The Advocate 05-06-2026 by The Advocate

Raises forEBR workersproposed

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

Three weeks after the EastBatonRouge Parish MetroCouncil approved the largest single pay increase for Baton Rouge police in department history,the group will voteonanother plan to increase government employee salaries.

Theplan, crafted by Mayor-PresidentSid Edwards, comes in tandemwith Democrats’ push ahead of the police pay vote last month and calls for sweeping raises recommended in a2024 compensation study.

“In theway we kind of aligned

If approved on May 13,the proposalwould institutea 3.5% raise for employees of all city-parish departments—though thedistrict attorney,coroner andpublic defender ofﬁces are not included.

things andmadesure the Police Department is competitive and can recruit thebestand brightest, Ithink we need to do thesame now for city parish-workers who do essential services forthe parish,” said Democrat Metro Council member AnthonyKenney

If approved, the salaryincrease would take effect June 27 and would cost the city-parish $4.2million for the rest of this year and $8 million annually Of that yearly cost, $4.8 million would come from the city-parish’s

general fund. According to arecent memodetailing the raises, the funding will be supported by benefitplansavings and ahiring freeze that will redirect funds from salaries of vacant positions.

Reached Tuesday,Edwards’ ofﬁce said it is planning to release moredetails later in the week.

“Many of our city-parish workers have been working, probably half of my lifetime,” said Kenney, thecouncil’syoungest member “Theyjustfeelliketheyhave been overlooked for avery long time. It’s time they’repartofthe conversation.”

Shortly after aMarch newsconference announcing his plan to give police ahistoric raise, others quicklyvoiced that allemployees are deserving of araise.

ä See RAISES, page 6A

EL EC TI ON 20 26

U.S.

Letlow,Fleming have sharpwords

Cassidyskips eventbecause host disparages him

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

One thing became clear Tuesday,partway into the only debate in the Republican Senateprimary: U.S.Rep.JuliaLetlow and state Treasurer JohnFleming both want to knock each other out of the race during the ﬁrst round of voting on May 16.

Letlow and Flemingclashed repeatedly during the 90-minute debate, with each claiming to be the most conservative candidate in the election

The two Republicans barely mentioned the manthey want to unseat— U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy —and hadto be proddedto

criticize himbyconservative talk radio show host Moon Griffon, who organized andmoderated thedebateathis stationon KPEL-96.5 in Lafayette.

Cassidyskipped the event because Griffon regularlylambastes him as “Psycho Bill.”

Cassidy

Fleming accused Letlow of distorting hisopposition to illegal immigration and carbon capturesequestration and downplaying his ties to President Donald Trump

“There yougoagain, Julia,” Fleming said several times, reprising aline that

Ronald Reagan madefamousina 1980 nationwide, televised debate with thenPresident Jimmy Carter

Letlow saidFleming distorted heropposition to vaccine mandates and to diversity,equityand inclusion policiesand didn’t acknowledge thatshe self-reported her failure to report stock trades on atimely basis as amember of Congress.

“That’s another desperate claimyou make,” she said at one point to Fleming. Letlowalso said Fleming hit her with a“low blow” by noting that herﬁance, Kevin Ainsworth, promotes carbon capture sequestration companies as alawyer/

ä See WORDS, page 7A

Race to redraw mapposes problems

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

As LouisianaRepublicans scramble to redrawthe state’s congressional map by month’send, they are grappling with whether to draw amap with one majorityBlack,Democraticdistrict— or one with none at all.

At horn y question complicates that decision: Under theSupreme Court’snew interpretation of the Voting Rights Act, in whichit’snearly always unconstitutionaltouse race to draw district lines, is creating amajority-Black district still legal?

“The Legislature shouldpass a map that is defensible,” Gov.Jeff Landry said Tuesday.“Defensible means that once we go to court, that we will winand we don’thave to go into this continuouslegal viciouslegal cyclethatwe’ve been in.”

Any mapthe Legislature passes will need Landry’sblessing to take effect.

Louisiana has six congressional districts. Currently,four are held by White Republicans and two are held by Black Democrats from Baton Rouge andNew Orleans. The GOP-controlled Legislature is planning to eliminate either one or

ä See MAP, page 8A

PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

Republican Senate candidates U.S. Rep. Julia Letlowand state Treasurer John Fleming squareoff Tuesdayinadebate hosted by conservativetalk radio host Moon Griffon in theKPEL studios in Lafayette.

Kenney

Man sentenced to death for killing 7-year-old girl

DALLAS A former FedEx driver was sentenced to death on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to killing a 7-year-old girl he took from her Texas home while delivering a Christmas gift.

Jurors in a Fort Worth courtroom decided on Tanner Horner’s punishment after hearing about a month of testimony and evidence that included audio of Athena Strand’s last moments from inside his delivery van Horner, 34, pleaded guilty to capital murder last month in the 2022 killing just as his trial began. Athena’s body was found two days after she was reported missing from her home in the rural town of Paradise, near Fort Worth.

Horner didn’t visibly react when the judge read the sentence, according to a livestream of the court proceedings.

Jurors found there was a probability Horner would commit criminal violence and be a continuing threat to society They said there was nothing in the commission of the crime or in Horner’s background to warrant life without parole instead of death.

Police: 2 killed and 3 injured in shootings

CARROLLTON, Texas A man shot

ﬁve people in Texas on Tuesday killing two of them, after meeting at a shopping center north of Dallas, police said. It was not a random act of violence and the attacker knew the victims, Carrollton Police Chief Roberto Arredondo said

“It was a known business relationship. We are still working through trying to identify his causes,” Arredondo said After a short chase on foot, the 69-year-old suspect, Seung Han Ho, was arrested about 4 miles away at a grocery store, police said. It was not immediately known if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

Police were at a nearby apartment complex where Ho was listed as having recently lived. Neighbors said they didn’t recognize the name.

Three people were injured in the shooting but are in stable condition, Arredondo said. Shortly after the shooting, officers with their guns drawn walked past doors at K Towne Plaza in an area of Carrollton known as Koreatown. Agents from the FBI were among law enforcement collecting evidence in the parking lot.

Carrollton — population 130,000 is 20 miles north of Dallas. More than 4,000 residents are of Korean descent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Explosion at Colombia mine kills 9, injures 6

BOGOTA, Colombia An explosion in a coal mine in central Colombia killed nine miners and injured six others who were recovering in a hospital Tuesday, ofﬁcials said. There were 15 miners inside the Carbonera Los Pinos mine in Sutatausa, about 80 kilometers north of Bogota, when the explosion occurred Monday, Cundinamarca provincial Gov Jorge Emilio Rey said on X. Three of the miners escaped on their own, and the remaining three survivors were rescued. Colombia’s National Agency for Mining said in a statement that ofﬁcials inspected the mine in early April and had recommended sealing off areas no longer being used for coal extraction, because of a potentially dangerous “accumulation of gases including methane.” The agency didn’t say whether the recommendation was implemented.

The agency expressed its solidarity with families of the victims and said it “regrets this accident in which, thanks to the opportune action of rescue workers, six miners were saved.” Mining accidents are common in central Colombia, where dozens of small operators run coal and emerald mines. In 2023, 11 miners were killed by an explosion at another coal mine in Sutatausa. In 2020, 11 miners died during a mining accident in Cucunuba, another municipality in Cundinamarca province.

GOP pushing bill for ballroom

Legislation adds $1B for White House security upgrades

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Senate Republicans have added $1 billion in White House security upgrades to legislation that would fund immigration enforcement agencies, a proposed boost for President Donald Trump’s ballroom project after a man was charged with trying to assassinate him at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last week.

The GOP bill released late Monday would designate the money for the U.S. Secret Service for “security adjustments and upgrades” related to the ballroom project, which Trump and Republicans have been pushing since Cole Tomas Allen allegedly stormed the April 25 media dinner at the Washington Hilton with guns and knives. The legislation says the money would support enhance-

ments to the ballroom project, “including above-ground and belowground security features,” but also speciﬁes that the money may not be used for non-security elements.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle praised Republicans for including the money for the “long overdue” project, saying it would “provide the United States Secret Service with the resources they need to fully and completely harden the White House complex, in addition to the many other critical missions for the USSS.”

The money is part of a larger bill to pay for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, as Democrats have been blocking funds for both agencies since mid-February Congress passed bipartisan legislation to fund the rest of the Homeland Security Department on April 30 after a recordlong shutdown, but Republicans are using a partisan budget maneuver

to push through the ICE and Border Patrol dollars on their own. The House has not released its bill yet, but the Senate is expected to start voting on its version of the legislation next week.

It is unclear exactly how the $1 billion would be used and the amount far exceeds the proposed $400 million for construction of the ballroom. The White House has said in court documents that the East Wing project would be “heavily fortiﬁed,” including bomb shelters, military installations and a medical facility underneath the ballroom. Trump has said it should include bulletproof glass and be able to repel drone attacks.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has sued to block construction of the project, but a federal appeals court said last month that it can continue in the meantime.

The White House has said that

A gold-fueled mining rush spikes deforestation

Mercury contamination a growing concern in Brazil

BY GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA Associated Press

SAO PAULO The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, ofﬁcials and experts say

A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonproﬁt Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world’s largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.

The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its ﬁrst cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 74 acres. At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 2,056 acres of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 89 acres by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year

Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 5 acres to at least 66 acres in 2025.

In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018 About 1,225,640 acres of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 551,045 acres in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 1,432 acres of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to ofﬁcial data. About 42,000 acres were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch. “What makes mining particularly prob-

lematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,” said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation’s MonitoringoftheAndesAmazonprogram.

Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.

In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 13,590 acres had taken place by 2023.

Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon.

When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once ofﬁcials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a “cat-and-mouse game.”

“Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,” Porreca said. “The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.”

While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensiﬁed elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 19,620 acres of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.

Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.

“It’s basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,” Porreca said. He said Brazil’s mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.

Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in ﬁsh consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.

private money would pay for the construction but public money would be used for security measures. Some Republicans have suggested that public money pay for all of it, arguing the security breach at the dinner shows the president needs a secure place to host events.

“It would be insane” to hold the dinner at a hotel again, said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who introduced a bill to pay for the ballroom’s construction with Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. Democrats have said they will oppose any efforts to pay for the ballroom.

“While Americans are struggling to make ends meet as a result of President Trump’s failed policies, Republicans are focused on providing tens of billions of dollars for the President’s vanity ballroom project and cruel mass deportation campaign,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the U.S. Secret Service.

Proposed U.N. resolution threatens Iran with sanctions

Efforts aim to establish freedom of navigation

BY EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS A proposed U.N. resolution threatens Iran with sanctions or other measures if it doesn’t halt attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, stop imposing “illegal tolls,” and disclose the placement of all mines to allow freedom of navigation.

The draft Security Council resolution, co-sponsored by the United States and Gulf nations and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, also demands that Iran “immediately participate in and enable” United Nations efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor in the strait to enable the delivery of vital aid, fertilizer and other goods.

It is the latest diplomatic effort by the U.S. and its Gulf allies after a watered-

down resolution aimed at opening the strait was vetoed by China and Russia hours before Washington and Tehran announced a temporary ceasefire in early April. The U.S. and Gulf nations proposed the new draft as the Trump administration tries to restore freedom of navigation in the strait, which carried about 20% of the world’s crude oil before the U.S. and Israel began the war on Feb. 28. The proposed resolution, which was drafted under Chapter 7 of the U.N Charter and thus could be enforced militarily threatens “effective measures that are commensurate with the gravity of the situation, including sanctions” if Iran doesn’t comply The earlier resolution removed a Chapter 7 reference but was still vetoed. The new draft resolution reaffirms the right of all countries to defend their vessels from attacks and provocations.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By EDMAR BARROS

illegal mining camp is visible on Feb 11, 2023, from a Brazil Environmental Agency helicopter during an operation to try to contain illegal mining in yanomami Indigenous territory, Roraima state, Brazil.

Redistricting battles heat up across the country

Several states seize opportunity after ruling

BY TRAVIS LOLLER, KIM CHANDLER, DAVID A. LIEB and JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press

resents predates the Voting Rights Act.

“Memphis has been a majority Black district historically because that is where the population is,” he said. “It’s a district that is compact, and it has community purpose.”

tricts drawn by legislators in 2023,” said Republican state Rep. Chris Pringle, the bill’s sponsor During a House committee hearing, several Black residents urged lawmakers not to change the current congressional districts.

Democrats denounced legislation as a Republican power grab that harkens back to the state’s shameful history of denying Black residents equal rights and representation.

The newly proposed redistricting in Southern states could add to the Republicans’ tally

S. Carolina to test its will Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn has represented South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District since it was redrawn to favor minority voters in 1992. He’s running for an 18th term. But that could get harder if Republicans redraw his district. Leaders in the state House and Senate said a redistrictingeffortneedstostartwitha two-thirds vote in each chamber The issue could come up as soon as Wednesday But if only a few Republicans aren’t on board, it can’t succeed.

“We don’t know if we have the votes in the House,” Republican Speaker Murrell Smith said.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey has warned

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As civil rights advocates protest, Republican lawmakers in several Southern states are seizing on the opportunity afforded by a U.S Supreme Court ruling to redraw congressional districts ahead of the November midterm elections. Protesters marched up to Tennessee’s Capitol on Tuesday as a special legislative session began that could carve up a majority-Black district in Memphis. In Alabama, meanwhile, Republicanlawmakerspressedahead with a plan that could upend the state’s congressional primaries. And Republican leaders in South Carolina announced Tuesday that would try to eliminate a House district held by a longtime Black Democratic lawmaker Louisiana lawmakers also are making plans for new U.S. House districts after the Supreme Court last week struck down the state’s current map. The high court’s ruling said Louisiana relied too heavily on race when creating a second Blackmajority House district as it attempted to comply with the Voting Rights Act. The ruling signiﬁcantly altered a decades-old understanding of the law, giving Republicans in various states grounds to try to eliminate majority-Black districts that have elected Democrats. It could lessen congressional representation for Black Americans and other minorities, reversing decades of gains in minority voting rights. President Donald Trump has been encouraging more states to join in redistricting as Republicans seek to hold on to their narrow House majority in this year’s elections. Eight states already have adopted new U.S. districts ahead of the midterms. From that, Republicans think they could gain as many as 13 seats in five states, while Democrats think they could gain up to 10 seats from new districts in three other states But some of the new districts could be competitive in November, meaning the parties may not get all they sought

that redistricting could backﬁre because of thin political margins,resultinginasecond Democrat in the U.S. House. Massey told reporters Tuesday that he had a cordial conversation with Trump about redistricting, each laying out their concerns.

The state’s primaries are June 9 and early voting starts in three weeks.

Tenn. targets Memphis

Republican Gov Bill Lee called Tennessee lawmakers into a special session to consider a plan urged by Trump that could break up the state’s lone Democraticheld U.S. House district, centered on the majorityBlack city of Memphis Republican lawmakers said little about the plan Tuesday

As the Senate began work, shouts of “shame, shame, shame” could be heard inside the chamber from protesters gathered in the hallways. On the chamber ﬂoor, Sen. Raumesh Akbari, a Black Democrat from Memphis, called the redistricting “an act of hate.”

At a rally earlier Tuesday state Rep. Justin Pearson of Memphis, who is running for Congress, denounced the Republican plan as a “racist redistricting.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, who is White, said the Memphis-based district he rep-

Martin Luther King III sent a letter to Tennessee legislative leaders expressing “grave concern” about the plan to divide Memphis’ congressionalrepresentation.

“This decision undermines the work that my father, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr carried out to help secure passage of the Voting Rights Act,” he wrote, noting that his father was assassinated in Memphis.

The candidate qualifying period in Tennessee ended in March, and the primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6. Ala. looks at new primary

Alabama legislative committees swiftly advanced legislation Tuesday that would allow a special congressional primary, if the Supreme Court clears the way for the state to change its U.S. House districts.

In light of the court’s ruling on Louisiana’s districts, Alabama officials have asked the high court to set aside a judicial order to use a U.S House map that includes two districts with a substantial number of Black voters and instead let the state revert to a map passed in 2023 by Republican lawmakers. That map could help the GOP win at least one of those two seats currently held by Democrats.

Alabama’s primaries are scheduled for May 19. If the Supreme Court grants the state’s request after or too close to the primary the legislation under consideration would ignore the results of that primary and direct the governor to schedule a new primary under the revised districts.

“This is an opportunity for the voters to vote in the dis-

“Representation matters — not just politically but in access, in power and in who gets to be heard,” said Eliza Jane Franklin, of rural Barbour County

Republicans are “working to secure an electoral victory by taking Alabama back to the Jim Crow era, and we won’t go back,” Democratic U.S. Rep

told a crowd gathered outside the Alabama Statehouse.

Terri Sewell

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV

Charles Uffelman yells on Tuesday during a rally against the special session of the state Legislature to redraw U.S. congressional voting maps in Nashville, Tenn.

Trumppausesefforttoguide stranded vesselsout of strait

BY AAMER MADHANI, ADAM SCHRECK, BEN FINLEY and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates— President Donald Trump said on Tuesday evening that he is pausing the U.S. effort to guide strandedvessels outofthe Strait of Hormuz to allow time for adeal to end the Iran war,but that the Americanforces’ blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place.

Trump announced the decision in asocial media post, saying the effort —which started on Mondayinthe vital waterwayfor global energy —would pause for a short period to see whether an agreement with Tehran on ending the war in the Middle East could be ﬁnalized.

Trump said themovewas based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendousMilitary Success that we have had during the Campaign againstthe CountryofIran and, additionally,the fact that Great Progress has been made toward aComplete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for commentfor further detail on the progress in negotiations that Trump mentioned. The talks have largely stalled though aceaseﬁre that took hold nearly amonth ago is holding.

The United Arab Emirates, akey U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, said it came under attack from Iranian drones and missiles for asecond day on Tuesday,evenasU.S.military leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted the ceaseﬁre was still holding and that —while the conﬂict is not resolved —the initial major U.S. military operation against Iran has concluded. Before theTrump an-

nouncement, Rubio told a White Housepress briefing that for peacetobe achieved, Iran must agree to Trump’sdemands on its nuclearprogram and also agree to reopen theStraitof Hormuz.

“Wewould preferthe path of peace,” Rubio said. He also expressed hope that during the expected visit to China by Iranian ForeignMinisterAbbasAraghchionWednesday, Beijing wouldreiterate to Tehran the need to release its chokehold on the strait.

Effortstoreopenstrait

Tuesday was only the second day inthe U.S. push to reopen the strait to maritime trafﬁc— an operation Rubio describedasdefensiveand aimed at helping thousands of civilian sailorsstranded there by the war

“They’re sittingducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable,” Rubiosaid. “Atleast 10 sailors havealready died as aresult.”

On Monday,the U.S. said it had opened alane and sunk six small Iranian boats that hadthreatened commercial ships. So far, onlytwo merchantshipsareknowntohave passed through the new U.S.guarded route, with hundreds morebottledupinthePersian Gulf.

Iran’s effectiveclosure of thestrait, through which majoroil and gas supplies passedbeforethe war, along with fertilizer and other petroleum products, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and

rattledthe global economy.

Breaking Iran’sgripwould denyits main sourceofleverage as Trump demands amajor rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Iran says ceasefire violated

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine,the U.S.military’s top ofﬁcer,told anews conference that Iran’srenewed attacks had not reached the threshold of what Caine called “major combat operations.” He said Tuesday markeda“quieter” day in thestrait.

At theWhiteHouse, Rubio said clashes with Iran related to American efforts to reopen the strait were “defensive in nature.”

“There’snoshootingunless we’re shot at ﬁrst, OK?” Rubio said. “We’re notattackingthem.”

Iran’sparliament speaker andchiefnegotiator,Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, signaled that Iran hasyet to fully respond to the U.S. attempt to reopen the waterway

“Weknowfull well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; while we have not even begun yet,” he said in apost on X. His statement did not mention negotiations with theU.S. that are now in the form of passing messages via Pakistan

Disputing Washington’s claim of sinking sixIranian boats, an Iranian military commander said two small civilian cargo boatswere hit

WhatisNursingHomePovertyandHowDoYouAvoidIt?

NursinghomepovertyisaproblemthatcreepsuponLouisianafamiliesandforces themtodepletetheirlifesavings,withdrawtheirfamilyfundsfromtheirretirement accountsandspendalloftheirmonthlyincomeontheirlong-termcareandnursing homeexpenses without anyassistance fromMedicaid. In ordertoavoidthisfrom happening, youMUSTplanahead at leastfiveyearsprior to entering anursing home.

Nelda’sStory

Neldacametoourofficeaboutsixyearsago.Weaskedherwhathermainconcerns were.Shewasdiagnosedwitharthritis,andshewasconcernedthatashercondition worsened,shewouldberequiredtoresideinanursinghome.Shehadseenthreeof herfamilymemberslosetheirlifesavingstounexpectednursinghomestays.Nelda wanted to protect herhomeand herlifesavings of $450,000. Sheknewshe hadto spenddownall of herassets until shehad less than $2000 in hercheckingaccount andshe knewthatnursing homecosts were about $80,000 ayear.She wanted to leavewhatshehadsavedtoherthreechildrenequally.SowetalkedtoNeldaabout setting up averyspecific, very custom MedicaidTrust.Nelda wouldretaincontrol ofherassets,andifshehadtoenteranursinghome5yearsinthefuture,shewould nothavetodepleteherlifesavingsonnursinghomecosts

TheFive-YearLookBackPeriod

WetoldNeldatherewasasenseofurgencytosetupherlegalaffairsinordertostart thefive-yearlookbackperiod.Neldaaskeduswhatwouldhappenifsheenteredthe nursinghomefouryears(insteadoffiveyears)aftersettinguptheTrust.Weassured herthatifshe enteredthe nursinghomeinfour years, shewouldbea privatepay patientuntilshereached itall! thefive-yearmarkwhichisamuchbetterresultthanlosing

LAURAPOCHEINVITESYOUTOATTEND AFREEWORKSHOPTOLEARNABOUT:

•Whatassetsdon’tcountforMedicaid;

•WhattherulesareifyouaremarriedandreceivingMedicaidbenefits; •WhattheassetruleisifyouaremarriedandneedtoqualifyforMedicaid; •EstateRecovery–canMedicaidtakeyourhomeafteryoudie?

•Penaltiesfor transfers– can youtransferassets to qualifyfor Medicaidwithout beingpenalized?

•WhenthepenaltyperiodstartsforMedicaid; •Owningexemptassets;and

•Whathappensifyoudon’thavefiveyearstoplan?

Monday, killingﬁve civilians, Iran’sstate TV reported.

Caine, the top U.S.general who serves as chairman of the JointChiefsofStaff,said more than100 U.S. military aircraft are patrollingthe skies over the strait. The U.S. has imposed anaval blockade on Iranianports since April 13, depriving Tehran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.

The Trump administra-

tion has cited the April 8 ceasefire in asserting that the president does nothave to give aformal update to Congress on the war under the WarPowers Resolution. Thatlaw typically requires presidents to seek formal approval from Congress for waractivities60daysafter beginning military action.

Shippers remainwary

So far, just twocivilian vessels, both U.S.-flagged merchant ships, are known to have passed through the strait as part of the lane the U.S.saysithas created. Shipping companyMaersk said one of them,avehicle carrier that it operates, exited the strait safely Monday with U.S. military assistance.

Former military officers who have servedonthe strait have said opening it would be dangerous and highly challenging, even with military escorts, which the U.S. is not

providing now

There’slittle room to maneuver in the waterway that is just 21 miles wide, and Iran can reach all of the strait and its approaches with cruise missiles. It also can target vessels with longer-range missiles,drones, fast attack craft and mines.

Hapag-Lloyd AG,one of the world’slargest container shipping companies, said in a statement that its risk assessment “remains unchanged” and that transits through the strait “are for the moment not possible for our ships.” Iranhas attacked ships that trytotransit without going through its own route in the northern part of the strait alongthe Iranian coastline. That involves being vetted by Iran’sRevolutionary Guard and in some cases making apayment. The U.S.-approved route goes through territorialwaters of Oman to the south.

