The Advocate 04-05-2026 by The Advocate

‘Truly just ablessing’

BY OLIVIATEES Staff writer

Paul pharmacy marks30years helpingcommunity

Nestled on ablockbetweenFlorida and Convention streetsisthe St.Vincent de Paul Shelter.Onthe outskirts is asmaller buildingthat has housed the nonproﬁt’svolunteer pharmacy for more than 30 years, wheremorethan 1,000 people receive services every year

The St. Vincent de Paul pharmacy has been aplace forpeople in need to

safelyget prescription medication, durable medical equipment and anything else needed to stay healthy since its inception in 1995.

OpenMonday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., it runs like a well-oiled machine under thewatchful eyes of lead pharmacistKellie Elisar, hertechnicianLesa Smith andtheir team of dedicated volunteers.

St.George school district nearsvote

BY CHARLESLUSSIER Staff writer

Voters across Louisiana on May 16 will be askedtosay yesornotoforming a newschool district that matches the city of St. George. It’s on the ballotafter more thana decadeofstruggle.

If approved, the new district would be Louisiana’s70th publicschool district and ﬁfth in East Baton Rouge Parish.Starting in July 2027, St. George would join Baker, Central andZachary in breaking from the parish school systemand forming independent school districts. Backers of the proposed new school districtsay it is an overdue answer to the poor quality of many Baton Rouge public schools.

The East Baton Rouge Parish school system hasanoverall academic letter grade of aC andisranked 55th outof69 districts in the state. Opponentsargue that aSt. George school district would exacerbate racial segregation in the parish,reducethe quality of education forpoorer children leftbehind in the Baton Rouge public schools and encourage more breakaway school districts in the future.

See VOTE, page 5A

“Wehavesuch agreat support system of volunteersthat work withus; it’s truly agreat environment,” Elisar said. “Everybody wantstobehere, everybody wants to help those who walk in. It’struly just ablessing for everyone involved.”

In 2025, thepharmacy had 1,148 visits, saw 392 patients andfilledover 95% of the prescriptions with donated medicine.Eachpharmacy customer getsafree hygiene bag, which includes toiletries like toothpaste, toothbrush and soap.

ä See PHARMACY, page 6A BY

At least18injured at LaoNew Year Festival

Police:Drivercrashed into Iberia Parish crowd

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL

Staff writer

Adriver wasarrested Saturday afternoon after he drunkenly drove into paradegoers at the Louisiana Lao New Year Festival, injuring more than adozen attendees of theinternationally recognized festival, according to Louisiana State Police.

Todd Landry,57, of Jeanerette,was booked on counts of driving while impairedand ﬁrstdegree negligent injuring, carelessoperation and open container,ofﬁcials said.

Deputies respondedtothe corner of Savannakhet andMelancon roads in connection with avehicle that struck multiple people attending the festival near Broussard, the IberiaParish Sheriff’s Ofﬁcesaid.

During the investigation, Landry showed signs of impairment and submitted abreath sample indicating ablood alcohol level of 0.137%, according to state troopers. In Loui-

siana, anyone with ablood-alcohol limit of or over 0.08% is considered intoxicated.

At least 18 people sufferedinjuriesinthe crash, according to State Police.

“Weare profoundly saddened by thenews of theincident near the festival grounds. We are awaiting additional details from authorities as they become available. All security resources have been redirected to the scene, and we currently do not have security personnel available due to the circumstances,”

ä See FESTIVAL, page 5A

ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

Thenumber of abandoned oiland gas wells in Louisiana has surged over the past year despite efforts to address the problem,reaching arecord high and placingaheavy ﬁnancial burdenonthe state to plug them

The recent increase followsa trend that has been building foryears, partly due to industry fluctuations and shifting regulations, officials say.More than 2,100 wells have been officially labeledas“orphaned” sincethe start of 2025, leaving the state with nearly 6,500 in total, according to the Louisiana Department of Conservation and Energy

ä See WELLS, page 4A

101ST yEAR, NO.279

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

Lead pharmacist Kellie Elisar worksrecently at St. Vincent de Paul pharmacy in Baton Rouge.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Crews worktocontain

California wildfire RIVERSIDE, Calif. Crews made progress Saturday battling a smoky wildﬁre in southern California that broke out aday earlier and prompted mandatory evacuations.

Encompassing roughly 6.3 square miles in Riverside County, about 64 miles east of LosAngeles, the SpringsFire was at least 45%contained on Saturday,a ﬁre department spokespersonsaid. It was25% contained on Friday.

While gusts up to 45 mph were predicted Saturday,Terra Fernandez, public safety information specialist for the Riverside County Fire Department,said winds had “dissipated abit”since Friday,helping the efforts of fire crews. “We’re feeling confident. The winds have died down so it’sassisting us in making more progress,” she said. Fernandez also credited efforts to build and strengthen containmentlines around the fire perimeter

“Wehave natural equestrian trails around wherealot of the structures are and so that helps our ﬁreﬁghters make access.”she said. “And the humidity increasing this evening will also help.”

So far,nostructures have been damaged or destroyed, Fernandez said.

Crews began early Saturday dropping water and retardant all around the ﬁre by air.About 260 personnel are battling theblaze, including crews from around theregion who are building and strengthening the containment lines and laying hose, she said.

Less than adozen zones in the county remained undermandatory evacuation orders, while evacuation warnings in other parts of the county were lifted. It was not immediately knownhow many households were affected by the orders.

The ﬁre is located in apopulated unincorporated part of Riverside County that’s arecreational area near the city of Moreno Valley,which hasapopulation of roughly 200,000.

3tostay in custodyover

Jewish ambulancearson

LONDON Twoyoung men and aboy were ordered Saturday to remain in custodyafter appearing in court on arson charges in the torching of four ambulances owned by aJewish charityin London.

The March 23 blaze in Golders Green, anorth London neighborhood with alarge Jewish population, destroyed four ambulances belonging to the volunteer organization Hatzola Northwest, which provides emergency care in the area. Oxygen cylinders in thevehiclesexploded, breaking windows in an adjacent apartment block.

British men Hamza Iqbal, 20,and Rehan Khan, 19, and a 17-year-old of dual British-Pakistani nationality,all from east London, were charged Friday with arson and beingrecklessas to whether life would be endangered. The younger man cannot be named for legal reasons because he is under 18 and will be held in ayouth detention center

The suspects did notenter pleas at the 45-minute hearing at Westminster MagistratesCourt on Saturday.The court also heard that afourth suspect was arrested in connection with the ﬁre. Counterterror police are investigating the ﬁre as an antisemitic hate crime. They were looking into aclaim of responsibility by a group with potential links to Iran, but have not declared it anact of terrorism.

Officials: 5killed in fire at Bangladesh factory

DHAKA, Bangladesh Aﬁre broke out at afactory manufacturing gaslightersnear Bangladesh‘s capital on Saturday afternoon, leaving at leastﬁve people dead, authorities said.

The blaze broke outinthe Kadamtali area of Keraniganj near Dhaka, according to the ﬁre service and civil defense.

Seven firefighting units were deployed to extinguish the blaze, which startedinthe afternoon, the ﬁre department said. It took several hours to bring it under control.

Trumpwarns Iran to open strait

Presidentgives 48-hourdeadline; search continues formissing pilot

BY SAM MEDNICK, SAMY MAGDY and JONGAMBRELL Associated Press

TEL AVIV,Israel President DonaldTrump warned Iran to open thecrucial Strait of Hormuz by hisMonday deadline andTehran called histhreat“unbalanced and foolish.”The search for amissing U.S. military pilotcontinued Saturday in a remotepart of the Islamic Republic

The Pentagon notified the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that the status of asecond service member wasn’tknown. Trump toldNBC News that what happened wouldn’taffect negotiations with Iran.

Asecond U.S. Air Force combat aircraftwentdown in the Middle East on Friday,according to aU.S. ofﬁcial, who spoke on condition of anonymitytodiscuss a sensitive military situation. It wasn’tclear if the aircraft crashedorwas shot down, or whether Iran was involved.

Iranian state media said aU.S.A-10attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iran’s defense forces.

Firefighters recovered five bodies by the evening and they couldn’timmediately be identiﬁed.

Trump has called Tehran “beaten andcompletely decimated“ in the war, now in its sixthweek, but thedowningoftwo U.S. warplanes on Friday and Iran’s calltoﬁnd the“enemy pilot” have again raisedthe stakes

hit,civiliantargets, bringingwarningsofpossible war crimes

“Thedoorsofhell will be opened to you” if Iran’s infrastructure is attacked, Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi with thecountry’sjoint military command said late Saturday in response to Trump’srenewed threat, state media reported. In turn,the general threatened all infrastructure used by the U.S. military in the region.

The war began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 andhas killedthousands, shakenglobal markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened, and

“Wewillcontinue to crush them,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, and confirmedthat Israel’smilitary struck a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr thathesaid helps to fund thewar.Five people were killed and 170 injured, Iranian state media reported, citing aprovincial securityofﬁcial.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said that an airstrike hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility,killing a security guard anddamaging asupport building. The head of Russia’sstate nuclear corporation,Rosatom, saidthat198 workers were being evacuated. It was the fourth timethe facilitywas targeted.

Hopesfor talks

Pakistan’sForeign Ministry spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, told TheAssociated Press thathis govern-

ment’s efforts to broker aceasefire are “right on track” after Islamabad last weeksaid that it would soon host talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Iran’s foreignminister, Abbas Araghchi, saidthat Iranian ofﬁcials“have never refusedtogotoIslamabad.”

Mediators from Pakistan, Turkeyand Egypt were workingtobring theU.S and Iran to the negotiating table, according to two regional ofﬁcials.

Theproposed compromiseincludes acessation of hostilities to allow adiplomatic settlement, according to aregional official involved in the efforts and aGulf diplomat briefed on thematter.Theyspoke on conditionofanonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy

Trump reminded Iran of his deadline in asocial mediapost: “Rememberwhen I gave Iranten days to MAKE ADEAL or OPEN UP THE

HORMUZ STRAIT.Time is running out —48hours before allHellwill reign down on them.”

Amissing U.S. pilot

The U.S. warplane, identified by Iran as aF-15E Strike Eagle, was one of twoattacked on Friday Iran’sjoint military command on Saturday said that it also struck two U.S. Black Hawkhelicopters, but the AP couldn’t independently verify that.

Thesearch for the U.S. pilot focused on amountainous region in Iran’ssouthwestern provinceofKohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad. An anchor on achannel afﬁliated with Iranian state television urged residents to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police. In an email from the Pentagon, obtained by the AP, the military said that it received notification of “an aircraft being shotdown” in the Middle East. AU.S. crew memberwas rescued.

Oracle’s DubaiHQstruck TheDubai offices of tech company Oracle were hit after Iran’sparamilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened theﬁrm.Footage verified by the AP outside the UAE showed a large hole in the building’s southwestern corner The sheikhdom’sDubai Media Ofﬁce, whichspeaks for its government, noted a“minorincident caused by debrisfrom an aerial interception that fell on the facade,”saying therewere no injuries. Oracle Corp., based in Texas, didn’timmediatelyrespond to arequest for comment.

The Guard hasaccused some large U.S. tech companies of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operationsagainst theIslamic Republic andcalledthem legitimate targets. Amazon WebServices facilities in theUAE andBahrain were hit in earlier drone strikes.

Russia andUkraine trade deadly strikes

Zelenskyytravels to Istanbul for talkswith Erdogan

BY VOLODYMYR YURCHUK Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine— Russia and Ukrainetraded deadly strikes overnight andon Saturday morning, killing 10 peopleand wounding several dozen more, ofﬁcials on both sides said Saturday.

Theattackscame as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Istanbul for talks with Turkish PresidentRecepTayyipErdogan. He will also meet with Ecumenical PatriarchBartholomew,the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians.

“Weare working to strengthen our partnership to ensure the real protection of lives, advance stability,and guarantee security in Europeand the Middle East. Joint efforts alwaysyield thebestre-

sults,”Zelenskyy said in a post on the messaging app Telegram after arriving in Istanbul.

Russia ﬁred286 drones at Ukraine overnight, 260 of which were downed,the Ukrainian Air Forcesaid in an online statement.

Five people —three women and two men were killed in thecity of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and 19 others were wounded, the head of the regional military administration Oleksandr Hanzha said. The attack damaged market stalls and ashop.

In thecity of Sumy,not

far from theborder with Russia,a strike wounded 11 people, theNational Policesaid. Residential areas were hit,and houses, cars andutility networks were damaged in the attack.

In thecapital, Kyiv,a drone strike caused afire on the first floor of athreestory office and warehousebuilding, Ukraine’s StateEmergency Service said.Nocasualties were reported.

In thepartially occupied Donetsk region, aRussian drone strike hit acivilian car on the Kostyantynivka–Druzhkivka road on Saturday morning, killing

one woman and wounding another,according to the head of the Kostyantynivka City Military Administration, Serhiy Horbunov

BY ABDULQAHAR AFGHAN Associated Press

KABUL,Afghanistan Widespread ﬂooding, landslides and lightning strikestriggered by heavy rainand stormsacross Afghanistan have left 77 people dead and137 injuredover the past 10days,the country’s DisasterManagement Authority said Saturday More rain has beenforecast for the coming days throughout Afghanistan, and the authoritywarned thepublic to stay away from river banks and areas pronetoﬂooding.

So far this year,dozens of people have dieddue to extremeweather in Afghanistan, an impoverished country that is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Earlier this year,heavy snowfall and ﬂash ﬂoods left dozens of people dead across the country

Therecenttollincludes 26 people killed over the past 48 hours, the disaster authority said. Overall, 793homes have been completely destroyed and afurther 2,673 have been damaged, while ﬂoods and landslides have destroyed

about 210 miles of roads, it said.

Businesses, agricultural land, water wells and irrigation canals have also been damaged, with more than 5,800 families affected overall, theauthority said.

Several highways connecting the country’s capital to theprovinces have alsobeen damaged by ﬂoods and landslides, forcing travelers to take long, circuitous routes to reach Kabul,Public Works Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Haqshinas saidSaturday

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturdaythat its forces ﬁred “long-range air-and ground-based precision weapons, as well as strike drones” at unspecified“military-industrial andenergyfacilitiesused by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

Meanwhile, the Russianinstalled head of the occupied Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, said Ukrainian forces hit railroad infrastructure in the region and private houses, killing a family of three —a couple and their 8-year-old child.

theadvocate.com/subscribe E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByFRANCISCO SECO

Aworker cleans an area Saturday at the Grand Hosseiniyeh complex,with the mosque visible in the background,thatofficialssay washit by U.S.-Israeli airstrikesTuesday in Zanjan, Iran.

PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE Rescue workers putout a fire Saturdayataresidential buildingdamaged in aRussian strikeinSumy, Ukraine.

and military spouses

Senator Cassidy introduced the bipartisan Improve and Enhance Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act.

This bill will help Louisiana businesses hire more veterans and military spouses into quality, high-paying jobs.

Cassidy’s bill has broad support from employers and veterans organizations and will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.

WELLS

Continued from page1A

High well-plugging costs, compounded by decades of lax regulatory requirements, have createdthe dilemma Louisiana now faces. The state recently strengthened rules on well owners and created anew authority to oversee how companies meet their financial obligations, but there are questions over whether those changes will be enough.

Manywellsonthe orphaned list were drilled decades ago and risk blowing outifthey are not plugged. That’swhat happened to an inactive, though not yet orphaned, 82-year-old well in Plaquemines Parish last year. The Coast Guard recovered more than 170,000 gallons of oily water after the spill.

“This is not anew problem, but it is one that needed anew approach,somethingthisadministration recognized from the start,” said Patrick Courreges, spokesperson for the Department of Conservation andEnergy.“But this may be the generationwhere the bill is finally coming due.”

“Orphaned wells” are inactiveand unplugged oil and gas wellsthatfallto the state to plug and remediate,often after the company that owned them goes bankrupt, dissolves or repeatedly violates state regulations. In 2025, more than 1,600 wells were added to Louisiana’sorphaned well list. So far in 2026, 517 wells have been added.

That’ssharply higher than in recent years. Between2014 and 2023, the state legislative auditor found that an average of about 445 wells were added to the orphaned list annually

The number of orphaned wells jumped from 2,800 in 2013 to nearly 4,800 in 2024. But in just the last two years, the number increased 35%— from 4,785 in April 2024 to 6,465 in March of this year

The number of orphaned wells is growing much faster than the state can plugthem. Since2023, Louisiana has plugged just 490 orphaned wellsatacost of nearly $90 million, usinga combination of state and federal funds, the Departmentof Conservationand Energy said.

“I hopethat 2025isan outlier,”said Scott Eustis, the community science directoratHealthy Gulf, an environmental advocacy nonproﬁt. “But if Louisiana continues to fail to enforce thelaw …companies will continue to dump wells on us.”

He said the state should be more aggressively prosecuting thecompanies that have contributed to the state’sorphan wellproblem.

High cost of plugging

Plugging asingleorphaned well costs an averageofabout $113,000,

Louisiana hasa record numberoforphan wells

Each dot representsorphanedwells.The red dotsare wells that have become orphaned since January 2025. Louisiana has received federal fundingtoplugorphanedwells,but hasn't been able to keeppace as largenumbers of newwells becomeorphaned.

Shreveport Bato

Parish

Wells tha become o since Ja 2025

Wellsthat have rphaned nuary became before 025

Wells that orphaned January2

accordingtothe legislative auditor, and taxpayers foot the bill. Based on that average cost, plugging the 6,500 orphaned wells on the state’slistwould cost about $730 million.

The new orphaned wells are scattered across the state, with largeclusters in Union Parish, east of Shreveport,aswell as in Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes, along the coast southeast of New Orleans.

Theincrease has been drivenbya combination of factors: tighterregulation and financial security requirements, sustained lowoil and gasprices eroding operators’ financial reserves, and operators having more difficultygetting loans and bonds in recent years, according to Courreges.

He notedthatfor the first century of the oil and gasindustry’sexistence in Louisiana, therewereno financial security requirements at all. Thecurrent standards for financial security were established only about adecade ago.

The surge in orphaned wellswas, infact,apredicted consequence of those stronger regulations, Courreges said.The state had anticipated that tighter oversight would accelerate the number of wells landing on the orphaned list.

The admi ni st rat ion worked with the legislature to create theNatural ResourcesTrust Authority, anew ﬁnancial arm of the Department ofConservation andEnergy,tasked with determining how best to use existing funding to plug orphaned wells. The NRTA is the result of a2024 law, passedafter theLouisiana Oilﬁeld Restoration Association —a private company the state hadtasked with plugging orphaned wells —was sued for allegedly“self-dealing,” includ-

ing loaning astate ofﬁcial

$780,000 to buy ahouse.

But even as the state has created new oversight,the currentfinancial security requirements remain in place, andtheyfall well short of actual plugging costs,the legislative auditor found.

For a6,000-foot well, drilled on land, acompany would be required to post $30,000, or $5 per foot of depth. That’slessthana thirdofthe average cost And many wells are covered by “blanket” security policies, whichthe auditor found to be even less adequate than individual policies. These blanket policiesgroup large numbersofwells under asingle coverage amount without accounting for welldepth —a major factor in determining plugging costs.

Courreges said his agency tried to increase ﬁnancial securityrequirements for individual wells to $7 perfoot, following a2014 audit, but legislatorsoverruled theagency,passing a law limiting theamount.

Thecompanies

About 1,200wells on Louisiana’sorphaned well list —nearly 1inevery 5— once belonged to four companies: Cox Operating, TBR Operating, Terronne Petroleum Corporation and American Natural Energy Corporation.

These companies largely did not drill the now-orphaned wells,but rather bought them from larger oil companies that did. Many wells change hands several times before theybecome orphaned.The statecan legally force the company that drilled thewells to pay to plug them, but often struggles to identify the company responsible.

Headquartered in Metairie, Cox Operating had been buying up oldwells along the Louisiana coast

BradCox received an $11 million annual salary from thecompany, according to the complaint. The company also footed the bill for luxury properties, including aDallasestate listedfor $64 million, a$36 million Vail ski chalet, anda 15,000acre Texas ranch, the complaint says. It also alleges that the company paid for Cox’sprivate jet travel for$300,000 amonth in a plane emblazoned with the Coxlogo.

Thecompany’sdebt, meanwhile, ballooned.

About 350 wells that Cox Operating owned, including onethatwas leaking offthe coast of Plaquemines Parish last year,became orphanedinOctober

sinceitwas founded in the early 2000s. In alegal ﬁling associated with Cox’sbankruptcyproceedings,the bankruptcytrustee alleges thatBrad Cox, the former chairman of the company’s board,and otherofficers systematically looted the company, treating it as a personalfunding source while the business was insolvent andunable to pay itsvendors.

Jonathan Karush, a spokesperson for Brad Cox, said thatthe company “categorically rejects the allegations in the complaint,” whichitdescribes as “unfounded” and“hallucinated.” Karushalsosaid Cox tried to work with the bankruptcy trustee to continue operating thewells but wasrebuffed.

The bankruptcy trustee, Michael Warner,declined to comment and referred a reporter to the legal ﬁlings.

TBR Operating is registered as acorporation in Wyoming, andits president is listed as Jan Grifﬁn Farrington, aphilanthropist andthe executive director of Medical Support and Development Organization Inc., aMississippi nonproﬁt that provides hospitalsupport anda nursing scholarship.

Yetanothercompany, Terronne Petroleum Corporation, based in Monroe, also appears to have gone dark, and260 wells it operated became orphaned in March.

While mostofthe wells on the orphaned list were drilleddecades ago— the oldest wasdrilledinCaddo Parish in 1913,according to statedata—10were drilled as recently as 2020 by a company calledAmerican Natural Energy Corp. That company went through a bankruptcy-related reorganization in 2016. It appears to now be dormant, and several phone numbers associated with it were disconnected. Efforts to reach representatives for TBR, Terronne, and American Natural Energy were notsuccessful.

“When these companies fail, theirwells become everyone’sproblem,” said MeganBiven, the founder of True Transition, which advocates for creating jobs by cleaning up inactive oil andgas infrastructure

“Wehave rules but it’s still moreburdensomein Louisiana to open up asnoball standthanitistoown an oil well.”

Email AlexLubbenat alex.lubben@theadvocate. com and followhim on Twitter @alexlubben. His work is supported with agrant from theWalton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton RougeArea Foundation.

TheDepartment of Conservation andEnergy’s recordsindicate that the wells were orphanedbecause the agency could not reach anyone at the company.Its 503 wells became orphaned last August.

Fornearlytwo decades, oneBaton Rougeevent hascombinedentertainment with impact,raising millions of dollarstosupport localyouth andtheir future success.

On April25, BigBuddy will host its18thannual DancingFor BigBuddyfundraiser, an eventthathas become acornerstone of theorganization’sefforts to expand mentorship,academicsupport andworkforce developmentopportunities to youthacrossthe region

Thus far, theevent hasraisedmorethan$3million over theyears,all of whichisdirectlyinvestedinto thelives of BatonRouge youth.

“Every dollar staysherelocally,” said BigBuddy Executive DirectorGaylynneMack. “The fundshelp us collaboratewithpartnerstocreateexperiences for ouryouth.You have to pour into them so they can developintoassetsfor ourcommunity.Thisevent is afun waytohelpsupport that work.”

Thoseinvestments areincreasinglyfocused on workforce development, agrowing priority for BigBuddyasitpreparesyoung people forlongterm success. Mack said BigBuddynow provides participatingyouth with eightweeks of professional developmenttraining, covering topics such as workplaceexpectations, communicationskillsand business fundamentals. Mentorshelpguide students throughreal-worldchallengesand help connectthem to essentialresources,suchastransportationand uniforms

FundingfromDancing ForBig Buddywillhelp expand theseefforts,including providingsummer internshipsand stipends that allowstudentstogain hands-on experience

“We’re reallyfocused on training andpreparing youngpeopletobecome greatemployees,because we know that leadstoa thriving communityand economy,”Macksaid. “Whenyou have skilledworkers businesses want to locate here andindividuals can providefor themselves andtheir families.Thatcan be trulytransformational.”

BigBuddy’sreach also extendsbeyondworkforce preparation. Theorganizationservesabout 1,400 BatonRougechildreneachyearthroughacombination of one-on-one mentorship,afterschool andsummer enrichment programs andacademicsupport.Mack said most participants arefromunder-resourced

neighborhoods, includingmanyfromsingle-parent households andlow-rated schoolswithlimited access to enrichment opportunities.

“Wewanttogivethese youthexperiences and opportunitiestheywould nototherwise have access to,” Mack said.“We feel that is critical in theirdevelopment.These help them have aspirations, hopesand thedrive to getthere.Whenour collegevolunteers take theirLittleBuddies to theLSU or Southern campus,that’soften theirﬁrstchancetosee what a university lookslikeand talk to aprofessor.When ourpartner organizationsget theyouth involved in athletic activities or aSTEMproject or an arts program, that’s exposure to opportunities these youthmight nothavethought of before.Itcan help them unlock theirown interestsand talents. In addition to group-basedactivities, BigBuddy hasabout 50 active mentor-menteematches.Mentors commit to spending at least12hours permonthwith theirmentee, includingweeklycheck-ins,monthly community activities andquarterly groupoutings They also maintain regularcommunication through phonecalls andwritten encouragement.

“Tobea BigBuddy mentor,someone needstolove children andhavethe time.Theyhavetomakesure they canshowupfor thechild,” Mack said.“They need to be readytolearn what else they candoto help this youngpersonexplore theirgifts.Wealso providetrainingtoour mentorstohelpthemknow howtorespond to certainsituations.”

TheStarDancers forthe 18th annual Dancing ForBig Buddyare AprilDavis,Candace L. Johnson, CraigDauzat, Regina Barrow,ReneeBrown,ChelseaCaswell,TravisDabney, DanDavenport,Shelly Dubriel, Renita Williams Thomas,TrueWebb, Dr Sunshine Willettand Cassie &LamontCole. Visit www.bigbuddyprogram.org/dfbb-2026 to learnmore, purchase ticketstothe April25event andcastyour vote for your favorite dancer Themission of BigBuddy is to builda community of mentoringrelationships that advanceand inspire youthtocreatemeaningfulchange. Itsvisionisthat everychild hasapositiverolemodel andvillage to make good choices, resultingina healthyand rewarding life.Visit www.bigbuddyprogram.com to learnhow youcan become involved

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted a year ago to oppose the St. George school legislation, seeking unsuccessfully to amend the bill so the new school district would pay for a proportional share of an estimated $361 million in “legacy” costs largely the cost of medical insurance for retirees.

That board has yet to take an ofﬁcial stance on the proposed constitutional amendment. The district last month unveiled a webpage where it offers answers to many “frequently asked questions” on the proposal.

Partial divorce

Unlike Baker, Central and Zachary, the new school district would not completely divorce itself from the parish school system. Students living in St. George, under the proposal, would continue to have access in perpetuity to popular magnet programs in Baton Rouge, including Baton Rouge Magnet High. Students going this route would be bypassing the ﬁve public schools St. George would inherit, including Woodlawn High.

It’s an unusual set-up with little precedent in Louisiana. Cross-district enrollment of any sort is rare in this state. Critics of this provision question why St. George needs a new district at all if it is willing to allow so many of its students to attend school in a neighboring district.

Allowing magnet crossenrollment is an attempt to assuage the concerns of magnet school parents who mobilized in force and helped

defeat proposals in 2012 and 2013 to create a forerunner to St. George, what was to be called the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System.

St. George Mayor Dustin Yates supports the provision, saying it aligns with his broader support for school choice for parents.

“I’ve told these magnet parents, if you want to send your child to a magnet school, I think you should,” Yates said.

The enabling legislation for the new St. George district includes a generous grandfather clause allowing children living in St. George, but attending schools in Baton Rouge, to stay at their current schools until they ﬁnish.

These 2,600-plus students, about 1,500 of them attending magnet schools, would need to be enrolled in those schools before the May 16 vote

However once that grandfather period ends, continued access to magnet programs is predicated upon the new school district reaching an agreement with the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. When and if that agreement is struck, St. George residents would still likely move to the back of the line when it came time to gain admission to Baton Rouge magnet schools

The fight has begun Voters are starting to see and hear from supporters and opponents. Both sides say they will ramp up their respective campaigns after Easter and for the six weeks leading up to the May 16 election.

Pro-St. George signs have begun to dot local lawns. A new website, stgeorgeschools.com, is live and an ac-

companying Facebook page is releasing daily testimonials. Yates has begun sitting for interviews with local media as well as media outlets elsewhere in the state.

Yates said there’s more to come, including radio, television and digital ads. He also is planning to travel the state to spread the word.

St. George supporters have been criticized for offering few details of how they would operate the new school district. Yates said that the lack of a master plan is no different than Baker Central and Zachary He said such a plan will be developed soon after the May 16 vote by the newly appointed interim school board.

Yates said St. George supporters have already received input from an out-ofstate education consulting ﬁrm he wouldn’t say who. And Central and Zachary, which are both among the highest-rated school districts in Louisiana, are both sources of inspiration.

“We want to be the best,” Yates said, “and we want to see what the rest of the country is doing successfully.”

A preexisting political organization in St. George, PULSE, is leading the opposition to the new school district. PULSE stands for People United to Lead St. George Engagement.

PULSE has held a handful of public events. It has also been raising money and holding a number of gatherings in people’s homes. It’s now shifting to more traditional campaigning, including digital political ads, at least one mailer and ramped up canvassing of voters. It has scheduled community events in seven metro areas across the state.

“We are helping people connect the dots to show that

Kevin

FESTIVAL

Continued from page 1A

festival organizers said in a statement

“We are praying for the victims and for their families during this difficult time.”

Organizers said festival events, which were scheduled to take place through Sunday, will be canceled for the evening. Vendors would remain open until 9 p.m.

Only religious services and vendor operations were expected to resume on Sun-

day, according to festival planners.

The Lao New Year Festival, celebrating Songkran, occurs annually on Easter weekend in Lanexang Village, outside of Broussard. The festival, the largest such gathering in the U.S., is hosted by the growing Lao community that has made a home in the Coteau area over the past 50 years.

The event has evolved from a small block party in the mid-1980s to a sprawling event filled with religious ceremonies, dozens of food vendors, a parade, live music and a beauty pageant.

Louisiana ofﬁcials, including Gov Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill, said they were praying for victims of the crash and would offer support if needed.

“I’m praying for all those injured and impacted by this terrible tragedy and will be following up with responding law enforcement agencies to offer support,” Murrill said in a statement.

An investigation into the crash is ongoing, and no other details were immediately available.

Staff writer Joanna Brown contributed to this report.

this new school district is not needed,” said Kaitlyn Joshua, who is leading outreach efforts for the volunteer organization.

Joshua said PULSE is also working with organizations in Baton Rouge and across the state, including teacher unions and the Louisiana Democratic Party, to reach more voters as well as connecting with a variety of community leaders to spread the word.

Underscoring the racial tension driving much of this debate, PULSE has adopted the logo, “Fight for Fair Schools,” complete with an illustration inspired by the famous Norman Rockwell painting of Ruby Bridges, the 6-year-old Black girl who in 1960 enrolled in an all-White elementary school in New Orleans.

Bad blood

May 16 will be a busy election. Competitive primaries for the U.S. Senate and the 5th Congressional District dominate the day Voters will

also consider five proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution. The St. George school district proposal is Amendment 2. Unlike the other proposed amendments, Amendment 2 needs to pass not just statewide, but also across the entirety of East Baton Rouge Parish. That dual passage threshold is the high bar that Baker, Central and Zachary cleared years ago in order to launch their respective independent school districts. They did so handily, with winning vote percentages in the parish ranging from 56% for Zachary in 1999 to 69% for Central in 2006.

CreatingaSt.Georgeschool district may prove a tougher sell. That’s largely because of lingering bad blood emanating from the ugly, long-running ﬁght to create the city

The incorporation effort began within months of the defeat of the proposed breakaway school district in southeast Baton Rouge. They were following in the footsteps of Central, which incorporated

in order to bolster its case for having its own school district. Opponents argued it would divide communities that have historically identiﬁed as residents of Baton Rouge. The debate was also often divided along racial lines, with some Black locals describing the proposed new city as modern segregation

The St. George incorporation fight culminated in an October 2019 vote to create the city

That vote, however, was open only to residents of the proposed city It passed by a 54% to 46% margin. Residents of the rest of East Baton Rouge Parish were excluded. Amendment 2 will include those more than 200,000 voters excluded in 2019. Joshua said the chance to vote now on something they were excluded from seven years ago is proving a big motivator so far in PULSE’s voter outreach.

“They weren’t able to vote the ﬁrst time around and now they get an opportunity to have a say-so,” Joshua said

PHOTO By LEE BALL

Boulom bangs an oversized drum Saturday as the 2026 Louisiana Lao New year Festival parade rolls through Lanexang Village in Coteau. The celebration was marred when police say a driver plowed into the crowd, injuring at least 18.

PHARMACY

Continued from page 1A

Its operation is similar to that of CVS or Walgreens, with a pharmacist and her tech dispensing medication for a range of ailments. Behind the counter are rows of blue plastic bins filled with medication, meticulously labeled. People can enter the pharmacy, go right to the front desk and then to the window to talk with the pharmacist.

Elisar says it’s a blessing to serve the people in her com-

ered Ward’s daughter years ago. Now they volunteer together and say they have a blast.

The Baton Rouge pharmacy was the ﬁrst one in the country, said CEO Sunnie Johnson-Lane. However, in the 31 years that it’s been operational, very little of it has changed or expanded.

“It’s pretty much the same as it has been for 30 years, which is beautiful, but I think it’s time to really take a fresh look at it and see, you know, what needs exist that we haven’t tried to tackle yet, right?” Johnson-Lane said.

Moving forward, JohnsonLane wants to increase the pharmacy’s access to people who are not in the city proper

The Baton Rouge location is the only Louisiana pharmacy, and her goal is to open another thrift store in Hammond and Gonzales. Right now Swartzenburg and Ward drive a van to the St. Vincent De Paul thrift store in Hammond once a week to deliver medication until they can open a location there.

“The ﬁrst step is really identifying areas where there’s a concentration of people who

are, you know, have that unmet need, and then going to them. That’s really the main goal,” Johnson-Lane said To hit her goals she said funding and proper research are crucial They recently had three fundraisers to beneﬁt the pharmacy They sold over 400 plates of jambalaya and raised over $6,000 toward their $95,000 goal for the year.

“I think this really incredible thing about pharmacy I mean all of our programs are beautiful and impactful — pharmacy literally saves people’s lives,” Johnson-Lane said.

Forthe ﬁrst time ever,the HondoRodeo Fest is coming to NewOrleans,introducing alarge-scale celebrationofWestern culturetoacityknown for itsown rich traditions.

Theevent will take placeApril 10,11and 12, transforming CaesarsSuperdome andChampions Square into ahigh-energymix of rodeocompetition live concerts from some of countrymusic’s biggest namesand afullfestivalexperience–marking a signiﬁcant expansionfor Hondoand anew kind of entertainmentfor theregion.

“The sheersizeand scaleofthe Superdomegives us an incredible opportunitytorespond to their continuously growingappetitefor rodeo excitement andheadliningcountry music,”Hondo RodeoFest CEOJames Trawicksaid. “Weare incredibly lucky to have theindustry validation andsupport from Governor Jeff Landry,the Greater NewOrleans Sports Foundation andNew Orleans& Companyto best position ourselvesfor successand producethe best HondoRodeo Fest yet.

Severalmajor countryand rock artistswill performnightly concerts inside theCaesars Superdome throughout theevent.Headlinersfor theNew Orleansdebut areLynyrdSkynyrdand JasonAldean (April 10), OldDominionand Cody Johnson(April 11)and Bailey Zimmermanand Creed(April11) Priortoeachperformance,someofthe world’s topcowboys andcowgirlswillcompete in thehighstakes,invitation-only MillionDollarRodeo at 6 p.m. each night. Competitorswillgohead-to-head acrosseight events,including bull riding,barrel racing,teamropingand steerwrestling,all vying for a$1million purse. Thelevel of rodeocompetition is expected to attractsomeofthe sport’s most eliteathletes, includingworld champions, national finalists andrising stars. AmongthemisShane Hanchey, aSulphur La.nativewho hasmorethan$3million in career earnings anda 2013 PRCA WorldChampionshipas aprofessionaltie down roper. As a16-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeoqualifierwho finished14th in the2025world standings, Hancheyhas established himself as oneofthe toptie down ropers in theprofession. Hancheytoldcalfroping.comthatmuchofhis successisdue to Reata, oneofhis earliest horses whogave him confidenceand acompetitive spirit He’s also adiligentstudent,often rewatchinghis performances to findareastoimprove.

“I know when to take advantageofasituation and when to just getby,”hesaid.

AnotherLouisiana native competinginHondo RodeoFestwillbe21-year-old breakawayroper Josie Conner of Iowa.ConnerisrankedNo. 3inthe 2025 worldstandings andhas more than $200,000 in season earnings.She is afour-time National Finals

BreakawayRopingqualiﬁerand the2022WPRA Rookie of theYear. Conner ﬁrst picked up aropearoundage seven, startedyouth competitions around age10and has steadily honedher skills since.

“I didn’t winalot as an 11-year-old, butI think that’s part of whyIamwho Iamasa ropertoday,” Conner told WesternSportsFoundation. “Myrookie year,I finished15thand last year Iwas 14th.I think that just showshow experiencehelps you. Ineeded thosefirstfew yearstobecomethe person androper Iamtoday.” In addition to theMillion Dollar Rodeo, theevent willfeature an AngolaPrisonRodeo Exhibition at 5 p.m. each day. TheAngolarodeo is longtime staple of thestate penitentiary that helpsinstill prideand selfworthinparticipants.Withits inclusionatHondo RodeoFest, thegoalistoshowcaseits valueand benefitstomorepeoplethanever.

“Ultimately, we want theHondo to come into states andcommunities andmakeanimpact,”organizers said.“Ourinvolvement with theAngolarodeo is agreatexample of just that.” HondoRodeo Fest activities willextendbeyond theCaesars Superdomeand into aStreetFestin ChampionsSquarebeginning at noon each day, with food,music,shoppingand interactiveexperiences Live performances arescheduled from acts including Neal McCoy(4p.m.April 10), EddieMontgomery (4 p.m. April11) andSweet TeaTrio, Clay Cormier, Mutton Bustin’and Justin Biltonen (beginningat noon April12) TheStreetFestisfreeand open to thepublic. Ticketsare availablefor entryintothe Angola rodeo, HondoRodeo Fest andthe nightlyconcert.Weekend passes arealsoavailable “Thisevent represents thekindofmajor entertainment investment that drives tourism, supports localbusinessand strengthensour state’sgrowing live events economy,” Gov. Landry said.“TheHondo RodeoFestcapturesthe spirit of themarket, and we’reexcited to work with Jamesand histeamto integrateour NewOrleans culturetomakethisan incredible fanexperience.” HondoRodeo Fest wasalsodrawn to Louisiana becauseitoffered achancetomakea direct impact Throughits newnonproﬁt arm, The1017Project Hondowillprovide 35,000 pounds of high-quality andlocally-sourced beef to localfoodbanks,shelters andchurchesacrossthe state. Ultimately,the hope is that HondoRodeo Fest giveslocals andvisitorsa chance to experience Westernculture in acityknown for itsown world-class celebrations,creatingnew traditionsthatcan return for yearstocome. Visitwww.thehondorodeofest.com/neworleans for full schedule detailsand ticket information

STAFF PHOTOS By JOHN BALLANCE Pharmacy technician Lesa Smith works at St Vincent de Paul pharmacy in Baton Rouge.

PASS Senate Bill 365:

Louisiana StateVoting Rights Act

PAID FORBYTHE POWERCOALITIONFOR EQUITYAND JUSTICE

April 2026

Louisiana State Legislature 900 N3rd Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Re:Passthe LouisianaStateVoting Rights Act

To theLouisiana StateLegislature:

We,the undersigned organizations and individuals,call forthe immediate passage of theLouisiana Voting Rights Act, SenateBill 365(“S.B.365”) ﬁled by SenatorRoyceDuplessis.Atatime when the principles of fair representation arebeing dismantled at everylevelofgovernment,Louisiana must actnow to protect thefreedom to vote and to defend democracy

Morethan sixtyyearsago,the passage of the VotingRightsAct of 1965(“VRA”),fundamentally reshaped American democracy.Bydismantling manysystemic barrierstoBlack political participation and representation,the federalVRA’s impactwas immediate andtransformative. Before the VRA, only slightly morethan 30% of voting age peopleofcolorinLouisiana were registered to vote; andwithin twoyearsof theVRA’s passage, registrationrates jumpedtonearly 60% forthis population.1 Fordecades, theVRA’s coreprotections were considered settled andessential. Congress reauthorized the VRAﬁve times,asrecently as 2006, with overwhelmingbipartisan support, reafﬁrming ashared commitment to fair and equal access to the ballot.2 Yetdespite theVRA’s historic popularityand success, keyprovisions havebeen chipped away in the decadessince its passage, increasingthe urgency to protect itsremaining provisions and advance state-levelvoting protections

The SupremeCourt’s2013decision in Shelby Countyv.Holder gutted critical, proactiveVRA protections that prevented discriminatoryvoting policies and unfair maps from takingeffectinplaces withthe worst recordsofvoter suppression, including communities across Louisiana.3 Over adecade after Shelby, it was litigation under the remainingantidiscrimination protections of theVRA that compelled Louisiana to ﬁnally adoptafair congressional map that providednew opportunities forBlack voterstoelecttheir candidates of choice afteryears of exclusion.4 But that progress wasimmediately challenged, markingarenewedeffort to attack whatremains of the VRA in Louisianav.Callais 5

In Louisianaand beyond,the promise of the VRA, and themulti-ethnic,multi-racialdemocracy it was designed to protect, is under sustained attackwith predictable results. Political participationhas been suppressed, representation distorted, and equal powerdenied. Forexample, parishes haveclosed polling places disproportionately in Black communities 6 And voter turnoutinBlack communities hasroutinely and signiﬁcantly trailed behind white communities,including in themostrecent presidential andgubernatorial election cycles and particularly in communities formerly coveredunder Section5 7

The Louisiana Legislaturecannotsit by while these harmspersistand ourdemocracyishollowed. The time is nowtopass the Louisiana VotingRightsAct,whichwould provide essentialtools to address threats to voting rights and fair representationinLouisiana’s parishes,cities,and towns.The LouisianaVotingRights Actwould establish meaningfulsafeguards by:

৪ Stoppingvoter suppression and discriminatorypractices before harm spreads

৪ Preventing unfair and racially dilutivevoting maps at theparish andlocallevels

৪ Allowing communities to defend their rights in Louisianacourtswithout waiting yearsfor federal action

Legislation likethe LouisianaVoting RightsAct is powerful, practical, andpopular. More than threequartersofvotersnationwidesupportavoting rights actintheir state, includingbroad supportacross political afﬁliationand racial lines 8 Why? Because the right to vote is fundamental. Representation is nota privilege. And ademocracy without equal access to the ballotisademocracyinnameonly

We ask each LouisianaLegislator to:

1. Co-Sponsor the Louisiana VotingRightsAct: Lawmakersmustdomorethan cast avote. We are asking legislatorstoattach their names to this bill andpublicly standfor votingrights.This is notthe moment to avoid the ﬁght or quietly sidelinethe issue. The LouisianaVoting Rights Actseeksonly to protectthe basic rights every Louisianacitizen is entitled to

2. Vote forthe Louisiana VotingRights Act, S.B. 365:

We call on all legislatorstovotefor the LouisianaStateVoting Rights Acttocodifytheir supportfor voting rights and fair elections intostate law Foroveradecade, PowerCoalition and our partnershavebeen on thefrontlines defending voting rights in Louisiana.Weknowthis legislation is necessary because we have seen ﬁrsthandhow our system has degraded in recent years. This is adeﬁning moment.Wemustact.Future generations will look back at these attacksonvoting rights and our freedoms andwill judgeusonwhatwedid—or failed to do—in this moment

We urge theLegislaturetoact without delay andtounequivocally afﬁrm that in Louisiana, everyvoice matters, every communitycounts,and the promise of equalprotection will be enforced, notdeferred. Pass the Louisiana Voting RightsAct now.

Sincerely

AshleyShelton, President/CEO PowerCoalition forEquityand Justice

7389 Florida BlvdSuites 3&4 Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Victoria Wenger,Manager

NAACP Legal Defenseand Educational Fund, Inc

40 Rector Street,Floor 5 NewYork,NY10006

Adam Lioz,SeniorPolicy Counsel

NAACPLegal Defenseand Educational Fund, Inc

700 14th Street N.W.,Suite 600 Washington, DC 20005

[1] See Table 4, The Voting Rights Act: HistoricalDevelopmentand Policy Background, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47520.

[2] See Fannie LouHamer,Rosa Parks, andCoretta Scott KingVotingRights ActReauthorization andAmendments of 2006,Pub.L.No. 109-246,120 Stat.577.

[3] 570 U.S. 529(2013); see JurisdictionsPreviouslyCoveredBySection5,CIVIL RIGHTSDIVISION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (May17, 2023), https://www.justice. gov/crt/jurisdictions-previously-covered-section-5.

[4]See Robinson v. Landry, LEGAL DEFENSE FUND,https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/robinson-v-landry-louisiana-discriminatory-redistricting/

[5] See Louisiana v. Callais,606 U.S. (2025); see also Louisiana v. Callais FAQ, LEGALDEFENSE FUND,https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/louisiana-v-callais-faq/.

[6]See Democracy Diverted: Polling Place Closures and the Right to Vote, THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND (Sept. 2019), https://civilrightsdocs.info/ pdf/reports/Democracy-Diverted.pdf

[7] See WhyGeaux Vote?RacialDisparitiesinLouisiana Voter Turnoutand Opportunities forIntervention, 4FORDHAM L. VOTING RTS. &DEMOCRACYF.1(2026),https:// fordhamdemocracyproject.com/2026/01/28/why-geaux-vote-racial-disparities-in-louisiana-voter-turnout-and-opportunities-for-intervention/; see alsoKevin Morris and CorynGrange, Growing Racial DisparitiesinTurnout, 2008-2022, BRENNAN CENTER (Mar.2,2024), at Figure10White-Black Turnout Gap Time Series,https://www brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/growing-racial-disparities-voter-turnout-2008-2022.

[8] Mem. from LDF &Impact Rsch. to Interested Parties (Jan. 16, 2025), https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025-01-16-Key-Findings-Memo4.pdf

ArtemisIIastronautsmorethanhalfway to moon

BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

HOUSTON Now more than halfway to the moon, the Artemis II astronauts were toasted by Canada on Saturday as they prepared for their historic lunar fly-around to push deeperinto space than even the Apollo astronauts.

Thethree Americans andone Canadian will reach their destination Monday,photographing the mysterious lunar far side as they zoom around. It’sthe firstmoonbound crew in more than 53 years, picking up where NASA’s Apollo program left off.

“The Earth is quite small and the moon is deﬁnitely getting bigger,” reported pilot Victor Glover Artemis II is poised to set adistance record for humans, traveling more than 252,000 miles from Earth before hanging aU-turn behind the moon and heading home without stopping or entering lunar orbit. The record is currently held by Apollo 13. The Canadian SpaceAgencycelebrated the country’srole in the

mission, speaking from Quebec with astronaut Jeremy Hansen as he headed toward hislunarrendezvous. Hansen is the ﬁrst non-U.S. citizen to ﬂy to the moon. “Today he is makinghistory for Canada,” said Canadian Space Agency PresidentLisaCampbell. “As we watch him taking this bold step into the unknown, let his journey remind us that Canada’sfuture is written by those whodare to reach for more.”

In the live televised linkup, Hansen saidhe’salreadywitnessed “extraordinary” views from NASA’s Orion capsule. Hansen, Glover,ReidWiseman andChristina Koch are the world’s first lunar astronautssince Apollo 17’screw of three in 1972. Koch and Glover are the first femaleand first Black astronauts to themoon, respectively

Theirnearly10-day mission endingwith aPaciﬁc splashdown on April 10 —isthe ﬁrst step in NASA’s bold plansfor asustainable moon base.The spaceagencyisaiming fora moon landingbytwo astronauts near thelunarsouth pole in 2028.

Trumpadministrationappeals order haltingconstructionofballroom

BY STEPHENGROVES

Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration is arguing that ajudge’sordertohaltconstruction of a$400million ballroom creates asecurity risk for President Donald Trump as it asks afederal appeals court to pausethe ruling.

In amotion filed Friday, National Park Service lawyers say that the federal judge’s order to suspend construction ofthe newfacility is “threatening gravenational-security harms to the White House, the President and his family,and the President’sstaff.”

“Time is of the essence!” the lawyerswrite, citing materialsthat will be installed tomake a“heavily fortiﬁed” facility.The ballroom construction also includesbombshelters, military installations and amedical facility, according to the ﬁling. Theballroom is part of President Donald Trump’splans to quickly remake Washington.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington on Tuesday ordered the temporary pause of the constructionprojectthat has included demolishing the EastWingofthe White House. He concluded thatunless Congress approves the project, the preservationist group suing to stop it is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims because “no statute comes close to givingthe President the authority he claims to have.”

The judgesuspended enforcement of his order for 14 days acknowledging that the administration would appeal his decision. Leon’s ruling and the appeal come the same weekakey agency tasked with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region gave ﬁnalapproval to the project

In his ruling Leon, who was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush, suspendedenforcement of his orderrecognizing that “halting an ongoing construction project

mayraiselogistical issues.”

Leon also addressed national security in his ruling, saying that he reviewed information that thegovernment privately submitted to him and concluded that halting construction wouldn’tjeopardize national security.Heexempted any construction workthat is necessary for the safety and security of the White Housefromthe scope of the injunction.

Trump lashed out at the ruling, but also noted that it would allow work on underground bunkers and other securitymeasures around theWhite House grounds to continue —even thoughthose will be paid for by taxpayers.

Trump has pledged that he, along withprivate donors,will cover the costs for the ballroom construction

But the National ParkService argues in itsmotion thatthe president has“complete authority to renovate the White House” and the current state of the grounds, which is an open constructionsite,makeitharder to protect the WhiteHouse.

“Canvastents,whichare necessary without aballroom, aresigniﬁcantlymorevulnerable to missiles, drones, and other threats than ahardened national security facility,” the motion says.

