The Times-Picayune 12-07-2025

Achancetoshine

State’snew gradingsystemrewards schoolsfor studentgrowth

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Principal Jenenne Coulon was observingateacher’slesson last month when text messages came pouring in.School grades had been released.

For Louisiana educators, the annual school ratings caninspire delight or dread —ayear’sworth of grueling work condensed to asingleA-F grade, which the public often sees as shorthandfor whether agiven school is “good” or “bad.” This year wasespecially nerve-wrackingas the state issued, in addition to schools’ official grades, simulated scores based on atougher ratingsystem that takes effect next year

JudgeLionel R. Collins ElementaryPrincipal Jenenne Coulon walks with second grader Indie Girard at the school in MarreroonWednesday.

Coulon ran back to her office at Judge Lionel R. Collins Elementary School and pulled upthe grades. TheMarrero school,

whereabout 90%ofstudents are economically disadvantaged, hadseen its rating fall to aDlast year after taking in about

100 students from two shuttered campuses. But this year,things drastically improved: Not only did Collins land on thestate’s list of top-growing schools, boosting itsofficial rating to aC,but its simulated grade was aB— thehighest in Coulon’sdecade leading the school. She shrieked and cried, then collected herself before making aschoolwide announcement. Finally, the grade reflected the school she knows, where educators strive with each lesson, tutoring session and peptalktopushstudents steadily forward.

“I felt vindicated,” Coulon said. “Wework so hard

ä See SCHOOLS, page 10A

Tiny earbones in fish unlock theirsecretlives

Scientists seek anglers’contribution to studypopulation

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

It’samoment that canspark dread among even the most scrupulously law-

abidingLouisiana fishermen.

As youreturntothe dock after afine dayonthe water,solemnly serious men or women in state Department of Wildlife andFisheriesT-shirtsapproach.

Theinitial, slightly paranoid thought for many anglers: Yikes, did Imismeasure aspeckled trout and accidentally keep oneslightly under the13-inch limit?

Butnoreason to worry in this case. The Wildlife and Fisheries gang isn’t

looking to confiscate your catch. They only want your fish’searbones. It’s notsome ritualdescribedina Dr Johnsong. Theearbones, or otoliths, collected through aquick slice to thehead, have revealed awealth of information on thesecretlivesoffish to marine biologists, especially age. Thatinfo is then used to help determine the healthoffish

ä See EARBONES, page 9A

Slowmoving courts trap defendants in limbo

BY JILLIAN KRAMER Staff writer

Chronic delays resolving murdercases inside New Orleans’ dysfunctional court have left hundreds of defendants trapped for years, caught in an excruciating limbo between guilt andinnocence that somenever escape. Court records show the extremes and their devastating consequences.

Aman who spent seven years behind bars, only to be acquitted in minutes.

Awoman who has appeared in court morethan 100 times, without ever facing ajury

Aman who has never held his 9-year-old daughter,born after his arrest, as his caseremains unresolved.

In someinstances, records show, defendants have died before their cases close in OrleansParish Criminal District Court.

Christopher Patterson was one of them. He succumbed to cancer on May 16, 2023, more than five years and 80 court hearings after he was charged in afatal shootout in Gentilly.He was52.

Shortly after his 2018 arrest, family members sent handwrittenletterstothe court, asking a commissioner to reduce his bail so that he could come home.

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

5killed in clashes on Afghan-Pakistan border

JALALABAD,Afghanistan An overnight exchange of fire between Afghan forces and Pakistani troops along the two countries’ tense border killed five Afghan civilians and wounded five others, while three civilians were also wounded on the Pakistani side, officials from the two countries said Saturday Each side has blamed the other for triggering the clash in violation of atenuous two-month ceasefire.

Those killed in the border area near the Afghan city of Spin Boldak, in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, included three children and one woman, said Ali Mohammad Haqmal, the head of information of Spin Boldak District.

Pakistani police and ahospital official in the Pakistani city of Chaman, Mohammad Awais, said three people, including a woman, were wounded in the shooting and shelling that came from the Afghan side. The clashes lasted until dawnSaturday, police said.

Tension between the two countries has been high since October,when deadly border clashes killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants, and wounded hundreds on both sides. Theviolence eruptedafter explosions in Kabul, the Afghan capital, on Oct. 9that the Taliban government blamedon Pakistan and vowed to avenge.

Hong Kong police arrest man for posts about fire

HONGKONG HongKong’snational security police arrested a man on Saturday in thefirst publicly confirmed arrest relating to criticism of authoritiesover ahigh-rise apartment blaze that killed at least 159 people.

Police said he had been accused of posting“information withseditious intention”onsocial media.

“That mainly included (materials intendingto) incite hatred among (others) toward the Hong Kong government and the central government,”Steve Li, chief superintendent of the police National Security Department, told reporters.

“For example, he pointedto the Hong Kong and the central governments as instigators of exploiting the tragedy to cause chaos and turmoil,” he said. “That’s something totallyimpossible.”

Local media reported other arrests earlier but authorities have not confirmed them.

The fire, which broke out Nov 26 at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, has prompted adebate aboutgovernment accountability Authorities have warned against attempts to use thefire to try to underminethe local government or the centralgovernment in Beijing. Hong Kong is part of China but, like nearby Macao, has its own legal system and laws. Both are formerEuropean coloniesthat were returned to China in the late 1990s.

Calif.warns of poison mushroom outbreak

California officials are warning foragers after an outbreak of poisoning linked to wildmushrooms that has killed one adult and causedsevere liver damage in several patients, including children.

The state poison control system hasidentified 21 cases of amatoxinpoisoning, likely caused by death cap mushrooms, the health department said Friday. The toxic wild mushroomsare often mistaken for edible ones because of their appearanceand taste.

“Death cap mushrooms contain potentially deadly toxins that can leadtoliver failure,” Erica Pan, director of the CaliforniaDepartment of Public Health, said in a statement.“Because the death cap can easily be mistaken for edible safe mushrooms,weadvise thepublic not to forage for wild mushrooms at all during this high-risk season.”

One adult has died and several patients have required intensive care, includingatleast onewho might need aliver transplant.

Wetweather fuels the growth of death capmushrooms, and officials warn against any wild mushroom foraging to avoid confusion.

Hegsethdefends boat strikes

Official says Trumpcan order useofforce ‘ashesees fit’

BY DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Defense SecretaryPete Hegseth defendedstrikes on alleged drug cartel boats during remarks Saturday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library,sayingPresident Donald Trumphas thepower to take military action “asheseesfit” to defendthe nation.

Hegseth dismissed criticism ofthe strikes, which have killedmore than 80 people and now face intense

scrutiny over concerns that they violatedinternational law.Saying the strikes are justifiedtoprotect Americans, Hegseth likened the fight to thewar on terrorfollowing the Sept.11, 2001 attacks

“Ifyou’re working for adesignated terrorist organization and you bring drugs to this country in aboat,wewillfind you and we will sink you. Let there be no doubt about it,” Hegseth said during his keynoteaddress at the Reagan National Defense Forum.“President Trump can andwill take decisive military action as he sees fit to defendour nation’sinterests. Letnocountry on earth doubt thatfor amoment.”

The mostrecent strike brings thedeath toll of the campaign to at least 87 people.Lawmakers have sought moreanswers about theattacksand their legal justification, andwhether U.S.forceswere ordered to launcha follow-up strike following aSeptember attack even after the Pentagon knew of survivors.

Though Hegseth compared thealleged drug smugglerstoAl-Qaidaterrorists, experts have noted significant differences between the twofoes and the efforts to combat them Hegseth’s remarkscame after the Trumpadministration released its new national security strategy,one

that paints European allies as weakand aims to reassert America’sdominance in the Western Hemisphere.

During the speech, Hegseth also discussed the need to check China’srise through strength instead of conflict. He repeated Trump’svow to resumenuclear testing on an equal basis as China and Russia —a goal that has alarmed many nuclear armsexperts. China and Russia haven’tconducted explosive tests in decades, though the Kremlin said it would followthe U.S. if Trump restarted tests.

The speech wasdelivered at theReagan NationalDefense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundationand Institute in California, an eventwhich bringstogethertop nation-

al securityexperts from around the country.Hegseth used thevisit to argue thatTrump is Reagan’s “true andrightful heir” when it comes to muscular foreign policy By contrast, Hegseth criticized Republican leaders in the years since Reagan forsupporting wars in the Middle East and democracy-building effortsthat didn’twork. He also blasted those who have argued that climate change poses serious challenges to military readiness.

“The war department will not be distracted by democracy building, interventionism, undefinedwars, regime change,climate change, woke moralizing andfeckless nation building,” he said.

Russia unleashesmassive attack on Ukraine

Diplomatic talkscontinue

BY SUSIE BLANN Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine— Russiaunleashed amajor missile and drone barrage on Ukraine overnight into Saturday,whileUkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelenskyysaid he hada “substantive phone call” with American officialsengagedintalkswith aUkrainian delegation in Florida, aimed at ending the nearly 4-year war.

Russiaused 653 drones and51missiles in the widereachingovernight attack on Ukraine,which triggered air raid alerts across the country and came as Ukraine marked Armed Forces Day,the country’s air force said Saturday morning. Ukrainianforces shot down andneutralized 585 dronesand 30 missiles, the airforce said,addingthat 29 locationswerestruck.

At least eight people were wounded in the attacks, Ukrainian Minister of InternalAffairs Ihor Klymenko said. Among these, atleast three people werewounded inthe Kyivregion, according to local officials. Drone sightings were reported as farwestas Ukraine’sLviv region.

Russia carriedout a “massivemissile-drone attack” on power stations and other energy infrastructurein several Ukrainian regions, Ukraine’s

Workers and military inspect Ukrainian Fire Point’sFlamingomissiles on Thursday during handovertothe military in an undisclosed locationinUkraine.

national energy operator, Ukrenergo, wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine’sZaporizhzhia nuclearpower planttemporarily lost all off-site power overnight, theInternational Atomic Energy Agency said Saturday,citing its Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The plant is in an area that has been under Russiancontrol since early in Moscow’sinvasion of Ukraine andisnot in service, but it needs reliable power to cool its sixshutdown reactors and spent fuel, to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incidents Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said thatenergy facilities were the main targets of the attacks,alsonoting thata dronestrike had “burned down”the train station in the cityofFastiv,located

in the Kyiv region.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its air defenses had shot down 116 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Saturday

Russian Telegramnews channel Astrasaid Ukraine struckRussia’sRyazan Oil Refinery, sharing footage appearing to showafire breaking outand plumes of smoke rising above the refinery.The Associated Presscould not independently verify thevideo.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces later said Ukrainian forces had struck therefinery. Ryazanregional Gov. Pavel Malkov said aresidentialbuildinghad been damaged in adrone attack and that drone debris had fallen on thegrounds of an “industrial facility,” but did not mention the refinery.

Shooting at SouthAfrican bar leaves 12 dead,including

BY GERALD IMRAY Associated Press

CAPETOWN,SouthAfrica Amass shooting carried out Saturdaybymultiplesuspectsinanunlicensedbar near theSouth African capital left at least 12 people dead, police said.The victims included three children aged 3, 12 and 16.

Another 13 people were wounded and being treated in the hospital. Police didn’t give details ofthe ages of those who were injured or their conditions.

Policeadjustedthe death tollafter they said a12th victim died in the hospital.

Theshootinghappened at abar inside ahostel in the Saulsville township west of the administrativecapital of Pretoria in early Saturday.Ten of the victims died at thescene andtwo others diedatthe hospital, police said.

Thechildren killedwere a3-year-old boy, a12-year-old boy and a16-year-old girl.Police said they were searching for three male suspects.

“Weare told that at least three unknown gunmen entered thishostel where agroupofpeople were drinking and they started randomly shooting,”police spokesperson Brig.Athlenda Mathe told national broadcasterSABC. She said the motivefor thekillings was not clear.The shootings happened at around 4.15 a.m., shesaid, butpolice were only alertedat 6a.m.

SouthAfrica has one of thehighesthomicide rates in theworld and recorded morethan 26,000 homicides in 2024 —an average of more than 70 aday.Firearms are by far the leading cause of deathin homicides.

The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but manykillings are committed with illegal guns, authorities say There have been several mass shootings at bars —sometimes called shebeens or taverns in SouthAfrica —in recentyears,including one that killed 16 people in theJohannesburg township of Soweto in 2022. On thesame day,four people werekilled in amass shooting at abar in another province.

Months of Ukrainian longrange drone strikes on Russian refineries have aimed to deprive Moscowofthe oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war.Meanwhile, Kyiv and its Western allies sayRussia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civiliansaccess to heat, light and running waterfor afourth consecutive winter,inwhat Ukrainian officialscall“weaponizing” the cold.

The latest round of attacks cameasPresident Donald Trump’sadvisers and Ukrai-

nian officialssaidthey’ll meet for athird dayoftalks on Saturday in Florida, after making progress on finding agreementona security framework for postwar Ukraine Zelenskyy said Saturday that he had been given an update over the phone by U.S. and Ukrainianofficials at the talks.

“Ukraine is determined to keep working in goodfaith withthe American side to genuinely achieve peace,” Zelenskyywrote on social media.

Following Friday’stalks, the twosides had also offered thesober assessment that any “real progress toward anyagreement” ultimatelywill depend “on Russia’sreadiness to show serious commitment to longterm peace.”

The statementfrom U.S. special envoySteve Witkoff, Trump’sson-in-lawJared Kushner as well as Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov cameafterthey metfor a secondday on Friday.They offeredonly broad brushstrokes about the progress they say has been madeas Trump pushes Kyiv and Moscow to agree to aU.S.mediated proposal to end nearly four years of war.

Qatari leader says Gaza ceasefire at critical moment

BY SAMY MAGDY and JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press

DOHA,Qatar Qatar’s prime minister on Saturday said the Gaza ceasefire has reached a “critical moment” as its first phase winds down, with the remains of one Israeli hostage still to be handed over by militants

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a conference in the Qatari capital that international mediators, led by the U.S., are working “to force the way forward” to the second phase to cement the deal.

“What we have just done is a pause,” he told the Doha Forum. “We cannot consider it yet a ceasefire.”

He added: “A ceasefire cannot be completed unless there is a full withdrawal of Israeli forces, there is stability back in Gaza, people can go in and out, which is not the case today.”

While the ceasefire halted the heavy fighting of the two-year war, Gaza health officials say that over 360 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the truce took effect on Oct 10.

In new violence, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike northwest of Gaza City, Shifa Hospital said.

Israel’s army said it wasn’t aware of an airstrike in that location. However, it said that Israeli soldiers on Saturday killed three militants who crossed the “yellow line” into Israeli-controlled northern part of Gaza and “posed an immediate threat.”

The Israeli army has said it has carried out a number

A

of attacks on Palestinians crossing the ceasefire line.

Under the first phase of President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, the fighting stopped and dozens of hostages held in Gaza were exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prison. Israel sent a delegation last week to Egypt for talks on returning the remains of the last hostage.

The next phase has not begun. It includes the deployment of an international security force in Gaza, formation of a new technocratic government for the territory, disarmament of Hamas and an eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Arab and Western officials told The Associated Press on Friday that an international body overseeing the ceasefire, to be led by Trump himself, is expected to be appointed by the end of the

year In the long term, the plan also calls for a possible “pathway” to Palestinian independence.

Qatar’s prime minister said that even the upcoming phase should be “temporary” and that peace in the region could only take place with the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state — something that is opposed by Israel’s hard-line government.

“If we are just resolving what happened in Gaza, the catastrophe that happened in the last two years, it’s not enough,” he said. “There is a root for this conflict. And this conflict is not only about Gaza.”

He added: “It’s about Gaza. It’s about the West Bank. It’s about the rights of the Palestinians for their state. We are hoping that we can work together with the U.S. administration to achieve this vision at the end of the day.”

Supporters of Venezuela opposition leader march in cities worldwide

BY REGINA GARCIA CANO

Associated Press

CARACAS Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado demonstrated Saturday in several cities worldwide to commemorate her Nobel Peace Prize win ahead of the prestigious award ceremony next week.

Dozens of people marched through Madrid, Utrecht, Buenos Aires, Lima and other cities in support of Machado, whose organization wants to use the attention gained by the award to highlight Venezuela ’s democratic aspirations. The organization expected demonstrations in more than 80 cities around the world on Saturday The crowd in Lima carried portraits of Machado and demanded a “Free Venezuela.” With the country’s yellow blue and red flag draped over their backs or emblazoned on their caps, demonstrators clutched posters that read, “The Nobel Prize is from Venezuela.”

Venezuelan Verónica Durán, who has lived in

Lima for eight years, said Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize is celebrated because “it represents all Venezuelans, the fallen and the political prisoners in their fight to recover democracy.”

The gatherings come at a critical point in the country’s protracted crisis as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump builds up a massive military deployment in the Caribbean, threatening repeatedly to strike Venezuelan soil. Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is among those who see the operation as an effort to end his hold on power, and the opposition has only added to this perception by reigniting its promise to soon govern the country

“We are living through times where our composure, our conviction, and our organization are being tested,” Machado said in a video message shared Tuesday on social media. “Times when our country needs even more dedication because now all these years of struggle, the dignity of the Venezuelan people, have

been recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Machado won the award Oct. 10 for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

Machado, 58, won the opposition’s primary election and intended to run against Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government barred her from running for office.

Retired diplomat Edmundo González, who had never run for office before, took her place.

The lead-up to the July 28, 2024, election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. It all increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary González sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Turkish Foreign Minister

Fidan said there is a “big question” over the formation of an international

security force for Gaza.

Speaking at the conference, he said it’s unclear which countries will join, what the command structure would look like and what its “first mission” will be.

Turkey is one of the guarantors of the ceasefire, but Israel, which has rocky relations with the Ankara government, has rejected any Turkish participation in the force.

“Thousands of details, questions are in place,” Fidan said. “I think once we deploy ISF, the rest will come.”

A day after an overwhelming international endorsement, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said its future role in Gaza is unclear

Throughout the war, Israel and the United States have sidelined UNRWA, accusing it cooperating with Hamas, a charge UNRWA denies.

Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA’s director of external rela-

tions and communications, said the agency continues to offer humanitarian and educational services in Gaza. But she said UNRWA has been excluded from U.S.led talks on the ceasefire’s second phase. Alrifai said that UNRWA serves as the de facto “public sector” in Gaza. And with 12,000 employees, she said it will be nearly impossible for the international community to duplicate the agency’s network of services.

“If you squeeze UNRWA out, what other agency can fill that void?” she said on the sidelines of the Doha Forum.

The U.S., formerly the largest donor to UNRWA, halted funding to the agency in early 2024 On Friday, the U.N. General Assembly renewed UNRWA’s mandate through 2029. But Alrifai said the cash crisis continues.

SupremeCourt to weighbroad presidential power

1935 decision limitedexecutive authority

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON— Chief Justice John Roberts has led the Supreme Court’sconservative majority on asteady march of increasing the power of the presidency,starting well beforeDonald Trump’stime in the White House.

The justices could take the next step in acase being argued Monday that calls for aunanimous 90-year-old decision limiting executive authority to be overturned

The court’sconservatives, liberal Justice Elena Kagan noted in September,seem to be “raring to take that action.”

They already haveallowed Trump, in the opening months of the Republican’s second term, to fire almost everyone he has wanted, despite the court’s1935 decision in Humphrey’sExecutor that prohibits the president from removing the heads of independent agencies without cause.

Theofficialsinclude Rebecca Slaughter,whose firing from the Federal Trade Commission is at issue in the current case, as well as officials from the National Labor Relations Board, the Merit Systems Protection Board andthe Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The only officials who have so far survived efforts to remove them are Lisa Cook, aFederal Reserve governor,and Shira Perlmutter, acopyright official with the Library of Congress. The court already has suggested that it will view the Fed differently from other independent agencies, and Trump has said he wants her out because of allegationsof mortgage fraud. Cook says she did nothing wrong.

powers thatCongresslacks theauthoritytorestrict.

Butaccording to legal historians and even aprominent proponent of the originalismapproach to interpreting the Constitution that is favored by conservatives, Roberts may be wrong about the history underpinning the unitary executive.

“Both the text and the history of Article II are far more equivocal thanthe current Court hasbeen suggesting,” wrote Caleb Nelson, a University of Virginia law professor who once served as alaw clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas.

“Humphrey’sExecutor was always egregiously wrong,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote. Asecond question in the case could affect Cook, the Fed governor Even if afiring turns out to be illegal, the court wants to decide whether judges have the power to reinstate someone.

Justice NeilGorsuch wrote earlier this year that fired employees who win

in court can likely get back pay,but not reinstatement. That might affect Cook’s abilitytoremain in herjob Thejusticeshaveseemed wary about the economic uncertainty that might result if Trumpcan fire the leaders of the central bank. The court will hear separate arguments in January about whetherCook can remain in her job as her court case challenging herfiring proceeds.

Humphrey’sExecutor has long been atargetofthe conservative legal movement that has embraced an expansiveviewofpresidential power known as theunitary executive.

Thecase before the high court involves thesame agency,the FTC,thatwas at issuein1935. Thejustices established that presidents —Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt at the time— could not fire the appointed leaders of the alphabet soup of federal agencies without cause.

The decision usheredinan eraofpowerful independent federal agencies charged with regulating labor relations, employment discrimination, the air wavesand much else.

Proponents of theunitary executivetheory have said the modern administrative state gets the Constitution all wrong: Federal agencies that are partofthe executive branch answer to the president, and that includes theability to fire their leaders at will.

As JusticeAntonin Scalia wroteina1988 dissent that has taken on mythical status among conservatives, “this does notmeansomeofthe executivepower,but allof the executive power.”

Since 2010 and under Roberts’ leadership, the Su-

preme Courthas steadily whittledaway at laws restrictingthe president’sability to fire people.

In 2020, Roberts wrote for thecourt that “thePresident’sremoval power is the rule, not the exception”ina decision upholding Trump’s firing of the head of the ConsumerFinancial Protection Bureau despitejob protectionssimilar to those upheld in Humphrey’scase.

In the 2024 immunitydecision that spared Trump from being prosecuted for his effortstooverturn the 2020 election results, Roberts includedthe power to fire amongthe president’s “conclusive and preclusive”

Jane Manners, aFordham University law professor, said she and other historians filed briefs withthe court to provide history andcontext aboutthe removalpower in the country’searly years that also could lead thecourt to revise its views. “I’m not holding my breath,” she said.

Slaughter’slawyers embrace thehistorians’ arguments, tellingthe courtthat limits on Trump’spower are consistent withthe Constitution and U.S. history

The Justice Department argues Trump can fire board members for anyreason as he workstocarry out his agenda andthatthe precedent should be tossed aside

Trump awards medals to Kennedy Center honorees

Stallone, Strait join others at ceremony

BY DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

WASHINGTON Presi-

dent Donald Trump on Saturday presented the 2025 Kennedy Center honorees with their medals during a ceremony in the Oval Office, hailing the slate of artists he was deeply involved in choosing as “perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class” ever assembled.

This year’s recipients are actor Sylvester Stallone, singers Gloria Gaynor and George Strait, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.

Trump said they are a group of “incredible people” who represent the “very best in American arts and culture” and that, “I know most of them and I’ve been a fan of all of them.

“This is a group of icons whose work and accomplishments have inspired, uplifted and unified millions and millions of Americans,” said a tuxedo-clad Trump. “This is perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class of Kennedy Center Honorees ever assembled.”

Trump ignored the Kennedy Center and its premier awards program during his first term as president. But the Republican has instituted a series of changes since returning to office in January, most notably ousting

band,” he said.

Songs by honorees Gaynor and Kiss played in the Rose Garden just outside the Oval Office as members of the White House press corps waited nearby for Trump to begin the ceremony

The president said in August that he was “about 98% involved” in choosing the 2025 honorees when he personally announced them at the Kennedy Center the first slate chosen under his leadership. The honorees traditionally had been announced by news release.

It was unclear how they were chosen. Before Trump, it fell to a bipartisan selection committee.

moved the ceremony to the White House. Meanwhile, the glitzy Kennedy Center Honors program and its series of tribute speeches and performances for each recipient is set to be taped on Sunday at the performing arts center for broadcast later in December on CBS and Paramount+. Trump is to attend the program for the first time as president, accompanied by his wife, first lady

Melania Trump. The president said in August that he had agreed to host the show, and he seemed to confirm on Saturday that he would do so, predicting that the broadcast would garner its highest ratings ever as a result. Presidents traditionally attend the program and sit with the honorees in the audience. None has ever served as host. He said he looked forward to Sunday’s celebration.

its board of trustees and replacing them with GOP supporters who voted him in as chairman of the board.

Trump also has criticized the center’s programming and its physical appearance, and has vowed to overhaul both.

The president placed around each honoree’s neck a new medal that was designed, created and donated by jeweler Tiffany & Co according to the Kennedy Center and Trump. It’s a gold disc etched on one side with the Kennedy Center’s image and rainbow colors. The honoree’s name appears on the reverse side with the date of the ceremony The medallion hangs from a navy blue ribbon and replaces a large rainbow ribbon decorated with three gold plates that rested on the honoree’s shoulders

San Diego considers settlement in shooting death of Black teen

By The Associated Press

SANDIEGO The San Diego city attorney’s office has agreed to pay $30 million to the family of a 16-yearold youth who was fatally shot by police last January in what would be one of the largest settlements of a police-involved killing case in U.S. history

A resolution authorizing the proposed settlement with the family of Konoa Wilson has been added to the city council’s agenda for Tuesday morning.

“What happened to Konoa was a catastrophic failure of policing,” family attorney Nick Rowley said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press on Saturday. “A 16-year-old boy was running for his life. He was not a threat and not a suspect, yet he was shot in the back by a police officer who only saw him for one second before deciding to pull the trigger.”

If approved the settlement would exceed the $27 million the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay the family of George Floyd, whose May 2020 murder by a police officer who kneeled on his neck sparked a nationwide racial reckoning.

Surveillance and bodyworn camera footage from Jan. 28 showed Wilson running away from someone who pulled a gun and fired at him in a downtown train station. As he exited the station, Wilson encountered San Diego Police Officer Daniel Gold.

In a lawsuit against the city and Gold, the family alleged the officer “instantly, without any warning,” fired two shots at Wilson as he ran by, striking him in the upper body The suit identified Wilson as Black.

“Only after shooting DECEDENT and watching him fall to the ground did Defendant GOLD finally announce ‘San Diego Police,’” said the suit, which was filed in June. “Defendants committed acts of racial violence against DECEDENT a teenager, by shooting him in his back as he ran past Defendant GOLD, in an attempt to get to a place of safety.” Wilson was pronounced dead at UC San Diego Health Medical Center less than an hour later An agenda item posted Friday said the settlement would be paid from the Public Liability Fund.

and chest and had been used since the first honors program in 1978.

Strait, wearing a cowboy hat, was first to receive his medal. When the country singer started to take off the hat, Trump said, “If you want to leave it on, you can. I think we can get it through.” But Strait took it off.

The president said Crawford was a “great star of Broadway” for his lead role in the long-running “Phantom of the Opera.” Of Gaynor, he said, “We have the disco queen, and she was indeed, and nobody did it like Gloria Gaynor.”

Trump was effusive about his friend Stallone, calling him a “wonderful” and “spectacular” person and “one of the true, great movie stars” and “one of the great legends.”

Kiss is an “incredible rock

“These are among the greatest artists, actors and performers of their generation. The greatest that we’ve seen,” Trump said. “We can hardly imagine the country music phenomena without its king of country, or American disco without its first lady, or Broadway without its phantom — and that was a phantom, let me tell you — or rock ‘n’ roll without its hottest band in the world, and that’s what they are, or Hollywood without one of its greatest visionaries.”

“Each of you has made an indelible mark on American life and together you have defined entire genres and set new standards for the performing arts,” Trump said.

Trump also attended an annual State Department dinner for the honorees on Saturday In years past, the honorees received their medallions there but Trump

Judge rejects bid to toss suit challenging migrant detentions at Guantánamo

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge has rejected a request from the Trump administration to toss a lawsuit challenging the detention of migrants at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay

In a ruling Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss the case and has set a hearing for next week for the parties to discuss next steps in this case.

President Donald Trump in January announced his administration would use a detention center at Guantánamo to hold tens of thousands of the “worst criminal aliens,” as part of his wider immigration crackdown.

Between February and June, the federal government held around 500 immigrants at Guantánamo, according to Sooknanan, as authorities used the base as a way station for immigrants with final removal orders.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt, who argued the case, said in a statement Saturday that he hopes the ruling “will put an end to the Trump admin-

istration’s unlawful policy of sending immigrants to military bases in the middle of nowhere solely for the theatric value.”

Arrest ofpipebombsuspect awarning,officials say

Butadministration silent on Jan. 6

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON After the arrest of aman charged with placing two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national parties on Jan. 5, 2021, the warning from the Trump administration was clear: If youcometothe nation’scapital to attack citizens and institutions of democracy,you will be held accountable.

YetJustice Department leaders who announced the arrest were silent about the violence thathad taken place when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol and clashed with police one day afterthose bombs were placed.

It was the latest example of the Trump’sadministration’s efforts to rewrite the history of the riot, through pardons andthe firings of lawyers who prosecuted the participants of the siege, and of the disconnect for agovernment that prides itself for cracking down on violentcrime and supporting law enforcement buthas paperedover the brutality of the Jan. 6attacks on police officers.

“The administration has ignored and attempted to whitewash the violence committed by rioters on Jan.6 because they were the president’ssupporters. They were trying to install him asecond time against the willofthe voters in 2020,” saidMichael Romano, who prosecuted the rioters before leaving theJustice Department this year.“And it feels like the effort to ignore that is purely transactional.”

The White House referred comment to theJustice Department, which referred comment to the FBI. The bureau did not immediately re-

in Washington, AttorneyGeneral PamBondiand FBI Director Kash Patel discussthe arrest of aman charged with placing pipe bombs on Jan. 5, 2021.

spond to an email from The Associated PressonFriday FBI Director Kash Patel, as aconservativepodcast hostduring the Biden administration,had called the Jan. 6rioters “political prisoners” and offered to represent them for free. But on Thursday, he said the arrest of the pipe bomb suspect, 30-year-old BrianCole Jr., was in keeping with Trump’s commitmentto“secure our nation’scapital.”

“When you attack American citizens, when you attack our institutions of legislation, when you attack the nation’s capital, you attack the very being of our wayoflife,”Patel said.“And this FBIand this Department of Justice standheretotellyou that we will always combatit.”

Patel’sdeputy,Dan Bongino, hadsuggested before joining the FBIthat federal lawenforcement hadwasted time investigatingJan. 6rioters and anti-abortionactivists.

“These are threats to the United States?” he once said on apodcast. “Grandma isin the gulagfor atrespassing charge on January6th.”

Bongino speculatedlast year that the pipe bomb incident was an “inside job” that involved a“massive

cover-up.” After joining the FBI, Bongino repeatedly describedthe investigationasa topprioritythatwas receiving significant resources and attention.

“Weweregoing to track this person to the end of the earth. There was no way he was getting away,”hesaid Thursday

No public link has emerged between thepipe bombs and theriot,and Cole’sarrest was asignificantdevelopmentin itsown right given that the nearly 5-year investigation had confounded authorities, who arenow areassembling aportrait of Cole.

People familiar withthe matter told The Associated Press that among the statementsCole made to investigators is that he believed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, which Trump hasinsistedwas stolen fromhim in favorof Democrat Joe Biden. The people were not authorized to discuss ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity

There wasnowidespread fraudinthatelection,which arangeofelectionofficials acrossthe country,including Trump’sformerattorney general, William Barr,have confirmed. Republican gov-

Playwright arrested in Japanfor smuggling

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

TOKYO— ProminentAmerican playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris, known for his Tony-nominated “Slave Play,” was arrested in Japan on suspicion of smuggling the psychedelicdrug ecstasy,officials said Saturday Officers at Naha Airport on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa arrested Harris on Nov. 16 for an alleged violation of customslaw for having 0.0275 ounces of the crystallized drug, also known as MDMA, in acontainer in atote bag he was carrying, according to Okinawa RegionalCustoms spokesperson Tatsunori Fukuda. Harris, 36, had left London’sHeathrow Airport two days earlier and transitedin Taiwan’sTaoyuanInternational Airport before arriv-

inginNahafor sightseeing Fukuda said. Okinawa is a popular resort destination with mild weatherthroughout theyear Fukuda said Harris was arrested on thespot and taken into custody by the Tomishiro police, which filed a criminal complaint to theNahaDistrict Prosecutors’Office Thursday for further investigation and possible indictment Japanese authorities did notfind any otherdrugs in hisluggage andbelieve the MDMA was for his personal use. Theyare still investigating,Fukudasaid, while addingthatwhetherHarris made any comment on the case could not bereleased. There was no immediate comment from Harris’ representatives. Japanese criminalproceduresallowinvestigators to keep asuspect in custody

for up to 23 days beforeindictment,and pretrial detention can be prolongedif theaccused exercises their right of silence or denies the charges, apractice widely criticized as “hostagejustice.”

Those convicted of drug smuggling in Japan can face amultiyear prison term.

Harris burst ontothe arts scene with“Slave Play,” written whilehewas still agraduatestudent at the Yale School of Drama.It premiered off-Broadway in 2018, inciting controversy andevena petition to shut down the production with its provocative mix of race, class and sexual taboos. It moved to Broadway the following year,earning aTony nomination forbestplay, but did not win an award.

In addition to small acting roles, he’scameoed as himself on arebooted “Gossip Girl” and servedasa co-producer on several episodes of HBO’shit series “Euphoria.”

ernors in keystates crucial to Biden’svictory havealso vouchedfor theintegrity of theelections in theirstates. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies were dismissedbythe courts.

The tough-on-crime words heardduring Thursday’s announcement about Cole’s arrest were at odds with the Republican administration’s repeated efforts to play down theviolence of Jan. 6, absolve those charged in the insurrection andtarget those who investigatedand prosecuted the rioters.

Trump’sclemency action on his firstday back in the White House in January applied to all 1,500-plus people charged with participating in the attack on the foundations of American democracy.Thatincludeddefendants seen on camera violently attacking police with makeshift weapons such

as flagpoles, acrutchand a hockey stick. More than 100 police officers were injured, including somewho have describedbeing scared for their lives as they were dragged into the crowdand beaten.

Earlierthisyear, theJustice Department asked the FBI forthe names of agents whoparticipated in Jan. 6 investigations, ademand feared within the bureau forasapossible precursor to mass firings. In August, Patel fired Brian Driscoll, whoasthe FBI’s acting director in the early days of theTrump administration resisted handing over those names.

Trump’sadministration, meanwhile, hasfiredordemoted numerous prosecutorswho workedonJan.6 cases, includingmorethan two dozen lawyers who had been hired for temporary assignments to support the in-

vestigation but were moved into permanent roles after Trump won the 2024 election. In October,two federal prosecutors werelocked out of their government devices and told they werebeing put on leaveafter filing court papers that described those who attacked theCapitol as a“mob of rioters.” The Justice Departmentlater submitted anew court filing that stripped mentions of the Jan. 6riot. Oneman whose case was dismissedbecause of Trump’spardons wasaccused of hurling an explosive device and alarge piece of woodata group of officers whotrying to defendanentrance to the Capitol. Some officers later saidthey had “believedtheywere going to die,” prosecutors wrote in court papers, and several reported suffering temporary hearing loss.

populations.

The practice is by no meanslimited to Louisiana, or even the Gulf. Globally, it has uncovered vital new infoover the years, including the fact that red snapper can liveto50years old or longer instead of the previously believed 10 or so —determined in part thanks to traces of radioactive carbon from nuclear testing.

