll dazzle everyone with your insight. An emotional situation is best handled swiftly before matters escalate. Protect your assets and yourself

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Get busy, make your move and be the one to make things happen. Make some calls and set up meetings, and you'll gain access to information that can help you further your agenda.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Learn something new. Sign up for a course that encourages you to increase your mental, physical or emotional strength. Take a chance and make a positive change.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Avoid taking life too seriously. Step back from the drama, and you'll find alternative options that encourage you to let go of what's no longer working for you.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Walk away from negative people. Refuse to let anyone stifle your plans; actions will help you carry your thoughts forward. Live in the present and let go of the past.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Taking care of business will make it easier to release stress and enjoy life's little pleasures. Shoot for greater balance between work and play, and set a routine that puts your mind at ease.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) You know what's coming, but are you ready to adjust? Think about recent events, and you'll

find a way to navigate the changes that are heading your way.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Making impossible promises or demands will take its toll. Put emotions aside and be reasonable, and you'll devise an alternative that works wonders for others and puts you in a good position.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Do your best to protect yourself against misrepresentation, gossip and false information. "Waste not, want not" is the mantra for today. Set your space up to reflect your lifestyle.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take notes, keep tabs on what you hear and see, and separate truth from fiction. Protect and appreciate yourself and awaken to truth and possibilities.

AQuARIus (Jan 20-Feb. 19) Lay down a foundation and begin your journey. The possibilities are endless if you restrict excess and use your time and ingenuity to reach your goals.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Interact with people who spark your imagination and motivate you to use your intelligence and talents to get ahead. Take advantage of networking opportunities and use any public venue to promote yourself.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

ToDAy's cLuE: B EQuALs P

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

peAnUtS zItS FrAnK And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

David Cone, who pitched aperfect gamefor the Yankeesin1999, said,“I’m afinesse pitcher without the finesse.”

That gives agood hint for today’sdeal Southisinsixspades.Westleadsthediamond ace: three, queen, two. West continueswith alow diamond, whichSouth ruffs.Howshoulddeclarercontinue?As asecondaryissue,whatwasWest’smore successful defense?

North’ssequence, atwo-over-one response followed by ajump in spades, showedexactly three-card spade supportandgame-forcingvalues.Souththen used RomanKey Card Blackwood to learn that his partner had twokey cards (two aces, or one ace and the spade king) and the spade queen.

After ruffing the second diamond, declarer initially thought he would have to rely on the club finesse. But then,because North’strumpswereso strong, he realized that if spades were 3-2(mathematicallymorelikelythanthe clubfinesseworking),hecouldgethome with adummy reversal.

South played aheart to dummy’s 10, ruffed another diamond, returned to dummy with atrump, ruffed the last diamond, drew trumps and claimed. Declarertookthreespadesontheboard, five hearts, one club and three ruffs in his hand.

West couldhave defeated the contract if he had shifted to aspade or heart at tricktwo,whichwouldhave killed the timing for the dummy reversal and forced South to take the club finesse Afterward,Northcommented,“Inever guessedthat my heart10wouldbesuch avital card.

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters 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 wordsare not allowed ToDAy’s WoRD IncIsIVEnEss: in-SY-siv-ness: Directness; decisiveness.

Average mark17words Time limit 40 minutes

Can you find 29 or morewords in INCISIVENESS?

yEsTERDAy’s WoRD —coMBusTs

wuzzles

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato

mallard fillmore

WEST BATON ROUGE PARISH COUNCIL

MEETING GOVERNMENT BUILDING 880 North Alexander Avenue, Port Allen Thursday,March 12, 2026 5:30 PM

The Following Minutes AreSummarized For Brevity,For Precise Meeting Information Please Refer To Meeting Audio Or Video.

1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER &REQUEST ALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES BE SILENCED

ARegular Meeting of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council was held on Thursday,March 12, 2026 and called to order at 05:30 PM. Council Chairman Carey Denstel asked that all electronic devices be placed on silent.

2. OPENING PRAYER Councilman Atley Walker Jr.led everyone in an opening prayer

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Denstel recognized Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne who led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance.

4. LOG ATTENDANCE

The following members wererecorded as being present: Messrs. Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker,Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Gary Joseph, and Mrs. Katherine Andre.

Also, present wereMr. Jason Manola, Parish President, Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne, Executive Assistant, Mr.Chance Stephens, Director of Finance, Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne, Director of Public Works, and Mrs. Michelle Tullier,Council Clerk.

5. MINUTES APPROVAL

A. Approval of Minutes from the Regular Meeting of February26, 2026. Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Brady Hotardtoapprove the Minutes from the Regular Meeting of February 26, 2026.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker, Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

6. CONSIDER ANY AMENDMENTSTOTHE AGENDA

Therewerenoitems to consider at this time.