By The Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands Dutch police are investigating asmall explosionoutside a Christian center that promotesIsrael PoliceinGelderland provincesaidin apost on Xthat nobody was injured in the explosion on Friday night and that it caused only limited damage at an address in Nijkerk, in the central Netherlands

Police appealed forwitnessesand said nobody has been arrested

The group Christians for Israel said the detonationtargeted itsIsrael Center in Nijkerk and was caused by an explosive device.

In astatement on itswebsite, the group expressed shock andsaidthe blast ﬁtsa patternofattacks on Jewish sites that are intended to sow fear

PHOTO PROVIDED By CANADIAN SPACEAGENCy

Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen, of Canada, speaksSaturdaywithCanadian media from the Orion spacecraft along withastronauts Victor Glover, left, and Reid Wiseman.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By JON ELSWICK Artistrenderings of the newWhite House East Wing and ballroom are displayed Tuesday

U.S. jets hit in Iran mark exceedingly rare occurrence

BY BEN FINLEY and JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press

WASHINGTON Iran shooting down two American military jets marks an exceedingly rare assault for the U.S. that has not happened in more than 20 years and shows the Islamic Republic’s continued ability to hit back despite President Donald Trump asserting it has been “completely decimated.”

The attacks came five weeks after U.S. and Israeli strikes first pounded Iran, with Trump saying earlier this week that Tehran’s “ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed.”

Iran shot down a U.S. F15-E Strike Eagle fighter jet Friday, with one service member getting rescued and the search still underway for a second, U.S. officials said. Iranian state media also said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed after being hit by Iranian defense forces.

The last time a U.S. warplane was shot down by enemy fire in combat was an A-10 Thunderbolt II during the 2003 U.S invasion of Iraq, said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Houston Cantwell, a former F-16 ﬁghter pilot.

But, he said, that’s because the U.S. had largely been fighting insurgents who didn’t have the same anti-aircraft capabilities. The fact that there have not been more ﬁghter jets lost in Iran, Cantwell said, is a testament to the capabilities of U.S. forces.

“The fact that this hasn’t happened until now is an absolute miracle,” said

Cantwell, who served four combat tours and is now a senior resident fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “We’re ﬂying combat missions here, they are being shot at every day.”

U.S. Central Command said in a statement Wednesday that American forces have ﬂown more than 13,000 missions in the Iran war while striking more than 12,300 targets.

After more than a month of punishing U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, a degraded Iranian military nonetheless remains a stubborn foe. Its steady stream of strikes against Israel and Gulf Arab neighbors have been causing regional upheaval and global economic shock When it comes to American dominance over Iran’s airspace, there’s still a distinction between air superiority and air supremacy, said Behnam Ben Taleblu, Iran program senior director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.

“A disabled air defense system is not a destroyed air defense system,” he said.

“We shouldn’t be shocked that they’re still ﬁghting.”

American planes have been flying missions at lower altitudes, which makes them more vulnerable to Iran’s missiles, Taleblu said. It’s possible that Iran fired at the F-15 with a surfaceto-air missile, but it’s more likely that a portable, shoulder-fired missile was used, he said. Those are much harder to detect and reflect how Iran is “weak but still lethal.”

“This is a regime that is ﬁghting for its life,” he said.

Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior defense adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed that a shoulder-ﬁred missile was likely used against the ﬁghter jet.

Nonetheless, the American air war against Iran has been a “tremendous success” so far, he said.

To put things in perspective, he said the loss rate for American warplanes ﬂying over Germany during World War II was 3% at one point, which would equal about 350 warplanes in the U.S. war against Iran.

“But then there’s the political side you have an American public that is accustomed to ﬁghting bloodless wars,” Cancian said. “Then a large part of the country doesn’t support the war So to them, any loss is unacceptable.”

The last U.S. jet shot down in combat was struck by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile over Baghdad on April 8,

European ministers call for profit caps on energy ﬁrms

BY DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press

The finance ministers of Spain and four other European countries are urging the European Union to impose a bloc-wide windfall tax on energy companies, concerned that surging oil and gas prices driven by the war in Iran will fuel inﬂation and strain households.

Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said Saturday that his counterparts from Germany Italy Portugal and Austria had signed a letter to the European Commission citing “market distortions” caused by the price spike.

“The conﬂict in the Middle East has caused oil prices to rise, placing a signiﬁcant burden on the European economy and on European citizens,” the letter, dated Friday and made public by Cuerpo in an online post, said.

“It is important to ensure that this burden is distributed fairly,” it added.

Europe is largely dependent on imported oil and gas, leaving it vulnerable to external shocks. In 2022, turmoil in energy markets following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine pushed inﬂation into double digits in many European countries.

At the time, the EU imposed a “solidarity contribution” that included caps on excess energy proﬁts.

“Given the current market distortions and fiscal constraints, the European Commission should swiftly develop a similar EU-wide contribution instrument,” the letter said. “It would also send a clear message that those who proﬁt from the consequences of the war must do their part to ease the burden on the general public.”

Driven largely by higher oil prices, the annual inﬂation rate in the 21 countries that use the euro rose to 2.5% in March, from 1.9% in February

Iran has blocked most tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a choke-

point for about 20% of global oil and gas — in a move that threatens to stress fuel markets for months.

2003. The pilot safely ejected and was rescued, according to the Air Force.

In high-threat environments like missions over Iran, Cantwell, the retired general, said an aviator’s blood pressure goes up and they become highly alert to incoming missiles. Those are typically either infraredor radar-guided missiles, he

said, requiring different evasive tactics.

If they are hit and need to eject from their aircraft they are trained on what to do next, he said.

Pilots learn to check for wounds after a violent ejection and the shock of a missile explosion and, most crucially, how they are going to communicate their location

so rescuers can ﬁnd them. At the same time, he said, the enemy is likely working to intercept the communications or even spoof the location.

The planes that went down Friday were not the first crewed American aircraft to be lost overall in Iran. A military helicopter and airplane exploded in 1980 during an aborted mission to rescue several dozen American hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, according to the Air Force Historical Support Division. After a series of setbacks, including severe dust storms and mechanical failures, the mission was called off. As the aircraft took off, the rotor blades of one of the RH-53 helicopters collided with an EC-130 aircraft

By The Associated Press

DAKAR,Senegal The Senegalese government has banned all but essential foreign trips for government ministers as part of cost-saving measures triggered by the energy crisis linked to the Iran war Senegal, like many African countries, imports most of the petroleum products it consumes, leaving its economy vulnerable to supply disruptions such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent the price of crude soaring.

Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said Friday that his office was taking steps to limit public expenditure,

pointing out that the country’s initial budget forecasts were based on an oil price of $62 per barrel, which is now almost double as a result of the Iran war

“I have taken a number of drastic measures to restrict everything related to government spending, including the cancellation of all nonessential missions abroad,” the government-owned Le Soleil newspaper quoted Sonko as saying. He added that he canceled several trips, including to Niger, Spain and France. “No minister in my government will leave the country except for an essential mission,” Sonko said Senegal

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MAyA

OutspokenIraniansoverseassay families held in Iran

BY AMIR-HUSSEIN RADJY Associated Press

CAIRO— Iran’sgovernment is detaining family members and threatening to seize property of Iranian opposition figures in exile, some tell The Associated Press, in the latest crackdownon dissenting voices as the war rages on.

Activists overseas play akey role in trackingthe crackdown, which is complicatedbythe internet shutdown imposed earlierthis year during massivenationwide protests against the Islamic theocracy.Watchdogs say security forces shot and killed thousands of people

The war withthe United States and Israel has intensified authorities’ threats against anyone speaking to outside media or activists. Now that pressure appears to be expanding to intimidate activists in exile.

Intelligence agents in Tehran on March 15 detained the brother of HosseinRazzagh, aformer political prisoner who ﬂed last year to Europe, Razzagh told the AP “My own brother isn’tatall political and doesn’tdoany kind of political activity.It’s to putmeunder pressure,” he said.

His brother,Ali, was taken from his home in Tehran and wasabletophone his wife that night “for afew seconds” from adetention center run by Iran’sIntelligence Ministry,Razzagh said. Since then, the family and his lawyer have beenunable to contact him. But the intelligence ministry told them it was reviewing his contact with his brother,Razzagh said.

Another activist who ﬂed, Behnam Chegini, said his 20-year-old niece was detained on March 10 for a week. The niece was taken from her parents’ housein thecityofArak soon after shereturned from Tehran where her universityhad closed because of the war. She was laterreleasedon bail and put under atravel ban. Chegini, who is now based in France, said the detention was at least in part “because she is my niece and they

knowthat.”

Sareh Sedighi, anactivist who ﬂed afterher 2021 death sentence was overturned, said hermother wasdetained fromher homelastmonthin the western townofUrmia.

“The IslamicRepublictook my motheraway to make me be quiet,” she said. Her mother suffersfrom health problems and requires daily insulin doses,she added.

And Mahshid Nazemi, a formerpolitical prisoner and activistwho now lives in France, saidatleast one friend was detainedand questioned about contact with her

Iran’sjudiciary has begun seizing the propertyof public ﬁgures critical of the country’s rulers, underan anti-espionagelaw approved during last year’s 12-day war with Israel thatpunishes media and cultural activities deemedtosupportIran’senemies.

Ajudiciaryspokesmanon March31said on stateTV that more than 200 indictments for conﬁscations have been orare being issued.

BorzouArjmand, an Iranianactor livinginCalifornia,foundout from news reports that hisassets in Iran hadbeen conﬁscated. After his outspoken support for protestsin2022, Arjmand was unable to return to Iran.

Sincethen, authoritieshave blocked hisbank accounts.

Arjmand has expressed support on social media for Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’slast shah who has organized an opposition movement abroad and supported U.S.-Israeli strikes.

Pressuring exiledﬁgures is meant “so the Iranian people’s voice doesn’treach the world,” Arjmand said.

At least three other figureslivingoutside Iran— star soccer player Sardar Azmoun, musician Mohsen Yeghaneh anduniversity professor AliSharifi Zarchi —have been on lists of confiscations, according to two semiofficial news agencies in Iran. Yeghaneh and Zarchihaveexpressed support for anti-government protesters on social media. Iranian security and judicial officialshave warned that anynew anti-govern-

mentprotests will be met with lethal force.

State media regularly reportarrests around the country,describing people as “mercenaries” or “agents” of Israel andthe United States, “royalist thugs”or“traitorouselements.”

Reportshave alleged that some sent information to “hostile networks.”

Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, has tracked several hundreddetentions since thewar began on Feb. 28,using itsnetworks in the country and statemediareports, said itsdirector, Mahmood Amiry-Moghhaddam. He said the full number is likely far higher

Among those detained is human rightslawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, taken by intelligence agentsfromher house in Tehran, said her daughter MehravehKhandan, who lives in Amsterdam.The 64-year-old Sotoudeh had been out on bail for health reasons following an earlier detention.

Little is known about how trials are functioning, as Israeliairstrikes havetargetedbuildingsconnected to the judicial system. “It’s likethey are half-closed Alot of judges arestaying home,” saidMusa Barzin, alawyer with Dadban, a group of rights lawyers based abroad.

Somereport deteriorating conditions inside crowded prisons. Speaking from Tehran, the wife of apolitical

Judgehalts effort requiringcollegestoshow they aren’t consideringraceinadmissions

BY MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

BOSTON Afederal judge has halted efforts by the Trump administration to collect data that proves higher education institutions aren’t considering race in admissions. The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston on Fridaygranting the preliminary injunction follows a lawsuit ﬁledlast month by acoalition of 17 Democratic state attorneysgeneral. It will only apply to public universities in plaintiffs.

The federal judge said the federal governmentlikely

has theauthoritytocollect the data, but the demand was rolled out to universities in a“rushed and chaotic” manner. “The 120-day deadline imposed by the President led directly to the failure of NCES (NationalCenter for EducationStatistics) to engage meaningfully with the institutions during the notice-and-comment process to address the multitude of problemspresented by the newrequirements,”Saylor wrote.

President Donald Trump ordered the datacollection in August after he raised concerns that colleges and universities were using per-

sonal statements and other proxies to consider race, whichheviews as illegal discrimination.

In 2023, theSupreme Courtruled against the use of afﬁrmative action in admissions but said colleges could still consider how race has shaped students’ lives if applicants share that information in theiradmissions essays.

Thestates argue the data collection risks invading student privacy and leading to baselessinvestigations of colleges and universities.They also argued that universitieshavenot been given enough timetocollect thedata.

prisoner held at Iran’sEvin Prisonworried it could be struck as it was during last year’swar

“Explosions andsmoke can be heardand seen from everywhere in thecity. Ev-

ery timewehear asound, we get scared,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity forher family’ssafety

Thesituation hasled to new attemptstoorganize the highly fragmentedIranian

opposition abroad. Shortly before the war, Razzagh and others began planning an opposition conference in London, the Iran Freedom Congress, to bring together pro-democracy groups. Razzagh represented agroup of Iran-based oppositionﬁguresincluding Soutoudehand imprisoned Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi. He called the conference aﬁrst step toward forming acoalition to push fora“political transition” in Iran. For decades, Iran’srulershavequashedorganized political opposition. Some activists in the diaspora say the war is worsening that pressure. “Israel and America are saying, well, if the Islamic Republic doesn’tkill you, let us bomb you. They’ve been taken hostage from both sides,” Nazemi said of Iranians back home.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByVAHID SALEMI

Aresidential building damaged by recent U.S.-Israeli strikes is seen Fridaywith asign on its wall that reads in Farsi, ‘Westand till the end,’inFardis, west of Tehran, Iran.

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Women take pride in Holy Week roles after exclusion

A Spanish Catholic brotherhood’s procession barred them

BY MANU FERNANDEZ and GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press

MONTORO, Spain

One reli-

gious brotherhood’s refusal to include women in its Holy Week procession has made front-page news in Spain, whose Easter-time festivities dating back centuries are among the most fervently celebrated in the world.

The exclusion is the exception in the Catholic processions that have been unfolding across the country. They vary from hourslong versions that attract tens of thousands of faithful and tourists in major cities like Seville to village affairs that speak more intimately to family and tradition.

There was indignation at the controversy unfolding in Sagunto, where a majority of the Puríssima Sang de Nostre Senyor Jesucrist brotherhood’s members voted to exclude women and said their decision was based on “respect for tradition.” The news triggered protests from the government as well as in the streets.

Holy Week processions in Spain are elaborate affairs that take months to pre-

pare, peaking in the early hours of Good Friday, one of the most solemn days.

Brotherhoods organize the groups that for hours carry the heavy ﬂoats with statues, sometimes up to half a dozen of them representing scenes from the Gospels’ accounts of Jesus’ passion and death, like Judas’ betraying kiss on the Mount of Olives.

Women are sometimes “portadoras,” carrying the ﬂoats on their shoulders.

In Baena, a hilltop hamlet of whitewashed homes among Andalusia’s olive groves, eyelashes lushly covered in mascara were seen through the purple hoods of women carrying a ﬂower-decked ﬂoat with a statue of Jesus in prayer

In Montoro, another village in the same province of Córdoba, a member of a local brotherhood said men and women should have equal roles, especially since the sacred images carried in procession include both the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

“In my house I have three daughters, with my wife that’s four, and with me we’re ﬁve — and the whole family takes part,” added Ricardo Ruano, who on Holy Thursday was a “costalero,” one of the robed people carrying large ﬂoats on the base of their neck. “We wait for this the whole year, because it’s our favorite.”

Several “portadoras” in Montoro said they were in-

dignant at the controversy in Sagunto.

“We as women have the same right as a man to go out in the procession,” said one, Rosa de la Cruz. “We don’t go in a procession so that people look at us, we participate so that they see the image.”

Many in the village devoted their Holy Week prayers to the victims of a devastating train accident outside a nearby town that killed nearly four dozen people in January

Even as Spain, like most of Europe, is increasingly secular, interest keeps growing in participating in procession roles, said Juan Carlos

Collapse of Tokyo’s aging cherry blossom trees raises safety concerns

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI and MAYUKO ONO Associated Press

TOKYO Many of Tokyo’s popular and iconic

Somei Yoshino cherry blossom trees were planted during Japan’s postwar advancement in the 1960s, and are now getting old and frail.

Some have fallen and many others require support, triggering safety concern as the Japanese celebrate the season of their favorite ﬂower

Two cherry blossom trees collapsed on Thursday, one at Kinuta Park in downtown Tokyo and the other at the Chidorigafuchi greenway The one in Kinuta Park damaged a fence while the other tree almost fell into the Imperial Palace moat, though nobody was injured.

The tree in Kinuta Park was 59 feet tall and 8.2 feet in diameter It was among the oldest, believed to be more than 60 years old ofﬁcials said. In March, another old cherry tree collapsed at the park, injuring a passerby Last year, 85 trees fell in Tokyo parks, injuring three people, and many were cherry trees, according to Masakazu Noguchi, a Tokyo metropolitan ofﬁcial in charge of public parks

People gather under the trees during the season of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, and the collapse of trees has alarmed ofﬁcials in Tokyo, the birthplace of the cherry blossom variety Tokyo assembly member Yutaka Kazama expressed concern on social media last month that “cherry blossom trees with their roots partially exposed or obviously rotten (at Kinuta park) seem dangerous,” calling for ﬁrm safety measures but without quickly resorting to tree felling.

Aging and erosion by internal fungus growth are among the main causes for the

deterioration of the cherry blossom trees.

A tree doctor, Hiroyuki Wada, said heavy tilting, holes or mushrooms growing at the bottom are signs to look for in order to avoid risk-prone trees. Risks increase when tree trunks retain water after rain, he said.

“Many trees in our daily lives were planted soon after the war and are now 70-80 years old and getting weaker,” he said, adding that they are affected by extreme heat in the summer and an extensive dry season.

“I hope people think about the climate change through what’s happening to the cherry blossom trees, which is very symbolic,” he said.

Following the March incidents, ofﬁcials conducted tree health checks at Tokyo’s main parks ahead of the cherry blossom viewing season.

At the Kinuta Park, ofﬁcials have conducted preliminary inspections of more than 800 cherry trees. They chopped down a number of trees and posted warning signs near some trees but the tree that fell Thursday was without caution signs.

González Faraco, a University of Huelva professor He has studied religious traditions in Andalusia, including

the El Rocío pilgrimage at the end of the Easter season. Historically male, brotherhoods have been including women in both leadership and processional roles for decades, he added. That’s especially true in the lines of often hooded “penitents” who march alongside the floats, though some of the heaviest ﬂoats are still carried only by men.

In Montoro, Mari Carmen Lopez said physical strength might vary but men and women share the same feeling. “We go with faith, with devotion, with all our hearts,” she said as her brotherhood’s float made its way through the village’s uphill alleys. Men who disregard that, she added, “don’t realize they were born of a woman.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MANU FERNANDEZ

A hooded penitent of the Nuestro Padre Jesus Cautivo y Nuestra Senora de la Estrella brotherhood kisses her child Tuesday during a Holy Week procession in Dona Mencia, southern Spain.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARI yAMAGUCHI People walk Saturday near an aging cherry blossom tree at the Inokashira Park, one of Tokyo’s most popular viewing spots.

Eyesurgery marathon restores sightfor SouthAfricans

BY MICHELLEGUMEDE Associated Press

TSAKANE, South Africa Gladys Khozahad missed being able to see her family.Not because they couldn’tvisit, but because the 84-year-old had vision problems Now that has changed. Khoza is one of 133 people whose sight wasrestored during a“marathon” of free cataract surgeries conducted by doctors in South Africa at two hospitals over two weekends last month.

“Wow!” adelightedKhoza whispered as anursepeeled back abandage aday after her operation, and the world came back into view

“Can you see me?” the nurse asked. “Very well,” Khoza replied, abig grin on her face.

Patients in South Africa’s public health service can be on waiting lists for years for the simple 15- to 20-minute cataract operation. Ofﬁcials said someofthose who were selected from hospital waiting lists for the surgeries had been waiting since 2019 to see properlyagain

Cataractsare acommon, often age-related condition in which the eye’slens becomes clouded,and they are theleadingcause of curable blindness.The surgeriesinsert anew artiﬁcial lens. For Khoza, who said she couldn’tsee anything out of one eye because of acataract and had long hadissues

with theother,the simple surgery equatestoamajor boost for her qualityoflife.

“I just wanted to be able to see,” she said. Now, after nearlya year of waiting, some of herfavoritethings —seeingloved ones, reading herBible andwatching late-night soap operas —are all possible again.

Dr.Tebogo Fakude, one of

United States

the doctors who volunteered to perform theoperations at two regional hospitals near Johannesburg, said his mother was blind and that having sight restored is “beautiful.”

“It’sbeautiful because it alleviates depression,” Fakude saidadding that the sense of being aburden was also eased.

Globally,more than 2billion people suffer from some kind of vision impairment, according to the World HealthOrganization. For half of them, theproblem could have been prevented, or they are still waiting for treatment.

Nearly 100 million people are affected by cataracts, and half of them still need accesstosurgery, according to theWHO In Africa, that ﬁgure rises to 75% of people without surgery,according to a studypublished in March

by the Lancet medical journal.Surgerybacklogsare a signiﬁcant problem in South Africa, where governmentrun hospitals serve more thanthree-quartersofthe population of 62 millionpeople. Limited resources mean emergency procedures and more serious operations are prioritized over elective surgery

The Health Departmentled surgical marathons were ﬁrst staged on Mandela Day in 2023 to commemorate the legacy of the country’s ﬁrst Black president, Nelson Mandela.Theyhave developedinto apublic-private partnership that takes place severaltimesa year to increase access to care.

The ministry has vowed to use surgical marathons as a meansofeliminatingbacklogs. Previous ones have addressed prostate, cleftpalate and stomach issues.

Cataractsbecame the lat-

est focus. Around 300,000 new cases are diagnosed every year in South Africa, Fakude said.

Health groups say South Africa faces abacklog of over 240,000 people waiting for cataract operations. Over 35,000 peopleinthe most populous province of Gauteng —where the surgery marathon was performed —have cataractrelated blindness. WHO says eyecataract operations are “one of the most cost-effective medical procedures,” anda powerfultool to restore someone’s independence, dignity and opportunities.

During the three-day surgery marathon at Pholosong Regional Hospital, anew patient was brought into the operating theater about every 30 minutes. Soothing gospelmusic playedon speakers to keep up doctors’ morale.

BY MATTHEW LEE AP diplomatic writer

WASHINGTON The Trump administration has revoked the green cards or U.S. visas of at least four Iranian nationals connected to the current or former Iranian government, including two who have been detained by immigration authoritiesand are to be deported. The latest actions were taken just this week when Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined they were no longer eligible for either lawful permanent resident status, or to enter the United States The steps follow amove late lastyear in which the visas of several diplomats and staffers at Iran’smissionto the United Nations were also revoked.

In astatementonSaturday, the State Department said the niece and grandniece of former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Qassem Soleimani, who was killedina U.S.airstrikenear theBaghdad airport in2020, had been arrestedlateFriday by immigration agents after Rubio revoked their green cards “Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughterare nowinthe custodyofU.S. Immigration andCustoms Enforcement,”the statement said, adding that Afshar’s husband hasalso been bannedfrom enteringthe

Afsharand her daughter hadbeenlivinga “lavish lifestyle”inLos Angeles for many yearswhile supporting theIranian government and anti-American attacks, according to thestatement. She is “an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americansand referred to ourcountry as the“Great Satan,” Rubio said in apost on X. “The Trump administration will not allow our country tobecomeahome for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”

The Iranianmissiontothe U.N. hadnocommentSaturday

PHOTO By KAyLEEN MORGAN

LOUISIANAPOLITICS

1800sLa. lawyer hasroleinbirthrightcitizenship case

19th-century

St.Martinville native’s writingsare cited

WASHINGTON —U.S. Supreme Court justices are considering two cases that could changelongestablished constitutional interpretations concerning race —and Louisiana plays an integral role in both

Mark Ballard

The first is the challengetothe configuration of Baton Rouge Democratic U.S. Rep. Cleo Field’s congressional district that could gut the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which opened thedoors for minorities to vote and for minority candidates to have ashotatholding elected office.

The second case was argued Wednesday,inwhich President Donald Trump’sadministration is seeking to eliminate the provision that grants U.S. citizenship to nearly all children born on American soil to immigrantparents. Trump attended that hearing in person, highlighting the importance he puts on the case. To support its position before the nine justices, the Trump administration has cited the 19th-century legal writingsof Louisiana lawyer Alexander Porter Morse, aSt. Martinville native and Confederate ofﬁcer in Louisiana’s1st Cavalry,formed in Baton Rouge. He became alawyerin1872.

Morse wrote in legal treatises that allowing Black people to vote was a“danger to the republic as a result of the indiscriminateextensionofthe franchise to ignorant and unqualiﬁed masses.”

Morse represented Judge HowardFerguson in the seminal 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case that led to

Bill would change governor term limits

John Bel Edwards

The Louisiana Legislature is considering abill that would ask voters to amend the state constitution to set a limit of two terms for governors —instead of the current limit of two consecutive terms. The change would block former Gov.John Bel Edwards, aDemocrat, from seeking theofﬁce again in the future. After serving two terms from 2016 to 2024, Edwards was barred from running again in 2023. But, under the current rules, he would be allowed to run again in 2027.

House Bill 225, by Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, would change the limit to two terms outright.The bill passed out of the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs on an 11-2 vote, and now is set for ahearing in the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.

thecodiﬁcation of the “separate but equal”doctrineand to racially restrictingJim Crow laws.

He also helped represent SamuelTilden in negotiations over the disputed1876 presidential election.Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner andremoved federal troops that had been enforcing racial equity in theSouth.

Trump v. Barbara seeks to changethe Citizenship Clause of the14th Amendment —ratiﬁed in 1868 to overturn the Supreme Court’s 1858 Dred ScottDecision that deniedcitizenship to Black people

Theamendmentstated,inpart, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of theUnited States,” ensur-

Only one Louisiana governor haseverservedfor morethan two terms: Edwin Edwards, who was elected in 1972, 1976, 1983 and1991. Theproposed constitutional amendment would be similartothe 22th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.That change, approved byCongress in 1947 and ratiﬁed by the states in 1951, set alimit of two terms for U.S.presidents. Beforethat amendment was ratiﬁed, only President FranklinD.Roosevelt hadserved more than two terms;hewas elected four times Legislatureseeks to clarifymachine voting

ing the children of newly emancipated enslaved people would share therights and privileges of all Americans.

On theﬁrst day of his second term, Trumpissued an executive order denying citizenship to children born in theU.S. to parents here illegally and tothose on work, study or tourism visas.

Trumpsays the birthright clause was directed solely to theenslaved but has since been interpreted too broadly.Congressional Republicans have ﬁled bills each year since 1991 seeking to restrict theclause. None have gained traction.

The Supreme Court in 1898 ruled that Wong Kim Ark, aman born to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, was aU.S. citizen.

Capitol Buzz STAFF REPORTS

resolution that the Caddo Parish Commission presented to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., when he visited Shreveport. Amongother arguments, Murrill’sofﬁce saidavote was invalid becauseitwas made using amachine, andthe state’sopen meetings law requires that votes be conducted “viva voce” meaning by voice. That argument stirred confusion among public bodies throughout thestate that used voting machines Twodifferent bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, would speciﬁcally allow votes using electronic machines that publicly display their results.

After arecentcontroversy over how city councils, school boards andother government bodies voteduring their meetings, bills advancinginthe Louisiana Legislature would explicitly allow the use of votingmachines

Many public bodies already use the machines, which tally how their members voteand publicly display them. Butthat practice recently came under scrutiny after Attorney General Liz Murrill’sofﬁce challenged a

SenateBill 1, by Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport, passed theSenate without opposition on Tuesday and will now be considered by theHouse. On thesame day,House Bill 73, by Rep.Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, passed unanimously out of the committee on House and Governmental Affairs.

Congress in 1940 and again in 1952 put birthright citizenship into law using the same“subject to thejurisdiction”language as the14th Amendment.

In theadministration’scourt ﬁlings and during Wednesday’sSupremeCourt arguments, Solicitor General D. John Sauer contended that “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” meansaparent whoisalready aU.S. citizen and not tied to another country.Congress didn’t intend to extend U.S. citizenship to immigrants’ babies when debating theCitizenship Clause in the1860s, he said.

In their “friend of the court” brief supporting Trump’sposition, U.S. Sen. TedCruz, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also quoted from Morse’s1881 “A Treatise on Citizenship,” saying foreigners are “subject to the jurisdiction of the United States only to alimited extent,” and thus their children would not be citizens.

In their friend-of-the-court brief,the Chinese American Legal Defense Alliance countered that the writings of Morse and the other two scholars were“a racist and increasingly hostile opposition to Chinese people in the United States” that preceded the 1898 Wong KimArk case.

The Washington Post ﬁrst reported the Trumpadministration’suse of Morse. The White House defends its position, with spokeswoman Abigail Jackson telling the Post the case is about restoring the Citizenship Clause to its “original public meaning.”

But critics say the TrumpAdministration’sarguments misread morethan 100 years of established law

“Grasping forarguments, Trump’slawyers landed on this: The 14th Amendment’s‘one pervading purpose’ wastoprotect the children of former slaves, not anyone else,” wrote Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center forJustice in New York. “That reading puts aside the clear language of the amendment, along with acentury and ahalf of history and tradition. It’s historical fanﬁction, designed to appeal to an ‘originalist’ court.”

The high court likely will release its decision in June or July Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

Sauer used the writings of Morse and twoother contemporary legal scholars to demonstratewhat commentators at the time understood the amendment to mean Morse wrote in 1881: “The words ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof’exclude the children of foreigners.”

La. could add citizenship marker to driver’slicenses

Louisiana driver’slicenses could soon indicate holders’ citizenship status under abill that passed the state House along party lines on Monday.

House Bill 613 by state Rep. Dodie Horton,RHaughton, would requirethe Ofﬁce of Motor Vehicles to put an image of an eagle in ﬂight on each driver’slicense it issues to aUnitedStates citizen.

Horton said the symbolwould be apoint of pride and that it would help prevent naturalized citizens from being proﬁled.

“I think it’simportant to have that designation” so folks who have become citizens “don’thave to prove it over andover again,” Horton said.

ButDemocrats worriedthe distinction could prompt law enforcement ofﬁcers to target noncitizens.

The proposal comes amid heightened tensions over President Donald Trump’shard-line immigrationpolicies.

In theirpush to deport im-

migrants in recordnumbers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementand other law enforcement ofﬁcials have been accusedofracial proﬁling. Immigrants with legal status andevenUnitedStatescitizens have been caught in the dragnet.

During debate on the House ﬂoor,state Rep. Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, said it was naïve to think including citizenship markersonLouisiana driver’slicenses wouldn’tmake immigrants vulnerable to harassment.

“They’re going to lock youup andask questions later,”Jordan said. “This is anothermeansof harassment, andwedon’t need that.”

State Rep. Kyle Green, aDemocrat from Marrero, questioned the necessity of HB613.

Drivers must showproof that theyare in the United States legally to acquire Real IDs, he said.

The House passed the bill 7129. It needs approval from the Senate before it heads to Gov JeffLandry’sdesk.

Bayham

Horton Jordan

Jenkins

COURTROOM SKETCH By DANA VERKOUTEREN

Solicitor General D. John Sauer,standing center,makes arguments before the U.S. Supreme CourtonApril 1in Washington. President Donald Trumpisseated right.

• Builttolastand

•

• Handcrafted with USA-made steel

BY JOCELYN GECKER AP education writer

The assignmentinvolves no laptop, no chatbot and no technology of any kind. In fact, there’snopen or paper,either

Instead, students in Chris Schaffer’sbiomedical engineering class at Cornell Universityare required to speak directly to an instructor in what he calls an “oral defense.” It’satesting method as old as Socrates and making acomeback in the AI age. Agrowing number of college professors say they are turning to oral exams, andcombining avariety of old-fashioned and cutting-edge techniques tohelp addressacrisis in higher education.

“You won’tbeabletoAIyour waythrough an oral exam,” says Schaffer,who introduced the oral defenselast semester Educators are no longernaively wondering if studentswilluse generative AI to do their homework for them. Abig question now is howtodetermine whatstudents are actually learning. College instructors acrossthe U.S. are noticing troubling new trends as generative artiﬁcial intelligence becomes more sophisticated. Take-home essays and other written assignments are coming back perfect. But when students areaskedtoexplaintheir work, they can’t. The long-term impact of AI use on critical thinking remains to be seen, but educators worry that students increasingly seethe hard work of thinking as optional.

In-persontests

At the University of Pennsylvania, Emily Hammer,anassociate professor of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, now pairs oral exams with written papersin her seminar classes

“It comes across as if we’re trying to prevent cheating,” Hammer

EDUCATION

says. “That’s not why we’redoingthis.We’re doingthisbecause studentsare actually losing skills, losing cognitivecapacity andcreativity.”

Hammer forbids AI use on all writing assignments but tells her class she knows she can’tenforce that. However,ifthey haven’twrittentheir papers themselves,defending the material face-to-face will likely be “a very stressful situation.”

Hammer’s classispart of “a massiveshifttoward in-person assessments,” both written and oral, at Penn,saysBruce Lenthall, executive director of the school’s Center for Teachingand Learning.

The Ivy League school is one of a small but growing numberofuniversities that have started running faculty workshopsonoral exams.

Oral examsare nottraditionally part of the modern American undergraduate system,unlike certain European universities. For instance, in theOxbridge tutorial systeminEngland, students meet facultyfor weekly discussions.

Some U.S. colleges saw amove toward oral exams during theCOVID-19 pandemic to address concerns aboutonline cheating, and interest has intensiﬁed since the launch of ChatGPTin2022.

During thepandemic, engineer-

ingprofessor Huihui Qi launcheda three-year study at the University of California, San Diego on how to scale oral exams. Severaluniversities have sinceinvited hertoprovide facultyworkshops or discuss her research.

Fight‘fire with fire’

At NewYorkUniversity,several typesoforal assessments areonthe rise. More faculty are requiring ofﬁce hours, assigning presentationsand cold-callingon students in class. Instructors are saying, “I need to look my students in the eye and ask, ‘Do you know this material? says Clay Shirky, vice provost for AI and technology in education.

One NYU professor has put a modern spin on the traditional oral test. Panos Ipeirotis, aprofessorat NYU’sSternSchool of Business, unveiled an AI-powered oral exam last semester for the final exam in aclassonAIproduct management. He calls it “fighting fire withfire.”

Students log in from homeat any timethat ﬁts their schedule Avoice cloned from abusiness school professor greetsthem “Hi there,” says thevoice on their screen. It asks for the student’s nameand school ID number andthen says, “I’m ready to con-

duct your exam today.”

The chatbot starts withquestions about aﬁnal group project and drills into details based on each student’sanswers. If the student stumbles, the AI agent gives themclues, along with criticism and positive feedback.Ipeirotis gradesthe exams separately, also with the help of AI

“Wewanted to check: Do you know what your team did? Were youa free rider? Did yououtsource everything to AI?” says Ipeirotis, who designedthe tool with ElevenLabs,a companythat develops generative AI voice agents to conduct job interviews.

Students in the class this semester are redesigning the AI agent to smooth out some kinks, andIpeirotisplans to use it in all his future classes.

“I want oral examseverywhere now.Iwant to pair it with every single writtenassignment,”says Ipeirotis. “I don’ttrust writtenassignments anymore to be the result of actual thinking.”

Feedback from studentslast semester was mixed.

Business major Andrea Liu found thechatbot’svoice to be surprisinglyhuman, but the conversation felt choppy withodd pauses. It asked multiple questions at once, which was confusing. And it was jarring to hear avoice but not see aperson.

“It felt kind of awkward to be talking to what waspretty much a blank screen,” says Liu, 21.

But, she agreed with worried educators: “There is no perfect world where AI exists and kids are not abusing it.”

Schoolssee benefits

Across the humanities and STEM disciplines, like computer science, educators worry that students whoskip themental struggle that is necessary for problemsolving won’t developthe skills theyneed to advance in upper-levelclasses andcareers.

That’swhy Schaffer, the Cornell professor,introducedthe oraldefense in his biomedical engineer-

ingclass.Herequiresstudentsto sign up for 20-minute sessions of Socratic-style questioning after submitting writtenproblem sets, which are assigned several times each semester With aclass of 70 students, Schaffersplits the job with his teaching assistants. They no longer grade thewrittenproblemsets, just the oral defenses. He calls it “incentivizing” his students to do the work, or at least understand it enough to explain.

Schaffer’sclass is highlighted in anew “Oral AssessmentWorkshop” offered by Cornell’sCenter forTeaching Innovation.

Otherexamples at Cornell: areligious studies professor whonow holds 30-minute “ﬁnalconversations” with students instead of aﬁnal exam;and another engineering course wherethe professorgives four-minute mock interviews to each student in a180-person class.

Skeptics point out oral exams can be unsettling forstudents who areshy or have serious anxiety, but clarifying the format ahead of time andstarting with softball questions can help, says Carolyn Aslan, wholeads Cornell’soral exam training.

“Sometimes it’s actually good to get that quiet student one-on-one, andyou ﬁnally gettohear from them.Sometimes that is thebreakthrough,” Aslan says.

Several of Schaffer’sstudents say they felt nervous at ﬁrst but endeduppreferringthe oral exam

“I honestly liked it alot,”says Cornell junior Olivia Piserchia, abiomedical engineering major She initially found theoraldefense nerve-wracking but came to value the one-on-one time with instructors. It kept her from feeling lost in alarge classand helped her build the skill of articulating her technical knowledge, as she would need to in ajob.

“Having that live check-in holds you accountable,” says Piserchia. “It’salot harder to look people in the eyes and say out loud, ‘I don’t know this.’ And, that makes you realize, ‘I should study this.’”

BY TIFFANY STANLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON Sincebecoming defense secretary, Pete Hegseth has found no shortage of ways to bring his strand of conservative evangelicalism into the Pentagon.

He hosts monthly Christian worship services for employees.His department’spromotionalvideos have displayed Bible verses alongsidemilitaryfootage.

In speeches and interviews, he often argues the U.S. was founded as aChristian nation and troops should embrace God, potentially risking the military’ssecular mission and hard-won pluralism.

Now the defense secretary’sChristian rhetoric has taken on new meaning after the U.S. and Israel went to warwithIran, an Islamic theocracy

“The mullahs are desperate and scrambling,” he said at arecent Pentagon news brieﬁng, referring to Iran’s Shiite Muslim clerics. He later recited Psalm 144,a passage of Scripture that Jewsand Christiansshare: “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my ﬁngers for battle.”

Hegseth has ahistory of defending the Crusades,the brutal medieval wars that pitted Christians against Muslims. In his 2020 book “American Crusade,”he wrote that those who enjoy Western civilization should “thank acrusader.”Two of his tattoos draw from crusaderimagery:the Jerusalem Cross and the phrase “Deus Vult,” or “God wills it,” which Hegseth has called “the rallying cry of Christian knights as they marched to Jerusalem.”

Matthew D. Taylor,a visiting scholar at Georgetown who studies religious extremism and has beenafrequent Hegseth critic, said, “The U.S. voluntarily going to war against aMuslim country with the military under the leadership of Pete

bers. He saidtroopswere afraid of retaliation, so they would not speak to the media, even if their identities remained protected.

preached at the Pentagon in February at Hegseth’s invitation.

…that is what’stroubling.”

Hegseth is exactly the kind of scenario that people like me were warning about before the electionand throughout his appointment process.”

Taylor saidHegseth’s rhetoric and leadership “can only inﬂame and reinforce thefears and deep animosity that the regime in Iran has towards theU.S.”

When askedwhetherHegseth views thewar in Iran in religiousterms, aDefense Department spokesperson pointedtoarecent CBS interview in which Hegseth seemed to conﬁrm as much.

“We’re fighting religious fanatics who seek anuclear capability in order forsome religious Armageddon,” Hegseth said of Iranian leaders. “Butfrom my perspective, Imean, obviously I’m aman of faith who encourages our troops to lean into their faith, rely on God.”

Unverified allegations

Generations of evangelicalshave been influenced by their own versionof Armageddon and the end of the world, circulatedby books like the “Left Behind” series and“The LateGreat Planet Earth,” or the horror ﬁlm “A Thiefinthe Night.”

Some evangelicalsespouse prophecies inwhich warfare involving Israel is key to bringing about thereturn of Jesus.

Christian Zionistpastor

JohnHagee, head of Christians United for Israel, said of theIran war,“Prophetically,we’re right on cue.”

The co-founder of Hegseth’sdenomination,however,does not teach this theology. Pastor Doug Wilson of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches identiﬁes as apostmillennialist,meaninghebelieves mostofthe apocalyptic events of the Bible have already happened, paving the way for the gradual Christianization of the world before Christ’sreturn.

Hegseth has not said the Iran war is part of Christian prophecy.Yet days after the conﬂict began, claims went viral that U.S. military commanders were telling troops the war fulfilled biblical prophecies around Armageddon and the return of Christ.

TheAssociated Press has not been able toverify these claims, which stem from one source: Mikey Weinstein, the head of theMilitary Religious Freedom Foundation, awatchdog group. Based on allegations Weinsteinsaid he received from hundreds of troops,30Democratic membersofCongress asked thePentagon inspector general to investigate.

In an interview with the AP,Weinstein declinedto provide documentation or the original emails he receivedfrom service mem-

Threemajor religion watchdoggroups—the Freedom FromReligionFoundation, the Anti-Defamation Leagueand the Council on American-Islamic Relations— said they have not received similarcomplaints. The Pentagon declinedto comment on the allegations Reformingchaplaincorps Hegseth’schurch network, theCREC, preaches a patriarchal form of Christianity,wherewomen cannot serve in leadership, and pastorsargue that homosexualityshouldbecriminalized.

Hegseth last year reposted a video in which aCREC pastor opposed women’sright to vote. Wilson, its most prominent leader,identiﬁes as aChristian nationalistand

Both Wilson and Hegseth have questioned Muslim immigration to the United States.Wilsonarguesthe country should restrict Muslim immigration in orderto remain predominantly Christian. In “American Crusade,” Hegseth lamented growing Muslim birthratesand that Muhammad was apopular boys’ name in the U.S.

As head of the armed forces, Hegseth has overseen changes that are in line with his conservative Christian worldview, including banning transgendertroops, curtailing diversity initiatives and reviewingwomen in combat roles.

Youssef Chouhoud, apolitical scientist at Christopher Newport University, said, “The intrusion of Christian nationalist policy,not just Christian nationalist rhetoric

Hegseth has pledged to reform themilitary’schaplain corps, whichprovides spiritualcaretotroopsof any faithand no faithat all. He scrapped the 2025 U.S. Army Spiritual Fitness Guide andwants to renew chaplains’ religious focus, which he said in aDecember video message has been minimized “inanatmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism.”

Rabbi Laurence Bazer,a retiredU.S. Army colonel andchaplain,saiditrisks making servicemembers feel like outsiderswhen the language of military leadershipdrawsexclusivelyfrom one faith tradition.

“The U.S. military reﬂects the full diversity of this country —people of every faith step forward to serve,” Bazer said in astatement. “That diversity is astrength worth protecting.”

Pilot coasting the coast paramotoring

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staff writer

On the beach beside his home, Robbie Cole straps a 70-pound engine to his back, runs to inﬂate his paraglider and starts soaring high above Mississippi’s coastline.

“It’s incredibly liberating,” Cole, an airline pilot, said as he studied the waves one recent day in Pass Christian, Mississippi. “It is a feeling like no other.”

The sport, called paramotoring or powered paragliding, is luring pilots from around the South to Gulf Coast beaches for picturesque views and pristine flying conditions. It is also growing fast across the country

The pastime is creating a stir Local governments are weighing new rules about where paramotor pilots can ﬂy Attendance has risen so much at one paramotor event in Georgia that organizers recently announced the gathering would end because it has outgrown its venue. Aviation groups estimate there are now 30,000 paramotor pilots ﬂying across the world.

On the Gulf Coast, public knowledge of the sport is growing as the region’s population rises and tourism increases. Cole met many new pilots last summer and expects more will arrive in Pass Christian this year as the weather starts warming.

Some Florida Panhandle instructors are even considering marketing tandem ﬂights to growing crowds of visitors.

Beachgoers are filming pilots and posting their own videos to social media in awe. Others are complaining about loud, low-ﬂying motors.

THE GULF COAST

“We think it’s the coolest thing ever, but there are people on the beach going ‘Dude, I’m on vacation, leave me alone,” said Danny DeWitt, an insurance adjuster and powered paragliding instructor in Pensacola Beach, Florida. “We have to guard against that, and not annoy people.”

Pilots say the Gulf Coast’s appeal is signiﬁcant. The air is warm enough to ﬂy almost year-round. If

a motor malfunctions, pilots can glide to safety on sand instead of careening toward buildings or forests.

Inland pilots often ﬂy in the early morning and evenings when the winds are less turbulent. But pilots on the Gulf Coast can usually launch any time of day because of the smooth breeze blowing off the water

“There are no bumps,” said Jayson Calton, an instructor in northeast Mississippi who sometimes brings students to train on the coast. “It’s like being on the smoothest blacktop you’ve ever drove on.”

The sport requires precise knowledge of weather, aerodynamics and federal regulations.

Flights can go wrong quickly

A pilot in Florida nearly tumbled from 5,000 feet in the air in Janu-

ary after several lines snapped on her paraglider and forced her to unfurl a backup. Fireﬁghters rescued another pilot last November who was stuck in a 50-foot palm tree in southern California. Incident reports from the U.S Powered Paragliding Association list several recent fatal crashes and dozens more near-tragedies.

Still, pilots say safety is increasing and technology on motors and paragliders is advancing.

The sport draws many pilots with military and airline backgrounds, but is also attracting newcomers with no aviation experience.

Training and equipment usually cost new pilots several thousand dollars.

“It is pretty much the cheapest form of aviation,” said Dalton Lindsay, a Baton Rouge-based pilot who ﬂies near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, a few times each year “If you want to do it, you can.”

Pilots describe the experience as relaxing, freeing and consuming. They monitor winds and weather like surfers watch waves. In Florida, they sometimes see sharks in the clear water.

“All my life in my dreams, in the middle of the night, I dream sometimes that I’m ﬂying,” said Neal Smith from Montgomery, Alabama. He has been flying in Pensacola Beach for more than a decade and has the phrase “live for the thrill” tattooed across his biceps.

“When I ﬁnally took up paramotor ﬂying years ago,” he said, “it’s kind of close to the dreams that I would have.”

Cole began flying in Pass Christian a few years ago after he drove along the beach highway one day and noticed a group of paramotor pilots. He pulled over and watched them fly for half an hour Then he went home and started watching flights on YouTube.

“I was intrigued,” he said. “I was just totally caught up in it. The more videos I watched, the more I wanted to do it.”

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Neal Smith, a paramotor pilot from Montgomery, Ala., often flies along Pensacola Beach, Fla.

Kids gather marshmallows dropped from a helicopter

up marshmallows

New studies of old dogs help scientists understand where they came from

BY ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN

AP science writer

NEWYORK Using the oldest dog genes studied so far, scientists are ﬁnding more evidence that our furry friends have been our companions for thousands of years.

Scientists think dogs descended from an ancient population of gray wolves somewhere in Europe or Asia Tens of thousands of years ago, those wolves got used to living with people and became less aggressive As they became domesticated, their genes shifted along with their behavior, giving rise to the pups we know today

But exactly when and where this happened remains a mystery Scientists are studying bits of DNA found in ancient dog and wolf remains to ﬁgure out what the earliest dogs may have looked like and where they came from.

In two separate studies published March 25 in the journal Nature, researchers pushed the timeline back. They established a new way to study ancient canine DNA — which is often contaminated and tough to extract — by isolating just the doggy bits.

They examined ancient genes from the remains of over 200 dogs and wolves. The oldest dated back to about 15,800 years ago, moving the origin of dogs back by at least 5,000 years.

“This unique relationship between people and dogs has existed for such a long time and is continuing on today,” said University of Michigan dog genomics expert Jeffrey Kidd, who was not involved with the new research.

The genes showed that dogs were already spread out across Western Europe and Asia 14,200 years ago, at a time before agriculture and farming. These dogs lived with hunter-gatherer humans who were constantly on the move.

The dawn of agriculture — a major shift in human history — brought new people to Europe from southwest Asia. They mixed and mingled with Europeans, leaving a lasting and varied imprint on their genes.

But the dog genes studied by the scientists, stretching from the United Kingdom all the way to Turkey, stayed more consistent. They were less impacted by the arrival of new humans during the development of agriculture, and more by interactions between different hunter-gatherer groups and their dogs thousands of years before.

That’s different from dogs in Asia and the Americas, whose genes more closely reﬂect the movement patterns of their owners.

Scientists don’t know exactly what the ﬁrst dogs looked like, but they have some ideas.

“We’re suspecting they would have resembled smaller wolves,” said study co-author Lachie Scarsbrook with the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

It’s also not clear how these ancient dogs lived alongside their humans They could have stood guard or helped them hunt, but probably also played with young children.

There’s still more work to go to pinpoint exactly when dogs emerged — the ﬁrst few pages of a storied relationship that’s still going strong.

BY MIKE HOUSEHOLDER

Associated Press

WESTLAND, Mich. — It was cloudy with a chance of marshmallows at two Detroit-area parks Friday as kids raced to collect thousands of the gooey treats dropped from a helicopter

The annual Marshmallow Drop, hosted by Wayne County Parks, took place two hours apart in Trenton, Michigan, and Westland, Michigan.

“It was great. The weather is beautiful, and I think this is a great thing to do with all the kids to start off Easter and the weekend, so yeah, I think it’s wonderful,” said Anna Grote, a Westland resident who attended with her boyfriend and his 10-year-old son.

Hundreds of children at each place cheered as the helicopter passed by on its way to the drop zone. Once there, a passenger unloaded the treats out of a sack and onto the grass below The helicopter made three passes,

dropping marshmallows for kids in different age groups. David Alexander was in Westland with his two kids, 7 and 10.

The Inkster resident encouraged them “to be the ﬁrst ones at the line.”

“Ready, set, go. Be the first one, take off,” he said.

Officials stressed that, although tempting, the marshmallow must not be eaten, because they struck the ground. Instead, kids exchanged the ﬂuffy treats for a prize.

Some kids snatched up way more than one, and their parents kindly dumped most back onto the turf, allowing other kids a shot at it.