It has become such an important aspect of fisheries research thatit’shardto imagine atrue assessment of thecondition of life in the underwater world without them, scientists say.Ithas played akey role in assessments of the state’sspeckled trout and redfishpopulations, among others

“It’scritically important,” said Andy Fischer,abiologist director at the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “Age is one of the most important variables that goes into astock assessment becauseittellsyou so muchabout the fish —not just the onefish, butthe population as awhole.”

Fischer,who has been working with otoliths since he studied at LSU in the 1990s, said one of his professors would callthe bones the “CD-ROM” of fish since “it’s gathering all this information while the fish is alive.” Today,that professor might refer to it as avirtual reality tour of the fish’slife.

‘Super important’

It’snot unusual to see department staff at marinas asking for otoliths. Anglers’ participation is entirelyvoluntary.The processtakes a few minutes and can be done while you get your boatback on the trailer It also does no damage to your fillets. Sometimes the bones can be pulled through the gills, though often aslice to the head with ahacksaw is necessary The tiny bones hold information that can offer deep insights into the fish’slife,

PHOTOSPROVIDED By LOUISIANA

DEPARTMENTOFWILDLIFE AND FISHERIES

Louisiana DepartmentofWildlife and Fisheries staff remove otoliths.

which involves rings that form on thebone,similar to ringsinside the trunk of atree.

Thoserings allowscientists to tell the age ofthe fish, theinitialclue that permits them to begin solving a biological Rubik’sCube

They do that by combining the fish’sage withother information, such as itslength, weight and reproductive data.

Deeper analysiscan follow,like examining the

calciumand strontium in the bone to figure out what typesofhabitatsthe fish frequented, said Fischer.Which fish move in andout of fresh, brackish and salt water,for example, and when do they do it?

Calculating all of that for one fish is interesting, but not of great use on its own to state fisheries biologists. Theyrequire astatistically significant sample size,and that’swhy youmight see them at the docks.

Beyond asking recreational anglers for their earbones, the state also seeks permission from commercial docks to operate there. Fishing rodeos,too, canbeuseful. For stock assessments, Louisiana’sfisheries biologistsaim to collect at least 500 otoliths per species every year from recreational anglers, andanother 500 from commercial operations.

Todd Masson,hostofthe popular Marsh Man Masson YouTube channel on southeastLouisiana fishing, said he is alwayshappy to participate when asked for his fish’sotoliths. He noted thatit’shugely important to have scientifically sound estimates of fish stocks in Louisiana, giventhe state’s coastal land loss.

“Stock assessments in general —superimportant,” said Masson.

“With coastal land loss, we’re losing so muchnursery ground habitat for these fish to grow in thatwe’ve got to maintain good data as to howsizable ourstocks are.

If we’re unaware of that, we can’tmake sensible changes in managementprotocols.”

‘It’sfascinating’

Rings of otoliths have been examinedfor around acentury or so,but thescience surrounding it has been honed and refined over the years, said SimonThorrold, ascientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. It has been used by Louisiana’sfisheriesbiologists over thepast several decades.

The practice has allowed for asteady stream of new discoveries as scientists use them to map out fish lives and habitats.

Thorrold noted advancements made in understanding the lives of red snapperasone example. Otolith analysis revealed evidence of radioactive carbon from nuclear testinginthe 1940s, showing the fish were far olderthanpreviouslyestimated

“They’re used literally aroundthe worldbyfisheries departments and researchers,”hesaid.

He said what makes them so useful is that, unlike human earbones, they are “metabolically inert, which meansthat once material gets laid downinthe otolith, it is not reworked later.”

“It’skind of stored. It’s kind of trapped in there for the rest of the fish’slife,” said Thorrold.

In Louisiana, coastal anglers have seen the results of such research every time they head outintheir boats. They maynot like recent reductions in the amount of speckled trout and redfish they cankeep, butthose changes were informed by

stock assessments showing the need to address declines in populations. Fischer said that while researcherscan sometimes meet resistance at the docks when they approach anglers, mostare happytooblige, especiallywhen they learn moreabout the process.

“I think everybody understands the conceptofrings on atree,” he said.“Well, most people don’trealize that you can do that with fish.SoIthink people find it’sfascinating.”

Email Mike Smithat msmith@theadvocate.com.

InspiringThroughEducation

CornerstonehasbeenacommunitypartnerinWaggamanand JeffersonParishforover70years.AtCornerstoneEnergyPark, weinvestincollaborativecommunityprogramstochampion educationandempowerthelocalscience,technology,engineering, andmathematics(STEM)workforceofthefuture. We’recommittedtoourcommunity.Togetherwithourcommunity partners,wearehelpingbridgethegapbetweeneducationand opportunitytoinspirelearning,locally.

SCHOOLS

over here, and now it’s showing up in the accountability system.”

For most schools, the simulated scores were a worrying preview of challenges ahead. Hundreds of campuses, including 75% of the state’s high schools, would have earned lower grades under the new rating system than the current one, which ends this year

Yet just over 130 public schools, or about 10% of the total, defied the trend. Those campuses, almost all elementary or middle schools, managed to get higher grades under the tougher system.

One likely reason is that the schools excel at catching up students who start behind. The new rating system rewards that by putting much more weight on growth, or how much students’ test scores improve each year, while deemphasizing proficiency, or the share of students who met grade-level targets.

Focusing on proficiency can penalize schools that serve more economically disadvantaged students, whom research shows often enter school below grade level, said Douglas Harris, a Tulane University economist who studies education. By contrast, growth accounts for students’ different starting points by emphasizing progress over final scores.

“Schools don’t control where students are on the first day of school,” Harris said in an email, “but they do control what students learn and how they grow So, we should reward them for that.”

Rewarding progress

The state’s new rating system, which will be used to calculate school grades next fall, puts a premium on such growth.

Students’ year-over-year improvement on state tests will count for 54% of each K-8 school’s grade, more than double its weight under the current system. Proficiency will make up 46% of each elementary school’s grade, down from 70%.

“We see elementary schools that are doing really good work and they’re growing kids, but they previously haven’t received the letter grade recognition that they probably deserve,” said state Superintendent of Education Cade

Brumley “Now, they’re finally going to be honored.”

Schools will also be graded on how many of their lowest-performing students improve each year

That metric aims to focus educators’ attention on the most struggling students, not just those who are closest to reaching mastery, the third of five achievement levels in the state’s system and the point at which state leaders consider a child fully prepared for the next grade level.

Jeff Powell, superintendent of the Rapides Parish school district, said he appreciates that the new expectations have come with support.

Elementary

Principal Jenenne Coulon said she’s especially gratified by the gains the school has made.

For example, Brumley and the state Education Department launched a program, which the Legislature funded, to provide struggling students with intensive tutoring.

“What we’re seeing is law, policy and resources converging to get the desired outcomes,” he said. Rapides Parish is poised to do well under the new system, with 13 of its schools getting higher simulated grades than official ones this year — more than any other district. Powell said there’s no “secret sauce” for nurturing student growth, but an essential ingredient is highly skilled and motivated educators.

“This is the result of a lot of teachers doing a lot of really hard, good work,” he said.

One school’s turnaround

The revised rating system has revealed the hidden strength of schools like Shady Grove Elementary

Based in Monroe, where the share of children living in poverty is nearly four times the national rate, Shady Grove serves an especially high-need population. Many of its students start far behind academically, making proficiency — defined as scoring at the “mastery” level or above on state tests — a high bar to reach.

Under the current accountability system, in which proficiency rates drive elementary schools’ grades, Shady Grove earned F’s the past two years.

“That hurt,” said Principal Janitra Underwood. “I knew the work we were doing to get where we needed to be.”

In her four years at the school’s helm, she’s pushed her staff to closely track student data, provide extra help to struggling students and reward student growth. To celebrate reading gains, the school gave out ice cream sandwiches

that students could slather with chocolate syrup, gummy bears and other toppings. This year, the hard work finally paid off. Shady Grove improved its score by more points than any other school in the state, raising its grade to a D. Its simulated grade, generated by the new growth-driven rating system, jumped to a C.

Though its proficiency rates remain far below state averages, with just 19% of students reaching mastery or above in English and 11% doing so in math, its growth rate is exceptionally high. Twothirds of students made gains in English last school year and nearly 60% did in math, far outpacing the state’s growth rate.

“Every student can grow,” Underwood said, “and we can do our part to grow them.”

Helping students soar

At Collins Elementary in Marrero, Principal Coulon has a twopronged strategy to help every student soar

First, teachers stick to gradelevel material during core classes like English and math, rather than slowing down to reteach concepts that some students missed Second, the school devotes an hour every day to specialized support to help stragglers catch up and push top-achievers further

During that time, students are divided into groups. Some get lessons from the classroom teacher to fill gaps in their learning. Others get individual support from different staffers, like the school’s master teacher or English language instructor Still others work with tutors over video.

“That’s where our growth comes from,” Coulon said of the daily personalized-support period. “I can tell you that.”

The school’s growth numbers are striking, especially in math. Nearly 70% of students improved their scores this year, almost 30 percentage points more than the share of students statewide who made math gains.

Coulon said she’s especially gratified by the gains because she promised “to leave these students in a better place” before she retires, which she expects to do soon. The progress also affirms her belief that every student can succeed with the right support.

“Once you give them the opportunity to excel and grow,” she said, “they’re going to take off.”

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“Myfamily counts on him for everything,” hismother wrote of Patterson. “I just ask that everyone in charge do the best they can to prevent another innocent man from going to prison.”

But Patterson’s$400,000 bail remained.

He was instead released from jail more than ayear afterhis family’spleas, when his defense attorneyfiled aspeedy trial motion and prosecutors failed to bring him to trial within 120days. In the filing, Patterson’sattorney wrotethathe hadbeen “unfairly” jailed for a crime in which “proof against him is not evident.” After he died, court records show the case against him wasdropped.

At least seven other people shared Patterson’sfatalfate,according to an analysisby The Times-Picayune of the 916 homicidecases acceptedbyprosecutors over the last decade.

During that time, defendants charged with murder or manslaughter in NewOrleans waited longer than almost anywhere else in the country for theircases to close—about three years, on average, the analysis found.

Few homicide defendants ultimately walk free. New Orleans juries acquitted just 41 of658 defendants in closedcases over the last decade, records show The U.S. Constitution gives the right to speed to every defendant, however,and criminal justiceadvocates say long delays reverberate far beyond keeping the potentially innocent jailed.

“Everyone is adversely impacted by the system’sfailuretomove itsfeet,” said retired Orleans ParishCriminal District Court Judge Calvin Johnson.

Victims’familiesface painful waits for closure and accountability.The public bears the cost of long pretrial incarcerations.

“That’sapriceeveryone in our town is paying,” Johnson said.

From behind bars, defendants lose the chance to support their families, who shoulder the financial and emotional strain of repeated court dates —missing work, arranging child care or bringing children along, “all because the courtcan’toperate in an effective way,”Johnson said. The longer defendants are de-

tained,the more their mentaland physical health can deteriorate. If acquitted, they can emerge years later only to findjobs, relationshipsand futures gone.

Defenseattorney JohnFuller, whosefirmrepresentsa significantshareofNew Orleans’homicide defendants, said the constant delays have madehim doubt what justice means in thecity’scourt.

“I don’tknow if there’sjustice here,” he said in an interview.“I justtry to do what Ican to minimize injustices.”

‘The wheels starttocomeoff’

Hundredsofhomicide prosecutions have stalled in New Orleans, snagged in asystemcourt authorities call broken, plagued by overloaded dockets, staffturnover and administrativefailures.

The result is agrowing backlog in the courthouse: Morethan250 homicide cases were active at the endof last year.The underresourced Orleans Public Defenders, whose attorneys represent approximately85% of New Orleans’criminal cases, have long struggled to keeppace.

Last year,the agency’s senior

lawyerscarried an averageof11 life-without-parole cases —nearly 60%more than therecommended caseload by national authorities on public defenders. With thatmany cases, “the wheelsstart to come off,” saidChief Public Defender Danny Engelberg. Public defenders and privateattorneys alike say delays often start early.Prosecutors can take months to turn over evidence, aprocess called discovery that typically drags across four separatehearings, the newspaper found.

Jesse Manley,interim executive director of Court Watch NOLA, whichmonitorsand collects data on New Orleans’ courts, saidattorney turnover often drives discoverydelays.Prosecutorssaid the crush of digital files slows the process further Forrest Ladd, ahomicide prosecutor,said it can take more than 100 hourstosift through thousands of photos, messages and other digital files he scours for evidence.

Authoritiescharged with bringingdefendants to court, including theOrleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and Louisiana Department of Public Safetyand Corrections, often

family andthought,‘Oh my God, howdid theylive through this? What if that was my child? How do youlive withthe unknown —the worry —for so long?’”

Whenprosecutorsfinishedtheir case, 11 of 12 jurors immediately voted to acquit, Gonczi said, finding the evidence paper-thin. The lone holdout soon agreed.

“Somethingisvery wrongwith our system,” Gonczi said, “when someone can sit in jailfor seven years and nothing happens.”

In interviewsand letters to The Times-Picayune, defendants described frustration over the grinding pace of their cases.

Among them: Laura Collins, who has been in the city’sjail formore than fiveyearsafter beingcharged with second-degree murderand manslaughter in twocases.More than 100 hearings have been scheduled or held across both of her cases, with what feels like little meaningful progress, she said.

She has fired at least two attorneys in frustration.

“It feels like an age-old scam that everyoneisinon,”she saidofthe delays. “These highly educated people don’tknow how to use a calendar.”

leave them in their cells. Over the last decade, TheTimes-Picayune found 6,352 instances where records indicate adefendant did not appear for ahearing.

Defense attorneys sometimes have to postpone proceedings because they can’tget time with their clients.

And with only four private booths in the jail —and every phone call recorded and available to prosecutors —defense attorneyssay confidentialconversationswith incarcerated clients are almost impossible.

Once adefense attorney is prepared to go to trial, it’s not up to them if it happens. State lawallows only prosecutors, notjudges, to decide when acase goes to trial, and how adefendant is charged.

Whena casedoes make it to trial, thecost of those years of delay can be stark.

LastFebruary,prosecutors tried aman seven years after his arrest.

As juror Rhea Lemarie Gonczi listenedtothe testimony, shesaidshe couldn’tstop thinking about the time he had lost.

“His life hadbeenput on hold,” shesaid. “I looked at him and his

Featherweight Scooter

While incarcerated, Collins has filed hundreds of grievances with jail staff, from complaints of black mold in theshowers to insect infestations. “My lawyer is downstairs attempting to see me,” she wrote in one. “I’m being told to wait. Last time Iwas told that, my lawyer waited an hour and finally left. I need to speak with my lawyer!!!”

Long jail staystakea toll New Orleans’ jail, the Orleans Justice Center,has been plagued by violence and neglect since it opened in 2015 undera federal consent decree. In reports, jailmonitorshave flaggedmyriad issues: guard shortages, withthose on duty often leaving posts unstaffed; unchecked assaults that have sent dozens of defendantstothe hospital; and flimsy construction that allowsdetainees to fashion weapons from the building itself

The monitors also noted the black mold andinsect issues that Collins filed grievances about.

The toll of such conditions is borneheavily by detainees, said Orleans Parish SheriffSusan Hutson. “This is not atherapeutic environment,” she said. “It’sa jail, and

ä See LIMBO, page 13A

it’s meant to deprive you of your freedom and yourliberties, andthattakes atoll on people.” Hutson lost her reelection bid in October after ahistoric jailbreak this spring when 10 incarcerated men escaped.

While imprisoned, detainees are allowed just three visitors, who can come to the jail one day a week for video calls that are limited to 15 minutes,onscreens that areoften cracked, grainy or malfunctioning. Some family members must take time off work, find childcareor ride the bus across the city forthe chance to see their loved one for only afew minutes.

No face-to-face visits are permitted.

Terrell Monroe has been jailedfor nine anda half years as his second-degree murder case stalls in court. He is stillawaiting trial. Last year,when he added areporter to his visitation list,hedidn’tneedtoremove anyone;hehad long ago stopped telling family and friends to come.

“I was tired of putting them through the hassleto see me for 15 minutes on the screen,” he said. Monroe has six children, he said. He’snever held his youngest daughter,who was born afterhis arrest.

Conditions are so harsh that some defendants plead guilty just to leave the jail. Even aprison sentence in the state system offers more: in-person visits where they can embrace their families.

New Orleans police arrested Candice Lewis in 2019 after the killing of a23-yearold woman in New Orleans East. Judge Benedict Willard found her incompetent to stand trial and ordered her to the statemental hospital for treatment. It took four months for her to be admitted, abacklog of defen-

dantswaiting fortreatment slowing down the process. After sixmonths at the hospital, psychiatristsdeclared her competent to standtrial. ButLewis said in an interview that when she returned to thejail, doctors therechanged her medicationsand the imaginary voicesshe’d once quieted had returned. In court, her case stalled. Sheriff’s deputiesfailedto bringher to hearings at least 10 times, records show and lawyers kept askingfor postponements.

As timepassed, Lewis said her family,including her fourchildren,stopped visiting. Jail logsshowthat she spent months in protectivecustody,locked in acell 23 hoursa day.

Aspokesperson for the Sheriff’s Officedid notrespondtoquestionsabout Lewis’ incarceration.

Nearly fiveyears after her arrest, Lewis changed her plea to not guilty by reason of insanityand begged ajudge for hercase to end.

“I can’ttake it no more,” she sobbed.

“I can’ttalktomy family, my kids, nothing,” she continued.“Five years of this bullshit. If you’re goingtogivemetime, give me time. Please, mister,do something.”

Prosecutors later accepted her plea,and the victim’smother lamented from thewitness stand, “I feel like everybody has failed my child.”

Willard then ordered an evaluationtodetermine whether Lewis shouldbe committed to amental hospitalor, if she was no longer adanger, released.

As the victim’sfamily left the courtroom,someone shouted: “That it? That it? That’scrazy.”

Last July, forensic psychiatrists determined Lewis was dangerous.She was ordered tothe state’smental health hospital,where records show she currently remains.