7. PARISH PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Parish President JasonManola was recognized and covered the following items: Recent fire at thePort of Baton Rouge, details; Saturday night rainevent; ICE facility information, which is thereisnoconcrete information at this time even after contacting state and federal agencies.

8. PUBLIC COMMENTS

Vice Chair Crowe explained therewas no new information in regardtothe ICE facility which has been spread on social media, and asked if therewas any new concrete information that the public knows to let us know

The following members of the public wererecognized and spoke in opposition to the ICE facility coming to WBR Parish: Chris Perry,Ryan Bowman, GerardRogers Jr,Ross Young, Mr Butler,Charles Taylor,Lorraine Dupont, Monica Murphy,Hannah Freeman, and Thomas Warren.

Mr.Leedell Woods was recognized and was upset that he was called to the meeting based on rumors and not concrete information. Chairman Denstel closed the public comments section, noting that we have heardfrom quite afew people on the ICE facility and now need to move on to action items on the agenda. Parish President Manola reiterated the information from the last meeting on the ICE facility,which is thereisnoconcrete information, nor any applications for any location at this time.

9. COMMUNICATIONS WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS AND/OR ELECTED OR APPOINTED OFFICIALS

Mr.Chance Stephenswas recognized and brieflyreviewed the updated year-to-datebudget to actual numbers through the first two months of the year

Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne brieflynoted the flooding from Saturday night was worse on Lukeville Ln. due to agarbage can stopping up the drainage ditch.

Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne was recognized and explained all that has happened since the Saturday night rainfall, and showed actual pictures from the night and morning. Brandon went on to explain some quick fixthings that the Parish is trying to do. However,he noted that we must be careful not to relieve one location and put morewater on another location. Councilman Atley Walker was recognized and explained thereisastudy going on which includes the Lukeville area, in order to see what the best way is to alleviate the flooding and noted the item in the budget which reflected this.

10. PUBLIC HEARING ON PREVIOUSLYINTRODUCED ORDINANCES

A. An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment Of Districts, Official Zoning Map For Rezoning Request Of Woodrow WilsonConstruction LLC. Located at 3784 MetroDr. PortAllen, La 70767. File #PJ#260002 as described by the WBR Assessorsite: LOT 25 GREATER BATON ROUGE INDUSTRIAL PARK (PLATMAP 108A) AND TRACT FS-3A IN SEC 76 &101; T7S R12E 1.846 ACRES 54C118 CB144 E248 CB300 E96 CB326 E4. Rezoning Tract FS-3A (.97ac) From AG (Agricultural) to I-1 (Light Industrial) with lot area waiver.Master Plan Change(tabled from February26, 2026 Meeting) Chairman Denstel explained the public hearing on this item was held at the last Council meeting, however the preliminary plat did not make the agenda in time for this meeting. Therefore,he requested amotion to table this item to the next Council meeting when the plat will be available as requested.

Amotion was made by Council Member Brady Hotard, seconded by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babin to table to the next Council meeting, An Ordinance Amending Chapter 104 Zoning To Incorporate Amended Zoning Designation Map (Zoning Plan) Under Section 104-3 Establishment OfDistricts, Official Zoning Map For Rezoning Request OfWoodrow Wilson Construction LLC.Located at 3784 MetroDr. Port Allen, La 70767. File #PJ#260002 as described by the WBR Assessor site: LOT25GREATER BATON ROUGE INDUSTRIAL PARK (PLATMAP 108A) AND TRACT FS-3A IN SEC 76 &101; T7S R12E 1.846 ACRES 54C-118 CB144 E248 CB300 E96 CB326 E4. Rezoning Tract FS-3A (.97ac) From AG (Agricultural) to I-1 (Light Industrial) with lot area waiver Master Plan Change (tabled from February 26, 2026 Meeting).

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

11. NEW BUSINESS

A. Alcohol License-Vibes Inc. dba Vibes located at 3877 LA Hwy 1South, Port Allen, LA 70767, Requesting aClass ALicense. Mrs. Tullier explained that this business had let their license lapse from the previous year,and did not renew it for 2026. Therefore, they had to go through the application process once again.

Mrs. Tullier went on to explain that Vibes Inc. has met all the requirements of Chapter 6Alcoholic Beverages of the WBR Parish Code of Ordinances, and offered to answer any questions. There werenocomments from the public at this time.