“Everybody was nice. There wasn’t any pushing, there wasn’t any shoving, no fighting,” said Alexander, a first-time attendee. Grote said her boyfriend’s son “did not have any difficulty at all” in procuring a marshmallow

“The thrill of the hunt, right,” she said, laughing.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER

Children race to pick

dropped from a helicopter during the annual Marshmallow Drop event held at Nankin Mills Park in Westland, Mich., on Friday

Flau’jae Johnson receives key to city

LSU athlete also participates in charitable causes

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Baton Rouge Mayor-President

Sid Edwards awarded LSU women’s basketball great Flau’jae Johnson a key to the city of Baton Rouge on Saturday outside City Hall. Edwards said Johnson received the honor because her impact on the city extends beyond basketball. She didn’t just star for the Tigers, he said She also lent her efforts to various charitable causes throughout the Capital Region, making sure she uplifted the chil-

LSU, SEC schools partner for class

Students to tackle changes in college athletics

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

In the Wild West of name, image and likeness deals, transfers and revenue sharing rocking college athletics, LSU and nine other SEC schools are coming together to create a class where students will study the turmoil.

LSU will offer the brand-new joint course this fall in the Ogden Honors College known as HNRS 3100: The Future of College Athletics.

“It’s something that is very necessary in this current state of college athletics,” said Joshua Jackson, assistant professor of sport communication in the Manship School of Mass Communication. “We all love to pretend that we know more than what we really do. This gives our students an opportunity to really learn what they do and what they don’t know.”

The class will be tailored to students who want to pursue careers in the sports industry, such as management and media, Jackson said The course will follow a hybrid learning model, with some classes taking place on Zoom with all of the partnered SEC schools to hear from guest speakers in sports industries. Other class sessions will meet in person for students to learn about the inner workings of their schools’ speciﬁc athletic departments.

dren who looked up to her

“It goes without saying, the basketball part,” Edwards said.

“But what she does in the community and what she means to Baton Rouge, I just think, when we have a chance to celebrate a human being like that, we give the highest honor.” Johnson, a 5-foot-10 guard, was the ﬁrst McDonald’s All-American to commit to LSU after coach Kim Mulkey took over the program in 2021. She wrapped up her collegiate career on March 27, when the Tigers lost to Duke on a lastsecond shot in the Sweet 16. LSU

won 125 games across the four seasons she spent in Baton Rouge, and the Tigers never failed to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. In 2023, when Johnson was a freshman, she was an every-night starter on the team that took home LSU’s ﬁrst national championship in basketball.

Johnson is also a rapper She’s spent the past four years pursuing twin careers in music and basketball, in part so she could honor the memory of her late father, Jason

SWIMMING STRIPES

Former CVS building to become restaurant hub

Government Street site under construction

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

Construction is ongoing on the former CVS at the corner of Government Street and South Acadian Thruway to turn it into a hub with multiple restaurant tenants. The redevelopment will turn the drugstore into a multiunit building with a Marco’s Pizza, PJ’s Coffee, Wingstop, and Donuts and Burgers. Tenant agreements are underway for the remaining two units in the building, said Ben Stalter of Maestri-Murrell Real Estate, who is marketing the property

The development is set open in about four months, he said. Redevelopment began in early December with an interior demolition, and the transformation into a sixsuite building requires a full gutting and reskinning of the 11,224-square-foot building. The six suites range from 1,260 square feet to 2,300 square feet, and some will have drivethrough windows. The former CVS closed in 2023 as part of broader company downsizing and has been vacant since. Is there a building under construction or renovation in your neighborhood and you want to know what it is? Send an email with a picture or the location to ianne. salvosa@theadvocate.com.

building and a learning cen-

ter Eventually, they’d like to build housing, as well.

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Floating handicappedaccessible docks, tour boats and a pavilion overlooking the Atchafalaya Basin are part of Swamp Base Inc. at the site of the former McGee’s Landing in Henderson, phase one of a project by the Evangeline Area Council Boy Scouts to attract Scouts and other visitors to and preserve the nation’s largest river swamp. As the first phase of the project concludes, leaders are working toward Phase 2, which will include a welcome center, a logistics

In 2010, for the Centennial of Scouting, the Evangeline Area Council leadership adopted the Atchafalaya Basin as its focus for “doing good turns” every day of the year, Gary McGoffin, Louisiana Swamp Base board member, said.

Scout leaders decided the most important thing was to get people and scouts onto the water and camping in the Basin. They needed a permanent base.

Swamp Base, a nonprofit, grew out of those discussions. It has its own board and finances separate from the Boy Scout council, McGoffin said. The group, in 2016, bought 63 acres on the basin that previously were part of Mc-

Gee’s Landing, as well as its tour boats. The site was cleared and replaced with floating concrete docks and a 4,000-square-foot pavilion. That first phase of their plan is in its final stages, McGoffin said. It was funded in part by a donation from an anonymous philanthropist, an Eagle Scout, he said, who made a large donation to buy the property and provided seed money to start the project. Magee’s Ventures has its own staff and operates the tours. Swamp Base owns the facilities and leases them to Magee’s. High-adventure treks for scouts are also offered through Swamp Base. The trek is a 61.6-mile fiveday canoe paddle from

First Swamp Base phase nearly done Docks, pavilion built on Atchafalaya Basin ä See PHASE, page 2B

PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON

Flau’jae Johnson holds a key to the city outside of City Hall on Saturday

See SCHOOLS, page 2B

ä See JOHNSON, page 2B

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Mike VII swims in front of two girls at his tiger enclosure on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge on Thursday

Judge seals high-proﬁle violent crime case

ment.

BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer

It’s been nearly six months since Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court Lynn Jones said he would change his office’s policy of concealing violent crime records, but some case ﬁles remain inaccessible to the public.

For decades, the Clerk’s Office maintained a policy of refusing to release violent crime records to the public, which First Amendment attorneys and constitutional scholars said violated multiple provisions of state law and the Constitution. Clerks across the state routinely share such case files with the public. After The Advocate reported on the policy last October, Jones said he would change it, but declined to share specifics.

“We are still ﬁnalizing a formal policy,” Jones wrote in a March 6 email to The Advocate. “And this will include what records will be available in our online search in our new criminal software system, which is in the later stages of the implementation process.”

The Advocate also requested earlier this year to review court records in-person for three violent crime cases as the office

updated its online search system. Jones granted access to two of the cases, but 14th Judicial District Judge Michael Canaday sealed the remaining file — a high-profile, seconddegree murder case — on the same day of the newspaper’s request to review it.

Jones said he did not ask the judge to seal all records in the case, but he did tell the judge a reporter sought to review the ﬁle.

“The judges previously requested to be notiﬁed if there is a records request involving violent crimes in cases that are still on going,” Jones wrote. He added that judges maintain the power to seal case files, “especially if certain information could cause the integrity of the process to be compromised.”

The now-sealed case concerns Aaliyah Jack, who faces charges of seconddegree murder, cruelty to juveniles and failure to report a missing child. Jack made headlines in 2024 after she was accused of abandoning her two sons along Interstate 10.

Four-year-old Legend was later found dead in a body of water behind the Vinton Welcome Center. But her 1-year-old son was found alive the next day, after a trucker reported seeing the toddler crawling near the interstate, according to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

Jack remains jailed, according to an online inmate roster maintained by the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce. Jones has said his ofﬁce’s policy of concealing violent crime records is meant to protect victims. But the judge gave a different reason for sealing the case.

“Due to the ongoing and high-proﬁle nature of the instant case, and to preserve the defendant’s right to a fair trial, the court ﬁnds it appropriate to place the entire record of the above-captioned matter under seal until further order of the court,” Canaday wrote in his Jan. 29 order

Anyone who wants to view any documents in the case is required to file a motion “stating with speciﬁcity what documents are sought.” The judge would then hold a hearing, during which the state prosecutor and public defender would share their positions about the request.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that courts cannot stop the press from reporting on criminal trials because doing so would violate the First Amendment. Judges are typically only permitted to seal an entire case ﬁle when no less restrictive option — such as redacting names, sealing speciﬁc documents within a case or changing the trial venue — is available.

The state constitution also guarantees the public’s right to access to court

records and proceedings in criminal cases, according to Virginia Hamrick, Louisiana’s staff attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

“Any effort to shield either one typically requires that a defendant demonstrate on a case-by-case basis that there’s an overriding interest that merits closure,” Hamrick wrote in a Thursday email to The Advocate. “This decision to seal an entire case wholesale, seemingly without a request to do so, ﬂips that presumption of openness and makes it more difﬁcult for the public to understand how the court is handling the case and ensure proceedings are carried out fairly.”

Canaday acknowledged sealing the case during a Feb. 19 hearing, which remained open to the public.

“Y’all know there’s a lot of interest in this case outside the area,” Canaday said. “I don’t want to have an issue with media coverage on a case before it’s gone to trial.”

A motions hearing in the case is scheduled for April 7, while a jury trial is set for June 15.

Canaday declined to comment for this story via an email from his staff attorney Breanne Istre.

Calcasieu Parish District Attorney Stephen Dwight and prosecutor Jacob Johnson said they did not ask the judge to seal the case but declined further com-

King Alexander, Jack’s public defender, declined to comment for this story

Jones has previously cited a state law that requires police, district attorneys and clerks of court to protect the identity of victims of sexual crimes and juvenile victims as his reason for keeping violent crime records concealed. But most clerks in the state redact names or use initials to identify victims, while the cases remain available for public viewing.

Murder case files are usually available for the public to view in clerk’s ofﬁces across the state

But Jones has also applied his policy in cases of violent crimes that involve two adults, and violent crimes with no sexual element.

Attorneys and constitutional experts said the policy likely violated the state constitution’s open courts and public records provisions, the state public records law and the First Amendment.

Calcasieu’s new policy remains unclear, as does the timeline for implementing it. Jones said his priority will remain protecting victims.

“Our goal remains to make sure that the victim of a violent crime is protected,” Jones wrote, “but will abide by those laws that do allow for certain information to be accessible.”

Mark Fredric Fernandez, historian and musician, dies

BY JOHN POPE

Contributing writer

Fernandez

Mark Fredric Fernandez, a history professor who was equally at home in the classroom and on the bandstand at local music clubs, died Tuesday of brain cancer at his New Orleans home, his family conﬁrmed. He was 67.

A native New Orleanian, Fernandez had been a Loyola University professor since 1992. In addition to being honored for his

scholarship, Fernandez played guitar at local clubs, including Chickie Wah Wah, the Maple Leaf and, most recently Le Bon Temps Roulé, where he performed on Sunday nights with the Bon Temps Boys. He also was a board member of the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival. Peggy Scott Laborde, a former festival president, praised Fernandez’s love of music and New Orleans culture. “He had such a light within him. He really glowed,” she said. “He was all around town, really sharing that light.”

In addition to his academic and musical perfor-

mances, he and his wife, Dione Ezell Fernandez, were renowned for the “Sunday Gras” parties they held annually on the weekend before Fat Tuesday Fernandez graduated from Brother Martin High School. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of New Orleans and a doctorate at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

During more than three decades on the Loyola faculty Fernandez received the university’s highest honor, the Dux Academicus Award, and was named the Patricia Carlin O’Keefe Distinguished Professor

of History The Louisiana Historical Association gave him the Garney McGinty Lifetime Service Award in 2023. His book “From Chaos to Continuity: Evolution of Louisiana’s Judicial System, 1712-1862” earned the Louisiana Literary Award from the Louisiana Library Association. Tributes have poured in to Fernandez’s Facebook page. Anthony LeBlanc, a former student, called Fernandez “the best teacher I ever had. And one of the best humans I have ever met. He changed the way I saw the world.” Fernandez’s passion for musical culture was recog-

nized in 2012, when he was named the seventh annual Woody Guthrie Fellow, an accolade named for the folk-music legend. And in 2024, while Fernandez was battling cancer, he was given the Eastman Residency for the Arts and Humanities. Survivors include his wife; a son, Wesley Fernandez; a brother Barry Fernandez; a sister, Cindy Francis; and three grandchildren.

A mass will be said on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the J. Garic Schoen Chapel at Jacob Schoen & Son Funeral Home, 3827 Canal St. Visitation will begin at 9 a.m.

PHASE

Continued from page 1B

Calcasieu clerk of court policy remains murky Henderson to Catahoula, where they spend a night in hammocks on Rougaru Island, then paddle to Lake Fausse Point, where they sleep indoors before paddling to Charenton Beach and Sandy Cove.

“They’re hearing owls hoot and gators bellowing around them,” Ben Pierce, executive director of Swamp Base, said. They

watch the sun rise, he said, and are completely disconnected from life back home. Scouts make up a small portion of the 20,000 to 25,000 annual visitors to Swamp Base. There are more than 20,000 Scouts and their families in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi living close enough to easily take advantage of the basin, said Mike Beer, Scout Executive/CEO of Evangeline Area Council. “The best advocates for your state are your citi-

zens,” Pierce said. But most residents never venture into the 1.4 million acres of the Atchafalaya Basin. Through Swamp Base, Scout leaders aim to bring more people to the Atchafalaya Basin, to educate them about its diverse wildlife and its importance in cleaning water that drains from a large part of the country and to stir in them an interest in preserving it.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com

“Camouflage” Johnson. He was a popular hip-hop artist, too, but he was shot and killed outside his recording studio in 2003 just a few months before his daughter was born in Savannah, Georgia. That is where Johnson grew up. She now considers Baton Rouge her second home.

“I feel like I laid roots here, so I just want to continue to make things better for the people that I love down here,” Johnson said.

“It’s beautiful. There’s nothing better than inspiration. My goal is to aspire to inspire before you expire, so that’s what my purpose in life is, so I’m thankful that these little girls can see somebody and say, ‘Wow, we can do that, too.’”

In March, Johnson was given a ﬁrst-of-its-kind award for her support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. CEO Jenny Palmateer said the LSU star has donated more than $25,000 to the fund since 2022-23, while also partnering with it to sponsor events in which women can receive free mammograms. Johnson held one in Savannah last July Johnson is now one of only six players who have scored more than 2,000 points in an LSU uniform. She is expected to be a ﬁrst-round pick in the WNBA rookie draft, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. April 13.

“Flau’jae Johnson is one of the more remarkable young women to come through Baton Rouge,” Edwards said. “We consider her a sister of the city.”

The city-parish also dedicated April 4 as “Big 4 Day” — in honor of the No. 4 Johnson wore on the back of her jersey when she starred at LSU.

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

SCHOOLS

Continued from page 1B

Universities participating include LSU, Auburn, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

“We are hopeful that between all of the different names and affiliations and connections that we have, these 10 of our universities will be able to make some pretty impressive things happen,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the class will explore the frontiers of name, image and likeness deals, the transfer portal, conference realignment and revenue sharing.

“From a media literacy standpoint, our students are going to be challenged on what they’ve read, what they’re seeing on their social media feeds, and how do you suss out what is and what isn’t real information,” he said.

The idea for a joint class began at the SEC Honors Conference in 2025, Jackson said, with leaders of honors colleges expressing the desire to put the “SEC stamp” on a course examining this era of college athletics.

The LSU course will have 20 seats available for honors students Priority will be given to students with an interest in working in college athletics, Jackson said. He said he is excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead the class next academic year

“It’s going to be a fall in Baton Rouge where our students are getting a look behind the scenes of one of the biggest college athletics operations in the country,” Jackson said. “You can’t ask for much more than that.”

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD KEMP

Tour boats from McGee’s Swamp Tours are tied up to the new floating dock at Louisiana Swamp Base on Thursday in Henderson.

Ben Pierce, from left, Art Hawkins and Gary McGoffin look over some of the trees planted by Scouts in 2011 at the Butte La Rose rest area off I-10.

Audubon to cut the ribbon on new park Tuesday

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Strolling through the newly extended Moonwalk last week along the Mississippi River, Audubon Nature Institute CEO Michael Sawaya, normally a reserved leader of one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions, was almost giddy with enthusiasm for the park he was touring.

The downtown skyline was behind him as he looked out onto the river A paddle wheel riverboat full of tourists came around the bend, as if on cue. He joked about the worms that were brought in to help the sod on two expansive lawns. And he talked about the possibilities for the new park, which will open a historically industrial section of New Orleans’ downtown riverfront to residents and visitors.

“Nobody has ever seen the skyline from this vantage point before,” said Sawaya. “This is an opportunity like nothing we’ve ever seen before. It gets us in the game in a new way.”

Built on the site of the former Gov Nicholls Street Wharf, the 6.3-acre linear park includes two landscaped plazas, two lawns, a playground, a covered entertainment area and the extended Moonwalk, which connects the French Quarter on one side to Crescent Park in Bywater It’s the ﬁrst of two phases of what has been named Goldring Woldenberg Park and will eventually expand to include the old Esplanade Avenue Wharf as well.

After more than a decade of planning and $30 million, Sawaya on Tuesday will cut the ribbon on the new park, introducing the world to New Orleans’ latest attraction on the banks of the Mississippi.

“This is a quality of life improvement that this city has given us,” Sawaya said. “Everybody has talked about it for a long time. It’s hard to believe it is ﬁnally here.”

While Sawaya will get to preside over the festivities, it was his predecessor, Ron Forman, who ﬁrst articulated the vision for the downtown riverfront park — and worked at it for decades.

The history of the project goes back much further than many realize. Forman recalls having the first conversations about the concept with

Mayor Moon Landrieu in the 1970s, when the mayor was working on the city’s first stretch of riverfront promenade across from Jackson Square.

A decade later, Forman began tackling the redevelopment of the adjacent, upriver section of riverfront, then the site of the Bienville Street Wharf. In 1990, it opened as the Audubon Aquarium and Woldenberg Park.

During Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration in the 2010s, Forman and the city revisited the idea of extending the park downriver of the Moonwalk to include the old and largely vacant Gov Nicholls Street and Esplanade Avenue wharves.

The deal took years to come together It involved complicated negotiations among Audubon, the city, the Port of New Orleans and its public belt railway subsidiary Plans initially drew opposition from residents, concerned about turning the site into a busy, loud entertainment venue.

COVID-19, hurricanes and interest rate increases all raised the price tag from $15 million for the conversion of both wharves to $30 million for just the ﬁrst phase.

Forman, who passed the baton to Sawaya in late 2024 and is now Audubon’s chief fundraiser will be at the ribbon-cutting. Sawaya said he deserves the credit for seeing it through to fruition

“Ron held on because it took someone to champion this,” he said “And steer it through. And he did.”

For his part, Forman said he is heartened to see his vision become a reality

“The front porch of the city is now the riverfront,” Forman said Friday “There is really no riverfront like it in the world.”

Amenities and attractions

Pedestrians will be able to access the park from the Moonwalk or Crescent Park, downriver, or at the main gate on Esplanade Avenue, which is also the vehicular entrance to a drop-off spot or 70-car parking lot.

The riverfront streetcar also has a stop at the park at Ursulines Avenue.

Coming from the French Quarter upriver, the park starts with a landscaped plaza that features an obelisk, which will be lit at night,

a cistern that will gather rainwater for reuse, and an array of local and nonnative species.

It leads to the covered shed, a portion of the old warehouse, that will be called the Front Porch and is designed to accommodate about 500 people. It has a small stage, bathrooms, a commercial kitchen and space for concessions.

Audubon solicited proposals from food and beverage operators last fall to run the service. But Sawaya said it rescinded the RFP and is now going to test several concepts in the early months of the park’s new life to ﬁgure out what works best. In the meantime, food trucks will serve the site from the parking lot

Next to the shed is a great lawn, which has been elevated more than 4 feet to allow grass and newly planted elm trees to take root since the entire thing is built atop a concrete wharf. It leads to a marsh-themed playground with activities and climbing structures.

There’s also a “south lawn” with a hammock village featuring more than a dozen posts for hammocks to tie up, and another plaza on the downriver side of the

lawn. The Moonwalk spans the length of the park, with lighting, rails and sets of large bench swings every few yards.

“This is really a park, with a little bit of event space,” Sawaya said of the park’s ﬁrst phase. “The next phase will be more commercial with a little bit of park.”

Sawaya estimates this ﬁrst phase of the park will cost more than $2 million a year to maintain. Some of that money will come from rentals of the front porch shed, monthly concerts and events, and a cut of food and beverage sales.

Some will come from sponsorships. Audubon hopes to sell naming rights on almost every square inch of the park the lawns, the “front porch” shed, the plazas and playground.

“There are a lot of opportunities, and we need to raise money,” he said.

Next phase

Sawaya hopes the first phase of the park will generate interest and excitement for the second phase, which will involve demolishing part of the Esplanade Avenue Wharf and attracting restaurants, retailers and

other commercial ventures to help redevelop the site.

At 100,000 square feet, it is nearly 50% smaller than the Gov Nicholls Street Wharf, but already Sawaya estimates it will cost at least $40 million, not including private funds that a venue operator or restaurant might spend.

Getting the deal done, he said, is important if New Orleans is going to continue to compete with other cities for major events and large conventions.

“Everybody we compete with for major events has a downtown waterfront,” said Sawaya, who ran the city’s Convention Center for seven years before succeeding Forman at Audubon. “It’s

just part of their infrastructure, and we really haven’t done much until now.”

He hopes to complete preliminary plans for the second phase by the end of this year and finalize more detailed plans and partnerships by the end of 2027, with construction underway in 2028 and completed by 2030. After coming so far, the city and Audubon can’t quit now, Sawaya said.

“We are helping people reinvent the identity of being a riverfront citizen,” he said. “That has been the vision for this all along.”

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.

Superintendent James Gray helps Jefferson schools advance

Leader hopes to keep progress going amid challenges

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

James Gray was all smiles when he popped into a ﬁrst grade classroom at the start of the school year to dole out high-ﬁves, crack jokes and query students about what they were learning.

If the Jefferson Parish Schools superintendent seemed more at ease this ﬁrst day of school than in years past, it’s no wonder.In August 2020, just a month after Gray took over the state’s largest school district during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jefferson Parish classrooms reopened while New Orleans’ remained closed, upsetting many teachers and leading thousands of families to opt for remote learning.

The following year, Hurricane Ida upended back-to-school season when it blew the roofs off several school buildings and ﬂooded others, ultimately damaging a third of the district’s campuses and destroying three schools.

Gray’s leadership through both crises earned him glowing reviews from his bosses, the Jefferson Parish School Board. More recently, board members praised rising test scores and falling teacher vacancies, among other improvements. Gray has also moved quickly on the board’s plan to close several schools and relocate thousands of students, which caused an uproar in the affected communities.

“He doesn’t scare,” said former board member Larry Dale. “He looks at things, sees what the right thing to do is, and stays the course, no matter what’s against him.”

Now as Gray nears the six-year mark as superintendent — a rela-

tively long tenure for any urban district leader — he has proven that he can do more than steer the school system through choppy waters.In the past few years, as test scores inched up, the district earned its ﬁrst B rating from the state in nearly a decade. In 2024, those and other accomplishments earned Gray the title of Louisiana Superintendent of the Year

Yet as he approaches another year as superintendent, more challenges are on the horizon. Student enrollment continues to drop, which could necessitate more closures. A tough new state rating system threatens to pull down the district’s performance grade. And some teachers are again expressing dissatisfaction with pay and working conditions.

And then there’s the possibility that Gray could fall victim to his own success, with his accomplishments raising board members’ and taxpayers’ expectations even as the district faces new headwinds.

“I think the public understands what we’re going through right now,” Gray said in a recent extended interview, which the low-proﬁle leader rarely gives. “But at the same time, they want to see progress.”

Difficult decisions

Gray’s rise from rural middle school teacher to leader of Louisiana’s largest and most diverse school district — he is only the second Black person to hold that title has been fueled by the conviction, born of his own experience, that a great education can change a student’s life

“I know what it’s like to be marginalized,” he said, “and I know what a difference being supported can make in the trajectory of your life.”

The son of working-class Opelousas parents who didn’t attend college, Gray hadn’t planned to be-

come an educator. That changed when his basketball team at Grambling State University visited a nearby elementary school and he noticed that none of the teachers were men.

“In that moment, I thought of how my teachers impacted me,” Gray recalled, “and I knew this was a gap that needed to be ﬁlled.”

He started his career teaching at a middle school in New Iberia, then worked his way up to a leadership role in Vermilion Parish Schools, where he caught the attention of Jefferson Parish’s new superintendent, Cade Brumley who brought him on as chief of schools in 2018. In that role, he helped expand the pipeline of teacher-leaders and developed the district’s strategic plan, which called for raising graduation rates, promoting career education and supporting struggling readers. “I remember there being this incredible sense that there was lots to do,” said Jenna Chiasson, who worked alongside Gray on the district’s leadership team. “He just moved with a sense of urgency.”

When Brumley left Jefferson Parish in 2020 to become state superintendent of education, the board tapped Gray to replace him. He had only been in the district two years, but board members were impressed by his work and believed Gray could maintain the momentum that Brumley had generated. Gray didn’t get a chance to celebrate the huge promotion. Instead, he started working on a plan to bring students back for in-person learning, even as classes in Orleans and St. Tammany parish schools remained virtual, drawing fierce opposition from many Jefferson Parish teachers.Gray argued that the district’s students, more than 70% of whom are economically disadvantaged, needed access to school meals and structured learning. Today board members point to test scores showing that Jefferson

Parish students recovered faster from pandemic learning setbacks than their peers in other districts as evidence that returning quickly was the right call.

Then, after Hurricane Ida battered the district a year later in August 2021, Gray immediately went into “triage” mode, said board member Clay Moise. He determined which schools would need major repairs and started looking for temporary placements and transportation for affected students.

“He went straight to, ‘What’s best for our kids?’” Moise said.

Looking ahead

Some of the biggest challenges Gray has faced, including a shrinking student population and calls for higher teacher pay, remain unresolved.

When Jefferson Parish closed seven schools in 2023 due to declining enrollment, the move sparked outcry from community members who said the district was targeting schools where most students were Black or Hispanic. The Southern Poverty Law Center later filed a federal complaint against the school board alleging discrimination. (The status of the complaint is unclear.)

And board members say more consolidations are on the horizon as enrollment continues to fall, with the district losing about 5,000 students since 2019. Despite the inevitable backlash the district will face if it shutters more schools, Gray argues that downsizing presents an opportunity to move students out of dilapidated buildings Having modern facilities “is something we think is going to attract more people to Jefferson Parish,” Gray said. “We want buildings our kids can be proud of.”

Many Jefferson Parish teachers are frustrated about their pay, which starts at $51,000 and is lower than in nearby school districts like

St. Tammany and St. Charles. If the school system wants to substantially raise salaries, Gray most likely will have to convince Jefferson Parish voters to approve a tax hike similar to the one they narrowly rejected in 2024.

Beyond pay, some teachers say they struggle with unmanageable workloads and responsibilities. At board meetings, some have said the district has given them more tasks to complete while failing to address classroom incidents when students have been disruptive or even violent.

“I think a lot of teachers feel they aren’t valued,” said board member Steven Guitterrez. Not “just monetarily, but in how they’re treated and the expectations on them.” Gray pointed out that leading such a large district often means making tough calls. His top priority is always the students, he added. He quoted a philosophy often touted by education advocate Bill Daggett: “Sometimes you have to love the kids in the building more than you love the adults.”

Even as he wrestles with those challenges, Gray is pushing forward on other initiatives. He established an early warning system that identifies students at risk of not meeting important milestones, and he wants to expand career education, including giving students more opportunities to earn employer-recognized credentials, which he said will create a stronger local workforce and provide an economic boost.

Gray has some runway to achieve his goals after the board renewed his contract in 2024 for another four years. Still, he acknowledged that the road to reaching them will be a long one, with some of his efforts unlikely to come to fruition any time soon.

“You may not ever sit underneath the tree,” he said, “but somebody has to plant the seed.”

Audubon Nature Institute’s new riverfront park

STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

Michael Sawaya, president and CEO of the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans, takes in the scenery in the new riverfront park atop the old Gov. Nicholls Street Wharf on Monday

Bankston,Lou Gracie Savona 'Grace'

LouGracie“Grace”

SavonaBankston, June 4, 1939 —April 1, 2026. Grace SavonaBankston, age86, entered into eternalrest onApril 1, 2026. Shewas predeceased by theloveof her life,MarvinBankston, her husbandof61years She wasalsopredeceased byher brothers CJ andAn‐thony Savona andher sis‐ter Rosemary Savona Au‐coin. Graceissurvivedby her devoteddaughter Susan EleanorBankston, her adoringdaughter-inlaw AmyKrass Bankston, her brotherand sister-inlaw Dominick andDonna Savona. Sheisalsosur‐vived by hertreasured grandchildren andtheir spouses:Lindsey Smith Ruiz(Jason),ConnorJames Smith (Jaslyn) andBonnie Smith Jacobsen (Walter) as wellasher cherishedgreat grandchildren:Daniel Rome, Ezra Smith, Wyatt Ruiz, andLydia Ruiz. Grace isalsosurvivedbya host ofcousins andher best friendof64years,Bonnie Wall. Shegraduated as valedictorian from West Jefferson High School in 1957 andthenbegan work inthe shipyard industry on the Harvey Canalright out ofhighschool.She went to workfor Wall Shipyard in 1960 where shelater be‐camepartowner untilits salein1982. Gettingrest‐lessstaying home,she wokeupinthe middle of the nightand told Marvin she wanted to open an LSU store.Thatwas thebegin‐ningofanew eraintheir lives.Through thedoorsof Tyger Giftstheymet dear lifelongfriends from 19832015. Afterher second re‐tirement, shebecamea dedicated member of sev‐eralgroups: Desk andDer‐rickWestBank, JVFC and ShamrockInvestment Club. Graceloved allthings LSU andwas afaithfuland enthusiasticfan forher en‐tireadult life.She wasan LSU football season ticket holderfor 55 yearsand heldseasontickets to LSU Baseballfor nearly 40 years.She wasa devoted parishioner of St.Rosalie Catholic Church in Harvey Grace trulylived life to the fullest:she lovedtraveling anywhere in theworld going to restaurantsfor al‐mostevery meal,reading thousands of booksand spendingtimewithfamily and friends. Sheloved her husband anddaughter morethananythingelse. Grace hada beautifulsmile thatmadeeveryonefeel welcome,a sharpwit,and was respectedand loved byall who knew her. The familyextends heartfelt and specialthankstoher longtimefriendand care‐taker,GertrudeBascile,to all at Fidelis CraigHouse, and to everyone at Frese‐niusKidneyCareOschnerWestBank, especially Keishafor going aboveand beyondinher care.Visita‐tionwillbegin at 11:30 am onTuesday,April 7, 2026at Mothe FuneralHome, 2100 WestbankExpresswayin Harvey, followed by a Catholic Mass at 1:30 pm Intermentwillfollowat WestlawnMemorialPark and Mausoleum. We will toast,celebrate andshare stories at Legacy Kitchen’s Steak andChopinGretna following themassuntil 5:30. In lieu of ﬂowers, Grace requesteddonations toShrinersHospitalfor Children, 3100 SamfordAv‐enue, Shreveport,LA71103 Familyand friendsmay viewand sign theonline guest book at www.mot hefunerals.com.

Obituaries Burial willbeinSecond BaptistChurchCemetery. Sheissurvived by her son, StevenRay Blackard and wife,Anna TiaBlackard.A sister,VeraCharlene Delatte Purvis, and husband Rodney Kevin Purvis. 2 grandchildren, Miley Ann Blackard and Deryl ElizabethBlackard James. 2 great grandchildren, Steven Hayes Blackard and Harper WileyCrum. She is preceded indeath by her husband, Archie Ray Blackard,parents, Steve and DicieKinchen Delatte, sister, CatherineDelatte Wynters and brother, Ralph Delatte. Geraldine dedicated her life to her family.She shared aprofound bond with her husband Archie, with whom she navigatedlife's journey handinhand.Together,they createda home filled with laughter, love, and countlesscherished memories. Their partnershipwas abeautiful testament to true love, as they embraced everyadventure together.Geraldine was unwavering in her devotiontoher son,grandchildren and great grandchildren. Shenurtured their dreams, celebrated their achievements, andprovideda safe havenfilled with warmth and guidance. She delighted in every moment spent with them, instilling in them the valuesoflove and family.Geraldine cherished hersiblings, her sisters, brother,sistersand brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews. Family gatherings werea hallmark of Geraldine's life and her home wasalways opentofamilyand friends Memorial donations may be made to SecondBaptist Church in Jackson.Share memoriesatwww.CharletF uneralHome.com

James Joseph Bueche, age 90, died peacefully on March 25, 2026,inAllen, Texas, surroundedbyhis lovingfamily. Born in BatonRouge,Louisiana on November 10, 1935,James was the eldest sonof Frank &Rachel Bueche & brother to Melvin Bueche, son-in-law to Sam& Annie (Messina) Accardo, allof whom precededhim in death. James is survived by his wifeof68years, JoannAccardo Bueche,his children: Brian (Renee) Bueche &Allison (John) Bauman, Jr.,his grandchildren: Ashley(Sean) Cahill Scott(Boyce) Bueche, Megan (Brandon) Murphy, &McKenzie Bauman, his great grandchildren: Kyle &CadeCahill, &brother-inlaw& sister-in-law: Sal & Lillie Misuraca.Visitation willbeThursday, April9 2026,atAllen Family Funeral HomeinPlano, Texas, 5:30-8:00PM with aRosary at 7:00PM. ACelebrationof life willbeonApril10, 2026 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton CatholicChurchinPlano, Texas,with aRosary at 1:30 PM &aFuneral Mass at 2:00PM with a Church Reception at3:00 PM. The Rite of Christian Burial willbeonFriday, April 24, 2026 at 11:00AMin Baton Rouge at Resthaven Gardens with areception tofollow. Please see the complete obituaryfor James Joseph Bueche at affoplano.com.

was therecipient of two Purple Hearts, numerous citation awards and was a true war hero by volunteeringtorescue afellow Marine behind enemy lines under heavygun fire. He was to receive theSilver Star once returning home for his bravery, butthe records were destroyed on thebattlefield. Peter was a true Marine through and throughand was aproud member of theChosin Few. Visitation willbeheldatSt. John theBaptist Catholic Church, BruslyonMonday, April6,2026, from 9am until Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30am, celebrated by Father Arun John. Entombment willfollow at St.John theBaptist Catholic Church Cemetery, Brusly. Peterissurvivedbyhis children, Peter Curcio, Jr and wife Cathy, Denise Steinand husband Jeff, SteveCurcio and wife Marlene, and KellyCurcio and wife Liska; grandchildren, Summer Curcio,Clint Stein and wife Amanda, Luke Steinand wife Tia, Chris Curcio and wife Nicki,Kayla Gentry and husband Lonnie,CodyCurcio,and Colby Curcio; nine great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews. Preceded in deathbyhis wife, Virgie LeeThibodeaux Curcio; parents, Salvatore "Sam" and Antonina "Lena" CostaCurcio;and siblings, Sam "Jerry" Curcio, Jr., Mary Milazzo, Angie Dellucci,Annette Mansur, Concetta Curcio, Josephine Brock, Virgie Dupuy, and Frank Curcio. Peterwas an avid sportsman who enjoyed hunting and fishing. He had alove forcooking,eating and traveling.Specialthanksto hiscaregiver KimWilliams. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be madeto St.John theBaptist CatholicChurch Building Fund,St. JudeHospitalor Tunnel2 Towers. Please share memories online at www.wilbertservices.com.

BatonRouge,LouisianaIt is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Sarah Ruth Johnson Welch Douglas, who departedthisearthly life on the23rd of March, in theyear of our Lord 2026, at thedistinguished age of 88. Apublicviewing shall be held in her honoron Monday, the6th of April, from9:30 AM to 10:30 AM at WinnfieldFuneral Home. The celebration of life services shallfollow at 10:30 AM. Herearthly remains shall be laid to rest at Louisiana National Cemetery.The distinguished & solemnarrangements havebeenentrusted to the care of WinnfieldFuneral Home of Baton Rouge & Kennard Thomas, General Manager.

Honor Award in Architec-

turein1967. He attended Rice University for graduateschooland receivedan awardfor his master's thesis in 1969. Drummond was an architectural educator at the University of Kansas and Clemson University in the 1970s. He worked in private practiceinTexas,Kansas, and Washington, D.C before taking thepositionof Department Chair of Architecture at Auburn University (1979-1987). After Auburn, he served as a leader in architectural education as thefirst Deanof theCollege of Architecture at Texas Tech University (1987-1990), theUniversity of Florida(1990-1999), and theUniversity of Nebraska, from where he retired as Emeritus Deanand Professor. Drummond served as thenational president of theAssociationofCollegiateSchools of Architecture, president of theNational Architectural Accreditation Board, and president of Tau Sigma Delta, thehonorsocietyfor architecture and related professions. He has served as an educational consultant and evaluatoronnumerous international projectsinthe middleeast and Asiaincluding ayear as asenior research associate and educational consultant to King Faisal University, CollegeofArchitecture and Planning in Saudi Arabia In 2011, Drummond won theprestigious Harry F. Cunningham Gold Medal, thehighest honorAIA Nebraska bestows fordistinguishedachievement in Architecture. Drummond was nominated by his peersfor theTopaz Medallion forExcellence in Architectural Educationin2014. Drummond was selected a Fellow, American Institute of Architects (FAIA);a Fellow, The Center for Great Plains Studiesatthe UniversityofNebraska; and a Fellowbythe American Society of LandscapeArchitects (ASLA). Honorary membership is thehighest honorASLAbestowsupon non-landscapearchitects with only207 honorary members inducted since 1899. In 2017, he received the DistinguishedService Award fromThe Association of CollegiateSchools of Architecture and in 2020, aLifetimeAchievement Award fromthe University of FloridaCollege of Architecture. He also received theDistinguishedService Award by theCollege of Architecture at theUniversity of Floridaand the President's Award from theFloridaAssociationof theAIA.Federal Awards includethe U.S. Federal Design Award fromthe Public Building Service for his workoncourthousesand hospitals.

Drummond is survived by his wife of 61 years, Gayle, daughterPaige (Tom), son Todd (Natasha),and grandchildren Chelsea(Dodge), and Tyler (Rachel).Hewas preceded in death by both parents and his brother Maury Drummond,who played basketball at LSU and served as thedirector of theUSS Kidd Museum, and nephews and nieces Kerry, Maury, Mark, Monica, and Randy. Remembered fondly as akind, patient,generous, and compassionate husband, father, grandfather, and uncle. Drummond is also remembered by hundredsofthankful students and colleagues who note hisintegrity, strong leadershipbyexample,mentorship and care for his students and faculty, and passion forarchitectural

R. Wayne Drummond, aged eighty-three, passed away surrounded by loving family on March 24th, 2026, at his lake home near Branson, Missouri. BornonFebruary 22, 1943, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Drummond was theson of Havis and Helen Drummond. He was a1961 graduateofIstrouma High School where he wasselected "Mr. Istrouma" his senior year and was an outstanding student and athlete. He earneda basketball scholarship to the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL), butafter a career-ending injury, he transferred to Louisiana StateUniversity to pursue adegree in architecture.

hisstudies, Drummond earneda

education Acelebration of life will be held in Lincoln,Nebraska, with dateand time to be postedat: https://www facebook.com/share/p/1a k14NnTe8/

Fabre, Ruth

Obituary Ruth ValletFabre, anative of Baton Rouge and a residentofNew Roads, Louisiana celebrated her 100th BirthdayonDecember14, 2025. She died on Thursday, March26, 2026 at OurLady of theLake Regional Medical Center. Visiting at St.Augustine Church,807 NewRoads Street,New Roads, on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 from 9:45 a.m. until recitation of therosary at 10:15 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at thechurch at 11:00 a.m. with hernephew, TheMost Reverend Shelton J. Fabre, Archbishop of Louisville, celebrant.Interment in the church cemetery. Sheis survived by ason,Joseph C. Fabreand hiswife Marion of NewRoads, three daughters, Cheryl F. Lucof SevenLakes, North Carolina,Paula K. FabreofBaton Rouge,and Karen F. Bryant and herhusbandD'Orsay D. Bryant III,MD, of El Dorado, Arkansas. Shewas the grandmother of eight grandchildren, JefferyU Darensbourg, PhD, Nicole Moncrieffe (Keith),Brandi F. Boone (Jonathan), Codi Fabre(Miranda), D'Orsay D. Bryant, IV.and Carter Bryant (Haley), eightgreat grandchildren, twogreat great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, otherrelatives,and friends. She waspreceded in death by herhusbandJosephClifton Fabre, parents PhilipVallet, Sr.and FloraDeCuir Vallet, son-in-law, Rickie Luc, threesisters, hertwin, Ruby Brunious,Mary Gammon, andTheresa Fabre,: twobrothers, PhilipVallet, Jr andLesterVallet,Sr. In lieu of flowers, memorial donationsmay to St.Augustine Church of New Roads, La. A. Hamilton Platinum Funeral Service in charge of arrangements.

PeggyFleniken passed away, March 30, 2026. Relatives andfriends are invited to the chapel of RabenhorstFuneral Home, 825 Government St.for avisitationonApril 6, 2026, beginningat10:00AM until a small service at 12:00PM.A burialistofollow at RoselawnMemorialPark. For thefullobituary please see www.rabenhorst.com

Hebert, YvonneLandry

Yvonne LandryHebert passedaway on April 2, 2026, at herhomeinPort Allen, at theage of 85. She wasa native andlifelong residentofPortAllen.She wasa homemaker. Visiting will be at Holy Family Catholic Church in Port AllenonTuesday, April 7th from 8:30 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m., celebrated by Rev. JerryMartin. Burial will followinGraceMemorial ParkinPlaquemine Yvonne is survivedbyher twodaughters, Jill Hebert Edwards and husband Jimmy, JaneneHebertCrosby and husbandJohn; six grandchildren, AshleyEdwards, KennethEdwards, Haley HaskewDorris and husband Mitchell,Adam Crosby andfiancé Brittany, Claire Crosby Sheltonand husband Nathan, Vangie Crosby;great-grandchildren,Jude andHaven Dorris, KennaShelton. Yvonne waspreceded in death by herhusband, LynnPaul Hebert;parents,Thomas and IreneFolse Landry; siblings, Stanley Landry, Marilyn LandryMabile, AnthonyRay Landry, Artie Landryand JoyceLandry Chustz.Inlieuofflowers, memorial donations may be made to acharityof yourchoice

Patricia Ann Keller passedawayather home in Zachary, Louisiana on March26, 2026. Patricia is survivedby herson,Daryl Thompson of Zachary, LA, hersiblings anda host of otherfamily members. Visitation on Monday, April 6, 2026 from 9:00 am untilreligiousservicesbeginningat11:00 am at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, 22911 Reames Rd.Zachary, LA. Intermentwillfollow at LaneCemetery in Ethel,LA.

Keller, Patricia Ann

Bueche, James

Douglas, Sarah Ruth

Fleniken,Peggy Ruth

Landaiche III, Francis 'Beau'

Francis "Beau

LandaicheIII,47, anative of St.Gabriel, LA., resident of Edmond, OK passed away on January 11, 2026, in Oklahoma City, OK after acourageous battle with colorectal cancer.Per Beau's wishes, hisashes

Drummond, R. Wayne

will be scattered in the Smoky Mountain National Park at alaterdate which will be sharedfor those wishing to attend. View full obituary at Legacy.com

Lanier, Roger Lewis

Roger Lewis Lanier passed away on Wednesday, March 23, 2026, at the age of 88. He was anative of Savannah, GA, and a longtime resident of Baton Rouge, LA. Roger's way wasquiet, loving, unassuming, kind and gentle. After 23 years, retiring from the US Coast Guard, he spent his remaining career on the water as Gulf Coast Regional Manager for Apex Oil Company, covering Houston, TX, to Jacksonville, FL. Loving the water as he did, the family spent many wonderful times boating on the "My Noelle" on Lake Pontchartrain. Roger is survived by his loving and devoted wife of over 41 years, Noelle Nevils Lanier; children, Anne-Marie Morin (Michael), Tracy Mincey (Donnie), H. Craig Davidson (Cristy), Dianna Williams (Brett), Colleen Lanier (Darrell Gloshen), and Amelie Lanier; grandchildren, Chelsea Reyes (Nicholas), Alec Morin (Sydnee), Dianna, and Paul Anthony Morin, Angela Whitmire (Scott), Keelie Mincey, Zoe Davidson, Caleb Bise (Amber), Maddi, Amy, and Brian Williams, Megan Hartman (Andrew), Shannon Weaver (Jake), Mary Beth Vaa,and Blake Barnes; numerous greatgrandchildren; sister, Marie Smith;and ahostof other family members and friends. Roger is preceded in death by his son, Gerald Lanier; parents, David and Bertha Lanier; and numerous siblings. The family wants to give special appreciation for the love and care shown to Roger by Damarise Mayoral and Carmen Douglas, as well as excellent care given by St. Joseph's Hospice Staff Visitation willbeatOur Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, 445 Marquette Ave., Baton Rouge, LA, on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, from 9am until the Massof Christian Burial at 10am. Inurnment willimmediately follow at Greenoaks Memorial Park.

Lawrence,William Greene 'Bill'

William Greene Lawrence passed away on Thursday, April 2, 2026,at the age of 84. He was born on November 26, 1941,in Francisco, North Carolina to Welbern Lawrence and Emily Ayers Lawrence. He was agraduate of Francisco High School. Bill proudly served our country in the United States Navy, where he was aSeabee, specializing in construction and engineering during the Vietnam War. He began his career in telecommunications with AT&T and retired from Nortel. He is preceded in death by his parents; his beloved wife of 52 years, Peggy Lou Phillips Lawrence; and his brothers Norman Richard Lawrence and DonaldGray Lawrence. Bill is survived by hisloving daughters Emily Elizabeth Lawrence Wallace and her husband James, and Sheri Marie Lawrence Demouy and her husband Chris; his grandchildren James Edward Wallace III, Lauren Wallace Robinette and her husband Logan, William Lawrence Wallace and his wife Kyleigh, JacksonGreene Demouy, Sarah Wallace Vanderford and her husband Chase, Emma Leigh Demouy and Mia Elizabeth Demouy; and his greatgrandchildren Ben Robinette and IsaiahRobinette. He is also survived by his brother, Terry Welborn Gates Lawrence and his sister, Sarah Mae Lawrence; as well as numerous other loving family and friends.Bill was adevotedChristian, having attended Boulevard Baptist Church in Lake Charles where he became aDeaconbefore moving to Baton Rouge. His practice of faith then continued at

ParkviewBaptistChurch. He enjoyedthe game of golf, so much so thathis pastime providedhim with aretirementcareer'asa Marshal at Santa Maria Golf Course. When he wasn't out on the links,you wouldfindhim gardening, tending to his yard and anything that gave him time to spend outdoors.He willforever be remembered forhis greatest role as "Pops". We cherishthe many memories andwill carry him in our hearts forever. The familyextends itsdeepest gratitude to KrystalCraig and JoeJordan of Lending Hands, as well asthe staff at The Clairborne and Southern Grace Hospice.Athis request, private services will be held. Family and friends may signthe onlineguestbook or leave apersonal note to the familyat www.resthavenbatonroug e.com

Tommy Gene Lawson was born on May12, 1950 in Independence,LAand was 75 yearsofage. He was anative of Kentwood, LAand aresidentofAmite LA.Hegraduated from KentwoodHigh School in 1968 and Southeastern Louisiana University in 1972.Tommypassed away on Wednesday,April1 2026 at St.Tammany Parish HospitalinCovington, LA. He is survivedby his wife, Becky DavisLawson;daughter, Kristi Lynn Lawson; son, Todd Wayne Lawson(Morrow);3 grandchildren,Harper Elizabeth Lawson, ThatcherMorrow Lawson, and Piper Marie Lawson; sister, Viola Mae Lawson Smith (Paul); mother-in-law, Imelda Finch Davis;brother-inlaw, Dickie Davis(Kathleen); and numerous nieces and nephews. He was precededin death by his parents, Thomas W. Lawson and GladysChristine Miller Lawson; siblings,Virginia Louise Lawson, Margaret "Sissy" Allen Lawson Oliver,Bobby Lee Lawsonand Thomas Malcolm Lawson; nephews,Barron Clay Davisand Roderick Wayne Chapman; niece, Julia "Judy" Ann Savoy; and father-in-law, Richard E. Davis,Sr. Ordainedasa deacon in 1982,Tommydedicatedhis life to serving the Kedron Baptist ChurchCommunity. Apassionate educator, he spent53yearsteaching math,inspiringgenerationsofstudents with his patience,wisdom, witty catchphrasesand steady encouragement. Hisinfluenceextendedfar beyond the classroom. In addition to hiscareer in education, Tommy workedatthe Kentwood and Amite stockyards for over 50 years. He was a belovedhighschoolfootball,baseball and basketball coach.Above all, he treasured his familyand foundhis greatestjoy in traveling with Becky, quiet conversations and celebrating life'svictories with Kristi, coaching Todd's little league baseballgames and watching his grandchildrenplaysportsrarely missing an opportunity to cheerthem on. "Welldone, goodand faithful servant."

VisitationatKedron Baptist Churchfrom 6:00PM until 9:00PMon Monday, April 6, 2026 and from 9:00AM until religious servicesat11:00AM on Tuesday,April 7, 2026.Servicesconducted by Rev. Harrell Sharkey,Jr. Interment Kedron Cemetery Amite, LA PallbearerswillbeTodd Lawson, Stevie Oliver, WilliamLawson, Mark Lawson, Marty Lawson, KevinMorales, Seth Morales, and Michael Kazerooni. Honorary Pallbearers arePerry Smith and Thatcher Lawson. McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, in charge of arrangements. For an online guestbook, visithttp:/ /www.mckneelys.com.

Marchand, BarryPaul

Barry Paul Marchand passed away on March 26, 2026 at theage of 64. He was borninBaton Rouge, Louisiana, and was alifelong resident of Ascension Parish.

He is survivedbyhis twodaughters,Madeleine and MaryMarchand;his mother, Jo Ann Marchand; his siblings, KeithMarchand (Arlene), Denise Drago (Benny), Trudy Landreneau,Mia Parker, and Randi Peltier(James); and his nieces &nephews, Kelli, Aimee,Stephen, Jarrett, Alaina, Chris, Mariett,Alex, Eric, Matt,Brodie, Emily, Gabby, and Caroline. He is also survivedbynumerous family members and friends. He was preceded in deathbyhis father, Curtis"Curt"Marchand,and his brother-in-law, Gardner Parker.

Barry always enjoyed thesimple beautyinlife. A greatday was one spent at thefamily camp,going crabbing, enjoying theoutdoors, or tending to his plantsinhis yard. He was aman of faith and family Barry was adevout Catholicand aparishioner of St. John theEvangelist CatholicChurch. His loving smile, bighugs, infectious laugh, ceaselessjokes, and long talkswillbegreatly missed by allwho knew and lovedhim. As one friend putit, "toknowBarry was to love him." And greatly lovedhewas.