Delays help thedefense

New Orleans defense attorneys often embrace delaydespite its downsides. Speedy-trial motions were filed in only 18% of the 916 cases analyzed by The Times-Picayune. In practice, delay can be the most powerfulweapon adefense lawyerhas even in cases where their client insistsoninnocence. “Criminal trialsare not alwaysabout the truth,” said defense attorney Sarah Chervinsky.“They’re about what youcan persuade a jury thetruthmight be.”

Time weakenscases. Witnesses scatter.Evidence erodes.And withevery passing month,the odds of aplea bargain rise.

In Louisiana,amurder convictionleads to amandatory life-in-prison sentence. “A defendant has no incentive to plead to alife sentence,”said defense attorney JeromeMatthews.

In thelast decade, twothirds of homicide prosecutionsinOrleans Parish ended in pleas. Of those, 87% of defendants pleaded to lesser charges,for example, from murdertomanslaughter; at least 7% pleaded guilty to offenses that didn’tinclude murder or manslaughter

That’swhat happened in the case of Erin Alonzo DNA on ahand-rolled cigar tied him to a2016 killing in West Lake, but his attorney argued that streetcameras showed he fired in selfdefense. After more than four years, prosecutors dismissed the second-degree murder charge against him Alonzoonly pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.

Deals like that take years to hammer out. The average time to reach aplea is two andahalf years in New Orleans.Some defenseattorneys argue negotiations should start far earlier Recently,however,fewer deals are being struck at all. Over thelast three years, just 54% of homicide cases ended in pleas —asteep drop from the decade-long trend.

Matthew Derbes,chief

of thehomicide unit at the Orleans Parish District Attorney’sOffice, said prosecutors evaluate cases early and solicit reasonable offers where appropriate. But he argued defendants rarely wantthe deals. Often, he said, they request sentences so light they retraumatize grieving families

“If we went into the bargain basement of pleas, we could clear all our cases tomorrow.But we don’t,” Derbessaid. “I’m notgoingto go to afamily andask them to takesome sale —20% off their case —because we have abacklog.”

At trial, prosecutors have boasted a75% homicide conviction rate in thelast three years. Even so,defense attorneys say prosecutors have still brought weak cases to trial.

For example, records indicate prosecutors plannedto dismiss their murdercase againstKevin Stokes after surveillance video suggested he acted in self-defense. Butthey never did. Instead, ajuryacquittedStokes last year,more thanfour years after his arrest.

In another murder case, prosecutors brought Charles Wade to trial in April even after DNA from beneath a victim’sfingernails excluded him as the contributor Jurors found him not guilty And in September,Kendall Harrison walked free from amurder charge after 12 yearsinjail. DNAtest resultshad seriously weakened prosecutors’ case, but the family of Harry “Mike” Ainsworth,the victim, refused to consider an offered pleabythe defense,prosecutors said.

Aftermedia coverage of the verdict, Ainsworth’s wife, Cheryl Conner, emailed areporter.“My sonswere thereal victims here,”she wrote. “Now they are theangry survivorsof this tragedy.”

She continued: “Don’t lie and sayjustice exists. It doesn’t.”

Prosecutorsunwilling to offer adeal or to risk an outright acquittal can buy themselves moretime by

dismissing ashaky case, then reindictingit. Defense attorneys bristle at the tactic, which they cannot use themselves, and that appeals court judges have at times called an abuse of power

Still, most defense attorneys opposestrict time limits on homicide prosecutions, arguing speed is not justice.

“These are human beings whose lives are at stake,” said Engelberg, the chief public defender.“We needto take the time to ensure the outcome is fair.”

Others say delay can’tbe the default. Loyola Universi-

ty College of Law professor and defense attorney Will Snowden said measuring justice by timealone ignores the complexity of each case. Still, he argued, thesystem’s inertia is achoice and more just practices are realistic —and essential.

“Itcan be done,” Snowden said,“when we havethe courage to overhaul the system in every respect of imagination.”

Staff writer Jeff Adelson contributed to this report.

Email JillianKramer at jillian.kramer@ theadvocate.com.

EDUCATION

AI maybescoring thosecollege essays

BY JOCELYN GECKER

AP education writer

Students applying to college know they can’t—oratleast shouldn’t—use AI chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So it might come as a surprise that someschoolsare now using artificial intelligence toread them.

AI tools are now being incorporated into howstudentapplications are screenedand analyzed, admissions directors say. It can be adelicate topic, and not allcolleges are eager to talk about it, but higher education is amongthe many industries where artificial intelligence is rapidly taking on tasks once reserved for humans. In some cases, schools arequietly slipping AI into their evaluation process, experts say.Others are touting thetechnology’spotential to speed up their review of applications, cut processing times and even performsometasks better than humans.

“Humans get tired; somedays arebetter than others.The AI does not get tired. It doesn’t getgrumpy It doesn’thave abad day.The AI is consistent,” says Juan Espinoza, vice provost for enrollment management at Virginia Tech.

This fall, Virginia Tech is debuting an AI-powered essayreader The college expects it will be able to inform students of admissions decisions amonth sooner than usual, in late January,because of the tool’shelp sorting tensofthousands of applications.

Colleges stress they arenot relying on AI to make admissions decisions, using it primarily to reviewtranscripts and eliminate data-entry tasks. Butartificial intelligence also is playing arolein evaluatingstudents.Somehighly selective schools are adopting AI

tools to vetthe increasingly curated application packages that some students develop with the help of high-priced admissions consultants.

TheCalifornia Institute of Technologyislaunching an AI tool this fall to look for “authenticity” in students who submit research projectswith their applications, admissionsdirector AshleyPallie said. Students upload their research to an AI chatbot that interviews themabout it on video, which is then reviewed by Caltech faculty

“It’sagaugeofauthenticity.Can youclaim this research intellectually?Isthere alevel of joy around your project? That passion is important to us,” Pallie said.

Theprevalence of AI usage is difficulttogauge because it is such anew trend,said Ruby Bhattacharya, chair of the admission practices committee at theNational Association for College Admission Counseling. NACAC updated its ethics guidethisfall to addasection on artificial intelligence. It urges colleges to ensure the way

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they use it “aligns with our shared values of transparency,integrity, fairness andrespect forstudent dignity.

Blowback

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faced abarrage of negative feedback fromapplicants,parents andstudents after itsstudent newspaper,The Daily TarHeel, reported in January the school was using AI to evaluate the grammar and writing style of applicants’ essays. The universitydeclined to comment and referred to its admissions website, which it updated afterthe criticism.“UNC uses AI programs to providedata points about students’ commonapplication essay and their school transcripts,” the website says. Every application “is evaluated comprehensively by extensively trained human application evaluators.”

At Virginia Tech,Espinoza said he has been contacted by several colleges thatare interested in the new technology but waryofbacklash.“The feedback from alot of

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problem only go up as you age.2 Treatmentisexpensive— especiallythe services peopleover 50 often need. Consider these national average costs of treatment. $222 fora checkup. $190 fora filling $1,213 fora crown.3 Unexpected bills like this can be areal burden, especially if you’re on afixed income.

colleagues is, ‘You roll this out, we’re watching you, and we’ll see howeveryone’sreacting,’”hesaid.

He stressed the AI reader his school spent three years developing is beingused only to confirm human readers’ essay scores.

Until this fall, each of the four short-answer essaysVirginia Tech applicants submit wasread and scored by twopeople. Under the newsystem,one of those readers is theAImodel, which has been trainedonpastapplicantessays andthe rubric for scoring, Espinoza said.

Asecond person will step in if the AI andhuman reader disagree by morethan twopoints on a12-point scoring scale.

Like many colleges, Virginia Tech hasseen ahuge increase in applications since making SATs optional. Last year,itreceiveda record 57,622 applications forits 7,000-seat freshman class. Even with 200 essay readers, the school hasstruggled to keep up andfound itself notifying students later and later

TheAItoolcan scanabout 250,000 essays in under an hour, compared with ahumanreader whoaverages twominutes per essay.Based on last year’sapplication pool, “We’re saving at least 8,000 hours,” Espinoza said.

Colleges seebenefits

The messaging is sensitive for colleges, manyofwhich now have studentscertify that they have not used AI unethically foressays and other parts of the application. But schools sayAItools can help admissions offices eliminate errors in tasks likeuploading transcripts andcan simplify the process for students.

Georgia Tech this fall is rolling outanAItool to reviewthe college transcripts of transfer students, replacing the need forstaff to enter each course manually into adatabase. It will allow the school to inform applicants morequickly

how many transfer credits they’ll receive, cutting downonuncertainty and wait times, said Richard Clark, the school’s executive director of enrollment management.

“It’sone morelayer of delay and stress and inevitable errors. AI is going to kill that, which I’m so excited about,” Clark said. The school hopes to expand the service soon to all high school transcripts. Georgia Tech also is testing out AI toolsfor other uses, including one that would identify low-income students whoare eligible forfederal PellGrantsbut may nothave realized it.

Stony Brook University in New York is also using artificial intelligence to review applicants’ transcripts and testing AI tools for a variety of tasks, like summarizing student essays and letters of recommendation to highlight things an admissions officer should consider, said RichardBeatty,the school’s senior associateprovost forenrollment management.

“Maybe astudent was fighting a diseasesophomore year.Ormaybe aparentpassed away,orthey’re taking care of siblings at home. All these things matter, anditallows the counselors to look at the transcript differently,” Beatty said. Collegesare interestedinAI summariesoftranscripts,extracurricular activities and letters of recommendation that tell human readers thestudents’ story in amore digestible way, said EmilyPacheco,founder of NACAC’s special interest group forAIand admission.

“Humans and AI working together —that is the key right now.Every step along the way can be greatly improved: transcript reading, essay reviews, telling us things we might be missing about the students,”saidPacheco, aformerassistant directorofadmission at Loyola University Chicago. “Ten years from now,all bets are off. I’mguessing AI will be admitting students.”

Helpskeep more

LOUISIANAPOLITICS

Cassidycriticizesvaccination policy butnot RFKJr.

WASHINGTON —U.S. Sen.Bill Cassidy’svociferous opposition to the nation’stightening vaccination policies is becoming more pointed, though he has avoided directly criticizing by name Health Chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr., aleader in antivaccinationefforts.

“I’m adoctor.I have seen people die from vaccinepreventable disease,” Cassidy said two weeks ago on “Face the Nation,”reprising talkingpoints the Baton Rouge Republican has made repeatedly.“Iwantpeople to be healthy.Iwant to make America healthy,and you don’t start by stopping recommendations thathave made us substantially healthier.”

As chair of the Senate Health Education Laborand Pensions committee, Cassidy gave Kennedy legitimacy with fellow senators who greenlighted his confirmation to run the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services.

Cassidy said he did so based on promises Kennedy made toinclude him in major personnel and policy decisions —particularly as relates to vaccinations Since then, Kennedy fired the entire 17-member board that recommends vaccination policies for the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention to adopt. Among his replacements on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are several who have voiced anti-vaccine positions, including two members withBaton Rouge ties: Dr.Robert W. Malone, ACIP deputy chairand an adjunct professor at the LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center; and Dr.Evelyn Griffin, an obstetrician.

Both Malone and Griffinvoted Friday to roll back the 30-year-old recommendation that all babies

Landrypicks new revenue secretary

or having sex. Infants whoare infected by their untreated mothers have a90% chance of moreserious problemslater in life, including cancer or liver cirrhosis. One in 4people whodie of liver disease wereinfected as newborns.

Since 1991, physicians have given babies the vaccine at birth, followed by twomore doses, sometimes along with inoculations such as diphtheria, tetanus and polio.

“Since that recommendation started, we moved from 20,000 children getting hepatitis Bat birth or shortly after birth to 200 getting hepatitis Batbirth or shortly after birth,” Cassidy said Tuesday

“This has been an incredibly effective public health intervention, which has contributed to amuch lower incidence of people with children getting both hepatitis B at the time of birth.”

Cassidy is pushing back, though not directly naming Kennedy But he is also seeking athird term in 2026.

receive ahepatitis Bshot at birth andissued weaker guidance for certain infants.

The CDC recently posted on its website that despitewell-established science, vaccines might cause autism.

ThoughKennedy promised to include himinpersonnel decisions, the health department tapped Louisiana Surgeon General RalphAbraham to be theCDC’s second-highest ranking official without seeking Cassidy’sinput Aformer congressman and gubernatorialcandidate, Abraham forbadethe Louisiana Department of Health from promoting vaccinations.

The federal health departmentalso canceled $500 million in funding to develop mRNA vaccines and adopted the ACIP recommendation to removethimerosal from flu vaccines despite somecommittee membersnoting no evidence was presented that thepreservative caused harm The ACIP has made COVID-19 booster shotsvoluntary,even for at-risk populations like the elderly It also suggested restrictions on combination inoculations like those that protect against chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella, which are required before children can attend school.

In theopening moments of thepanel’stwo-day meeting on hepatitis Bvaccinations, Cassidy tweeted:“The ACIP is totally discredited. They are not protecting children.”

Usually,Cassidy cites his personal experiences as aliver specialist in Baton Rouge’sLSU Earl K. Long Medical Center forthree decades. While he leans into stories of suffering patients at “the Earl,” Cassidy also has done extensive research into hepatitis B. Cassidy participated in tests and is listed as an author on at least 30 medical papers

Mostly adults are infected with hepatitis Bfrom sharing needles

Mark Ballard Capitol Buzz STAFF REPORTS

The day after the board of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System selected Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson as its next president, Gov.Jeff Landry announced areplacement for the topjob at the tax agency Jarrod J. Coniglio will soon ascend to the secretary role at the revenue department and replace Nelson, who will lead the community college system effective Jan. 1. Coniglio is currently second-incommand as deputy secretary, apost he was appointed to by Landry last year

Landry also announced Thursday that Brandea Averettwill serve as deputy secretary and Catherine Logan will be assistant secretary in the Office of Legal Affairs.

“I want to thank Richard Nelson for his dedicated service over the past two years as secretary of revenue,” Landry said in astate-

ment.“Under his leadership, and with the hard work of this team, we passed historic tax reform that hasalready helped attract tens of billions of dollars in new investment toour state.”

“I look forward to continuing that momentumwith Jarrod Coniglio as secretary,” he said.

Aside from his time at theDepartment of Revenue, Coniglio previously workedatthe LouisianaDepartment of Health, and he worked in the privatesector at JPMorganChase and Wells Fargo. He served in the Louisiana Army National Guard and has abachelor’s degree in financefromLSU.

LakeCharles-area airport gets big FEMAgrant

The ChennaultInternational Airport, acommercial airport nearLake Charles, received a$20 milliongrant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will supportabout100 jobs, state officials announced last week.

Themoney will be used to build a37,449-square-foot paint hangar

Louisiana Economic Development will also pitch in a$2M grant.

“The addition of this new han-

The Chennault International Airport, acommercial airportnear Lake Charles, received a$20 milliongrant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will support about 100jobs, state officials announced last week.

gar will be amajor step forward for Chennault International Airport,increasing operational capacity,attracting new commercial opportunities, and bolstering thelong-term economic strength of the region,” said U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins.“I’m grateful for President Trump, FEMA andLED’sinvestmenttoenhance Chennault’s infrastructure.”

Kevin Melton, the airport’sexecutive director,said the grants are theresult of afour-year effort to expand the airport.

The airport is aformer Air Force base that once housed the famous Flying Tigers Squadron of World WarII. Originally called LakeCharles Air Force Base, it

was renamed after General Claire Chennault, the squadron’sleader Today,the airport hosts companies like Northrop Grumman that employ 1,000 people, according to its website. About 3,000 takeoffs, landings and other operations occur there each month.

Cassidy’slaw to address opioid deaths renewed

President Donald Trumplast week signed arenewal of the SUPPORTAct, a2018 law sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy,RBaton Rouge, that aims to address overdose deaths. The law,which expired in September,authorizes programs for

Cassidy wascensured by Louisiana Republicans in 2021 forvoting to convict Trumponcharges stemming from the Jan. 6riot by MAGAsupporters at the U.S. Capitol. On the other hand, Cassidy said he received White House assurances that President Donald Trumpisn’tworking against his campaign.

He has attracted four challengers —all running to the right of Cassidy in aclosed GOPprimary in which no Democrat can vote. Cassidy sighs when asked for the umpteenth timewhether he regrets backing Kennedy

“You makethe best decision you can with the information at the time, based upon assurances you’ve received, and you just trust in that,” Cassidy said. “You live your lifeforward.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

the prevention, treatment and recovery programs, specialized programs for mothers and babies with substance use disorders, opioid recovery centers, among other efforts.

“The opioid and mental health crisis is devastating families across the nation. Thousands of Americans die each month from an overdose,” Cassidy said in a newsrelease. “President Trump and Iare committed to tackling this crisis head-on. I’mproud to work with him to enact the SUPPORTAct to equip communities with vital resources to save lives.”

In July,Trumpsigned Cassidy’s HALTFentanyl Act, which permanently labeled fentanyl-related substances as aSchedule Idrug in an effort to makeiteasier for law enforcement to arrest and prosecute dealers. Fentanyl is apotent synthetic opioid that helped fuel asurge in overdoses across the country

The SUPPORTAct also includes steps to protect the 9-8-8 Suicide Prevention Lifeline from cybersecurity threats and supports training forfirst responders to administer overdose-reversing medications.

IndianaRepublicans face redistrictingchallenges

Trumpchallenges loyaltyofGOP statesenators againstpush

BY THOMAS BEAUMONT and ISABELLAVOLMERT Associated Press

Spencer Deery’sson was getting ready for school when someone tried to provoke police into swarming his home by reporting afake emergency Linda Rogers saidthere were threats at her home and the golf course that her family has run for generations.

Jean Leising faced apipe bomb scare that wasemailed to local law enforcement.

The three are among roughly adozen Republicans in theIndiana Senate who have seen their lives turned upside down while President Donald Trump pushes to redraw the state’scongressional map to expand the party’s power in the 2026 midterm elections.

It’sabewildering and frightening experience for lawmakers who consider themselves loyalparty members and never imagined they would be doing their jobs under the same shadow of violence that has darkened American political life in recent years. Leising described it as “a very dangerous and intimidating process.”