Catering

BatonRouge Monday,May 18 PocheLaw Office 4960 Bluebonnet,Ste.C 2:00pm- 4:30pm Refreshments ProvidedAfter

BatonRouge

Wednesday, May20 PocheLaw Office 4960 Bluebonnet,Ste.C 9:30am -12:00pm LunchProvidedAfter

BatonRouge Tuesday, May19 PocheLaw Office 4960 Bluebonnet,Ste. C 11:00am-1:30pm LunchProvidedAfter

BatonRouge Thursday,May 21 DrusillaSeafood 3482 DrusillaLane 5:30pm-8:00pm Dinner ProvidedAfter

IMPORTANTGUIDELINESFOROURWORKSHOPS:Allofourlearningworkshopsemploystrictsocialdistancingstandardsforeveryone’ssafety.Workshopsare opentoFIRST-TIMEATTENDEESONLYandaregearedtowardspeoplewhowantorneedyourlegalestateplaninplacequickly.(*)Pleasehaveyourpersonalcalendarhandy at theworkshop so you can choosetostart your plan NOW!Ifmarried,bothspouses must attend aworkshoptoensurethatall decision-makers areinvolvedinyour family’s coordinatedplan. Allpeoplewho attend will receive aFREEcopy of thesecond editionofLaura Poche’sBook, “EstatePlanning Advice by aWoman forLouisianaWomen: AGuideforBothMenandWomenAboutWills,Trusts,Probate,PowersofAttorney,Medicaid,LivingWillsandTaxes.” *Non-Louisianaresidentsmayattendforanominalfee.

ISNAPHOTO By AMIRHOSEIN KHORGOOI Abulk cargo ship

MedicaidandNursingHomePoverty

Notably, Constable Terrica Williams questioned whether Edwards’ decision to exclude her staff was based on race or gender noting she is the only Black woman leading a law enforcement or emergency agency in the city-parish.

Council Democrats held a news conference last month urging the mayor-president to bring a plan that includes all city-parish workers. For the new plan to pass, at least two Republicans would need to support it alongside the council’s ﬁve Democrats.

The police raises passed with nine “yes” votes last month. All seven Republicans on the council and Democrats Twahna P. Harris and Carolyn Coleman voted to approve. Before that vote, Democrat Darryl Hurst said he would only support the police raises if a majority of his colleagues would pledge to support the parishwide raises.

That ask drew ﬁery pushback from his colleagues, who said they had not yet been given funding details for the employee raises and questioned whether any related backroom discussions had taken place that violated open meetings laws. Looking ahead to next week’s vote, Republican Rowdy Gaudet said he’s focused on three things related to the proposal: competitive pay, a financially stable plan and whether the administration is looking at restructuring employees’ beneﬁts.

The 2024 study that recommended the 3.5% raises also found that the city-parish’s pension plan is costly and not aligned with what today’s workforce is looking for “It told us that your salaries are low, yes, but the beneﬁts are higher than the market,” Gaudet said. “What I communicated to the administration was, ‘Look, I want to make sure we’re

“We’ve actually got to fix the root

not just layering on more costs here.’ But we’re actually restructuring our compensation so that we benefit employees, and also benefit taxpayers in the long term.” Gaudet notes that the timing of any possible benefit restructuring is not aligned with the salary increases, but says it should still be a priority for everyone involved, just as much as the parishwide raises are. “We’ve actually got to fix the root issue,” Gaudet said. The study said we have more than just a pay issue. We have a total compensa-

tion imbalance.”

DA lawsuit looms

The plan also comes shortly after District Attorney Hillar Moore ﬁled a lawsuit against the city-parish, arguing the local government is not funding his ofﬁce adequately as the state constitution requires.

That civil case has its ﬁrst court date Thursday In the lawsuit, Moore is asking that the city-parish allocate more than $22 million to his office annually, a far higher mark than the $7 million to $9 million he’s received in the past few years.

“This amount is wholly insufficient for the District Attorney to perform his required duties,” Moore wrote about his 2026 allocation in a recent court filing. “In fact, the budgeted amount will make it virtually impossible for the District Attorney’s office to function as constitutionally mandated.”

Gaudet said he’s spoken with the Edwards’ office about some deferred maintenance issues and funding for Moore’s ofﬁce and others as they get ready to vote on an additional $8 million in annual expenses.

A transition away from the city-parish pension plan could provide savings in the long run, Gaudet said, which could provide more money to allocate to the district attorney, coroner, public defender and others.

Kenney said he understands Moore’s reasoning for filing the lawsuit and sees it as him advocating for his ofﬁce and staff.

And while the suit could jeopardize city-parish funds and services, Kenney says it also opens up an opportunity to determine whether all the cities in the parish are paying their fair share.

“Are there any particular cities that we need to help fund the DA’s Ofﬁce?” Kenney said. “The DA serves

NoticedisherebygivenpursuanttoArticle7,Section23(C)oftheLouisianaConstitutionandR.S.47:1705(B)thatapublic hearingoftheAssessmentDistrictofEast FelicianaParishwillbeheldatits regularmeeting placeatthe Town Hall located at 3337ChurchStreet, Slaughter, LA on July 21,2026at6:30p.m.toconsider levyingadditionalorincreased millage rateswithout furthervoter approval or adopting theadjustedmillage ratesafter reassessmentandrollingforwardtorates nottoexceedthe prioryear’smaximum. Theestimated amount of taxrevenues to be collected in thenextyearfromthe increasedmillage is $54,630.65,and the amount of increase in taxesattributable tothemillageincreaseis$216.89

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS City of BatonRougeand Parish of East BatonRouge:DepartmentofEnvironmental Services, BatonRouge Fire Department Haz-MatUnit, BatonRouge City Police, EMS, CleanHarbors,Louisiana Department of EnvironmentalQuality (LDEQ),Interstate Batteries of Greater BatonRouge,WAFBCh. 9, BatonRougeCoca-Cola

citizens out in Central, Zachary, St. George and Baker We need to make sure we’re not leaving any options on the table, and everybody’s paying their fair share.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Constable Terrica Williams speaks to East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council member Rowdy Gaudet about raises for her office during the March 25 Metro Council meeting

lobbyist for the Jones Walker law ﬁrm in Baton Rouge.

“That’swhere Idraw the line, John,” she told Fleming. “I would never bring your wife into this.”

Fleming said his comments were fair game because, in his opinion, Letlowmischaracterized his side work for aWashington, D.C., ﬁrm. Letlow said Fleming lobbies for the McKeon Group, while Fleming said he only acts as an “adviser.”

In an interview after the debate, Fleming said he earns$1,000per month fromMcKeon to provide strategic advice and said he is allowed to do this work whileserving as Louisiana’s treasurer Fleming repeatedlysaid that Gov.Jeff Landry who has endorsed Letlow —isworking behind the scenes to ensure herelection. At one point, Letlow felt compelled to remind Fleming that he is running against her,not the governor The ﬁery accusations that Fleming and Letlowleveled at each other during the debate —and aslew of attack ads by pro-Letlow forces against Fleming —indicate that each candidate wants to eliminate theother from the race after the votes are counted in the Republican primary on May 16. It appears unlikely that any of the three candidates would receive over 50% of the vote. That would mean the top two ﬁnishers would advance to aRepublican runoff on June 27. Cassidy,for his part, told reporters on Monday that Letlow is the front-runner, and his goal is to knock her out. All of this indicates that Cassidy would rather face Fleming in the June runoff, while Fleming and Letlow wouldrather face him. The rules for the Senate election have remained un-

changed after the U.S.Supreme Court ruledlast week that Louisiana’sHouse map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, and Landry canceled the May 16 House elections. Thoseelections will be heldlater this year after thestate Legislature this month draws anew mapfor Louisiana’ssix House districts. Early voting is underway through Saturday in the Senateelection —and also forother races, including five constitutional amendments. Voters are reporting that the changes arecausing confusion. Asurvey conductedby NewOrleans pollster Greg Rigamershowed Letlow with 35%ofthe Senate Republicanprimaryvote, while Fleming and Cassidy were virtuallytiedat 21%. The poll of 600 likely Republican primary voters was conducted fromApril 28-30and paid for by major lobbyist Alton Ashy Fleming and Cassidy, however,have each said they have seen polls showing themselves leading the race. In an interview the day before thedebate, Cassidy

said Griffon “hates” him andthatFleming andLetlowbuy favor with the radio host by purchasing ad time on straight debat tion wh podiums fa Also wa ch por moderate televised, bat during mary only Gri uled wh ci ac minutes. prepared that dor to not Tr sta ﬁr

ly conservative voting record during his eightyears in theHouse.

Fleming saidhenever had thechancetoget Trump’s endorsement because the president’ssenior aides kept him fromasking for the endorsement. Fleming blamed Landry’sinﬂuence with the president. Fleming saidheﬁnallygot to talkto Trump, andTrump told him thathe’s“fantastic.”

Letlow sought to undermine Fleming’sclaim by saying it shows thatthe statetreasurer has no stroke with Trump.

“My opponent wasrunning for 13 months and couldn’tget in touch with the president,” Letlow said. “Thattells youall youneed to know.Ican pick up the phone and easily access himbecause Ihave hiscell number.”

While the debate highlighted their differences, Fleming andLetlowagreed on anumberofissues.

They both said they oppose abortion, mandated vaccines and giving more aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia

In response to aquestion from Griffon, they both said they would nothave voted with Cassidy to convict Trump on impeachment charges of inciting the assault on the CapitolonJan. 6, 2021. “There wasabsolutely no reason to believe that Donald Trumpwas guilty,” Letlow said. “That wasthe worst mistake that Cassidy could have made. He turned hisbackonLouisianavoters, and they have never forgotten it.” Fleming said “arguably the 2020 election was stolen, and President Trump, thankgoodness, overcame it and returned to office. We’veresearched Julia Letlow’s statements about this and we can ﬁnd nothing where she actually defendedTrump during Lawfare.” After the debate, Letlow and Fleming both pronouncedthemselvessatisfied at having the chance to describe their viewsand contrast their records.

PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON The U.S. Supreme Court late Monday took theunusual step of accelerating itsdecision that has led Louisiana lawmakers to redraw the districts from which voters will elect sixrepresentatives to the U.S. House thisfall.

Thehighcourt agreed to hurry its paperwork ordering lower courts to apply the new standards from its decision last week to weaken the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Louisiana v. Callais. Six conservative justices joined to ﬁnd Louisiana’s6th Congressional District, represented by U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, unconstitutionally relied on race when drawn by the Legislature in 2024. The usual practice givesthe

Supreme Court 32days to officially deliver itsguidance for the lower courts toapply.This allows time for the losers to apply for a rehearing. The highcourt’sdecision Monday nightfast-tracks thattimeline After the court’sCallais ruling last week, Gov.Jeff Landry suspended thecongressionalelection, early voting for which was to begin Saturday,toallow state lawmakerstopassa new,more GOP-friendly configuration of voting districts.

The court’semergency ruling clears theway legally for Louisiana legislators to redraw congressional maps.

They are likely to dramatically change the district that Fields represents,but could alsoalter the 2nd Congressional District, the state’sother district that in-

cludes enough minority voters to givea Black candidate an opportunitytowin.Thatdistrictis represented by Rep. Troy Carter D-New Orleans.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was nominated by Democratic PresidentJoe Biden and opposedthe majority’sCallais ruling, disagreed with hastening usual protocols.Her dissent setoff sniping with conservative membersofthe court who were among the Callais majority Justice Samuel Alito, who was tapped by PresidentGeorge W. Bush, answered that Jackson’s dissent was “baselessand insulting.” Jackson pointed out that some mail ballotsinLouisiana have already been distributed and some people have castvotes. Anumber of lawsuits challenging Landry’s

election delay have been ﬁledby candidates and voters who have alreadycast ballots.She also noted that the Supreme Court had only chosen to speed up its 32-day timeline twice before during the past25years.

“The Court’sdecision in these cases has spawned chaos in the StateofLouisiana,” Jackson wrote in her dissent. “Louisiana’s hurried response to the Callais decision unfolds in the midst of an ongoing statewide election, against the backdropofapitched redistricting battle amongstate governments that appear to be actingasproxies for theirfavored political parties.”

Alito countered that the Robinson intervenors, the group of Black voters whose lawsuit led to the district conﬁguration at issue in Callais, didn’texpress an intent

to askfor rehearing. His opinion was joined by conservative justices Clarence Thomas, who was picked by Republican President George H.W.Bush, andNeil Gorsuch, who was aPresident Donald Trump choice.

“The dissent goes on to claim that our decision represents an unprincipleduse of power,”Alito wrote.“Thatisa groundless and utterly irresponsible charge.”

Louisiana Attorney GeneralLiz Murrill said in astatement: “This caseisa major win forLouisiana. We aremoving forward immediately to ensure the constitutional rights of our citizens are protected and to ﬁx the unconstitutional map.Louisiana is continuing to follow the law.”

Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate.com.

both Black districts.

As they undertake that process, Republican lawmakers “absolutely” need to be careful about how they frame any decisiontodraw amajority-Black districtinto the new map, said Michael Gilbert, an election lawprofessorat theUniversity of Virginia.

“If there is any evidence that they were motivated to draw the lines they drew by racialconsiderations, that is probably unconstitutional,” Gilbert said.

If lawmakers did create such a district, it could be vulnerable to challenges like the one in the Louisianav.Callais case thatcaused the Supreme Court to overturn the state’scurrent map,which has two majority-Black seats. Thecourt ruled themap violated theConstitution by using race as afactor in theredistricting process.

Said Gilbert: “I know it’spossible to create adistrictthat is majorityminority.The question iswhether theLegislature can saywith a straight face they’re doing it for some nonracial reason.”

But Republicansare also concerned thatdrawing amap with no majority-Democraticdistricts could leave Republicans vulnerable. Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter,R-Port Allen, saidMonday that Louisiana’s

Republican members of Congress “have serious concerns” about whether they could easily hold onto theirdistricts underamap that has six GOP districts. Robert Hogan, aprofessor and chair of thepolitical science de-

partment at LSU, saidcreating oneDemocratic district could help protect Louisiana’spowerful incumbentRepublicans, like U.S.

HouseSpeaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise.A mapwith sixGOP-leaning seats would add more Democratic voters to those districts, which could make ittougher forthemtowin reelection, he said.

The Supreme Court in 2019 ruled thatpolitical considerations, like protecting incumbents, are legally permissible factors in redistricting.

Gilbertsaidlawmakers areallowed to drawadistrictto, for example, protect incumbents or achieve another politicalobjective —whichjust happens to be a majority-Black district.

“That’sOKbecause in that case it wouldn’tberacedriving the decision, it would be politics, which just happens to correlate with race,” he said.

Hogan echoed that perspective.

“They can’tuse race, but they can talk alot about political party,” he said. “I think alot of that is going to be focusing on what is advantageous to the Republicans.”

Hogan also noted that race and partisanship “are very much

aligned” in Louisiana —Black votersoverwhelmingly vote Democratic.

He said map-drawers in the Legislature arelikely facing enormous pressure —both from President Donald Trump, who is demanding GOP-ledlegislaturesacrossthe country deliver him more Republican seats in Congress —and from Louisiana’sBlack Democrats, who are calling to keep two majorityBlack districts.

Eliminating both majorityBlack districts “would be very detrimentaltothe relationship that Republicanshave withtheir African-American, Democratic colleagues,” Hogan said.

Sen. Sam Jenkins, D-Shreveport, saidthat, whether Republican lawmakers decide to eliminate either one or two Black districts, that choice necessarily takesraceinto account.

“How do you explain that’snot race-based in some form?” he asked.

Landry says he’sconﬁdent the state can ﬁnd away to draw either a5-1 map or a6-0 map

“I think you can pass just about any kind of defensible mapifyou put the right type of evidence into the record,” the governor said.

STAFF FILEPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

photo by:Tim Mueller Photography

Indiana, Ohio giveTrump victoriesinprimaries

BY JONATHAN J. COOPER, HUMERA LODHI and SIMRAN PARWANI Associated Press

President Donald Trump is having some success in his latest attempt to politically punish Republicans who stand in his way

At leastﬁve of the seven Indiana state senators targeted by Trump lost their primaries Tuesday.One incumbent was victorious, and another race has not yet been called. Trump got involved in the races because he was angry that state senators rejected his redistricting plan.

In neighboring Ohio, primaries for U.S. Senate and governor locked in the candidates for two majorraces with nationalimplications.

And in Michigan, votersin abellwether district were weighing in on avacancy in the state Senate, which could decide the chamber’s balance of power in abattleground state.

Trump’sinfluenceisstrong

Trumptookaim at seven Republican state senators in Indiana who opposed his plan to redraw congressional district boundaries to help the party gain seats in the U.S. House.

Groups allied with the president spent more than $8.3 million on advertising, an extraordinary ﬂood of cash and attention into racesthat are typically lowproﬁle.

The races were atestof Trump’senduring grip over his party as Republicans grow increasingly anxious about the midtermelections in November

The results Tuesday are asignal to Republicans everywhere that they can still get thrown out of ofﬁceif

theydistance themselves from Trump even as his popularity fades. And they show the president he can still credibly threaten consequences for Republicans who cross him.

The Trump-targeted state senatorsall represent districts he carriedin2024, mostly by 20 percentage points or more.

Ohio racesrampup

The state’s primary was thewind-uptothe big show Although Ohio hasbecome increasingly conservative, Democrats believe their pathback to aU.S. Senate majority runs through the state.

They’re putting their hopes behind former Sen SherrodBrown, who lost Ohio’sother Senateseat to Bernie Moreno in 2024. Brown easily won the Democraticnomination Tuesday and willface offwithRepublican Sen. Jon Husted, whowas appointed last year to fill the vacancy created when JD Vance became vice president.

Therace is aspecial electiontoﬁll the last twoyears of Vance’s term. Brown has consistently donebetter in Ohio than Democratic presidential candidates as thestate has shifted to theright. Evenin

2024, when Democrat Kamala Harris lost Ohio to Trump by 11 points, Brown lostby less than 4points.

In the campaign forgovernor,Republican VivekRamaswamy has parlayed his national name recognition, tech industry connections and alliance with Trump into arecord fundraising haul. He largely ignored Republican rivalCasey Putsch,focusing his rallies andtelevisionads on the general election, and won theprimary decisively

An engineer and vehicle designerwho calls himself “The Car Guy,” Putsch attracted fanswith provocative YouTube videos that trolledRamaswamy and criticized national Republicansovertheir handling of the Epstein ﬁles, positions on energy-guzzling data centers andsupport for Israel.

Ramaswamy will face Amy Acton,Ohio’sformerpublic health director, who ranunopposed for the Democratic nomination. Sheplayed akey role in the state’sresponse to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Will Democratssweep?

The special election for a state Senate seat in central Michigan carries outsized importance.

It’s another test of enthusiasm in aseries of special electionsthathave swung almostuniversally toward Democrats since Trump returned to theWhiteHouse. It also could affect thebal-

First-time voter Frida Webb casts a ballotduring aprimary election on TuesdayinWest Lafayette, Ind. Indiana, Ohio and Michigan heldprimary and special elections on Tuesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CARA

PENQUITE

ance of powerinthe MichiganState Capitol. A Democratic victory would give the party aﬁrm majorityinthe stateSenate, while aRepublican win would deadlockthe chamber in a

19-19 tie

The districtisclosely matched. Harris beat Trumpthere by less than 1 point in the 2024 presidentialelection.

Theseathas been vacant for morethan ayear,since Democrat KristenMcDonaldRivetresigned to take a seat in Congress.

Democrats are showing surprising strength in specialelections andoffyear contests across the country,winning races in unexpected places and significantly narrowing the gap, even when theyfall short. There’snoguarantee the trend will continue through themidterms, when turnout will be much higher,but it hasnonetheless energized Democrats andspooked Republicans worried about keeping their congressional majorities.

Cruise ship struck by rare virusremains anchored

Crew,nearly150 passengers await evaluations

BY CHINEDU ASADU and ANNIE RISEMBERG Associated Press

PRAIA, CapeVerde Footage

obtained by The Associated Press of acruise ship at the center of arare-virus outbreakshows deserted decks andgathering areas, medical teams in protective gear, and astill landscape ahead as the vessel and its nearly 150 passengers and crew waited another day off the coast of West Africa.

Three passengers have died and at least four peoplehavebeensickinwhat health ofﬁcials say is an outbreak of hantavirus, which usually spreads by inhaling contaminated rodent droppings. The World Health Organization said passengers are isolating in their cabins.

The company that operatesthe vessel —currently anchored in the Atlantic off Cape Verde —said it plans to move to Spain’sCanaryIs-

lands once three people have been medically evacuated and put on speciallyequipped planes to the Netherlands.

EarlierTuesday, Spanish officials said that they were monitoring the situationand hadn’tmade adecision.

TheMVHondius, aDutch ship on aweekslongpolar cruise, departed April1 fromArgentinafor Antarcticaand several isolated islands in the South Atlantic.

“Our dayshave been close to normal, justwaiting for authorities to find asolution,” passenger Qasem Elhato, 31 —who sent AP the video footage —saidvia WhatsApp. “But morale on the ship is high and we’re keepingourselvesbusywith reading, watching movies, having hot drinks and that kind of things.”

HeleneGoessaert, another passenger,told Belgian broadcaster VRTthateveryone on board is “in the same boat,literally.”

“You don’tembark on a trip with theidea that one of your fellow passengers won’t make it,” she said.

“Wereceiveinformation at regularintervals. It is accu-

Health workers getoff theDutch-flagged

shipcarrying nearly 150 people, as

on Mondayafter three passengersdiedand severalothers fell seriously ill in asuspected hantavirus outbreak.

rate.For the rest,itisa waiting game,” she added. “Today we received freshfruitand fresh vegetables. That was very important tous.”

Evacuation plansunclear

Authorities in Cape Verde have said they sent teams of doctors, surgeons,nurses andlaboratory specialists to theHondius. They were seen in Elhato’svideo footage —wearing white overalls, bootsand face masks as they disembarkedtoa

smaller vessel.

Officials in CapeVerde’s capital of Praia, acityofless than200,000 people, said they have stepped up safety protocols, particularly near the port,asa precautionary measure against the rodent-borne illness—which

doesn’tusually spread person to person, though health authoritiessay it might be possible.

Elhato said passengers were wearing masks and social distancing —practices that became hallmarks of theCOVID-19pandemic.

Ship operator Oceanwide Expeditionssaid it hadimplemented its highest level of response, with isolation measures, hygiene protocols and medical monitoring.

Oceanwide Expeditions said Tuesday evening that two specialized aircraft were flying to Cape Verde to evacuate twopeople who need urgent medical care and one person who was traveling with aGerman woman who diedonboard Saturday. Theyweretobe taken to the Netherlands, though exactly when that would happen was not immediately clear Once the medical evacua-

tion happens, theshipplans to sail to the Canary Islands, either Gran Canaria or Tenerife, avoyage of some three days, the company said in its statement, adding that “discussionsare ongoingwithrelevantauthorities.”

Spanishhealth officials had said in an earlier statementthat they weremonitoring and that “the most appropriate port of callwill be decided. Until then, the Ministry of Health will not adoptany decision, as we have informedthe World Health Organization.” WHO said Tuesday that it’s lookingatsevencasesinall threepeoplewho have died, onecritically ill passenger who waspreviouslytaken off the ship, and three on board reporting mild symptoms. Twoofthe cases —a woman who died and the evacuated man —tested positive forhantavirus.

By The Associated Press

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK,Wyo. Twohikers were injured in abear attack on apopular hiking trail near Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful geyser,park ofﬁcials said Tuesday. The attack was described by ofﬁcialsas asingle eventMonday afternoon along the Mystic Falls Trail.

Alarge area of the parknear the Midway Geyser Basin was temporarily closed pending an investigation. Theareaincludes at least five trails and severalbackcountry campsites.

Park ofﬁcials said one or more bears were involved, but did not specify which species The park has populations of both grizzly bears and black bears, which can be difﬁcult to tell apart at times. Grizzlies can bemore

aggressiveand they grow much larger —as much as twiceasbig as blackbears.Black bears usually have darker coloring.

Further information —including whether the victims were hiking together and whether they were hospitalized for their injuries —was not being immediately released, said Yellowstone spokesperson Ashton Hooker Yellowstone getsmore than 4million visitsbytouristsannually and attacks by grizzlies or black bears are rare. In September,a hiker suffered injuries to his chestand arm in an attack on the Turbid Lake Trail northeast of YellowstoneLake, and agrizzly killed awoman just west of Yellowstone in 2023. The lastfatal bear mauling in the park was in 2015 when a63-year-old Billings, Montana man was killed while hiking alone in thepark’sLake Village area.

PROVIDED PHOTO By QASEM ELHATO

MV Hondius,a cruise

it remains off Cape Verde

You’reknown by the company you keep, GREATWORKPLACES AREBUILT BY GREATPEOPLE.

Beingnamed a Top Workplace is areﬂection of thepeoplewho show up with compassion, purpose, andcommitmenttomakinga diﬀerencetothose we serve. Thank youfor makingour missionstronger, together. andours is worth celebrating.