Amotionwas made by Council Member Brady Hotard, seconded by Council Member Gary Joseph to approve the Class Aliquor license for Vibes Inc. dba Vibes located at 3877 LA Hwy 1South, Port Allen, LA 70767.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

B. Consider the following items as surplus:

Utilities Dept: 2019 RAM 1500 VIN# 3C6JR6AG5KG509130 PP255458

2014 DODGE JOURNEY VIN# 3C4PDCBG2ET211578 PP228731

Drainage Dept: Tag# 1865 2007 Dodge Vin#3D7KS28A07G804046

Tag# 2526 2013 Dodge Ram 2500 Vin#3C6TR5DT0DG529218

Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne asked that all of the aforementioned items be considered scrap for surplus. Therewerenopublic comments on this item. Amotion was made by Council Member Atley Walker,seconded by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babintoapprove the following items as surplus:

Utilities Dept: 2019 RAM 1500 VIN# 3C6JR6AG5KG509130 PP255458

2014 DODGE JOURNEY VIN# 3C4PDCBG2ET211578 PP228731

Drainage Dept: Tag# 1865 2007 Dodge Vin#3D7KS28A07G804046

Tag# 2526 2013 Dodge Ram 2500 Vin#3C6TR5DT0DG529218

The vote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, CareyDenstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph) NAYS: 0(None) ABSENT: 0(None) ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed.

12. CONSIDER STATUS REPORT, CHANGE ORDER AND/OR OTHER MATTERS AS REQUIRED ON CURRENT PROJECTS Therewerenoitems to consider at this time.

13. RESOLUTIONS A. AResolution In Support Of The West Baton Rouge Parish Application Through The Governor’sOffice Of Community Development For Community Water Enrichment Funds For Water Rehabilitation Project For The Fiscal Year 2026-2027. Mr.PhillipBourgoyne was recognized and explained the reasons for this resolution. Therewerenocomments from the public at this time. Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Katherine Andreto approve AResolution In Support Of The West Baton Rouge Parish Application Through The Governor’sOffice Of Community Development For Community Water Enrichment Funds For Water Rehabilitation Project For The Fiscal Year 2026-2027.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Resolution 4of2026 can be found at the end of these minutes.

B. Resolution Authorizing Parish President to enter into servitude agreementswith various parties for the construction of the Acadian Trail (State Project No. H.011558)

Mr.Brandon Bourgoyne was recognized and explained the reasons for the aforementioned resolution, and offered to answer any questions. Therewerenocomments from the public at this time.

Amotion was made by Council Member Atley Walker,seconded by Council Member Kenneth Gordon to approve the Resolution Authorizing Parish President to enter into servitude agreements with various parties for the construction of the Acadian Trail (State Project No.H.011558).

The vote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker, Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Resolution 5of2026 can be found at the end of these minutes.

C. AResolution Expressing The DesireOfThe West Baton Rouge Parish Council To Lift AMoratorium On Solar Panel Farms And Solar Panel Array Yard Projects In The Unincorporated Areas Of The Parish Chairman Denstel brieflyexplained the reasons for the aforementioned resolution, and offered to answer any questions. Therewerenocomments from the public at this time.

Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Daryl “Turf” Babintoapprove AResolution Expressing The DesireOfThe West Baton Rouge Parish Council To Lift AMoratorium On Solar Panel Farms And Solar Panel Array Yard Projects In The Unincorporated Areas Of The Parish.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, CareyDenstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Resolution 6of2026 can be found at the end of these minutes.

D. 2025 MWPP Resolution West Baton Rouge Parish Lukeville Wastewater Treatment Facility Audit

Mr. Phillip Bourgoyne was recognized and explained the reasons for the aforementioned resolution. Therewerenocomments from the public at this time.

Amotion was made by Council Member Katherine Andre, seconded by Council Member Kenneth Gordon to approve the 2025 MWPP Resolution West Baton Rouge Parish Lukeville Wastewater Treatment Facility Audit.

The vote was recorded as follows:

YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Resolution 7of2026 can be found at the end of these minutes.

E. 2025 MWPP Resolution West Baton Rouge Parish Westport Wastewater Treatment Facility Audit

Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne was recognized and explained the reasons for the aforementioned resolution. Therewerenocomments from the public at this time.

Amotion was made by Council Member Kirk Allain, seconded by Council Member Kenneth Gordon to approve the 2025 MWPP Resolution West Baton Rouge Parish Westport Wastewater Treatment Facility Audit.

The vote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk Allain, Daryl “Turf” Babin, Atley Walker Brady Hotard, Kenneth Gordon, Carey Denstel, Alan Crowe, Katherine Andre, Gary Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Resolution 8of2026 can be found at the end of these minutes.