Redistricting is normally done once adecade after a new national census. Trump wants to accelerate the process in hopes of protecting the Republicans’ thin majority in the U.S. House next year.His allies in Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina havealready gone along with his plans for new political lines.

Now Trump’scampaign faces its greatest test yet in a stubborn pocket of Midwestern conservatism. Although Indiana Gov.Mike Braun and the House of Representatives are on board, theproposal may fall short with senators who value their civic traditions and independence over what they fear wouldbe short-term partisan gain.

“When you have thepresident of the United States and your governor sending signals, youwant to listen to them,” said Rogers, who has not declared her position on the redistricting push. “But it doesn’tmean you’ll compromise your values.”

On Friday,Trump posted alist of senators who “need encouragement to make the right decision,” and he took to social media Saturdayto say that if legislators “stupidly say no, vote them out of Office —They are not worthy —And Iwillbethere to help!” Meanwhile, the conservative campaign organization Turning Point Action said it would spend heavily to unseat anyone who voted “no.” Senators are scheduled to convene Monday to consider the proposal after months of turmoil. Resistance could signal the limits of Trump’sotherwise undisputed dominance of the Re-

publican Party Deery considers himself lucky.The police in his hometownofWest Lafayette knew the senator was apotential target for “swatting,” adangerous type of hoax when someone reports afake emergency to provoke an aggressive response from law enforcement

So whenDeery was targeted last month while his son andothers were waiting for their daily bus ride to school, officersdid not rushtothe scene.

“You could have had SWAT teams driving in with guns out while there werekids in the area,” he said. Deery was one of the first senators to publicly oppose the mid-decade redistricting, arguing it interferes with voters’ righttohold lawmakers accountable through elections.

“The country would be an uglier placefor it,”hesaid just days after Vice President JD Vancevisited the state inAugust, thefirstof twotrips to talk with lawmakers about approving new maps.

Republican leaders in the Indiana Senatesaid in midNovember that theywould not hold avoteonthe matter because there was not enough support for it. Trump lashed out on social media, calling the senatorsweak andpathetic

“Any Republican that votes against this important redistricting, potentially having an impact on America itself, should be PRIMARIED,”he wrote

going to change because you hound us and threaten us,” Zay said. “For those who have made adecision to stand up for history and tradition, the tactics of persuasion do not embolden them to change their viewpoint.”

The White House did not respondtomessages seeking areaction to Zay’scomments.

Trumpeasily won Indiana in all his presidential campaigns, and itsleaders are unquestionably conservative. For example, the state wasthe first to restrict abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The threats againstsenators began shortly after that.

Sen. Sue Glick, aRepublican who was first elected in 2010 andpreviously served as alocal prosecutor,saidshe has never seen “this kind of rancor”inpolitics in her lifetime. She opposes redistricting, saying “it has thetaint of cheating.”

Not even the plan’ssupporters are immune to threats

Republican Sen. Andy Zay said his vehicle-leasing business was targeted with apipe bomb scareonthe same day he learnedthat he would face aprimary challenger who accusesZay of being insufficiently conservative.

Zay, whohas spent adecade in theSenate, believes the threat was related to his criticism of Trump’seffort to pressure lawmakers. But the

WhiteHousehas not heeded his suggestions to build public supportfor redistricting through amedia campaign. “Whenyou pushusaround andinto acorner,we’re not

But Indiana’spolitical culturenever became saturated withthe sensibilities of Trump’s“MakeAmerica Great Again” movement.

Some 21% of Republican voters backed Nikki Haley over Trump in last year’spresidential primary,eventhough

the formerSouth Carolina governor had already suspended her campaign two months earlier Trumpalso holds agrudge against Indiana’s Mike Pence, who served the state as acongressman andgovernor before becoming Trump’sfirst vice president. Adevoutevangelical,Pence loyally accommodated Trump’sindiscretions and scandals but refused to go along with Trump’sattempt on Jan. 6, 2021, to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’svictory “Mike Pence didn’thave thecouragetodowhatwas necessary,” Trumpposted onlineafter an angry crowd of his supporters breached the U.S. Capitol. Pence hasnot takena public stance on his home state’s redistricting effort. But the governorbeforehim, Republican Mitch Daniels,recently said it was “clearly wrong.”

GULF COAST

K-9locates planewreckageinfatal crash

Twowerekilled in training flight from N.O. airport

BY ANITALEE Sun Herald

AK-9 named Ensey located the area where the United Cajun Navy found the fuselage from aCessna 172 that plunged into Lake PontchartrainNov 24,said theorganization’s vice president, Brian Trascher of NewOrleans.

The trained cadaver dog, with handler Crystal Fields of nonprofitTeam Texas K9s, alerted a search crew to the area.

Cadaver dogscan detect human remains in the water through odorsthatfloattothe surface.

“The dog will almost try to jump in the water,”Trascher said. “That’swhere they anchoredand put the diver in.”

AUnited Cajun Navy diver reached the fuselage Nov.29, Trascher said.

The diver did not findthe remains of flight instructorTaylor Dickey,ofBiloxi, and private pilot DavidMichael Jahn, of Gulfport,inthe cockpitseats,but Trascher believes they might be further back in the fuselage.

“I’m convinced if we hadn’t hadEnsey,”Trascher said,“we wouldn’thave found thewreckage.”

The site has beenturned over to the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, which are investigating the crash. The NTSB said that asalvagecompanyarranged by the plane’s insurer will retrieve the wreckage “Once the plane is recovered, our investigators will move it to asecurefacilityfor further evaluation,” Sarah TaylorSulick, an NTSBpublic affairs specialist,said in an email. Recovery operations willre-

sume only afterrough weather clears, Michael Carastro said. Carastro’scompany, Apollo Flight Training& Aircraft Management inGulfport, owns the Cessna. Theplane went missing after departing Gulfport for a training flight to New Orleans. The NewOrleansLakefront Airport lost contact with the plane about4 milesnorth of the airport.

Sulicksaidapreliminary report thatcontains facts gathered during the initial investigation shouldbereleasedin30days.

Afinal reportthatdetailsthe probablecause of thecrash and contributing factors will take 12 to 24 months,she said The United Cajun Navy has

nowassisted the U.S.Coast Guard with several recent searches in southLouisiana, Trascher said. Ensey followed a12-year-old boy’sscent from his New Orleans home to the lagoon shore where he entered thewater AUnited Cajun Navy drone then located theboy’s body in late August after aweekslong search, NOLA.com reported. Because of the United Cajun Navy’sassets, the CoastGuard requested theorganization’sassistance in the Cessna search, Trascher said. Thefederal agency was awarethe group would continue recovery efforts after protocol required that the search be suspended.

TheUnitedCajunNavywas founded after Hurricane Katrinain2005 and grew moreactive again after the 2016 floods in and around Baton Rouge. Trascher said the organization now haschapters in 13 to 14 states, including Mississippi. The largestchaptersare in Louisiana, Texas and Florida, he said. He said theUnited Cajun Navy is transparent with government agencies, including local offices, about when andwhere they plantosearch.They submitted a search grid andplantothe Coast Guardand other agencies before Saturday’ssearch, he said. “We’re not here to fight them,” he said. “We’re here to help them.”

Mobile revisesMardi Gras rules forhorses

BY POETWOLFE Staff writer

Officials in Mobile, Alabama, on Wednesday unveiled revised policies governing theuse of horsesinparades forthe 2026 Carnival season. Under the new rules, animal control officers will evaluate horses on parade days to ensure they meet health standards before entering theroute, replacing aprevious rule that relied only on aseparate veterinary examination certificate. Horses that fail to meet the standards mayberemoved from the route at any time,the Gulf Coast city said in astatement. The revisions follow the city’sintroductionofnew rulesfor the2025 Carnival season, after avideo of ahorse collapsing and being struck while its rider remained mountedduringanopening parade went viral. Those earlier requirements included veterinary evaluations of parading horses and mandatory training for riders. Sincethen, the city hasworkedwith “veterinarians, riding groups, and community partners to refine those rules and regulations,” the announcement said. The new regulations area part of a broader shift in Carnival traditions across the Gulf Coast, where cities in recent years have stepped up enforcement of parade rules amid growing safety concerns. At the sametime,viral videos on social media have drawnattention to animalwelfare during Mardi Gras, including a2018 incident in NewOrleans in which arider was seen hitting and kicking ahorse during aparade. Similar to Mobile, New Orleans has implemented tighter regulations for paradehorses, including requiring that all participants have ahip tag showing they arevaccinatedand thatnon-participating horses remainatleast 200 yardsfromthe route.

Email Poet Wolfe at poet.wolfe@ theadvocate.com.

BY JOHN ROGERS Associated Press

LOSANGELES Frank Gehry,who designed some of themostimaginative buildings everconstructed and achieved alevel of worldwide acclaim seldom afforded any architect, has died. He was 96.

Gehry died Friday in his home in Santa Monica after abrief respiratory illness, said Meaghan Lloyd, chiefofstaffatGehry Partners LLP

Gehry’sfascination with modern pop art led to the creation of distinctive, striking buildings. Among his many masterpiecesare the Guggenheim MuseuminBilbao Spain; The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles; and Berlin’s DZ Bank Building.

Gehry wasawarded every major prize architecture has to offer, including the field’stop honor,the Pritzker Prize, for what has been described as “refreshingly original and totally American” work.

Other honors include the Royal Institute of British Architects gold medal, the Americans forthe Arts lifetime achievement award, and

hisnative country’shighest honor, the Companion of the Order of Canada.

After earning adegree in architecture from theUniversity of Southern Californiain1954 and serving in the Army,Gehry studied urbanplanning at Harvard University

But his careergot off to aslow start. He struggled for years to make ends meet, designing public housing projects,shopping centers and even driving adelivery truck fora time

Eventually, he got the chance to design amodernshopping mall overlooking the SantaMonica Pier He was determined to play it safe and cameupwith drawings for an enclosed shopping mall that looked similar to others in theUnited Statesinthe 1980s.

To celebrate itscompletion, themall’sdeveloperdropped by Gehry’shouse and was stunned by what he saw:The architect had transformed amodest 1920s-era bungalow into an inventive abode by remodeling it withchain-link fencing, exposed wood and corrugated metal.

Askedwhy he hadn’tproposed somethingsimilarfor the mall, Gehryreplied, “BecauseIhave to make aliving.”

If he really wanted to makea statement as an architect, he was told, he should drop that attitude and follow his creative vision.

Gehry would do just thatfor the rest of his life, working into his 90s to create buildingsthat doubled as stunning works of art.

As his acclaim grew,GehryPartners LLP,the architectural firm he founded in 1962, grew withit. But as big as it got, Gehry insisted on personally overseeing everyproject it took on.

Not everyonewas afan of Gehry’s work. Some naysayersdismissed it as not much more than gigantic,lopsided reincarnationsof the little scrap-wood cities he said he spent hours building when he was growing up in themining town of Timmins,Ontario.

Princeton art critic Hal Foster dismissed many of his later efforts as “oppressive,” arguing they were designed primarily tobetourist attractions. Some denounced the Disney Hall as looking like acollection

of cardboardboxes that hadbeen left out in the rain. Still other critics included Dwight D. Eisenhower’sfamily,who objected to Gehry’sbold proposal for amemorialtohonor thenation’s 34th president. Although the family saiditwanteda simple memorial and not the oneGehry had proposed,with its multiple statues and billowing metal tapestries depicting Eisenhower’slife,the architect declined to change his design significantly If the words of hiscritics an-

noyed Gehry,herarely let on. Indeed,heevensometimes played along. He appeared as himselfin a2005 episodeof“TheSimpsons” cartoon show, in whichheagreed to design aconcert hall that was later converted into aprison. He came up withthe ideafor the design, which looked alot like the Disney Hall, after crumpling Marge Simpson’sletter to him and throwing it on theground. Aftertaking alook at it, he declared, “Frank Gehry,you’ve done it again!”

“Some people think Iactually do that,” he would later tell the AP Ephraim Owen Goldberg was born in Toronto on Feb. 28,1929, and moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1947, eventually becomingaU.S. citizen.Asanadult, he changedhis name at the suggestion of his first wife, who told him antisemitism might be holding back his career

Although he had enjoyed drawing and buildingmodel cities as achild Gehry said it wasn’tuntil he was 20 that he pondered thepossibilityof pursuing acareer in architecture, after acollege ceramics teacher recognized his talent.

BY ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press

MEMPHIS,Tenn.— Steve Cropper, the lean, soulful guitaristand songwriter who helped anchor the celebrated Memphis backing band Booker T. and the M.G.’s at Stax Records and co-wrote the classics “Green Onions,” “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” and “In the Midnight Hour,” has died. He was 84. Pat Mitchell Worley, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, said Cropper’sfamily told herthat Cropperdied on Wednesday in Nashville. The foundation operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, located at the site of the former Stax Records, where Cropper worked for years. Acause of death was not immediately known. The guitarist, songwriter and record producer was not known for flashy playing, but his spare,

catchy licks and solid rhythm chopshelped defineMemphis soul music.Atatime when it was commonfor White musicians to co-opt thework of Black artists andmake more money from their songs, Cropper was that rare White artist willingtokeep alower profile and collaborate.

Cropper’sveryname was immortalized in the 1967 smash “Soul Man,” recorded by Sam &Dave. Midway,singer Sam Moore calls out “Playit, Steve!”as Cropper pulls off atight, ringing riff, aslide sound that Cropper used aZippo lighter to create. Theexchangewas reenacted in the late 1970s when Cropper joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act “The BluesBrothers” andplayed on their hit cover of “Soul Man.”

In a2020 interview with The Associated Press, Cropper discussed his career and how he mastered the art of fillinggaps withanessential lick or two.

“I listentothe other musicians and the singer,”Croppersaid. “I’m not listening to just me. Imake sure I’m sounding OK beforewe startthe session. Once we’vepresented the song, then Ilisten to the song and the way they interpret it. AndIplay around all that stuff. That’swhat Ido. That’smystyle.”

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, asked once about Cropper,said simply,“Perfect, man.”

Cropper was born near Dora, Missouri, but moved with his family to Memphis when he was 9and gothis first mail-order guitar at age 14, according to his website, playitsteve.com. ChuckBerry, Jimmy Reed and Chet Atkins were among his early influences. Cropper was aStax artist before the label was even called Stax, which Jim Stewart andEstelle Axton had founded as Satellite Records in 1957. In theearly 1960s, Satellitesigned up Cropper and his instrumental band the Royals Spades. The band soon changed its name to the Mar-Keysand had

ahit with “Last Night.”

Satellitewas later renamed Stax, where someofthe Mar-Keys became the label’shorn section while Cropper and other Mar-Keys formed Booker T. and the M.G.’s.

Featuring Cropper,keyboard playerBooker T. Jones,bassist Donald“Duck” Dunn anddrummer Al Jackson, they wereknown for their hit instrumentals “Green Onions,” “Hang‘Em High”and “TimeIsTight.”

The racially integrated band, a rarityinits day, wassoadmired thateven non-Stax artists recorded with them, notably Wilson Pickett. Jones, whoisthe only surviving member of the band, and Jackson areBlack. Dunn and Cropper are White.

“When you walkedinthe door at Stax, there wasabsolutely no color,” Cropper said in the AP interview.“We wereall there forthe same reason—toget ahit record.”

In the mid-1960s, Atlantic Records executive Jerry Wexler brought Pickett to work withthe

Stax musicians.During a2015 gathering with theNational Music Publishers Association, Cropperacknowledged he had never heardofPickett before working with him.Hefound somegospel recordings by Pickett, wastaken by the line “I’ll see my Jesus in the midnight hour” and with aslight changehelped writea secular standard.

“The man up there has been forgiving me for this ever since!” he said.

Cropper was inducted into the Rock andRollHallofFame in 1992 as amember of Booker T. andthe M.G.’s.

Rolling Stonemagazine ranked Cropper 39th on its 100 Greatest Guitaristslist,calling him “the secret ingredient in some of the greatest rock and soul songs.” Cropper was in the 1980 movie “The BluesBrothers” andits follow-up, “Blues Brothers 2000,” portraying “The Colonel” in the BluesBrothers band. In real life, he toured with them

White House creates hall of shame for news outlets

Trump administration looks to attack media reporters

BY DAVID BAUDER AP media writer

NEWYORK President Donald Trump’s White House is taking on the role of media critic and asking for help from “everyday Americans.”

The White House launched a web portal it says will spotlight bias on the part of news outlets, targeting the Boston Globe, CBS News, The Independent and The Washington Post in its first two “media offenders of the week.”

It’s the latest wrinkle in the fight against what Trump, back in his first term, labeled “fake news.”

The Republican president has taken outlets like CBS News and The Wall Street Journal to court over their coverage, is fighting The Associated Press in court over media access and has moved to dismantle government-run outlets like Voice of America.

Trump has also engaged in personal attacks, last month alone saying “quiet, piggy,” to a female reporter who was questioning him on Air Force One, calling a reporter from The New York Times “ugly, both inside and out” and publicly telling an ABC News journalist she was ”a terrible reporter.”

“It’s honestly overwhelming to keep up with it all and to constantly have to defend against this fake

news and these attacks,” said press

secretary Karoline Leavitt, who called the new web portal an attempt to hold journalists accountable.

After its debut, the White House asked for volunteers to submit their own examples of media bias. “So-called ‘journalists’ have made it impossible to identify every false or misleading story, which is why help from the American people is essential,” Trump’s press office said.

Despite the attacks, Axios wrote last week that the mainstream media is ending the year as “dominant as ever” in capturing the president’s attention and setting Washington’s agenda, citing as one example The Washington Post’s reporting on military strikes against boats with alleged drug smugglers.

The irony is that Trump engages with reporters at a level he hasn’t seen with any other president in his lifetime, said Axios CEO Jim VandeHei, co-author of the report with Mike Allen.

“He’s always bitched about the media and the press,” VandeHei told The Associated Press. “He gobbles this stuff up like hot McDonald’s french fries. He’s a mass consumer of this He watches it, he calls reporters, he takes calls from reporters. That’s always been the contradiction with him.”