Zelenskyyslams Russia’s ‘utter cynicism’asstrikes kill 22

BY HANNAARHIROVA Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Russian droneand missile strikes carriedout overnight and later on Tuesday killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 80 others, Ukrainian authorities said, hours before Kyiv was due to enact aceaseﬁre and three days before Moscow promised its own pause in hostilities.

On Tuesday afternoon, powerful Russian glide bombs smashed into the eastern city of Kramatorsk, the southern city of Zaporizhzhia and the northern city of Chernihiv,killing at least 17 civilians and wounding 45 others, ofﬁcials said. Attacks the previous nightkilled five people and wounded 39, according to authorities.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuked Moscowfor what he said was its “utter cynicism” in launching the attacks after Russia announced aunilateralceaseﬁre over two days later this weekwhile it marks the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World WarII.

“Russia could cease ﬁre at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses,” Zelenskyy said in apost on X. “Peace is need-

ed,and realsteps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.

The Russian Defense Ministry declared aunilateral ceaseﬁre in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday, but said that it would strike back at thecountry,ifittries to disrupt the festivities on Victory Day,which Russia marksannually on May 9.

Zelenskyy replied that Ukraine would observe aceaseﬁre beginningatthe endofTuesdayand would respondinkind to Russia’s actions from that moment on. He didn’tput an end date on themove.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the unilateral ceaseﬁres and “looks forwardto theirsuccessful implementation,”

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The U.N. chief reiterated hiscallfor “a full,immediate,unconditional and lasting ceaseﬁre, leading to ajust, comprehensive, andsustainable peace, in line with the U.N. Charter,international law andrelevantU.N. resolutions.”

Moscow’sproposal to stop ﬁghting follows afamiliarpattern of Russiadeclaring short unilateral ceaseﬁres during thewar timed to various holidays,mostrecently Orthodox Easter. Those suspensions of combat don’tproduce any tangibleresults amid deep mistrust be-

tween Moscow and Kyiv morethan four years after Russia launched an all-out invasion of its neighbor U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the war have come to nothing.

Zelenskyy was in Bahrainon Tuesday wherehemet with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, proposing abilateral drone defense partnership amid the Iran war

The Ukrainian leader said that he offered to share Ukraine’sair defense expertisewithBahrain, drawing aparallel betweenIranian attacks on Gulf states and Russia’s daily aerial strikes on Ukrainian territory,which often use Shahed drones initially developed by Iran.

Zelenskyy saidlast month that Ukrainian officials are helping Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar,Kuwait andJordan with drone expertiseand air defense.

Russianforces ﬁred 11 IskanderMballistic missiles and 164 strike drones at Ukraine overnight from Monday to Tuesday,including a jet-powered Shahed drone variant, theUkrainian Air Force said.

Airdefense unitsstopped149 dronesand onemissile,but othersgot through, it said. Twoballistic missiles failed to reach their targets, the air force said without elaborating.

When you’re comparingplans ...

 Look forcoverage that helps pay formajor services. Some plans may limitthe number of procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.

 Look forcoverage with no deductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to payhundreds out of pocketbefore benefits are paid.

 Shop forcoverage with no annual maximum on cash benefits. Some plans have annual maximums of $1,000.

dental care.1

That’s right. As good as Medicare is, it wasnever meanttocover everything. That means if youwant protection,you needto purchase individual insurance.

Early detection canprevent small problems from becoming expensiveones. The best way to preventlargedental bills is preventive care.The American Dental Association recommends checkupstwiceayear.

Previous dental work canwear out.

Even if you’vehad qualitydentalwork in the past,you shouldn’t take your dentalhealth forgranted. In fact, your odds of havinga dental problem only go up as youage.2

Treatment is expensive— especiallythe servicespeople over 50 often need.

Consider these national averagecostsof treatment. $274for acheckup $299 for afilling $1,471 foracrown.3 Unexpected bills likethis canbeareal burden, especially if you’re on afixedincome.

“Medicare&You,” Centersfor Medicare& Medicaid Services,2025. 2 “Aging changesinteeth and gums”, medlineplus.gov,4/17/2022. 3 FairHealth, Inc. National average dental fees.Datacurrent as of July 2025;subject to change

“Absolutely love” “I absolutelylove my dental insurance. My dentalofﬁce ﬁles the claims,leaving me with very littlebalancetopay.” DorothyP TN

BY STEPHENMCGRATH and VADIMGHIRDA Associated Press

BUCHAREST,Romania Romania’s pro-European coalition collapsed Tuesday after lawmakers voted against Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan,less than ayear after he was sworn in,triggering freshturmoil in the European country Theno-confidence vote was ablowtoBolojan,who came to power with the aim of ending one of Romania’sworst political crisesinits post-communist history

TheSocialDemocratic Party, or PSD, andthe nationalistopposition Alliance forthe Unity of Romaniansparty,orAUR, jointly submitted the motiontoParliament on April28. PSD withdrew from the coalition last month. On Tuesday,281 lawmakers voted in favor andfour voted against.

Lawmakers fromBolojan’s National Liberal Party,orPNL, and coalitionpartners, Save Romania Union party and the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party, abstained.

Romanian President Nicusor Dan called for calm on Tuesday, saying that while it is “not ahappy moment …itisa democratic decision by Parliament,” andthat negotiations and informal consultations to form anew governmentare underway

“Wewill have anew governmentwithin areasonable time,” Dan said. “I exclude the scenario of early elections. And Iemphasize: at theend of theseprocedures,wewill have apro-Western government —wewill calmly get through this.”

Unrest gripscountry

Romania has faced along periodofinstability after the annulment of apresidentialelection in December 2024. The country hasalso grappledwithone of the highest budgetdeficits in theEuropean Union, rampant inflation, anda technical recession. In June when the coalition was votedin, it pledged to reduce the budget deficit,marking it atop priority

The PSD had often found itself at loggerheads with Bolojan over austerity measures, including tax hikes, public-sector wageand pension freezes, and cuts to state spending and public administration jobs.

Lastweek, theparty accused Bolojan of “failing to implement anygenuine reform” in his 10 months leadingthe government, and said Romania needs aleader who is “capable of collaboration.” Bolojan said that he tooktough but necessary fiscal measures that effectively “regained the trust of the markets in the Romanian government.”

Bolojan also calledthe no-conﬁdencemotion “cynicaland artiﬁcial”and said before thevotethat it “seemstobewritten by people who were not in government every day and did not participate in all the decisions.”

“It is cynical, because it does not take into account the context in which we ﬁnd ourselves,” he said. “I assumed theposition of primeminister,being aware that it comes with enormous pressure andthatIwould not receive applausefrom thecitizens. But I chose to do what wasurgent and necessary forour country.”

Callsfor an interimpresident

The PSD party’spresident, Sorin Grindeanu, said Bolojan should appoint an interim prime minister until oneisvoted intoofﬁce by lawmakers. He also said he expected Romanian President Nicusor Dan to consult PSD.

“I would like us to quickly ﬁnd a solution …togetherwiththe other parties and move forward,” Grindeanusaid. “All optionsare open.”

The secretary-general of Bolojan’sparty,Dan Motreanu, posted on social media, saying PSD and AUR “have aduty to take over the government, to come up with aprime ministercandidate and aclear program,”accusing the twoparties of “playing political theater.”

“You cannotoverthrow agovernment and then run away from accountability,” Motreanu wrote.

Petition calls for lower speed limit

Crossing guard fatally struck outside school

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

After a longtime Livingston Par-

ish elementary school crossing guard was fatally hit by a vehicle while she was on the job, some residents in the area are calling for a change to the speed limit around the school.

Katy Wells, a crossing guard for Seventh Ward Elementary and Gray’s Creek Elementary schools in Denham Springs, died at 74 while working as a crossing guard at Gray’s Creek on April 30 during school dismissal when she was fatally struck by a driver police say was impaired.

Darren Goudeau, 64, of Walker, was arrested on counts of vehicu-

Baker road to close for drainage work

Improvements will be made along Groom

Road

BY ELLYN COUVILLION

Staff writer

A portion of Groom Road in Baker will close for two weeks, beginning Wednesday, for drainage work, ofﬁcials said

The road will be closed from Clermont Street to Plank Road, from Wednesday to May 20, for work to replace cross-drain pipes, according to an announcement from the city of Baker Improvements to Groom Road are among the MovEBR infrastructure upgrades underway in East Baton Rouge Parish Along with improved drainage, future work on Groom Road will make it more pedestrian-friendly the parish MovEBR website says. While Groom Road is temporarily closed, drivers will be rerouted through a series of left turns: south to Paola Street, south to Molino Drive, southeast to East Myrtle Avenue, then east along East Myrtle Street to Plank Road Local drivers will be allowed past Clermont Street to get to their homes or to Hillcrest Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Baker Funeral home, as well as the Sonic Drive-In on the north side of Groom Road, the city of Baker said. Other businesses in the area, as well as the Advantage Charter Academy, can be reached from Plank Road, the city said

lar homicide and second-offense

DWI, the Sheriff’s Ofﬁce said.

Two Denham Springs women created an online petition days after the fatality, asking to lower the speed limit for the road outside Gray’s Creek Elementary School.

The road where the incident occurred is state highway La. 16, which has a speed limit of 55 mph, with 45 mph during the school’s arrival and dismissal times. Because it’s a state highway, Louisiana’s transportation department can set or change the limit

Ciera Plunkett of Denham Springs, published the petition, which had over 500 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon, after talking with her friend Courtney Hatcher, who lives near Gray’s Creek.

Hatcher had told Plunkett in passing over a week ago that she thought something needed to change about the road after repeatedly seeing people speed and fail to pay attention while driving down it.

“This already was something on my mind,” Hatcher said about the petition “People just don’t pay attention. There is a lot of speeding out here. I’ve seen Mrs. Katy fussing at them.”

Three days after that initial conversation had passed, Wells was fatally hit on that same road.

“Then, it was like, ‘OK, this has got to happen,’” Plunkett said.

The pair says they hope the

FLyING HIGH

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

A student lays flowers at a memorial for Katy Wells outside Seventh Ward Elementary School on Monday in Denham Springs.

Domino refinery begins nearly $800M expansion

Plan solidifies Louisiana’s central role in sugar trade

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

The Florida-based owners of the 117-year-old Domino Sugar Chalmette Reﬁnery

announced Tuesday they have begun construction on the ﬁrst phase of a nearly $800 million expansion at the facility an investment that signals Louisiana’s continued central role in the American sugar trade.

Executives from plant owner ASR Group, the world’s largest refiner of cane sugar, were joined by state and parish officials for the groundbreaking of a new processing building at the Arabi refinery, the largest in the Western Hemisphere.

“This is the cornerstone of our American business.

This is the biggest, most important asset we have,” said Luis Fernandez, president and chair of West Palm Beach-based ASR Group.

In the expansion’s initial phase, which is expected to cost more than $200 million, the company is building a 40,000-square-foot ﬁltration building.

Subsequent phases, still in the planning stages, will include continued expansion of the new building

“This is the largest capital project we’ve ever undertaken as a company,”

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B

Man fatally shot near Perkins Road overpass

The

who was fatally

the

Fernandez said. “This is a big, big project. It reﬂects our commitment to innovation, our employees and the community here that we proudly call home.”

Dubbed Project Lafitte, the reﬁnery expansion will create 15 direct new jobs, adding to a current workforce of about 500 employees, according to company and state economic development ofﬁcials.

The new building is being built on an 8.2-acre parcel ASR purchased from Sidney Torres last year It will allow ASR to replace ﬁltration equipment, some of which is as much as 80 years old, used to purify raw sugar syrup by separating impurities and pressing it through massive ﬁlters.

The upgraded building will process sugar faster and more efficiently, significantly reducing the amount of power and water consumed by the plant.

“Due to the age of our site, we have current bottlenecks,” Rob Gentilcore, refinery vice president and general manager said. “A big bottleneck here is in filtration.”Construction on the new building is already underway, with completion of the first phase expected in 2028.

A resilient refinery

The massive reﬁnery has been a fixture of the St. Bernard Parish landscape since it opened in 1909 on 70 acres along the Mississippi River that had previously been the site of plantations.

A banner is secured in an empty lot during the groundbreaking for the

Chalmette Refinery’s new filtration building

The refinery changed hands in 1988 when the Domino brand and its parent company’s U.S. operations were acquired by the British company Tate & Lyle. It returned to American ownership in 2001 with the formation of ASR Group, a joint venture between Florida Crystals Corporation and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida

Since then, the plant has survived several significant disruptions, from a deadly explosion in 1965 that was soon followed by Hurricane Betsy, to lost market share from soda producers’ shift to high fructose corn syrup in the 1980s, to the devastation of its facility and equipment following Hurricane Ka-

trina

Today, the Chalmette reﬁnery, one of just two that makes Domino-branded items, can produce about 6 million pounds of sugar every day, with 32 production lines turning out 70 different types of sugar products.

Economic sweeteners

The state of Louisiana gave ASR Group a “competitive incentives package” to encourage the company to modernize the reﬁnery according to Louisiana Economic Development.

That package included a 10-year, 80% property tax abatement through the Industrial Tax Exemption Program for new buildings,

for money spent on wages through the Quality Jobs Program.

According to the company’s application for the payroll reimbursement program, which sunset last summer, the 15 new jobs created by the expansion will have an average annual wage of $73,000.

St. Bernard Parish President Louis Pomes, who signed off on the incentive package negotiated by the state economic development agency, said the reﬁnery expansion will bring significant economic beneﬁts to the area.

“More jobs, more money spent in the parish, with the inventory taxes and all of that that comes in,” Pomes said. “It eventually

can roll back on some of our taxes.” The company’s commitment of more than three quarters of a billion dollars to its Louisiana reﬁnery follows ASR Group’s move to consolidate its U.S. sugar reﬁnery operations.

The Chalmette refinery has fewer production constraints than the Baltimore facility, allowing it to handle overflow production and making it strategically critical to the company’s eastern operations, according to Gentilcore, the plant general manager Apart from its Domino refineries in Maryland and Louisiana, ASR Group owns and operates three other sugar refineries in North America — in the San Francisco Bay Area, Toronto and Veracruz, Mexico — as well as sugar cane farms and sugar mills in Mexico and Belize. Email Jonah Meadows at jonah.meadows@ theadvocate.com.

PETITION

Continued from page 1B

petition brings awareness and attention to the area and possibly prods elected ofﬁcials to get involved.

Livingston Parish Council member Erin Sandefur, whose district encompasses that part of the city, has had in-depth conversations with state Rep. Roger Wilder, RDenham Springs, about the recent fatality and said the Department of Transportation and Development has been contacted.

Sandefur said a formal process was submitted on Monday, and efforts are actively underway to discuss the state of the road with DOTD.

“Nobody passes the Louisiana Highway 16

corridor down here without encountering Mrs. Katy,” Sandefur said.

“Our thoughts remain with our grieving community.”

Daniel Gitlin, a spokesperson for DOTD, said speed limits for state highways, including La. 16 are established based on engineering and trafﬁc studies that evaluate a variety of data.

Gitlin said DOTD reviews fatal crashes and looks at factors such as driver impairment and weather conditions, which he said are important in determining whether any roadwayrelated improvements would be appropriate.

“We understand the level of concern in the community and will continue coordinating internally as more information becomes available,” Gitlin wrote in an email.

An ambulance and a pickup truck crashed on La 19 in Zachary on Tuesday morning, sending the

overpass Tuesday morning has been identified as 21-year-old Nolan Allen IV according to Baton Rouge police. Officers responded to a call of gunshots around 1:50 a.m. in the 3400 block of Perkins Road and found Allen suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police do not have any suspects or motives at this time. Ambulance, pickup truck crash in Zachary

LSU

Continued from page 1B

development would have 338 units, in studio, one-, two-, three-, four-, five- and sixbedroom units.

LV Collective has several upscale student apartment complexes operating around the country under the Rambler name, including properties near Ohio State University, Georgia Tech, the University of Texas, the University of Florida and the University of Georgia The company is developing several student apartment complexes set to open in summer/fall 2028: a 922-bed high-rise student apartment complex in College Station, Texas, across the street from Texas A&M University; a 749-unit development near Clemson University; and an 862-bed complex near Virginia Tech. Craig Davenport, of the

appraisal Davenport said apartment them bra ments market.

LSU-area plexes or That Bat close ect, New in $110,000 kind fo them

nea rebuilding based bo Pointe mer Av

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Publishers allege Meta

CEO OK’d infringement

NEW YORK Five publishing houses and author Scott Turow

sued Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, alleging the company illegally used millions of copyrighted works to train its AI language system Llama.

The class action lawsuit, ﬁled in federal court in Manhattan, accuses the tech giant of copyright infringement and opens up a new front in the ongoing battle between the book community and developers of AI.

The plaintiffs allege that Zuckerberg and Meta “followed their well-known motto ‘move fast and break things’” by illegally drawing upon a massive trove of books and journal articles for Llama.

“Defendants reproduced and distributed millions of copyrighted works without permission, without providing any compensation to authors or publishers, and with full knowledge that their conduct violated copyright law,” the complaint reads in part. “Zuckerberg himself personally authorized and actively encouraged the infringement.”

Hiring improves, little change in job openings

WASHINGTON U.S. job openings were essentially unchanged in March but hiring improved before the full impact of the Iran war hit the economy Employers posted 6.87 million jobs in March, compared to 6.92 million in February, the Labor Department reported Tuesday

The job market has been up and down so far this year after a dismal 2025. And the Iran war, which began Feb. 28, has clouded the outlook for the economy and hiring.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that layoffs rose in March. But hiring improved: Employers added 5.55 million gross jobs, most since February 2024. More Americans also quit their jobs a sign of conﬁdence in their prospects.

Job openings have come down more or less steadily since peaking at a record 12.3 million in March 2022 as the U.S. economy bounded back from COVID-19 lockdowns. High interest rates, a response to an outburst of inflation in 2021-2022; uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s policies; and, potentially, the disruptive impact of artiﬁcial intelligence have discouraged robust hiring.

Pa. alleges chatbot portrays itself as doctor

HARRISBURG, Pa Pennsylvania has sued an artiﬁcial intelligence chatbot maker, saying its chatbots illegally hold themselves out as doctors and are deceiving the system’s users into thinking they are getting medical advice from a licensed professional.

The lawsuit, ﬁled Friday, asks the statewide Commonwealth Court to order Character Technologies Inc., the company behind Character.AI, to stop its chatbots “from engaging in the unlawful practice of medicine and surgery.”

Gov Josh Shapiro’s administration called it a “ﬁrst-of-itskind enforcement action” by a governor and it comes amid growing pressure by states on tech companies to rein in chatbots’ potentially dangerous messages, especially to children.

That includes a consumer protection lawsuit ﬁled by Kentucky against Character Technologies, and warnings by state attorneys general that chatbots are potentially violating a raft of state laws. Character.AI declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday but sent a statement saying it prioritizes responsible product development and the well-being of its users It posts disclaimers to inform users that characters on its website are not real people and that everything they say “should be treated as ﬁction,” the statement said

Stocks rally after oil prices ease

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK The U.S. stock market is rallying toward records Tuesday after an easing of oil prices let Wall Street turn its focus back to the big proﬁts that companies keep producing.

Stocks got a boost after oil prices gave back much of their big jumps from Monday The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 4% to $109.87 after brieﬂy topping $115 on Monday, though it’s still well above its roughly $70 price from before the

war with Iran. U.S. military leaders said Tuesday that a ceaseﬁre with Iran remains in effect, even though Iran was blamed for attacks against the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. ally the day before. The U.S. military is meanwhile trying to force open a path in the Strait of Hormuz, which would allow oil tankers to resume shipments from the Persian Gulf and hopefully bring down the price of crude.

Even with the war ongoing, the U.S. stock market has remained remarkably resilient on its recordsetting run That’s in large part

due to the strong proﬁts that U.S. companies have reported for the start of 2026 despite the rise in oil prices since the end of February

“This has been a ‘why ask why’ market,’” according to Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “You just have to go with it.”

Even though many risks are still weighing on the market “investors are looking at earnings” and how much companies are spending on AI data centers and other investments, he said.

DuPont’s stock rallied 8.3% after the chemical giant led another

cavalcade of companies reporting better-than-expected profits for the latest quarter

DuPont said its water technologies business felt some impact from the war due to logistics disruptions in the Middle East. But it nevertheless raised its forecasts for ﬁnancial results over the full year

Other winners included American Electric Power Co., which rose 3.2%, and Cummins, which added 2.4%, after they likewise made more money during the ﬁrst three months of the year than analysts expected.

SELLING OFF SPIRIT

Airline begins liquidation as skeleton crew oversees process

BY RIO YAMAT AP airlines and travel writer

Lawyers for Spirit Airlines returned to a U.S bankruptcy court in New York on Tuesday to seek approval for dismantling the once-busy budget carrier and turning its parts into cash for creditors.

The liquidation marks a dramatic turn for Spirit, which filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2025, hoping to escape financial ruin. The airline’s parent company was attempting to restructure the business for the second time since November 2024, when it abruptly stopped operating flights over the weekend

Since the going-out-of-business announcement early Saturday, lawyers ﬁled a series of court motions laying out a rapid wind-down plan centered on selling off every possible Spirit asset, from airplanes and engines to spare parts — and limiting additional payroll, leasing and other costs.

The shutdown itself was tightly choreographed. The company, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc., said it made its announcement in the middle of the night to ensure the jetliners making their ﬁnal runs for the airline were safely on the ground and their crews accounted for Three days later, the sense of urgency car-

Drugmaker

BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON White House economists estimate that President Donald Trump’s deals with pharmaceutical companies to drop some of their U.S. prescription drug prices to what they charge in other countries could save $529 billion over the next 10 years.

The analysis obtained by The Associated Press includes the ﬁrst economy-wide projections behind a policy at the core of Trump’s pitch to voters going into November’s midterm elections for control of the House and Senate Democratic lawmakers have been doubtful about the savings claimed by Trump and these new numbers are likely to trigger additional questions about the data.

Cost-of-living issues are at the forefront of voters’ concerns and higher energy prices tied to the

ried into U.S. Bankruptcy Court, where the company’s lawyers were asking a judge to move quickly They asked for expedited approval of the proposed wind-down plan, arguing that speed would beneﬁt Spirit’s creditors and customers.

“Any delay will cause chaos, confusion and cost the estate signiﬁcant time and money,” one motion stated, noting the airline was “not generating any revenue.” Spirit attorney Marshall Huebner said during a Tuesday court hearing that rising jet fuel costs since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran “engulfed Spirit entirely.”

The airline’s fuel expenses grew by roughly $100 million “in March and April alone,” and rapidly drained Spirit’s liquidity and derailed its restructuring efforts,” Huebner said. He apologized directly to Spirit’s employees and customers, especially passengers who he said may now be completely “priced out” of certain routes without the ultra lowcost carrier Huebner described a swift effort by other airlines and other segments of the aviation industry to assist Spirit’s employees and customers once the airline’s end looked inevitable.

“The entire industry sprang into action to get our people home,” Huebner said Spirit

Iran war have deepened the pub-

lic’s anxiety Trump has tried in part to address affordability concerns by focusing on his efforts to cut deals with companies so that the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. would no longer be dramatically higher than in other afﬂuent nations.

“Now you have the lowest drug prices anywhere in the world,”

Trump said at a Friday rally before a crowd of seniors in Florida.

“And that alone should win us the midterms.”

The analysis was done by administration ofﬁcials for the White House Council of Economic Advisers. They also estimated that federal and state governments could save a combined $64.3 billion on Medicaid during the next decade because of what Trump calls his “most favored nation” policy on drug prices. Few of the details of the deals

employed about 17,000 people and carried about 50,000 passengers on its final day of operations. The final flight, which traveled from Detroit to Dallas, landed after midnight Saturday With its planes grounded, Spirit said it planned to keep a skeleton crew of about 150 employees initially, eventually shrinking to roughly 40. The group, largely made up of veteran staff and executives, including some “senior management employees,” will be responsible for securing aircraft, coordinating logistics and overseeing the liquidation process. The company also was seeking Judge Sean Lane’s approval to provide retention incentives to keep those workers in place through the liquidation. In the last two weeks, Spirit was in discussions with the Trump administration about a hoped-for rescue deal that fell through, eliminating what the company described as its last viable path forward. Of the potential bailout, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday, “We oftentimes don’t have half a billion dollars laying around.”