Family and friends are invitedtoattendan evening wakeonMonday, April6,2026, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Ourso Funeral Home, 13533 Airline Highway, Gonzales Louisiana 70737.

Visitation willcontinue thefollowing day, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at St. John theEvangelist CatholicChurch, 15208 LA73 Prairieville, Louisiana 70769, beginning at 9:30 AM, with aMass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM. Barry willbelaid to rest at HopeHavenGarden of Memory in Gonzales Louisiana. In lieu of flowers, please consider making adonation to the Louisiana Native Plant Society in Barry's honor.

Robert Francis O'Connell died peacefully at home on March 24, 2026 holding the hand of his wife, Josephine O'Connell.Robert was born on April 22, 1933 in Athlone, Ireland to William and KittyO'Connell. Robert excelledatschool, where he developeda stronginterest in math and science. He earneda life-changing scholarship to theNational University of Ireland (Galway) fromwhich he graduated with aBSinPhysicsin 1953. He journeyed to the United States in 1958 and obtaineda PhDinPhysics fromthe Universityof NotreDame in 1962. He joinedthe faculty of the LSUDepartment of Physics &Astronomy in January 1964, retiring 53 years later as one of thelongest-serving tenured Professorsat LSU. Over his storiedcareer, he published morethan 350 papersontheoretical physics. He was selected as aBoydProfessor,one of thehighest honors given to LSUfaculty, and was inducted intothe College of Science Hall of Distinction. Robert served as Vice President and President of theFaculty SenateatLSU He established an international reputation in physics, working withcolleagues acrossthe globe. He was deeply honored by theSymposium on theInterface of Quantum and StatisticalPhysics and RelativityhostedbyLSU in 2023 and spearheaded by Professor Wolfgang Schleich of Ulm University, Germany. He was also featuredina ReveilleArticle, "Joule of theSchool" in

which he gave aquote that

sums up his career: "Physics is my thing."

Robert liked physics, but thetrue love of his life was hiswife,Josephine who supported him in allheaccomplished. He is survived by his wife; his sister, Ann Colleran; his3 daughters and their families:Eimear O'Connell;Adrienne O'Connell McNamara(Thomas) and their children, Conor, Maureenand Brigid McNamara; and Fiona Norman (Wayne)and their children, DaraJonesand Doug Norman. Robert was aloving father whose steady presence and support shaped the livesofhis children; he was involvedin his daughters'and grandchildren's daytoday lives -and he always had time for amathquestion! He was an avid traveler, aregular tennis player,and couldoftenbespotted walking theneighborhood withhis well-worn Irish shillelagh.

True to his commitment to science, Robert donated hisbody to theTulane Medical School, so there willnot be afuneral.Looking into thenight sky (with stars, planets, pulsars, black holes, and white dwarf stars) willalways remind us of Robert.Toa life welllived and aman well loved- Slainte.

Lillie Sibley Rome, resi-

dent of Livingston, passed at theage of 74 on Friday, March 27, 2026. She was born in Independence, Louisiana on January30, 1952 to her parents Mary Mable Guist and Ellis Carter Watts, Sr.Lillie was agraduateofDoyleHigh School and worked at the Louisiana Patient's CompensationFund as amedical malpractice specialist. She held adeepbeliefin theimportance of family and in staying connected across distances and generations. Lillie willbe deeply missed by the many people who had the privilege to knowand love her, and her care willlive

on in those she leaves behind.She is survivedby herdevoted husband of 39 years Joseph Aubert Rome, son David DwayneSibley, daughters StaceyLeigh Altazan andKadie Jo Rome, grandchildrenKathleen, Corey, Kacie,Camy, Gabby, Kayley,Bella, Sam, and Britton, and11greatgrandchildren. Sheisprecededinpassing by her parents Ellis Carter Watts, Sr andMary MableGuist, brotherEllis Carter Watts, Jr."Bubba", sistersAnna Faye Ballard, Betty Ann Hoyt, andCarrie May Purvis, daughterDebbie Denise Sibley, nephew Rodney Ballard, and greatgranddaughterWrenley Elizabeth.Wewill gatherat thefamilyhome, Wednesday, April 8, to celebrate thelifeofLillie.Wewill lay hertorest with agravesideservice 2p.m.,inOld RedOak Cemetery

Dr.GeneCameron Sands passedawaypeacefullyon April 2, 2025, at the age of 80, leaving behind aworld with fewerwell-timed punchlines—and significantlyworse hair. Genewas manythings: adecorated AirForce officer, auniversity professor, acommunicationsstrategist, an author,a Disneylandoriginal, and—just to keepyou on yourtoes—a women'shairstylist. He moved seamlessly betweenthe Pentagonand thesalon chair,the classroom andthe comedy bit—always with sharp wit, quietconfidence,and an impeccablesense of timing. He wasbornonJuly1 1944, in Healdton, Oklahoma, and raisedbyhis mother, Melba, a schoolteacherwith no idea what she'dunleashed. Even as akid, Geneunderstood thepowerofnarra-

tive—once charging classmates anickeltoridethe merry-go-round by claiminghis father wasthe principal. (He was not. But Genenever letthe truth getinthe way of agood story.) Whilemost eleven-yearolds were dodginghomework, Genewas working at Disneylandshortly after it opened,taking thebus after school to hock balloons on Main Street.There,he charmed hisway into the orbitofWally Boag, the fast-talkingvaudeville star of theGolden Horseshoe Revue, whotook Geneunderhis wing andbecame a lifelongmentor. That early friendship helped shape Gene'sown brand of charisma: quick-witted, magnetic,and effortlessly charming Geneearned his BA and MA in journalismfromthe University of Oklahoma, whereheservedaspresidentofSigma DeltaChi. He later received his doctorate from TheCatholic University of America in Washington, DC Over thecourse of his 20 -year AirForce career, Generose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and built acareer defined by range andimpact. He joined thefacultyatthe U.S. AirForce Academy, guidingcadetswith warmth,intelligence,and irreverence. He later served as Chief of Information for the388th Tactical Fighter Wing during the Vietnam War,stationedin Korat, Thailand, wherehe ledcritical communicationsefforts in ahigh-pressure theater. After retiringfromthe military, Genecontinued hiscareerinhighereducation,most notably as Executive Director of University RelationsatLouisiana State University. There,he guided the university through momentsofhigh visibility anddeep sorrow with clarity, steadiness, and grace. Hiswriting, presence, andsteady hand made hima trustedadvisor andrespected leader. Later in life, Genereturned to theDisneyland roots that shaped him, authoringa Disney-published coffee table book abouthis mentor Wally Boag, complete with aforewordby fellow Disneylandalum Steve Martin. He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Connie Jackson;his children David, Claire,and Ryan;his

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Lawson, Tommy Gene

Rome,Lillie Sibley

O'Connell, RobertFrancis

OUR VIEWS

TheEaster messageis oneofhope in an uncertain world

Editor’snote:This editorial, in modiﬁed form, hasmarkedprevious Easterholidays in this newspaper

The Easter story,the victoriousending of a tale of brutal cruciﬁxion,suggeststhatthere’sa powerful answerto the pain andevilthathave touched the world throughouthuman history. That’swhy the Easter narrativecan resonate not only with Christians but in secularsociety, too. Any story of hope is needed now morethan ever,asrecent headlines havereminded us. On this weekend’sEaster,asonothers, there’s trouble afoot on our anguished planet.The scenesofwar abroad and violence closeto home continue to dominatethe headlines.

And the newspapers of today wouldhave beenfamiliar to our grandparents andgreatgrandparents, as there is once again large-scale warfare in Europe, strife in theMiddle East and unrest in our hemisphere.

We hope for an end to chaos around the globe, butweknow that those ravaged populationswill be in need of resurrection, today’stheme, for many years to come.

All this is pretty grim stuff.

Illness and death are ever-presentparts of the human condition, as the Easter story reminds us.

Yetour capacity to be shocked andhorrified by accounts of violence in ourcommunitiesand around the world is, perhaps, oneofthe more affirming things about the humanspirit. We believe that cruelty is an aberration —thatwe’re made for something better.That brighterspirit has been reflected in neighbors helping neighbors,even under the most difficult conditions. That brighter spirit is present whenever we look around and see the good work being done by ordinary people to betterour communities. Easter is the holiest day in the Christiancalendar,and this Sunday,believers aregathering at theirhouses of worship to prayand reflect on the miracleoflife renewed, when all was thought to be lost.

In whatever form, Easter speakstoour basic faith that love will ultimately transcendhate, that good will triumph over evil, that our better angels willprevail,that miracles are possible In theclassic children’sstory “Charlotte’s Web,” author E.B. White suggestedthatbelief in miracles is perhaps notsostrange athing when we consider the presence of theeveryday miracles we take for granted. White waswriting particularly about the life of abarnyard,where the wonders of pigs and ducks andspiders were spectacles so grand —but so routine —thatfew visitors thought of them as special. Spring is like that,too,ofcourse. Afterthe frost and cold of winter,the greening trees and emerging blossoms are an extraordinarything, but they’re avictoryweusually overlook Easter is aday to hold such gifts close to heart, to believe once again in renewal—ofthe world and in ourselves.

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.

Thepower of celebratingbirthdays

When mostofusthink of our birthdays, we probably have ﬂashbacks to childhood. When Iwas 3, my parents put together aSnow Whiteand the Seven Dwarfs partyfor me. The icing on the cake (pun intended) besides thelove poured into it —was the Dopey cookie. Mom had all seven of the little guys around the cake, but he was my favorite. Isensed akinship early on. That Dopey memorygets us to akey reason birthdays are big deals: People need to know they are loved and ablessing to theworld. They need to know that it’snot their successes that give them irrevocable value, it’s simply their existence. If you are abeliever in God, we should be seeing God in one another,because he cared tothink of the idea of you and me in the ﬁrst place. From hanging around the religious service group Sisters of Life, I’ve gotten ataste of what life without birthdays can be like. Someofthe women who come to them are pregnant and in need of friendship, mentorship and away to be themother she already is

Ihear from readers who want to know moreabout how we choose topics for our editorials. The column on theleft-hand side of the page, four days a week, is devoted to the paper’s view on issues of the day Editorials can be hard-hitting or light-hearted, but mostly they’re about bringing readers’ attention to something we on

to thedeveloping child within her.Not only does abortion end alife, it also hurtsthe mother and has an impact on others in her life —likely the people she loves themost. Someofthose samewomen have never had anyone celebrate abirthday for them. How do you embrace new lifeunder challenging and even desperate situations if you have never had people insist to you that your life is agift to them? On agood day, how are you supposed to realize that an inconvenient pregnancy is worth much of anything when many, if not most, mainstream signs tell you that abortion is just another medical procedure? And if you don’t thinkyour life is worth living? Most of us are awareofhow prevalent suicide is in the United States —the federal government has called it apandemic. It may sound simplistic, but birthdays are asolution. Obviously just ababy step —the least we can do forsomeone. Butitcould be acontributor not only keeping people alive, but helping with joy,and aknowledge that the creator of the universe cares not only for theoceans and mountains and various

birds in the sky,but also you. “I think it is moreimportant to celebrate abirthday than asuccessful exam, apromotion, or avictory,author Henri Nouwen wrote. “Because to celebrate abirthday meanstosay to someone: ‘Thank you forbeing you.’ Celebrating abirthday is exalting life and being glad forit. On abirthday,we do not say: “Thanks forwhat you did or said or accomplished.” No,wesay: “Thank you forbeing born and being among us.”

Let’sface it: Whatever mistakes we’ve madeand challenges we have —itisgood to be alive. It’s not easy But we can be grateful, and we can have joy.And Ipromise you it can be contagious. It’s not only about remembering and celebrating birthdays. Treat people like every day is their birthday.Buy them ﬂowers. Surprise them with a book on their desk. Remind them their existence makes lifebetter.Ask about birthdates. Put them in your calendar It’s moreimportant than we may ever fully realize.

Email Kathryn Jean Lopez at klopez@ nationalreview.com.

thepaper should weigh in on. Sometimes we weigh in when we thinkthe public isn’tawareof what’shappening. Sometimes we’re writing to let ofﬁcials know we’re watching. Some people call editorials “the voice of the paper,” and as that voice, we know we have aresponsibility to call it like we see it.

Butinwriting editorials, we

While we don’tknow if any of our editorials will ever match that level of notoriety,wedosometimes try with our editorials to touch achord with readers. There is so much that makes where we live and whoweare in Louisiana special that we hope that is reﬂected on our pages —aswell as our customary inclination to hold public ﬁgures to account. We write with purpose. We hope you read our editorials and see we understand the history of our state and care about its future. If we point out awrong or praise an initiative, it’sbecause we care. We want you to know that we’re just invested as you are in making Louisiana better Given the holiday,I don’thave an update on the letters forthe week. But we’ll be looking foryour letters as usual, and if you have acomment on our editorials, please let us know Email Arnessa Garrett at arnessa.gartt@theadvocate.com

Arnessa Garrett

Kathryn Jean Lopez

AMERICA 250

A CONVERSATION AT THE NEW ORLEANS BOOK FESTIVAL AT TULANE UNIVERSITy

Can Americans come together in this moment?

Panel of historians and scholars discusses the country’s divisions at a milestone birthday

On the opening night of the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University on March 12, a group of historians and scholars discussed the meaning of the 250th anniversary of America in this fraught time. The speakers were moderator Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic; historical documentarian Ken Burns, whose latest ﬁlm series is titled “The American Revolution;“ Walter Isaacson, biographer and professor at Tulane, whose latest book is “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written”; poet and scholar Clint Smith, author of “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America;” and Annette Gordon-Reed, who wrote “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.”

This conversation has been edited and condensed for space and clarity. The full conversation is available on YouTube. Go to https://bookfest.tulane.edu for more information about the festival.

GOLDBERG: We’re going to talk about the upcoming 250th anniversary celebration of American independence. And three of the four of us on this stage are old enough to remember the bicentennial.

We remember the tall ships and the ﬁreworks and the hot dogs, and even though it was coming right after Watergate, it was a very different feeling than what we have now. It seemed as if most of the questions about America had been sort of settled Ken, what’s different now?

BURNS: I started this project, our documentary series on the history of the American Revolution, when Barack Obama still had 13 months to go in his presidency So I feel in a way like I’ve been run over by the present.

That is to say, there was a huge amount of attention to the centennial in 1876, also a very complicated year And I do remember the Bicentennial really well, and it was notable for the fact that it didn’t in any way correlate to what we’d been through — the Vietnam era, searing civil rights assassinations. There were hundreds of bombings that had taken place from ‘69 to ‘75 or so. A president had resigned. There was a crippling oil crisis. It was amazingly disconnected, because I think in a way, people had assumed we’d arrived, and everything was just going to be adding layers of positivity to it.

So when we began this, we felt, though in much even more complicated times, that the film that we would be telling would be all right We worried that this coming July 4 would be drowning in fife-anddrum treacle, and we were hopeful that our film might come out, as it did last November, in a way that would offer a kind of counterpoint that would be more complicated And now we’re, of course, arguing about the very meaning of it. About whose history is included and all of that stuff.

And there’s a palpable sense, I think, that is actually ripe for a positive response, because everything is so fraught. The moment feels existential. The threats seem, as they always do in the present, worse than they’ve ever been

The Revolution tells us that’s not true. The Civil War tells us that’s not true. Reconstruction tells us that’s not true. Vietnam and many other periods…

GOLDBERG: History has a strangely calming effect also, knowing the history

BURNS: There is a kind of calming effect And I think that for people who study the past or understand some of the perspectives that an understanding of the past gives you, it helps you Unfinished business

GOLDBERG: Walter, I want to come to you, this idea of the unﬁnished revolution, I guess the question I have this year is how unﬁnished is it?

WALTER ISAACSON: When you look at the Declaration of Independence, and I’ve written about that second sentence — that “we hold these truths to be selfevident” sentence you realize it was not a ﬁnished description of the nation, but a forcing mechanism and a mission statement, an aspiration of what we could be.

And fourscore and seven years after the founders write that, Lincoln invokes it, saying “a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated the proposition that all men are created equal.” And he wasn’t just giving a speech at Gettysburg. He was consecrating a burial ground, a cemetery there in which young men were being buried for having tried to make that sentence a little bit more true.

And so I think that’s why going back to the founding aspirations and using those as a way to bring us together, not glorifying or sugarcoating it, but also not demeaning the journey that we have been on.

And American history is a narrative in ﬁts and starts. Sometimes progresses, sometimes regresses, but the narrative is to take those founding principles and even that sentence, which not only Lincoln invokes, but it’s in the Seneca [Falls] Declaration of rights for women when they do it.

It’s Martin Luther King’s last speech. It’s LBJ when he signs a civil rights bill.

Fears and hopes

GOLDBERG: Clint, look, you’re a scholar and a writer but you’re also — and I use this word under advisement now — a warrior, in the sense that you are legitimately fighting for the preservation of memory, but the advancement of memory I think a lot of people are surprised that generally accepted memories are so controversial. Now, talk a little bit about this fight. Sometimes you’re writing about it through the prism of institutions, the Smithsonian Institution being obviously one extremely important one, but talk about this fight and talk about things that might have surprised you about this kind of war on accepted memory

SMITH: I think that I’ve been struck by how explicit it is, how direct it is. If we take slavery, for example, our president famously posted in a Truth Social post that the Smithsonian spends too much time thinking about and talking about slavery It spends too much time talking about these sad things these depressing things. It should be more uplifting. He has all these executive orders thinking about what a patriotic education is and that we should be teaching a patriotic education in our curriculums and higher ed, that our museums should reﬂect notions of patriotism. And what we know is that he has a very narrow sense of what constitutes patriotism. For me and for so many of us who think about the past America is a place that has provided unparalleled, unimaginable opportunity for millions of people across generations in ways that their own ancestors could have simply never imagined.

It has also done so at the direct expense of millions and millions of other people who have been intergenerationally subjugated and oppressed, and both of those things, both of those things are the story of America. It’s not this one over here or that one over there. You have to pick this one and not pick that one. Both of those things reﬂect the totality, the complexity, the cognitive dissonance of this country

If we think about ourselves, I’m a person who has done things in my life that I am proud of, and I am a person who has done things in my life that I’m not proud of. I’ve made mistakes because I’m human, and what I try to teach my children and the way that I try to be in community with my loved ones is that if you make a mistake, you don’t pretend as if you didn’t make a mistake. You don’t pretend as if that mistake doesn’t exist. What you do is you try to acknowledge it and learn from it and become a better version of yourself because of it.

And if that’s the standard I hold myself to, if that’s the standard I hold my children to, why would that not be the same standard that I hold this country to?

GOLDBERG: Annette, I wanted to ask you to talk a little bit about the way to expand upon what Clint is talking about — the way in which you’re seeing people, different political factions, deal with the complicated realities of American history

GORDON-REED: I think a lot of it stems from, well, fear A sense that it’s a zero-sum game.

If you recognize the struggles that some groups

have had, and you try to make recompense for this in whatever way or try to ﬁx the law so that everyone is treated equally, that means that they will lose something. So I think a lot of it has to do with a fear of the loss of privilege, and we just haven’t communicated to one another that there’s enough for everybody That we can be Americans, and we can strive together, and we can all prosper

And we’ve always had this duality in the country from the very beginning: the people who believed in the ideals of the Declaration and people who didn’t. And at various moments, the politics work out so that one side is an ascendancy, and we’re in the ascendancy now of people who don’t believe in America as a creed.

So, I think a lot of it has to do with, as I said at the beginning, fear, and seeing everything as a zero-sum game.

GOLDBERG: Now I want to ask all four of you how you would love to see America recognize its 250th birthday I want you to talk about your own version of patriotism. Ken, you wanna start? Talk about what you would imagine 250 would look like?

BURNS: We have in our editing room and have had for decades, this neon sign that says, in lowercase cursive, “it’s complicated” and that’s it. What we live in is a world in which everything is a binary and real life is not like that.

This is the city that invented jazz, and jazz is so ﬁlled with this passionate acknowledgment of the moment. “This is” is what jazz says, and it takes in all of the things that we are. Wynton Marsalis, a son of this city, said in our ﬁlm, “Sometimes a thing and the opposite of a thing can be true at the same time.” And I think what my idea of what this should be is to embrace that sort of complication.

ISAACSON: You began this panel by talking about the bicentennial, and saying we had just gone through Watergate and Vietnam and the assassinations of Kennedy and King and the urban riots and everything that happened. And then they rang the Liberty Bell, Gerald Ford did, and the tall ships came into our harbors and the ﬁreworks went off, and we healed; we calmed down a bit as a nation. So my hope would be that even as we deeply disagree on different things, we realize we’re all part of this country and that if we can hang together, as they said 250 years ago, we will have the ﬁrst thing ever on this planet, which is a diverse democracy And so what we could do is we could get up each morning and say, “What can I do each day, every single way, to turn down the hatred and vitriol that gets stoked up in our society?”

Final challenge

SMITH: I try to remind myself to get off my phone. Because if your politics only exists in your phone or manifest themselves through your social media, you will think that everybody is crazy You will think that it’s either you’re with me or you’re against me, that there’s no in between. So, I think the more that we can remember that the digital ecosystem that we live in is distorting our sense of who one another are it allows us to have like a bit more empathy, a bit more humility And again, it’s not going to solve everything. It’s not a panacea. But I try to extend to others the same grace and generosity that throughout so much of my life has been extended to me.

GORDON-REED: What I would hope is what has been said already It’s an interesting moment, though. This is probably the ﬁrst time that I thought more about the grievances of the Declaration of Independence than the preamble. And the importance of all Americans doing their duty as citizens and being vigilant, not just on social media, but in their communities, on local school boards, all of those kinds of things. Because we’re at a really interesting moment. The question Franklin was asked whether it’s apocryphal or not, the story of it’s a republic if we could keep it — that’s a legitimate question to ask now And the key is people not the individual president, not just the Congress — the actual people of the United States who are going to decide whether this republican experiment is going to continue.

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Jeffrey Goldberg, left, moderates a conversation titled, ‘America at 250: Opening Night with The Atlantic,’ featuring panelists Ken Burns, from second left, Walter Isaacson, Clint Smith and Annette Gordon-Reed at the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University

granddaughters,Gabrielle and Grace; and his sister, Betty Embry

DEATHS continued from room and left alastingimpression on anyone he met. Visitation willbeheld Saturday, April11, 2026, from 12:30p.m. until2:00 p.m. at ResthavenFuneral Home, 11817Jefferson Hwy. Baton Rouge,LA 70816. Funeral serviceswill begin at 2:00 p.m. with Pastor KenSpiveyofficiating. Interment willfollow at Resthaven Gardens of Memory.

He is also survived by every person who ever thought, "I wish I'd written that line,"only to find out Gene already had. He was funny, brilliant, kind—and the voice you wanted in the room when it counted. He built alegacy of sharp words, steady leadership, and exacting standards. The loss is immense. The echo remains. And if he's reading this now, he's likely reworking the last line—for tone.

Amemorial service will be held Sunday, April 12 at 1:00 PM at University United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge, followed by a brief reception.

Richard "Dick" Curry Thevenot, 92, alongtime resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, went home to be with his Savior on Monday, March 23, 2026. Dick is survived by his beloved wife of 68 years, Pat Thevenot; his children Trent and Mary Pat, and Greg and Joni Thevenot; his grandchildren John Paul and Bristen, Jacob and Erica, Ann Marie and Jake Salemi; and Mickey and Ashleigh, Jaclyn and Tyler Deville, Jonathan Nellis, and Joseph and Allison Thevenot; his five greatgrandchildren;his siblings Beryl Ann Barnett, Marvin, Bruce, Steve, and Sharon Roth and many extended family members and friends -all who will deeply miss him. Dick was preceded in death by his father Gern Peter Thevenot, his mother Mavis Bruce Thevenot, his brother RonaldGern Thevenot, and his eldest son "Rick" Thevenot. Dick will be fondly remembered for his steadfast love, tender spirit, quick-witted humor, captivating stories, andpassion for gardening. Although soft spoken, he had apresence that lit up a

Virga, Nancy EstelleSkidmore

Nancy Estelle (Skidmore) Virga, aresidentof Baton Rouge, passed away peacefully in her home on Thursday, April 02, 2026,at the age of 91. She was born in Winchester, Tennessee on October18, 1934, to Ben and Hilda Skidmore.Nancy was aloving wife, mother,and grandmother who dedicated herlifetoher family. She was adevout Catholicwho loved volunteering at St. Joseph's Cathedral,the Baton Rouge FoodPantry,and The Battered Women's Shelter. She was an animal lover who spent many yearsvolunteeringatthe Baton Rouge Zoo and always had rescue animals around the house. She loved reading, travelling and hosting socialfunctions. Nancy attended Louisiana State University, whereshe met her husband of 68 years, Mickey Virga. Shegraduated in 1956 and spent many years as asubstitute teacher in East Baton Rouge. She had two children, Paige Raleigh &Paul Virga,and fostered several foreign childrenin their time of need. She loved spending time spoiling her children& grandchildren.She was always planningvacationsto share her love of travel with her family. She loved hosting parties and spend-

ing time with her friends at BocageRacquet Club.She is preceded in death by her parents, Ben Sr. &Hilda; her husband, Mickey Virga; and her daughter, Paige Raleigh. She is survivedby her brother, BenSkidmore, Jr.; son, Paul Virga; son-inlaw, Coleman Raleigh;her grandchildren, Brian Raleigh (AdamGilbert) and ChrisRaleigh (Mallory); and her threegreat-grandchildren, Benjamin, Madison and William Raleigh. Visitation willbeat Resthaven Funeral Home, 11817 JeffersonHwy., in BatonRouge on Wednesday, April8,2026, from 10:00 a.m. until services at 11:00 a.m. Entombment will follow in Resthaven Gardens of Memory. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal notetothe familyatwww.resthavenbaton rouge.com

Debra "Debby" Walker, aresident of Dutchtown, LA,passedaway on Sunday, March 29, 2026. She was 72 yearsold She is survivedbyher husband of 50 years, Douglas "Doug"Walker; 2 sons, Matt Walker (Kelly), and Jeff Walker; grandchildren,Kylie Walker, Reagan Walker, JaxonWalker, LawsonWalker, and Lillian Walker; 1sisterand brother-in-law, Sallyand Glenn Barnette:1 brother and sister-in-law, Terryand MaryEllen Malagarie; sister-in-lawand brother-inlaw, Nannette and Henry Munoz; and mother-in-law, CelesteWalker. She was preceded in death by her parents, Cecil and ElsieGardiner Malagarie; father-in-law, Neal J. Walker; and mother-in-law, Marynette Walker Service for Debbywillbe held on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at St.Johnthe

Evangelist Catholic Church, Prairieville, LA. visiting willbefrom 10 am until funeral mass at 11:30 am. She willbelaid to rest at HopeHavenCemetery, Prairieville, LA

Christie Theriot Woodfin, beloved mother, artist,counselor, and educational consultant,died March 24, 2026, in Atlanta, Georgia, at theage of 79 after abattlewith malignant pleural mesothelioma AnativeNew Orleanian she was thedaughterof

Romeal Theriot andIrene NunneryTheriot, agraduate of Isidore Newman School andAgnesScott College, andsomeone whose love of NewOrleans shaped herthroughout her life. Shekept asecond home in Uptown,and the city'sbeauty,humor, and hospitality stayed with her wherever she lived Christie builtanearly career in thearts, creating illustratedstationery, leadingart seminars, and painting large watercolor still lifes showninonewoman exhibitions. Later after earning amaster's degree in counseling from theUniversity of Houston, she founded Woodfin and Associatesand spent 25 years helpingfamiliesfind schools and programs wherechildren could thrive, especially neurodivergentand atypical learners. For ten years, she was a proudmember of the KreweofMuses, creating glitteringMardi Gras shoes that became treasured keepsakesfor those who caught them.She was also known for herwit, generosity, faith, andlove of art,architecture,music, friendship, andspirited

conversation Christie is survived by herchildren, WarrenTheriot Woodfin andElizabeth Cutler Woodfin, andby many relatives, friends former clients, and loved ones. Amemorial service will be held at St.Charles Ave.Presbyterian Church on April 8and an Atlanta memorial service on April 18 at Trinity Presbyterian Church.Inlieuofflowers, memorial gifts may be made to MD Anderson CancerCenterinHouston or WorldCentral Kitchen

The biggeststories customizedtoyourinterests –delivered direct to your inbox.

Woodfin,Christie Theriot

Thevenot, Richard Curry 'Dick'

Walker, Debra'Debby'

SPORTS

‘Grind’

continues

LSU fails to outhit defensive miscues vs. Vols

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. LSU baseball is still a work in progress. At least that much was true Saturday evening at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, as the Tigers struggled to capitalize on opportunities at the plate and had trouble ﬁelding the ball cleanly in their 4-1 loss to Tennessee.

LSU had won ﬁve of its last six games before Saturday, ﬁnding an identity at the plate with three consecutive comeback wins and more consistency on the mound. But the loss to the Volunteers, which evened the series at a game apiece, was a reminder that the Tigers still have work to do to solve the issues that have plagued them through 32 contests: hitting and defense.

“(The pitchers) did their job,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “Got to do a little more offensively and defensively tomorrow.”

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

There was perfection at the start and ﬁnish for the LSU gymnastics team in Sat-

urday’s NCAA Baton Rouge regional ﬁnal.

In between, there was drama, an injury and just a general sense of tension as the three other teams in the meet — Stanford, Clemson and Michigan — took turns nipping at LSU’s heels in a bid for one of the two transfer spots for the NCAA championships.

In the end, the Tigers kept their cool and lead, securing the regional title and a fourth straight trip to nationals with a score of 197.825 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, keyed by perfect 10s from Kailin Chio on vault and Kaliya Lincoln on ﬂoor

“We had to grind that one out,” a visibly drained LSU coach Jay Clark said “That was an interesting day, to say the least.”

The Tigers, the No. 2 national seed will make their 35th appearance in the NCAA championships overall after winning their 16th regional title. No 7 Stanford held off No 15 Clemson 197.225-197.150 in a reverse of their finish at the ACC championships last month. It is the 18th trip to nationals for the Cardinal.

“This is madness,” Stanford coach Tabitha Yim said. “It’s April, but it felt like March Madness, man.”

After posting a 198.375 on Thursday in the regional semiﬁnals LSU’s seasonbest score and the program’s best-ever regional score LSU appeared from the start to not be quite on that level Saturday.

“We weren’t sharp by our standards,” Clark said.

On vault, LSU had only one score above 9.85, a career-high-tying 9.90 from Victoria Roberts. At least until Chio stepped onto the runway

The LSU sophomore executed yet another ﬂawless vault routine and was rewarded with her fourth 10.0 score in that event this season and 12th overall after 10s on vault and ﬂoor Thursday Chio is now two off the NCAA single-season record of 14 set in 2019 by UCLA’s Kyla Ross, and her 13 career 10.0 marks trail only the school record 18 by current assistant coach Haleigh Bryant.

Chio’s 10 gave LSU a 49.450 on vault and

a slim lead over Stanford (49.400, bars) In the second rotation, things got worrisome for both teams. The Tigers lost uneven bars anchor Konnor McClain as she missed the top bar during her routine and fell hard to the mat McClain remained there for several moments before leaving the ﬂoor holding her right wrist. Clark said afterward he didn’t know her status but that team doctors believe there were no structural issues.

McClain’s failure to complete the routine meant LSU had to count Chio’s 9.80 — just her eighth score in her dazzling season below a 9.90 — giving the Tigers a 49.300 in the event and a 98.750 mark midway through the meet. Clemson was close behind at 98.600 after a 49.425 on ﬂoor, followed by Michigan (98.475) and Stanford (98.350), which had to count two

Despite obstacles, LSU gym wins regional to advance to nationals ä See LSU GYM, page 5C

At the plate, LSU stranded the bases loaded with two outs in the second inning and couldn’t score with two runners in scoring position and one out in the ﬁfth. In both instances, the Tigers had the top half of the order up.

Junior Steven Milam flew out to end the second, and freshman Omar Serna popped out before sophomore Derek Curiel struck out in the fifth. LSU’s lone run came on a run-scoring single from senior Chris Stanfield in the second.

The Tigers’ fifth-inning threat was their last of the night. Tennessee freshman left-hander Cam Appenzeller gave up a single to the ﬁrst batter he faced in the ﬁfth, then retired 15 consecutive batters to end the game.

“I don’t know if he came out a little slow in the spring (as a high school senior), but these guys are hard to get to campus,” Johnson said about Appenzeller who was one of the top high school arms not to get drafted last summer “It reminds me of Kade (Anderson) a lot, and he’s going to have a good career here.

“Every pitch has a lot of movement, and they tunnel well off of each other.” Defensively, two mistakes cost LSU at least two runs. In the ﬁrst inning, senior Zach Yorke let a potential inning-ending double play ground ball get through his legs. The error, which came with runners on the corners, allowed Tennessee to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Only one of the two runs was unearned.

“Self-explanatory,” Johnson said.

“We’ve got to make that play.” In the fourth inning, sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide gave up a passed ball that allowed designated hitter Trent Grindlinger to get from ﬁrst base to second with two outs. It didn’t take long for

Southern football outlasts weather to show off team

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

The downpour and lightning that delayed Southern’s spring showcase by 40 minutes weren’t an inconvenience To Marshall Faulk, the delay was a gift. The ﬁrst-time head coach and former NFL great gathered his team after a brief 12-minute warmup period on Saturday at A.W Mumford Stadium Before fans saw the Jaguars resume play, Faulk explained why his team should be grateful for the break.

“We’ve been blessed with this,” Faulk said. “This could happen in Mississippi, this could happen in Florida, this can happen to us. And we got a chance to see how we’re going to respond. Respond well. And that’s what they did They came out and they responded well.”

His players outlasted Mother Nature and competed hard on the

ﬁeld Here are three observations from the Jaguars’ performance Saturday Quarterback battle

Faulk wants to name a starting quarterback as early as possible.

The showcase was a significant part of his staff’s evaluation process of Ashton Strother and Wyatt McCauley

The first signal-caller to trot on the field with the first-team offense was Strother While the junior from last season was solid overall, some of the issues that hurt him in 2025 returned at the start of the showcase. He escaped the pocket on the left side and threw an interception a few plays after his first completion of the day He threw a second interception on a play-action play in which he was pressured. His 20yard pass went directly to a defensive back. Strother elevated his perfor-

mance after the halfway point of the showcase. He moved the ball down the field better and threw two touchdown passes. The first was to Kobe Brown. The returning wideout executed a dig route and sped down the ﬁeld for 70 yards

The second touchdown was to Matthew Berenji, a transfer from Long Beach City College in California, on a slant route for 20 yards.

McCauley, who spent his freshman season at Long Beach City College, displayed his superior speed outside the pocket a few times. His longest carry was for 16 yards. McCauley connected on short throws and no deep passes. While he didn’t have any turnovers, he jumped on top of a fumble at the opposing 15-yard line. He botched the handoff to Barry Remo, who had the most rushing yards among the Southern running backs last season.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON Southern tight end Broc Boute cuts upfield during the spring showcase on Saturday at A.W Mumford Stadium.

LSU gymnast Kaliya Lincoln finishes her floor routine in the final rotation of the regional finals on Saturday. Lincoln scored the first 10.0 of her career in the event.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU gymnast Kailin Chio soars over the balance beam during her routine in the third rotation in the regional finals on Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

8 a.m. RSSB vs. Nairobi City NBATV

11 a.m. Petro de Luanda vs. J’burg NBATV BOWLING

3 p.m PBA Tour: Ohio Classic CW COLLEGE BASEBALL Noon Missouri at Kentucky SECN

5 p.m. Southern Cal at UCLA BTN

4:30 p.m. CBC Champ.: Okla. vs.W Virginia Fox

7 p.m. NIT Champ.: Tulsa vs.Auburn ESPN2

2:30 p.m. NCAA Champ.: S.Carolina vs UCLA ABC MEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE

11 a.m. Virginia at Duke ACCN

11 a.m. Rutgers at Michigan BTN WOMEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

1:30 p.m. Michigan at Northwestern BTN

3 p.m. Clemson at Virginia Tech ACCN

3 p.m. Auburn at Arkansas SECN

5 p.m. Notre Dame at Florida St. ACCN GOLF

7 a.m Drive Chip & Putt Finals Golf

Noon PGA: Valero Texas Open Golf

1:30 p.m. PGA: Valero Texas Open NBC

4 p.m. LPGA: Aramco Championship Golf MLB

12:40 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Cleveland MLBN

3:30 p.m N.y Mets at San Francisco (JIP) MLBN

6:20 p.m. St. Louis at Detroit NBCSN, Peacock NBA

2:30 p.m. Toronto at Boston NBATV

6 p.m Orlando at New Orleans GCSEN

6:30 p.m. L.A. Lakers at Dallas NBC, Peacock

9 p.m. Houston at Golden St. NBC, Peacock NBA G-LEAGUE

7 p.m. Stockton at South Bay ESPNU

Midlothian at Livingston CBSSN 10 a.m. Leeds at West Ham ESPN2 12:45 p.m.Al Qadsiah at Al Ettifaq FS2 5 p.m. Cavalry FC at Pacific FC FS2 WOMEN’S SOCCER

Coaches clash in postgame exchange

Auriemma apologizes to Staley day after South Carolina beat UConn

By The Associated Press

PHOENIX Dawn Staley and Geno

Auriemma’s coaching rivalry has had something for everyone on and off the court. It reached a dramatic peak Friday night, and the heated exchange between them stirred all the elements that make their matchups must-see TV.

Auriemma said it started at the beginning of the game, but the ending is what everyone will talk about.

A visibly upset Auriemma went over to Staley in the waning seconds of South Carolina’s 62-48 victory over his UConn team in the Final Four and appeared to chastise her before the two shook hands. Staley responded with “don’t do that” while assistant coaches from both teams separated them.

Staley said after the game she was confused by the exchange.

“I have no idea,” Staley said when asked what happened. “But I’m going to let you know this: I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand.

“I don’t know what he came with after the game, but, hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”

Auriemma later said the exchange was about the lack of a traditional pregame handshake between the coaches.

“For 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours,” Auriemma said. “The protocol is before the game you meet at halfcourt. Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at halfcourt and they shake hands, correct? Ever see it? They announce it on the loudspeaker “I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”

The Gamecocks will play UCLA in their third straight title game on Sunday, but not everyone was willing to move on from the exchange so quickly

Auriemma immediately left the court without shaking hands when the game ended, and the moment quickly spread on social media.

Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, a for-

mer Olympic teammate of Staley, posted on X: “It’s a real shame that #Geno took the low road! We have all had to lose with class!

Geno of the @UConnWBB needs to start with an apology!!!”

There were no apologies Friday night, but Auriemma issued an apology on Saturday

“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut,” the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that.

I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”

Staley said Saturday morning she was focused on the title game against UCLA on Sunday and not what happened a night earlier

“For me, no distractions at this time. I’m concentrating on winning a national championship, that’s it,” Staley said. “That’s a little disheartening. This is sports, sometimes things like this happen. Continue to focus on my team and ability to advance in this tournament and hopefully win another national championship.”

Coaching rivalry

Auriemma and Staley have been the gold standard in women’s basketball for years, and their battle for supremacy has produced some

of the most thrilling moments in women’s college basketball over the past decade.

They’ve coached some of the greatest talent in the game. They have a combined 15 national championships and nearly 2,000 wins with their respective programs, and their teams have faced each other 15 times.

Despite the intensity on the court, Staley and Auriemma have typically exchanged public pleasantries, complimenting each others’ successes and importance to the women’s game. They sparked conversations in 2023 when Staley defended her team after Auriemma criticized the Gamecocks’ physicality but their rivalry had never boiled over in the way it did on Friday

Auriemma ripped the ofﬁciating in the third after the Gamecocks were not whistled for a foul in the quarter He continued to voice his displeasure with how Staley spoke to the refs in his postgame news conference.

“I’m of the opinion that if I ever talk to an ofﬁcial like that, I would get tossed,” he said. “So I just want to make sure there’s not a double standard, that some people are allowed to talk to ofﬁcials like that and other people are not.

That’s it.”

Physical game

The Huskies hadn’t faced much on-court adversity this season, winning almost all of their previous 38 games by a lopsided margin and logging 54 straight victories.

Once adversity hit on Friday, UConn wasn’t able to respond. Auriemma said the ofﬁciating didn’t help.

“There were six fouls called that quarter — all of them against us,” Auriemma said on the broadcast at the end of the third quarter “And they’ve been beating the (expletive) out of our guys down there the entire game. I’m not making excuses, ’cause we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous.

“Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referee some names you don’t want to hear And now we get 6 to 0, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on, man. It’s for a national championship.”

It’s true that it was a physical game. Bodies were ﬂying under the basket for the majority of the night for both teams. UConn was whistled for 17 fouls, while South Carolina was called for just eight.

The problem for stars Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong was they couldn’t hit shots even when they had a little space to operate. The 6-foot-2 Strong AP’s Player of the Year — was bothered by South Carolina’s interior size, with several of her inside shots rattling in and out.

“Well, sometimes we do forget she’s a sophomore,” Auriemma said. “She’s carried a huge load for this team. An awful lot falls on her Tonight she’ll be the ﬁrst to tell you that she is not proud of how her game went today.”

Shortly after hiring, LSU assistant lands head coach job

Gabe Lazo named women’s basketball head coach at UCF

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

It turns out that Kim Mulkey’s newest assistant will not coach at LSU after all.

Gabe Lazo, the former Tennessee assistant who recently accepted a role on Mulkey’s staff, will instead run his own program next season. The University of Central Florida announced Saturday that it had named Lazo its new head women’s basketball coach — just four days after the Tigers said he was moving down to Baton Rouge.

“I’m so happy for Gabe,” Mulkey told The Advocate in a phone interview on Saturday

“How could you not be happy for someone to be a head coach for

the ﬁrst time and to do it in his home state?”

Lazo, a Miami native, resigned from his position with the Lady Vols on March 27 and ofﬁcially accepted a coaching gig at LSU the next day, according to his term sheet. The Golden Knights then fired their head coach, former Mulkey assistant Sytia Messer, two days later

“This is a special place with tremendous potential,” Lazo said in a statement. “As a Florida native, this opportunity means a great deal to me. I look forward to building meaningful relationships with our student-athletes, competing at a high level in the Big 12, and making Knight Nation proud.”

Before he worked at Tennessee, Lazo spent two seasons on coach Sam Purcell’s staff at Mississippi State. Purcell said in 2025 that Lazo was “an absolute workhorse” who would be a head coach one day

“He’s a big, strong dude,” Purcell said, “but he’s a teddy bear inside. 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.” Lazo is known for his recruiting chops. He helped Tennessee sign the nation’s second-best 2025 freshman class, according to ESPN, and then he played a key role in its successful push to sign 6-foot-3 forward Oliviyah Edwards — one of the top recruits in the Class of 2026. At LSU, Lazo was going to ﬁll the role left behind by Gary Redus — the former Mulkey assistant who’s now the head coach at Rutgers. He hired LSU assistant Daphne Mitchell to his new staff, giving the Tigers two vacancies to ﬁll this offseason. Mulkey thought she addressed one of those roles by hiring Lazo, but now he’s on the move again.

Missouri softball blanks LSU to close out series

After scoring 25 combined runs during two comfortable wins to open a three-game series, the No.20 LSU softball team could not muster a single one on Saturday in a 1-0 loss to Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.

Abby Hay’s single in the bottom of the third inning drove in Addy Waits, who walked with one out, for the only run in the game off LSU starter Paytn Monticelli. Starting pitcher Cierra Harrison made it stand for Missouri (2120, 5-7 SEC) by throwing seven shutout innings with four hits, two walks and three strikeouts.

Char Lorenz was the only LSU (25-13, 6-9) hitter with multiple hits. After having four players hit a home run on Friday, LSU could not record an extra-base hit on Saturday

LSU signee ties for fourth at Augusta amateur event

LSU golf signee Raegan Denton’s ﬁrst trip to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur will be one to remember The Adelaide, Australia, native ﬁnished in a tie for fourth place Saturday at 8-under 208 with a 3-under-par 69 at Augusta National Golf Club.

“There’s been so many different emotions,” Denton, the world’s No. 43-ranked amateur, said after her round. “Definitely some nerves for sure, but overall really proud of myself. I deﬁnitely could have gone lower But still, to shoot 3 under at Augusta, not a lot of people can say that.” Denton ﬁnished six strokes back of the winner, Colombia’s Maria Jose Marin (202), a junior at Arkansas and the reigning NCAA champion.

MacIntyre leads by two as Texas Open suspended SAN ANTONIO Robert MacIntyre made one birdie in six holes and was leading by two shots Saturday in the Texas Open when storms halted play for just over ﬁve hours until the PGA Tour decided to suspend the third round for the rest of the day

That sets up a marathon finish Sunday in the final event before the Masters, with some players having to go 30 holes to finish the tournament. Groups will stay together the rest of the way MacIntyre was at 15-under par at the TPC San Antonio. Ludvig Aberg had three birdies in six holes playing alongside MacIntyre to reach 13 under No one played more than 14 holes of the third round.

Injured Reaves out for rest of Lakers’ regular season

LOS ANGELES Austin Reaves will miss the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers’ regular season with a Grade 2 oblique muscle injury Reaves and Luka Doncic are both sidelined for at least the next ﬁve games for the Lakers, throwing a major complication into Los Angeles’ postseason hopes.

Doncic is out for at least the next two weeks after straining his left hamstring in the Lakers’ blowout loss to Oklahoma City Reaves also got injured in the ﬁrst half of that loss to the Thunder on Thursday, but he returned to the game. He is averaging 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds.

The Lakers have won 16 of their last 19 games to surge into the third seed in the Western Conference. The playoffs begin in two weeks.

The transfer portal opens Monday, and Mulkey said she expects to have two new assistants in place “soon.” She also told WAFB-TV on Thursday that she expects to lose only one player to the portal this cycle: freshman point guard Divine Bourrage. Lazo signed a two-year deal worth $740,000 to join Mulkey’s staff. He was set to pocket the same base salary he earned at Tennessee, and according to his term sheet, he does not owe LSU a buyout because he landed a head coaching position elsewhere.

“He’s a proven competitor at every level of the game,” UCF athletic director Terry Mohajir said in a statement, “with deep Florida roots, an elite ability to connect with people, and a track record of developing student-athletes on and off the court.”

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

Verlander put on 15-day injured list with hip injury

DETROIT Justin Verlander’s longawaited return to Comerica Park as a member of the Detroit Tigers has been put on hold.

Verlander, the major league’s oldest active player at 43, was placed on the 15-day injured list with left hip inﬂammation.

Verlander was scheduled on Sunday night to make his ﬁrst start in a Tigers uniform at Detroit’s home park since Aug. 20, 2017.

“It’s frustrating for me, obviously,” Verlander said. “I also know a lot of fans were excited about tomorrow night.”

Verlander was dealt to Houston at the trade deadline that season. He re-signed with Detroit on a oneyear, $13 million contract in February after spending last season with San Francisco.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RICK SCUTERI

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, left, and UConn coach Geno Auriemma argue after the teams’ Final Four game on Friday in Phoenix. Auriemma apologized Saturday for the exchange.

UConnbackinnational titlegame

Huskiesbeat Illinois,willplayin thirdtitle game in four years

BY MICHAEL MAROT Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS UConn got another critical 3-pointer fromBraylon Mullins and coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies muscled their way back to the national title game, beating Illinois 71-62 in the Final Four on Saturday night as they seek their thirdchampionshipinfourseasons. TarrisReedhad 17 pointsand 11 rebounds, while the fabulous freshman Mullins scored15 for theHuskies(34-5),who rode strong inside play and tough defense to their 19th straightvictory in the Sweet 16 or later rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

UConn will face Arizonaor Michigan onMonday night as it seeksits seventh title, all since 1999, andthird under Hurley,who would become the only active coach with more than two.

“You’re set up for success at UConn,” Hurley said. “Geno Auriemma, Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie, just someincredible coaches before me.I’ve got thebest staff in the country.I’ve got an incredible group of players. Andthere’s nothing like the busride to the stadium on Monday night when you’re one of the last twoteams standing.” Mullins, whosebuzzer-beating 3-pointersentthe Huskies past Duke and into the FinalFour, hit a catch-and-shoot3 with52seconds left —his only basket of thesecond half —togive UConn a66-59 lead.

“We’resoready forthe national championship game,” Mullins said. “This is what Icame here for Let’sget it on Monday.”

FreshmanKeaton Waglerhad 20 pointsand eight rebounds to lead the Fighting Illini (28-9), who

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByABBIE PARR

UConn forward Tarris Reed, center,celebrates after the Huskies defeated Illinois in their Final Four matchup on SaturdayinIndianapolis.

reached theirﬁrstFinal Four since losing the championshipgame to North Carolina in 2005. Wagler and Mullins became the

in Phoenix.

UCLA,South Carolina expect more physicality

BY JOHN MARSHALL AP sportswriter

PHOENIX South Carolina battered and bruised UConn in the women’sNCAA Tournament semiﬁnals, endingthe Huskies’ undefeated season while sending their coachtothe end of his rope.

That was just aprelude tothe second Final Four game, in which UCLA turned arematch intoa wrestling match and tapped out Texas’ hopes of asecond national title.

The officials haveswallowed their whistles in this Final Four, which began with the same four teams that played in last year’s national semifinals. The teams still left standing expect the physical play to continue in Sunday’s nationalchampionship game, but they hope it’snot to the same brutal degree.

“I hope the game is alittle more aesthetically pleasing (Sunday),” UCLA coach Cori Close said Saturday.“We want to be able to have avery stylistic game that shows off the progress of the game, that continues to growthe game nationally to peoplewho are tuning in. We’ve just got to ﬁgure out where that gap is andhow we can close it.”

Dawn Staley has created asecond power source in women’s college basketball,putting South Carolina in position to win afourth national title in nine seasons.