CBS, the Globe and The Independent were criticized for stories about Trump’s reaction to Democratic lawmakers who recorded a video reminding military members they were not required to follow un-

lawful orders. Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition “punishable by death.”

The White House said it was a misrepresentation to say Trump had called for their executions.

The portal also said news outlets “subversively implied” that the president had issued illegal orders. The news articles they cited did not specifically say whether Trump had or had not ordered illegal activities.

Leavitt has been sharply critical of the Post’s story on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s role in attacks on boats used by alleged drug smugglers in Central America The portal last week accused the newspaper of trying to undermine antiterrorist operations.

The new portal also contains an “Offender Hall of Shame” of articles it deems unfair and a leaderboard ranking outlets with the most pieces it objects to. Twenty-three outlets are represented, led by the Post’s six stories. CBS News, The New York Times and MS NOW, the network formerly known as MSNBC, had five apiece. No news outlets that appeal to conservatives were cited for bias.

The conservative media watchdog Media Research Center which has accused news outlets of having a liberal bias since 1987, welcomes the company

“We’re pleased,” said Tim Graham, MRC’s director of media analysis “It’s a stronger effort than Republican presidents have done before. I think all Republicans realize today that the media is on the other side and need to be identified as on the other side.”

VandeHei said about the portal, “I can’t think of anything I care less about. If they want to set up a site and point out bias, great. It’s called free speech. Do it. I don’t think it makes a damned bit of difference.” What is damaging, VandeHei said, is a constant drumbeat of claims that what people read in the media is false. “It makes people suspicious of the truth and the country suffers when we’re not operating from some semblance of a common truth,” he said.

“Let’s be clear what’s happening here: the wrongful and intentional targeting of journalists by government officials for exercising a constitutionally protected right,” said the Post’s executive editor Matt Murray “The Washington Post will not be dissuaded and will continue to report rigorously and accurately in service to all of America.”

Russia, India announce expanding trade ties after talks

BY RAJESH ROY and AIJAZ HUSSAIN Associated Press

NEWDELHI Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday at an annual summit and agreed to diversify mutual economic ties, as the United States presses India to revise its decades-old partnership with Russia.

The 23rd Russia-India Summit comes at a pivotal moment as the U.S. pushes for a Ukraine peace deal while seeking global cooperation It will test New Delhi’s efforts to balance relations with Moscow and Washington as the nearly four-year war in Ukraine grinds on. Putin was received by Modi at an airport in New

Delhi on Thursday The Indian leader gave Putin a bear hug and a tight handshake with the gusto of an old friend.

After the talks, Putin and Modi announced that India and Russia have finalized an economic cooperation program until 2030, which will help diversify mutual businesses to boost annual trade to $100 billion by 2030. They also emphasized strong energy ties.

Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $68.7 billion in the last fiscal year ended March. The trade is heavily skewed in favor of Russia with deep deficits for India, which it is looking to bridge by pushing exports.

“To achieve this significant goal, a program for the de-

velopment of Russian-Indian economic cooperation until 2030 has been agreed upon,” Putin said. He said work is underway on an agreement for India to establish a freetrade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union, a Moscowdominated economic grouping of several ex-Soviet nations, adding that it could help increase trade.

“Russia is a reliable supplier of energy resources and everything necessary for the development of India’s energy sector,” Putin said. “We are ready to continue ensuring the uninterrupted supply of fuel for the rapidly growing Indian economy.”

Before the summit talks, the Russian leader said the two countries “have a very trusting relationship when it

comes to military-technical cooperation.”

Modi said after the talks that the two countries will work toward early conclusion of a free-trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union. He also announced that India will soon start issuing free electronic visas for Russian tourists and groups visiting the country

The Indian leader said

energy security has long anchored India-Russia ties, with civil nuclear cooperation spanning decades. He added that such cooperation will continue, alongside collaboration in clean energy shipbuilding, fertilizers and labor mobility

While India has historically maintained deep ties with Russia, critics say Putin’s visit could strain relations with the European Union

and the United States and might jeopardize negotiations for major trade agreements with both that are seen as critical for India’s exports.

U.S. President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50% in August, citing New Delhi’s discounted Russian oil. India has been the second biggest importer of Russian crude after China.

By The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE,N.C Police in North Carolina have charged a 33-year-old man with critically injuring another person in a stabbing on a Charlotte commuter train, just a few months after a Ukrainian refugee riding one of the city’s trains was killed in an unrelated knife attack.

Oscar Solarzano, 33, was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon and other crimes stemming from the Friday afternoon

attack in which he wielded a large knife, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said in a news release.

Police said the victim suffered a stab wound and was hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

Solarzano was being held in jail Saturday without bond. A magistrate judge said in a court filing that the suspect was in the U.S. illegally and had previously been deported. He faced a hearing Monday morning in Mecklenburg County District Court. An arrest warrant filed in a North Carolina court says So-

larzano appeared to be intoxicated and was slurring his words when he challenged the victim to a fight Online court and jail records did not list an attorney for Solarzano.

The attack comes less than four months after a 23-yearold woman from Ukraine was killed on a Charlotte commuter train in an apparently random assault captured on video. The victim, Iryna Zarutska, had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to the U.S. to escape the war, her relatives said.

METRO

NOLA.COM | Sunday, december 7, 2025 1bn

‘OLDE TOWNE WILL NEVER DIE’

Slidell’s historic district is thriving with new restaurants, businesses

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

From behind the counter of his bustling restaurant, Kevin Young spends his days feeding a legion of diners and watching over his busy corner of Slidell’s Olde Towne historic district.

A new business moving into an open spot nearby? Young’s got the scoop A couple taking a leap of faith to open their dream restaurant? Young will drag a visitor over to tell them hello and hear their story.

“You’ll love ’em,” he says. “Great

people doing a great job.”

If it’s happening in Olde Towne, Young, who along with his wife, Linda, has owned and operated KY’s Olde Towne Bicycle Shop restaurant for 33 years, can talk about it. He has been at the corner of Carey and Robert streets since May 1992, and over the years has watched the economic fortunes of the area rise and fall several times. Right now, he says, they’re on a nice rising tide.

“Today is all that counts,” he said one recent Thursday afternoon with a big grin. “And today we got our ass

kicked.”

Kicked in a good way As in, lunches were flying out of the KY kitchen to a bustling crowd. John Case, a co-owner of the LowryDunham, Case and Vivien Insurance Agency, which was founded in 1901 and operates from an office on First Street, agreed with Young that Olde Towne has been bouncing back.

“I used to drive through Olde Towne at 2 p.m., and you could shoot a rifle and not hit anything,” said Case. “Now, you can’t get a parking place.”

Slidell’s Olde Towne, which dates to the late 1800s, is the historic heart of St. Tammany Parish’s most populous city The earliest businesses in the area were shipbuilding and timber The train station arrived on Front Street in 1882, with the town taking shape soon after as businesses opened to support the railroad.

“The town just built up around the train station,” said Tiffani McManus, the Olde Towne Main Street program director She added that the train station is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Like New Orleans’ French Quarter, Olde Towne was and remains a mix of retail and residences, with a range of businesses — including popular restaurants and bars — interspersed through a neighborhood setting of brick buildings and well-preserved homes. The Olde Towne Preservation District, as the greater area is known, also includes a distinct “Cultural District” and “Main Street” that are part of state preservation programs. The district’s inclusion in the state’s Main Street program has opened new avenues for grants that help fund

ä See OLDE TOWNE, page 2B

Jefferson schools sue FEMA over hurricane repairs

District says it’s owed money from Ida damage

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

The Jefferson Parish School Board has hired a team of attorneys to pursue the Federal Emergency Management Agency for money the district says it is owed for repairs after Hurricane Ida tore through the coastal district four years ago, leaving over $400 million in damage.

The board voted unanimously Wednesday to hire three attorneys: Gretna-based Walter J. LeBlanc Jr., New Orleans-based Michael S. Sepcich and Metairie-based Peter Connick. The team will begin meeting with board members and the superintendent of schools this month to determine which reimbursement claims to pursue through litigation, board member and facilities subcommittee Chair Clay Moise said in an interview As of early December FEMA had paid out roughly $100 million to Jefferson Parish schools, or about a quarter of the total damage the district suffered, according to data provided to the board’s facilities subcommittee this week. The school system is still waiting on $5 million that the agency already agreed to pay out, while dozens of other projects remain in limbo, stalled at various stages of FEMA’s lengthy approval process.

About 700 district buildings were damaged in the 2021 storm’s 150-mile-per-hour winds and heavy rains. The destruction ranged from broken windows and roofs to more catastrophic losses, including at Fisher Middle/High School in Lafitte, which was declared uninhabitable and demolished in September to make way for a new building. About 500 Fisher students still attend classes at a temporary campus a 40-minute drive away For some projects, the amount FEMA has agreed to pay out is less than what the district determined the cost of the project to be, Moise said, adding that the team also plans to contest some of the agency’s estimates.

For example, FEMA agreed to pay the district $59 million to rebuild Fisher, Moise said, but school officials say the actual cost will likely approach $90 million.

Moise said a major factor in determining which reimbursements the attorneys will pursue is whether district officials believe they have “reached an impasse” in negotiations with FEMA.

In the meantime, the expected cost of many projects continues to grow as new inspections find additional damages, leading the board to approve multiple budget increases for some repairs.

“This is obviously a moving target with over 100 projects” still waiting on FEMA approval, Moise said.

Some remaining projects include an estimated $4.3 million in repairs at J.D. Meisler Middle School, $2.2 million in fixes to West Jefferson High School and $1.2 million for repairs at Joshua Butler Elementary

ä See FEMA, page 2B

Immigration sweeps continue as demonstrations held

Hispanic small businesses mostly without customers

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE and JAMES FINN Staff writers

Cold, rainy weather seemed to

mark a less visible day for U.S

Border Patrol agents conducting immigration sweeps throughout the metro area Saturday, while opponents of the initiative dubbed “Catahoula Crunch” held three rallies in Metairie and downtown New Orleans.

The initiative, which has already detained dozens of people according to U.S officials and immigration attorneys, is expected to continue through the weekend and beyond. Senior Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino told reporters in Kenner on Friday that his agents would be on the streets “every day.” On Saturday, Bovino and several agents were filmed in Kenner outside of a Circle K and an apartment complex in social media reports by Telemundo and other independent news outlets, though enforcement activity seemed more muted than the three days since the operation

began Wednesday At a rally at Lafayette Square Saturday afternoon, about 100 people gathered near the statue of Henry Clay before marching up Poydras Street, along Loyola Avenue and then down Canal Street, waving signs and shouting anti-ICE slogans as traffic slowed to a crawl behind them.

An hour later, a few dozen protesters gathered at an intersection in Metairie, where chants were cheered on by drivers passing by on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, with many honking their horns and raising fists out their windows in support. Later that night downtown, more than

100 gathered around the Hale Boggs Federal Building as speakers called for federal agents to leave New Orleans.

The demonstrations were modest and peaceful, though they marked the biggest day of rallying against the Border Patrol operation since it began.

In the heavily Hispanic enclaves of the metro area, such as Kenner and Mid-City New Orleans, neighborhoods have been quiet as Hispanic residents, fearful of Border Patrol attention, have stayed home. At Cafetomas coffee shop on Kenner’s Williams Boulevard Saturday morning, a light drizzle

fell in the parking lot and the dining room was empty save for a couple of customers who trickled in throughout the morning. Owner Saul Alcazar noted that sales had dropped so sharply at his Uptown location that he recently decided to close it entirely Lesly Garcia, owner of Chilangos Restaurant in Kenner, said she closed the restaurant on Friday because employees were afraid to come to work despite having legal status, she said. But on Saturday, Garcia decided to open her doors for whatever business she could eke out.

“I can’t close completely, because it’s my only source of income,” Garcia said, speaking Spanish as only two tables were occupied in her otherwise empty restaurant. “Imagine, I’m the mother of three children. I have to work.”

A mile away, demonstrators gathered at the Metairie intersection where people had posted on social media Friday night suggesting that a law enforcement vehicle may have struck and

OLDE TOWNE

Continued from page 1B

beautification and advertising efforts.

The eclectic mix of businesses and homes is one of the things that convinced the Youngs in 1991 to purchase an old bicycle shop and convert it into a restaurant.

“It was rough, but it had a real good vibe,” Kevin Young said of the old bicycle shop. “We kept the name — that was easy.”

What followed was years of long workweeks to get the eatery up and running, with a devoted customer base being built along the way.

“Hamburger, cheeseburger, chicken sandwich, French fries, omelet that was our menu,” Young says of the earliest days. As the restaurant has grown, so has its menu.

Young said Olde Towne mirrored the restaurant in those early days — rough, but with a good vibe.

“Olde Towne’s picture was declining,” he said. “People thought we were nuts. But we loved the history.”

There have been peaks and valleys over the years, Young said. And Hurricane Katrina dealt the district a huge blow in 2005, pushing several feet of floodwater into most of the businesses.

Katrina and a rebound

But in the two decades following Katrina, the area has rebounded strongly

A few doors down Carey Street from KY’s, Chad Roig opened a new restaurant in early November, Crave 985, in the building that had housed the popular Restaurant Coté for more than a decade until it closed in 2024.

“We really wanted to come to Slidell,” Roig said on a recent Friday afternoon as the restaurant’s staff worked through a busy lunch. “But Olde Towne has always been the hot spot. I didn’t think it would happen.”

But then the Carey Street property came open, and Crave 985, which got its start in Meraux 12 years ago, opened its second location in Olde Towne.

The neighborhood feel also attracted Jeremy and Natalie Meeks to the area The opened Saint August Maison, which features a plant-based menu, in a circa-1904 building on Robert Street in 2024.

“We’re the new kids on the block, but it seems like there’s a lot of interest in Olde Towne,” Jeremy Meeks said.

But while the area’s bars and taverns have long been popular, Olde Towne is also a neighborhood, said Dawn Crippin, a member of the Olde Towne Slidell Main Street organization and a longtime resident.

killed a pedestrian at an intersection.

In a statement Friday, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said that it was investigating an incident “involving a female pedestrian” who was struck by a vehicle driven by an adult male “who remained on the scene,” the Sheriff’s Office said The crash did not involve “any federal immigration authority,” the office said, without providing additional details.

Nayeli Urbina, a Metairie resident, brought her son Gianni, 6, to the protest to “show him that his voice matters.”

“What I’m explaining to him

is that our skin color is their target, but there’s nothing wrong with your skin color,” she said.

Urbina said her family has dipped into their savings as her husband has stayed home from his job in construction Her mother has skipped dialysis treatment out of fear of leaving the house

“It’s heavy in our hearts that they have to feel like they’re criminals when they’re not criminals,” said Urbina

Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@theadvocate. com.

“We’re doing a lot to beautify it,” she said “Businesses are doing more, too. And it seems like the more we do, the more people want to come here.”

Nothing like it

Economic data wasn’t immediately available, but, anecdotally at least, it appears the area’s commercial and residential real estate market is strong.

Former Mayor Greg Cromer, who moved with his wife to a house on Robert Street three years ago, said house hunting in Olde Towne can be competitive.

“When one comes up here, if you’re interested, you better get it,” Cromer said

Jessica Orillion, co-owner of the Engel & Volkers real estate agency, said the uniqueness of the neighborhood was one of the reasons the business relocated from Oak Harbor to an office on First Street near Erlanger Avenue in August.

“When I get here in the morning, I see people in golf carts, heading to Roots for coffee or other places,” Orillion said.

“You can’t get anything like it in Slidell.”

Inside her family’s crowded shoe repair shop on Carey Street, Karla Naulty and her husband, Allen, always seem to have more business than they can handle The shop opened in 1954 as

Continued from page 1B

Benny’s Shoe Service. Allen Naulty is the fourth generation to run the family business, which became Naulty’s Shoe Repair decades ago. The small shop has a battered, checkered tile floor and is crammed with racks of shoes and accessories. A mark about 5 feet up the wall near the door shows how high the water rose during Katrina.

Karla Naulty has worked there for 38 years and, like Kevin Young at KY’s, has watched Olde Towne struggle and thrive.

“How is Olde Towne doing? People want to say, ‘Olde Towne’s dead,’ ” she said with a laugh, briefly stopping a conversa-

never, ever die.”

FRIDAY, DEC. 5, 2025 PICK 3: 0-8-5 PICK 4: 3-6-9-1

NewOrleans Area Deaths

Aleman,Lori

Ashcraft,Frederick

BarbalichJr.,Robert

Bourne,Julie

Deus,Ruth

Dolmo, Fredy

Dyer,Austin

Fields,Janice

Fortune', Lloyd

Imbornone Jr., Vincent

Jackson, James

Leaman Jr., Paul

McGinity,James

Monteiro Rall, Mary

Piazza, Elena

Pond, Yvonne

PratzJr.,Earl

Rivet, Frances

Rupp, Theresa

Schriber,Craig

Schroeder, Susan

wasa loving andcaring Mom,takingcareofall of her children's needs. Lori taughther daughtersto excel andstrivefor suc‐cess. Lori lovedwatching her girlsshine andwas al‐waystheir biggest fan, a dance andcheer team Mom,and also enjoyed their academic successes, she is amajor reason that her girlshavebeenableto accomplish allthatthey have! Shealsomadeevery birthdayand holidayspe‐cial. Lori is preceded in death by herparents,Mar‐ion "Mike" Grasso andher beloved mother and"Best Friend" Geraldine"Gerry Grasso.Loriissurvivedby her beautifuldaughters, Sarah andAlyssa,her lov‐ing husband of 28 years Raymond "Ray"Aleman, Jr.,brother MichaelGrasso and sister-in-lawMonique She also leaves behind her dearin-laws,Shaun and Wendy Aleman,Jason and Mandy Aleman,Michelle and Robert Couhig, Scott and Donna Aleman anda hostofnieces, nephews, and cherishedfriends There will be visitation on Tuesday,December9,2025, from10:00 am to 12:00 noon at St.Philip Neri Church with serviceto start at noon andburialto follow. To view andsign the family guestbook pleaselog onto www schoenfh.com.