Duffy said other U.S. airlines, including United, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest, were offering $200 one-way fares for a limited time to travelers holding Spirit conﬁrmation numbers and proof of purchase.

struck by the Trump administration and 17 leading pharmaceutical companies have been made public, making it hard to independently verify the projected savings The White House analysis sought to estimate the prospective savings as more medications come onto the market and fall under Trump’s framework — with one model in the report tallying the possible savings at $733 billion over a decade.

Trump and his Department of Health and Human Services have touted his drug-pricing deals as transformative and urged Congress to codify their principles into law

Democratic lawmakers have challenged the administration’s claims of savings. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and 17 Senate Democrats in April proposed a measure requiring the adminis-

tration to disclose the terms of the agreements signed by pharmaceutical companies.

“If these deals are so great, why is the Trump administration afraid of showing them to the public?” Wyden said when announcing the measure. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said his team would share details that didn’t include proprietary information or trade secrets.

The potential savings estimated by the Trump administration would be substantial as Americans spent $467 billion on prescription drugs in 2024, according to the most recent government data available.

The analysis is premised on the idea that foreign countries would also pay more for their prescription drugs, which would diversify drugmakers’ sources of revenue and preserve their ability to innovate with new treatments.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LEKAN OyEKANMI A traveler walks past covered Spirit Airlines kiosks at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Trahan Jr Huey

JacksonUnitedMethodist Church at 11am

Obituaries

Barnes, Johnnie Lee

Johnnie Lee Barnes (December 28, 1950 -April 25, 2026) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to the late John BernardBarnes and Corrine Smith Washington Johnniehonorablyserved in the United States Marine Corps during Vietnam as an infantry machine gunner, earning multiple medals. Upon return from his Marine Corps Service married Shirley Williams Barnes and to this union two children were bornJason Edward Bernard Barnes and Jamie LeMay Barnes. Johnnie is survived by Son-Jason (Lauren) Barnes, Sr of Port Allen, LA.; Daughter-Jamie Barnes of Arlington, TX; Brother-Joe Spears of Baton Rouge, LA; Grandchildren- Jason Barnes, Jr., Abigail Barnes, Kynnard Brown, and Declan Johnson; and ahost of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Until Valhalla,Marine

Afuneral service will be held at 11:00 AM on 2026-05 -06 at Winnfield Funeral Home, 7221 Plank Rd.A burial willbeheld at 1:00 PM on 2026-05-06 at Louisiana National Cemetery -Zachary, 303 WMt Pleasant Zachary Rd.

to his recent diagnosis of neuromyelitis optica (NMO). He was born in Alexandria, LA, on January 4, 1947, the sixth childof Manuel"Bill"and Hilda RayLlorens. Jim was aloyal graduate of St.James CatholicSchool wherehe attended from 1st through 12th grade. He received his B.A. from Loyola University in New Orleans, hisMasters in Urban Affairs from the University of Wisconsin -Milwaukee and Ph.D. in Political Science from Louisiana State University. While he was alifelong learner and advocate of higher education, Jim wouldfondly pointout that some of his greatest life lessons werepicked up while spending time with the patrons thatfrequented hisfather's barand pool halldown the street from his childhood home. In his spare time,hecould oftenbefoundquietly completing agoodcrosswordpuzzle or immersed in one of the manylibrary books he alwayskeptby his side. Jim firstmet his lovingwifeof57years, GlendaDarensbourg Llorens, while visiting his sister in Baton Rouge,LA. They started datingsoon after she moved to New Orleans forcollegeand married two years later in 1968.Afterbrieflylivingin Milwaukee,WIand New Orleans,LA, they returned to Baton Rouge in 1975 where they raisedtheir family.Truly inseparable, it was arareoccurrence to find one without the other, and throughout theiryears together they enjoyed traveling,spending quality time with family, andattending communityevents throughout the city.A consummatepublicservant and educator, Jim's life was lived with honesty, humility and acommitment improving the lives of those around him. Following his tour of duty during the Vietnam Warasa commissionedofficerinthe U.S. Army, he worked in public service roles in Milwaukee and New Orleans before taking aposition with the City of Baton Rouge. He was honored to serve in leadershiproles under threeMayor-Presidents during hiscareer and found true joyin working with students during his decades of serviceasa facultymember andadministrator at Southern University and A&M College. Later in his career,aftera fewhalfhearted attempts to retire, he served as the founding President of Cristo ReyHighSchool inBaton Rouge and Interim ProvostofFlorida Gulf Coast UniversityinFort Myers, FL. Service and mentorship wereatthe core of Jim'sbeing and he livedhis life by the quote from French Jesuitpriest Pierre TeilharddeChardin that also served as his email signature line- "The futurebelongs to those who give the nextgeneration reason for hope." Jim i d d i d h b hi

ispreceded in death by his parents, in-laws, and siblings ManuelPaulLlorens, Jerome Llorens, and ShirleyL.Dejan. He is forever cherished by hiswife, Glenda; son, JaredLlorens (Elizabeth); daughter, Raya Moore (Derrick); granddaughters, Clare Route, LlorenMoore,AndiJames Moore, Ella Llorens, and Rita Llorens; sisters,GloriaL Collins and MarionL Thompson; sisters-in-law, BeverlyD.Llorens, Edna Louise D. Llorens, Alva Jean D. Chase, and Phyllis F. Darensbourg; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family members and lifelong friends. Visitation willbeheldat Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 FloridaBlvd Baton Rouge, LA, on Thursday May 7, 2026, from8am until religious services at 11am. Burial will immediately followatGreenoaks Memorial Park.Inlieuofflowers, please considermemorial donations to Hospice of Baton Rouge,3600 Florida Blvd.,Baton Rouge, LA, 70806.

James Pealer, 86, entered eternal rest Saturday, May 2, 2026, following complications of astroke. He is survivedbyhis wife, Rosa LeePealer; children Donald RayPealer, Evangeline Hill, and CherylBerry; thirteen grandchildren; and seventeen greatgrandchildren. Visitation Friday, May 8, 2026 at 11 a.m.,followedbyservice at 12 p.m., at Hall'sCelebration Center. Interment at Louisiana National Cemetery

Ramagos, Beatrice 'Bea'

Beatrice "Bea"Ramagos, born on January27, 1928, passedaway on Sunday, May 3, 2026, at theage of 98. Bea was born in Long Pine,Louisiana. Over the years, she spent time working in retail,aswellas creating ahome for her family.She was an active member at ParkviewBaptist Church for50+ years, as well as amember of the Golden Girls, alongside

Pat, Alice,Virgie,and Peggy,for 28 years. The Golden Girlsrepresented monthly lunches, holiday celebrations, and aday full of shopping,eating,and laughing. Bea lovedto cook, spend time with her many friends and family, and take care of hergrandchildren. Bea is survived by her daughter, Terri Dugas (Scott); son Michael "Mickey" KeithRamagos, Sr. (Cindy); grandchildren, David Scott Dugas, Julie Ann Dugas, and Michael KeithRamagos, Jr.; great-grandchildren,BrysonKeith Ramagos, Gracelyn DanielleRamagos,Parker Hayes Hart, Camden Scott Hart, Charleigh Ann Dugas, and Madison Lee Dugas; and countless nieces and nephews who were all very special to Aunt Bea and always held aspecial place in her heart.She is preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Felix "Red" JosephRamagos; parents, James F. Spears and Odelia Spears;and siblings, Willa Glenn Richard (Frances), MarionSpears (Vera), James B. Spears (Virginia), and Mildred Scotto (William). The family wouldliketogivea special thankstoher caregivers and friends, Lesley and KristaJones. Caregivers are specialangels that are sent to serve, love,and care for those in need. Thesetwo angelswere perfect and just what was needed in our time of need. Familyand friends are invitedtocelebrate Bea'slife at Resthaven Funeral Home on Thursday, May 7, 2026. Visitation willbegin at 9:00 AM until services beginat11:00 AM. Burial to follow at Resthaven Gar-

dens of Memory. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal note to thefamilyatwww.resthavenbaton rouge.com.

Robinson,Melvin

Robinson,Melvin Hillard "Meatball"

Enteredintoeternal rest at OurLady of theLake Regional MedicalCenteron April 27, 2026. He was a90year old native of Delhi, Louisiana anda residentof Baton Rouge,Louisiana., Visiting at Miller &DaughterMortuary on Thursday, May7,2026 from 5-7:00 pm; visitingresumes at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church on Friday, May8, 2026 at 8:00 am untilthe OmegaPsi Phi Memorial Service at 10:00 am; Celebration of Life Service will commence at 11:00 am conductedbyPastor Fred Smith; interment at SouthernMemorialGardens Survivors includehis wife, CynthiaDunnRobinson; children, Merrick, Eugere, Jabriel andDarnesha

Robinson;Michael Alexander andRhonda Robinson Williams; eightgrandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Stevens,Ruby Loura Zachary 2Timothy4:7-8: "I have foughtthe goodfight,I have finishedthe race, I havekeptthe faith."

Ruby Loura Zachary Stevens,affectionately known as "Granny" to many, passedaway peacefully at theage of 94 on May2,2026. Born on February 4, 1932, in St.Helena Parish,Louisiana, Loura lived alifefulloflove, laughter, andunwavering faith. Shewas thebeloved youngest daughter of DudleyI.and Louella Robertson Zachary, whopreceded herindeathalong with herhusband, Monroe Stevens,her brothers, Erwinand Lester,sister Vera, theirspouses, as well as numerousnieces, nephews, and great nieces andnephews. Though she didnot have childrenof herown,Loura's nurturing spirit touchedthe lives of many. Herlegacy of love andguidancecontinues through thefamilyshe leaves behind.Her beloved niece, Carla Fitzhugh (Jerry) of Chesbrough, Louisiana, whom she regardedasher daughter. Hercherished "grandchildren"Bailey Anthony(Garret) of Chesbrough,LA; Coleton Bennett (Michaela) of Gillsburg, MS;and Katie Fitzhugh of Chesbrough LA. Including her"greatgrandchildren" Cannon, Collin, and Oakleigh Bennett,and Gabrieland Liam Anthony. As well as her nieces andnephewsand

of thenewspaper is also included.

Winnfield FuneralHome,

Pealer, James

Llorens, James Lee 'Jim'

great nieces &nephews of both her Zachary & Stevens families. On August 12, 1952, Loura married her beloved husband of 45 years, Monroe Stevens and together they shared abeautiful journey filled with love, hard work and mutual respect until his passing in 1997. As an active lifelong member of Kedron Baptist Church, her devoted faith was the cornerstone of her life. She played the piano for numerous years and found great joy in volunteering for various church activities. Her passion for teaching Sunday School every week was unmatched, and it brought her immense happiness to spread the teachings of Jesus. Her dedication to her faith and her community was truly inspiring.Loura had a green thumb and alove for gardening. Whether tending to her flowerbeds or cultivating crops, she found peace and fulfillment in the beauty of nature and being outdoors. Her back patio was her sanctuary,where she enjoyed many afternoons with acup of coffee and her cordless house phone chatting up astorm. Known for her quick wit and honest nature, her smile was aconstant source of warmth and comfort. Her refreshing honesty and wisdomwere qualities that endeared her to all who had the privilege of knowing her. She had a unique way of making everyone feel valued and loved, and her presence will be deeply missed. A graveside service willbe held on Saturday, May9, 2026 at 2:00PM at Hyde Cemetery,where family and friends will gather to celebrate her remarkable life. The family would like to thank The Lodge at Tangi Pines for the care and love that they provided her in her final years. McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, in charge of arrangements. For an online guestbook,visit http://ww w.mckneelys.com.

Joe Tyler, age84, native of Lake Charles, LA, and resident of Baton Rouge, LA, passed awayonApril 27, 2026. In his younger years, Joe loved hunting, fishing, riding motorcycles, and playingwith his grandchildren. In more recent years, he enjoyed playing cards with his friends at WilliamsburgAssisted Living Joe is survived by his children, Carolyn Tyler Reed, Andy Tyler (Jackie), and Sandy Tyler Fambrough (John); grandchildren, Joshua Hitt, Christopher Reed (Katelyn), BrandonTyler, Lauren Reed and Matthew Tyler;and his very dear friendand neighborofover 40 years, Pat Prince.Hewas preceded in death by his wifeof59 years, Mary; his parents, Joe Sr. and MinnieTyler; sisters, Betty Rosteet and Ann Tyler; and hisson-inlaw, DanReed. Avisitation willbeheld at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 Florida Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70815, on Friday, May8,2026, from 10 am until funeral service at 11 am. Burial willfollowin Greenoaks MemorialPark. The family wouldliketo thankThe Crossing-Clarity Hospice fortheir care and support. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to Tunnel to TowersFoundation or Cat Haven. Please visitwww.gr eenoaksfunerals.com to leave condolences to Joe's family

Wright,Minnie Elaine Hoisington

Funeral serviceswillbe held at 11:00 am Saturday, May 9, 2026, at Geesey-FergusonFuneral Home Chapel in Crowleyfor Minnie Elaine Hoisington Wright, 93, who passed away May 4, 2026, at the AcadianatSouthwind

ChristyBrammer willbe officiating forthe services

The family is requesting visiting hourstobeheld Friday from6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and Saturdayfrom 9:00 am to thetime of service at Geesey-Ferguson Funeral HomeinCrowley.Interment willbeinWoodlawn Cemetery.

Minnie Elaine HoisingtonWright,born January6 1933, in Davenport, Iowa, liveda vibrant and creative life defined by her devotion to family,education, thearts, and her community. She graduated from BatonRouge HighSchool in 1951 and went on to attend Louisiana StateUniversity, where she earnedher bachelor's degree in education. During her time at LSU, Minnie was an active member of the Tri Delta Sorority and enjoyed a wide range of activities, including ballet and even power lifting.Itwas also at LSUthatshe met her belovedhusband, S.L. Wright,III,who was a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. Together, they shared alifelong love of LSUfootball.

Elaine dedicatedherself to education and community service, including many years teaching SundayschoolatFirst United Methodist Church in Crowley, where she inspired generations of youngpeoplewithher passion and faith. She broke barriersas thefirst female president of theCrowley High School Athletic Booster Club and even served as apee wee football referee—roles that reflected bothher pioneering spirit and her love of sports In 1975, Minnie was honored as Mardi GrasQueen

forthe CrowleyTown Club Krewe of theTownRevelers, alongsideKingCimmerXX, T. Barrett Harrington, an occasionthatreflected her vibrant presence in thecommunity. Adeeplycreativesoul, Elaine had alifelong love forthe arts.She was an accomplishedartist and sculptor, winning awards forher work,and also expressed her creativity throughmusic, enjoying playing thepiano; continuing amusical legacy from her father, who wrote "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Her artistic talents extended to thestage as well: she was afounding member of theAcadian Playersand participatedinthe Abbey Players, where she took on leading roles, designed sets, crafted props, and illustratedplaybills. She also illustrated thewidely distributed"Poor Man's Rice Cookbook." Elaine found joy in life's simplepleasures like fishing,cooking,gardening, and spending time with her beloved dogs, especiallyher cherished Springer Spaniel,Mookie. She wasa lifelong,voracious reader, with shelves full of books

Shewill be remembered for hercreativity, herpioneeringspirit,her devotion to hercommunity and faith, andthe warmth and joyshe brought to all who knew her. Sheissurvivedbyfour children, Diane Elaine Wright Hoffpauer; Salmon Lusk "Sam" Wright,IVand hiswife Ellen, Robert "Lee" Wright andhis wife Teresa, andWilliam JebStuart Wright;eight grandchildren,NicholasOtto Hoffpauer andhis wife Shea, Salmon Lusk "Sloan Wright,V andhis wife Julianne, JourdanFrances Wright,Meryl Therese Wright,Ashley Nichole Davis andher husband Mat, Zachary Taylor Wright,Sarah Elizabeth Wright andher fiancé Greg Caballero,and Samantha Leeann Wright andher fiancé Everett Kidwell;and twohalf-sisters, Patricia Gould,and Kathy Jo Sell Elaine is preceded in death by herhusband, Salmon Lusk "S.L." Wright, III;her parents,LesterHenry andLillie Stokes Hoisington;and half-brother, Richard Jackson Pallbearers will be Sam Wright,Lee Wright,Jeb Wright,Jacob Solomon, Nicholas Hoffpauer, and

Zachary Wright. Thefamilywould like to acknowledgethe following people for theirextraordinary care andsupport of Elaine:Mrs. Mona Dupuis, herlongtime friendand primary caregiver. Mr. JacobSolomon hertrusted friendand reliable handyman. Dr.NancyWalker her primary physician.The staff of Acadian Southwind whotook such goodcare of Elaine Memorial contributions may be made in hername to thecharityororganization of yourchoice. Arrangements have been entrusted to GeeseyFerguson FuneralHome of Crowley.

Tyler, Joe

OUR VIEWS

Yetagain, aJazzFest forthe ages

There was something magical about how the skies cleared and the temperature and humidity dropped for the last two glorious days of this year’sNew Orleans Jazz&Heritage Festival. In truth, throughout the festival’seight days over two long weekends,wewere reminded yet again that the annual extravaganza at the Fair Grounds is always magical, rain —and yes, we saw plenty of that too —or shine.

The numbers tell part of the story.With headliners Stevie Nicks and the Eagles drawing hugecrowds both Saturdays, some 475,000 people poured through the gates. That wasn’ta record —500,000 showed up in 2024, the year the Rolling Stones ﬁnally played after twofalse starts —but it was an increase overlast year’s total attendance of 460,000. And for the ﬁrst time in the fest’shistory,organizers declared a sellout on the second Saturday

The rest of the tale played out in countless individualpleasures: The discovery of an upand-coming local band or chance tosee aliving legend up close. Hearing multiple Grammywinner and Kenner native Jon Batistehappily shout “Hello, Home” from the big stage, watching Baskin native Lainey Wilson gamelyplay throughatorrential storm or dancing tohomegrown superstar Trombone Shorty’sannual closing set. The transporting tasteofanold favorite dish or that rare new one that made organizers’ exacting cut (charbroiled oysters? Yes, please). Encounterswithold friends we see yearafter year and new ones we meet in the bathroom line.

And everywhere, Louisiana’s easygoing, welcoming vibe.

We’re always gratiﬁedtowatch fest visitors absorb what makes this place special. This year,that number included singer and Georgia native Teddy Swims, who graciously donned aSaints jersey forhis Festival Stage set, and also found time to sing on Bourbon Street and discoverthe wonders of Irma Thomas’ voice.

We’re also keenly aware thatittakes avillage to make all this areality.Sowewant to salute everyone involved —the musicians, the vendors, the legions of volunteers —for doing their part with such gusto. We also want to recognize the companies that make the fest ﬁnancially feasible, including title sponsor Shell, which stepped up in the dark days after Hurricane Katrina and has now been backing the fest for two decades.

And it’snot like Jazz Fest is the only thing going on. New Orleans wrapped up French Quarter Festjust days before the Fair Grounds gates opened. Downtown Lafayettehosted Festival International de Louisiane, another of our state’sgems, at the same time. Countless other cultural celebrations large, medium and small dot the calendar all over Louisiana.

These festivals are important economic drivers, and we know that Jazz Fest whets visitors’ and locals’ appetites to explore further We also know how lucky we are that we have this all in our backyards —and thatweget to do it again next year

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

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

OPINION

Uselegislation to help, notharm, thehomeless

Iserve as the rector of Holy Cross in downtown Shreveport. We also operate aday shelter down thestreet at HolyCross HopeHouse

Since 2019, our “deposit-ﬁrst” ministry has housed over 500 people. Our program is acommon-sense solution. Many homelesspeople lack the cash to pay theupfrontcosts of housing.

We provide the necessary money, along with caseworker visits and support, andclasses on various life skills

The legislatureisconsidering House Bill 211, which will establish “homelessness courts” to serveasa mitigating factor in revamping the state’svagrancy laws.

This bill will unnecessarily burden thevery people it purportedly seeks to help. It will unfairly penalize an already complex issue with complex causes. It will add alayer of bureaucracy to a processalready mired in bureaucratic snipe hunts. It will erode trust in service organizations that have been

working for years to help apeople alreadydistrustfulofhelping hands.

Simply put,it’sthe state attempting to solve asocial issue with all the precision of the criminaljustice system. Homelessness is acomplex problem, but it is not an impossible one. We’ve managed to change the lives of over 500 people with little more than thegumption to do something andnot asingle pair of handcuffs.

While Iapplaud the desire to help thehomeless, this bill is notthe answer

Perhaps the state could marshal itsresources to assist in other ways. Mitigatethe risk for landlords to take on homeless tenants. Examine the banking regulations that make it impossible to get ahome loan in certain neighborhoods.Considerpublic funding for morehousing ﬁrst programs like theone we have at Holy Cross.

THE REV.GARRETT BOYTE rector,Holy Cross Shreveport

KimSport’srecent letter opposing House Bill 278 overstates what the bill does and shifts attention away from the accountability concerns that led to it.

Rather than directly addressing whygreater transparency is being sought in East Baton Rouge Family Court, the letter frames HB278 as a threat to abuse victims, children and privacy.But the bill itself contains safeguards, including in-chambers testimony forminors in certain circumstances, the use of initials or pseudonymsincustody matters and closure of custody hearings upon a showing of good cause on the record and written agreement of the parties. Those are not the features of a reckless bill. They are the features of abill attempting to balance privacy with accountability

Howell ParkGolf —closed. Briarwood —closed. Shenandoah, Fairwood, Sherwood Forest— closed. LSU Golf —closing soon. Remaining courses in Baton Rouge citylimits: Webb, City Park. Igrew up in Broadmoor and have been playing golf on these courses for 70 years. Golf is agreat gamefor youngsters, teachingmanyuseful life lessons, including appreciation of the natural environment,discipline, honestywhen no one is watching and common courtesy It is alifetime game, and Istill enjoy

thevery walkable courses at City Park and Webb. CityPark golf is uniquely welcoming to the young, the beginner and the seasoned golfer Ihope BREC’smaster planning protects the historic, invaluable and beautiful CityPark course while also addressing theneed formore golf courses easily accessible to those of us who live and work within the traditional Baton Rouge city limits and to thekids growing up in the city FLIP ROBERTS Baton Rouge

I’m just throwing this idea out there for comment. What if we replaced every member of Congress with artiﬁcial intelligence? From my perspective, it may

be an improvement. No salary.Nofree perks. No extended vacations. No partisanship. No political parties. DAVE HEBERT Lafayette

The larger issue is not whether sensitive matters deserve protection; they do. The real question is whether acourt exercising enormouspower over children, custody,support, protective orders, contempt, family integrity and the ﬁnancial survival of litigants should remain so shielded from public scrutiny while families endure prolonged proceedings, escalating costs, repeated enforcement actions and serious ﬁnancial pressure. It is especially troubling when the real fears of abuse victimsand the real need to protect children are used to defend secrecy rather than accountability.Those concerns deserve respect, but they should not becomerhetorical shields that block scrutiny of acourt exercising extraordinary power over families. Most telling is the way the letter redirects attention away from Family Court itself and toward the supposed motives of those supporting reform.

Public accountability is not cruelty.Itisasafeguard. If East Baton Rouge Family Court is functioning fairly and honorably,then measured transparency should strengthen public conﬁdence in it, not threaten it. If transparency is treated as adanger the public is entitled to ask why.

KATHERINE DIAMOND Baton Rouge

Hypocrisy was triumphant,asitusually is in arguments over redistricting, in Virginia as votersapproved a“fairness” constitutional amendmentallowingthe Democratic-majoritylegislaturetoenact acongressional districting plan that is expected to increase Democrats’ edge in its congressional delegation from6-5 to 10-1. This is a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris carried over then-candidate Donald Trump by a52% to 46% margin Before this year,Virginia Democrats had been bragging about the bipartisan redistricting process they created and voters approvedin2020. Each party was to appoint an expert, and if they agreed on aplan, it wasadopted. After the 2020 Census, Virginia’s congressional map was drawn by politicalscientists Bernard Grofman andSean Trende, alongtime friendof Grofman. The result was four strongly Democratic districts, fourless strongly Republican ones, two narrowly Democratic seats in Northern Virginia, and one true tossup in the Hampton Roads region In aDemocratic-leaningyear,as 2026 appears to be, Democrats could easily win seven or eight of these seats, and, in amore Republican-leaningyear than 2024, Republicans could easily winsix or maybe seven.

force in the Lower RioGrande Valley And Virginia voters’ approval of the Democrats’ plan by only 51% to 49% margin, in astate that elected Democrat Abigail Spanberger governor last November bya58% to 42% margin, suggests that their new bacon strip maynot elect all Democrats (my candidateisthe lobster-shaped 7th district).