ä NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA vs. South Carolina, 2:30 P.M.,ABC

The Gamecocks haven’tyet supplanted UConnatop thewomen’shoops word —the Huskies won their 12th title last season yetthey served notice thatthey aren’tabout to back down to the standard-setters with a62-48 win on Friday.The thumping ended the Huskies’ 54-game unbeaten streak and sent coach Geno Auriemma into apostgametizzy that had himapologizing aday later UCLA’sstory started with a blowout loss toUConninlast year’sFinal Four.The Bruins particularly All-American Lauren Betts —used theloss as motivation during their record-setting return to the Final Four Texas wasthe only team to beat theBruins this season, but UCLA served asmotheringdose of payback with a51-44 win to reach theNCAAchampionship game for the ﬁrst time. UCLA is vying forits ﬁrstnationalchampionship since taking the 1978 title, when women’sbasketball wasgoverned by theAssociation for IntercollegiateAthletics forWomen. Betts struggled in the first game againstTexas, but was the deciding factor in the Bruins’ Final Four win. The two-timeAll-American

theﬁrstinUCLA women’s history —had 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots, including the game-clinching swat against Texas All-American Madison Booker with 20 seconds left.

South Carolina has abig front line, anchored by 6-foot-6 senior Madina Okot, but Joyce Edwards is the engine that makes the Gamecocks go.

The second-team All-American is the leading scorer among the Final Four teams at 19.7 points per gameand did alittle bit of everything against UConn, ﬁnishing with11points, eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.

The transfer portalplayed a key role in theﬁnal teams’run to thetitle game.

Ta’Niya Latson was the nation’s leading scorer at Florida State and has ﬁt in well withthe teamﬁrst mentality at SouthCarolina.

The 5-9 senior guard was the Gamecocks’ second-leading scorer at 14.4 ppg —down 11 points from last year —and scored 16 pointsagainst UConn. Okot, aMississippi State transfer,has given South Carolina added heft in themiddle. The 6-6 senior is theGamecocks’ thirdleading scorer at 13 ppg and their leading rebounder at 10.8.

UCLA addedtwo keycontributorsinguards Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker

first pair of freshmen to top 15 pointsinaFinal Four game since Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing in 1982.

UConn’sAlex Karaban had nine pointson1-of-8 shooting while adding four rebounds and four assists.He’strying to becomethe ﬁrst playersinceJohnWooden’s dominant UCLA teamsinthe 1960s and 1970s to ﬁnish his career as athree-time champion. He also tied Hurley’sbrother,Bobby,for secondonthe career listwith18 March Madness victories.

The Huskies haven’tlost atournament game played past the opening weekend since 2009, when they fell in the national semiﬁnals to Michigan State. With one more victory,they would break atie with North Carolina and move into third place alone in national titles, trailing only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (eight).

TomislavIvisic had 16 points andseven rebounds forIllinois, but the Illini couldn’treplicate the blueprint that carriedthemto double-digit victories over Penn, VCU, Houstonand Iowa.Illinois madejust 3of143-pointers in the ﬁrst half and ﬁnished 6of26beyond the arc.

Bruins show they won’t back down from aﬁght

BY BILL PLASCHKE Los Angeles Times (TNS)

It was ugly It was beautiful. It was amessy rock fight. It was Bruin ballet. In front of astunned crowd at Phoenix’s Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday night, the UCLA women’sbasketball team defied stereotypes and defined toughness to do what fewbelieved this dancing, dazzling group could do. They beat somebody up. They stared downpresumably rougher Texas in the national semifinals andpainted the floor in streaks of Longhorn and wonthe second-most important gameof their lives. Now they get to play the most important game.

With their 51-44 victory over the burned Orange, the Bruins have advanced to the national championship game Sunday against a physically dominant group from powerhouse South Carolina.

Putupyour dukes.

If you thought UCLA needed to takeoff the gloves against Texas, wait until they go bare knuckles with the deep and experienced Gamecocks.

Based on legacy alone, the national title bout is amismatch.

SouthCarolina, under legendary coach Dawn Staley,isplaying in the national championship gamefor the third consecutive year and fourth timeinﬁve years. Meanwhile, this is UCLA’s ﬁrst title gameappearance in the NCAA era.SouthCarolina has wonthree championships in the past eight non-COVID-19 seasons.

Meanwhile, UCLA is searching for its ﬁrst NCAA championship and ﬁrst title of any sort since AnnMeyers Drysdale led the Bruins to the 1978 AIAW crown. Count the Bruins out if you

must. But against Texas, ateam that had dominated them during the regular season, the Bruins did all the counting as the Longhorns lay ﬂat on their backs during an eventual knockout.

It turns out, being led by six seniors and graduate students on amission to ﬁnish their careers together as champions matters. It turns out, awillingness to do whatever it takes to winthat title matters even more. And it turns out, 30 straight wins mean something. These Bruins don’tﬂinch. These Bruins don’tretreat. These Bruins don’t have any doubt that they can survive whatever South Carolina throwsatthem

“The job’snot ﬁnished,” said Gabriela Jaquez, whoonce again seemingly showed up around every loose ball. “Still have one moregame to win.”

There are players on this team whohave madefour straight trips to the Sweet 16 and consecutive trips to the Final Four South Carolina knocked the Bruins out during one of those tournaments.

They’re wellawareitcould easily happen again. But pressure moments Sunday afternoon with the basketball world watching? Bring it on.

“I think in those moments, we’re just so connected that regardless of what the score is, we could have been down10, we still would have been as connected as if we wereup10,” said Betts, whomissed only three of 10 shots and had 11 rebounds. “I’m just really proud of this group. Ithink it showsthe maturity.I know Ican count on anybody on this team, regardless of what the score is. We’re going to continue to show up and compete.”

For one moregame. For one last time. For forever

UCLA forward Angela Dugalic, second from left,embraces guard Lena Bilic after defeating Texas in the Final Four on Friday in Phoenix.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOBy ROSS FRANKLIN

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOHN LOCHER South Carolina guard Ta’niyaLatson practicesonSaturday ahead of Sunday’s national championshipgame

LEARNMORE

Derek Curiel LSU Baseball, Outfielder

Pels goingbackward as season windsdown

James Borrego haspreached all season long about his team’sresiliency and the players not dropping the proverbialsword.

ä Magic at Pelicans 6P.M.SUNDAy,GCSEN

Mavs rookie Flagg becomesﬁrstteen to reach50ina game

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP sportswriter

DALLAS— Cooper Flagg didn’tget acall, and his coach and ateammategot kicked out of the game trying to stickupfor the rookie No. 1pickofthe Dallas Mavericks.

Lessthan aquarter later,Flagg becamethe first teenager to score 51 points in an NBA game in Dallas’ 138-127 loss to the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

Flaggscored 24 points in the fourth quarter after coach Jason Kidd andforward Naji Marshall wereejected for complaining about what they thought was anocall when Desmond Banefouled Flagg. Kidd was tossedeventhough he was assessed just onetechnical foul,while Marshallhad gotten another tech at the end of the ﬁrst half. Hissecond came just moments after Kidd was thrown out.

“It’sgreat to see,” Flagg said after going 19 of 30 from the ﬁeld and making all seven of his free throws to top his previous career highof49ina123-121 loss to Charlotte on Jan. 29.

“I alreadyknow that coach has my back andNaji Iknowhe hasmyback forsure outthere,” Flagg said. “Just seeing their emotion, seeing them fight for me and fight for the calls. Definitely someemotion, and motivated me even further.”

secutive home loss. It’sthe longest homelosing streak since Dallaslost the ﬁrst 19 games at since-demolished Reunion Arena in 1993-94.

“It’salways fungetting into that type of mode,” Flagg said. “The basket feels big. My teammates are looking outfor you, helping you out. But Ilike to win. Thatwas my main focus. It’shard for me to fully enjoy myself out there when we’re down20, down 10, down 15, forthe majorityof the game.”

Flagg said he thought it was obvious Bane had fouled him in the opening twominutes of the fourth.

“I think it waswarranted,” Flagg said about Kidd’sreaction. “I’m notgoing to lie. Italkedto Baneafter theplay, and he told me he was intentionally trying to foul me.I honestly don’tknow howtheydidn’t see that.Obviously,they must not have had the rightview,ortheyweren’t paying attention. But they missed it.”

Kiddsaidthere was“alot of excitement in the back” as he watched Flagg on aTVdelay, hearing thecrowd reaction before thebuckets as theformer Duke standout was 8of12from theﬁeldand 4of6 from deep in the fourth.

Flagg’sprevious career high came against former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, the fourth overallpickand fellowcontender forrookie of the year

Well, that sword shatteredinto pieces on the floor of Sacramento’s Golden 1Center on Friday night. Ateam still trying to win games because it has nodraft picks lost to atanking team that threw in the towel months ago. The Pelicans blew a17-point lead to the Sacramento Kings in a117113 loss. Just two weeks removed from aﬁve-game winning streak that mayhave made observers think they were figuringthings out, the Pels now have lostseven straight games. This latest one came against the team with the third-worstrecord in the league.

“Wegave up three 30-point quartersdefensively,” Borregosaid.“I thought that was the game. Bottom line.”

The Pelicans led 30-21 at theend of theﬁrst quarter andthenfollowedthat up by giving up 34, 30 and32pointsover thenextthree quarters.

The Kings have atradition of lighting apurple victory beam after wins. They haven’tlit the

beam much this season, but they gota chanceto on Friday.Atthe same time, they dimmed the last flicker of light thePelicans had this season The Pelicans (25-53) are guaranteed to ﬁnish with less than 30 wins for the second season in a row.It’sthe first time in franchise history they’ve put together back-to-back seasons with less than 30 victories. That’sthe bad news. Here’s thegood news: There are only four more games to watch, including two at the Smoothie King Center.The Pelicans host the Orlando Magic on Sunday and the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, then hit the road Friday and Sunday against theBoston Celticsand Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively

“Just keep competing,” Borrego said after Friday’sloss. “That’sthe bottom line. Sprint through the ﬁnish line. Don’tgivein. The goal is to go wintwo gamesathomeright now.” Borregosaid earlier in the week that there have been no discussions to sit any players. Butat some point over these next four games, the Pelicans should give the rookies and two-way players more minutes These past few games, it’sbeen

rookie Jeremiah Fears showing the mostfight.Fears matched his career-high with 28 points Friday. He also had eight rebounds, six assistsand madefive 3-pointers. The 19-year-old Fearsisthe youngest player in league history to score 25 points with at least five rebounds, assists and 3-pointers.

“That’s’ what development and growthisabout,” Borregosaid. “He’sstacking high-qualitygames together.He’simpacting winning. His effort defensively is there. Obviously,he’smaking big plays for us offensively.I’m really proud of his growth.

Seeing Fears’ growthispromising

But seeing your 6-foot-3 rookie point guard also lead the team witheight rebounds in agameis not. Rebounding and dependable 3-point shooting shouldbehigh on Joe Dumars’ list of priorities this offseason. The Pelswere outrebounded 46-36 on Friday They’ve been outrebounded in every gameofthe seven-gamelosing streak.

“That’sgot to become amindset for this group, for this organization going forward,”Borrego said. “Can you rebound the ball or not? That will deﬁne if this group takes thenext step or not.”

Friday’slosstothe Kings was a step backward. Be careful.Don’t step on that sword.

U.S. Olympicwomen’s hoops team from 1996 setfor HOF

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

PHOENIX Candace Parker,Elena DelleDonne,Chamique Holdsclaw and the 1996U.S.Olympic women’sbasketball teamwill be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial BasketballHall of Fame later this year Parker,Holdsclaw and members of the 1996 Olympic team were all in attendance Fridayathalftime of the UConn-South Carolina game during thewomen’s Final Four,where the selections were announced, as was Amar’e Stoudemire and Mike D’Antoni. They will be joined by longtime NBAofﬁcialJoey Crawford,NBA coach Doc Rivers and Gonzaga coach Mark Few in theHall of Fame. Parker won three titles in the WNBA with three different teams: Los Angeles, Chicago and Las Vegas. She is the only player in leaguehistory to win both the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season. She also won two titles while playing in college for Tennessee under Hall of Fame coachPat Summitt, plus two Olympic gold medals and two WNBA MVP awards.

Former Las VegasAces forward CandaceParker reacts during the firsthalf of aWNBAgameagainst theSeattle StormonMay 20, 2023, in Seattle.

Delle Donne wontwo league MVPawardsin2015and 2019, thesecond of which came when sheled the Washington Mystics to their lone WNBA championship. Delle Donne became the ﬁrst player in league history to shoot more than50% from the ﬁeld, 40% from behind the 3-point lineand 90% from thefree-throw line. Holdsclaw won three straight titles at Tennessee from 1996-98,

the first team to accomplish that. The 1998 championship was Tennessee’sfirst undefeated season at 39–0 andthe Vols also set an NCAA record for the most wins in aseason. Holdsclaw went on to have an 11-year WNBA career Stoudemire, who was the only NBAplayer in this year’sclass, was the NBARookie of the Year in 2003 and six-time All-Star.He spent the first eight years of his career withthe Phoenix Suns, where he teamed with D’Antoni. Rivers has1,192victories on his resume, which puts him sixth on the all-time wins list. He led theBoston Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008 and also was in charge of the Los AngelesClippers during their Lob City era.

Few haswon more than 770 games at Gonzaga in his career at theschool. He set theNCAA Division Imen’s coachingrecord by winning 81 games in his ﬁrst three years at theschool. Crawford officiated 2,561 regular-season NBA games and 50 Finals games over his 39-year career.Heretired in 2016. The enshrinement ceremony will take place in August at the Hall of FameinSpringﬁeld, Massachusetts.

Flagg initially exited thegame with 45 points, but assistant coach FrankVogel,ﬁlling in for Kidd, told the 19-year-old he was just resting him during adefensive possession. Vogel calledatimeout to get Flagg back in with 3:22 remaining, and Flaggmadehistorya little morethana minute later He missed a3-pointer the first timedown,then missed afollow attempt on Brandon Williams’ miss, gotthe rebound again and madea corner 3. On the next Dallas possession, he hit an off-balance shotinthe lane while getting fouled to clinch 50, made the free throw andleft to astanding ovation.

The Mavericks were down 30 when Flagg started his fourthquarter scoringbarrageinwhat ended up being their14th con-

Kidd continues to stumpfor Flagg to winthe sameaward that Kidd wonwith the Mavs 31 years ago, and dropped aMichael Jordan reference after Flagg’slatest milestone. Yes, Jordan was the 1985 Rookie of the Year “He shouldberookie of the year,” Kidd said. “It’sunbelievable. The country’snot watching thesame thing we gettowatch on adaily basis. He’s in rare air. He’s with theGOATwhenyou talk aboutMJand whathedid in his rookie year.And as ateenager, to seewhatCooper’s doing, just theexcitement, thejoy,playing the game, winorlose, his spirit, is about winning. Right now we’re not.”

For at least one night, the rookie overshadowed thelong home losing streak, even though he couldn’tend it.

BY STEVE MEGARGEE AP sportswriter

MILWAUKEE An NBA investigation into the dispute between the MilwaukeeBucks andGiannis Antetokounmpo regarding the two-time MVP’sinjury status is ongoing.

The NBA issued astatement offering an update on the investigation Saturday,aday after Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Athletic that he’shealthy and he wants to play Antetokounmpo hasn’tplayed since leaving aMarch 15 victory over theIndianaPacersafter landing awkwardly on adunk.

The Bucks released an injury report Saturday ruling himout for Sunday’smatchup withthe Memphis Grizzlies, whichwill mark the 11th straight game he has missed.

“The NBA’s PlayerParticipation Policy investigation into the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo is ongoing and certain facts remain in dispute,” an NBA spokesman said. “The investigation has found that the Bucks scheduled Giannis to work out last week in three-on-three scrimmages as part of his returnto-play process, but he declined to participate. There is adisagreement as to whetherthe team requestedthat Giannis participate in agroupworkout earlier this week,and the league is continuing to monitor the situation.” ESPN ﬁrst reported that an investigation was taking place. Since that Indiana game, the Bucks have ruled Antetokounmpo out due to left knee hyperextension and abone bruise. Antetokounmpo has beenparticipating in pregame warmups

lately with no apparent limits.

“I’m healthy,” Antetokounmpo told reporters before the Bucks’ 133-101 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday.“Ihate it when people force me to do things against my nature. I’maplayer.I get paid to play.”

The Bucks wereeliminated from postseason contention on March28, snapping their string of nine straightplayoff appearances.

Sundaywill mark thecareerhigh 42nd game Antetokounmpo has missed this season. He had twoextendedabsences earlierthis season due to right calf strains. He also sat out four games early this season witha leftadductor strain.

The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo says he’s feeling better now and wants to get back on the floor.Hehas played his entire 13-year career with Milwaukee, which selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 draft.

Given his long history with the team,Antetokounmpo said the Bucks should have known he wouldn’twanttobeshutdown for the season just because their playoffhopes have vanished. “You know who you’re dealing with,” Antetokounmpo said Friday “So, for somebody to come andtell me to not play or to not compete, it’slikeaslap in my face.”

This dispute comes amid much speculation regardingAntetokounmpo’sfuture with the Bucks. Antetokounmpo becomes eligible to sign afour-year contract extension worth up to $275 millioninOctober.Ifhedoesn’t sign the extension, Antetokounmpo could becomeafree agentafter the2026-27 season, or the Bucks could decide to trade him beforehand.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALAN GRETH

NewOrleansPelicans guard JeremiahFears drives to thebasket against Sacramento KingsguardDevin Carter during the first half of agame on Friday in Sacramento,Calif.

Rod Walker

Runners take part in Crescent City Classic

BY SPENCER URQUHART

Staff writer

About 20,000 people took to the streets of New Orleans to participate in the 48th annual Cre scent City Classic 10K race that occurs yearly on the Saturday before Easter

This year marked the second straight sold-out Cre scent City Classic, which took its traditional route beginning near the Caesars Superdome and ended in City Park. The 6.2-mile race had an increased number of participants after selling out at 18,000 last year

Colombia native Rolando Ortiz crossed the finish line first on Saturday with a time of 31 minutes, 4 seconds. New Orleans native Bryant White was next at 31:42. Ortiz came to the United States from Bogota, Colombia, four years ago for college and ran track at the Division I level. This year was his first time competing in the Crescent City Classic.

“I enjoyed the course,” Ortiz said. “I stayed with the last two (kilometers) and then pushed a little bit more The ﬁnish was very fast. There was a little inclination, and then I pushed on to victory.” A distance runner in college, Ortiz first attended Eastern Kentucky before transferring to McNeese State, where he graduated. White was competing in his ﬁfth Crescent City Clas-

sic and recorded a runnerup ﬁnish for the second year in a row He kept pace with Ortiz most of the way but fell behind in the ﬁnal mile.

“After mile five, the heat got to me,” White said. “I was there, and then I wasn’t, but I’m fine with the second place (finish). I didn’t have it at the end, but I was able to make the moves that I wanted to make.”

White was representing the Power Milers, a New

Orleans-based running club that he and several other Crescent City Classic participants were a part of such as top female ﬁnisher Annie LeHardy LeHardy participated in the Crescent City Classic for a second straight year and ﬁnished this year’s race with a time of 33:52, more than three minutes faster than any other woman.

“This year I trained a little bit harder, so I was excited

to come put my training to the test,” LeHardy said. “I was really trying to focus on my pace those middle 2 miles. (The end) was tough. It got pretty hot pretty quickly, but the crowd was amazing.”

From Roanoke, Virginia, LeHardy was a distance runner at the University of North Carolina. She now lives in New Orleans and is a mother of two.

“(New Orleans) is amaz-

LSU gym moves on, but maybe without

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Star LSU gymnast Konnor

McClain injured her right arm on the uneven bars routine she tried Saturday in the Tigers’ NCAA regional final win, coach Jay Clark said after the meet.

McClain, a junior mounted the high bar but quickly slipped off the apparatus and fell onto the mat before she could begin her routine. A trainer attended to her under the bars, and then she walked off the ﬂoor under her own power The Tigers scratched her from their balance beam lineup as a result.

Clark said that trainers believe McClain’s elbow and shoulder are structurally intact but that they won’t have an ofﬁcial prognosis until she undergoes further testing.

“She had to really reach for that release to catch,” Clark said. “When you’re stretched out long, and it torques on it,

LSU GYM

Continued from page 1C

sub-9.80 scores on beam for a 48.950.

“It wasn’t negative,” Cardinal senior Anna Roberts said of Stanford’s team huddle after beam. “We were like, ‘We’ve got ‘em right where we want ‘em.’

LSU scratched McClain on beam, replacing her in the ﬁfth spot in the lineup with Madison Ulrich. The Tigers got a 9.90 to lead off from Kylie Coen and a 9.975 in the anchor spot from Chio for a 49.425 Chio, who has ﬁve 10s this season on beam, got 10s from two judges and 9.95s from the other two.

LSU’s score put the Tigers at 148.175 going to the ﬁnal rotation. Stanford leaped back into contention, tying Clemson for second at 147.900 after the Cardinal got a 49.550 on ﬂoor, while Michigan (147.575) slipped to fourth.

it can do some things to your elbow

“Just frustrated for her Because she gets going, gets in a good rhythm and feeling good and getting her conﬁdence going again, and then something seems to kind of knock her down and I know she’s frustrated with that pattern.”

McClain has battled injuries throughout her career In 2022, a back injury prevented her from defending the all-around title she won at the U.S. Championships. Then the 2024 Olympics rolled around, and McClain couldn’t push for a spot on Team USA because she had torn her Achilles tendon.

The arm that McClain injured Saturday is the same one she hurt earlier this season while she warmed up on bars for LSU’s road meet against Oklahoma on Feb. 20. That night, she hurt her forearm, wrist and ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) but missed only three routines.

Only a week later, against Alabama, McClain turned in a 9.975 on the balance beam and 9.90s on vault and bars

“I told (my teammates) I

was competing no matter what,” McClain said that night. “I said I wasn’t sitting out another meet The coaches said, ‘You can sit out,’ and I said, ‘Unh-unh.’

On Thursday, when LSU advanced to the regional ﬁnal, McClain scored a 9.95 on bars and 9.90s on vault and beam, helping LSU post a season-high 198.375 team score. That mark was also high enough to set a program regional record.

The No. 2-seeded Tigers ﬁnished Saturday’s meet in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with a 197.825 score, which was high enough for them to advance comfortably into nationals. No. 7 seed Stanford will join them in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 16 after posting a 197.225 to ﬁnish in second place ahead of No. 15 seed Clemson (197.150) and No. 10 seed Michigan (196.750).

“When somebody goes down like Konnor did,” Clark said, “you wonder how the team will respond, but I really don’t worry about that with this group because they stay where they should mentally and emotionally.”

NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL FINAL

Saturday

Top two teams advance to nationals 1. #2 LSU 197.825 (Vault — 49.450, Bars — 49.300, Beam — 49.425, Floor — 49.650) 2. #7 Stanford 197.225 (Vault — 49.325, Bars 49.400, Beam 48.950, Floor — 49.550)

3. #15 Clemson 197.150 (Vault — 49.300, Bars 49.250, Beam 49.175, Floor — 49.425) 4. #10 Michigan 196.750 (Vault — 49.100, Bars — 49.100, Beam — 49.175, Floor — 49.375) Individual (includes ﬁrst place and all LSU competitors) All-around 1 Kailin Chio, LSU 39.750; 2. Ana Barbosu Stanford, 39.575; 3. Ella Cesario, Clemson, 39.525; 4. Anna Roberts, Stanford, 39.525; 5. Levi Jung-Ruivivar, Stanford, 39.350. Vault — 1. Kailin Chio, LSU, 10.0; T3. Victoria Roberts, LSU, 9.90; T7. Lexi Zeiss, Konnor McClain, Amari Drayton, LSU, 9.85; T14. Kaliya Lincoln, LSU, 9.825. Bars — T1. Ashley Cowan, LSU, Ava Sorrento, Ana Roberts, Ui Soma, Stanford, Ella Cesario, Clemson, 9.90; T6. Lexi Zeiss, Haley Mustari, LSU, 9.875; T11. Madison Ulrich LSU 9.85; T15. Kailin Chio, LSU 9.80; 24. Konnor McClain, LSU, 4.60*. Beam — 1. Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.975; T2 Kylie Coen, LSU, 9.90; T6. Kaliya Lincoln, LSU, 9.875; T8. Lexi Zeiss, LSU, 9.85; T12. Amari Drayton, Madison Ulrich, LSU, 9.825 Floor — 1. Kaliya Lincoln, LSU, 10.0; 2. Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.975; T3. Amari Drayton, LSU, 9.95; T12. Kylie Coen, LSU, 9.875; T17. Emily Innes, Nina Ballou, LSU, 9.85. Attendance: 5,173 *-Did not complete routine because of injury

ing,” LeHardy said. “(My husband and I) call it home now Our children love it here.”

Alicia Stamey of Baton Rouge was the female runner-up with a time of 37:16, followed by Courtney Cobb of Lafayette at 37:34, Emmi Aguilard of Baton Rogue at 38:38 and Maxey Hebert of Marietta, Georgia, at 38:47. The rest of the top male finishers were Augustin Juneu of Baton Rouge at 32:06, Jacob Plochar of Gautier Mississippi, at 32:18 and Carlos Zervigon of Baton Rogue at 32:23. The Crescent City Classic’s post-race festival occurred in City Park as runners crossed the ﬁnish line, with New Orleansbased band Flow Tribe taking the stage. The yearly costume contest was won by a group dressed as characters from the show “Stranger Things.”

“It feels pretty surreal to look around and see this many people having a good time,” Crescent City Classic operations director Kristen Stuart said “We weren’t sure we’d ever get back to (20,000 people) after COVID, so we’re just really thankful for the community.”

Email Spencer Urquhart at surquhart@ theadvocate.com.

McClain

Two sophomore LSU gymnasts scored perfect 10s on Saturday: Kailin Chio on vault and Kaliya Lincoln on floor Chio earned two perfect scores on Thursday, and she now has a nation-leading 12 such marks on the season. Clark said the Tigers were “not sharp by our standards” but that he was “super proud of them” for pushing through McClain’s injury and advancing to nationals. LSU now has reached that round of the NCAA Tournament in four consecutive seasons. Last year, it advanced to the national championship meet but ﬁnished third in the semifinals and did not advance to the ﬁnal four teams.

Clark is unsure whether McClain will be able to help the Tigers try to top that ﬁnish this season. “We just got to let her know we love her,” Clark said, “and we’re going to make sure we do everything in our power to get her feeling better and get her back out there.”

Coming off the ﬂoor, Lincoln said she didn’t know what all the screaming was about from her teammates because she couldn’t see the scores from all four judges. Chio did, and she was delighted over Lincoln’s ﬁrst career 10.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Chio said. “She’s done so many ﬂoor routines that deserve a 10. It’s great to celebrate with someone knowing how that feels.”

LSU’s chances looked rosy as the Tigers went to floor, where they’ve ranked No. 1 most of the season. After 9.85s from Emily Innes and Nina Ballou, the Tigers built their scores steadily with a 9.875 from Coen, a careerhigh-tying 9.95 from Amari Drayton and a 9.975 from Chio. It looked like the super sophomore would win the event, but Lincoln came behind her in the final routine of the night with a flawless performance to earn her first career 10.0 score.

Meanwhile, Stanford clinched its trip to nationals with a 9.95 in the anchor spot on vault from Taralyn Nguyen, while Clemson’s bars anchor Quinn Kuhl got a 9.75. Had the scores been reversed, Clemson would have advanced to its first NCAA championships.

LSU’s Ashley Cowan tied for ﬁrst on bars with three Stanford gymnasts with 9.90 marks: Roberts, Ava Sorrento, and Ui Soma, as well as Clemson’s Ella Cesario. Chio also won the allaround with a 39.750, giving her 40 individual wins this season and 63 for her career, ninth-most in school history The NCAA championships are set for April 16 and 18 in Fort Worth, Texas.

STAFF PHOTOS By ENAN CHEDIAK

Runners cross the ﬁnish line during the Crescent City Classic at City Park on Saturday.

Ortiz LeHardy

McClain

LSUgetsmileage outofsometruefreshmen

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU baseball has leaned on its freshmen more than many anticipated heading into this season. The Tigers wereexpected to be a veteran-laden group in 2026, with multiple starters back from anational championship-winningteam and the addition of 10 players from the transfer portal.

But LSU has turned to ahandful of youngplayers to ﬁll important roles through the ﬁrst half ofthe season. Here’salook at where each freshman stood before this weekend’sseries against Tennessee.

MasonBraun,OF/1B

Braun started most of the games before LSU’sconference slate and entered Tuesday’sgame hitting .264 with an .866 on-base plus slugging percentage. Hisoutﬁeld defense needswork,but he has a pretty swing that generates alot of contact, and he can hit the ball to all ﬁelds. Braun mightnot start against many left-handed pitchers, but expect LSU coach Jay Johnson to turn to his bat often the rest of the season.

Reagan Ricken,RHP

Rickenhas struggledasamidweekstarterthe past few weeks. He’sfailed to get out of the ﬁrst inning in each of his three midweek starts andhas had trouble with his control. He’saformer high school quarterback,and his athleticism shows up onthe mound. Turning those tools into consistency will be crucial for him moving forward.

Jack Ruckert, 2B

The defensive struggles at secondbase have helped open up playingtime for Ruckert, whoJohnson believed is LSU’sbest option at the position. But he’s struggled at second, having committed three errors.

On March27against Kentucky, Johnson turned to freshmanEthan Claussasadefensive replacement at second instead of Ruckert.

Omar Serna, C

Serna has started 18 games while alsoserving as Kansas transfer and right-hander CooperMoore’sprimary catcher.His workload has been similar to that of sophomore Cade Arrambide’s last season until recently,ashe

Five area Class3A standoutsnamed to all-stateﬁrstteam

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Class 3A was brimming with talent from the Baton Rouge area this season, with several athletes earning LSWAall-state basketball honors.

On thegirls side, University High junior Kennedy Aldridge was named the outstanding player andearned first-team honors. She averaged 23.2 points, seven rebounds, 3.1 assists and 5.3 steals this season. Aldridge helped the Cubs win the Division II select state title with a27-point performance against Madison Prep. She was also named the outstanding player in the title game. This marksher second straight year being named to the LSWAall-state first team. Madison Prep senior Auri Ray was also namedtothe first team. She averaged 16 points, four rebounds andtwo assiststhisyear and was named District 6-3A MVP,helping the Chargers reach the Division II select state title. Parkview Baptist senior Anna Richerson also earned first-team honors. The Loyola-New Orleans signee averaged 17 points,5.6 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 steals this year.She was named to the first team after earningsecondteam honors last year

On the boys side, Madison Prep junior Elijah Garner landedonthe ﬁrst team after he led the Chargers to the Division II select semiﬁnals. Garner averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. He also earnedDistrict

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Madison Prep guardElijah Garner pulls up for ajumpshot against Woodlawn on Dec. 29 at Baton RougeCommunity College. Garner wasnamed to the LSWAClass 3A all-state first team

6-3A MVP honors. Donaldsonville senior Quinton Dabney was also named to the ﬁrst team after he averaged 21.5 points,10.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.7 stealsthis year.Healso helped his team wina districttitle.After being named to thesecond team last year,Dabney earns all-state ﬁrst team recognition.

TwoBaton Rouge-area athletes earned second-team honors. Parkview Baptist sophomore Kaden Irwin averaged 19 points, nine rebounds,two assists and twosteals. Port Allen senior Gentry Jamesmadethe second team after he averaged 27 points, eight assistsand ﬁve rebounds this season.

started every game at catcher for LSUagainst Kentuckylast weekend. Offensively,Serna has been on asurge lately with an OPS over .800 and three homers this year

Zion Theophilus,RHP

Theophilus’ control has been inconsistentsince Johnson praised

thefreshman forhis ability to hit hisspotsinthe strike zone. He’s appeared in two SEC games and has a4.05 ERAwith six walks in 62/3 innings this season

Marcos Paz, RHP

Pazhas struggled mightily with his command since his return from Tommy John surgery.He’s

had trouble corralling his breaking ball, andhis fastballvelocity has been inconsistent, which has led to an 8.30 ERA and 12 walks in 92/3 innings.

William Patrick, OF Patrick was atop-100 MLB draft prospect, but he hasn’t started a game yet for LSU. The Monroe native hasenterednumerous contests as adefensive replacementinleft ﬁeld or as apinch-runner. Johnson recently moved him to second base in an effort to get his athleticism onto the ﬁeld more often.

EthanClauss, INF

Johnson has said that he wants to play Clauss more, but playing time will be difﬁcult to come by forthe LasVegas native.Clauss possesses intriguing size and athleticism,but junior Steven Milam is cemented at shortstop. His quickest path to the ﬁeld this year is likely at second base, whereheentered againstKentuckyasadefensive replacement on March 27.

Email Koki Rileyatkoki.riley@ theadvocate.com.

SOUTHERN

Continuedfrom page1C

One of McCauley’s best throws was a14-yard outtotight end Jermaine Minor, whomadeacontested catch Faulkgaveadiplomatic answer when asked for his opinion on the quarterbacks.

“It’shardtoevaluate it untilI look at the ﬁlm,” he said. “Because that battle is heated right now, they’re really in it,Idon’t wantto just say,‘So andsodid this.’ Ireally think they deserve andthey’ve earned the right forustowatch the ﬁlmand thengive you guys feedback.”

Aggressive defense

One of theﬁrst comments Faulk made wasabout how impressed he waswiththe wayhis thirdteam defense“held theirown in atwo-minutedrill against the ﬁrst-team offense at the endof theshowcase. The group forced aturnover on downs.

Thatstand was acarryover from the entire event. Defensive coordinatorand former NFLcornerback Todd Lyght,who will call plays this season from the box, had his group readytobring pressure.

“We’re notgoing to be abendbut-don’t-break type defense,” Faulk said. “As you saw,we’re gonna comeafter you. We came after our own offense, and that’s what coach Lyght brings. “They’ll playvarious coverages, combos and mixitup.”

powers through the line during the spring showcase on

Ty Lee, asophomoresafety

had thefirst interception. He jumped in front of areceiverand kept hold of the ball after being undercut in the air

Another standout wasincoming freshman Jylon Jackson. He hadanimpressive pass breakup, tracking thefootball andnearly gettinganinterceptionona 10yard pass from Strother.Onthe next drive, Jackson intercepted apass.

Concerning penalties

Onenegative from the daywas penalties. There were drives with multiple false starts and other offensive penalties.

Faulkdidn’tdownplay the issue.

“I’m concernedwith it. Igot a

book full of it. It’sliterally the first thingI’m (going to)address,” Faulksaid. “Oneofthe things that youcan’t do is beat yourself, and thepre-snap penalties, zero tolerance for that. The penalties withinthe play,we’ll talk aboutthose.Someofthose are, you know,times you get beat, you grab aguy

“But it’sthe pre-snap penalties …wecan’tbeat ourselves. It’s thosethingsthatare not forced errors that we can’tdo.”

Thedefense playedcleaner than the offense, which wasn’t thecase last year when theJaguars had the second-most penalties (107) and werethird in penalty yards per game (71.4) in the SWAC.

Wilson,Bastrop

Grindlinger to score, as sophomoreright-handed starter William Schmidt gave up adouble to center ﬁelder Jay Abernathy that gave Tennessee a4-1 lead. Schmidt wasn’tathis best Saturday. He walkedthreebatters, hit another andleft afew off-speed pitches up and over the platethat

Tennessee (20-11, 4-7 SEC) made sure he didn’tget away with. But he still pitchedwellenough for LSU (21-11, 5-6) to win, allowing fewerhitsthanVolsright-handed starter TeganKuhns andstrikingout seven batters. “I probably could’velanded afew more biggerbreaking balls,” Schmidt said. “And just in thetwo-strike counts when I’ve got them buried, (I gave them) maybe too good of apitch to hit.”

Schmidt wasdone after 52/3 innings, handing theballoff to sophomore left-hander Cooper Williams and freshman righthander Marcos Paz. Williams escaped ajam in the sixthinning and tossed ascoreless seventh before Pazretired thethree Vols he faced in order in the eighth. LSUand Tennesseesquare off in theirseriesﬁnale Sunday First pitch is slated for noon,

STAFF PHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON

Southernrunning back Barry Remo bolts into the end zone during the spring showcase on SaturdayatA.W Mumford Stadium

Southernrunning backTreyHolly

Saturday at A.W.Mumford Stadium.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU second basemanEthan Clauss tags Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell during asteal attempt on March 27 at Alex Box Stadium.

OUTDOORS

Shifting the scales

Jesuit High School ninth grader Jackson Fischer holds a 4-pound-plus largemouth bass that helped his team, Team Hog Daddies, to a winning 5.18-pound weight in the Battle of the Bass, the student-team portion of last weekend’s 77th annual City Park Big Bass Rodeo and Fishtival. An all-girls team from St. Scholastica finished second with a 3.92-pound total, and another Jesuit team finished third at 2.87 pounds.

OUTDOORS NOTEBOOK

Judge’s ruling a boon for restoring basin

Fishermen and a dedicated group of environmental and conservation organizations are celebrating this Easter season with more joy than previous years.

That’s because last week’s ruling from the federal court of the Middle District of Louisiana, in essence, stopped the Corps of Engineers from continuing its East Grand Lake Project.

This battle between commercial fishermen (mostly crawfishing interests) and recreational anglers was joined by a handful of groups to fight sediment diversion projects in what they considered to be a “...destroying and degrading wetlands and flood capacity” in what was a highly productive area in the Atchafalaya Basin.

The result of the project’s early efforts was reduced water quality and vast low-dissolved oxygen areas that brought ﬁshermen to argue against the plan.

When sediment began building up, the growing concern hinged on the basin’s reduced ability to carry ﬂoodwaters, the main reason the basin was designed to be a “spillway” during the Mississippi River’s high-water periods.

The Atchafalaya Basin is our country’s largest overﬂow swamp

“Winning this lawsuit is a huge win for the ﬁshermen, and stopping the East Grand Lake Project will save the Basin from filling in,” LCPA-West president Avery

Theriot said. “They need to stop all the projects in the Basin that are similar The fishermen have been fighting these projects for almost 30 years and our voices are finally heard.”

Snapper season

Both 2026 red snapper seasons are set now that the Gulf Council has informed that the federally permitted charterboat operations season will open June 1 and run for 147 days through Oct. 25.

The private recreational red snapper season, which is under state management, will open May 1.

The federal charterboat season is based on taking 42.3% of the total red snapper recreational allotment of 7,991,900 pounds (whole weight) — the private sector gets 57.7% of that allotment — which gives the federal permit holders 3,380,574 pounds across the Gulf of America.

Commission meeting

The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission is taking its Thursday monthly meeting on the road to Vidalia.

Set to convene at 10 a.m. in the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center (112 Front St.), the meeting will have a live audio/ video stream via Zoom. Several Vidalia-area projects are on the agenda, including updates on nearby waterways, a presenta-

tion on the Richard Yancey Wildlife Management Area and another step via emergency declaration to add lands to the Chronic Wasting Disease Control Area.

Other agenda items include:

• A new approach to invasive species management.

• Introducing the Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission.

• Public comment received on the proposed resident game, migratory birds, and waterfowl and bear hunting seasons.

• And updates on state legislature action on bills involving the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Father-child camp

Although a month away, it’s best if families reserve a place soon for the May 1-2 Father-Child Families

Understanding Nature Camp set for Wildlife and Fisheries’ Woodworth Education Center in Woodworth south of Alexandria.

Children must be between 9-13 years old and space is limited Fees run $50 per family (an additional child is $25) and includes meals, lodging and supplies, including tents, but bed linens and sleeping bags are not provided.

The registration website is www wlf.louisiana.gov/page/fun-camp

If you need more information, email Mitch Hukins at mhukins@wlf. la.gov or Amber Breaux at abreaux@ wlf.la.gov

TUESDAY

LA. OYSTER TASK FORCE MEETING: 10 a.m., Lakefront Airport, 6001 Stars and Stripes Boulevard, New Orleans.

TUESDAY-THURSDAY

GULF COUNCIL MEETING: The Battle House Renaissance, Mobile, Alabama. Public comment period 8:40 a.m.-noon, Thursday. Top agenda items: ﬁnal action on lane snapper catch limits, red grouper commercial quota set-aside, two sector shark management measures & improvement in Marine Recreational Information Program survey. Webinar available. Website: gulfcouncil.org

WEDNESDAY BUGS & BEERS: 6:30 p.m., Skeeta Hawk Brewing, 455 N. Dorgenois St, New Orleans. Casual fly tying. Open to public. Email A.J. Rosenbohm: ajrosenbohm@gmail.com. Website: neworleansflyfishers.com

THURSDAY LA. WILDLIFE & FISHERIES COMMISSION MEETING: 10 a.m., Kenny Davis Room, Vidalia Conference/Convention Center, Vidalia.

JUNIOR SOUTHWEST BASSMASTERS MEETING: 7 p.m., Seminar Room, Bass Pro Shops, Denham Springs. Boys & girls age-group bass tournaments for ages 7-10, 11-14 & 15-18 anglers. Call Jim Breaux (225) 772-3026.

SATURDAY FLY CASTING CLINIC: 9 a.m., Perkins Road Park, 7122 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge. No fee. Red Stick Fly Fishers event.

NSCA REGISTERED SPORTING CLAYS: Bridge View Gun Club, Port Allen.

HUNTING SEASONS

TURKEY: Area A, through May 3; Area B: through April 26; Area C: through April 19.

AROUND THE CORNER

APRIL 13—RED STICK FLY FISHERS

PROGRAM: 7 p.m., Bluebonnet Regional Library, 9200 Bluebonnet Blvd, Baton Rouge. Open to the public. Email Brian Roberts: roberts.brian84@gmail.com. Website: rsff.org

APRIL 15—FLIES & FLIGHTS: 7-9 p.m, Rally Cap Brewing, 11212 Pennywood Avenue, Baton Rouge. Casual fly tying. Open to public. Email Chris Williams: thefatfingeredflytyer@gmail.com

APRIL 16—ACADIANA FLY RODDERS PROGRAM: 6 p.m., Pack and Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Open to public. Email Darin Lee: at cbrsandcdc@gmail.com. Website: acadianaﬂyrodders.org

APRIL 17-19—SPRING WARMWATER CATCH & EAT: Lakeview Lodge, Lake Concordia, Ferriday. Red Stick Fly Fishers event. Website: rsff.org

FISHING/SHRIMPING

SHRIMP: Fall inshore season closed in Zones 2 & 3 & portions of Zone 1 except Breton/Chandeleur sounds. All outside waters open.

OPEN RECREATIONAL SEASONS: Gray triggerfish; flounder; lane, blackfin, queen and silk snappers & wenchmen among other snapper species; all groupers except closed for goliath & Nassau groupers in state/federal waters.

CLOSED SEASONS: Red snapper; greater amberjack; blueﬁn tuna; gag, goliath & Nassau groupers in state/federal waters. Commercial greater amberjack season closed

LDWF UPDATES

• Possible daily closures of Fort PolkNorth Wildlife Management Area and Fort Polk-Vernon WMA because of military activities. For updates go to website: home.army.mil/polk/myFort-Polk/fort-Polk-hunting

• CLOSED: Bodcau WMA (Benton) and Woodworth shooting ranges Sunday; Hope Canal Road/boat launch (Maurepas Swamp WMA, levee construction). Email: jmacaluso@theadvocate.com

Fire, Toronto Tempo lay their foundations in the WNBA expansion draft

BY ANNE M. PETERSON AP sportswriter

Portland, which is welcoming a WNBA team back to the city after 24 years, selected veteran forward Bridget Carleton with the ﬁrst pick in Friday’s expansion draft.

Guard Julie Allemand, who played last season for the Los Angeles Sparks, was selected by the Toronto Tempo with its ﬁrst pick.

The Tempo won a coin ﬂip and opted to take the sixth pick in the college draft on April 13 over the top pick in the expansion draft. So Portland went ﬁrst on Friday and will have the seventh pick in the college draft.

Carleton, who has played for the last seven seasons for the Minnesota Lynx and averaged 6.5 points and 3.6 rebounds a game last season off the bench, was an unrestricted free agent.

“Once we ﬁnalized our process, and zoomed in on Bridget, and knew we had our ﬁrst expansion pick, it was obvious we did not want to have Toronto hold our destiny in their hands,” Portland general manger Vanja Cernivec said.

Allemand averaged 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5 assists in 34 games last season.

“This group gives us the ability to compete from day one while continuing to build, and embraces the opportunity to help shape something new in a new country as Canada’s ﬁrst WNBA team,” Toronto general manager Monica Wright Rogers said.

The league’s teams protected ﬁve players apiece ahead of the expansion draft but those lists were not made public, leading to speculation about which players were available.

On Wednesday, the Chicago Sky announced trades with the Tempo and the Fire, which prevented the expansion teams from selecting Sky players. In exchange, the Fire got the No. 17 pick in the college draft and the No. 26 pick went to the Tempo. The expansion draft had two rounds, with up to six picks for each team in each round. The teams alternated picks, with the Tempo picking first in the second round after the Fire got the first overall selection. Teams could only lose two players to the expansion draft. If a player was taken in the first

round, a second player from that same franchise couldn’t be taken until the second round.

Following Allemand, the Tempo selected center Nyara Sabally from the Liberty, guard Marina Mabrey from the Sun, forward Aaliya Nye from the Aces, guard Lexi Held from the Mercury, and forward Maria Conde from the Valkyries.

In the second round the Tempo selected forward Maria Kliundikova from the Lynx, center Adja Kane from the Liberty, center Nikolina Milic from the Sun, guard Kitija Laksa from the Mercury, and guard Kristy Wallace from the Fever After Carleton, the Portland Fire selected guard Carla Leite from the Valkyries, center Luisa Geiselsoder from the Stars, forward Emily Engstler from the Mystics, guard Maya Caldwell from the Dream and forward Chloe Bibby from the Fever In the second round Portland took guard Haley Jones from the Wings, forward Nyadiew Puoch from the Dream, guard Sara Ashlee Barker from the Sparks, guard Sug Sutton from the Mystics and guard Nika Muhl from the Storm.

Mabry was also an unrestricted free agent. Each team was allowed to pick only one unrestricted free agent. The teams still do not know when free agency will open. More than 80% of the players are free agents this year, as many players have expiring contracts or opted out of the previous collective bargaining agreement.

PROVIDED PHOTO

AP FILE PHOTO By MATT KROHN Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton dribbles the ball up court against the Phoenix Mercury during the second half of Game 2 of a WNBA basketball playoff semifinals series on Sept. 23 in Minneapolis.

BALLANCE

STAFFPHOTO By JOHN

The Louisiana Legislature considered naming the Horace Wilkinson bridge for both Norman E. Lant andHorace Wilkinson, Horace Wilkinson Jr.and Horace Wilkinson III in 1968

Didstate officialseye anothername forMississippi RiverBridge?

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Three Wilkinsons plus oneLant equals one Mississippi River bridge. That was the original equation for the $46 million, cantilever “New Mississippi River Bridge” after it opened to Interstate 10 trafﬁc April 10, 1968. Originally,the Louisiana State Legislature considered placingtwo names on the bridge that year,withone name representing three people andthe other commemorating asingleperson.Inthe end,only one name was placed on the bridge: Horace Wilkinson.

Whowas Norman E. Lant?

Still, Ernie Smithling is correct in pointing out that state lawmakers considered giving the bridgeadouble moniker “I once read where the bridge was going to be named for thethreeHorace Wilkinsons in West BatonRougeParish and aguy named Norman Lant,” the Walker resident said. “If this is true,

ä See CURIOUS, page 4D

DannyHeitman AT RANDOM

Acrawﬁsh boil remindsmewhy they’resospecial

When my wife and Igot married three decadesago, our rehearsal dinner wasa backyard crawfishboil. Asmall windfall of aspring wedding in Louisianaisthat crawfish are in season. They were plentiful that year,soweenjoyed our festive feast without breaking anyone’sbank. Serving boiled crawfish toour guests was also anatural icebreaker

We had friends and relatives from many places in the weddingparty, and not everyone had met. As we huddled

ä See RANDOM, page 4D

FROM ASHES

Construction on St.Luke’sEpiscopalChurch after fire of 2024.

BatonRouge church honors itspastas it builds forthe future aftera tragic ﬁre

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

Where therewereonce

towering ﬂames and blackened pews, a skeleton of steel and awood frame now stand tall. For St.Luke’s EpiscopalChurchinBatonRouge, construction has never looked so hopeful.

On Feb.17, 2024, theoriginalSt. Luke’s Church building, Pope Hall andthe church libraryweredestroyedbya fire.Today,there’sa bright future going up day by day “It was agutwrenching tragedy. Everybody was just in shock andgrieving,”saidthe Rev. Bryan Owen, rector at St.Luke’s.“It was atremendousloss and something that nobody had ever dreamed would happen. But in the immediateaftermath, everybody just really rallied andcame together and it was extraordinary.” This spirit of resilience has continuedtwo years later.

St.Luke’sEpiscopalstudents signed abeam that is partofthe construction of the newchurch. Owen

build, says thefellowship that has blossomed after theﬁre has been a blessing.

“Weusedtobeabunch of people who went to church together,and now we’retrulyafamily. It has changed thefabric of this congregation,” Caldwell said.

Connie Caldwell, amembersince 1985 andaco-chairofthe church’s Capital Campaign Committee to re-

Rising from theashes

St.Luke’sEpiscopal Church began

in 1956 with asmallgroup of worshippers who ﬁrst metina private home, then at Goodwood Elementary School and next in temporary buildings.The ﬁrst permanentbuilding was completed in July 1964 at 8833 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge. The last service in the original church was on Ash Wednesday in

ä See CHURCH, page 4D

STAFF PHOTOSByJOHN BALLANCE

Disabled La. actor gets national recognition

Disabled Baton Rouge actor and voice artist Ricky Bartlett continues to expand his presence across ﬁlm, television and voice performance, earning a 2026 Voice Arts Award nomination from the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences.

Bartlett’s work spans multiple platforms, including appearances in Hulu’s “Murdaugh: Death in the Family” and projects connected to NBCUniversal and Wolf Entertainment. His growing body of work reﬂects a commitment to performance-driven storytelling across both visual and audio mediums.

Bartlett, a bilateral amputee began his career in broadcasting before transitioning into acting His background in technical production informs a layered approach to performance, bridging both creative and structural aspects of storytelling.

In addition to acting, Bartlett serves as head of creative development at Studio b.Vox, where he focuses on voiceover and narrative development across emerging media platforms.

The Voice Arts Awards, presented annually by the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences, recognize excellence across voiceover performance, production and storytelling

LSU School of Art

hosts grad walk

LSU School of Art will host its Spring 2026 Grad Walk from 5:30 p.m to 8 p.m

FYI BR staff reports

April 9 at Barnes

Ogden Art and Design Complex, Room 1200, 31 S. Campus Drive, Baton Rouge

This open-studio event features a scheduled walk between School of Art MFA graduate studios, music, a glowing lantern installation and refreshments.