Sima,Thomas Ashcraft, Frederick 'Rick'

Smith,Linda

Tusa,Marie

White Jr., Harold

EJefferson

BarbalichJr.,Robert Pond, Yvonne

Schriber,Craig Leitz-Eagan

McGinity,James PratzJr.,Earl

Tharp Funeral Home

Gogreve, Charles NewOrleans Charbonnet

Fortune', Lloyd

DW Rhodes

Schroeder, Susan JacobSchoen

Aleman,Lori

Fields,Janice

Lake Lawn Metairie

Ashcraft,Frederick

Imbornone Jr., Vincent Leaman Jr., Paul

Piazza, Elena

White Jr., Harold St Tammany

Bagnell Son

Deus,Ruth

Grace Funeral

Tusa,Marie

Serenity FH

Smith,Linda West Bank West Leitz-Eagan

Rivet, Frances

Obituaries

Aleman,LoriGrasso

Frederick "Rick" Louis Ashcraft,74, of Belle Chasse, LA, passedaway on December2,2025, surrounded by family. He is survived by his lovingwifeof51years, Mary Ashcraft; his children, Jennifer Blair& Joshua (Lindsay) Ashcraft; his grandchildrenJason, Madison, &Aiden Blair; Hudson, &Vivian Ashcraft; his brotherGoldie (Tisha) Ashcraft; his sister Lola (Bobby) Rutherford;and many nieces and nephews. Rick leaves behind alegacy of loveand countless treasured memories. Serviceswillbeheldat Mothe FuneralHome, Marrero, LA, on Monday, December8th. Visitation: 12:00-1:30 p.m.,Service: 1:30 p.m.Inlieuofflowers, donations may be made to TheLittle Sisters of the Poor-Mobile, AL.

BarbalichJr.,Robert P. 'Bob'

Robert P. BarbalichJr. Bob” 5/4/1949 -12/2/2025

Bob Barbalich(76)passed awayonDecember2,2025 leaving behind alegacyof laughter, love andcher‐ished memories.Bornon May 4, 1949 in NewOr‐leans,Louisiana,hequickly discoveredthatlifewas morefun witha good joke ora harmless prank. If there wasa rubber snake, a whoopee cushionora perfectly timedjokewithin reach,you couldcount on him to useit. To know Bob was to laugh– sometimes withhim,sometimes at him andsometimes at yourself. Hishumor was his wayoflightingupa room,easinga hard dayor reminding us nottotake lifetoo seriously. His pranksand storieshave becomememoriesfor manytoretellfor years. He had atalentin findingthe fun in everymomentand a greater talent in sharingit withthe rest of us.Hewas a wealth of knowledgeand alwayshad agreat storyto share.Heloved New Or‐leans andcould tell you endless historystories about it.HeattendedJe‐suitHighSchool before going to LSUwhere he pledged DeltaTau Delta. Hethenfollowedhis grandfather,fatherand un‐clesintothe family busi‐nessand worked at Econ‐omy Iron Worksuntil he re‐tired.Hewas amemberof the Marine Club of New Or‐leans,loved coaching his sonsinbaseballand volun‐teeringatPAC,takingva‐cations with his family tailgatingand going to LSU and Saints games, fishing, playing golf, andmostre‐centlybecomingthe “bird man”.Beyondhis jokes,

Bobhad abig heart. He was always therewhen you needed him, listened tothose who needed him and used laughter as his way of saying “I’m here for you”. Hisfamilyand friends knew that beneath the greatjokesterwas a man who lovedhis family and friendsdeeply and lived fully. He is survived byhis 3children; Lindsey Sumich(Jonathan), An‐drewBarbalich (Lauren), and Stuart Barbalich (Brooke).The 9mostpre‐cious grandchildrentohim thatcalledhim Paw-Paw; HaileySumich, Lexi Sumich, Mollie Sumich, Matthew Sumich,Lucas Barbalich,Josephine (Josie) Barbalich, Wyatt Barbalich,Cooper Bar‐balichand Callie Barbalich. His 2sisters;Karen Smith (James) andSusan Wie‐gand. Hisformerwifeof33 years;Cynthia EngelBar‐balich, andnumerous niecesand nephews. He was preceded in deathby his parentsRobertP.Bar‐balichand DaisyBouysou Barbalich.His celebration ofhis life andyes,his jokes willbeheldonFriday, De‐cember12, 2025 at Garden ofMemoriesFuneralHome and Cemetery in Metairie, LA. Visitation will be 9:00 am-11:00 am with theser‐vicebeginning at 11:00.In lieuof flowerspleasedo‐nateinmemoryofBob to yourlocal church or to Je‐suitHighSchool.Though the worldisquieter with‐out hislaughterand jokes, weare grateful forthe joy and love he broughttoour lives.Weare sure he’s al‐ready making heaven laugh andsmiling down watchinghis familycarry onhis legacy

Our darling Julie Ann Bourne,age 62, transitionedonWednesday, November 19, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Born and raised in NewOrleans, Julie was aloving mother daughter, sister, aunt, grandmother,and greatgrandmother -whose kindness and radiant spirit touched all who knew her. Julie is survivedbyher mother, Enola Winfield;her children, ChristopherL Robertson,Thomas A. Robertson,and DenetraA Robertson;her brother, GregoryBourne; her sisters, Julie Bourne,Tammy M. Bourne,Demetrice A. Bourne,and Dawn R. Serrano;her grandchildren,Chrishell Robertson, Carnell Parker, Khrishea Nicholas, Christopher"CJ" Robertson,Jr.,Khamari Robertson;and greatgrandchild,Talai Watson. She is also survivedbya host of very beloved, nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. She is preceded in deathbyher father, Herman L. Bourne; her cherished sonJessieT "Moonie" Robertson, her nephew, Kendrick T. Quinn; her sisters,Charlene Johnson, and Denise Gills; alongwith other treasured ancestorswho transitioned before her In accordance with Julie's wishes, and the family's decision, Julie will be cremated.There willbe no formal funeral service or repass. Acelebration of her life will be held at alater date forfamily and friends to gatherand celebrateher life.Julie is profoundly missed and will foreverberemembered for her warmth, smiles, and unwavering devotionto her family.Her spirit continues to dance through thememories she leaves behind

his wife, Julia; Dr. Frank Deus and his wife, Nancy; KarinDeNisco and her husband, Scott;and Pamela Noya and her husband, Kirk. She also leaves behind eight grandchildren—Jennifer Deus Delp,Austin Deus, Jackson Deus, Harrison Deus,Scott Hamilton, JamieHamilton,Shelby White, and Grant White—and twogreatgrandchildren, Xander Delp and Asher Hamilton. She is also survivedbyher sister, Marion Martin Segger, alongwithmany nieces and nephews. Ruthwas preceded in death by her husband, Frank Nils Siso Deus,Sr.,of NewYork City; her parents, VirginiaLanierMartin of Donaldsonville and William Littlejohn Martinof Napoleonville, Louisiana; and her sister, Virginia Carmouche GayleofLake Charles. Ruthattended ThibodauxHighSchool, graduatingasCo-valedictorian in 1941. She began her studies at Louisiana StateUniversity before entering nurses' training at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. She graduated as aregistered nurse and ValedictorianinMarch 1946. Ruthworked as Assistant Head Nurseat Touro and was amember of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church until agetwenty-two, when she joinedthe U.S. Navy. Her naval career spanned eight years, from August 1947 to November 1955, when she retired as a FullLieutenanttomarry. Her service included duty stations at Long Beach Naval Hospital;Family HospitalinCoronado, CANASNorth Island;Mare Island; and theU.S.Naval HospitalShipBenevolence, of which she was asurvivorwhen it sank in San Francisco Bay on August 25, 1950. She also served at theU.S.Naval Hospitals in Pensacola, Florida, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and at the NASPatuxent RiverBase HospitalinMaryland While stationed in Maryland, Ruthmet her future husband,Frank, a Navy airman and ballroom dance instructor,ata local dance school. They shared fifty-two years of loving marriage until his passing in September 2007. Ruth enjoyed afull and joyful life raising their four children in Lafayette, Louisiana, where she also volunteeredatUniversity Medical Center. She wasa dedicatedmember of Grace Presbyterian Church where she taught Sunday and Bible School. After Frank's death, she moved to Mandeville in 2008 to be closer to family and was a member of NewCovenant Presbyterian Church. Ruth's life was defined by faith,service,and joy—qualities she carried throughout her hundred years. She was an avid family historian with extensive knowledge and belovedstoriesofher ancestors. She lovedtraveling,especiallythrough the American Westinher convertible during her Navy years, and she treasured several trips abroad with her husband and daughters. Ruthloved spending summer weeks with her sisters, Gin and Minnieespecially in Steamboat, Colorado,where they played games, and at Jamaica Beach in Galveston, Texas,where they floated on inner tubes, laughing and screaming with each breaking wave. She also enjoyed birdwatching,possessed akeen knowledge of constellations, and lovedplaying games, particularly bridge, backgam-

mon, and cribbage. Mrs. Deus wasa charter member of TheWomen's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery,dedicated to Women in Military Service forAmerica. In 2020, the NavyNurse Corps Oral History Program Committee honored herby namingaservice puppy through theWarrior CanineConnectionin Boyds, Maryland—a yellow lab calledRue,after Ruth's childhood nickname.Rue nowservesasa Military FamilySupport Dog. Amemorial service will be held at NewCovenant Presbyterian Church in Mandeville,Louisiana, on adatetobedetermined.

Kayson Cormier, Kayse Cormier andAvery Booker Alsosurvivedbya host of nieces, nephews, otherrel‐ativesand friends. Rela‐tives andfriends of the familyare invitedtoattend a FuneralMassatJacob Schoen& SonFuneral Home, 3827 CanalSt.,New Orleans LA 70119 on Satur‐day,December13, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with visitation beginning at 10:00 a.m. In‐terment will be private. To viewand sign theguest book,pleasevisit www schoenfh.com.

Gogreve, Charles Fortune', LloydJoseph

Dolmo, Fredy With deep sorrow,we announce thepassing of ourbeloved Fredy Dolmo, at theage of 53, on August 31, 2025, in La Ceiba, Honduras.

Fredy was born in La Ceiba, Honduras. He was known for his many virtues:kind, hardworking, andabove all,devoted to hisfamily. He leaves an indelible mark on all who hadthe privilegeofknowinghim. He always hada smileonhis faceand was always joking withhis friends.

He is fondlyrememberedbyhis wife, Naiky Ramos; hismother Francisca Dolmo; andhis siblings: Thelma Dolmo RaquelDolmo,Nelda Dolmo, ZaidaDolmo, and RaúlDolmo

The funeral washeld in La Ceiba, Honduras, on September 3, 2025.

Rest in peace, you will live eternally in ourhearts.

Austin Tyrone "A.D." Dyer passedaway on November 20, 2025, in Marrero,Louisiana, at the ageof56. He is rememberedbyhis son, Lee; his mother, Elaine;and brother,Everett (Carla); godchildren,Quinton andArlene. AMemorialMass will be held December 12 at St Joseph theWorker Catholic Church

Janice J. Fields entered intoeternal rest on Tues‐day,November25, 2025 in Decatur,GAatthe ageof 76. Shewas born and raisedinNew Orleans, LA Beloved daughter of the lateEarland LeonaJones LovingmothertoRichard Louis Fields (Natalie), Wanda MarieFields, and TroyMaurice Fields.Sister ofMillieJones,RoseJack‐son,the late Cleatter Landry, andthe late Ed‐winaJones.Grandmother ofSydneyFields, Kylie Lewis,TaylorFieldsBooker (Travis), andJordanFields; greatgrandchildren

LloydJosephFortune', a lifelongmechanicknown for hissteadyhands and steadfastheart,entered eternal rest on Thursday, November27, 2025 at the age of 75. Sonofthe late LawrenceB Sr.and Eva Mae WillsFortune'. Beloved husbandofDebo‐rah AnnFortune'. Devoted fatherofAprileJudeFor‐tune'. Cherishedgrandfa‐therofJacob Ryland Parker. BrotherofLucien (Phyllis) Fortune', Leroy (Sybil) Fortune', Lucious (Carolyn) Fortune', Lenette Fortune', Lydia(Keith) Hitchens, Judy (Fred) Hol‐loway,Claudette (Herman) Martin, Annette (Oyd) Craddock andthe late LawrenceB.Fortune'Jr. Alsosurvivedbya host of nieces, nephews, extended relatives andmanylifelong friends.Staff andEmploy‐ees of Smuckers,SaraLee, BunnyBread andOwensIllinois;AlumniofJosephS Clark High School andJef‐fersonParishPublic Schoolsare invitedtoat‐tendthe funeral. ACele‐bration servicehonoring the life andlegacyofthe lateLloyd Joseph Fortune' willbeheldinthe Chapel ofCharbonnetLabat Glapion FuneralHome, 1615 St.PhilipStreet,New Orleans,LA70116 on Mon‐day,December8,2025 at 11 am, Pastor Mark Sandifer Officiating. Visitation 10 aminthe chapel.Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504)581-4411.

4B ✦ Sunday, December7,2025

cessful general construction company. He honed his trade while living in Miami for several years. With avery loyal group of employees, Chuck garnered agreat reputation as ageneral contractor once he moved to New Orleans.

Chuck was always an excellent golfer, receiving several trophies as an amateur. As amember of Metairie Country Club for many years, he could often be seen ripping drives down the fairway while playing with his good buddies, brothers or his dad.

Chuck was also an avid fisherman. Familyand friends loved going out to BretonSound with him because they knew they would return home with a full ice chest of speckled trout!

Chuck eventuallyretired to Oak Harbor in Slidell and was able to continuethe hobbies he loved.

Chuck is survived by four siblings: Barbara McCurdy (Annette), Bart Gogreve(Joan), Jay Gogreve (Sharon) and John Gogreve (Giovanna). Chuck is alsosurvived by 11 nieces and nephews and also11greatnieces and nephews

Chuck was preceded in death by his parents Charles and Jewel Gogreve, two siblings Donald J. Gogreve and Ann Gogreve Elks and his nephew Scott Gogreve.

There will be acelebration of Chuck's life in the very near future. If you would like details of this event, please reach out to his brother Jay at (504) 231 -0050. Arrangements entrusted to Tharp Funeral Home. Expressionsoflove and sympathy may be placed and viewed at www.tharpcares.com.

Jr., Vincent Joseph

Vincent Joseph Imbornone Jr., age 84, passed away in Bay St Louis, Mississippi on Tuesday, November 25th, 2025. Vincent was preceded in death by his parents, Vincent J. Imbornone Sr. and Thelma Long Imbornone; and his beloved wife of 62 years, Barbara Ann Cook Imbornone. He is survived his daughter, Christine Imbornone Stouder (Kevin); his son, Victor Raymond Imbornone (Lori); his five grandchildren, Abigail Buchholz (Matthew), Devin Culley (Shelby), Shelby Adourian (Nicholi), Margaret Imbornone, and Victoria Imbornone; his nine greatgrandchildren, Natalie, Melanie, Valerie, Paisley, Mason, Kinsley, Brooks, Bentley, and Korbin; and numerous nieces and nephews. Vincent was born in New Orleans on November 22, 1941. He is a graduate of Jesuit High School and Loyola University earning aBBA in accounting and aMBA in business administration. He enjoyed along career as aCPA working as chief of exam for the IRS as well as in private practice. He was aretired US Army Veteran achieving rank of Colonel. Vincent was a parishioner of St. Rose de Lima church in Bay St. Louis and was active with St. Vincent de Paul on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for many years. He was also active in the Coastal Conservation Association and the Bay Waveland Yacht Club over the years while living on the gulf coast. He was aloving father, grandfather, and great grandfather and will be dearly missed. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass in the chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans, on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 12:00PM. Avisitation will be held at the funeral home beginningat 10:00AM. The interment will followthe Mass at Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Vincent's memory to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, www.svdpneworleans.org. To view and sign the online guest book, please visit

JamesBrelan Jackson, 41, of New Orleans, Louisiana, passed away on November29, 2025, after a courageous battlewith esophageal cancer.

He is preceded in death byhis mother, Laura Elizabeth Moss; his father, Brelan Bruce Jackson; and his aunt,Sarah Lynn Moss.

He issurvived by his partnerJoshua Hunter; his sister Elizabeth Rae Jackson; his grandparents Rebecca and JamesMoss; his auntsPaula Moss, Shawn Rosenmoss, and Tricia Moss; his uncle Andy Antippas; his cousins Sophia and Naomi Rosenmoss;along with extended family and friends across the country andthe world.

Born in Corpus Christi and raised in Austin, Brelan was alight from the very beginning —joyful, bright, compassionate, and deeply funny.After an incrediblecareerinAustin, he moved to NewOrleans, where he spent the past tenyears embracinga life filled with community, advocacy, celebration,and service.Brelanspent an enormous amount of time with his family, particularly his belovedmother, Laura,enjoying whatthey both loved most -cooking, singing and dancing in the kitchen.

Brelan pursued his greatest dream with determination: aviation.Asa flight attendant, charter lead, and aviation student, he studied tirelessly, and began soloflights!

If you ask ahundred people who Brelan Jackson was,you'llget ahundred different stories —but everystory starts the same way:

"He litupthe room. "He made me feel loved."

"He was one of akind." He didn'tjustbringlight He was light.