Whostarted all this? Virginia Democrats blame Texas Republicans. National Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder,blame Republicans empowered by Tea Party gains in the2010 off-year elections, just in time to redistrict with thenew 2010 Census ﬁgures.

About what you’d expect in a52-46 Democratic state But when Trump successfully urged Texas Republicans last summer to revise their post-2020 plan andsaid he hoped they might winanadditional ﬁve seats, Virginia Democrats sidelined —just temporarily,they said —their heartfelt commitment to bipartisan districting and set about putting in place their plan to gain four seats.

The good news is that there’sapenalty,exacted by voters, for hypocrisy Texas Republicans’new plan looks unlikely to net the promised ﬁve seats, given the collapse of Trump’spopularity among Hispanic voters, amajority

Partisan districting goes back alot further than that. The original gerrymander was produced by America’s ﬁfthvice president, Elbridge Gerry, who was born in 1744. Gerry,arevolutionary and aditherer,signed the Declaration of Independence and attended the Constitutional Convention but declined to sign thedocument. He professed to oppose political parties but,asaMassachusetts anti-federalist, designed an Essex County district that acartoonist famously depicted as asalamander —the original gerrymander In the2000s and especially in the post-Obamacare 2010s, Republicans had ademographic advantage in redistricting: Democratic voters became highlyconcentrated in central cities, sympathetic suburbs and university towns, while Republican voters were more evenly spreadacross the restof thecountry.That Republican advantage has lessened in the Trumpyears, as manyareas outside million-plus metroareas have becomeheavily Republican, while Hispanic and Black areas in central cities, at least in 2024, have become less Democratic. Still, the most grotesquely shaped congressional districts post-2020 have been in heavily Democratic Illinois, where thedistrict shapes on amap look

like bacon strips extending outward from politically connected Chicago wards and close-in suburbs extending out across miles of prairie. Virginia Democrats’ plan, provided it’sapproved by thestate SupremeCourt, is of asimilar ilk. Youcan drive across ﬁve district lines in afew minutes in Northern Virginia’sArlington or Fairfax counties, knowing all thewhile that it might takefour or ﬁve hours to drive through those districts’ extensions out to theShenandoah Valley or Southside. Equally grotesque, in my view,are Republican mapsthat slice up Democratic central cities with just about the right population for asingle district. Examples include thepost-2020 Tennessee plan that slices up Nashville, and the post-2024 Missouri plan that slices up Kansas City. Asimilar plan in Indiana was defeated in December 2025 by Republican statesenators.It would have sliced Indianapolis four ways and divided thehistorically Democratic steel mill areas around Lake Michigan (where Chief Justice John Roberts grew up).

My own experience analyzing and occasionally drawing districts, starting in the post-1960 cycle, convinces me there’snopolitically neutral way to deﬁne what is unduly partisan districting. Supposedly nonpartisan commissions staffed by political scientistsproduce what you’dexpect from aprofession that votes 95% Democratic. Electing House membersstatewideorbyproportional representation severs any members’ connections with localities and disenfranchises millionsinlarge states.

Virginia Democratsactually did a pretty good job of creating aminimally partisan redistricting process.Now,six years later,they’ve voted tokill it only temporarily,they say.Proof once again that, as Iwrotesome years ago, all process arguments are insincere, including this one.

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

Forsome time, it’s beenobvious that President Donald Trump, Gov. Jeff Landry and the politicianswho follow them are afflicted by CCDS andGEP That’sClimate Change DerangementSyndrome and Green EnergyPhobia —both of which are brought on by LOM Love of Money The symptomsinclude denying theexistence and impact of climate change even in the face of overwhelming evidence (accelerating sea level rise more and larger fires,droughts, floods and hurricanes) while fighting thecure —the conversation to green energy— with every governmentalweapon at their disposal. And that’sbecause of LOM. Climate impacts, including the drowningof Louisiana’scoast, are caused byemissions from the use of oil, gas andcoal producedbyindustries funding politicians’ campaigns. The last few weeks have shown some of the most damaging examples of these maladies.

Many come from Trump’s2026-2027 budget proposal, the followingexamples of which expose the seriousness of hisCCDS and GEP:

n Canceling $15.2 billion in Department of Energy funding forrenewable projects.

n Slashing $449 million from renewableenergy initiatives that were part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

n A$1.6 billion cut to theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’sOfﬁce of Oceanic andAtmospheric Research targeting “climatedominated research programs.”

n Cutting $3.4 billion from the science budget of NASA, an agency Trump thinks spends too much time on climate research.

n Eliminating $4 billion in Department of Transportation fundsfor EV charger programs,which would address the biggest concernfor potential EV buyers: ﬁnding recharging stations

n Endingtax credits for EV battery manufacturers, another blow to EV sales.

n Cutting U.S. contributionstothe

Global Environment Facility and Climate InvestmentFunds. Of course, Trumpearlier withdrew from the Paris Climate Accords, joining Iran, Libya and Yemenasthe only nations outside that effort.

n Cutting$1.1 billion from theDOE Ofﬁce of Science, which supports national labsworking on climate issues.

n Spending billions in taxpayer moneytocancel offshore wind leases, with companies agreeing to reinvest in domestic fossil fuels.

n Allocating $18 billion in new and expanded tax incentives for the oil and gasindustry,including bonuses and exemptions.

n Reducingfees energy companies pay to extract oil and gas on public lands andwaters, which meansless moneytostate and federal budgets

n “Repurposing” billions in DOE funding originally for green energy to “ﬁrm baseload power” like natural gas andcoal.

n Slowing fees on methane gas, the mostpotent greenhouse gas, which beneﬁtsindustries producing it.

Youcan see Trumpisﬂipping the script of previous Democratic and GOP administrations from trying to reduce emissions to increasing them. This, even as thecosts of those impacts,including unaffordable home insurance in Louisiana, have risen tens of billionsofdollars ayear Indeed, Trump seemstobevery sick with CCDS and CEP.Ofcourse, his

Emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal powerplant as the suns sets near Emmett, Kan., in 2021. AP FILE PHOTO

LOM plays alarge role. After all, he promised all of this and more to the oil industry if they pledged $1 billion to his campaign.

Landry’ssymptomsstartwith his unqualiﬁed support for each of Trump’s moves andpromises

Butwhen you’re thepolitical leader of the state that faces the most immediateand long-term impacts from climate change, this amounts to political malpractice.

Ourcoast is considered the most vulnerable to sea level rise in thenation because it’s sinking at the sametime sea level rise is accelerating. The oil and gas industry is largely responsible for both of those disasters. It dredged more than 10,000 miles of canals to recover oil and gas, destroying the hydrology of our wetlands, and theemissions from itsproducts cause sea level rise.

ButLandry is supporting Louisiana House Bill 804, known as theLouisiana Energy Protection Act, which would deny residentstheir right to sue oil and gas companies for economic damages caused by climate change.

The only cure for CCDS and GEP is elections. Let’shope that happens before they rename ourstate Oilyana.

Bob Marshall, aPulitzer Prize-winning Louisianaenvironmental journalist, can be reached at bmarshallenviro@ gmail.com, and followed on X, @BMarshallEnviro.

America has spent decades passing (and frequently repealing) creative waystomake it harder to buy guns. After all that effort, what do we have to show forit? Hundreds of millions of guns in circulation and agun homicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people. Maybe we’re looking at the problem wrong. Maybe instead of putting so much energy into efforts to keep people from buying guns, we should be trying to change which guns they buy.Instead of trying to makegun purchases moreonerous, we should try something more radical: Help people buy long guns instead of handguns.

No,I haven’tgone crazy.I’ve just been reading a provocative new paper from economists Bradley Shapiro, Sara Drango and Sarah Moshary They start from afew simple and correct premises. First, handguns are associated with more harm than long guns —they are involved in 90 percent of ﬁrearm violence and ahuge number of suicides. People own signiﬁcantly morehandguns because they are just easier to carry around and easier to conceal.

Second, mostpeople whobuy guns say they want them forpersonal or household safety That’sause forlong guns as well. Displacing handgun purchases with purchases of less convenient long guns could reduce the likelihood of tragedy when the owner becomes angry or despondent.

So, what if the government gave ﬁrst-timegun buyers asubsidy to choose along gun instead?

If you’re thinking this is not aserious proposal, well, it isn’t, exactly.It’smore of athought experiment, not apolicy brief.The authors estimate that under optimal (read: unrealistic) conditions, their idea could prevent up to 275 deaths ayear at acost of up to $1.5 billion. Under morerealistic conditions, that number would be lower,maybe none —and it might be too costly to even consider Other implementation hurdles would also be daunting, to say the least.

Then whyare we talking about it? Because it offers amore productive waytothink about gun policy Gunpolicy in America is often atug of war between two groups: people whodon’town guns and don’tsee whyanyone would want to, and people whowant to own alot of them. The former group often seemswilling to impose any inconvenience on the latter if the intervention will be minimally effective. The latter unsurprisingly resents this and also suspects that what the other group would really like to do is take away all their guns.

This is not helpful. Gunviolence is ascourge that makes all manner of things worse in society It makes cities worse because people are rationally afraid of being shot and either stay homeor take expensive countermeasures such as Ubering instead of walking. It makes policing harder because ofﬁcers are (also rationally) afraid of being shot and try to minimize that risk with preemptive aggression. It also results in countless deaths. These are bad things, and society has an interest in mitigating those harms.

But we have mostly tried to address them by making gun ownership moredifﬁcult, and that has practical as wellaspolitical problems.

The practical problem is that it’sdifﬁcult (and often unconstitutional) to enact restrictions that motivated criminals can’tget around. The political dilemma is that gun owners whobear the costs of those policies are often single-issue voters on gun control, while the other side isn’t. For people whosupport gun control, it’sone of manyleftwing policy commitments, rarely topping the list. That’swhy limiting gun access has been such a political bust, even though aclear majority of Americans support tighter restrictions.

The three economists’ paper sidesteps that debate by examining the problem purely in terms of harm reduction. It’s like safeinjection sites for drug users. Sure, we could try to hassle people until they stop using, but we tried that and people are still doing drugs, so what if we instead tried to maketheir dangerous hobby as safeaspossible?

The irony of advocating formore long guns instead of handguns is that mostpeople whosupport safeinjection sites would probably hate it, and vice versa. People have strong moral viewsabout drug use and gun ownership, and they don’twant apolicy that makes something they abhor less dangerous; they wantapolicy that makes it less. Iwon’targue that they’re wrong, either.America would be abetter place with less fentanyl and fewerguns. Ijust don’tsee how to get there, and certainly not without incredible cost to personal liberty.Soit’srefreshing to consider aproposal that looks to workwith gun owners instead of against them —tellingly,the title of the paper is “Firearm Policy Buyers Would Accept.” In the real world, Idoubt we’re going to pay people to buy ashotgun instead of ahandgun. But Ican’thelp wondering what other,more practical policies we might be able to develop, if more people thought about the problem like that. MeganMcArdle is on X, @asymmetricinfo. Email her at Megan.McArdle@washpost.com.

ega McArdle M n

Michael Barone

Bob Marshall

HOME COURTING

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

LSU softball and Georgia go head to head in the SEC Tournament on Wednesday at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky, but advancement might not be the only thing on the line.

ninth. They are in the second tier of teams ﬁghting to host a regional. LSU has a No. 11 RPI with a No. 8 strength of schedule, and Georgia is No. 15 in RPI with a No. 5 strength of schedule. LSU has 11 Quad 1 wins and Georgia has 10.

Wade: LSU has more than 1 player on its roster

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Will Wade has heard the jokes about LSU having only one player on the roster almost a month after the transfer portal window opened.

“Everybody thinks I can’t count right now, we only got one guy on the roster,” the new LSU coach said on the “Tingle & Co.” podcast “I said, ‘I know I’m from Tennessee, but I’m not that dumb. I can count to ﬁve.’ ” Wade spoke publicly for the ﬁrst time since his March 30 introductory news conference on a pair of podcasts released Tuesday He answered questions about his team, which has Kentucky transfer Mo Dioubate as the lone player publicly committed.

While he’s the only player committed, there are several players on the team, Wade said on CBS Sports’ “Inside College Basketball Now” podcast.

“Low volume in terms of what you guys know,” Wade said. “We got seven or eight guys, so we’re not too worried. We’ve got some good guys. Look, for a bunch of reasons, we’re not announcing things.”

Wade said the plan is to get more from the international player market. A couple of reasons why some of those players haven’t been announced are because they are competing in the playoffs or “negotiating” with their current teams, Wade said. He also cited the reported new NCAA ﬁve-year eligibility rule that might be approved.

This change will give athletes five years of eligibility starting at the earliest of two dates: when a player turns 19 or graduates from high school.

The two teams are similarly positioned with the NCAA Tournament looming, and this game could wind up as somewhat of a tiebreaker on Selection Sunday No. 18 LSU (37-16, 13-11 SEC) ﬁnished eighth in the conference standings, and No. 17 Georgia (36-17, 12-12) ﬁnished

“We have a strong resume,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “We’ve done a good job of winning all the games we should win without any bad losses. We’ve played a really tough schedule.

“The best thing is to not get ahead of yourself; one pitch at a time. Each game

is valuable. Any one win can make a difference.”

The Tigers started the season 1-5 in SEC play but closed strong with a 7-2 mark to eke above .500 in SEC play for the ﬁrst time this season last weekend with a sweep of Auburn. Meanwhile, Georgia was taking two of three from No. 5 Florida at the end of a murderous schedule that included Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas A&M.

“They are an incredibly talented team,” Torina said of Georgia. “They played a tough, tough schedule, and are

LSU, Georgia to face off with aspirations to host NCAA regional ä See LSU, page 4C

Saints’ Jennings sees similarities to Patriots’ rise

Newly signed DE says New Orleans has the ‘chance to be really

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

After the New England Patriots released him in March, defensive end Anfernee Jennings heard interest from the Saints.

When mulling over the next stop of his career, Jennings looked at how the Saints closed the season strong, how their draft further cemented the idea this was a franchise on the upswing and how there would be an opportunity to earn playing time. He even saw parallels to his former team.

“We got a chance to be really good,” Jennings said. Last year, Jennings was part of a Patriots squad that had a rocketlike ascension to get back to being one of the

“This will be the last year some of those guys will be eligible, so we’re gonna lean a little heavier on the international route,” Wade said. “Those kids have a lot of experience. There’s just some natural things that they’ve learned over there that really help in college basketball and can translate to us in college basketball.”

Wade also said he has a couple of players in the transfer portal and shared another reason why other names haven’t been released.

“Some of these guys we’re ﬁling waivers for, and we need to let the waiver process take place,” he said. “So there’s a lot of other things that are going on that, you know, not necessarily need to be out in the public all the time.”

ä See WADE, page 5C

Wade

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

LSU pitcher Paytn Monticelli is surrounded by teammates after getting the last out of LSU’s 8-5 win over Ole Miss on April 19 at Tiger Park. The Tigers take on Georgia in an SEC Tournament first-round game on

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA Defensive end Anfernee Jennings, a 2020 third-round draft choice, was signed as a free agent by the Saints after the New England Patriots released him in March.

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS

Arizona MLBN NBA

6:10 p.m. PhiladelphiaatNew york ESPN

8:30 p.m.Minnesota at SanAntonio ESPN NHL

6p.m.Montreal at Buffalo TNT

8:30 p.m.AnaheimatVegas TNT MEN’S SOCCER

2p.m.ParisSaint-Germain at Munich CBS

6:30 p.m.Calgary at CF Montreal CBS

8:30 p.m.LAFCatDeportivoToluca FC FS1 WOMEN’S SOCCER

9p.m.Houston at Utah CBSSN

PGATour’s schedule toopacked

LIV Golf had aseemingly endless supply of Saudi money that suddenly is coming to an end. Overlooked is another of its assets —this one with no price tag —the PGA Tour would love to have.

Ablank canvas.

Even as LIVGolfCEO Scott

O’Neil was trying to present hope for afuture without the ﬁnancial muscle of Saudi Arabia’ssovereign wealth fund, the PGA Tour wasmoving from one signature event to anotheronthe short road to Aronimink for the PGA Championship.

Astros losecatcherDiaz due to left oblique strain

HOUSTON Houston catcher Yainer Diazwas placed on the 10-day injuredlist with aleftoblique strain Tuesday

Diaz was injured in batting practice Monday and manager Joe Espada didn’tprovide aspeciﬁc timeline for his injury but said he’d be out for“awhile.”

The Astros selected the contract of catcher CésarSalazar from Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday afterDiazwas injured. He’llserve as the team’s backup until Diaz is healthy with veteran Christian Vázquez stepping in as the starter

“Part of me wondershow much of an appetite there is for20major tournaments,” MattKuchar said late last year,after having spent afew hours with Rolapp trying to see the vision.

Thatled to another question.

“I still scratch my head at what happened to the World Golf Championships,” Kuchar said. “They hada greatﬁeld—certainly had some obscure names, but for the most part the top 40 or 50 guys in the world played. Tigerwon half of them, so clearly they weresuccessful from aTVstandpoint.

It’saschedule that doesn’tmake sense. From the ﬁrst major at the Masters through the second major at the PGA Championship, the top players face three $20million signature events and two majors over six weeks. That followed another brutal stretch of three $20 million events and The Players Championship over ﬁve weeks on both sides of the country

What’sthe solution? The Future Competition Committee is working on it, and no doubt has found it difﬁcult to blow up and rebuild a model in placefor 100 years with tweaks along the way The idea was to get the best players competing againsteach other more often, and not many would be opposed to aconcept like that. It was four years ago when 23 players met privately in Delaware to rally around the tour and against LIV Golf (three of them later defected to LIV).

From that emerged a 2023 schedulewhere the top players committed to a20-event schedule in which they would compete against each other at least 17 times. Rory McIlroy skipped two of them. And McIlroy already has missed twosignature events this year after winning another Masters. Four other players from the top15inthe world didn’tenter the Cadillac Championship last week at Doral. World No. 1Scottie Schefﬂer isn’tplaying this week at Quail Hollow because he faces as many as four in arow —two of them home events in the Dallas area —startingwith the PGA

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JONFERREy CharlSchwartzel,ofSouthernGuardsGC, is introduced at the Lion’s Denatthe 17th tee during the final round of LIV Golf South Africa at The Club at SteynCity on March 22 in Midrand,South Africa.

Championship. Brian Rolapp, the PGA Tour CEO who appointed Tiger Woods to lead thecompetition committee,was awareofthis crunch when it was announced last August

“How do you actually drive a competitive schedule where every event matters, thatisconnected to apostseason, but do it in away wherethe best golfers can gettogether and actually perform well?” Rolapp saidatthe Tour Championship. “I think that’sall an open question, andthose are the things we’re going to look at with an open mind.”

Butit’snot an open-and-shut case, not with so much history behind the PGATour.History is one of sport’sgreatest assets untilit becomes ahurdle when trying to effectively start over Rolapp shed some light on the committee’sprogress in March when he mentioned two tracks

—one for theelite playing the big-money events on notable golf courses, the other aproving ground of other tournaments on the schedule. The trickwas ﬁnding the ladder to getfrom one to the other.But it still doesn’t solve the crunch that playersare facing and when to playthem.

The simple part forthe tour wassinking twoeventsinHawaii. Wisconsin-based Sentry,the titlesponsor at Kapalua, would seem to be the right ﬁt forTorrey Pines. Thatgivesthe West Coast Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach and Riviera,withthe “GreatestShow on Grass” (Phoenix) in the mix. Florida now has five tournaments. March has four weeks. And perhaps the biggest questiontowhich thereare more opinions than answers: What’s the right amount of tournaments? How often should all thebest be on thesame golf course?

“Why do we think someother versionwillwork?” he said. “I don’t know.”

The last year for afull slate of WGCs was the year before LIV launched. Sponsorship issues and the COVID-19 pandemic played a bigpart.

But this is about reinventing thewheel, andthere’s sure to be plenty of bumps in the road.

That’swhere LIV Golf and its ﬁrst leader,Greg Norman,could have usedamulligan. Theshotgun start and 54-hole competition. Theteam concept (remember the Niblicks and Punch among the early names?). Golf,but louder maybe too loud.

LIV had ablank canvasand came up with paint by numbers.

O’Neilisleft to create abusiness plantotakeits teams to potential buyers, which probably should have beendonelongago when it was ﬂush with cash in abid to pattern itself after the popular and veryglobal Formula 1series.

Now the future is in serious doubt.A lot of obits have been written the past few weeks. Media thatlargely ignored LIV Golf areall over Trump National in Virginia, at leastuntil the competition starts on Thursday Norman boasted on the day that LIV announced the field for its first event, “Free agency has finally cometogolf.” He might have been ahead of histime. Because if LIVGolfcan’tsurvive without Saudi money,orcan’tfind enough investors, therewillbeplenty of freeagents.

Meanwhile, Rolapp hasanews conference the week after the U.S. Open for an update on the newcompetitionmodel the PGA Tour is trying to create. There’sa lotofmoving parts. Alot of paint.

The 27-year-old Diazishitting .248 with two home runs and 14 RBIsin26games this season. In othermoves on Tuesday,the Astros recalled right-hander Jason Alexander and outﬁelder Zach Dezenzo from Sugar Land.

WNBA all-time leading rebounder Charles is retiring

NEW YORK Tina Charles, the WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder,is retiring from the league, the eighttimeAll-Star announced Tuesday on social media.

Charles, who had 4,262 rebounds in hercareer,also ﬁnished as the league’s No. 2all-time scorer behind Diana Taurasi. The 15-year veteranscored8,396 points in the regular season.

“Today,I officially announce my retirement from basketball. Fifteen years at the professional level and alifetime of love forthis game,” Charles wrote in her post.

Charles was theNo. 1pickby the Connecticut Sunin2010 after helping the UConn Huskies win consecutive NCAA championships in 2009 and2010. Shewas theAP Player of the Year in 2010.

Seahawks, veteran Fowler workingon1-year deal

The reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and veteran edge rusherDante Fowler are working on aone-year deal worth up to $5 million,aperson with knowledge of the deal told The Associated PressonTuesday

Theperson spoke to the AP on condition of anonymitybecause the contract hasn’tbeen ﬁnalized. Fowler,31, played forthe Dallas Cowboys last year and had three sacks in 17 games, starting in 11 of those Fowler should help Seattlereplace edge rusherBoyeMafe, who signed athree-year,$60 million deal with the CincinnatiBengals in free agency.Mafe had20sacksinfour seasons for Seattle.

Fowler wasthe No. 3pickby Jacksonville in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Giants HOF LB Taylor released from hospital

BY BEN NUCKOLDS AP sportswriter

STERLING, Va Jon Rahm has resolved his ﬁnancial dispute with the European tour, amove that potentiallygives him aplace to compete in 2027 and beyond withLIV Golf facinganuncertain future Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton took questions Tuesday at LIV Golf Virginiaafter LIVCEO Scott O’Neil spoke to reportersabout his efforts to court investors for aleague that is losing its chief financial backer,Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, at the end of the season.

Both players declined to speculate on their futureand noted that they remain under contract with LIV for years to come.

“As of right now Ihave several years on my contract left, and I’m pretty sure they did apretty good job when they drafted that, so I don’tsee many ways out,” Rahm said.

Asked whether Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had committed to honoring contracts beyond 2026, O’Neil said,“Idon’t even know how to think aboutanswering.”

The Saudishave spent $5 billion on LIV Golf over ﬁve years without achieving proﬁtability,including$1billion on player contracts Players compete for $30 million purses at each event on the LIV schedule, an amount that couldbe reduced next year without Saudi funding.

The PGA Tour does not allow

players to compete on both circuits. However, LIVplayers have been welcomed back to the European tour after paying ﬁnes for playing in conﬂictingevents.

Rahm refused to paythe ﬁnes andthe resulting standoff put at risk hisparticipation in next year’sRyder Cup at Adare Manor in Ireland.

“There is nolonger astandoff. We were abletoreachanagreement. There were some concessions on both sides, and Ioffered some, they extended an olive branch,” Rahmsaid. “So that will not be astress anymore.”

Rahm said he planstoplay European tour events this fall, including the Spanish Open, unless family considerations get in the way He and wife Kelleyare expecting their fourth child.

The two-time major champion hasplayed only six European tour events since joiningLIV in late 2023. LIV hasnoeventsonits schedulebetween the U.S. Open and the British Open, andRahm’s settlement wouldallow himto play the Scottish Open, which is co-sanctioned by the PGATour, theweek before the year’sﬁnal major.

Speaking in Spanishatthe end of hisavailability, Rahm said he knew there was risk in coming to LIV andcomparedhis situation to asoccer team knowingits coach wasleavingatthe end of the season.