F. 2025 MWPP Resolution West Baton Rouge Parish Erwinville Wastewater Treatment Facility Audit

Mr.Phillip Bourgoyne was recognized and explained the reasons for the aforementioned resolution. Therewerenocomments from the public at this time.

Amotion

The vote was recorded as follows: YEAS: 9(Kirk

ABSENT:0 (None)

0(None) As aresult of the votes, the motion Passed. Resolution 9of2026 can be found at the end of these minutes.

14. CONSIDER SUBDIVISION PLATS,CONDEMNATIONS,WAIVERS AND MATTERS RELATED THERETO Therewerenoitems to consider at

15.

Chambers, located at 880 North Alexander Avenue, Port Allen, La.: A. An Ordinance Amending The CompiledOrdinances, Parish Of West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Part II General Provisions, Chapter 50 (Miscellaneous Licenses and Business Regulations) ArticleVI(Hotels and Motels), Section 50-130 (Hotel and Motel Registration and Adding Section 50- 131, Hotel/Motel CallRegulations. Public Hearing Date: March 26, 2026

B. An Ordinance To Amend And Reenact The West Baton Rouge Parish Code Of Ordinances, Part III (“Unified Development Code”), Chapter 107 (“BuildingRegulations”), ArticleI (In General), Section 107-1 (“Generally”), ArticleII (“BuildingCode”), Section 107-19 (“Adopted”), Sec. 107-20 (“Contractor Registration”), Sec. 107-22 (“Permits”), Sec. 107-23 (“Application for Permit”), Sec. 107-24 (“Submittal Documents”), Sec. 107-25 (“BuildingPermitFees And Valuations”), Sec. 107-26 (“Inspections”), Sec. 107-27 (“Certificate Of Occupancy”), Sec. 107-28 (“Violations”), Sec. 107-29 (“Stop Work Order”), Sec. 107-30 (“BoardOf Appeals”) To Update Building Code Regulations, Policies And Procedures. Public Hearing Date: March 26, 2026

16. CORRESPONDENCE REPORT Correspondence Report from Council Clerk, Mrs. Michelle Tullier included the following items: Next Planning &Zoning Meeting Tuesday,Marcy 17, 2026 at 5:30pm; Next Council Meeting Thursday,March 26, 2026 at 5:30pm.

17. ADJOURN Therebeing no further business, amotion to adjournwas made by Council Member Kirk Allain and was adopted by acclamation at 06:39 PM.

4OF2026

water line will span approximately 325

feet (0.06 miles) of 6-inch HDPE water line, with an approximate

of $10,337.50 dollars. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the West Baton Rouge Parish Council does hereby express support for and request approval of the grant application for Community Water Enrichment funds for water rehabilitation projects for the fiscal year 2026-2027 through the Governor’s Office of Community Development.

AMOTION TO ADOPT the above resolution wasmade by Council Member Kirk Allain seconded by Council Member Katherine Andreand resulted in the following vote: YEAS: 9(Allain, Andre, Babin, Walker,Denstel, Crowe, Gordon, Joseph, Hotard)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

As aresult of the votes the resolution was adopted on this 12th day of March, 2026.

CERTIFICATE

I, Michelle Tullier,Council Clerk of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is atrue and correct copy of aresolution adopted by said body at its Regular Meeting of March12, 2026 whichmeeting amajority of the members were presentand voting.

RESOLUTION 5Of2026

Resolution Authorizing Parish President to enter into servitude agreements with various parties for the construction of the Acadian Trail (State Project No. H.011558)

WHEREAS the engineering design workonthe above referenced project is substantially complete, AND;

WHEREAS in order to preparethis project for bids (“letting”), servitudes must be acquired or amended with various parties, AND;

WHEREAS the West Baton Rouge Administration has contracted with an appraiser and an acquisition specialist to perform the services for this project.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the West Baton Rouge Parish Council authorizes Parish President, Jason P. Manola, or his designee to enter into servitude agreements with various parties for the sake of construction,ownership, operation, and maintenance of the above referenced project.

AMOTION TO ADOPT the above resolution wasmade by Council Member Atley Walker seconded by Council Member Kenneth Gordon whichresulted in the following vote:

YEAS: 9(Walker,Allain, Babin, Denstel,Crowe, Hotard, Gordon, Andre, Joseph)

NAYS: 0(None)

ABSENT:0 (None)

ABSTAIN: 0(None)

As aresult of the votes the resolution was adopted this 12th day of March, 2026.

CERTIFICATE

I, Michelle Tullier,Council Clerk of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is atrue and correct copy of aresolution adopted by said body at its Regular Meeting of March 12, 2026 at whichmeeting amajority of the members werepresent and voting.