Meet the artists and get a peek inside their process at their individual studio spaces to see in-progress works and the School of Art’s gallery spaces. The walk, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., will include visits with students from the photography, painting and drawing, ceramics, digital art, graphic design, printmaking and sculpture areas.

LSU’s campus is fully accessible to visitors after 4:30 p.m This event is free and open to all.

Livonia High School

students unveil mural

Livonia High School unveiled

COMMUNITY

WBR Garden & Civic Club

The WBR Garden & Civic Club met at the Ag Center in Port Allen on March 10.

club President Kim

Mary Neisler Not

West Side Women’s Club

Members of the West Side Women’s Club met March 19 at Cane Sugar Toffee Company, Donaldsonville. Members enjoyed lunch and a toffee cooking demonstration. Shown are, from left, Dorene Mayeux, chair; Lewis Savioe, owner; and Theresa Altazan. Not pictured is Crystal Ewing PROVIDED PHOTO

Betty

a new student mural on campus April 2, created in partnership with The Walls Project.

The mural, titled “Rooted in Livonia: Rewriting Our Story,” allowed students to participate in hands-on workshops that explored identity, place and transformation. Students contributed original ideas, symbols and color palettes that were translated into a final mural design and brought to life alongside professional artist Mike

Weary

This mural is part of The Walls Project’s broader mission to use public art as a tool for community storytelling, youth development and place-based transformation across Louisiana.

St. Alban’s to host speaker Andrew King

One of the last living academics to hold an in-person interview

Members of the GFWC

held their monthly meeting on March 16 in conjunction with the GFWC LA District 6 annual convention. Shown are, GFCW Lagniappe Women’s Club president Cathie Ryan, left, and Montez Love

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

The Community column runs Sundays in the Living section and accepts submissions for news of events that have taken place with civic, philanthropic, social and religious auxiliary organizations, as well as academic honors. Submissions should be sent by noon Monday to run in the upcoming Sunday column. Because of space limitations, organizations that meet monthly or more are limited to one photo per month. If submitting digitally we prefer JPG files 300KB or larger If taking a photo of a group, have them stand or sit shoulder-toshoulder If more than six people are in the photo, arrange them on multiple, distinct rows. Identify those pictured by first and last names as viewed from left to right, row by row.We prefer emailed Community column submissions to features@theadvocate.com. We also accept submissions by mail at P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge LA 70821.A phone number must be included.

with Martin Luther King, Jr will be speaking at 6 p.m. April 15, at St. Alban’s Episcopal Chapel on LSU’s campus.

The event — part of the chapel’s dialogues speaker series is free and open to the public.

The speaker will be Andrew King, LSU Professor Emeritus.

Reﬂecting on his 1967 interview, shared meal and ensuing correspondence with Martin Luther King Jr., he will share memories of their exchanges that ranged from speech preparation to the tensions between religious and political discourse.

EYECON Louisiana to hold art show

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge is now accepting submissions for EYECON, a juried exhibition at the Shell Gallery that will spotlight the people, moments and cultural traditions that have shaped Louisiana’s LGBTQ+ community Artists from across the state can apply for this exhibition, which will be on view June 7 through July 3. The deadline to submit is 11:59 p.m. May 8. Selected artists will be notiﬁed

by May 13.

EYECON seeks to honor both well-known and overlooked figures, movements and milestones in Louisiana’s LGBTQ+ history Artists are encouraged to explore themes such as: n Iconic individuals n Deﬁning moments and movements n Spaces and traditions. Submissions may be historical, symbolic, interpretive or contemporary as long as they contribute meaningfully to the broader narrative of LGBTQ+ experiences in the state.

The Arts Council welcomes artists working in a wide range of visual mediums, including painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, sculpture, installation, textile art, digital work, video and mixed media. AI-generated artwork will not be accepted.

Artists may submit up to five works and must include highresolution images, artwork details (title, medium, dimensions, year), an artist statement (150-300 words) and a short bio. Selected artists will be responsible for delivery and pickup of their work. For more information and to apply, visit artsbr.org.

PHOTO By MORGAN UDOH

Livonia High School students work on their school mural with the Walls Project

PROVIDED PHOTO

Ricky Bartlett

PROVIDED PHOTO

GFWC Lagniappe Club

Lagniappe Women’s Club

PROVIDED PHOTO

Gathered are, from left,

Callegan, hostesses

Landry, Laurie Roche, Wendy Wilcombe, Lorry Trotter and

pictured is Chris Chustz.

TRAVEL

Checkout thesespots to seeazaleas in bloom

Colorful shrubs area quick road trip away

BY CHERÉ COEN Contributing writer

It’sthat time of year when the South emerges from winter in vibrant explosions of pink, magenta, salmon and white.Inother words, azalea time!

The season typically runsfrom early March through late May, with peak blooming in April.

While our neighborhoods burst forth with these glorious shrubs in the genus Rhododendron,there are sites throughout the Deep South that merit atrip to view amazing collections of color

Below are four places near Louisiana and one in thestate to see azaleas.

East Texas

Nacogdoches, ascenic drive west of its sister city Natchitoches, has been designated the Garden Capital of Texas with 25 miles of self-guided driving routes through itsAzalea Trail. The route takes visitorsthrough town and the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University, where more than 7,000 azaleas grow along Lanana Creek.

The routes are divided into three trails named for different azaleas: Southern Indica Trail, Evergreen Azalea Trail andThe Fashion Azalea Trail, each trail beginning at the Charles Bright Visitor Center on Main Street in downtown Nacogdoches.

Trail maps are available at the Visitor Center or from theAzalea Trail website at nacogdochesazaleas.com.

BellingrathGardens &Home

Theodore, Alabama

The 65-acre gardens located outside Mobile and 20 miles from Dauphin Island areamust-visit in the spring when more than 250,000 azaleas come into bloom. The ﬂowering spectacle is one of the gardens’ most prized events. Bellingrath Gardens &Home was established when Walter Bellingrath, aMobile bottler of Coca-Cola, purchased thesite

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

By ChristopherElliott

abovethe Fowl River for afamily retreat. The gardens opened to the public on April 7, 1932. In the mid-1930s, his wife, Bessie Bellingrath,planted theazaleas around their 15-room home, and it grew from there.

Visitors may tour the homeas well as thegardens,statues and

Ibooked a flight for my father on Expedia, but when he went to the airport, there was no such flight.

a flight that never existed. Can you help me getmymoney back? —Mansour Abado, Dubai

water features plus enjoy special events throughout the year.In April, thefollowing events are scheduled:

n April 8: Lunch &Learn

“The Hidden Tape: Frank Woodard on the Man Behindthe Gardens” n April 11: Preview partyfor

theGulf Coast Chinese Lantern Festival

n April 15: Viewing the summer sky

n April 16-June 21: 2026 Gulf Coast Chinese Lantern Festival

n April 29: Garden walk and talk with horticulture experts.

Garvan Woodland Gardens

HotSprings,Arkansas

First come thethousands of tulips and daffodils on the 210-acre botanical garden of the UniversityofArkansas. Next come the azaleas. If you’re lucky,you might experience both.

Located on the shores of Lake Hamilton,the garden is 45 minutes southwest of Little Rock. The space includes miles of trails meandering over several ecosystemswith streams, fountains, statuary and breathtaking views of the lake throughout.

To check azalea —and other ﬂower —bloom times, visit Garvan’sFacebook page at facebook. com/garvangardens.

Callaway Gardens

Pine Mountain,Georgia

Notonly do thousands of azaleas bloom throughout the 2,500 acres at Callaway,but tulips, dogwoods and seasonal annuals as well.

Through May 10, Callaway features its annual Spring Festival with avariety of special events in addition to visitors enjoying its curated bloom trails.

Look forfood and wine tastings, live artist demonstrations, music performances and more. Signature events include Symphony on the Sand, alakeside concert under the stars, Easter brunch and Mother’sDay brunch.

For moreinformation, visit www.callawaygardens.com.

ClosetoHome

Lafayetteand Kisatchie

In the 1930s, Lafayette developed an Azalea Trail, a20-mile route that begins at the Visitor Center on Evangeline Thruway and skirts through town. Along the way,visitors enjoy city landmarks, homes, historical sites and places to pause to enjoy Lafayette’sculinary scene.

Fun fact: The predominant azalea variety in Lafayette is the Formosa azalea, christened the “General Lafayette, LA,” which bloomsincolors of lavender and fuchsia.

According to Lafayette Travel, someofthe bushes are over 50 years old.

Self-guided trail mapsmay be downloaded from the tourism website at lafayettetravel.com/ plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/azaleatrail or print copies picked up at state welcomecenters.

If you’d rather go wild, the Kisatchie National Forest in the central region of Louisiana, in Rapides Parish, is hometothe Wild Azalea Trail in the forest’s Evangeline Unit.

Hikers wanting to view these azaleas in the wild —the state’s only native variety —may start the 31 miles of trail at the trailhead at the Town Hall in Woodworth. For moreinformation, visit explorelouisiana.com/bike/trail/ wild-azalea-trail.

Christopher Elliott

The reservation wasfrom BeiruttoFrankfurtonLufthansa, connecting to aUnited flight to Austin.Lufthansa wasn’teven operating flights from Beirutatthe time, but Expedia sold me the ticket anyway I’ve been trying for more than three months to getmymoney back. Expedia keepstelling me the refund is “subject to airline approval,”while United insists the ticket is nonrefundable. Ipaid $1,459for

Youshouldhavenever been allowed to buy that ticket. Expedia sold you aphantom ﬂight —a route Lufthansa had already suspended. When yourfather showed up at the airport and discovered there was no ﬂight, theonline travel agency should haveimmediately refunded your fare. Instead, it hid behind airline approval requirementsand passed thebuck to United.

Your paper trail tells the story: monthsofemails,phone calls and chats with no resolution. Expedia kept resubmittingrequests, while United sent you aform denial, citing its “nonrefundable” policy That policy doesn’tapply when theairline isn’tflying theroute at all. Your father could have avoided sometrouble by checking in for his flight early.Ifhe’d done that, he might have been able tofind a suitable replacement through Expedia and received afast refund on his original ticket. This case is agood reminder to keep an eye

on flight schedules, particularly when geopolitical events might cause aflight cancellation. If you’re flying out of an area that’spronetocancellations, assumenothing. And if you ever find yourselfwith aticket to nowhere, remember: you’re entitled to afull refund, no matter what theairline or online agency says. When your online agency refuses to help, you can always escalate yourproblem Ipublish the name, number and email address of the Expedia executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. Abrief,polite

email to one of them might have resulted in aquick refund. Ireached out to Expedia on your behalf

Arepresentative admitted there had been a“system error” that prevented your refund from being processed. Expedia issued a full refund.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy,anonproﬁt organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy org.

PHOTO By CHERÉ COEN

Azaleaseason welcomes vibrant explosions of pink, magenta, salmon and white blooms.

Apostcardofthe Azalea Trail in Lafayette

Engagement, Wedding and Anniversary announcements arepaid notices in TheAdvocate.Theyappear in Sunday’sAdvocate.Tosubmit an announcement, go to TheAdvocate’swebsiteat www.theadvocate.com,scroll down to the bottom of the page,look under ‘’Our Sites’’ and click on ‘’Celebrations’’.

Thedeadline is noon Monday. Formoreinformation call (225) 388-0738 or e-mail nuptials@theadvocate.com

Murrill -Ryburn

ThelateMr. WayneDeanRyburnand Mrs. Rhonda Ryburn arepleased to announce themarriageoftheir daughter, MicheleRenee Ryburn,toJohn“Parham” MurrillJr.,onMarch 14th,2026. Parham is theson of John MurrillSr. andElizabethMurrill Theweddingtook placeat TheRiver Terraceatsunsetin downtown BatonRouge,Louisiana The weddingwas officiated by Pastor Dave Buss andfollowedbyabeautiful rooftop reception. Hair andMakeupwas done by McKeyBridalCo.,Photography by WhitneyMarie Photography, DayofCoordination by Deanna WhitneywithCeliaRoseEvents, CateringbyBacon and Fig, DJ by Complete Weddings &Events, Bridal Gown by Town &Country,can-

CURIOUS

Continued from page 1D

who was Norman Lant?” Norman E. Lant served as the chief engineer for the Highways Department, designing most of the then5,000 bridges that spanned Louisiana’s waterways. And Horace Wilkinson? That was the name shared by a patriarch, his son and grandson, all of whom were Port Allen businessmen who collectively served 54 years in the Louisiana Legislature. However, in the months leading to the bridge’s opening, a legislative tugof-war played out as to how the bridge would be named. None of this mattered much to Baton Rougeans who referred to it — and still know it today as the “New Bridge,” the “Old Bridge” being the U.S. 190 crossing.

Fifty-ﬁve years later, and it’s still “new.” But that might change with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s plans to relieve Baton Rouge’s interstate trafﬁc by constructing another bridge connecting La. 1 south of Plaquemine and La. 30 near St. Gabriel. New and old have names While the “Old Bridge” was named for Louisiana’s legendary governorturned-senator Huey P. Long, the “New Bridge” brings the story back to the legislative battle.

Earlier in 1968, members of the East Baton Rouge Parish legislative delegation proposed that the bridge be named for Lant. Though he didn’t design the “New Bridge,” he did, indeed, design most of the bridges throughout the state, including the Huey P Long “Old Bridge.” Lant died on Sept. 27, 1967, which legally qualiﬁed him to be the bridge’s namesake since state law prohibited state buildings and bridges being named for living persons. The Wilkinsons also qualiﬁed.

Then, in April 1968, J.E. Jumonville Sr of Ventress, who was a then state senator-elect for the 13th Senatorial District, announced that he would introduce a bill to name the bridge for the Wilkinsons when he entered ofﬁce that May The 13th District later would become the 17th District, which included West Baton Rouge Parish, where the Wilkinson family lived. Jumonville held the ofﬁce for eight years

CHURCH

Continued from page 1D

dles by TrulyHaute,and Floralsby The Floral Cottage. Kimberly Druryservedasmatronof honor.Caitlyn Duncan served as maid of honor.Bridesmaids were Marisa Stelly,Megan Ryburn,Ari Lord,and Grace Williams.Flowergirls were ReeseStelly andKateStelly. Justin Gillespieservedasbestman GroomsmenwereKamranShirazi,Baker Murrill, Paul Murrill, JamesHenry Murrill,and Cullen Stelly LoganStelly wasthe brideescort. Parham andMichele wouldliketo thanktheir family andfriends whotraveled from near andfar to celebratethis specialday with us.Wewill always remember this moment

Wilkinson Sr and niece of Horace Wilkinson III.

Ann Wilkinson is now president of Poplar Grove Planting Co. in Port Allen, succeeding the three Horace Wilkinsons — each of whom presided over the company

“Gov McKeithen came by to tell my father that he was going to support the name ‘Horace Wilkinson’ for the bridge,” Ann Wilkinson said. “He just wanted my dad to know that.”

Ann Wilkinson was a senior at University High School at the time, having to cross the river by way of either the “Old Bridge” or the city of Baton Rouge ferry to get there.

before being succeeded by his son J.E. Jumonville Jr., who served until 1993.

A case for both

An April 12, 1968, article in Baton Rouge’s State-Times quoted a family member in support of Jumonville saying, “the Wilkinson family are direct descendants of Gen. James Wilkinson, co-governor of the Louisiana Territory with William C.C. Claiborne.”

“Lant came to Louisiana in 1922,” the article continued “He was a native of Indiana. Lant set up the ﬁrst bridge section in the State Department of Highways, then rose to fame during the road-building heyday of Huey P. Long.”

The article added that Lant retired from the Highways Department in 1955 but was recalled to the department in 1957, where, as an urban engineer, he had a hand in designing the state’s most modern highways. Lant and all three Wilkinsons are buried in Baton Rouge’s Rose Lawn Memorial Park Though other bridge names were ﬂoated — including Col. Elias Beauregard, who laid out the Baton Rouge’s Beauregard Town, and Port Allen namesake and former Gov Henry Watkins Allen — Lant and the Wilkinsons remained the main contenders.

Then came June, when a compromise was struck for a hyphenated solution the Wilkinson-Lant Bridge. McKeithen weighs in The senate passed the bill, but that wouldn’t be the last of it.

“John McKeithen was the governor and I remember well being at Poplar Grove, our home, and seeing his car drive up in the driveway,” said Ann Wilkinson, greatgranddaughter of Horace

“They didn’t open the bridge until the month before I graduated from high school,” she said, laughing.

Still, she remembers paying attention to the legislative bridge discussions at the time, and McKeithen stayed true to his word to her father

“The Senate went along with Gov McKeithen and the House today and named the $46 million Mississippi River Bridge here the Horace Wilkinson Bridge, deleting the name of Norman E. Lant,” reporter Jack Lord wrote in the July 10, 1968, edition of State-Times.

A variety of legislators praised Lant in the story, but their ﬁnal vote honored the Wilkinson family, alone. Yet it was an honor that went unnoticed for years.

“And you know, it’s interesting, because there never was a ‘Horace Wilkinson’ sign put up on the bridge,” Ann Wilkinson said.

That is, until 2010, when she received a call from former Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, who was then Speaker Pro Tempore of the Louisiana House of Representatives.

“She said, ‘We need to get a name on the bridge,’” Ann Wilkinson said. “She and Rep. Regina Barrow introduced a measure it wasn’t a bill — to put the name on the bridge.”

Today, “Horace Wilkinson” signs are placed on the railings in both directions.

“So, 42 years after it opened, the name was ﬁnally on the bridge,” Ann Wilkinson said.

Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

2024, and the church burned down three days later Amy Binck, a member of St. Luke’s and co-chair of the Capital Campaign Committee, is emotional when she remembers the last service her family had in the church. But, today the congregation is closer

“Before, we had multiple services. I felt like I knew a lot of people, Binck said.

“After the fire, I can say, hands down, it’s like we’ve come together more. Now we have one service where you get to know people Getting involved with the church in the middle of a crisis doesn’t compare.”

Owen says the immediate response to the ﬁre was “remarkable” both from the church congregation and the surrounding community

For three months, the congregation met in the school gym for worship services until power was restored to the whole campus. Since then, the church has been meeting in Witter Hall, a multi-purpose building that also functions as the school cafeteria on weekdays.

The hall is right next to where the new church is being built, so parishioners can see the progress on their way to worship. Inside Witter Hall, there’s the repaired steeple cross from the original church and an altar that was brought to St Luke’s from St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Houma.

Other local churches donated hymnals, Books of Common Prayer and vestments.

Owen’s liturgical vestments were destroyed in the ﬁre, so Caldwell has been crafting new vestments by hand. She says the next big project will be creating the needlepoint kneelers for the new church, which will be done by a team of knitters.

For the next generation

In the summer of 2025, Caldwell and Binck dug into the history of St. Luke’s and its presence in the Tara and Broadmoor neighborhoods to create the Capital Campaign Committee.

Binck, a former pediatric critical care nurse practitioner, participated in capital campaigns for Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, and

AT RANDOM

Continued from page 1D

over steaming mounds of mudbugs, it was impossible for anyone to stay strangers for long. Peeling crawﬁsh, after all, isn’t for the bashful. The work of the table, joyously messy, nudged everyone to quickly hop in. Amid the claws and tails and the quickly stained shirts and dresses — our circle of celebrants quickly bonded.

Our guest list included visitors from North Carolina; Minnesota; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and Alaska. Not everyone had peeled crawﬁsh before, but we paired the novices with the locals, and the rite of initiation for newcomers to Louisiana cuisine was part of the fun.

I remember few details of our wedding, which passed in a blur, as nuptials for young couples seem to do. But that crawﬁsh boil

Caldwell had fundraising experience with Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge and the Baton Rouge General Foundation.

They hired a fundraising consultant, Maurice Seaton, to help guide the strategy In the fall, Seaton facilitated a feasibility study with the St. Luke members to get an idea of what they wanted in their new church and come up with a realistic ﬁnancial goal.

“We asked our parishioners to participate and give feedback on the building plans,” Binck said.

“And then we tested for an amount that we were trying to ﬁgure out. What can we successfully raise?”

Once the results were compiled, the committee set a primary goal of $3 million and a stretch goal of $3.5 million. They chose a theme: “Honoring our past. Building our future.”

“We are taking the pieces of what St Luke’s was and why it was so special, but bringing it into the future and the next generations,” Binck said.

Since January, Binck and Caldwell have met with parishioners to ask for donations. Everyone who was asked to help rebuild the church has said yes.

“I was so touched by the reactions of the members when we started. Everybody had thought about what they wanted to do. There’s nobody that I asked to make a gift that said no. Everybody was ready and willing and able,” Caldwell said.

$2,315,200 and counting

The Capital Campaign kicked off its public stretch of fundraising on March 21 — led by the Right Rev Shannon Rogers Duckworth, the bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. The event allowed guests to view the construction progress without the protective netting along the fence, and they were able to sign columns that will be permanently installed at the church entrance.

To date, the campaign committee has raised $2,315,200, with an additional $1 million contributed from the church’s ﬁre fund. They are almost to their goal, and they still have six weeks left.

Funds will support construction of a new church building a redesigned Pope

on the evening before our wedding has stayed with me. The memory underlines for me the close connection between food, friendship and family that deﬁnes this corner of the world, something I think about each spring in the days before Easter Lent and seafood point us to the idea that sharing food across from each other can ground us spiritually too.

All of this came to mind the other day as I chatted with my friend Jamie at the ofﬁce where we work together Talk in Louisiana inevitably leads to the topic of food, and before long, we were trading stories about families and crawﬁsh boils, including the one before my wedding.

“We should have a crawﬁsh boil here,” Jamie added, almost as an afterthought.

The idea quickly took shape, and in no time, our staff had planned a boiled crawﬁsh lunch on the ofﬁce porch.

Hall and signiﬁcant exterior improvements to the campus. The proposed church will seat approximately 350 people and include expanded gathering areas and a chapel. The redesigned Pope Hall will provide nearly 4,000 square feet of ﬂexible space for fellowship and parish events.

“It is a symbol of your faith, of your relationship with God,” Binck said of the church, “and I think that’s why it has transcended denominations. We’ve had churches of all different faiths support our rebuild. People can relate to how painful that is, whether it’s your church or not.”

‘We’re resilient and faithful’ Architectural firm Hoffpauir Studios and general contractor Donahue Favret will oversee the design and construction of the new St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. Steve Jackson, a Baton Rouge architect, is the chair of the building committee. Owen noted that the new church building will have a more sacred exterior, as the building before was intended to be a parish hall. Now, he says they have a chance to fulfill a dream that the church’s founders had.

“It is going to be unmistakably a church to anyone who sees it, even if they don’t know the denomination,” Owen said. “It will rise up much higher than than what we had before. It’s going to have a very different presence in the community It’s going to really speak into the city in a different way.”

The goal is to be in the new church by Christmas, but the congregation is prepared for that deadline to be pushed to the Epiphany season of 2027.

“Tragedy really shows the character of people, and what it really reaffirmed for us is we’re resilient and faithful,” Owen said. “We could feel the presence of God with us, and we knew that we were going to be okay from the get go. Two years later, and I can look out my ofﬁce window at the skeleton of the church. Before you know it, they’ll be putting the roof on.” For more information about St. Luke Episcopal’s campaign, visit givingsites. com/honoringbuilding. Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.

The day of the luncheon was unseasonably cold, with low clouds occasionally pierced by a hint of sun. I worried we’d be too cold as we dined in the open, but I took heart in the idea that brisk temps can sharpen the pleasure of a warm outdoor meal. The coffee and eggs I’d enjoyed on brisk campouts with my son taught me this is so. Luckily, the day brightened, and the crawfish, fresh from the pot, kept us toasty Relishing our main course, I learned all over again that while steak or trout might be a meal, boiled crawfish are a project Peeling them with others is a kind of culinary quilting bee, the sharing of effort and skill a gift of the experience. Maybe, I thought to myself, our office crawfish lunch should become a tradition.

Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman. com.

STAFF PHOTO By JOHN BALLANCE

The Rev. Bryan Owen, rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, talks about the construction.

PROVIDED PHOTO By ANN WILKINSON

Horace Wilkinson Sr served in the Louisiana Legislature for 26 years in the early 20th century.

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday,April 5, the95thday of 2026. There are 270 days left in theyear

Todayinhistory:

On April 5, 1933, as part of his New Dealprograms, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order establishingthe Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC),a Depression-era work relief program for single menaged18-25; the program employed more than 2.5million men for federal conservation andsafetyprojects over its nine-year history

Also on this date:

In 1614, Pocahontas, thedaughter of Tsenacommacah chief Powhatan,married Englishman John Rolfe, awidower,inthe Virginia Colony In 1764,the BritishParliament passedthe American Revenue Actof1764, also knownas the Sugar Act; it providedfor strong enforcement of duties on reﬁned sugar andmolasses imported into the American coloniesfromnonBritishCaribbean sources.

In 1887, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, teacher Anne Sullivan achieved abreakthrough as her 6-year-old deaf-blind pupil, HelenKeller, learned the meaning of theword “water”as spelled out in the ManualAlphabet.

In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death following their conviction in New York on charges of conspiringtocommitespionagefor theSovietUnion. (They were executed in June 1953.)

In 1986, two American servicemenand aTurkish womanwere killed in the bombing of aWest Berlin discotheque, an incident that prompteda U.S. air raid on Libya nine days later

In 1991, former Sen. JohnTower,R-Texas, his daughter Marian and 21 otherpeople were killed in acommuter planecrash near Brunswick, Georgia.

In 1994, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain died by suicide in his Seattle, Washington, home at age 27.

In 2010, amassive coaldust explosion ripped through underground corridors of theUpper Big Branchmine near Charleston,WestVirginia, killing 29 workersinthe worst U.S. coal mining disaster in 40 years.

In 2024, an earthquake centered between NewYork City and Philadelphia shookskyscrapers and suburbs across thenortheastern U.S., causing no major damage but startling millions in aregion unaccustomed to such temblors.The 4.8 magnitude quake was oneofthe strongest along the East Coast indecades Today’sbirthdays: Actor Michael Moriartyis85. Actor Max Gail is 83. Singer AgnethaFältskog (ABBA) is 76.Rapper-actorChristopher “Kid” Reid (Kid ’n Play) is 61. Rock musician Mike McCready (Pearl Jam) is 60. Countrymusician PatGreen is 54. Musician-producerPharrell Williams is 53. Rapper-producer Juicy Jis51. Actor Sterling K. Brown is 50. Actor Hayley Atwell is 44. ActorLilyJames is 37.Singer Bryant Myers is 28.

Cuteness doesn’tguarantee youthe chairyou want

Dear Miss Manners: What do you do if someone takes your chair? Does it matter if it is thethrone of aruler of great lands?

While he was out questing, awoman came to rest on the throne. In his very best,most polite voice, he asked, “Can you please move?”

encourage this behavior.Itisrude no matter what the age.

Let me explain. My family and Iwere waiting to be seated at arestaurant and we found acorner of a bench to rest.Afew minutes go by,and alittle patron (preschool age) came and said, “Hey,you’re in our seat!” Ismiled andallowed him and his mother to takethe seat.The mother seemed aghast and at a loss as to what to do.

Ireassured her that it was ﬁne. “Little legs get tired,” Isaid with asmile. She reluctantly took the seat. Iwas in asimilar situation when my own son was small. He had been playing outside the elementary school as Isat on anearby bench.Heclaimed aseparate bench as his“throne” and alternated between standing on his throne and adventuring out across theland.

She was unaware of thekingdom and theimaginary knights coming to the defense of the king. She looked at me expectantly,but Iwas unsure what to do. I said somethingabout my son sitting with me, but thestranger offered to share the throne, and my son was satisﬁed with that result.

So, what’s agirl to do in that situation?

GentleReader: Why? Do you want to kick someoneout of apublic space, too?

Youcan try to gaslight Miss Manners and her readers with what you think is unabashed cuteness, but none of us is buying it

Teaching children that they have aright to any seat they want, real or imaginary,isrude —nomatter how adorable the little voices making the demand. (And frankly,you do not make aconvincing case that either interaction was adorable.)

These children grow up thinking it is their right to push people out of their favorite subway seats. So please do not

Dear Miss Manners: When Iask questions like, “How tall are you?,” “How fast was it?” or “How much does it weigh?,” I expect an answer with aquantity and a unit of measure —e.g., 5-foot-4, 60 miles per hour,10pounds. But lately,somany reporters on television are instead asking questions like, “How sad are you?,” “How exciting was it?” or “How proud are you?” These are emotions. Iwish someone whoisasked one of these questions would just respond with “27.”

Gentle Reader: Indeed. Notonly are the answers nonquantiﬁable, but these questions lead the subject —dictating the person’sfeelings, not even asking what they were.

Miss Manners agrees that this is not only lazy journalism,but it is not even red carpet or talk show worthy.Coming up with someactual questions would be farmore entertaining —for everyone.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com or by email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com.

Dear Heloise: Arthritis and stiff ﬁngers can make fastening buttons adaily struggle, but one of myfriends found a simple solution: Instead of unbuttoning ablouse, leave mostofthe buttonsfastened. Then slip theblouse over your head like apullover,fasteningonly thetop button. This small change removes theneed to handle multiple buttons each time you dress or undress It works best with loose blouses or shirts that pull over your head easily.People with limited hand mobility may ﬁnd this trick especially helpful. Simple adjustments like this makedaily routines easier —Donna B.,inOhio

The file of life

Dear Heloise: Emergency responders often need medical information fast. In Lincoln, Nebraska, ﬁre stations offer the “File of Life” —asmall magnetic pouch for your refrigerator that holds vital health information. Residents ﬁll in their emergency contacts, medications, allergies, medical conditions andinsurance information. First responders check the refrigerator for this pouch, which saves time during emergencies.

Many communities in the United States offer similar programs. If they’re available in your town,consider using one. Visible medical information helps emergency teams respond morequickly and safely —RobertM., in Lincoln, Nebraska Make bandages stickbetter

Dear Heloise: Outdoor work often causes scrapesand cuts, especially if you skip wearing gloves.Here’satrick to help bandages stick for longer: Before applying the bandage, place it on aclean surface and gently warmitupwith ahair dryer for afew seconds. Warming up the skin slightly can alsohelp. The mild heat softens the adhesive for abetter hold. Ensure thatthe wound is clean and dry, and avoid overheating the bandage or your skin. With care, this trick helps bandages stay in place during handwashing and movement. It works wellonﬁngers or parts of thehands where bandages loosen quickly —Chuck Threadgill, in Tulsa, Oklahoma Packingwithpopcorn

Dear Heloise: If you need to ship fragile items but lack packing materials, airpopped popcorn makes ahandy substitute. The kernels provide cushioning and

Air-popped kernels workbest since they contain little to no oil. Buttered popcorn can leave residue. Popcorn may attract pests if packages sit around for too long, so use it mainly forshort shipping distances. —MichaelIzzo, Hillsborough, New Jersey

Stayingconnected

Dear Heloise: Many grandparents want asimple way to contact their young grandchildren whoaren’tready fora smartphone. One family solved this with akid-friendly smartwatch. These watches worklike basic cellphones; children can call or message people, but parents control contacts, only allowing approved communication. Many watches also offerGPS tracking forlocation updates. Families add the watch to their cellphone plan forasmallmonthly fee. The device stays on the child’swrist, making it hard forthem to lose. For many, asmartwatch is asafe, convenient way to stay connected. —Concerned Grandpa, in Arkansas Sendahinttoheloise@heloise.com.

‘Wouldn’t it be good to be Cajun for one day?’

Rick Bragg returns to Acadiana for book festival

BY JAN RISHER Staff writer

Rick Bragg says that he’s already eaten his way through Acadiana once — boudin from a gas station and cracklins in a parking lot. He says he stood there popping them like M&Ms. When he made the reverse of the “Oh! Susanna” trip and returned to Alabama, he brought his mother some cracklins.

Through the years, he has bought her two houses — and she was never happier about anything than she was about those cracklins.

He’s excited to be coming back to Acadiana.

On April 11, the 1996 Pulitzer Prize-winner will appear at Books Along the Teche Literary Festival in New Iberia. I’ll be the one sitting across from him, attempting to interview him on stage I’ve spent considerable time lately trying to ﬁgure out what to ask a man who readily admits that he’s already said everything worth saying. Talking to him in advance doesn’t make that easier

For anyone who has read “All Over but the Shoutin’” or “Ava’s Man” — and for anyone who hasn’t, my mother would say, “God bless you. You have something wonderful ahead.” — this book festival is worth the drive.

In fact, my mother would nominate herself to be president of the Rick Bragg Fan Club.

There are parts of his life and perspective that she understands and parts that are foreign to her, but she loves the way the man can turn a phrase and crack open all the feelings long buried in a heart.

Bragg grew up in Calhoun County, Alabama, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain chain, among pulp wood haulers, coal miners and farmers. He says that he’s spent his career writing about people who live on the edge of things. He notes he has a deep reverence for both William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, but he writes about the people who don’t appear in their aristocracy Bragg still grades student papers at the University of Alabama, but he doesn’t go far for book talks anymore.

“I turned down that wonderful literary festival they have in Pebble Beach, California,” he said. “I pick my battles. I do a lot of stuff around the South. I’m comfortable with that. They send somebody to get me.”

Rick Bragg

ALONG THE TECHE LITERARY FESTIVAL

WHEN: April 10-12

WHERE: Bayou Teche Museum, New Iberia MORE: booksalongthe techeliteraryfestival.com.

Which is exactly what the festival organizers in New Iberia are doing. He goes because of the people.

“If you write nonfiction books and you don’t want to see the people who read them, then I think there’s something terribly wrong with you,” he said. “I’ll go do a book talk and come home from it wore out, but the ﬁrst thing I want to do the next morning is write.”

A conversation with Bragg makes it clear that he’s been thinking a lot lately about the passage of time. At 66, he admits there are some things he would do differently. Mainly, he says he would have been kinder not in a big philosophical sense, but in speciﬁc moments.

I asked him if he could give me an example, and he told me about how his brother Sam loved a show called “Mountain Men” on the History Channel. One day they were watching it together, and Bragg told him that the sequence about one of the men taking a horse to town was staged for the show

Bragg says that Sam took the comment as a slight. Sam thought his worldly, Pulitzer Prize-winning brother was saying that his brother back home in Alabama wasn’t smart.

Bragg has carried that feeling ever since, asking himself, “Why didn’t I just stay quiet and enjoy the show with him?”

Bragg says he loved Sam like he loved no one else except his mother

That story has stayed with me I even shared it with the journalism class I’m teaching at LSU, because it’s such a great example of showing and not telling when it comes

to writing. It’s a reminder that it’s not the grand gesture, but the small wrong that sits with us all.

Bragg has been to New Iberia only once before — the ﬁrst time was shortly after a Cajun woman had done him wrong.

“I went to that part of the world and tried to eat my way out of a broken heart,” he said. “I had a chef in Lafayette who tried to convince me that gator was food. I still disagree with that.”

He went to a honky-tonk where a young man was on stage with an accordion doing zydeco, and there were long tables covered in crawﬁsh shells

I asked him if he joined in the dancing.

“This will be sad to people in that part of the world, but I just don’t dance, but I’ve always envied people who could just throw off any inhibitions and just throw down,” he said. “So, I just kind of stood to one side and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be good to be Cajun for one day?’”

He still thinks that.

What Bragg does best, on the page and in conversation, is describe a thing as it is happening as it is being lived.

He says that he’s tried to teach this to students for years with limited success They, instead, want to be philosophical and write in abstraction.

As it happens, Bragg keeps a New Iberia presence in his writing room a passage from James Lee Burke pinned to his wall. It’s one of Burke’s descriptions of a juke joint. It blazes with color, noise and cursing during the night and disappears entirely in the daylight.

He keeps Burke’s writing close at hand to remind himself of the distance between good writing and bad.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining,” goes the old Chekhov line Bragg lives by “Show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

Today, Bragg still thinks about that honky-tonk. And he has kind remarks about Acadiana.

“Lafayette, Breaux Bridge

— what a beautiful, striking, remarkable place,” Bragg said.

“You can go all over this country and ﬁnd a Chili’s anywhere, but there are few places left that are entirely their own places. New Iberia is that kind of place.”

My mom has sent me a few questions to ask Bragg, but I’m still working on the rest.

You’re welcome to sending suggestions to jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

George Saunders will discuss ‘Vigil’

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

George Saunders, author of “Liberation Day,” “Tenth of December” and the Booker Prizewinning novel “Lincoln in the Bardo,” will visit Tulane from 6 p.m to 8 p.m Thursday April 9 in the Kendall Cram Lecture Hall at the LavinBernick Center for University Life at Tulane University Saunders is the 2026 featured writer in the Carole Barnette Boudreaux ’65 Great Writers Series. The recipient of a 2006 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, Saunders has authored two novels, four collections of short stories, a novella, a book of essays and an award-winning

children’s book. He teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University Saunders recently released his new novel “Vigil” in January about an undead death doula named Doll who is ushering an unrepentant oil tycoon into his death. The novel contains themes of forgiveness, power, greed, accountability and reﬂection. Saunders will discuss his new novel and its themes, which resonate with current ethical issues in the country Register for the event at https://tulane.campuslabs.com/engage/event/12143237.

After hiatus, Nancy Lemann returns with ‘The Oyster Diaries’

BY RIEN FERTEL Contributing writer

“The Oyster Diaries,” by Nancy Lemann, New York Review Book, 240 pages

“The doom” is thankfully over That’s the phrase New Orleans writer Nancy Lemann has used to describe the past two decades, a seemingly productive period that has blame the big-house publishing industry — regrettably resulted in no new books since her 2002 novel, “Malaise.”

This month brings reprints of her rousing 1985 debut novel, “Lives of the Saints,” and its nonﬁction followup, “The Ritz of the Bayou,” an affectionate skewering of then-governor Edwin Edwards and the topsy-turvy world of Louisiana politics. Both rank as top-tier local reads.

Most excitingly, this coming week brings a new novel, “The Oyster Diaries,” a throwback of sorts that points Lemann in intriguing new directions.

But don’t call it a comeback. Welcome to the Lemannaissance.

Around a decade ago, the New York literati pounced on her oeuvre, with one fashion website recommending reading “Lives of the Saints” in the bath. Lemann has lately been prominently featured in the Paris Review, which has published an interview and tributes, as well as her recent short fiction and essayistic musings on everything from the wonders of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” to the horrors of Disney World and her perplexing interactions with talking robots. “The Oyster Diaries” similarly meanders as it drifts along the narrative tides. The novel opens with scattered pages of a 2021 lockdown diary written by Delery Anhalt, a middle-aged, remorse-plagued writer who volunteers as a justice monitor in the criminal courts of New Orleans. Watching via computer screen from her house in Washington, D.C., she contemplates her hometown that exists just outside the confines of the video feed. Delery’s diary entries soon give way to more fully-formed memories, snapshots of her family First, a loving portrait of her father, August, a retired judge who once kept a diary of his own a 20-year daily accounting of his raw oyster consumption at the Pearl, a downtown restaurant across from his office. It is, she writes, “the work of a madman,” a list of simple descriptions: Sept. 17 — exceptional Sept. 18 — very poor Sept. 19 passable Sept. 20 — fabulous Sept. 21 — utterly tasteless Sept. 22 — beautiful to look at but no salt. At home in the nation’s capital, life is less straightforward. Delery must contend with what she calls her “lions at the gate”: annoying houseguests, her husband’s extramarital affair, the demands of her two daughters and the world leader she describes as a “lying sack of swizzle sticks.”

as ﬁction. After the death of Lemann’s mother, her widowed father, Thomas, married Lemann’s contemporary, Sheila Bosworth, best known for her 1984 debut novel, “Almost Innocent.” The novel is a take on New Orleans’s Uptown social circles similar in theme, though not in tone, to “Lives of the Saints.”

Devotees of Lemann’s debut will no doubt note thematic echoes in her new novel. A gag in that previous book has its chorus of characters repeating a similar sentiment: “Everyone is falling apart Everything is falling apart I’m falling apart.” Though I sadly agree that New Orleans is still falling apart all these decades later Lemann’s musings come off as Crescent City clichés. New Orleans is “more rickety than suave,” she writes, a combustive mix of prosperity and poverty that feels “almost as if a scientific experiment in noble behavior is being conducted.” Echoing Faulkner, a friend tells her, “The past is so much a part of the present here and it’s unhealthy.” In this book about generational changes, the writing can too often feel stuck in the past. Lemann remarks, more than once, that New Orleans is a city filled with Catholic schoolgirls run wild, ignoring the past 20 years of demographic and denominational shifts. There’s a Bed Bath & Beyond joke that falls flat — maybe because that chain went belly up several years ago — while an unfortunate riff that hurricanes “should be named for a voluptuous black woman with a don’t-mess-with-me manner or a Southern matriarch who doesn’t take any of your guff” sounds ripped from the 1980s.

This is not to say I didn’t appreciate the return to Lemann’s literary world. She still writes giddily enigmatic sentences that can be simultaneously funny and devastating. And “The Oyster Diaries” certainly points in new narrative directions for the author Its deconstructed, autoﬁction form and terse, minimalist approach will remind readers of Rachel Cusk’s “Outline” trilogy In a chapter titled “Love in the Ruins,” a nod to the novel of the same name by Lemann’s literary lodestar Walker Percy, whose name pops up frequently in these pages, Delery reminisces about her “wastrel youth.” At the center of those halcyon days is a brief dalliance with a “blue-eyed boy with the crooked smile,” Claude Collier, the saintly antihero at the center of Lemann’s debut novel.

Though their romance is destined to be brief, Lemann renders Delery’s longing with a gauzy-dream quality that should leave readers wanting more.

“To this day when I am nervous and mired in angst and malaise,” she writes, “I still say his name.”

A return trip to New Orleans offers little succor

“I watch everyone here decay,” she writes, “and/or take care of their decaying loved one.”

A St Charles Avenue mansion burns to the ground. Her father’s peers are fading away He, however, has managed to “live for years beyond the allotted time.” Delery credits her father’s second life to a second marriage to a much younger wife, her former best friend, Amelia.

In-the-know readers might hereabouts begin to suspect that “The Oyster Diaries” could be as much fact

Although “The Oyster Diaries” does not rise to the level of Lemann’s two recently reprinted titles, the novel is not only a cause for celebration but a potential promise that there could be more new work forthcoming.

Oyster eaters understand the bliss that can follow a long wait. Or as August Anhalt writes in his diary during the ﬁrst days of October: “not yet, not ever yet, not ready yet, at last!”

Rien Fertel is the author of four books, including, most recently, “Brown Pelican.”

Lemann

Saunders

Picture agrocery stocked speciﬁcally for outdoor happy hours and picnics. Now fuse that with awine shop and an espresso barand plant it by arestaurant row of food trucks on agrassy lawn with asweeping view of the Mississippi River

DININGSCENE

breakfast sandwiches and pop-ups forhot food can provide amarket breakfast or lunch by the river.Chefs from around the city shop the market early

This is the scene that’s been drawing me back to The Batture this spring, and not just on the weekends, when this outdoor spread on the Uptown riverfront is hopping with romping families. I’ve been returning on quieter weekdays, too,for what I’ve come to regard as adinner and ashow combo.

On arecent Tuesday,dinner was amarket-fresh spread of Colombian cooking from the pop-up Waska The show was the river itself, coursing past in currents of opal gray and rose gold as the sun made its slow descent overthe West Bank.

Formations of fat ducks swooped by the riverbank.

Tugboats pushed strings of barges and giant oceangoing tankersﬁlled the horizon, capturing the attention like parade ﬂoats. Some tooted boat horns,which we toasted with plastic wine cups.

It’sbeen ayear sincethe Batture ﬁrst materialized just over the levee, transforming aonce-invisible maritime industrial yard into an enchanting place for New Orleans to relax, play,have some tasty food and drink, and even getting some shopping done.

It’snext to The Fly,that waterfront curve of Audubon Park with its own vista of the working river

The Batture resembles a park in some ways, but it is aprivate endeavor,led by the developers BenJacobson and Casey Burka, with itsown reasonable rules to maintain its business model (no outside food or drinks,

for one, nooutside furniture).

Driftwood andreinvention

Enteringits second spring, the Batture feels refreshingly low-glitz and easygoing.Ifthe Swiss Family Robinson adopted WesAnderson, they might’ve come up withthis aesthetic of driftwood and rusty reinvention. Metalstructures from old offshore platformsnow comprise an ofﬁce workspace, dubbed the Rigs.

accessible, high-qualityarts experiences in awelcoming neighborhood setting. Tickets are$15. Visitmanshiptheatre.org/comingsoon/ lightwire-theater-the-uglyduckling

‘A Refugee’sOrigin’

Helicopter landing pads are now pavilions shading picnic tables

Remnants of dredging equipment and ship towing gear lay about,like apostindustrial sculpture garden.

Food at theBatture began as aroundup of food trucks, serving Friday through Sunday,and that’sstill the centerpiece.

Butfood options have grown through theweek, with some opening on other weekdays.

Abuilding called the

Helm,awalk-up kitchen in aship’swheel house, hosts regular pop-ups. Currently that brings Waska on Tuesdays, taco vendor Casa Laly on Wednesdays and Turkey &the Wolf founder Mason Hereford boiling crawﬁsh on Saturdays (this one through theend of May)

Apicnicgrocery

Anchoring the Batture all day,any day is Miss Market (open 8a.m. to 8p.m. Tuesday-Sunday). It’srun by MattMorris, founder of thedowntown coffee shop Nova Espresso, which accounts for the espressobar Its coolers and shelves are stocked with many morelocal names, from smoked chicken salad from BlueOak BBQ, to baguettes from Bellegarde Bakery and asupply of sweet and savory pastries from Ayu Bakehouse, the stellar Marigny bakery café. There’sa wall of chilled beer,canned cocktails, soft drinks and awine collection that would be at home at any upscale bottle shop (andpriced like awine shop, not awine bar).

Houseplantshang over racks of gourmet munchies, tinned seafood and ﬁne chocolate. There are candles and cookbooks for last-minute gifts. Miss Market even lends out cheeseboards for build-your-own spreads of snacks from its

Kelsonand Remi Goode on April 8inthe Singleton’sPure Listening Room at the NUNU Gallery, 1510 BayouCourtableau Hwy., Arnaudville. Doors open at 6p.m., and the show beginsat7:30p.m. Tickets are$25. Visit events. humanitix.com/nunu4826. Also, registration is open for Jeanney Wharton’s Gelli Printing workshop from 1p.m to 4p.m.onApril 22. Cost is $100, and material fee is $10. Visit simpletix.com/e/ gelli-printmaking-class-tickets-267357. ON THEARTSAND CULTURESCENE

inventory

This is also agrocery that sells kites, and on a breezy afternoon, novices were learning the ropes, putting on agentle air show forpeople watching from picnic blankets and Adirondack chairs near the water’sedge.

The wholesomeness factor is high around the Batture. Kids twirl on atire swing, kick soccer balls or run football passing routes (there’sabin of public access balls at the ready). The occasional train whistle sounds behind the levee, and then there’sthe grinding rumble of ship engines announcing another vessel’sapproach.

Markets, pop-ups, vendors

The Batture now hosts the Tuesday edition of the Crescent City Farmers Market (8 a.m. to noon), where stands forcoffee,

One is Waska chef Chris Blanco, supplying his popup later that day (4 p.m.to 8p.m.). His market menus can run through grilled carrots, shrimpceviche and pollo asada plates with green salads strewnwith strawberries and radish. Someofthe permanent vendors have been slowly expanding their schedules to afew weekdays. That includes Stelly’sfor frozen yogurt and The Nell Shell, serving lobster rolls and “sea-cuterie” boards of tinned seafood from its vintage trailer Weekends bring the full array,including Bootsy’s, a trailer from Blue Oak BBQ forfried chicken sandwiches and nuggets; the Imperial Woodpecker sno-ball stand; and food trucks from Bub’sBurgers forsmash burgers and from Bourree forbarbecue plates and sandwiches.

The Batture has been hosting morevendors on an ad hoc basis, with Flour Moon Bagels and natural wine distributor Disco Liquids visiting recently.The calendar of yoga classes, vintage and art market sales and children’sprogramsisgrowing too.

The Batture’sname comes from the term for the alluvial space between the river’slow water mark and the levee. It is liminal, subject to change. Right now,atasunset picnic or pop-up happy hour,itfeels like this

will join forces for a high-energy big band concert featuring jazz repertoirefrom the classic to themodern This spring performance will takeplace at 7:30 p.m. April 7 in the LSU Union Theater and showcases legendary New Orleans trumpeterJames Andrewsasguest artist Tickets are$13-$20. Visit lsu. edu/cmda/index.php.

NASA camp at LASM Registration is open for the Louisiana Art& Science Museum’s NASAAstroCamp for students in the ﬁfth through eighth grades set forJuly 8-10 at the museum, 100 S. River Road. Cost is $325. A$75 nonrefundable deposit due at booking. Visit lasm.org.

‘The Ugly Duckling’ The Manship Theatrewill host LightwireTheatre’s“The Ugly Duckling” at 2 p.m. April 19 at the Magnolia Theatreon Baton Rouge Community College’s Mid City campus. This special presentation marks an expansion of Manship Theatre’s family programming into the Mid City community,offering

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’s ShellGallery will open “A Refugee’s Origin by K.T.Ho”onApril 27 at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center, 233 St.Ferdinand St. The showruns through May29, andthere will be a reception at 6p.m. May1 The showisamixed media exhibit exploring Vietnamese Diaspora, colonial legacy and survival. Admission is free. Visit artsbr. org/shell-gallery ‘MadamaButterfly’

Tickets areonsale for Opera Louisiane’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s grandopera, “MadamaButterﬂy”at7 p.m. April 11 in the RaisingCanes River Center PerformingArts Theater, 240 St. LouisSt.

Tickets are$20-$150. Visit operalouisiane.com/madamabutterﬂy

At LSUTheatre

Tickets areonsale for LSU Theatre’s production of “The Play That GoesWrong,”opening April 17, in the Reilly Theatre, TowerDriveoncampus.

Tickets are$9-$22. Opening night is preceded by apaywhat-you-can performance on Apri. 16.Visit calendar. lsu.edu/event/the-play-thatgoes-wrong

At BatonRouge Ballet

Tickets areonsale for Baton Rouge BalletTheatre’s production of “Rapunzel: A Storybook Ballet”onApril 17-18 at theRaising Cane’s River Center PerformingArts Theater, 240 St. LouisSt.