“You know you have to play,but thereisambiguitybecause maybe you are not going to follow the

same system,” Rahm said before making areference to PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, known as “His Excellency,” who has stepped down as LIV’schairman.

“It was asurprise for everyone. We didn’texpect it, after the supportthatHis Excellency hasgiven us.”

O’Neil makesapitch forLIV

O’Neil took questions from aLIV media ofﬁcial for 28 minutes inside the tennis building at Trump National Golf Club outside Washington beforeanswering reporters’ questions for 17 minutes.

Behindhim was ascreen with thenames of six sponsors, four of which are ownedorbacked by the PIF: Maaden, Riyadh Air,Roshn Group and Aramco.

O’Neil mentioned sponsorships, ticket sales, television contracts andthe league’sglobal footprint as reasons for optimism that it could secure funding. The league plans to take its 13 franchises to market, andO’Neil said those teams would be offered to potential buyerswith players in place.

Rahm acknowledged that players might have to acceptless money to keep the league going.

NEW YORK New York Giants Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylorwas discharged recentlyfrom the hospital following astint for a stomach-relatedissue,his attorney said Tuesday Mark Eiglarsh said in an email to The Associated Press that Taylor is returning hometoFlorida after being hospitalized in Morristown, NewJersey,since April 20.

“He is grateful to now be on the road to recovery and hopes to be back on the golf course soon,” Eiglarsh said, adding that the67-year-old expressed appreciation to the staffatMorristown Medical Center Taylor spent his entire 13-season NFLcareer with the Giants from 1981-93 and helped them win the Super Bowltwice.

Source: Giantsare signing defensive tackle Reader

NEW YORK The NewYork Giants are signing defensive tackle D.J. Reader to atwo-year contract worth $12.5million, according to a person familiar with the move. Reader,who turns 32 on July 1, ﬁlls the void left by trading Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati prior to the draftlastmonth.The Giants hosted Reader fora workoutonApril 13 while there was uncertainty about Lawrence’sfuture with the team. He startedall 17 games forthe Detroit Lions last seasonand made 28 tackles. In 137games with the Texans, Bengals and Lions since Houston pickedhim in the fifth round of the 2016 draft,Reader has 328 tackles and 12 ½ sacks. Reader is part of arebuilt defense fornew coach JohnHarbaugh, after theunit ranked 30th out of 32 teams last season.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLES LABERGE JonRahm greets fans as he walks to the sixth tee during the final round of LIV Golf Mexico City at Club de Golf Chapultepec on April19in Naucalpan, Mexico.

Doug Ferguson

Moving closer to home

Many WNBA

stars find new teams after league reaches new deal

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

NEW YORK All-Stars Brittney Griner, Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins and Satou Sabally all found new places to play this season, taking advantage of free agency Angel Reese has a new home after she was traded to Atlanta.

This might have been the most movement by All-Stars during an offseason in WNBA history. Not that it comes as a huge surprise. More than 80% of the players in the league were free agents after last season, knowing a huge pay day awaited with the new collective bargaining agreement that was signed in March.

With the money about the same, moving closer to home was one factor in players’ decisions.

Ogwumike returns to L.A

The 2016 MVP has long considered Los Angeles home after getting drafted No. 1 by the Sparks in 2012. She helped the franchise win a championship in 2016. The 10-time All-Star left the Sparks for Seattle in 2024 and spent two seasons with the Storm before returning to L.A.

The Sparks are trying to get back to the top of the league.

“It was always see you later, now I’ll see you soon…” Ogwumike wrote on social media when announcing her decision to return to Los Angeles.

Ogwumike joins a strong core in Los Angeles, including Kelsey Plum, Ariel Atkins, Dearica Hamby and Cameron Brink.

Diggins to Chicago

Diggins grew up in South Bend, Indiana — a 90-minute drive from Chicago. The six-time All-WNBA player and seven-time All-Star is still looking for her ﬁrst championship in the league and may be hard-pressed to get it in the Windy City The 35-year-old guard spent the last two seasons in Seattle She’ll provide veteran leadership for the Sky and eventually pair in the backcourt with Courtney Vandersloot, who is recovering from an ACL injury

Griner to Connecticut

The No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft will be playing for her third team in three seasons. Griner spent the ﬁrst 12 years of her career in Phoenix, which selected her with the top pick. She moved on to Atlanta last season and now is in Connecticut.

The Sun will be moving to Griner’s hometown of Houston next season.

Griner, a 10-time All-Star, was excited for the chance to be a veteran leader for the Sun before eventually getting to play back home in Houston next year

“Coming here for the one year with hopes of next year being in Houston and having that opportunity to potentially play in front of my family, play at home, it means a lot to me, means a whole lot to me,” Griner told The Associated Press.

Sabally in New York

Sabally was born in New York, so joining the Liberty was a homecoming for her Her family moved to Germany when she was young. Being on the East Coast makes it easier for the German star to get to Europe than it was while playing in Phoenix. It also puts her in a time zone that is more friendly for talking to her family in Germany.

“Phoenix was very far away from

home for me as an international player Like, nine-hour time difference. I could only talk to my little brothers before practice,” Sabally said. “So I think it was a personal decision just to get closer to my own home.

The three-time All-Star played with Sabrina Ionescu in college at Oregon. Their senior season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, but now the duo will try to win a WNBA championship together with the Liberty Fresh start for Reese

Atlanta acquired Reese from the Sky on April 6 for draft picks. One of the WNBA’s most recognizable stars, Reese led the league in rebounds in each of her two seasons with the Sky The Dream hope she’s the missing piece that can get them back to the WNBA Finals for the ﬁrst time since 2013.

“I am not satisfied with what I am as a player and I felt like being around these kinds of players would help me be better,” said Reese, who added she is happy to be with an organization “that really cared” about its players.

“I can help them in different ways to win, and that’s all I ever wanted,” Reese said. “I don’t care about anything else. I want to win.”

Without more pay, Sabalenka calls for French Open boycott

BY ANDREW DAMPF AP sportswriter

ROME Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka believes tennis players should organize a boycott if they don’t start receiving a bigger share of tournament revenue at the Grand Slams — and the likes of Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini are prepared to protest, too. Sabalenka and fellow No. 1 Jannik Sinner were among leading players most of them ranked in the top 10 — who issued a statement on Monday expressing “deep disappointment” over the French Open prize money

“Without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment. I feel like deﬁnitely we deserve to be paid more percentage,” Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, said on Tuesday at the Italian Open.

“I think at some point we will boycott it. I feel like that’s going to be the only way to ﬁght for our rights,” Sabalenka added on her 28th birthday

The players are also seeking better representation, health options and pensions from the four Grand Slam tournaments: Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

French Open organizers announced last month they were increasing overall prize money by about 10% for an overall pot of 61.7 million euros ($72 1 million), with the total amount up 5.3 million euros from last year But the players’ statement said “the underlying ﬁgures tell a very different story,” claiming they will receive a smaller share of tournament revenues.

The players claim their share of Roland Garros revenue has declined from 15.5% in 2024 to 14.9% projected in 2026. Gauff, the defending French

Timberwolves star Edwards returns early to help stun Spurs

BY RAUL DOMINGUEZ Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO Anthony Edwards announced to the San Antonio Spurs he had returned — not that anyone in the sold-out Frost Bank Center needed to be told.

The Timberwolves guard made an unexpected return 10 days after hyperextending his left knee, leading Minnesota to a 104-102 victory Monday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semiﬁnals.

After hitting his first 3-pointer with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter, Edwards turned to the Spurs bench and screamed: “I’m back! I’m back!” They were already fully aware. The four-time All-Star had 18 points, including 11 in the ﬁnal quarter as the Timberwolves held on to hand the Spurs just the second loss in their past 17 series openers at home.

“That’s kind of who he is,” San Antonio guard Dylan Harper said. “Superstar in this league. He’s going to come back and have games like that even though he hasn’t played for a little bit.”

Edwards, who averaged 36.7 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds in three games against the Spurs this season, has stated previously that he enjoys competing against San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama.

They had another duel in Game 1.

Wembanyama had 11 points, 15 rebounds and set an NBA postseason record with 12 blocked shots.

“I don’t think me coming back was because of nothing they got going on,” Edwards said. “It was more so I want to be out there with my brothers. Yeah, just that simple.”

Edwards was expected to miss at least the ﬁrst two games of the series in San Antonio, but the 6-foot-4 guard expedited his rehabilitation to play in the opener He was cleared to play 90 minutes before the scheduled tipoff Monday night when Minnesota coach Chris Finch simply said: “He’s in.”

“He loves to play the game,” Finch said. “We dodged a bullet when it happened. He’s done an incredible job. Our medical staff has

of the U.S during the Madrid Open in Madrid on

Open champion, cited a landmark new WNBA collective bargaining agreement reached in March as an example of the beneﬁt of working together

“From the things I’ve seen with other sports, usually to make massive progress and things like this, it takes a union,” Gauff said. “We have to become unionized in some way We deﬁnitely can move more as a collective.” Regarding a boycott, Gauff said, “If everyone were to move as one and collaborate, yeah, I can 100% see that.” But she added she hasn’t heard of any discussions about a walkout.

“I deﬁnitely think there’s a consensus around that this needs to be addressed for all players of all levels, especially the lower-ranked players, too,” Gauff added. “I want to leave the sport better than I found it. If I can say I played my part when I retire, that’s something I can be proud of.” Rybakina, a two-time Grand Slam champion who won the Australian Open this year, would fol-

low the other players.

“If the majority say we are boycotting, we are not playing, then of course I’m up for it,” Rybakina said.

“It’s not only on the Grand Slams and it’s not only about raising the prize money A lot of people are not aware that there is taxes which are big. You even make more prize money, but you giving it all to the taxes.”

Paolini, the Italian who reached the ﬁnal of the French Open and Wimbledon in 2024, also believed in a boycott option.

“If we’re all in agreement and I think we are the men and the women are united right now — it’s something we could do,” Paolini said.

French Open organizers did not respond to a request for comment after the players issued their statement.

The French Open starts on May 24 and the singles champions will each receive 2.8 million euros and the runners-up 1.4 million euros. Semiﬁnalists earn 750,000 euros and ﬁrst round losers get 87,000 euros.

done an unbelievable job of getting him to this point. And he was super motivated by the fact that we were able to get that ﬁrst series. I think that was kind of a little bit of an inspiration for him, too, just gave him something to work towards.”

Edwards suffered a bone bruise, in addition to hyperextending his left knee, on April 25 during Game 4 of Minnesota’s opening-round series against Denver

“I think I got the best physical therapist in the world with David Hines,” Edwards said of the Timberwolves’ vice president of medical operations and performance. “So, just trusting him and working through all the pain that I felt throughout the ﬁrst two days, three days, and just getting in the pool, running on it. Band work. Just a lot of resistance. So, yeah, he got me right.”

Edwards did not start, but played 25 minutes off the bench, including 9:52 in the ﬁnal quarter

“Everybody in the arena is against us,” Edwards said. “Yeah, I think that’s the best thing about it. You start on the road, everybody got on pink, blue, and whatever color shirts there is, chanting ‘Go Spurs Go,’ and doing all that. I’m with Minnesota. I got Minnesota back at all times.

“I’m out there with my brothers and we’re going to war.”

It was uncertain if Edwards will start Game 2 on Wednesday or if his minutes restriction will be lifted, but he is ready regardless.

“I felt great,” Edwards said. “I don’t think I’m limited at all. And just whatever coach needs from me.”

Edwards averaged 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 61 games during the regular season. He averaged 36.7 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds in three games against San Antonio this season.

“We figured he would want to play,” Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said “So, we went over him as if he was playing. There was no difference in the strategy There was no difference in what we were trying to do. This is what he wants to do. This is what we’re going to do to counter it.”

The Timberwolves were 2-1 against the Spurs during the regular season.

Cunningham scores 23 to help Pistons beat Cavs in Game 1

BY LARRY LAGE Associated Press

DETROIT Cade Cunningham scored 23 points, Tobias Harris had 20 and the Detroit Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-101 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their secondround series. Duncan Robinson added 19 points for the top-seeded Pistons, who ended an NBA record-tying 12-game postseason losing streak against a single opponent, a drought that dated to the 2007 Eastern Conference ﬁnals.

Game 2 is Thursday night in Detroit.

Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 23 points, ending his NBA-record streak of scoring 30-plus points in nine straight series openers. James Harden had 22 points and Max Strus scored 19 for the No. 4-seeded Cavs, who pulled into a tie midway through the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the night and by as much as 18 points.

Cleveland center Jarrett Allen was limited to two points and three rebounds, coming off a 22-point, 19-rebound performance in an elimination game against Toronto

Two days after both teams won a Game 7, the Pistons started strong and led 37-31 after a quarter Detroit took a 59-46 lead into the second half, when the cushion was no longer comfortable

Cleveland pulled within three points late in the third and Ron Holland hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the quarter and put the Pistons up 83-76. After the Cavs cut their deﬁcit to three again early in the fourth, the Pistons responded with eight consecutive points to restore a doubledigit lead.

Cleveland, though, wouldn’t go away Harden, playing the Pistons for the first time since Cleveland ac-

Detroit Pistons guard Ausar Thompson, right, passes the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus, left, during Game 1 of a playoff series on Tuesday in Detroit.

quired him, scored seven straight points to pull the Cavs into a 93-all tie with 5:28 left.

Jalen Duren blocked Harden’s next shot and dunked on Detroit’s next three possessions — each off Cunningham assists.

The Pistons won the Central Division this year by eight games ahead of the defending champion Cavs, splitting four games during the regular season.

Detroit earned 60 victories and the top seed in the East just two years after losing 68 games and setting a single-season NBA record with 28 straight losses.

The Pistons rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against Orlando to advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 Cleveland outlasted Toronto in seven games to reach the second round for the third straight year, a run that started with Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cavs and hired a month later by the Pistons.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MATT KROHN

Phoenix Mercury forward Satou Sabally looks to pass against the Minnesota Lynx during Game 2 of a WNBA playoff series on Sept. 23 in Minneapolis.

ASSOCITATED PRESS PHOTO By MANU FERNANDEZ

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus celebrates a point during her match against Hailey Baptiste

April 28.

AP PHOTO By DUANE BURLESON

agameonSept.7

‘Adapt andget better’

NewPackers DC Gannon willingtoadjusttoplayers

BY STEVE MEGARGEE

AP sportswriter

GREEN BAY,Wis. New Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said he doesn’tconsider himself a“huge rah-rah guy,” but there’s one point the former Arizona Cardinals coach is trying to make sure he gets across This is his message:You are under no obligation to be the person you were ﬁve minutes ago.

“I said it for the players, but it’sfor us, too,” Gannon said Mondayduring his ﬁrst media sessionsince taking this job three months ago. “And what that’sbasically saying is grow and adapt and get better.And if we all have that mindset and can continually stick to the process, we’ll get better.”

That adaptability is apparent from Gannon’sschematic approach.

The Packers had run a4-3 defenseduring Jeff Haﬂey’s two years as coordinator before the Miami Dolphins hired him as their coach. Green Bay previouslyhad utilized a3-4 alignment un-

der JoeBarry,the Green Baydefensivecoordinator from 2021-23.

Gannon said he wants to adjusthis scheme to reﬂect the strengths of his personnel.

“I don’treallyget caught up in 4-3, 3-4,” Gannon said “We’re an NFL-style defense hopefully,right?Ijust believethat you’ve gottobe, you’ve gottocontinually every year try to adapt and solve problems and really with yourguys in mind.”

Gannon has some speciﬁc principleshelikes toutilize, but he said he’snot going to force adefense to do somethingthat doesn’tsuitits players’ talents.

“We’vegot to put them in thebestpositions possible, that they feel comfortable that they can go out and play thegame,” Gannon said.

“Before scheme, Itruly believe it’snot what you play, it’show you play.”

Gannon comes to Green Bay after an unsuccessful head coaching stint. He went 15-36 at Arizona before gettingﬁred late in his third season.

Before goingtoArizona,

Gannonhad aproductive two seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles reached the Super Bowl, ranked second in the league in total defense and hadafranchiserecord70sacks —15more than any other NFLteam —inGannon’sﬁnalseason with them.

Gannon described the interview processwith Packers coach Matt LaFleur and howitmadehim eager to join theGreen Bay staff.

“I thinkMatt’sa savant,so he can go from topic to topic to topic, and you’ve got to be pretty wired up or you’ll fall behind pretty quick,” Gannonsaid. “Itwas intense. I was sweating. Iwas in acoat andtie,and Ithink Iwas sweating alittle bit.”

Gannon takes over adefense that ranked 12th in yards allowed pergame (311.8), ninthinyards allowed per play (5.0)and 11th in points allowed pergame (21.2) lastseason. That defense wasn’tthe sameafter All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons tore his anterior cruciate ligament, an in-

jury that occurred during the ﬁrst of Green Bay’sﬁve straight losses to endthe season.

Parsons hassaidhehopes to be back for thestart of the 2026 season, but has indicated aWeek 3orWeek 4return is more likely.Gannonbelieves thedefense has plenty of otherproductiveplayers to go along withParsons.

“It’sagood mix of some younger players, (and) we’ve got somevets that are some really good players— that sweet spot,” Gannonsaid. “(SafetyXavier) McKinney youthink he’s beenplaying forever because he’ssuch ahigh performingvet, but he’s still pretty young. And then you got some guys that areyoungerand in theirﬁrst contract that haveplayed really good football.”

Gannonknows the type of defense he wants to see. He believes thePackershave the pieces in place to play that style, no matter how they line up.

“I thinkthat’s what agood defenselooks like —afast, violent,physical team that takes the ball away,” Gannon said.

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

Maye-like jump.

Jenningsalso knows that talking aboutthe possibilitycan getthe Saints only so far.

“Last year,nobody gave us achance to be where we were,where we endedupat the end of the season,” Jennings said. “But we kind of kept that within ourselves.

“Weworked every day and we held each other accountable. We executed the gameplan and we was able to complement each other (on) offense, defense and special teams.”

In Moore’stenure, the Saints have collected a numberofveteranswith that kind of prove-it attitude.

This offseason,the Saints also added running back Travis Etienne andguard David Edwards —each of whom made theplayoffs last season. The year before that, the Saints signed safety Justin Reid, atwotime SuperBowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jennings, too, brings plenty of experience

Now entering his seventh season, he’shad timeto reflect on ajourney that almost didn’tget started becauseofa significant leg injury in 2017 in which he damaged an artery and developed ablood clot.

In the NFL, Jennings’s career has taken its own twistsand turns. He’s been abackup who became a

LSU

Continued from page1C

probably better than their record shows. They’ve got two good arms, adeep offense, aton of seniors who have been around the block. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Georgia boasts atough lefty-righty pitching duo.

Junior left-hander Randi Roelling (16-5, 3.01 ERA) is the ace with 10 complete games and 120 strikeouts in 1252/3 innings pitched. Addisen Fisher is 10-5 with a2.84 ERA. Catcher Sarah Gordon is batting .451 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs, while designated player Tyler Ellison is batting .390 with ateam-best 42 RBIs.

starter,and then abackup again.Throw in another injury that cost him all of 2021. But that range of experience is whyJennings believes he cancontributeto the Saints. He wasn’tfazed, forinstance, when thePatriots went back to relying on himinthe playoffs once edge rusher Harold Landry went down with an injury Jennings hadbeen used to beinga full-time starter for thetwo seasons prior,he said. And as apro,Jennings hasdeveloped into astout run defender— one who could help improve aSaints defense that allowed the 14th-mostrushing yards last year “I feel like I’m versatile, physical (and) adisciplined player,” he said. In NewOrleans, Jennings will have to earn his role. He joined an edge rusher room that also recently added former LasVegas Raiders ﬁrst-rounder Tyree Wilson and could still bring back CamJordan.Jennings’ contract, according to Over The Cap, contained only $187,500 in guarantees, making it relatively easy forthe Saints to move on if he doesn’tsecure a53man roster spot.

But if he sticks around, he’ll try to help the Saints makethe sameleap he just experienced in New England.

“It’saprocess,man,” Jennings said. “You don’tget to the Super Bowlbywhat youdointhe beginning of the season or anything like that.”

“They’ve gottwo good arms,a deep offense, a ton of seniors whohave been around the block. We’ve gotour work cut out forus.”

BETH TORINA, LSU coach

BY LARRYFLEISHER

Associated Press

NEW YORK Brandon Nimmowas

hesitant about waiving his no-trade clause withthe New York Metsbut hearing the team had nottalked to free agentPeteAlonsoabout acontract was among the factorsthatinﬂuenced his decision to accept atrade to the Texas Rangers.

Nimmo, who was not in the lineup for the RangersonTuesday night because of alingering hamstring issue, explained some of the thingsthatwent into him agreeing to atrade from the team that drafted him inthe first round of the 2011 draft.

“It deﬁnitely went into the decisionmaking processjust because Iwasn’t sure. If they were willing to trade me, thenwho else aretheygoing to try and trade?” Nimmo said before Texas faced theYankees in theopenerofa three-game series. “And obviously, who are they going to bring back and all that stuff.

“When Pete said they hadn’treached out to him, there was deﬁnitely alot uncertainty into which direction they were going. But ultimately Ihad to make other phone calls, andIhad to talk with many more people and deliberate overand over for many more days. So, it wasn’tjust his conversation that went into it. Italked with dozens of people.” Nimmo waived his no-trade clause and was traded for Marcus Semien on Nov.23. About three weeks later, Alonso signed a$155 million, ﬁve-year contract with the Orioles.

On Friday,the ﬁrst baseman said the Metsnever reached out to himinfree agency

FridayinDetroit.

Nimmo is dueannualsalaries of $20.25 million each season through 2030. The left-handed hitter will get an additional $1 million assignment bonus from the Metsfor waiving the no-trade provision. As part of the trade, the Mets will send Texas $5 million bySept. 18. After hitting .262 with single-season highs of 25 homers and92RBIs in his ﬁnal season with the Mets, Nimmo is hitting .300 with four homersand 12 RBIs in 33 games with the Rangers. He exited games Wednesday night and Friday night with right hamstring tightness but will avoid the injured list for now

“It’sdeﬁnitely coming along,” Nimmo said. “It’sjust about trying to bal-

ance this.We’ve had this point in the schedule where we’ve been fortunate to have some offdays and maybe we can grab one more here and there and be smart about it.”

While Nimmo avoided the IL, the Rangersput infielder and former LSU star Josh Smith on the 10-dayILbecauseofa right glute stain.The move is retroactivetoMondayfor Smith, whoishitting .350 in hislastseven games but .217 overall. Texas replaced Smith on its roster by recalling infielderJustinFoscue from Triple-A Round Rock.Foscue was hitting .287 with two homersand 14 RBIs forRound Rock and has appeared in 19 gamesinthe previous two seasons with Texas. OutfielderNimmo

Torina has to like her team’s chances as it has shownmarkedimprovement down the stretch, especiallyonoffense.Jalia Lassiter was named SEC Player of the Week after the sweep of Ole Miss. She had nine hits in four games and batted .600 with three doubles and ahomer.LSU outscored its opponents 51-2 and had 56 hits.

The Tigers have 12 more home runs than in 2025 and eight more extra-base hits.

“There’sbeen aton of growth throughout the year (offensively),” Torina said. “That’swhat we’re most proud of. If you look at our power numbers, they are up.”

The pitching also has solidified with the emergence of Paytn Monticelli to go with Jayden Heavener and Cece Cellura. Monticelli haswon her last fivedecisionswhile

Heavener bouncedback from some rough outings with ashutout of Auburn on Saturday “Wealways thought they would do some good things,” Torina said of her pitching staff.

“The way we used them maybealittle different from what we thought. They all bring something different to the table. In combination, they’ve been tough.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA TexasRangers right fielder Brandon Nimmo catches a flyball from Matt Vierling of theDetroitTigers on

STAFF FILEPHOTO By BRETTDUKE

Saints coach Kellen Moore, left, and Arizona Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon chat before

at the CaesarsSuperdome. Gannon was fired by theCardinals in Januaryand is nowthe Packers’defensivecoordinator

LSUgymnasticslands transfer from Minnesota

Rising senior Lydena high-profile commit

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

LSU gymnastics’

“Reboot to The Boot” pushinthe transfer portal has netted the Tigers one of the nation’smost sought-after transfers.

Jordyn Lyden, arising senior who helped lead Minnesota last month to its ﬁrst-ever NCAA ﬁnal, announced her commitment Tuesday to LSU on social media.

“I’m beyond excited and grateful to announce thatI’ll be ﬁnishing my career at Louisiana State University,” Lyden postedonher Instagram account. “This opportunity means everythingtome, and Itruly couldn’tbe more ex-

cited for what’sahead.”

Lyden thanked the LSU coachingstaff for welcoming her

“You made this place feel like home,” Lyden said, “eventhough I’m farther from home than I’ve ever been.”

Thepursuit of theStillwater Minnesota, native represented yetanotherbattle between NCAA runner-up LSU and NCAA champion Oklahoma. Lydenchosethe Tigers overthe Sooners afteravisit to Baton Rouge this pastweekend.

Lydennevercompeted for Minnesota as an all-arounder in 2026, never taking therunway in vault, but did compete in every meet for the Golden Gophers in 2026 on bars,beamand ﬂoor.She posted season highsof9.95 in all three events, with 24 scores of 9.90 or betteroverall,including a9.95 to share the Big Tenbars individual title.

In theNCAA Corvallis(Oregon) regional final,Lydenhelped send Minnesota to nationalswithperhaps her best meet of theseason: 9.95sonbarsand beam, and a 9.925 on floor,earning titlesonthe first two events.

“It’ssoawesome, Ican’teven putitinto words,”Lyden said after theGophers advanced “Growing up coming to meets andgettingtocome to school as aMinnesota-made kid is so awesome. I’ve never felt thisfeeling before.”

In the NCAAsemifinals, Lyden had a9.9375 on floor.She followed that up in Minnesota’sfirstever NCAA final appearance with 9.9125s on beam and floor LydenisLSU’s second transfer commitment, joiningformer Georgia gymnast Ariel Posen, who signed with theTigers in April.

Brusly sophomorewinssecond straight individual statecrown

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Brusly’sMaci Williamshad a three-shot leadentering Tuesday, just 18 holes awayfrom winning another statetitle.

She could’ve felt the nerves of aﬁnal round or the pressureof repeating as astate champion, but the battle-tested sophomore treated the day just like any other round.

Williams ate at her usualpreround breakfast spot of choice, McDonald’s, went through her warm-up routine and shot a73to win hersecond straightDivision Iindividual state title at the Le Triomphe golf course in Lafayette. Williamsshot a71inRound 1, ﬁnishing 2under.She shot even par in round 2toﬁnish with atotal score of 144 strokes. She won the tournament by threestrokes over Evelynn Artieta of Walker, who had ascore of 147.

“I was on my toes thewhole round,” Williams said. “The hard work paying off means alot.To go back to back might mean even more.” Williams finished with nine birdies and seven bogeys across the tworounds. Shestarted her first round with three birdies in her first seven holes.

In her second round, she had four bogeys and onebirdie through 11 holes to move her total score to 1over.Williams settled in and made birdies on the 12th and 13th holes to moveback to1 under.She birdied her ﬁnal hole to ﬁnish the job.

She credited her ability todrive the ball off the tee as akey factor to her success.

“That was deﬁnitely my helping hand,” she said. “The driver took over for me.” Williams struggled with her putting at times this season,and she relied on her driver to get the job done. She tinkered with her putter throughout the year,and aswitch in the bag provedpivotaltoawin

PROVIDED PHOTO

Brusly sophomore golfer Maci Williams poses withher Division Igirls state championship trophyonTuesday at theLeTriomphe golf course in Lafayette.

Tuesday She swappedout her Odyssey AI for aScotty Cameron the day after theMetro Tournament on April 21.

“I putted terribly,”she saidon her rationale behind the change.

“It really can’tget much worse.” Williams saidshe shot better at regionals, and after swapping the grip,she sank enoughputts to seal achampionship She stucktoplayingher brand of golfwithout checking the leaderboard throughout theﬁnal round. On the 18th hole, she stuck

her approach shot within 6feet of the hole. Without even having to glance at the scoreboard, Williams knewatitle was in her sights.

“I knew Iput in thetimein,”she said. “Itwas more like Iwas ready morethan Ihad expectations.”

She was also excited for her entire Bruslyteam, which qualiﬁed for thestate tournamentfor the first time in school history

ThePanthersﬁnished sixth with ascore of 348.

“Tosee my team succeed,” she said. “That was cool.”

LSUwomen add Villanova, NC State to 2026-27schedule

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The LSUwomen’s basketball team announced Tuesday that it hasadded neutral-site games against North Carolina State and Villanova to its 2026-27 nonconference schedule. Thematchupsare part of the Women’sFort Myers Tip-Off event, which will takeplace on Friday,Nov.27, and Saturday Nov.28, this year at Florida SouthWestern State College. The Tigers, Wolfpack and Wildcats are three of eight participating teams.The other ﬁve are Kansas State, TCU, Indiana, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech.

The games against NC State and Villanovaare the ﬁrst two202627 nonconferencematchups LSU has ﬁnalized. Coach Kim Mulkey and her staff have been working toward adeal to face UConn in Nashville, Tennessee —asESPN analyst Rebecca Lobofirst revealed in January —but the details of that showdownhave yet to be announced.

Both NC State and Villanova made the 2026 NCAATournament.

TheWolfpackwas aNo. 7seed that lostinthe second round, and

WADE

Continuedfrom page1C

Wade also discussed a“mistake” he learned last season while coaching NC State was nottobuild depth with too many expensive players.

“(We) got 11 guys and had alot of depth,” Wade said. “Depthisreally important for practice. It’snot as important for games when you’re only playing seven or eight guys, nine max. Andsowehad some dead money on the roster

“Soone thing I’m focusing on here is we’rereally going to pay sevenoreight guys at LSU this year.We’ll fill outthe back half of theroster with someguys who could help us in apinch. But we want to put our resources into those main guys.”

Of theeight or nine rotation playerswhome Wade expectstorely on,hesaidLSU has“allbut one spot ﬁlled.” He saidthat rushing to make playerdecisions is how youmakemistakes,and thatthis year’sportal class wasn’tasstrong as 2025.

theWildcats were aNo. 10 seed whowere bounced out of the ﬁrst round.

Nextseason will be Mulkey’s sixth in Baton Rouge. LSU has had to replacesix contributorsfrom herfifthroster,either because they exhausted their eligibility or decidedtotransfer.AsofTuesday,the Tigers have 11 players on board fornext year: six returners, three transfers, one freshman and one international player

The top newcomerisformer Iowa State point guard Jada Williams, arising senior whowas one of the top ﬁve players in ESPN’s transfer rankings. LSU also added McDonald’sAll-American Lola Lampley,Florida transferLaila Reynolds, Tennessee Tech transfer ChloeLarry and Spanishforward Noa Morro.

The four players Mulkey and her stafflost to the transfer portal were all guards: Jada Richard (Ole Miss), Bella Hines (TCU), Divine Bourrage (Illinois) and Kailyn Gilbert (Texas A&M). Star guards MikaylahWilliams and MiLaysia Fulwiley are set to return fortheir senior years.

Email Reed Darcey at reed darcey@theadvocate.com.

rotation.” Wade spoke highly of the 6-foot-7 forward Dioubate, who played two years at Alabama before his junior year at Kentucky,where he averaged8.8 points and5.5 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per game.

“He’s just awinner,”Wadetold Rothstein.

“You look at the comments from coach (Nate) Oates of Alabama, how they missed him, andyou look at the commentsduringthe season from coach (Mark) Pope at Kentucky,and just the mentality that he brings. He’sahard-playing guy He can play multiple positions.

“He’ssomebody that’sgoing to help lay the foundation for your program,bea cornerstone of your program.”

He said that it’snot important howmuchpeople like his team during theoffseason.His focusis to have the “best seven, eight guys that we can possibly assemble from allaround the world by August,” Wade said.

Eberts, Ouachita

151. 7. Pearce Weinstein, Country Day151 Division

d’Allie, par

scores: 1. Cedar Creek 632. 2. Sacred Heart674. 3. Glenbrook 676. 4. Central Catholic 683. 5. Castor 689. 6. Vermillion Catholic 697. 7. Catholic-PC 738. 8. Choudrant 765

Top10individuals: 1. Ivan Popp, Berchman’s Academy137. 2. Alex Roebuck, Cedar Creek 148. 3. LukeWainwright,Grand Lake149. 4. Landon Lotz, First Baptist 152. 5. Jase Martin, Cedar Creek 155. 6. TrippKordisch, Episcopal School of Acadiana 156. 7. Pierce Regard, Avoyelles Charter 159. 8. George Pullin, Cedar Creek 163. 8. Levi Joyner, Castor 163. 10. LouieCollins, Glenbrook 164. Division Igirls At Le Triomphe, par 73 Team scores: 1. Southside 320. 2. Barbe328. 3. St. Joseph’s 334. 3. Mandeville 334. 5. St. Thomas More335. 6. Brusly 348. 7. Benton 355. 8. St. Scholastica 380.

Top10individuals: 1. MaciWilliams, Brusly 144. 2. Evelynn Artieta, Walker 147. 3. Tymber Joubert, St. Thomas More 151. 4. Rhyan Marcelissen,Southside 152.5.Grace Goodwin 154. 6. Mattie Purgahn, Barbe 160 7. Stefﬁ Heitz, Mandeville 161.8.Scarlett Kirsch, St. Joseph’s 163. 8. Kate Boersma, Ruston 163. 8. Morgan Goudeau, Tioga 163. Division II girls At Le Triomphe, par 73 Team scores: 1. Sacred Heart-NO 305. 2. Newman 342. 3. St. Mary’s 352. 4. Episcopal 353. 5. Ursuline 376. 6. St. Fredrick 381. 7. Elton 400. 8. Loyola Prep 403. 9. Christ Episcopal 446. Top10individuals: 1. Jade Neves, Sacred Heart-NO 144. 2. Ashley Biehl,Ursuline 162. 3. AbbyHui, Newman163. 4. Lily Osbon, Evangel 165. 5. MadelineRudolph, Sacred Heart-NO 166. 6. EmeryKane, Sacred HeartNO 169. 7. MarcellaRabalais, Episcopal 172. 8. Lacey Boyd,St. Mary’s 176. 8.

“Only 9.4% of the players who went in the portal are good enough to play for LSU,” Wade said.

“I’m not talking about good enough to start, I’mtalking about good enoughjust to play,beinthe

Whenaskedwhere he thinks histeam can ﬁnishifeverything plays out the wayheexpects, Wade didn’tset abar of just making the NCAA Tournament.

“Our roster finishes out how I need to, and everybody’seligible and everybody goes out, we’ll have atop-15 team in the country,” Wade said.

STAFFFILE PHOTOByMICHAEL JOHNSON

SCOREBOARD

Sunday, May10: Buffalo at Montreal, 6p.m. Tuesday, May12: Buffalo at Montreal, TBA

x-Thursday, May14: Montreal at Buffalo, TBA x-Saturday, May16: BuffaloatMontreal, TBA

x-Monday, May18: Montreal at Buffalo, TBA Carolina 2, Philadelphia0 Saturday, May2:Carolina 3, Philadelphia 0 Monday,May 4: Carolina 3, Philadelphia 2, OT Thursday, May7:Carolina at Philadelphia, 7p.m. Saturday, May9:Carolina at Philadelphia, 5p.m.

x-Monday, May11: Philadelphia at Carolina, TBA

x-Wednesday, May13: Carolina at Philadelphia, TBA

x-Saturday, May16: Philadelphia at Carolina, TBA Western Conference Vegas 1, Anaheim 0 Monday, May4:Vegas 3, Anaheim 1 Wednesday, May6:AnaheimatVegas, 8:30 p.m.

Friday, May8:Vegas at Anaheim, 8:30p.m.

Sunday, May10: Vegas at Anaheim, 8:30p.m.

x-Tuesday, May12: Anaheim at Vegas, TBA

x-Thursday, May14: Vegas at Anaheim, TBA x-Saturday, May16: AnaheimatVegas,TBA Colorado 2, Minnesota 0 Sunday, May3:Colorado9,Minnesota 6 Tuesday, May5:Colorado5,Minnesota 2 aturday, May9:ColoradoatMinnesota, 8p.m. Monday, May11: Colorado at Minnesota, TBA x-Wednesday, May13: Minnesota at Colorado, TBA x-Friday, May15: Colorado at Minnesota, TBA x-Sunday, May17: Minnesota at Colorado, TBA College softball NFCA Top25poll Through Sunday’s

6:30 p.m.

x-Tuesday, May12: Minn.atSan Antonio, TBA x-Friday, May15: San Antonio at Minn., TBA x-Sunday, May17: Minn. at San Antonio, TBA Hockey

playoff glance

ROUND (Best-of-7; x-if necessary) Eastern Conference Buffalovs. Montreal Wednesday, May6:Montreal at Buffalo, 6p.m. Friday, May8:Montreal at Buffalo, 6p.m

3:10 p.m.

(Wheeler 1-0), 5:40 p.m.

3-2) at

2-1) at

(Pérez 2-3) 5:40 p.m.

(Ober3-1)atWashington (Mikolas 0-3),5:45 p.m. Cincinnati (Singer 2-2) at Chicago Cubs (Rea 4-1), 6:40 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Scott 0-0) at Colorado (Quintana 1-2), 8:20 p.m. Pittsburgh (Skenes4-2)atArizona (Soroka 4-1), 8:40 p.m. Pro hockey NHL playoffs SECOND ROUND (Best-of-7) Monday’s games Carolina 3,

Gearing up

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Night Market BTR has drawn bigger and bigger crowds since itsﬁrst event in 2023

The fourth annual festival on Saturday is scheduled for 4p.m. to 10 p.m., and aportion of proceeds will be donated to the Southern Lotus Lion Dance, said eventdirectorLauraSiuNguyen.

While thisyear’sevent will operate mostly the same as previous iterations, there will benew vendors in the mix. One of Nguyen’sgoalsistokeep upthequality of the event from year to year

“Whenever people cometo and enjoy afestival —and the qualityisgreat, and people were able to try different foods, and they were able to stay the whole time —that is quality to me,” Nguyen said.

The ﬁrst NightMarket BTR drew 5,000 attendees, then 10,000 in 2024 and 13,000 in 2025.She’sestimating up to 14,000attendees this year,with hopes that peoplewillexperiencehow beautiful downtown Baton Rouge is.

“One of thereasons that we do it is because we want to make sure ourcommunities feel seen,” Nguyen said. “At theend of the day,it’snot about me. It’s about the vendors and about the community that we’re building. I’m just super proud about the growthofNight Market.”

Ticketingand bagpolicy

Nguyen recommends people buy tickets online in advance, as ticket sales could sell out before the event on Saturday. Online pre-sale ticketsare $5. Otherwise, it’s$10 at the door if they don’tsell out. The event has aclear bagpolicy, but smallclutch pursesare allowedifthe item is no bigger than 4½ inchesby6½ inches. Strollers are allowed. Guests with ababy or childmay bring adiaper bag no bigger than 12 inches by 6inches by 12 inches. Performancesand activities

About 15 song, dance and DJ performances are scheduled throughout the event.The event kicks off at 3p.m. with DJ Shon and hislive setthat’lllastuntil 5p.m. Other performances to look out for include the VHBC Fan Dancers,taking thestage at 5:40 p.m., and theSouthern Lotus Lion Dance willbegin at 8:30 p.m. Food offerings

The vendorsall have menu elements in celebration of Asian Americanand PacificIslander Heritage Month, Nguyen said. In total, there’sabout 60 vendors selling food, beverages or art, and most arefrom Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Here’salook at five of the menus. Oni 225 n Onigiris with caramelized beef, snowkrab and mapo tofu n Japadog with eel sauce, kewpiemayo, furikake, fried shallots andgreen onions

Substance meetsstyle

Regulars andtouriststearup30skillet cornbreads aday at this BatonRouge restaurant

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Torun downtown Baton Rouge’sCecelia Creole

Bistro, it takes at least three gallons of cornbread batter aday and atight-knit team of friends and family

Owner Brad Wattshas been in andout of the restaurant business since 1987. After opening the River Room 11 years ago, he wanted to know wheretoget authenticLouisiana fooddowntown.So, he took mattersintohis own hands

Enter:the opening of Cecelia CreoleBistro in 2018. Located at 421 N. Third St., the restaurant servesa menu dominated by Southern comfort classics thattouriststear up and regulars return to.

“The food is excellent,”Watts said. “It’s consistent, and it’squick. People downtown need to eat lunch in an hour,and we get them in and outofhere in 45 minutes to an hour, so they like that.”

Menu rundown

The menu features dishes like boudin ballstopped with redremoulade, shrimpand grits, short

ribs, sensationsalad, and skillet cornbread with amaple bourbon glazeserved with whipped cinnamon butter

“Wesell30ofthemaday,” said executive chef MarkReilly about theskilletcornbread. “Wego through threegallons of cornbread batter aday.That’sjustinthe restauranttoo. When we have parties andstuff likethat, youcan bump that number.”

Menus packed with Louisiana cuisine aren’tquitecomplete without red beans. Cecelia’sred beans andricelandedﬁrst place in The Advocate’s hunt forsomeofthe best red beans in Baton Rouge.

There’salso the Redﬁsh Cecelia, apopular dish that comes as fried, grilledorblackened redﬁsh over corngrits,braised collard greens andbacon,toppedwith crawfish étouffée.

The top-selling item is probably the jerk fried chicken, aboneless friedchickenbreasttossedin house-made,Caribbean-inspired jerksauce andservedoverred beans with sausage, tasso and Louisiana rice. The dish is sweet and spicy,Reilly said.

As executive chef,Reilly built most of the menu. Cooking is his element, andit’saskill he has learned from working on different restaurant lines throughout the area.

“It’shidden from prying eyes,” he said with alaugh. “I can be back there with the cooks and sous chefs. There’sjoy to it.”

Interior design andteam

Manager Sara Dixon Reilly designedthe interiordécor of the restaurant and wanted the space to feel cozy The lowlighting inside bringsa calming atmosphere with twinkle

Louisiana Poulet PotPie from Elsie’s Plate &Pie

Red beans and rice is on the menu at Cecelia Creole Bistro.

STAFFPHOTOSByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Cecelia Creole Bistro is astaple of downtown Baton Rouge, having opened in 2018.

STAFF FILE PHOTO

Oni 225’sShawn Cao prepares asnowdog at apop-up in 2024 at Sneaker Politics in Baton Rouge.

with more greenery distributed throughout the space.

“Just feeling like you’re at home, which is the whole point of Southern food and Southern people,” Dixon Reilly said. The restaurant’s low turnover means people stay on staff for a long time, Watts said. In the past two and a half years, he’s made one hire in the kitchen.

“We know our regulars and our customers, and they get fantastic service here,” Watts said. “And that’s totally from Sara and her crew.”

Self-proclaimed “jack of all trades and master of none,” Emily Kast has been on the team for almost ﬁve years. As assistant manager, she works events and helps run the restaurant and bar She’s Dixon Reilly’s righthand woman. She said she loves the ebb and ﬂow of working at Cecelia. That, and her co-workers and customers are why she’s stayed on staff.

“The family-owned and operated side of it — it shows,” she said. “The customers can tell that we’re friends and we’re family Even when we’re busy, we’re still kind to one another, and we’re happy to be here.”

Words from a regular Collis Temple III has visited the restaurant probably over 100 times since discov-

a creature of habit, and

he sticks to his rotation of dishes on his frequent lunch break visits, which includes gumbo, shrimp and corn soup, the Cecelia salad with sensation dressing with blackened chicken and the Jamaican jerk chicken with red beans and rice.

“All the food is always fresh, always flavorful,” Temple said. “Fresh, ﬂavorful and fast.”

Coming up

ering it in 2024 with his wife.

He said it’s no surprise that the jerk fried chicken is the most popular dish on the menu — it’s his favorite dish when he wants something a little heavier and has time for a 15-minute car nap before heading back to the ofﬁce.

“I’m a fan of greatness,” Temple said “It’s not this huge expansive menu, but what they have on that menu, it’s going to taste good.”

He describes himself as

The restaurant has been expanding its square footage in recent years. Upstairs is The Loft, a private events venue spanning 5,000 square feet.

In mid- to late May, the restaurant is opening the Catahoula Room, a private dining space and bar that belonged to the former Bengal Tap Room, a sports bar that closed last year The space will seat about 25 to 30 diners, and the bar can seat 15 to 20.

With this new dining room opening, Cecelia Creole Bistro will occupy the whole building and its 10,000 square feet in total, Watts said.

The restaurant can be a casual lunch spot, but it can also be a space where people choose to host special events, Dixon Reilly said, and the restaurant team feels the weight of playing a role in that.

“Anytime somebody shares a special birthday or anniversary, or they choose to have the most important day of their life, like getting married, with us, it’s truly an honor,” Dixon Reilly said. “We don’t take that for granted.”

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, May 6, the 126th day of 2026. There are 239 days left in the year Today in history:

On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-ﬁlled German airship Hindenburg caught ﬁre and crashed while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey; 35 of the 97 people on board and one crew member on the ground were killed.

Also on this date:

In 1882, President Chester Alan Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred Chinese laborers from immigrating to the U.S. for 10 years. (The act would remain in effect until 1943.)

In 1889, the Eiffel Tower opened to the public as part of the Paris World’s Fair

In 1935, the Works Progress Administration was established under an execu-

tive order signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1994, the Channel Tunnel connecting England and France beneath the English Channel was ofﬁcially opened in a ceremony attended by Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterrand.

In 2004, President George W. Bush apologized for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison, but rejected calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation.

In 1954, medical student Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile during a track meet in Oxford, England, ﬁnishing in 3:59.4.

In 2013, three women who had been kidnapped and held for years are found alive at their captor’s home in Cleveland, Ohio. (Ariel Castro pleaded guilty months later to kidnapping, rape and other of-

and

fenses

died by suicide weeks after starting a life sentence plus 1,000 years.) In 2023, King

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Mark Reilly, from left, Sara Dixon Reilly and Brad Watts stand outside Cecelia Creole Bistro.

CECELIA

Continued from page 1D

The pomegranate martini, from left, French 75, rosemary pear martini and old fashioned are all part of the drink menu at Cecelia.

A maple bourbon glaze is poured over the skillet cornbread table side at Cecelia Creole Bistro

The blackened fish of the day rests over a corn maque choux and red pepper coulis and is topped with crawfish tails and green onions.

Wear it outand useitup!

DearHeloise: Iread your columnevery week and have become concerned about how frequently your readers are offering hints thatmake life easier but aren’t good for the environment. Forexample, in arecent column, a reader suggested using aplastic tablecloth while cooking, painting and crafting to catch spills before theycan damage atabletop. This is agood suggestion; however,they go on to say thatyou can just throw away the plastic. Iwould like to seeHeloise stepup and use her public platform to help make apoint about how harmful plastic, especially one-time-use plastic, is to Earth. We can all help in this effort by being more conscious of what we’re using and tossing into landﬁlls. Justa couple of sug-

packedwithﬂavor and exceeded my expectations. The crust had this puff pastry sort of buoyancy The smokiness really came through, not only in the chicken but it spread to the rest of the ﬁlling. Iusually don’tenjoy pies like that, but this one was outstanding.

—Maddie Scott, features reporter Papillote

n Randolph’s Restaurant, 31025 La. 1, White Castle 70788

On arecent trip to meet with my CPAinWhite Castle, Istopped by Randolph’s Restaurant at Nottoway,and the experience did not disappoint. Iwavered between ordering the crab cakes and Nottoway’sPapillote.

Idecided on the papillote, snapper with crawﬁsh and shrimp in acreamy

MARKET

Continued from page1D

n Snowdog with snow crab salad, eel sauce, kewpie mayo, furikake,fried shallots and green onions

n Egg salad sando.

Soji ModernAsian Cuisine

n Spicy tunatacos with wasabi guacamole,spicy tuna mix and mango ponzu pico

n Gochujang chicken wings with sweetand spicy gochujangglaze and sesame seeds

n Lemongrass edamame with garlic lemongrassbutter and wok’d edamame. Seoul Food Korean Asian

n Korean fried chicken served with spicy cucumbers n Korean fried chicken sandwich servedwithspicy cucumbers and yuzu aioli. Sweet Krave

n S’mores cookies

n Cookies and cream cookies

n Matcha cheesecake

bechamel sauce sealedina parchment paperpouch and steamed. The large shrimp were tender andsucculent, the snapperflaky,yet firm. The bechamelsauce added a richdepthofflavor to both. Agenerousamount of crawfish tails topped offthe dish. The meal beginswithhot fresh baked bread with housemade sugar cane butter.Tosay it was deliciousisanunderstatement. Icould not stop eatingit and finally had to move the breadbasketacross the

table out of reach. Included are agarden salad and side. The salad was elevated with the house madepepper jelly vinaigrette that was tangy and savoy with a kick of heat.Iselected the mashed potatoes as myside order and dipped them in thebechamel sauce. Iwill be back to try the crab cakes. It’sworth the drive, and the grounds are beautifully manicured. Reservations are suggested for large groups.