Tickets are$50-$77. Visit brbt. org.

Symphony at L’Auberge

Tickets areonsale for the Baton RougeSymphony Orchestra’s concert, “SymphonyNight at L’Auberge” at 7:30 p.m. April 16, featuring violinist RisaHokamura at the L’Auberge Casino &Hotel Casino,777 L’Auberge Drive.

Tickets are$25-$80. Visit brso org.

In West BatonRouge

The West Baton RougeMuseum will open “Tea Party Hats: The Louise Fertitta Collection” on April11and showing in conjunction with “Finding Alice: ArtistsExploring Wonderland featuring Abelardo Morell.” Visit westbatonrougemuseum.org.

At LASM

The Louisiana Art&Science Museum, 100 S. River Road, is showing “Then, and Now, and Always: The Art of Nick Bustamante,”through July19 in its SoupConGallery. Visit lasm.org.

At theOld Capitol

The exhibit, “Japanese WarBrides: Across AWide Divide,”opens on March 24 and runs through June 13, exploringthe story of more than 45,000 Japanese women who immigrated to the United States after WorldWar II and howtheir bold passage reshaped communities across the country.And the museum will host its annual Easter Egg Roll from 1p.m.to4 p.m. on March 28

Admission is free to all events. Visit louisianaoldstatecapitol.org

At NuNu

Tickets areonsale for a performance by Madeleine

HOLLYWOOD SOUTH

‘Spotlight’directorfilming movieabout climatechange

Star-laden,big-budget flicktackles complicatedissue

Shooting has wrapped inNew Orleansthis week on anew untitled TomMcCarthy (“Spotlight”) ﬁlm, with astellar cast anda serious theme.

It stars Paul Rudd, Evan Peters, Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, John Turturro, Jason Clarke and Tatiana Maslany,among a very large ensemble cast. It tackles the thorny topic of climate change.

Leslie Cardé

The screenplay was adapted from the powerful work of nonﬁction, “Losing Earth,” from author Nathaniel Rich, which explores the unsettling question: What if we understood climate change decades ago, and failed to act?

Rich suggests that the 1980s may have been the last realistic moment for relatively easy intervention.

The movie focuses on 1979, when agroup of top scientists and policymakers met in Florida under the sponsorship of the American Petroleum Institute, backwhen the oil industry was activelyengaging with the prospect of climate change and what the repercussions might be. They and Congress were interested in knowing how to mitigate some of the prospective fallout

When New Orleans actor Michael Cerveris was asked to read for arole in this new ﬁlm,hewas already familiarwith the original New York Times Magazine article about this meeting at acritical point in time, and knew of Rich’s book, but had not yet read it. Cerveris, atwo-time Tony Award and Grammy Award winner,moved to New Orleansfrom New York in 2012 after becoming enamored with the citywhile shooting the 2007 ﬁlm “Cirque du Freak: The Mexican” andlater

the TV series “Treme.” More recently,he’sbeen apart of such prestigiousproductionsas“The Gilded Age” and “Mindhunter.”

At the time this particular castingwas being done for the McCarthy ﬁlm, which would be shootinginNew Orleans, Cerveriswas just ﬁnishing up atheatrical production in New York.

“I had taken my 1999 Jeep Cherokee up to New York with me while Iwas working there, andsince Ilike to takelong road trips, Ithought I’d pile into the carwith my dogand drive back to New Orleanswhile listening to

‘LostEarth’ as an audiobook,” explained Cerveris. “It’s afantastic book which takes complicated scientiﬁc, political and legal issues and weaves them together in a way that makes it compelling and human. It’s an important book and agood read, but as Iwas heading southinmygas-guzzling SUV,I was feeling abit guilty.”

“Losing Earth” reads like apolitical thriller instead of atechnical climate science book, while much of themovie has scenes from theactual meeting which

took place in Florida, with actors reading lines that were straight from theconference transcripts at the beachside resort. There, 20 experts gathered to discuss atopic that was starting to gain traction —the effects of CO2 emissions on the climate. Scientists,activists and policymakers were given one simple mandate from Congress to write astatementdetailing what to do about an impending and compelling problem.All of their ﬁndings would be given to the Clean Air Commission.

“The dialogue is often verbatim from the transcripts of that meeting, so we’re representing exactly what was said by these people,” Cerveris said. “But in real life, peopledon’talways talk in full, complete sentences, like you would see on amovie script. So, it was really interesting forall of us to kind of ﬁnd our waysinto those kinds of roundabout sentences, but it wasactually agreat clue into the thought processes of these individuals. It’s not just about the climate details, but the difﬁculties of trying to get 24 people with varying perspectives and varying backgrounds to come to aconsensus.” Cerveris noted he was already

familiar with about half the cast of the McCarthy ﬁlm,having crossed paths with both Rudd and Turturro from the NewYork theater scene, and having worked with Giamatti on the hit Showtimeseries “Billions.” Cerveris plays scientist and environmental lawyer Edward Strohbehn in this ﬁlm,who has degrees from Yale University.Serendipitous, because Cerveris himself graduated from Yale’stheater program Strohbehn was one of the founders of the National Resources Defense Council and executive director of the Council on Environmental Quality under Jimmy Carter.The entire event takes place on the Halloween weekend, just before Ronald Reagan was elected.

Shooting of the ﬁlm began brieﬂy in New York, spent the past fewweeks in NewOrleans, and moves on next weektoSt. Petersburg, Florida, forexteriors, since the actual conference took place at The DonCesar Hotel, knownasThe Pink Palace, in St. Pete Beach.

The film wraps mid-April. But Cerveris, as well as mostofthe cast, has already finished their portions of the film

The actor and musician, whois also part of the New Orleans band Loose Cattle, is now working on his next gig, playing at Jazz Fest at the end of this month.

As for this ﬁlm, whose release is yettobedetermined, it illuminatesa point in time when knowledge of the issue wasnot the problem, because the energy industry waswellaware of the risks.

But, instead of leading to aggressive policychanges, the momentum faded in the 1980s, due to concerns aboutregulating fossil fuels, andemerging oppositioncampaigns which cast doubt on the science— doubts which still lingerincertain circles, today.

Contact Leslie Cardé at lesliecardejournalist@gmail. com.

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.



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.

Previous dental work canwearout

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

Rudd Peters Ryan Giamatti

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

Shooting of the film ‘Lost Earth,’a screenplayadaptedfrom the work of author Nathaniel Rich, wrappedup recentlyafter spending the past fewweeks in NewOrleans.

PHOTO By XANTHE ELBRICK

ActorMichael Cerveris

DJ JOHNSON, founder

PLOT TWIST

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

On aSaturday in late January,hundreds of people gathered to sipbrandymilk punchand share stories at adaylong retirement party at Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans’Carrolltonneighborhood.

Theguest of honor was acat named Kitty Meow,who had greeted the bookstore’s customers for 17 years but was now going to spend quieter days in aseparate ofﬁce down the street

The huge turnout for theevent and robust sales of Kitty Meow-themed merch demonstrated theloyal community Blue Cypress owner Elizabeth Ahlquistand her team have builtsince launchingthe used and new bookstore in 2008.

“Itwas oursecond-biggest grossing day ever,” Ahlquist said in aphone interview recently.“People arecrazy,and they love

theweird events we have.” She’snot the only Louisiana bookseller to make that observation.

Afew decades ago, independent shops catering to the literary crowd looked like they were in trouble,asonline retailers andbig-boxstores threatened to pull the well-worn rugs outfrom under their dusty bookshelves by offering convenience and lowprices

But today,independent bookstores are doing better than ever.Between 2020 and 2025, the numberofshops in the United States grew by astaggering 70%, according to data from the American Booksellers Association. More than 400 stores opened last year alone. In Louisiana,bookstore owners say the key to the turnaround has been theirabilitytobuild loyalcommunitiesbyhosting awide variety of events, curating unique collectionsofbooks and making welcoming places for people to connect andshare ä See BOOKSTORES, page 2E

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staff writer

New houses are rising. Restaurants are opening. Vacation rentals are busy

It’saportrait of surginggrowth in theGulfCoastcityof Waveland, Mississippi.

“It’spicked up like crazy,” said Lisa Johnson, ashort-term rental owner in Waveland who gets new bookings almost every day.“It’s just going bonkers.” The city of around 7,000 people is experiencing an economic development boon as morenewcomers seek alaid-back,less crowded and often cheaper alternative to neighboring BaySt.

Louis. It is also asign of growth across theGulfCoast,wherevisitors from Louisiana andaround the South are scrambling to buy some of the last affordable beach homesinthe country. Waveland, destroyedbyHurricane Katrina, has been steadily gaining recognition in recent years for its small-town charm and family-oriented culture. Its

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD Realestate agents in Waveland, Miss.,are seeing high demand and saythat beachfront properties are sellingwithin aday

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

bookshopsinthe United States,where between 2020 and

BooksellersAssociation.

PROVIDED PHOTO

held in Januaryfor Kitty

whospent 17 years greeting customers of Blue Cypress Books in NewOrleans.

South Louisiana businesses and nonprofit groups recently announced the following promotions, new hires and resignations Baton Rouge

Kristi Crump has been promoted to chief commercial officer and senior vice president of brand, retail and e-commerce for Commu ni ty Coffee. Crump previously held senior roles at TikTok and spent more than a decade working at Amazon.

Buzzy Anding, a Baton Rouge attorney, has been elected to the board of the Louisiana Methodist Children’s Homes, which provides three residential care campuses.

Anding is a former chancellor of the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church and the former president of the United Methodist Church Conference Chancellors Association

Dr David Carmouche, chief medical and commercial ofﬁcer at Lumeris has been named to the Healthcare Advisory Com-

BOOKSTORES

Continued from page 1E

ideas. That means bookstores aren’t just bookstores anymore: They’re often blended with cafes, bars, podcast spaces and more.

“Bookshops have become cultural infrastructure,” said DJ Johnson, founder of Baldwin & Co., which debuted ﬁve years ago in New Orleans. “A city without one is a city that stops thinking.”

Growing indie scene

In Louisiana, bookstores that opened in 2025 include TBR Books & Tea in Baton Rouge, Magnolia Books in Jena and Book Club & Co., a romance-only shop combined with a bakery, in Lafayette. Hemingway House of Stories and Spirits — a used bookstore combined with a coffee shop and bar opened earlier this year in Pineville.

These newcomers join more than two dozen existing Louisiana stores, some of which are growing. In Uptown New Orleans, Blue Cypress and nearby Octavia Books have both doubled in size this decade. The Garden District Book Shop, acquired by new owners ﬁve years ago, has a new footprint. And Denham Springs-based Cavalier House Books opened a second location in 2024 in Lafayette.

“Our membership is double what it was four years ago,” said Linda-Marie Barrett, executive director of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, which serves Louisiana and 10 other states. “And we’re seeing bookstores opening in new ways, as pop-ups, bookmobiles and nonprofits. They’re becoming that ‘third place’ outside of home and work for people to gather.” Some of Louisiana’s booksellers are reporting brisk sales. Barkley Rafferty said revenue at the Garden District Book Shop has grown each year since she partnered to buy it in 2021. Garner Robinson, co-owner of Faulkner House Books in the French Quarter, said his small shop just had its best March ever And John Cavalier, co-owner of Cavalier House Books, said ﬁrstquarter sales at both of his locations were up considerably from the previous year

Creating customers

Baldwin & Co. has become one of New Orleans’ most high-proﬁle bookstores, partnering to be one of the ofﬁcial vendors at the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University each March. Johnson, the shop’s owner, said the store’s talk series featuring some of the nation’s biggest authors is a big reason why An off-site event in

New Orleans

mittee. The new federal committee which will advise U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on care delivery and ﬁnancing.

Clarke Chauvin has been named the intelligence transportation systems practice lead for Neel-Schaffer Based in the Baton Rouge office of the Jackson, Mississippi-based engineering and construction management ﬁrm, Chauvin has previously delivered projects for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Alabama Department of Transportation.

Regan Nelson has been named director of marketing and public relations for Off The Hook Restaurants. A New Orleans native, Nelson spent summers and holidays working at Elmer Chocolate, her family’s 170-year-old business, while growing up.

Steve Beiser has joined Gordon Arata as a member Beiser, who spent four decades practicing employment law at McGlinchey, joins Gordon Arata’s labor and employment team

Layne Court has been promoted to millwork business leader for Woodward Millwork Group. Court previously led complex preconstruction efforts for Woodward.

MeghanDonelon has rejoined First Horizon Bank’s New Orleans commercial banking team as a commercial banking group manager

She returns to First Horizon after working as New Orleans market president for Red River Bank for the past ﬁve years.

Errika Moore has been hired as the first chief external affairs officer for Camelback Ventures. Moore was previously the executive director of the National STEM Funders Network, which aimed to support more equitable educational pathways for careers in fields involving science, technology, engineering and math.

Megan McNeill has been hired as the Bureau of Governmental Research’s ﬁrst director of communications and engagement. McNeill previously worked as brand strategy director for The Vault Collective.

BGR also named three new board members: Ben Billings, the chief strategy officer of Civix Consulting Group; Bob Brickman, a partner with the national accounting and consulting firm EisnerAmper; and Merrick Sloss, the president of the IT service provider Bellwether Technology

Nicholas Wehlen has joined Baker Donelson as of counsel. Wehlen has experience in cases involving allegations of unfair trade practices, breach of contract and fraud and has represented

Cavalier House Books, which hosts hosts many author talks and other events at its Denham Springs store, opened a second location in 2024 in Lafayette. Co-owner John Cavalier says first-quarter sales at both stores were up considerably from the previous year

2024 featuring author Ta-Nehisi

Coates attracted more than 3,000 attendees and led to the sale of thousands of books.

Octavia Books also hosts talks that bring regular customers into its newly expanded space, as does

Garden District Book Shop.

In addition to author talks, shops statewide also welcome book groups and other special events, like the TBR Books “audio book walks,” which see participants popping in earbuds for a neighborhood stroll.

Sometimes, bookstores team up to produce events: A few weeks ago, more than a dozen regional owners gathered at Octavia Books to brainstorm ideas for this year’s Independent Bookstore Day, scheduled for April 25. New Orleans book lovers will be able to pick up “passports” at any of the participating stores, then get them stamped at multiple locations to compete for prizes.

Cavalier said every event is a chance to build business over the long term. “We’ve hosted events that were a ﬂop ﬁnancially, but there was a

school librarian in the audience, so we got a $10,000 book fair out of it,” he said.

Sip and read

Independent bookstores also have added food and beverage options, and other perks, to cultivate drop-ins even when there’s nothing in particular going on.

On a recent weekday afternoon at Garden District Book Shop, a family was playing a game near the bar The adults were holding cocktails while kids slurped on juice boxes. Nearby, a mother and daughter were hanging out after ballet class while a group of women set up a mahjong board.

Rafferty said she and her business partner, Carroll Gelderman, encourage drop-in visitors to their portion of a high-end retail space serving a mix of locals and tourists in one of the city’s historic neighborhoods.

A few miles upriver, Octavia Books is connected to Cafe Malou, which opened last year, by special bookcases that can open and close.

“People visit the store while waiting for a table, and then it’s hard to pass up a book,” bookstore owner Tom Lowenberg said.

Baldwin & Co. also has a brisk food and beverage business, and it is home to a podcast studio and four-bedroom short-term rental that attracts writers looking for a space to work.

‘People like to see themselves’

In addition to events and amenities, independent bookstore owners say a carefully curated collection — selected by people, not algorithms — is a key to their business models.

“You need to have good staff that can talk about books,” said Lowenburg, who opened Octavia Books 26 years ago when independent stores were “dropping like ﬂies.”

Part of the trick to curating is to focus on local topics, owners say Cavalier and his wife, Michelle, launched their own distribution business, Looziana Book Co., in 2018 to sell books from regional publishers to retailers.

Now, in their dual roles as retailers and distributors, the Cavaliers look for promising new titles from local authors that they can help turn into regional hits. They set up events at libraries, civic organizations, book clubs and anywhere they can connect with interested readers.

Jordan LaHaye Fontenot’s 2025 release, “Home of the Happy,” an investigative memoir about a family tragedy is one success story

“It would have been a bestseller no matter what,” Cavalier said.

“But the type of events everybody lined up helped turn it into a grand slam home run.”

Finding big sellers is important for the Cavaliers and their industry peers, who remain small businesses facing thin margins and rising costs while maintaining ever-changing inventory

Jamie Freeman, owner of TBR, first stocked her store last year by ordering more than 7,000 books from Ingram, the industry’s dominant distributor Now, after a good first year, she’s focused on figuring out what to buy when new titles are released every Tuesday

Said Freeman: “I love putting the right books in people’s hands.”

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

professionals in licensing, malpractice and ethical issues.

Ryan Templet has joined Adams & Reese as a government relations adviser in the law ﬁrm’s intersection of business and government practice. Templet spent five years as a legislative staffer in the Louisiana Senate.

Acadiana

Sen. Brach Myers has joined Oceans Healthcare as vice president of corporate development. He will be based in Lafayette and help lead the company’s partnerships with hospitals and health systems. Myers, a Republican representing District 23 in the Louisiana Senate, previously worked for LHC Group as a senior vice president.

Bryan Maggard, in his 10th year as vice president for intercollegiate athletics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, has been appointed to a three-year term on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.

Do you have personnel changes to share? Email us at biztips@theadvocate.com.

BEACH

Continued from page 1E

Driving growth

Leaders say opportunities for growth are increasing in Waveland, especially as Bay St. Louis gets more crowded.

“Everything kind of went nuts in Bay St. Louis, but they’re landlocked — there’s not very far they can go other than what they’ve got,” said Rhonda AimeGamble, who serves on Waveland’s Board of Aldermen. “In Waveland, we’re not surrounded like Bay St. Louis is.”

Waveland’s new four-story hotel on U.S. 90 will be a dual concept property that includes Marriott’s Fairﬁeld and TownePlace Suites. Its announcement two years ago followed news of other U.S. 90 developments, including Express Oil Change and Harbor Freight, a hardware store chain.

County leaders are pushing for more development on the highway, a commercial corridor between Waveland and Bay St. Louis. Popular coffee chain 7 Brew opened there last year New dining and fast-food franchises also want to open in the area, according to Blaine LaFontaine, executive director of the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission, the area’s economic development authority “There’s demand there,” he said.

Despite the growth, Waveland’s beachfront will remain unique: The city prohibits commercial buildings on its beaches, meaning sandy shores will remain free of bars, restaurants and other waterfront businesses that dot the landscape of the Mississippi Coast.

The city’s population is rebounding and has nearly reached its pre-Katrina number Lots that have sat empty since the storm are now ﬁlling with homes under construction. Neighbors hear hammers pounding and power tools running almost every day

Waveland’s average home value is just over $200,000 — a few thousand dollars less than Bay St Louis, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Some families who owned second homes in Waveland for years before Katrina are finally buying in the city again. Many come from Baton Rouge, Mandeville and Covington.

“Now they’re trying to rebuild memories with their families,” said Holly Lemoine-Raymond, a real estate broker

The city is still quiet. It has about 85 registered short-term rental properties, according to the mayor But leaders created a new rule a few years ago that prohibits the number of shortterm rental permits from exceeding 5% of the city’s homes. Still, new visitors are arriving from around the country Johnson, the short-term rental owner, said tourists from New Orleans, northern Mississippi and even Chicago have booked her home.

“It’s taken us a long time, but we’re doing well,” Aime-Gamble, the city alderman, said.

“This is the time to come to Waveland,” she added. “It’s a bargain right now.”

Crump Chauvin

Court Beiser Templet

Donelon

PROVIDED PHOTO

Jamie Freeman opened TBR Books & Tea last year in Baton Rouge after attending a reader’s retreat and realizing how much she loved being a part of a community built around reading

PROVIDED PHOTO

The Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans unveiled Bar Epilogue, serving literary-themed drinks, in 2024.

PROVIDED PHOTO

BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor

It was about a decade ago when James Palmer took his experience in circuit board design and ventured out on his own.

Palmer heads up Lafayettebased Pelican Engineering, which engineers and manufactures circuit boards. Pelican is the only contract manufacturer for circuit boards in Louisiana, he said. Being the only company in Louisiana to do this work is a badge of honor of sorts, he said.

“Historically, it’s not something that’s been easy to get into, but I think we’ve shown there’s a demand for it. We’ve got clients all the way up to California and New York and a lot in Texas,” Palmer said. With 45 employees and clients scattered around the country the company is poised to grow after it bought an 80,000-square-foot building last month.

In the world of circuit board manufacturing, Palmer said Pelican is still on the boutique side. The client base has grown 30% to 40% a year and the company could add at least ﬁve more employees this year, he said.

In this week’s edition of Talking Business, Palmer talks about his company’s move to its new headquarters, how it fared when tariffs spiked prices on its equipment and how a merger with another local company set it on a path for growth.

This interview has been edited for clarity Let’s start with the present.You bought the old Top’s Appliances & Cabinetry building for $4.4 million How does this building meet your company’s needs?

I’ve always kept an eye on real estate as we started ﬁlling up our (previous) Banks Avenue location We started getting more and more manufacturing contracts, and that

TALKING BUSINESS

ASK THE EXPERTS

takes up quite a bit of space. Those machines are not small.

Originally, I saw this building for sale a long time ago and we weren’t in a position to buy it. We got a lease on it and eventually were able to buy it. This should hold us for quite a while. I’m a fan of having a little bit extra space for whatever possibilities are going to come up.

Did it take you a long time to find a building of this size available in Lafayette?

I had been watching probably for a couple of years I watched the Sears building go up for sale, and that went for crazy cheap. There’s really not a lot of (buildings) greater than 50,000, 60,000 square feet. This one had a combination of a few things that were good: a big

open warehouse for production and a nice storefront for our engineering space. It’s a good combination for both sides of our company

Walk me back through how you started the company in 2015. I started my career working as a contractor for the Air Force Research Laboratory I did electronic warfare design for about a decade. Then I started the company, and it was just me and a laptop. An engineer for hire. I’ve been doing circuit board design for all my career, really I joke with people that I’m a onetrick pony circuit board design. But if you have to have a single trick, it’s not a bad trick. How did the business take off for you?

Little by little. I hired an intern and a full-time engineer, and then slowly some customers were like, “We don’t want you just to design it. How about you build a single prototype for us?” I knew how to do that. I did it by hand with microscope and tweezers. I was a lot younger then and my hands were a little bit steadier

Fast-forward a year or two, and they were like “How about you do five prototypes for us? And how about you do a preproduction run for us?” And it’s now, “How about you be our supplier for these things permanently?”

How have you been able to build a customer base? With clients based across the country, what’s been your niche against

these bigger companies?

For (some) customers, because we designed the board, we have design authority We know everything about it. If a substitute part needs to happen, we inform the customer and take it upon ourselves, ﬁx it for them and keep them moving. With other contract manufacturers, as soon as that component goes out of stock, they hand it back to the customer and say, “We can’t build this.”

This came in really handy during COVID with the chip shortage. We did processor redesign for about a half-dozen customers, and it kept them moving. Their competitors were 18-24 months before their product could be back on the shelf. That’s the beneﬁt of having your manufacturing team and your engineering team under one roof.

How did the tariffs from theTrump administration affect your bottom line?

Early on, tariffs were a big deal.

We’ve had to change some of the ways we do manufacturing because of the volatility of the tariffs.

From the time you get a PO (purchase

Palmer,

AROUND THE REGION

50 Cent, Planet Hollywood eye Shreveport project

BY LIZ SWAINE Staff writer

Rap mogul Curtis “50 Cent”

Jackson signed a $100 million deal with Planet Hollywood, expected to bring a next-generation entertainment venue to Shreveport

Jackson will launch PH Live, an entertainment venue set to open at Planet Hollywood’s flagship Times Square location.

The concept is “expected to expand into additional markets, including Shreveport,” where Jackson is building a major ﬁlm and television production hub, according to a news release.

Amanda K. Ruisi, the president of AKR Public Relations in New York City, said there will be a Shreveport connection to the project.

Jackson signed the contract with Robert Earl, the founder, owner and chair of Planet Hollywood International. Jackson recently completed a residency at the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood.

Jackson also partnered on the 50 Cent Candy Shop Bar at the Las Vegas resort. The venture is Jackson’s ﬁrst major restaurant and entertainment partnership, the news release said.

PH Live in Times Square will create “a new destination for celebrity-driven entertainment experiences in the heart of New York City.”

“This is about creating the ultimate entertainment destination,” said Jackson. “Planet Hollywood has always been connected to pop culture, and PH Live takes that energy to the next level, a place where music, film, sports and nightlife collide.”

The Times Square venue is expected to host events such as popup music performances, ﬁlm and

his portfolio of downtown Shreveport properties. The cumulative total of the 13 purchases is more than $4.6 million.

television premiere parties live sports simulcasts, VIP private events and corporate gatherings, bachelor and bachelorette parties and birthday celebrations.

In addition to the events at the venue, Jackson will also curate some of the menu items at PH Live and will loan personal memorabilia to the PH collection. Louisiana and G-Unit Film & Television LLC signed a 62-page Cooperative Endeavor Agreement in January guaranteeing a $50 million state incentive for the development of Jackson’s G-Unit Studio, the G-Dome entertainment facility and for the former Stageworks. In the agreement, Louisiana Economic Development states

that G-Unit and its afﬁliates have purchased a number of buildings in downtown Shreveport, “among other things,” and have already spent “approximately $10,000,000 as a capital investment in the project.”

Since announcing his plans in 2023-24 for the revival of Millennium Studios as G-Unit Studios, Jackson has been adding to his portfolio of downtown properties. The cumulative total of the 13 purchases is more than $4.6 million.

To date, G-Unit has purchased 13 individual properties downtown.

In addition to the purchased properties, Jackson and G-Unit have entered into long-term leases with the city of Shreveport for Millennium Studios and the former Stageworks/Expo Hall.

As of March 3, Shreveport City Attorney Marcus Edwards said no permits had been pulled for renovations to any of the properties.

The clock is ticking on the $50 million promised as an incentive to 50 Cent/G-Unit by Louisiana

In the signed cooperative endeavor agreement, promises were made on when production and events at G-Unit Studios, the G-

Dome and G-Stage would need to start. Productions must begin this year

During that ﬁve-year period, GUnit has agreed to at least 24 productions that will carry a cumulative production budget of $420 million and 26 live performances at the G-Dome. The money part of a performance-based site development award, can be clawed back if speciﬁc performance and hiring promises are not met.

Email Liz Swaine at liz. swaine@theadvocate.com.

Beyond isn’taplace —it’samindset. Andit’sabeliefthathas poweredusfor over80years We areJones Walker LLP,a ﬁrmdrivenbyanentrepreneurial spirit,adeepsenseofcommunity,and aﬁerce determination to deliverexceptional serviceand valuefor our clients.

Since1937, ourﬁrm hasbeencommitted to workingwithcommunityleaders to develop business opportunitiesacrossthe state. We aresteadfast in continuing ourdedicationtogobeyondinadvising clientsand supportinginitiatives andorganizations that make Louisiana abetterplace to live andwork

Whatstartedasaresponsetoalocalchallengeis nowindemandbeyondourcoastline.It’swhat happenswhenLouisianaknow-howisrecognized andgivenroomtogrow

Fromuniversitiesandpractitionerswithworld-class expertisetostart-upacceleratorsandinvestorsfueling what’snext,Louisiana’sinnovationecosystemishere tohelpturnlocalinstinctintoglobalsolutions

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GenXersare facing anew eraofeconomicinstability

RetirementSecurity

relevant.I’ve chosen “Retirement

Financial fear is auniversallanguage right now

These days, Ioften get stopped in the supermarket aisles, after aworkout or at church.

From young adults to retirees, the faces change butthe questions remain the same.

People arewondering if they should prepare for amarket crash as the conﬂict with Iran worsens. Anxious savers question whether it’s time to withdraw theirmoney from the bank and keep it at home. Families are concerned about whether Social Security will still be therefor them or whether the Trump administration will drastically alter the beneﬁts they have spent alifetime earning.

These aren’tsimply nervous ramblings. They are the logical reactions of folks watching the price at the pump rise while the Strait of Hormuz remains largely impassable.

It’sprecisely this climate of uncertainty that makes this month’s ColorofMoney Book Clubpick so

Fool’sTake: Big brands, big dividend

When acompany is struggling is sometimes (but not always) agreat time to buy its stock That seems to be the case with Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL).

Bites: AGen XGuide to Securing Your Financial Future” by Kerry Hannon and Janna Herron, both seasoned personal finance writers. Thetitle is awink at “Reality Bites,”the 1994 film that defined GenX’s early struggletofind its footinginthe adult world. They arenow facing theangst of retirement.

Gen Xers (theyoungest turning 46 this year,the oldest 61) are a financially strained group. With pensions disappearing, persistent inflation concerns,rising health care costs, lingering student loan debt and awar of choice hitting the stockmarkethard,they are justified in worrying about retirement security.

Here are somesobering numbers about this generation,accordingtothe authors’ research:

n Aquarter of Gen Xers don’t have aretirement account. “When looking at medianretirement savings levels for Generation X, the bottom half of earners have only afew thousand dollars saved for retirement,and the typical household has only $40,000 in retirement savings,”according to a2023 report from the National Institute on

n Themajority of the 64 million born between 1965 and1980 expecttopostponetheir retirement.

n They carry the most in averagecreditcard debt ($9,600 in 2025, accordingtoExperian). And they had the highest averagestudent loan balance, owing $44,240 in 2024, accordingtoareport by the Education Data Initiative.

n Two-thirdsare living paycheck to paycheck.

“But we’re here to say it’snot time to give up,” the authors write.

Feel what you must, but then it’s important that youmanagewhat youcan,theyencourage.

“Our ultimate goal is to get you where you can visualize acomfortable retirement—evenasnew challenges may arise —but not be overwhelmed by the steps you needtotake to getthere.”

Youcan’t control global oil prices or geopolitical tensions, but you can control your response to them.

One way to handleﬁnancialuncertainty is to arm yourself with information. This isn’tleisure reading, but it’sablueprint for aroad outof the economic anxiety

Hannon and Herron don’tstart with spreadsheets; they start with

your head. It’sa necessary beginning, because your attitude can stall even the best-laid plans. This journey begins with this question: What’s your ﬁnancial backstory?

Thinkbacktoyourchildhood

Did you grow up in ahousehold where ﬁghtsabout money were so common thatnow youavoid conversations aboutitatall costs?

Were yousooverindulgedasa child that youconnect your selfworth to the stuff youown?

Theauthorsencourage youto journal about howyourmemories of money affect your ﬁnancial habits.

Ihavelongbelievedinexploring the connection between your history andyour ﬁnancialhabits or the emotional triggers thatcan prevent better money management.

If yougrewupina household where money wasa sourceof trauma, you might ﬁnd yourself as an adulteitherobsessively hoardingcash outoffear or impulsively spending to compensate forpast deprivation. Youcan’t maintain the disciplineneeded fora 20- or 30yearretirement planifyou haven’t identiﬁed the money scripts you inherited.

Looking back,you can gain the clarity to distinguish between needsand wants, askill thatbecomes vitalwhenyou eventually switchtoliving on afixedincome. Hannonand Herronrecognize thatyou can’t build astable retirement on afragile emotional foundation. Before examining the numbers, youmust look in the mirrorand admit thatthe child you once were oftenmakes the adult’s financialchoices Oncethe emotionalground is cleared,the authors pivottothe traditionalterrain of personalfinance. Theycover awide range of topics, fromcreating anet worth statement to understanding your 401(k), the realitiesofworking longer, optimizing Social Security,and navigating the maze of Medicare andhealth carecosts, allwhile balancing myriad otherfinancial priorities.

Hannonand Herrondon’t promise amiracleﬁnancialﬁx, but they offerpractical advicetothe biting reality of ourcurrent economy without having to cover your eyes Email Michelle Singletary at michelle.singletary@washpost com.

Then we

The drop of around 23% in its stock price over the past year has pushed up its dividend yield to arecent 5.1%

Struggling companies sometimes reduce their dividends, but Hormel has been paying dividendsfor 390 consecutive quarters, since it went public in 1928, and it has increased its payout for 60 years in arow

On top of that, The Hormel Foundation controls roughly47% of the company’sstock, usingthe dividends it collects from Hormel Foods to further its philanthropic efforts.Sothat dividend is not very negotiable. Hormel’sportfolio of branded

food products hasn’tbeen ﬁring on all cylinders lately but is still powerful, with names such as Applegate, Dinty Moore, Jennie-O, Planters, Skippy and Spam.Hormel’s brands hold the No. 1orNo. 2 position for market share in more than 40 categories. Its relatively inexpensive foods are alsoitems consumers will turn to during difﬁculteconomic times, and this can bolsterthe stockduring downturns that affect therest of the market. Hormel has brought back former CEO Jeffrey M. Ettinger as its new interim CEO in hopesofturning its fortunes around.

Fool’sSchool: Smart

401(k)moves, mistakes

Most of us woulddowell to participate in 401(k) plans that our employers offer n Manyemployers will chip in matching funds to your account, so contribute at least enough to your plantograb allavailablematching dollars.Ifyour company matches

50% of your contributions up to 6% of your salary, be sure to qualify for themaximum match —that’s free money n It’soften good to contribute much moretoyour account, though. For 2026, themaximum 401(k) contribution is $24,500. Those aged 50 and older can make an extra $8,000 “catch-up” contribution. If you could contribute $20,000 to your account annually and it grows at 8%, you could amass more than $915,000 over 20 years.

n Be sure to invest your contributions effectively.Many plans will plunk your dollarsinextrasafe, low-return investmentsby default.Consider broad stock funds, such as an S&P500 index fund, for much of your longtermmoney.(Check out thefees charged, though, so you can avoid steep ones. Under 1% is OK, and under 0.50% is even better.)

n Don’tborrow from your 401(k) if you can help it —any money removed won’t be growing for you,

possibly for years. Also, it can be hard to pay back 401(k) loans on time, resulting in taxes due and penalties charged.

n Don’tcash out when you change jobs, either.Instead, roll your account into a401(k) account with your new employer,orinto an IRA. That will let your accumulated funds keep growing for you. (Read up on the rules so you do this correctly.)

n Be sure to designate one or morebeneﬁciaries for your account to avoid probate and perhaps reduce thetax bill. It’ssmart to review these designations every few years. Learn more about 401(k) accounts and retirement tips at fool. com/retirement.

My Dumbest Investment: Ilost faith

Ibought 100 shares of theRoyal Caribbean cruise line in 2008 at $8 per share. Iwas happy,getting dividends and abenefitfor owning 100 shares when sailing on one of itsships.

Accountabilitycertified: Louisiana’s most scrutinizedfishery justgot recertified sustainable. Here’swhatthe science actually shows.

The Gulf menhadenﬁshery has passed theworld’smostrigorous ﬁsheries audit –again.

Thisarticle is brought to youby theLouisiana Commercial FisheriesCoalition,LLC

he Gulf menhaden

Tfishery has earned its first recertification from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) –the world’s leading certification body for sustainable fisheries –reaffirming its environmental performance and science-based management following arigorous,multi-year independentaudit

The MSCisthe world’sleading certification body forsustainable fisheries,and the 2026 recertification provides thirdpartyverification that the fishery continues to meet the highest standards forsustainability, ecosystemhealth, and effective management. MSCcertifications arevalid forfive years, with annual surveillance audits to ensureongoing compliance. Afull recertification –including public commentand the opportunity forobjections –isrequired every fiveyears. The fishery wasfirst certified in 2019

The MSCprocessis exhaustive, examining every dimension of the ﬁshery’s performance: stock health, bycatchrates, environmental impacts,and regulatory oversight. Fisheries must meet strict scoring thresholds acrossall categories with anydeﬁciencies requiring time-bound correctiveaction.

The Marine Stewardship Council is an independent, international nonprofit organization thatsets the world’s leading standardfor sustainable fishing. Its certification program is science-based, globally recognized, and relies on thirdpartyauditors, transparent public input,and continuous monitoring to ensurefisheries meet the highest benchmarksfor environmental performanceand accountability.

The Gulf menhaden fishery successfully addressedall conditional scores from its first certification, demonstrating continuous,measurable improvement.

“Achieving recertification against the MSCFisheries Standardreflects strong, ongoing stewardship of the resource, including careful monitoring and aclear focus on simultaneously maintaining healthymenhaden populations and protecting the marine ecosystem,”said Marin Hawk, Senior Manager Fishery Partnerships,U.S.atthe Marine Stewardship Council. “MSCcertification is alongterm commitmentrequiring continuous improvementand accountability, and the Gulf menhaden fishery’s performance underscores its dedication to sustainable practices.We commend the fishery and all those involved forhelping to safeguard the long-term sustainabilityof this importantfishery.”

Menhaden aresmall, nutrientrich fish found in abundance along the Gulf Coast and play an importantrole in both the marine ecosystemand Louisiana’s economy. Harvested using purse seine nets,the species is processedintofishmeal and fish oil –essential inputs for aquaculture, U.S. pet food, livestock feed, and human nutrition –valued fortheir high omega-3 content

“This recertification is independent, rigorous,and grounded in science –itconfirms thatour fishery operates responsibly and sustainably,” said Francois Kuttel, Presidentand Principal Owner of Westbank Fishing. “Every step we take, from modernized nets to management and reporting practices,is

independently verified and publicly accountable, leaving no room fordoubt about the fishery’s sustainabilityorits benefit to Louisiana communities and markets.”

Economic Impact and Importance of Recertiﬁcation

Louisiana’smenhaden industry supports morethan 2,000 jobs and generates approximately $419 million in annual economic impact,and generates$25 million in state and local tax revenue.

The industry alsopurchases morethan $62 million in goods and services from Louisiana businessesacross32parishes

The fishery is poweredbytwo Louisiana-based, U.S.-ownedand-operated companies –Westbank Fishing, headquartered in Empire, and Ocean Harvesters, based in Abbeville. Each works with aprocessing partner –Daybrook Fisheries forWestbank and OmegaProtein forOcean Harvesters–thatreceived the official MSCrecertification certificatesonbehalf of the Gulf menhaden fishery

MSCrecertiﬁcation enhances global market accessfor sustainably sourced products,helping protect Louisiana jobs while ensuring the industry remains competitiveininternational markets increasingly driven by sustainabilitystandards.

Louisiana’s menhaden industry supports more than 2,000 jobs,and generates approximately $419 million in annual economic impact, and generates $25million in stateand local tax revenue.

Science,Management, and Accountability

“This certification is not just about environmental performance –it’sabout the people and communities that depend on this fishery,” said Ben Landry,Vice Presidentof Ocean Harvesters. “Independent verification confirms the Gulf menhaden stockisabundant, alsothe fishery is well-managed, and operates environmentally sustainably,reflecting both the health of the menhaden population and the stewardship of our industry.”

The MSCstandardisbuilt on three coreprinciples: maintaining healthyﬁsh stocks, minimizing environmental impact,and ensuring effective, adaptivemanagementsystems Certiﬁcation requires third-party review, stakeholder engagement, and annual audits to ensure ongoing compliance.

Recentstock assessments and ongoing scientific monitoring consistently showthatGulf menhaden populations remain healthyand arenot subject to overfishing. The fishery is widely recognized forits lowbycatch ratesand efficientharvesting practices

The Gulf menhaden fishery is the most tightly regulatedinthe state,overseen by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Gulf StatesMarine Fisheries Commission, and Louisiana’s wildlifeagencies,ensuring layers of state and federal oversightalready hold the fishery accountable every day, confirming compliance and sustainability. According to the most recent

stock assessment, Gulf menhaden populations arestronger thanat anypointinthe past four decades, with spawning stock biomass morethan tripled since the 1990s Fishing mortalityhas declined to just one-thirdof1990s levels.The Gulf menhaden ﬁshery harvests lessthan2%oftotalbiomass, leaving ample resources in the ecosystemfor predators such as reddrum, speckled trout,and marine mammals

Bycatch Study Reinforces Findings Recertiﬁcation follows the release of landmark, $1 million state-funded bycatchstudy which found the Gulf menhaden

industry accountsfor just 3.4 percentofred drum removals comparedto96.6percent attributed to recreational ﬁshing.

The ﬁndingsunderscorethe Gulf menhaden ﬁshery’s limited ecological impact and adherence to regulatory limits and reinforce thatthe industry’s impact is monitored, measured, and publicly accountable.

LookingAhead The recertiﬁcation comes as globaldemand forsustainable seafood inputs continues to grow particularly in aquacultureand animal nutrition markets

“Our abilitytomaintain this certiﬁcation depends on a

consistentcommitmenttodata, transparency,and responsible management,”said Kuttel. “We’ve shown thatwhen aﬁshery follows strict science-based standards, we candeliver both environmental and economic outcomes –alevel of accountabilitythatnot all user groups areheld to.”

With MSCrecertification secured, the Gulf menhaden fishery continues to serveasa global model forsustainability–supporting healthyecosystems strong coastal communities, and critical U.S. supply chains –with accountability thatisproven, measured, and independently verified.

MADE IN LOUISIANA

Mastery of sex offender registry draws major investment

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

During its more than 25 years in business, Mandeville-based Watch Systems keeps ﬁnding itself in the right place at the right time.

The company began building its ﬂagship software product, OffenderWatch, at a time when internetbased mapping technology and sex offender regulations were both in their infancy Its software is designed to help law enforcement agencies manage the complex mandates of monitoring registered sex offenders, which includes keeping track of offenders, sharing data across thousands of jurisdictions and producing a paper trail of compliance.

“We’re the only company on the planet that does that,” said Watch Systems President Mike Cormaci.

“And it’s because we got lucky with building the original platform.” Today, its clients include 4,000 law enforcement agencies across all 50 states, and it generates more than $10 million in annual revenue and maintains a proprietary database of about a million registered sex offenders.

Now it’s poised for further growth. Last fall, a Silicon Valley private equity firm purchased the company for an undisclosed price and is looking to acquire other businesses in the public safety sector Map tech OffenderWatch’s platform dates back to the 1990s, when Covingtonbased Fuelman, which sold gas cards at a discount for company fleet vehicles, developed its own digital mapping technology to help users find gas stations in its network.

Many of the company’s clients at the time were law enforcement agencies that, Cormaci realized, could use the mapping technology to keep track of sex offenders.

(Many agencies were still storing their records in filing cabinets.) Cormaci, then a sales manager for Fuelman, partnered with Fuelman

CEO Lou Luzynski to spin off a new company

“At first, the internet was so new that I would talk to sheriffs about the internet and they’d say

‘That’s not going to hang in there. Nobody’s going to use email,’” Cormaci said.

For the ﬁrst few years, Luzynski and Cormaci basically worked for free, growing the businesses one law enforcement client at a time with a single developer and three other staffers. About ﬁve years in, things began to snowball, and Cormaci’s sales trips started to get easier

“Once I got to 20-25 accounts in a state, they started to see the beneﬁt of the network,” he said. “Law enforcement is very fraternal, so we could start using them as references.”

In addition to contracts with local police and sheriff’s ofﬁces across all 50 states, Watch Systems also has annual contracts with nearly

two dozen statewide agencies, ranging from less than $100,000 for the smallest territory to $500,000 or more for a larger state. 50 state sex codes

OffenderWatch’s particular advantage comes from its ability to cross-index the codes for sex crimes from one state to another because each state’s laws have their own set of deﬁnitions for sex crimes and rules for those convicted of them. Over the years, it has continuously integrated statespecific requirements and updated its software as laws change.

Any private company looking to compete with the platform would have to spend several years and tens of millions of dollars to build a comparable database and client

list, Cormaci said. Instead, OffenderWatch has to contend with public agencies electing to build their own systems rather than outsourcing them.

“It’s crazy because we don’t have commercial competitors. They’ve come and gone,” Cormaci said.

“We have a very unique business model.”

In addition to state and local clients, the federal government uses OffenderWatch to scan ﬂight manifests for sex offenders and alerts relevant agencies when an offender goes off the grid.

The company has also developed mobile apps leveraging its database.

One helps ofﬁcers update the registry in real time from the ﬁeld. Another allows parents to get alerts when a registered offender attempts to contact

their children. Still another allows offenders themselves to fulfill their statutory registration requirements for a fee of $60 a year

A different but related Watch Systems software product uses the same mapping data developed to determine sex offender rules to calculate precise sales tax obligations. That can result in signiﬁcant savings when it comes to sellers of big-ticket items like car dealerships.

“Ray Brandt came down to shake my hand based on how much money we saved him,” Cormaci said, recalling his last car purchase. Investment, acquisitions

In 2021, Watch Systems relocated from Covington to its 12,500-square-foot Mandeville headquarters, from which it prints and sends about 5 million cards every year to notify neighbors that a sex offender has moved in nearby Last fall, the company accepted a buyout offer from STG Partners, a Silicon Valley private equity ﬁrm that specializes in middle-market enterprise software platform and tech service companies. Watch Systems was an ideal fit for the ﬁrm’s portfolio.

“We have been impressed by the company’s ability to provide highquality, reliable software at great value to its customers,” said managing partner Rushi Kulkarni, announcing the investment.

Watch Systems leaders, who continue to run the company as they did before the acquisition, aim to use the influx of private equity cash to fuel acquisitions of similar companies and add to its 40 fulltime employees and more than 15 off-site contractors.

CEO Ben Luzynski, who took over as chief executive from his father in 2024, said it has no plans to leave Louisiana.

“We want to keep it here,” Luzynski said. “We’ve had it here 25 years, and we’d like to see it here 25 more.”

Email Jonah Meadows at Jonah. Meadows@theadvocate.com.

thatforgeourbeliefthatreportingthetruth–forourreaders, forourcity–isaresponsibilitywemustfulﬁllnomatterthecost

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LOUISIANA

GROWINGCAPACITY

N.O. hospital expandsNICUin$40Mrenovationdue to rising needsfor critically illbabies

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staffwriter

Manning Family Children’s

Hospital announced a$40 million plan to builda 60-bed neonatal intensive care unit in its New Orleans hospital— tripling the current NICU’ssquare footage —asLouisiana faces the second-highest preterm birthrateinthe country

Although no babies are born at ManningFamilyChildren’s, last year thehospitalNICU caredfor 272criticallyill babies transferredfrom 39 different referring hospitals across the region.

The current capacity of its NICU is 35 beds, apatientnumberthey have grown out of in the last two years.

The current NICU at Manning FamilyChildren’sis the only Level4NICUinthe state, an accreditation awarded to hospitals with everypediatric

BY SHANTELL GOMEZ Contributingwriter

Sitting has largely taken over daily life. Commutes happen in a car.Work happens in adesk chair Even rest often looks thesame

medical and surgical specialty underone roof.

Thehospital hasseen an increase in thenumber of “micropreemies” cared for over recent years, including babies born as early as 22 weeks— many weighing barely apound.

Thefourth ﬂoor of thehospital’sbuilding, where the new NICU will sit, was intentionally leftasa blankcanvas when they completed construction on a newstand-alonechildren’shospital in 2021.

One year ago, 45-year hospital board member Betty Sullivantoldthe hospital’sChief Executive Ofﬁcer Lou Fragoso thatanew NICU was the next step in the health system’scare.

“Westarted working on it the next day,” Fragoso said.

Construction is expected to last ayear and half, with hospital operations expected tobegin

—justadifferentchair,maybe pairedwith ascreen. Hours pass.

The body staysfolded.

The human body was not built to stay still.

Movement is what keeps joints lubricated, muscles engaged, andenergyregulated. Withoutit, things begintotighten. Hips stiffen, thelower back starts to ache, andshoulders round forward.

Health professionals are seeing theeffects more clearly

“In recent years, people of all ages have become increasingly more sedentary,” said Nancy Hollier,anoccupationaltherapist.

“Whensitting for long periods of time,core strength weakens and posture tends to suffer,which can lead to curving of the spine known as kyphotic posture.”

Hollier also noted thatprolonged sitting can compress nerves, sometimes leadingtonumbness in thelegs.

Sedentary behavior oftenhappens in long, uninterrupted stretchesrather than beingbrokenupthroughout the day,accordingtoresearch published in the InternationalJournalofEnvironmental Research and Public Health. Stillness, more than slouching, is what createsthe cascade of stiffness, weakness anddiscomfort.

“It isn’tone or the other,” Hollier said. “It’s more of acause and ef-

fect —prolonged stillness can lead to poor posture.”

After hours of sitting, fatigue sets in, which often leads back to moresitting —even though movementcould break the cycle. Modern environments make this harder.Many cities are built around driving, not walking. Workspaces are designed for prolonged sitting. Convenience often removes

ä See SITTING, page 2X

IMAGE PROVIDED By LCMC HEALTH

Manning FamilyChildren’sHospital announced a$40 millionplan to build a60-bedneonatal intensivecareunit in itsNew Orleans hospital —triplingthe current NICU’s square footage.

PROVIDED PHOTOByFRANK LAyMAMI III

Lou Fragoso discusses the Manning Family Children’sHospital’s$40 million plan to build a60bed neonatal intensivecare unit.

STEPPING UP

Stair climbers love their exercise, even when security guards are wary

BY MIKE STOBBE AP medical writer

NEW YORK Tom McGee be-

gan climbing stairs for exercise 20 years ago as part of an effort to stay off cigarettes.

It hasn’t always been easy: His climbs in hotel stairwells sometimes draw the attention of security guards.

“I’ve gotten kicked out of about every hotel in the city,” said McGee, a 69-year-old market researcher who lives near Chicago.

Climbing stairs has become increasingly ingrained in exercise guidance, but many people who do it regularly say it can be challenging in an era where office tower managers commonly cut off access to stairwells

Here’s a look at stair climbing as a form of exercise, and some of the unexpected challenges some people face in trying to do it.

Great exercise

Dr Luis Rodriguez, a semiretired pediatric pulmonologist, participates in stairclimbing events and lauds the beneﬁts.

“You are working your legs. You are working your heart. You are working your lungs,” said Rodriguez, 66. “You can get a lot more benefit than just walking, because gravity is working

against you.”

He’s backed up by research that found climbing stairs for four minutes is roughly equivalent to about 10 minutes of brisk walking or 20 minutes of slower walking.

In 2018, federal physical activity guidance was changed to promote shortburst activities like taking the stairs every time you have to move between ﬂoors at work The guidelines said such activities can add up over the course of a day, meaning you can improve your health even if you can’t go for a run or do a 30-minute workout.

Many people “don’t realize that they don’t have to exercise all in one bout for it to be effective,” said Stella Volpe, a Virginia Tech exercise expert.

Stair climbing also has the potential to improve mental health for many people and is associated with improved feelings of energy, said Jennifer Gay, a public health researcher at the University of Georgia.

People who might have trouble on stairs should talk to their doctors before trying a climbing regimen, experts say

Liability concerns The American Lung As-

sociation holds fundraising events each spring in ofﬁce towers in cities across the country The “Fight for Air” events are widely regarded as fun, but organizers say the name draws from the shortness of breath people can experience after climbing dozens of floors — or having a lung disease.

Landlords aren’t always so accommodating.

Some law ﬁrms tell landlords and building owners that they can he held liable if someone trips or slips on a staircase Poor lighting, liquid on steps and broken handrails are among the conditions that can be cited in lawsuits if someone falls and gets hurt.

Many building managers have taken such advice to heart, saying stairs can only be used in emergencies.

A study of hospital emergency department visits, published in 2018, concluded that more than 1 million stair-related injuries occur in the U.S. each year, with broken bones more common in older people. More than 60% of the injured were women.

Research suggests there’s very little risk of injuries for people climbing stairs, Gay said. Going down stairs can be riskier and building managers “can’t make it a

one-way street,” she added. For more than a decade, some health advocates have pressed for better access to steps.

In 2013, a California-based health policy nonprofit called ChangeLab Solutions issued a resource guide that urged property owners to open their stairwells, arguing they posed no greater liability risk than other common areas.

Gay and her colleagues have estimated that 60% of U.S. workers do their jobs in multistory buildings with stairwells. But there are no statistics showing what percentage of those buildings have restrictions on stair access.

How to find a way to climb

Many people who like to climb have stories about

trouble finding staircases they can use.

Lisa Bai, a New Yorker who works in real estate, said she’s not able to use the stairs in her ofﬁce building. It would seem like an easy way to get some exercise, but sometimes “it’s not,” she said.

Bai and others say they ﬁnd other ways to step up. Fitness equipment such as StairMaster machines can approximate the physical work of stair climbing, although people who participate in tower climbs say it isn’t as arduous as the real thing.

You might have to get creative if you don’t have easy access to stairs at home or in public spaces.

Carmen Erickson and Vivian Dawson, who live in the Detroit suburbs, have been

meeting about three times a week to climb stairs, usually in a nearby park, for roughly a decade.

But it can be trickier when they travel. When they vacation together, they make a point to stay on the top ﬂoor of tall hotels so they can use the stairs. They also look for hills and hospital parking decks. They also have negotiated after-hours access to one building’s stairwells, agreeing to sign a waiver and check in with security ofﬁcers each time.

“If you connect with the right people and tell them what they’re doing and agree to the rules, it hasn’t really been a problem for us,” said Erickson, 53. But Dawson, 64, added: “You have to really want to do it.”

Experts: Sleeping with no pillow may be better for glaucoma patients

By the dpa (TNS)

LONDON Sleeping without a pillow may be better for people with a common eye condition, a study suggests.

Stacking two pillows in bed was linked to higher pressure inside the eye among glaucoma patients. This may be down to pressure on the jugular vein, the main blood vessels in the

neck, researchers in China said. The study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, included 144 people with glaucoma

The condition is usually caused when ﬂuid builds up in the front part of the eye, damaging the optic nerve, which connects the eye and the brain.

It is most common in people over 50 and while it does

not usually have symptoms, it can cause blindness if left untreated.

Researchers measured internal pressure in the right eye of each patient every two hours for 24 hours while sitting and lying down.

Their heads were then raised to between 20 and 35 degrees by two pillows, with pressure measured 10 minutes later, before they were

NICU

Continued from page 1X

in the new space in spring of 2027. In the meantime, the NICU team is on the hunt for more staff to ﬁll a workforce in the new space — respiratory therapists, NICU nurses, surgical specialists and more.

“We’ve already started recruiting and training,” said Dr Christy Mumphrey, the service line chief for neona-

tology, “We plan to be ready well before construction on the space is completed ” The new unit will feature an intentional design that “fosters a quiet, low-stimulation, family-centered healing environment” that includes private spaces for families.

Expansions include: single and double bed family rooms, a “back of the house” wing for medical personnel, academic space for continued learning, washers and dryers for parents in long-term

Continued from page 1X

the need to move at all. Over time, simple activity feels tiring, and the body adapts to prolonged sitting.

The focus is no longer on the perfect chair — it’s about changing the pattern

Making a shift

When sitting, the body should be supported in a way that keeps joints aligned. Hollier recommends what is often called the 90-90-9090 rule: “90 degrees at elbows, 90 degrees at hips, 90 degrees at knees and 90 degrees at ankles while touching the ﬂoor.”

asked to lie down ﬂat again.

Researchers found that eye pressure increased in more than two-thirds (67%) of people when they were lying on pillows when compared to lying ﬂat.

The position was also linked to an increased ﬂuctuation in eye pressure over 24 hours and a fall in the pressure at which blood enters the eye.

Lying on pillows with the

neck at an angle may compress the jugular vein, which takes blood from the head back to the heart, the study suggests.

To explore this further, the team performed ultrasounds on 20 healthy volunteers and found the high-pillow position led to “significant constriction” of the jugular vein’s lumen the hollow passageway through which blood ﬂows. Researchers said people with glaucoma “may beneﬁt from avoiding sleeping postures” that cause this compression, although further research was needed. They added that this adjustment represented “a simple yet potentially effective” strategy for maintaining long-term internal eye pressure.

stays as well as advanced technologies and room for industry growth for the preterm babies.

What to do with the old NICU space, once construction is complete, is still up in the air

“Our burn unit, stem cell therapy teams and sickle cell treatments are all possibilities for expansion,” Fragoso said.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.

a right angle and that chairs should provide lumbar support to maintain the spine’s natural curve. Movement has to be built into the day, not necessarily as a full workout, but as regular interruptions to stillness.

“A simple change to incorporate in each day is standing every 30 to 45 minutes to stretch,” Hollier said “This can help loosen up tension and lead to better posture.”

The goal is not to eliminate sitting. Standing all day comes with its own problems — leg pain and joint stress. Hollier emphasized balance, noting that while standing desks can help, what is most important is how a person is positioned at their desk.

There are simple ways to make that shift Taking phone calls while standing or walking. Setting a timer as a reminder to move. Changing positions frequently instead of staying locked into one. Even brief activity — lunges, stretches, a short walk can make a noticeable difference over time. The bigger picture is not about perfection or expensive equipment. Standing desks, alternative chairs and ergonomic tools can help, but they are not the foundation. The foundation is consistency. Small, repeated actions that break up long periods of stillness.

Prolonged, uninterrupted sitting is associated with a range of poor health outcomes, according to the LSU AgCenter A chair becomes a problem only when it turns into a default that never changes. Shifting that default back toward movement does not require dramatic change. It starts with awareness. Has the body been still for too long? Is that stiffness or restlessness a signal to move?

Answering those questions throughout the day creates a different rhythm — one where movement is normal, not something saved for later Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@

PROVIDED PHOTO By FRANK L AyMAMI III

Manning Family Children’s Hospital announced a $40 million plan to build a 60-bed neonatal intensive care unit in its New Orleans hospital.

GETTy IMAGES FILE PHOTO

Nancy Hollier, an occupational therapist, warns that sitting for long periods of time can contribute to various health issues.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JASON DECROW

IMAGE PROVIDED By LCMC HEALTH

A rendering shows a family recuperating space in Manning Family Children’s Hospital’s new NICU

Eat Fit LiveFit

Fasted cardio: when it makessense,and when it doesn’t

It’saquestionIhearoften:shouldI eatbeforeIexercise,orisitbetter towaituntilafter?Theanswerisn’t thesameforeveryone,andmyopinion onthishasn’tchangedmuchoverthe years.Whathaschangedisthelanguage. Today,exercisingbeforeweeatisoften called“fastedcardio.”Itsoundstechnical buttheideaissimple:exercisingonan emptystomach.

Theideagetsalotofattentiononline oftenframedasakindofdisciplinetest. Canyoudoit?Shouldyoudoit?Isit actually“better”forfatburning?That’s wherethingscanstarttogetconfusing, especiallyformostpeoplewhoarejust tryingtostayactive,feelbetterandkeep theirbodiesfunctioningwell.

TheTheoryBehind FastedCardio

Ourbodyusesdifferentfuelsources forenergy.Carbohydratesaretheeasiest andfastest,followedbyprotein,then fat–especiallyatlowerintensities.The theorybehindfastedcardioisthatifwe exercisewithouteatingﬁrst,ourbody willusefatpreferentiallyasafuelsource duringthatworkout.

Itsoundsappealingandsimple.But here’swhatoftengetsoverlookedon Instagram:thetypeofworkoutmatters, thelengthoftheworkoutmattersandthe persondoingitmatters.

WhenFastedCardioMay MakeSense

Ifyourworkoutisrelativelyshort (thinkunderanhour)andlower intensity,likeacasualwalk,runorjog, abikerideorothertypeofmoderate cardio,thendoingitbeforeyoueat mayfeeljustﬁne.Somepeopleactually preferit,especiallyifhavingfoodin theirstomachfeelsuncomfortable duringexercise.

There’salsoabiggerlifestyleangle here.Somelikeitbecauseitsavestime inthemorning–youcanjustwakeup, getmovingandeatafterward.Amorning workoutbeforebreakfastsimplyﬁts betterintotheirschedule,makingit morelikelythey’llstayconsistent.From awellnessstandpoint,thatconsistency mattersfarmorethanwhetheryoueatat 6a.m.or9a.m.

Ifyoutryexercisinginafastedstate andyoufeelstrongandsteady,that’sa goodsignyourbodytoleratesitwell.

WhenFastedCardioUsually Doesn’tMakeSense

Thisiswherethe“performanceversus virtue”ideacomesin.Doingsomething onanemptystomachcanfeellikeyou’re beingextradisciplined,butthatdoesn’t meanit’salwaysbetterforyou.

Ifyou’redoingstrengthtrainingwith thegoalofbuildingormaintaining muscle,goinginwithoutfuelisrisky.Your musclesneedproteinandcarbohydrates availabletotrainwellandrecover efficiently.Thatbecomesmoreimportant asweage,whenpreservingvaluable musclemassisoneofthebestthingswe candoforourstrength,balanceandlongtermindependence.

Thesamegoesforlongerworkouts orhigher-intensitysessions.Ifyou’re pushingyourselftoyourlimits,especially ifit’slongerthan60or90minutes,then havingsomefuelonboardwillalmost

THENUMBERS

In 2024, 15.6% of U.S. adults reported frequent mentaldistress —14ormore mentally unhealthy days during the past 30 days where the person experienced poor mental healthdue to stress,depressionor problems with emotions,according to data from the Centers forDisease Control andPrevention.

In Louisiana, the average percentageofadults experiencing frequent mental distress was 19.9% The state had the second-highest percentageofadults experiencing frequent mental distress in the country.Arkansas had thehighest with 20.1%

In 2019, 7% of all U.S. adults reporting experiencing moderate or severe symptoms of depression withinthe past twoweeks, with women more likely than men and adults ages 18 to 29 more likely than adults 30 years and older to experienceany levelofseverity of symptoms, CDC data says.

alwayshelpyouperformbetterandfeel better.Thiswillleadtoamorefruitfuland productiveworkout.

Therearealsoclearsafetyexceptions, andit’simportanttoalwayscheckwith yourmedicalproviderﬁrst.Ifyouhave diabetes,takemedicationsthataffect bloodsugarorarepronetodizzinessor lightheadedness,exercisingonanempty stomachcanincreasetheriskoffeeling weak,shakyorevenpassingout.Formany olderadults,thepriorityissteadyenergy andprotectingmuscle,notseeinghow longwecangowithouteating.

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsnersEatFit nonproﬁtinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia. Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam.

well as ahigher riskofa physical manifestation of symptoms.

Developing chronic disease like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease are strongly linked to health behaviors likesmoking,alcohol use, unhealthydiets and lackofphysical activity —behaviors common among those with frequent mentaldistress.

Chronic stressorssuch as housing insecurity,food insecurityand insufficient sleep are alsorelated to frequent mental distress, according to the CDC.

These Louisiana parishes had the lowest percentageofadults who reported frequent mentaldistress, in ascending order:

APracticalMiddleGround

Itdoesn’thavetobeallornothing.A pre-workoutfuelsourcecanbeassimple asacartonofplainGreekyogurt(low-fat, notfat-free),anegg,cheese,nutbutter oravocado–optionaltopairwithaslice ofwholegrainbread.Thisshouldbe enoughtogiveyourbodysomereadily availableenergywithoutsittingheavyin yourstomach.

Ontheotherhand,“fasted”doesn’t havetomeanextremedeprivation.Water, coffeeorteastillcountashydration,and stayingwell-hydratedmattersforevery workout,regardlessoftiming.

TheBiggerPicture

Foodisn’tarewardforusto“earn”after sloggingthroughatoughworkout.It’sa toolthatcanhelpourbodydothework we’reaskingittodo.

Ifexercisingbeforebreakfastfeelsgood andfitsyourroutine,that’sfine.Ifyoufeel betterwithalittlefuelfirst,that’salso fine.Therightchoiceistheonethathelps youshowup,movewellandkeepitgoing.

and St.Mary parishes with 22.2% BY

In Louisiana, only twoparishes had lessthan aquarter of its adults who reported depression at some time in their lives.Additionally,one in three Louisianans arelonely andlack emotional and social support Studies provethat thereisastrong link betweenatwo-week periodof poor mental health and clinically diagnosed mental disorders as

n West Feliciana Parish with 17.9%; n Lafayette Parish with 18.7%; n East Baton RougeParishwith 18.9%; n Jefferson Parish with 19%; n St. Charles Parishwith 19.1%; n Ascension, Bossier and Orleans parisheswith 19.2%; n Plaquemines and St.Tammany parishes with 19.4%; n West Baton Rougeparish with 19.5%;

n Calcasieu Parish with 19.8%; n St. John the Baptist Parish with 19.9%; n East Feliciana Parish with 20%

These Louisiana parishes had the highest percentageofadults who

reported frequent mental distress, in descending order:

n Madison Parish with 23.8%;

n East Carroll Parish with 23.5%;

n Bienville and Tensas parishes with 23.2%;

n Avoyelles Parishwith 23.1%;

n Claiborne Parish with 23%;

n Webster Parish with 22.9%;

n Acadia, Concordia, Franklin and Red River parishes with 22.8%;

n Caldwell Parish with 22.7%; n Morehouse and Sabineparishes with 22.6%; n St.Landry Parish with 22.5%; n St.Helena Parish with 22.3%; n

BRO UGH TT OY OU BY

Molly Kimball RD,CSSD

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‘I

LEARNED TO SEE’

BatonRouge artist uses faithtoliftpeople

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

He once painted Drakeand Lil Wayne. Now he paints Mary and the saints. Jacob Zumo used to spend his nights at concerts and clubs. These days, devotion to God and his Catholic faith have come to dominate his life. His gallery no longer boasts bright portraits of rappers and athletes. Now,the walls are covered insacred imagery with ornateframes.

Zumo is currently booked for conferences, retreats, commissions for Catholic paintings and school speaking engagements. He hosts apodcast with Catholic and Christian leaders called Saints by Number,aplay on Louis Armstrong’s“Whenthe Saints Go Marching In” and paint-by-numbersets.

Zumo says hismission now is to make sacred art modern and relevant —especially for people who might never have connected withitbefore.

Raised Catholic in Baton Rouge, Zumo attended Catholic High School, St. Michael the Archangel High School (then Bishop Sullivan) and The Dunham School. He played basketball in high school and one yearin college at BelhavenUniversity in Jackson, Mississippi, but returned home after acareerending injury.He returned to painting, afamiliar outlet

While at Dunham, his high school artteacher,Carol Hackler,was theﬁrst person to steer him in an artistic direction. She believed in his painting and became asafe place for him to retreat to during school days. At the time, he was drifting, unsure where he ﬁt “I know this woman saved my life,” Zumosaid. “Ms. Carol Hackler.That was the cornerstone of everything. Before Iknew it, Iwas skip-

ping class. Iwas going in my off hour to see her and paint. Iwas going before and after practice.She wasjust giving me unconditional loveofthe Father.”

She taughtZumo that artis problem solving, and he’sstill using that approach today Zumo is candid about the path that led himhere. After basketball ended, Zumo got caughtupinpartying and “super gooﬁng off,” he says. He painted Kevin Gates, who was still alocal rapper,and foundhim after a concert at TheVarsity.

“I caught him, like going into his Porsche. He was closinghis Porschedoor, and Iyelled, ‘Kevin!’ He looked backand saw (the painting),” Zumo said. “It’slikethatmoment foreverchanged everything, too.” CaseyEvans, aParkview

Baptist alumnus andcurrent owner of Dearman’sDiner, organized the concert for Gates, andheencountered Zumo’s talent when he saw the painting. One week later, Zumo was hanging out with rapper and singerDrake in NewOrleans,and he was quickly in ahip-hop circle of celebrities. While Evans was setting up events with his company,Free Agents Management, Zumo came to him with an idea: Evans would book thetalent and put on the show,and Zumo would paint the performer live on the stage. The duo worked on and off together for about six years, traveling around thecountry and hanging out with celebrities and athletes.

“It was such acool experience to have thatgoing on,” Evans said. “It added ﬂair to

allofour shows. Fromthere, alot of people took notice —artists, promoters, event planners. Therule of cool took over,and that really helped his brand. People love hip-hop and art together.”

Even as his art career was taking off, his personal life was beginning to unravel. His brother-in-law,Norman Faucheux, another sacred artist, wasgoing to the Sacred Art School in Florence, Italy,and invited Zumo to go with him

“I was in astruggle in my relationship andinmycareer.Ikindofhad acalling from God. It looked like Italy was ahugething forme, but it was really amajor depression, ashedding of addiction and codependency.I wasable to make it to the other side,” Zumo said.

In 1993, when Iwas living in the Carpathian mountains of Slovakia, Iplanned atrip to Prague and beyond forthe weekbefore Easter

Looking back, Iknew something wascoming before Ileft.

In the days before Easter,the teenage boys of the village where Iwas teaching had been bent over their work—braiding willow branches, weaving in ribbons, producing something that was, by any standards, intricate and pretty.I had no idea what it was for, leftfor the week without ﬁnding out —and didn’tthink much moreabout it.

Igot back late Easter Sunday night. The village wasquiet. I went to bed.

Iheard Easter Monday before Isaw it. Even before Igot out of bed, Icould hear the merriment outside.

Teenage boys wereout in their friend groups, large bowls and tankards in hand, beautifully braided branches at the ready Iwatched them movethrough the village, going house to house, looking forthe girls from their classes. As they found them,they doused them in cold water and then gently —with someceremony —spanked them with the willow branches.

In return, the generally soaking wetgirls gave them painted eggs. The painted eggs were apretty big clue.

Istood watching with my mouth open, somewhere between National Geographic and complete incomprehension.

And yet the parents stood to the side, smiling and reminiscing. When agroup of boys found a particular girl (one Ihad watched exchanging glances with one of them across aclassroom all semester), the other boys stepped back and gave that boy the lead. It wasserious ﬂirting and clearly ancient all at once. It wasalso, in its own way,tender

Now,with access to the internet, Icould easily ﬁnd the full history and meaning. Back then, Iwas lefttomyown thoughts. There wasnoone to ask. Iﬁled it away as one of the stranger things Ihad ever witnessed.

Last week, Icalled Adriana Zimova. She was8years old during my year in Slovakia, one of my most serious students. Itutored her after school —she and her family were neighbors in the sameblock of ﬂats. She would come over and perch on the edge of my bed, and we would have English lessons. She taught me as much as I taught her

She now practices law on Bainbridge Island outside Seattle and remains constitutionally serious —aquality Irecognized in her at age 8that has not diminished. Itold her what Iremembered about Easter Monday.She conﬁrmed that Ihadn’timagined any of it.

“I believe it is an old Slavic pagan tradition,” she said, “to use water in the spring as asymbol of rejuvenation.”

The boys would bring two things to each home: the willow branch forthe switching and the water fordousing. All of it, she said, wasabout health and fertility,cleansing, rejuvenation

“that kind of symbolism.”

Once the Christians moved in and set up shop in Slovakia, the old traditions simply stayed put,

STAFF PHOTOSByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Artist Jacob Zumostands in front of his wall of MarypaintingsonMarch 20 in his studio.

ArtistJacob Zumo poses in his studio on March 20 in front of the final project he painted while studying in Italy

DeltaInterfaithprogram brings fiberinternettostate

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer

Wanda Manning is a former schoolteacher of 33 years in East Carroll Parish. Now retired for ﬁve years, Manning is aDigital Navigator at the churchbased coalition Delta Interfaith. In February 2021, the organization partnered with the satellite internet ﬁrm Starlink to provide emergency connectivityfor low-income families with school-aged children. This partnership secured 120 satellite dishes for residents in East Carroll.

This partnership was the ﬁrst step in what is now a plan to bring reliable, affordable ﬁber internet to the area. Through agrant from the Louisiana Public Health Institute, Delta Interfaith created the Digital Navigator program to help residents with digital services, troubleshoot technical challenges, conduct speed tests and collect signatures from those who await broadband.

This interview was edited for length and clarity

How did the Digital Navigators programgain traction?

Once she purchased The East Carroll Banner newspaper here in Lake Providence, she turned the reins over to me. Then Madlyn Matthews was added. Even Laura’shusband Scott assisted on alot of theinstallations.

What aresome of the problems that people come to you with?

Some of them are as simpleashookingupa printer We’ve had phone issues, technological issues and difﬁculties that need clearing up.

How do you help someone who has never used acomputer or smartphone before?

Sometimes it’svery frustrating to the person who’s actually in need of help. Patience is the key thing understanding that theperson has no idea of advanced technology

Smartphones are very advanced, and for someone who never had an idea of this type of technology it can be frustrating and tedious.Sometimes, on alot of levels, mind boggling. Idonot answer the phones. Laura and alot of other people remind me to set boundaries, but Iknow

Ihave to give hats off to Laura Arvin. Icall her the mother of Digital Navigators, because she’sthe one who spearheaded it.Itwas all her insight. Icannot take credit for something Idid not start If Iget stuck,Ialways go to her

what it is to need to know something and not have the help or the assistance to learnabout it

In my head, Ipicture there will be no moreanalog television to watch via antenna and cable wires. Everybody wants to go digital.

With that being said, you have alot of these elderly people that do not know anything about the digital world, so my goal is to be available as much as possible, accessible as much as possible and to make it as elementary as much as possible.

What are someofthe challenges you encounter?

The Digital Navigators program simply assistspeople withdigital problemsas away to bridge thedigital divide in thecommunity

We have gone intohomes. It’skind of hard to talk to a person on how to connect aprinter using aVerizon router.That was so challenging. That almost broke me.

What has been the most rewarding moment foryou?

Just knowing that we have access and people here —boots on the ground. We makeourselves available to the people in need. There was achild that had so manyissues with them staying in avirtual

Q&A WITH WANDAMANNING

PROVIDED PHOTO

WandaManning is aformer schoolteacher of 33 years in East Carroll Parish. Nowretired for five years, Manning is aDigital Navigator at thechurch-based coalition Delta Interfaith.

classroom. We were learning as we go at the time COVID came, because we had to get computers, laptops, Chromebooks, etc.

running beneaththe liturgy, the blessed baskets and the lamb-shaped pastry

“Extremely gendered, obviously,”Zimova said. “And the spanking itself —Idon’t even know how you ever justify that, so Idon’t think you do.” She didn’thave fond memories of the water,either “I absolutely hated it,” she said. “I really don’tlikecold water.” The switching had faded

ARTIST

Continued from page1y

Newcanvas, newcalling Italy wasn’twhat he expected. While in Florence, Zumo experienced humility around other artists as well as isolation, but he had another art teacher that gave him love and conﬁdence. Because of theItalian language barrier, he says he wasn’tlearning much at the school, but he was learning aboutvulnerability “I was being uncomfortable for 10 hours aday,but Ilearned to see,” Zumo said. “I learned to see myself, and Ilearned to see the canvas, and Ilearned to problem solve.” His final piece in Italy was amassive 6-by-9-foot oil painting of Salome and Herodias after the execution of John the Baptist, but it’s set in arecognizable room of

somewhat by the time she was growing up. The water persisted— though neither of usiscertain how prevalent it is now,33yearson. Evenso, shesaysthather father still tries. This made me laugh. Iremember him well. Forthat gentle mantobeinvolved in any of the EasterMonday traditions is atestament to howdeeplya partofthe culture it is. The old spring rite hadn’t beenstamped out by communism or Christianity or modernity or ayoung girl’s completely reasonable objection to coldwater.Itjust

the Pitti Palace, amuseum in Florence

“This interpretation is one way that Iwanttomodernize sacred art —not dumbing thestyle downand simplifying it, but changing the story in amanner that can pull anyone in,” Zumo said. “The drama of the painting is an opportunitytobridgethat gapina noninvasive way.” Zumo left Italy after one year to take care of family.Helived with his grandmother in BatonRouge for some time while dealing with back pain. Through this time,hekept painting, but he shifted to mostly sacred art. He started numbingthe back pain with alcohol andBaton Rouge parties. He was praying for achange,a sign That’swhen he got acall from Haley,afriend he had brieflydated.She was pregnant. Zumo sayshe felt shamebeing asacred painterwho was responsible for apregnancy outside of marriage. The two married,

kept going —scaled down, perhaps, but persisting. That’show it is with many old things. They don’tdisappear.They change just enough to keep going. Zimova described the Easter Sunday traditions thatI missed,like theGreek Catholic Church —abranch of Catholicismbetween Roman and Orthodox—where the liturgy is spoken in a language from the10th century, thechurches look Byzantine,and thepriests have wives and children. In 2012, Iattended the village church for Zimova’swedding near thevillage where

we lived in Slovakia. She said on Easter,the churches are packed with people who never otherwise attended, which sounds familiar on this side of the pond as well. But in Slovakia, on Easter,families carry baskets covered in handcrocheted cloths, ﬁlled with ham, beets, hard-boiled eggs and aspecial bread called paska, alamb-shaped sweet Aftermass, thepriest blesses the basketsone by one outside.Zimova said even though she hadn’t been home for Easter in morethan 20 years, she still remembersone particular

and now theyare parents to three children: Lola, 5, Josephine,1,and Pio, 6months. The Zumos share theirstory of choosing life and marriage at various Christian events Afew years later,Zumo met DanielHutchinson, who works in hospitalityand hotel management in downtown BatonRouge. Hutchinson was looking for gifts for priests in his parish, and he remembered Zumo’sstyle “Wekeep in touch and arelooking for ways we can worktogether and help people,” Hutchinson said. “A lotofwhatJacob andItalk

looking at his latest painting

aboutishow we connect the dotswithdifferent folks in thecommunity that may not interact on an everydaybasis.” Hutchinson’s work in hospitality is allabout seeing people from different communities. He sees Zumo’s artasa bridge to link people together.The two have an upcoming project that will beneﬁt St. Vincent de Paul in BatonRouge.

Still transforming

WhenZumo opened his gallery on InterlineAvenue in Baton Rouge in 2021, he

Once everything wassituated, the teachers had to be in the classroom while we worked from the school building and the kids stayed at home. This particular student wasjust in and out. Igot so infuriated. Ithought the kid wasplaying. It wasn’t. That child’sparent was paying $150 foradial-up via AT&T Ididn’tknow dial-up was still athing. What could you possibly do with dial-up services when technology says you have to sustain so manygigabytes to stay in the class or even upload pictures. Itold this child and the parents, “Ifit’sthe last thing Ido, I’mgonna make sure you get good internet out here.” By the grace of God, I held to that promise. They were one of the families that received that Starlink dish at ﬁrst.

song sung only that one day of the year She told me she would love to go back for Easter for the liturgy,the baskets, that particular song. But Easter Monday she could take or leave. Traditions are curious things. They absorb whatever the century throws at them —new religions, new governments, new generations of young womenwith reasonable objections to cold water —and keep going anyway In some kitchen, some father still thinks it’sworth atry

installed the Salome and Herodias oil painting.

Since then, Zumohas been traveling the country to share his mission.

On March 25, he spoke to St.Thomas More in Lafayette.Heunveiledapainting of The Annunciation of Mary, spoke to the students, hosted apodcastand helpedlead a “Visio Divina,” or divine seeing—the practice of praying with asacred image or workofart. Zumoand his wife traveled to Washington, D.C., forthe March forLife event with Baton Rouge’sSt. Michael’sstudents and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Oneofthe gallery walls at Zumo’sspace featuresover 100 Mary paintings, varying in size and color.Each painting represents Zumo’sdaily spiritual practice.

“It’sareﬂection of the rosary.I do my morningrosary by listening to it and praying. I’ll do as many backgrounds as Ican,and then the next

Phase 1ofour plan wasto get the community hooked up with the Starlink dish. Phase 2was to get something morepermanent. Nowthat family doesn’t have to worry about the crazy science teacher fussing at them about playing in and out of those classrooms. Find moreinformation at connecthumanity.fund/ story/east-carroll-parishlouisiana.

Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.

Itold my former young student that Istill remember her as that 8-year-old child on the edge of my bed, translating my attempts at silliness before announcing, with complete composure: “This is nonsense.” She laughed as we both considered that some things change and some things stay the same. “I stay true to my serious form,” she said, “even today.” And the water keeps getting thrown anyway EmailJan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

day I’ll do as many Mary line drawings as Ican,” Zumo said. “Wefindthe frames at antique stores and thrift stores. Ipray through painting all of them.” These days, the audience is different. EmailJoy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.

In the March 29 edition of aLouisiana Inspired story,the lineagefor PeterDeHart was incorrect. DeHart’sfamily is from south Louisiana by wayofNew Orleans, and his father grew up in Lafayette.Hewas bornin south Louisiana. Allison Bohl DeHart is aBossier Citynative and moved to Lafayette at 18 years old. TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune regrets the error

Artist Jacob Zumo smiles while

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

These are stories of global progress, compiled by the media group Fix the News and shared in partnership with The Advocate/The Times-Picayune.

Newelectrode captures CO2

Scientists with the American ChemicalSociety have developedanew electrode that can capture airborne carbondioxide from industrial exhaust andconvertitinto formic acid, as reported by ACSin January

Traditionally,carbon capture and conversion are separate processes, and most technologies require highly concentrated carbon dioxide to work effectively

This new electrode integrates both capture and conversion into a single system. It consistsofthree layers: acarbon-capturingmaterial,gas-permeable carbon paper and catalytic tin oxide.

This setupconverts carbon dioxide directly into formic acid, a startingmaterial that’sused for a variety of chemical applications, including fuel cells. In testing, the new electrode wasabout 40%more efficient than existing technologies. This innovation could help make carboncapture more practical and scalablefor real-worldindustrial use.

Chileeliminates leprosy

Chile has become the ﬁrst country in the Americas —and the second globally after Jordan —to be officially verified by the WorldHealth Organization as having eliminated leprosy disease, reported by the WHO in March.

This milestone reﬂectsdecades of sustained public health efforts, including strong surveillance, early diagnosis, effective treatment and continuous monitoring Chile has reported no locally acquired cases of leprosyfor over 30 years, with the last case recorded in 1993.

The coal-fired PlantScherer,one of the nation’s top carbon dioxide emitters, stands in the distance in Juliette, Georgia,in2017. Scientists withthe American Chemical Society have developed anew electrodethat can capture airbornecarbondioxide from industrial exhaust and convert it into formic acid,asreported by ACSin January.

The achievementwas veriﬁed after arigorous evaluation by WHO and the Pan American Health Organization, assessing epidemiologicaldata and national supply systems. Access to free multidrug therapy —supported by international partners —played akey role in curing patients and preventing transmission.

Chile’ssuccesshighlightsthat, with commitment and equitable health care, even long-standing

diseases can be eliminated, though continued surveillance remains essential.

Reducing pesticidereliance

Scientists at Stanford University are using synthetic biologytohelp plants defend themselves against pests,potentially reducing the need for chemical pesticides —asreported by the university in February in the Stanford Report.

Led by Stanford bioengineer JenniferBrophy,the research focuses on enhancing plants’ natural chemical defenses rather than relying on external sprays.

The new approach allows plants to adapt to climate change by “tuning natural characteristics” like changing rootbranching to help plantswithstandprolonged drought.

This innovation could signiﬁcantly cutpesticideuse,which currently costs billions and contributes to air and water pollution. Researchers are especially interested in applying the method to cover crops.

Waterpollution in Bangladesh

The WorldBank Group approveda $370 million program in February to tackle severewater pollution in Dhaka, Bangladesh,where rapid urbanization and industrialgrowth have overwhelmed sanitation systems. Currently,morethan80% of wastewater andsewageisdischarged into the city’swaterways, while only about 20% of residents are connected to sewer systems.

The Metro DhakaWater Security andResilienceProgram aims to improve sanitation and solid waste management services, reduce waterpollution and restore rivers and canals

Akey component is to reduce industrial pollution by encouraging private sector participation to reduce pollution and optimize water efﬁciency

The program also plans to establish real-timepollution monitoring and develop plans to restore four major Dahka Rivers.

Fix theNewsisthe world’s leading solutions journalism newsletter.The organization ﬁnds hiddenstories of progress and shares them withreaders from 195 countries. Steven Pinker calls Fix the News “the bestsource forpositivenewson theinternet.”

Powering Progress

With thousands of Shellmen andwomen across thestate,we areworking everyday to reduce emissions, while increasing efﬁciencyinour operations

Our tomorrowdependsonwhatwedotoday.Together, we arepoweringprogressfor abrighterfuture. Louisiana is where we live and we’reproud to call it home.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By BRANDEN CAMP

THEGAZETTEFILE PHOTOByJIM SLOSIAREK

Cattle graze on covercrops on a field at the Rodale Institute in Marion, Iowa, on Oct. 3. Researchers at Stanford University are interested in using synthetic biology on covercrops to help plants defendthemselves against pests.

Leo endorses Francis’ 2016 ‘The Joy of Love’ text

New pope echoes policy on Communion after civil remarriage

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME Pope Leo XIV on March 19 summoned Catholic bishops to Rome for a special meeting on ministering to families that takes as its starting point Leo’s strong endorsement of one of Pope Francis’ most controversial policies on marriage and divorce.

Leo penned a special message marking the 10th anniversary of Francis’ 2016 document “The Joy of Love.” He called the text a “luminous message of hope” that is even more relevant and urgent today than it was a decade ago. When it was released, “The Joy of Love” immediately sparked controversy because it opened the door

to letting civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion.

Church teaching holds that unless these Catholics obtain an annulment — a church decree that their ﬁrst marriage was invalid they cannot receive the sacraments, since they are seen as living in sin and committing adultery Francis didn’t create a churchwide pass for these Catholics, but suggested — in vague terms and a strategically placed footnote — that bishops and priests could do so on a case-by-case basis after accompanying them on a spiritual journey of discernment

cis’ pontiﬁcate and in many ways became the focal point of conservative opposition to his pontiﬁcate. It prompted a wave of criticism from mostly conservative Catholics, who said it had sown confusion among the faithful about the church’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage.

But in his message marking the anniversary, Leo strongly endorsed Francis’ text. He cited the Chapter VIII, which contained Francis’ opening on the divorce question, though he didn’t explicitly refer to access to the sacraments or Francis’ footnote No. 351.

351, Francis elaborated that “in certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments.” He told priests that “the confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy” and that the Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

“On this tenth anniversary, we give thanks to the Lord for the stimulus that has encouraged reﬂection and pastoral conversion in the Church, and ask God for the courage to persevere on this path,” Leo wrote.

Within the first year of publication, four conservative cardinals formally asked Francis to clarify certain questions, or “dubia,” raised by the text. They argued church doctrine held that Catholics who remarried without a church annulment were living in sin and couldn’t receive the sacraments.

Subsequent comments and writings made clear Francis intended such wiggle room, part of his belief that God’s mercy extends in particular to sinners and that the Eucharist isn’t a prize for the perfect but nourishment for the weak.

The document became one of the most divisive of Fran-

In the text, Francis had told priests that they cannot merely apply moral laws to people in “irregular” situations. Rather, he said the church should help people who are in a technical state of sin, especially when there are mitigating factors at play

In the related footnote No.

He summoned the presidents of bishops conferences to Rome for a meeting in October to decide next steps to minister to families today “in light of ‘The Joy of Love’ and taking into account what is currently being done in the local churches.”

Francis’ document sharply divided the church.

He never replied.

For a variety of reasons, such annulments often cannot be obtained though Francis issued a separate reform to simplify, facilitate and accelerate the process.

The following year, a petition of conservative Catholic theologians accused Francis of heresy But others embraced the text. Bishops from Francis’ native Buenos Aires issued a set of criteria to apply Chapter VIII that clearly allowed for civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion, especially if the person in question isn’t responsible

for the failed ﬁrst marriage, while stressing it was not a free-for-all “as if any situation were to sufﬁciently justify it.”

Francis ordered the Argentine criteria published as an ofﬁcial act of the Vatican and wrote a letter to the bishops declaring their interpretation authoritative. “The document is excellent and clearly sets out the meaning of Chapter VIII,” he wrote. “There are no other interpretations.”

The Maltese church, for its part, issued its own set of guidelines that were published in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, in another indication of Holy See approval.

The Maltese guidelines say that if a Catholic in a new civil union believes, after a path of spiritual discernment searching for God’s will, that he or she can be at peace with God, “he or she cannot be precluded from participating in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.”

Some colleges trimming bachelor’s degrees to three years

BY JON MARCUS

Contributing writer

Editor’s note: This story, created by Jon Marcus for the Hechinger Report is part of the Solutions Story Tracker from the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonproﬁt organization dedicated to rigorous reporting about responses to social problems. Louisiana Inspired features solutions journalism stories that provide tangible evidence that positive change is happening in other places and in our own communities — solutions that can be adopted around the world.

Quinn McDonald planned to spend the typical four years working toward a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Then he heard about a place where he could get the same degree in three “It was the idea of being able to save a year” that grabbed his attention, said McDonald — a savings of not only time, but tuition And he could start earning a salary faster than if he spent four years in college. So, last fall, McDonald joined the inaugural class of one of the nation’s ﬁrst inperson programs approved to award bachelor’s degrees with fewer than the usual 120 credits, at Johnson & Wales University. He’ll need only 90 credits, putting him on track to graduate in 2028, after three years instead of the usual four or more.

That’s an option being made available by colleges and universities with astonishing speed — especially in the notoriously slow-moving world of higher education: an entirely new kind of bachelor’s degree muscling into the space between the traditional four-year version and the two-year associate degree. Three-year degrees have existed, but they simply jammed those 120 credits into fewer semesters At least one school, Ensign College in Utah, will convert all of its bachelor’s degrees into the new, reduced-credit, three-year kind, it announced in February Nearly 60 other universities and colleges are planning, considering or have already launched them in some disciplines. States including Indiana have required or are considering requiring their public universities to add reduced-credit bachelor’s degrees. Even graduate and professional schools are being pressed to shorten the duration of degrees. Much of this activity has occurred in just the last few months. Yet precisely because it’s come so quickly, and at a time when political controversies have dominated the wider conversation about higher education, the dramatic implications of this reimagining of bachelor’s degrees have gotten surpris-

year bachelor’s

ingly little attention. Behind the scenes, however, “There are small groups of institutions saying that the old game doesn’t work and has to change,” said Bob Zemsky an emeritus professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education who has long campaigned for three-year degrees and co-founded a group of universities experimenting with them called College-in-3

Now the accrediting agencies that oversee universities and colleges are approving bachelor’s degrees that require fewer credits. It’s an idea almost all of them previously rejected, but accreditors today are under political scrutiny themselves, and being prodded to encourage innovation.

Several states whose permission is also needed for these shorter-term degrees, from North Dakota to Massachusetts, are quickly providing it, too, often under pressure from businesses that need workers

Even more than employers, consumers have lost patience with the time and expense it takes to get a fouryear bachelor’s degree, according to the advocates and politicians pushing schools to offer them More than half of students who start down the conventional four-year path today take even longer than four years, according to the Department of Education.

Many colleges, meanwhile, are struggling to fill seats and hope three-year degrees will appeal to students who wouldn’t otherwise come.

These include Johnson & Wales, which lost a third of its enrollment in the 10 years leading up to 2024, the most recent available federal data show, and has been forced to close several satellite campuses. Last year, it laid off 91 faculty and staff.

The idea of getting a degree more quickly appeals to a broader group of prospective students, said Mim

Runey, chancellor at the university where 94 students signed up for three-year degrees when they were offered in the fall, according to a spokesman “There is a market that will think about a three-year degree that maybe wouldn’t think about a four-year degree.”

Samuel Antonio, who is in the accelerated criminal justice major at Johnson & Wales, thinks three years “is an adequate amount of time to be in college.” His friends in conventional four-year programs are almost a year in, and “they’re still taking gen ed and other courses they don’t even care about,” Antonio said, using the abbreviation for general education.

Interest among collegebound high school students in three-year degrees has been climbing since 2019, though it remains relatively small, according to a survey by the higher education consulting firm Eduventures. It might be higher if there were greater awareness that the newest form of these degrees require fewer credits, analysts there said.

“It’s still a little early,” said Richard Garrett, chief research officer at Eduventures. “We’re not sure what the demand is or what subjects are right. But it’s a change that’s coming.”

The work of trimming down four-year bachelor’s degrees to fit within three years has prompted nothing less than a rethinking of the purpose of a college education. Universities and colleges are asking themselves “What are we doing, why are we doing it and what do students really need?” said Johnson & Wales provost Richard Wiscott. Most of those debuting three-year bachelor’s degrees have stripped out elective courses from what students have traditionally been required to take.

McDonald doesn’t feel like he’s missing out on anything.

He still has to take humanities courses, math psychology and political science. He plays on the lacrosse team, lives in a dorm and is so woven into campus life that he knows what day and time to nab the free leftovers from the pastry classes that are part of Johnson & Wales’s top-ranked culinary program.

But he didn’t want to spend more time in college than he had to.

In his speeded-up program, “You can focus on what you’re interested in and want to learn about instead of taking classes you don’t care about,” he said.

The three-year bachelor’s degrees at colleges and universities that have so far offered or announced them are almost all in disciplines that lead straight to jobs. In addition to criminal justice, Johnson & Wales introduced three-year degrees last semester in computer science, hospitality management and design.

“There are certain career paths where, at least for the foreseeable future, a fouryear degree is still going to be a requirement,” said Nate Bowditch, provost at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire which added 96-credit, three-year degrees in the fall in robotics, outdoor adventure leadership and other ﬁelds. “If you want to go to medical school or be a rocket scientist at NASA, you’re going to need a fouryear degree.”

At the insistence of accreditors, the new degrees are differentiated from their four-year counterparts by being called “applied” or (as at Johnson & Wales) “careerfocused” bachelor’s degrees.

That leads to a critical unanswered question: whether employers, graduate schools and licensing agencies will consider three-year degrees to be as good as the four-year kind.

Because no students have completed these new

reduced-credit programs, that’s hard to know But most employers in a survey by Johnson & Wales said they liked the idea, and that they’d consider three-year degrees just as good as conventional four-year ones.

On the other hand, graduate school admissions officers in a small, separate survey released in January by College-in-3 said almost unanimously that they wouldn’t take domestic applicants with bachelor’s degrees of fewer than 120 credits, though most said they were reconsidering this as more reduced-credit undergraduate degrees are being introduced.

Letting students graduate with bachelor’s degrees in three instead of four years, of course, means less revenue for colleges and universities. But in addition to pulling in more customers boosters said, those programs will appeal to results-oriented students who are less likely to drop out. Already, the reduced-credit, three-year bachelor’s degree candidates at Johnson & Wales have had lower dropout rates between their ﬁrst and second semesters than their classmates on the conventional track, the university said. And threeyear-degree recipients might be persuaded to stick around for graduate school on the same campuses, which are more likely to accept the shorter-term degrees conferred by their undergraduate faculty counterparts.

“We’re hoping it’s attracting a really engaged, focused student, and hopefully they stay for that master’s degree as well,” said Stephen Smith, interim associate vice president of academic and strategic operations at the University of Lynchburg in Virginia, which got approval in December to offer 96-credit bachelor’s degrees in public health and educational studies — both ﬁelds in which the university also offers graduate programs. Still, some faculty and even students have raised objections.

Accelerated bachelor’s degrees will create a two-tiered system in which the most affluent students will have the luxury of spending four years in college, the president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties has contended.

Shorter-term programs with fewer electives won’t do as good a job of teaching such important skills as critical thinking, ethical reasoning or “how to form and answer questions using a variety of intellectual approaches that different disciplines require,” the North Dakota Student Association argued in a resolution against shorter-term degrees. North Dakota’s State Board

of Higher Education voted anyway, in February, to let public universities in that state test “bachelor of applied science” degrees of less than 120 credits.

“We’re trying to be responsive to the needs of employers and, frankly, the desire of students who do want to work their way through school as quickly as possible,” said Kevin Black, who chairs the board, which voted to reassess the move in four years. Just a few days later, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education invited proposals for reduced-credit degrees. A bill under consideration in the Iowa legislature would direct that state’s public universities to develop reducedcredit, three-year bachelor’s degrees. An Indiana law passed in 2024 already requires the same thing. In Utah, addition to Ensign, Weber State and Utah Valley universities are adding three-year bachelor’s degrees after Utah approved reduced-credit “bachelor of applied studies” degrees. Mount Mary University in Wisconsin is adding 95-credit, three-year bachelor’s degrees in cybersecurity and digital marketing; Manchester University in Indiana, 90-credit, three-year bachelor’s degrees in accounting, pre-athletic training and pre-physical therapy Upper Iowa University said in January that it would launch a 90-credit, three-year online bachelor’s degree in business administration. And Loma Linda University in California has added a three-year degree in global health. Now there’s talk of shortening graduate and professional programs such as medical school — which some educators argue should be three years instead of four to speed up the production of new doctors and others and reduce the price, especially with limits on federal graduate student loans set to take effect. More than half of current and aspiring medical students said in a survey they’d prefer a three-year over a four-year medical degree, mostly to save money As she neared the end of high school, Jazmin Cuello was impatient to get on with life. But when she looked around for bachelor’s degree programs in the subjects she wanted to study, they required four more years of classes.

“A lot of people, if they do want to go to college, just want to get it over with,” Cuello said. She, too, signed up for the three-year criminal justice program at Johnson & Wales. Now, said Cuello, sitting in the university’s criminal justice lab and smiling, “I’m almost a third of the way done. And I’m saving a ton of money.”

PHOTO PROVIDED By SOPHIE PARK

Students listen as Stephen Riccitelli teaches a course in criminal justice as part of a three-

degree program at Johnson & Wales University

Francis

Leo XIV

SUNDAY, April 5, 2026

CURTIS / by Ray Billingsley

SLYLOCK FOX / by Bob Weber Jr

GET FUZZY / by Darby Conley

HAGAR THE HORRIBLE / by Chris Browne

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM / by Mike Peters

ZIGGY / by Tom Wilson

ZITS / by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

SALLY FORTH / by Francesco Marciuliano & Jim Keefe

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE /byStephan Pastis

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

word game

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

todAY's Word — BrocHures: broSHURS: Pamphlets.

Average mark 44 words Time limit 60 minutes

Can you find 70 or more words in BROCHURES?

ken ken

instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner

instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

Sudoku

wuzzLes

Bridge magic

Today’s deal was played in a match between a team from Poland and a team from Norway South was Norway’s Tor Ove Reistad, who played it with great imagination. He played low from dummy on the 10 of clubs lead and calmly played his jack under East’s ace. Reistad ruffed the diamond shift and led his five of clubs. West played low and Reistadplayedtheeightfromdummy! A heart to the king was followed by the queen of clubs to dummy’s king. Another heart saw East rise with his ace and lead another diamond, ruffed by Reistad. The queen of hearts was ruffed low by West and over-ruffed with dummy’s six. A diamond ruff was followed by another heart ruff as West discarded the ace of diamonds. This was the position:

♠

my’s 10 of spades. He conceded the last trick to West but made his contract. Well done! West should have played his nine of clubs at trick three, but Reistad had nothing to lose. He could then lead a heart from dummy and hope for a friendlier lie of the major suits.

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

super Quiz

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

What does a Geiger

By what name are the ends of a permanent bar magnet known?

What do the letters stand for in AC/DC?

What people are dealt with in the branch of medicine called geriatrics?

Name any one of the

Reistad ruffed a diamond from dummywiththeaceofspadesand ruffed his last heart with dum-

ARIES

An emotional shift will take place relating to an unexpected occurrence or intervention Be receptive to change and mark out a path that will enrich your life

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Be careful who you help. Don’t jeopardize your physical well-being; recognize what’s doable and protect your

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

interests. Avoid risk; research gives you an advantage. CANCER (June 21-July 22) Refuse to ignore the truth or to let ego interfere. Holding talks, being honest and admitting you are wrong will help you come out on top Choose to venture forward with love and a positive attitude. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Jump into action, do your part, learn through experience and share what you discover. Make choices that enhance your life and walk away from people that hold you back.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) A discussion with someone interesting will

help you set a time frame and budget. Be bold, honest and willing to walk away from extravagant situations.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct 23) Tune into what’s coming down the pipeline that can affect how you work or earn your money Expand your knowledge, insight and ability to initiate change quickly if necessary

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Stretch your legs and engage in events or activities that are socially inviting and offer great conversations. A change to how or where you see yourself heading next will strike

an emotional chord that enriches your life.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) The more you make your space work for you, the happier you’ll be. It’s a great time to start discussions, share feelings and plans, and invite others to join in and help.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Keep tabs on what others do and say, and monitor how you respond. A positive outcome will unfold if you do what’s best for you and allow those in your sphere to do likewise.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb. 19) Letting your emotions lead the way will change everything, but before you

let that happen, evaluate the consequences. Do the math and consider the possible repercussions before you make a move. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Do something rejuvenating that offers a sense of belonging or accomplishment. Listen and learn from heartto-heart talks with those you love. Choose peace and love over discord and chaos.

goren Bridge

Answers to puzzles

1. Solid, liquid andgas. 2. Radiation.3.Poles or magnetic poles. 4. Alternatingcurrent/direct current. 5. Theelderly.6.Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.7.Anatom. 8. Kineticenergy 9. Biology.10. Condensation. 11.Dry ice 12.Alloy.13. Sublimation.14. Ameasure of the disorder present ina system. 15. Tailbone.

SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the booksharder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?

Saturday's Cryptoquote: One of the most beautiful things in the world I've ever seen or heard is people laughing. —D.L. Hughley