—Ellen Ducote

Chocolate mochi donut

n Domochimobile food truck, Lafayette

The mochidonuts are fresh —and are, indeed, an interesting combination of mochiand donut.I’m not a big mochiperson, but the donut was delicious. The ﬂavor and texture worked together well. It was asatisfying and unexpected treat!

—Jan Risher, LouisianaCulture editor

n Tiramisu cheesecake. PiknikStreet n Pork adobo n Crackling pork belly

n Porksisig n Crispy wraps withoptions for pork and veggies, veggies only or ube cheese.

Hints from Heloise

gestions to help in the ﬁght against this harmful practice: Say “no” to straws when dining at arestaurant. Bring your own togo containers when dining out that are preferably metal or glass, since we can ingest plastic particles when eating food from plastic containers. Youcan also try switching over to glass containers at home to reduce the amount of harmful plastics that go into our bodies. These are just afew ideas that can be used to reduce the harm to our environment and our bodies.

—Cindy C., in Castleton, New York Cindy,Ilove to see someone who is eager to save the environment. While this is certainly very commendable, getting rid of plastic everywhere is going to be a long and difﬁcult task.

Forexample, many people use plastic shampoo bottlesintheir bathroom. So many people accidentally break glass jars andbottles, thenhavethe problemof being barefoot with glass all around. There arealso disposable syringes, draping, andothermedical supplies thatare made of plastic to prevent crosscontaminationinhospitals anddoctor’sofﬁces.These arejust two exampleswhere plastic actually hasa beneﬁt. Isincerelyhope science can come up withabetter alternative,evenifitcosts alittlemore. No doubt someonewill invent abetter productthanplasticinthe future. However,I do want to pointout that we should alldoour parts to reuse and recycleitemsasmuchas possible

Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

STAFF PHOTO By ELLEN DUCOTE

Papillote from Randolph’s Restaurant

STAFF PHOTO By JANRISHER Chocolate mochi donut from Domochi

STAFF FILEPHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Sushi Ikuowner JeffryDuong uses cooking torches while making an order of Flaming SalmonatNight Market in 2024 at Rhorer Plaza in Baton Rouge.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Speak up and share your thoughts, intentions and feelings, and be willing to back what you say with actions. By reaching out, you will gain insight into unexpected opportunities and options.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Your desire for change requires your attention. Review your options and hit the reset button. Embracing something that's new and exciting will bring life and joy back into your life.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Take a tour of your community and see what's available. Participation is necessary if you want to bring out the best in yourself. Be the one to make a difference.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Share your history, background and experience. The more you offer, the more you'll receive. Stand up for your beliefs, go through the proper channels and take a position that has an impact.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept 22) Participating in events will bring you closer to a decision or change you need to make. A personal change will help fine-tune your daily routine to suit your needs.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Embrace change, discover what's available and put your energy where it counts and brings the greatest satisfaction. Simplify your life to ensure you can focus on what's important to you.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Refuse to let anger set in and overreaction take over. Focus on compassion, understanding and finding resolution in your words

and actions. Opportunity comes when you make the right decisions. Listen carefully.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stick close to home and to the ones you love. Protect your assets and possessions from loss or damage. Use common sense and discipline if someone tries to take advantage of you.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Think before you act. Problems will surface if you are too rigid or unwilling to see or understand the gravity of a situation. Stick close to home, listen to experts and take the simplest path forward.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Be bold in your actions, not with your words. Take pride in how and where you live. Spend more time and money on how you look and feel and less on criticizing or making unrealistic comparisons.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Think matters through. Time is on your side, and considering the consequences of your actions prior to making a move is in your best interest. Keep your thoughts and intentions secret.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Slow down and get a grip on what's possible to make your life easier. Let go of what you have no control over, and focus on where and how you can make a difference.

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

toDAy's cLuE: y EQuALs n

CeLebrItY CIpher For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG

Sudoku

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

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THewiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

Stanley Milgram, asocial psychologist who died in 1984, said,“It is easy to ignoreresponsibilitywhenoneisonlyan intermediate linkinachainofaction.”

The player who will become the dummy is atad like that, but in particular must notignorehis responsibilitiesin the bidding Today’s deal, though, features another word in that sentence. Look at the South hand. West’s openingbid of one heart is followedbytwo passes. What should Southdo?

In the second seat, immediately over aone-level opening bid, asinglejump overcall in asuit is weak, indicating a respectablesix-cardsuitand some 5-10 high-card points. In the balancing seat, though,thejumpovercallbecomesintermediate. It showsadecent six-card suit and some14-16 high-card points —one winner more than aminimum opening bid.

Here, over South’s two-spade bid, presumablyWest would rebid three hearts, and Northwould compete with three spades. Thenlet’s assumethat Southshrugshisshouldersandbidsfour spades.

West leads the heartking. East overtakes with his ace andreturns the heart two.West wins,cashes the club ace, and continueswithanotherclub.Howshould declarer continue? Thisdeal is easy for someone whoremembers thechain of actionand inaction during the bidding. East passedover one heart, but has producedtheheartace.Hecannotalsohave thespadeking;otherwise,hewouldhave responded.

So South should play aspade to his ace, being relieved when the king comes tumblingdown. Declarer drawsthe last trump and claims.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed toDAy’s WoRD EXPEnsIVE: ek-SPEN-siv: Costly.

Average mark14words

Time limit 35 minutes

Can you find 27 or morewords in EXPENSIVE?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —cHARIty

Bridge

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

Jury Type:Petit Judge: Melvin C. Zeno, ProTempore Date: Monday,June 15, 2026

ADAMS, NICK V58115 DESOBRYSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3625

ALLEMAN, MICHELLE D20260 CHARLESORY DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5313

ALLEN JR, MARK WAYNE 32455 LEONA AVEWHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2423

ALLEN JR, MERVIN JAMES33540 BOUDREAUX ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2727

ANDERSON, DEONDRE DANIEL59001 WW HARLEAUX ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2966

ANDERSON, MAURICE ANDREWS 5070 IBERVILLE ST ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4946

ARMENTOR, RICHARD JAMES25372 CLEMENT ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4406

AUGUSTUS, WANDA MIMS78835 WEST OAK LN MARINGOUIN,LA70757

BACKUS, SHANA LEE 24110 REGINA ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3556

BAHRY, TAMMY NEWMAN 57754 SENATOR GAYBLVDPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4438

BARBAY, BLAKE ANTHONY 1510 SIDNEYSTSUNSHINE, LA 70780-3216

BELL, JEREMY DESHUN 56870 BREAUX ST BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788

BELL, WHITNEY LENESE 32315 MAGGIO ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2429

BENNETT,JOSEPH GLENN20625 CHARLESORY DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5317

BERTHELOT,CLARE MADDOX 24125 EDENSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3712

BERTHELOT,DONALD L 29145 INTRACOASTAL RDPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5813

BETHLY, JONATHAN QUINN 56604 CPL HERMAN BROWN JR DR BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3115

BLANCHARD, LISAP 58150 HYMEL ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-4200

BLANCHARD, ROBERTP 58966 POSTELL AVEPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3430

BOESCH, PAMELA KAY 58937 OBIERAVE PLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3425

BOSLEY,KEVIN JAROD 58610 BELLEVIEW RD, #C PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

BOUDREAUX, RENEE DENISE BEYER615 PECAN DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5512

BOURGEOIS, ROSALIND R22930 WEST ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2209

BOUY JR, PAUL W57921 BORRUANO DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2139

BOYD, ANGELA KENT 33280 GRACIE LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7118

BOYD, MATTHEW HUNTER 59185 POSTELL AVEPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3462

BOYER, KASEY CHEYENNE 57930 ORANGE DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2122

BRACKEN, DWAYNE J56850 BREAUX ST BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3034

BRAUD, CHRISTINA NEUBIG 58725 DELACROIX AVEPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3529

BREAUX, MISTI DAWN 24720 STASSI RD #B PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

BREKEEN, BROCK RANDALL 25373 CLEMENT ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4405

BROWN, JULIANNE RESHARA 4875 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR PKWY ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4215

BUTLER, CHARLENE ELLIS 57790 ELI CRAIG ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4543

BUTLER, IKIRA SHANICE 24630 BELLEMOORDRPLAQUEMINE,LA70764-3824

BUTLER, MELVIN 57745 BRODE ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4540

BUTLER, SKIE KATHERINE DANAE 57790 ELI CRAIG ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4543

CABRERA, JENNIFER BUJOL 59155 ISLAND DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7428

CAMPBELL, MICHAEL JOHN 59575 KEMBERDRPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6558

CAMPBELL, RUSSELL DALE 23900 PUNCHY WILSON ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3408

CARLINE, PAULETTE A29830 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6108

CARTER, JESSICA D57665 TRUE HOPE LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4541

CASTROGOVANNIE, BLAINE ANTHONY 58640 HWY 404 WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-4241

CAVALIER, SAVANNAH LYNN 23366 IBERVILLE ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2511

COKER, LISA HAHN 57963 MCDANIELSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2039

COLEMAN, PATRICIA ANN 32365 MAGGIO ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2429

COMEAUX, TREY ALDEN 25750 HWY 386 GROSSE TETE, LA 70740-3726

CRAWFORD, CARLIE HILL 2235 MEADOW OAK DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5224

DARVILLE, ANTONIO 4765 MARYLAND ST ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4249

DAVIS, AARON J62375 BAYOU RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5942

DAWSON, KENT T59355 RIVERWEST DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6553

DECUIR, JOEY ALLEN 58330 TRABEAUX LN WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-4210

DOMINGUE, KATELYN CHARNE 23031 JADE DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5232

DOSS, SOPHIE ROSE 65105 LITTLE FARMS RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

DRINKWATER, JOHN BRADFORD 25456 HWY 1PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

EDMOND, MONICA G59027 NATHAN GEORGETOWN ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 707643035

ESTRADA, RICARDO 1135 BAYOU PAUL LN ST GABRIEL, LA 70776

EVANS, KAYLA TEMPESTT 57756 TRUE HOPE LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4500

FAVORITE, APRIL NICOLLE 57200 CPL HERMAN BROWN JR DR BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3121

FAVORITE, DERREN M56950 CHURCH ST BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3156

FIELDS,DARROW GOLDMAN 58384 WW HARLEAUX ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3118

FLOWERS, JAMAR55245 MOSS ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2615

FLYNN, SHANNON D29215 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6102

FRANCIS, LYNECIA J32342 SONNY BARBIER ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2412

FRANKLIN, KERRYLEE 1110 MADRID AVESTGABRIEL, LA 70776-5332

FRAZIER, FREDDIE C4820 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR PKWY ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4206

GEORGETOWN, JAMES LAROCHE 4505 POINT CLAIR RD ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4109

GERACE, PATTY H25375 HACKBERRYLNPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4509

GIBSON, BREONNE MONAE 1825 BESSONLNSUNSHINE, LA 70780-3527

GILMORE, AARON 6220 HWY 74 ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4553

GOMEZ, SETH MATTHEW 22325 BROWNIE ST #BPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2031

GRACE, JAMES E24455 WL GRACE RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

GRAVES JR, CYRUS CHARLES59220 ISLAND DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7426

GRAVOIS, MATTHEW J215 CHANCELLOR AVESTGABRIEL, LA 70776-4450

GREVIOUS, LEONARD 10745 RAILROAD DR MARINGOUIN,LA70757

HANDY,GERARD GUSTAVE22995 TALBOT DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5222

HARRIS, ARDRIANNA CHANWAN 77485 MCBAYDRGROSSE TETE, LA 70740-3523

HARRIS II, GERALD LOUIS 11020 CHURCH ST MARINGOUIN,LA70757

HASTEN, TIM-MICHEAL GERMAINE 2080 BESSON LN SUNSHINE, LA 70780-3532

HAWKINS,CHARLES ALVIN 77100 PARISH LN MARINGOUIN,LA70757

HAYES, ANDREA JONES 6610 HWY 74 #1505 ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4571

HEBERT, ERIC L24375 KIRTLEY DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5510

HENSON, NATHAN MICHAEL 24618 PECAN PLACE DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3804

HERGRUDER, BRANNON JOSEPH 62834 BAYOUJACOB RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5601

HESTAND, JOHN WESLEY 24425 GULOTTALNPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5947

HETRO, STEPHEN THOMAS 220 FIELD HOUSE AVESTGABRIEL, LA 70776-4444

HILL, CEDRIC DEWAYNE 10535 BAYOU RD MARINGOUIN,LA70757

HILL, CLAYTON JOSEPH 2235 MEADOW OAK DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5224

HILLIARD, JEUAN MICHAEL5690 MAGNOLIA DE CHRISTOPHE DR CARVILLE, LA 707212131

HOFFMAN, CARLA C76955 SALARIE LN GROSSE TETE, LA 70740

HOLLINS, LAURA LEE 4855-BMARYLAND ST ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4250

HOLMES, JAMES E56780 CPL HERMAN BROWN JR DR BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3116

JACKSON, JAMES E58974 POSTELL AVEPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3430

JACKSON, KARRIEN ABDULL 57845 DESOBRYSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3755

JACKSON, QUINESHIA MECHELLE 57635 MORRISON BLVD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7520

JAMES, RAYBURNE LYNETTE 58379 MERIAM ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

JENKINS, DONALD RAY58824 ANNEXST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3044

JOHNSON, JUSTIN DWAYNE 58165 GAYSTPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4260

JOHNSON, LARRY 13615 HWY 411 MARINGOUIN,LA70757-4111

JOHNSON JR, ROOSEVELTHENRY32980 ADAMS DR WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2606

JONES, ALAJAH QUINTRELL 22935 GUY ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2310

KELLEY,CARRINGTON ONEAL 32965 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7108

KLEINPETER, DAVID ANDREW 18605 SIDNEY RD GROSSE TETE, LA 70740-3206

KNIGHTEN, CAMERON KEVIN DOUGLAS 11625 SPARKS LN MARINGOUIN, LA 70757

KNOCKUM JR, DAMIEN 1995 PINEGLEN DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4619

KOLB, MACY FABACHER 1540 TASAJILLO DR ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5339

KRAFT,PAULA 18075 HWY 77 GROSSE TETE, LA 70740

KUHNS, JAMIE LYNN 58306 BUBBA ST PLAQUEMINE ,LA70764-3905

LAGARDE, KENDOLL DRASEN 77320 WINSTOCK ST MARINGOUIN, LA 70757

LANAUTE, KEITH GLENN 1340 BESSON LN SUNSHINE, LA 70780-3539

LAWSON, RICHARD JAMES 55260 TROXCLAIR DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

LEBLANC IV,ERNEST JOSEPH 23943 MARIA DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3423

LEFEAUX, JACOB THOMAS 1185 MADRID AVESTGABRIEL, LA 70776-5332

LERAY, BRADLEY JOSEPH 65410 MENDOZA DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6224

LEWIS, FAYE D33460 BOUDREAUX ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2706

LEWIS, THERESA RENEA 62305 BAYOU RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5916

LINCOLN, DIANAJO30070 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6110

LINDSEY II, LARRYLAMONT10535 BAYOU RD MARINGOUIN, LA 70757

LITTLE, ELTON CHRISTOPHER 57250 CPL HERMAN BROWN JR DR #A BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3121

LOUIS, TROYLASIA IVIAUN 77215 RIDGEWOOD DR #12MARINGOUIN, LA 70757-3550

MARKS, SKIPPER 22105 HWY 1PLAQUEMINE ,LA70764-5134

MARSHALL, TERHONDA CUSHENBERRY5510 MAGNOLIA SPRINGS PKWY #ACARVILLE, LA 707212101

MARTIN, KAILEE 37510 BUTZ RD WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-4122

MARTIN, MATTHEW CHAD 32935 ADAMS DR WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2605

MARTINEZ, MATTHEW LOUIS 20225 CHARLES ORYDRPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5313

MATTHEWS, JAWORSKI TANDARD 5370 MORRIS ST CARVILLE, LA 70721-2220

MCCORMICK, BRADLEY KEITH 22590 TALBOT DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5218

MCDANIEL, MEGAN BUHLER 7005 BAYOU PAUL RD ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5606

MCGLYNN, ALAN P5705 BAYOU PAUL RD ST GABRIEL LA 70776-5109

MIDDLEBROOKS, ANDREA BOE 1900 WILLOW BEND RD ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5353

MILES, MILTON J57926 BARROW ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4160

MILLER, LOGAN ALEXANDER 1240 MADRID AVESTGABRIEL, LA 70776-5333

MILLER, THOMAS J24671 TRUMAN DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3947

MITCHELL, BEAU ROBERT1819 WILLOW BEND RD ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5351

MITCHELL, CYNTHIA JACKSON 59070 MARTIN LUTHER KING BLVD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3034

MITCHELL, JOYCEANN 58115 DIVISION ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2505

MOLDEN, JEREMIAH CARL 56970 BREAUX ST BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3035

MOORE, ROBERTDOAK 22560 TALBOT DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5218

MORGAN, WHITNEY HUDSON 57817 ORANGE DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2144

MORRISON,TAMMYNAQUIN 25382 FENNER ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4426

MOSBY,CRYSTALE SHANTARA RESHONE 58281 PLAQUEMINE ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2629

OBIER, LAURA POCHE 15650 LAUREL ST ROSEDALE, LA 70772

OVERSTREET,MIYAH K31820 DORCY RD WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-3617

OVERTON, DEXTER FITZGERALD 77283 JACKSON AVEMARINGOUIN, LA 70757

PARKER, DENISE ANN MCCARY 23825 CHURCH ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3307

PARKER, JANAYAH 77480 COMSTOCK ST MARINGOUIN, LA 70757

PASSARIELLO, JAMIE JOSE 1925 BAYOU PAUL LN ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4930

PENNY,CAROL A24820 HWY 386 GROSSE TETE ,LA70740-3717

POCHE, MICHAEL DWAYNE 59425 MICHELLE DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6557

POTTS, SHIRLEY MAE 4863 MARYLAND ST ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4250

POWELL, BRANDON WAYNE 2071 RAVIER LN SUNSHINE, LA 70780-3535

PUGH, SANDRA F25251 PATUREAU LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5905

RANDLE III, SYLVESTER 23510 FEDERAL ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-2610

REDDITT,ROBERTA WILLIAMS 4715 LANDRYSTSTGABRIEL, LA 70776

REEVES, ANNE MATASSA 58680 ST CLEMENT AVEPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3534

REINHARDT,JACOB EDWARD 24200 W LGRACE RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

RIVERE, JANE C 27230 INTRACOASTAL RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5715

ROBINSON,TERRYDWAYNE32590 LEONA AVEWHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2514

RODRIGUEZ, ANGELICA ISABEL 55360 MYLES RD WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-4607

ROUCHER, LISA MARIE 24025 BOUQUET LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3443

ROUCHER, NATALIE MARIE 22165 WALKER ST #C1 PLAQUEMINE ,LA70764

ROUNDS JR, MOSES AARON 6610 HWY 74 #105 ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4565

ROY,TERRYNEAL 1100 ROY GOMEZ RD SUNSHINE, LA 70780-3115

ROYAL, SONETRA QUI 57938 LINDBURG ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4138

RUFFIN, MONICA Y4630 BATLOW LN ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4222

SANDERS, GREGORYDUANE11940 BOSSOM LN MARINGOUIN, LA 70757-4011

SANDERS, LAUREN MARQUE 32970 BOWIE ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788

SAURAGE, BLAIZE MATTHEW 23930 DORIS DR PLAQUEMINE ,LA70764-3406

SETTOON,PENNY MARIE 36375 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7704

SIMONEAUX, RHONDA SLAYTON 36945 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7710

SIMS, DEANDRE VASHION 1995 BESSON LN SUNSHINE, LA 70780-3528

SIMS, MAUREEN ANDREA 54672 BELLE VUE DRIVE ADDIS, LA 70710

SLEDGE, HAKEEM JERMAINE 58757 JETSON AVEPLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4237

SON, ANNAGELLE HEBERT24675 EDMUND DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3836

SPARKS, JASON DANIEL 12110 SPARKS LN MARINGOUIN, LA 70757-4006

STEVENS, DELVIN D25165 PATUREAU LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5904

STEWART, HAROLD TAIJ 1885 BESSON LN SUNSHINE, LA 70780

STOCKMAN,LYNETTE M14425-A HWY 77 ROSEDALE, LA 70772

THOMAS, DESTINY DENAE 77160 LANDRYDRMARINGOUIN, LA 70757-3206

THOMAS, MILTON 22836 BLAKENEY LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5233

THOMPSON, JULESHIA LENELL 59051 MARTIN LUTHER KING BLVD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3033

TISI, RALPH JOSEPH 10425 HWY 977 MARINGOUIN, LA 70757-3244

TULLIER, BRENTONEIL 57805 LYONS ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5017

VALENTINE, CAROL FAY 56980 CHURCH ST BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3156

WAHL, LUCY ANN 57735 BELLEVIEW RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-4109

WARD JR, JESSIE J10980 MILL ST MARINGOUIN, LA 70757

WATSON, DAKOTAJANNELL 32106 HWY 405 WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2419

WATTS, STEPHANIE ANN 23943 TAYLOR ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3040

WEATHERFORD, JAKE PAUL 31675 HWY 75 PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-6126

WEBSTER, JERRYT 6610 HWY 74 #201 ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-4565

WELDON, JOSEPH DEKLE 62200 BELLEVIEW RD PLAQUEMINE ,LA70764-6305

WESSINGER, NICHOLAS T77285 LANDRYDRMARINGOUIN, LA 70757

WHITE, KELVIN J32650 WILLOW ST WHITE CASTLE, LA 70788-2222

WILLIAMSJR, ELI 58375 HOMESTEAD DR PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5203

WILLIAMS, HOLLYM 25405 PATUREAU LN PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5907

WILLIAMSJR, JAMES LATHAN 38677 BAYOU PIGEON RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-7759

WILSON, MARK A8980 MANCHAC RD ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5811

YOUNG, KEVIANA C58670 COOLIDGE ST PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-3919

YOUNG, LEO YOUNG56604 CPL HERMAN BROWN JR DR BAYOU GOULA, LA 70788-3115

YOUNG, SHEILA JACOB 63526 BAYOU JACOB RD PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764-5608

ZEDLITZ, LEEVON EUGENE7600 MANCHAC RD ST GABRIEL, LA 70776-5707

Juror Count: 200

186533-644641-MAY6-1T $831.60

Yum!

BatonRouge Soul Food Festival:

Saturday,May 23 and Sunday,May 24 MainLibrary at Goodwood

A Auutthhoorrs R Roow w

e10and up with avalid EBRPL vations may be required 24 advance for some spaces.More is availableat ebrpl.com/ aces to empower peopletodo themselves at home or repair their .These resourcesgive them the nowledgeand conﬁdence to do elloni said.

Faire continues EBRPL’s cus on sustainability-themed amming. Seed libraries arenow tmultiple locations and were ed on the popularity of seed swaps. EBRPL also hosts arts and supply shops for local artisans to rces and tips. rojects and events tend to ong sense of community tunities for connection and -sharing,”Reilly said.“Part mission is to connect people ces and to each other.We’ve hen we help facilitate those connections,people spontaneouslyﬁnd ocommunicate and build tionships with one another.Wethink Faire is the latestway for us to do eexcited for people to visit and to seethe response. ”

Writingthe NextChapter:

What does passing it mean?

TheLibrary’s newmillage proposition comestothe votersonthe June 27, 2026 ballot as astandalone, 10-year,dedicated tax.

TheE 10-ye ope Impr helps years

•LOWERTaxRateof9.5 mills is proposed, including allowing fortwo rollbacksover10 years

•CONTINUATION of the previous Millage thatexpired in 2025

•DEDICATED Tax with ALL funds remaining with the Library

•SIMPLE,STRAIGHTFORWARD,STAND-ALONE Tax

•10-YEARTax secures stable funding to operateand planfor the future, including the full implementation of the2025 updatedPay-As-You-Go Capital Improvements Plan

•Proposed millage rate is lower because of fresh data and supportedbyfacts

ens if it fails? efunding millage.

mesalmost entirely taxfailsonJune27, ERO newrevenues willbegin to operate ould attempta new unding wouldnot be new funding is secured, omakeseriouscuts to: se budgets grams facilities updates erred Improvements

anyyearstobuild up ce forsuspendedPay-

Summary, FAQs and Pay-As-You-Go Capital Improvements Plan canall be found at ebrpl.com/millage