Brelan's legacy is one of love,joy, advocacy, and connection. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to esophagealcancer organizationshttps://w ww.ecan.org/ or local LGBTQ+ agencies in his honor.https://www.cresce ntcare.org/

Leaman Jr.,PaulJ.

www.lakelawnmetairie.co m Concepts,bythe late 1990'sthe largestX-ray supplydealerinthe state. Mr. Leaman's businesses employed dozens of wonderful people and he never missed apayroll. The historic French Quarter buildingsherenovated forhis businesses remainlasting contributions to thecity. In addition to allofthis, Mr. Leaman was adedicated fund-raiser formany non-profitcauses in the city. He gotinto this work in 1980, when he headed theAnnual Appealfor Metairie Park Country Day School. He subsequently served as theschool's Treasurerand Board Chairman, and co-headed thesuccessfulfundraising effortfor an expansion campaign. He remained a trustee of theschoolfor over tenyears and continued his support forthe schoollongafter that. In theearly1980's, Mr. Leaman helpedorganize the"Fellows" of theNew Orleans Museum of Artto raise fundsfor the Museum on acontinuing basis. He was elected to theMuseumBoard and coheaded theMuseum's 1988 expansion campaign. He served as BoardChairman from 1994 to 1996, and continued to serveonthe Museum's Boardof Trustees forovertwenty years. In thelate 1990's, he organized and headed the successfulfund-raising campaigntobuild the Museum's Sculpture Garden. After Katrina, Mr. Leaman organized and chaired the NOMA Katrina Recovery Committee,as well as an international committee to assist in the post-Katrina recovery effort. Mr. Leaman also served on theboardsof theContemporaryArts Center, WRBH (Reading Radiofor the Blind &Print Impaired), theOzanam Inn, and theMetropolitan Crime Commission, helping each raise fundsfor special projectsand eliminate debt. He also created the Leaman Family Fund at Children's Hospital to support families in needoffinancial support whiletheir childrenreceive care. He considered donations to this fund to be thebest giftshecouldeverreceive Mr. Leaman lovedto travel and was always interested in learning about otherpartsofthe world. He never hesitated to acknowledge whensomething was done better somewhere else, or by someone else, and always hoped to be measured against thebest,where ever that might be.Heispreceded in death by his parents, Paul J. Leaman and VirginiaM.Leaman, and hisformerwife,Ellen C. Merrill.Heissurvivedby his daughter, Claire M. Leaman; hissons, George R. Leamanand Dana E. Leaman; hisbrother Robert M. Leaman and his family; and hisgrandchildren,Nathaniel and Ainsley Leaman; and many loving friends. Mr. Leaman is also survivedbyhis cherished colleague, Mrs. Marie Scallan, who helped him run his businesses for over 62 years. The family wouldliketogivespecial thankstoJoyce Robertson and Mario Portillofor helping Mr. Leaman enjoy life in his own home to the very end.A celebrationof Mr. Leaman's life will be held in January. To view and sign theonline guest book, please visit LakeLawnMetairie.com. In lieu of flowers,donations may be madetothe Leaman Family Fund at Children's Hospital

Meghan; his sisters,Janie Rose and CynthiaHare (Bill) and many nieces and nephews whomheloved with his whole heart. Family was not just part of Jimmy's world -wewere hiswholeworld

Jimmy proudly served in theUnitedStates Navy dedicating his early years to theserviceofour country. He was abeautiful man of many talents and endless charm. He loved to cook, entertain, laugh and wander through antiqueshopssearching for that special treasure.

He enjoyed days when he was out fishing, firing up thebarbecue or entertaining in thebackyard by hisswimming pool- always filled with musicand surrounded by thepeople he lovedmost.Countless birthdays, holidays, and gatherings were celebrated there, creating memories his family and friends willforever cherish. Piper and Shelby, his constant companions and faithful pups, were never far from hisside.Jimmy also enjoyed riding his Harley,especially taking long runs down RiverRoad.

Jimmy's musical talents were unmatched. As the lead singerand guitarist for numerous NewOrleans bands -including Stitch, Nightshift,Obsession, Home Boys, The Accused, Blind Ambition, The Blues Bangers, PigPen and the Porkchops,Mystery Fish, and theFabulous Von Zippers -hesang and played with adepth of true heart and feeling that left a lasting impression on everyonewho heard him. Musicwas in Jimmy's soul -hewrote and performed many of his original songs throughout his years on stage. Jimmy was absolutelya talented,well-respectedand professional musician who was admired by so many -he shared thestage withnumerous well-known artists; however, his passionwas playing with his friends -his bandmates.

Known for his senseof humor, Jimmy's stories and jokes couldfillany room withlaughter -healways laughedthe loudest and that wouldmakeus laugha lotlonger. His love of life was contagious, his spirit unforgettable. We havelosta very special man; abeautiful man whose presence brightenedthe world. Jimmy's light livesoninevery story he told,every song he sang forusand every heart he touched.Anyone fortunate enoughtohaveknown Jimmy willcarry hismemoryforever Always loved. Forever missed. Held foreverin our hearts. Words of Remembrance willbegin at 11:30 am followedbya Funeral Mass on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at Leitz-Eagan Funeral Home,4747 Veterans Memorial Blvd. in Metairie.Visitation willbeginat9:00 am. Interment willbeinGreenwood Cemetery.

The family invitesyou to share your thoughts,fond memories,and condolences online at www.leitz eaganfuneralhome.com.

July 1, 1936- November 21, 2025. He was 89 years old. Mr. Leaman was born and raisedinNew Orleans, anditwas alwayshis home.Hegraduated from Newman School,attended Tulane University, and started his work lifeinthe insurance business at age 19. He workedfor his father's company, Leaman & Reynolds, for10years, then started his own insurance business, Leaman & Company,in1966.He servedcustomersall over Louisiana and beyond, and reachedthe top of the insurance profession as a Name memberofLloyds of London.While running this business, with great people to whom he was always loyal, Mr. Leaman also acquired and grew New Orleans Silversmiths, a French Quarter business that he ranfor 55 years. He expanded its salestoinclude English antique silver, jewelry,and collectors' items from allover the world. His shop also did repairsincluding silver plating, which ledtosilver recovery including from scrap X-rayfilm.Thisled to more investment insilver recovery, and from this he establisheda fullX-ray supply business,New Orleans X-Ray. Thisbusiness grew into Diagnostic

James Frank McGinity, lovinglyknown as "Jimmy Dagger",passedaway on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. He was born in New Orleans and raised in the Irish Channel before making his home in Metairie Proud of his rootsand surrounded by aclose-knit family,helived alifefullof laughter, love,music, and unforgettablestories.

Jimmy was preceded in death by his parents, James T. and Rose Laurie McGinity;his daughter, Michelleand his son, James P. "Lil'Jimmy".He is survivedbyhis loving wife, Melinda Mueller; his daughters, Colleen and

leavesa legacyinthe lives andworkofthose she mentored. Gloria was notonly an art educator butalso an accomplished painter in theWashington,D.C. art community. Gloria's work wasinfluencedbyMark Rothko and by the Washington Color Circle Herdynamic andevocative paintingswereregularly exhibitedfor thepublic. Shewas also invited to exhibit internationally, including in Lithuania, and invited to judge various art showsthroughoutthe Washington, D.C, area. Gloria wasa founding member of Gallery10in DupontCirclein Washington. Amajor retrospective exhibition,GloriaMonteiro Rall: ARetrospective (Nov. 2015-Jan. 2016, Open Gallery, SilverSpring, MD), surveyedGloria's work from 1955 to 2000. Theexhibition highlightedher exploration of light andcolor andnoted herstrongconnections to the Washington Color School. Herpainting Overlapping wasfeatured as thecover art for Pathways of Addiction: Opportunities in Drug Abuse Research (1996). Gloria had adeep love fortheater anddramatic readings, startingincollege whereshe performed in many plays and radio theaterproductions.Inher retirement years, shefrequently participated in play readingsatthe Washington D.C, Cosmos Club, whereshe wasanactive member. In addition, Gloria wasanavidtraveler,aswell as alover of books, games, excellent food, wine,and conversation Gloria waspredeceased by herbeloved husband, Dr.David Platt Rall, former Director of theNational Institute of Environmental HealthSciences(19711990), as well as by her parents andher siblings, John D. Monteiro and Charles S. Monteiro of Houma,LA, LuciaAdele Taxdal of WinterHaven, FL and AnnaDoraBrans of NewOrleans,LA. She is survived by herstepdaughterCatharyn Rall Ertel of Siegsdorf, Germany and hertwo daughters, her step-son Jonathan Rallof Lake Forest, California, her first cousins, Adele (Pie) Aikenand Charles Cobb, andnumerous second and removed cousins. Gloria hadnochildren of herown butremained interested and involvedinthe lives of her22nieces andnephews andtheir children. Gloria willbegreatly missed. Shewill be rememberedmost for her deep love of family, her passion for thearts, her unwaveringcommitment to inspiringfuture generationsofartists, and the wonderfuldinnerparties shepreparedfor theenjoymentoffamilyand friends. Amemorial service will be held at 10am at Joseph Gawler's Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington, DC on December 14th, 2025, followedbya reception Intermentinher native NewOrleans,LA, will followata later date.

Mary Gloria Monteiro Rall,aWashington, D.C. artist and educator, passed away on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at the ageof95. She was bornon December 17, 1929, in New Orleans, Louisiana, the second of five children of Captain (USCG) Charles R. Monteiroand Victoria ElizabethSalles.Gloria was alongtime resident of Washington, D.C where she enjoyed distinguished careers in both thearts and education,retiring as DeanofArtsand Humanities at theTakoma Park campus of Montgomery College. After graduating from SacredHeart Academy in NewOrleans, Gloriapursued formal studiesinart at Southwest Louisiana Instituteand laterat Columbia Universityin NewYork City, where she earnedher Master of Fine Arts. She beganher career as an educatorin Montgomery County, Maryland. Her career, which ultimately culminated in her deanship at Montgomery College, spanned 23 years, from 1963 to 1986. During this time she inspiredgenerations of studentstodevelop their artistic gifts, and her devotiontoteaching

9:00 am to 10:00

Elena"Helen" Tescione Piazza passedawayon November 28, 2025 at the age of 98. Born in Sala Caserta, Italy, she is survivedbya brother, Donato anda sister Anna; she also hadanother twobrothers, Domenico and Antonio(deceased). Sheworkedasan interpreter for theUSArmy duringWWII, whichishow she met herbeloved husband, Joseph Piazza, Sr whopreceded herindeath. Elenawas mother to Joseph Piazza, Jr., Robert D. Piazza (deceased), BonnieP.Drewes, and Maria P. Le Bouef, as well as theirspouses. She also had9 grandchildren: she wasNonna to Jessica, Jennifer,Jeanne, Robert "Bubba" (deceased), Jacob,Hope, Kate, Angela, andAmanda, as well as numerousgreat-grandchildren andeven several great-great-grandchildren Shewas knownas"Mrs. Helen" to countlessstudentsatResurrectionof OurLord, St.Dominic,and NOCCA schools. Familyand friends are invited to attend visitation at Lake LawnMetairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd.onWednesday December 17th 2025 from

Yvonne MarieRiviere Pond, anativeofNew Or‐leans andlongtimeresi‐dentofMetairie, passed awayonDecember2,2025 BornonAugust20, 1937, she wasthe daughter of EvelynCourtneyRiviere and Joseph Riviere, andthe sisterofJosephPaul, Wayne John, andGailAnn, who preceded herindeath She marriedPreston RichardsonPondthe love ofher life on July 2, 1955, and together they shared a lifeofdevotion, adventure, and deep commitment.She was predeceasedbyher infantdaughter, DixieAnn, aswellasher parentsand sister. Yvonne is survived byher husband,Preston; her daughtersPenny (Dou‐glas),Peggy,and Patty Jo; and by DavidMichael Pond, whomshe consid‐ereda son. Raised in the Carrolltonarea, Yvonne at‐tendedIncarnate Word GrammarSchool andthe Academy of theHolyAn‐gels. Sheearnedbotha Bachelor’sand Master’s Degreeand became aCer‐tified Professional Contract Manager.She spentmany years workingonthe space program as aSub‐contractManager forLock‐heed Martin andlater taughtFederal Acquisition Regulations as an Adjunct Professor forthe Florida InstituteofTechnology.A devoted wife,mother, grandmother,and woman ofstrongfaith,Yvonne lived with purpose, re‐silience, andcompassion. Asa proudmilitarywife, she supportedPreston through decadesofnaval service,maintaining homes across thecountry and raisingtheir daughters withgrace andhumor.She believedinadventure cherished familyexperi‐ences,and passeddown wisdomthatshapedgen‐erations. Herfaith in Jesus Christwas thefoundation ofher life,and shefound peace knowingher Savior had prepared aplace for her.She guided andloved her familyunconditionally, standingbehindthemwith strengthand encourage‐ment. Youtaughtustobe strong, kind,and steadfast inour values.Thoughwe achewithloss, we take comfort in knowingyou are withyourSavior. We will honor youbycaringfor Dad,lovingone another fiercely,and carrying for‐wardyourlegacy. Relatives and friendsare invitedto attendthe FuneralServices atGardenofMemoriesFu‐neral Home &Cemetery, 4900 AirlineDrive Metairie, LA70001 on Saturday,De‐cember13, 2025. Visitation willbegin at 10:00 am with Massstartingat12:00 noon followed by burial.To order flowersoroffer con‐dolences, please visit www.gardenofmemorie smetairie.com.

Earl H. Pratz Jr aresident of Metairie, age 76, died suddenly November 18, 2025 at East Jefferson Hospital after abrief illness. At hisbedsidewerehis loving companion, Barbara Laughlin anddear friend, Anne Gibson. Earl was born in Woodbury,New Jersey on May14, 1949. He wasthe only childofthe lateMary Elizabeth and Earl H. Pratz Sr.Inaddition to Barbara he is survived by hisdaughter, Kimberly Pratz Necaise,three grandchildren, Blayne,Madalynn andDylin Necaise,great grandson, Kaylen and manyFriends. Earl retiredafter along andsuccessful career as a chemist in the Aerospace Industry. Amonghis numerousawardswas the commendation from NASA

for his contribution to the development and flight certification of the Super Lightweight Tank which first flew on STS_91 June2, 1998, on STS_95 October 29, 1998and on the inaugural flight of the International Space Station STS_88 on December 4,1998.

Agraduate of LA State University in Ruston, Earl was achemist to the core. One of his greatest pleasures was finding fellow scientists with whom he could "talk science". Tall, at almost 6'3" and 230 lbs with adeep voice, he was astriking figurein any setting. Added to that was adynamic, outgoing, personality who enjoyed meeting and learning from others.

Earl was funny, engaging and very intelligent.He had an inquisitivemind and was an avid learner he was fascinated by how things work whether that was heavy equipment or the US political process. As an active citizen he kept well informed ,wrote letters to Congressmen, participated in pro constitution rallies, visited ICE facilities and submitted newspaper opinion pieces. On Facebook he fiercely argued against disinformation and for science based solutions to solve our country's pressing problems. He and Barbara shared common interests in lifelong learning,travel and the warm and stimulating friendships those activities provided. He was fascinated by Florence ,Italy,in particular, for its rich trove of Renaissance art and Classic Greek and Roman sculpture. He also was also struck by the natural beauty and multicultural heritage of the American Southwest. He and Barbara also enjoyed co-hosting the NOLA History Reading Group and The Transformation Carnival Krewe Brunch.

Earl was amember of NOSHA and amarching member of Jeanne D'Arc He loved to cook and taughtanadult learning food chemistry class, having first put his chemistry knowledgetouse in the food industry Earl willbemissed by many. Please post your photos and memories on www.leit zeaganfuneralhome.com

In lieu of flowers, help Earl support "Union of Concerned Scientists" (ucs.org/disinfo25).

ACelebration of Life will be held in the New Year

Rivet, FrancesGullung

On November 4th, 2025 Frances Gullung Rivet passed awayinher home in Marrero, LA, surrounded by the comforting presence of her family. If you measure life in time, she died at 99 years and4 months, just short of her goal of 100. But if you measure lifeinmoments, she lived well beyond that. And, if you factor in the moments she left behind with those she loved, in a way, she'll continue to live for generations. Frances was born on July 1st, 1926 in New Orleans, LA. Growing up during the Great Depression, her familyof 13 didn't have much, but they didn't need it. They thrived on the wealth of life itself, enjoying the company of each other and those around them. As astudent, she attended Francis T. NichollsHigh School, now FrederickA Douglass High School Afterschool, she began work at LA Frey and Sons Meat Packing. In 1948, despite some parental reluctance, Frances married her beloved, Edmond Anthony Rivet. Then in 1963, they

moved to Marrero, LA, residing in asmall, charming home on Stella Place wherethey'd spend the rest of their lives. Although theyremained in the same residence for over 60 years, Frances and Edmond were farfrom home bound during those years. Most of theirsummers were spent livingthe goodlifeattheircamp in Grand Isle,Frances keeping facessmiling with her wit and bellies fullwith barbecued shrimp or fish couvillion. From windy boat parades with runawaydecorations to the splits in Destin after daiquiriswith some miscalculated pours, Frances squeezedall she could out of life's moments. And, if she wasn't playing cards with her sistersand friends or "makinggroceries" at Sam'sordoing her daily crossword,you could'veprobablyfound Francesata slotmachine at Boomtown, seatedright nexttoEdmond while he rubbed the glass for good luck. Evenafter they could no longer drive—a blessing forall motorists—they'd coax their children into being late night chauffeurs to the casino. As time marchedon, Francesand Edmond grew older, but their spirits remained vibrant and bountiful.Like the entirety of their lives, they madedo with whatthey had.As Edmond losthis sight, Franceswas his eyes. As she losther hearing, he was her ears. Together, they wereable to share their love and wisdom with their grandkids and ultimately their great-grandkids, evenintheir old age. Whetheritwas simply awaiting family whilethey rockedontheir front porch or gazing quietlyatthe stars as they comforted a great-grandbaby, Frances and Edmond were their family's rock—a singular unwavering unitthatremained ever-present and ever-giving as generations passed through. Though Edmond dieda little over four yearsago their unitynever ceased, and through Frances, they both lived. Yet, after 99 abundantyears, they gave allthey could and left a legacy of compassion, joy, and peace that lives on in those they touched. Now, Franceswillbequietly placed to rest with her husband of 73 years. Their bond no longerbound by time but instead bound by an unassuming box made by their favoriteson in law usingthe woodfromtheir cypresscistern in Grand Isle.Their livesagain not defined bymaterial possessions but by the moments they shared with each otherand those they loved. After all, they don't need anythingelse—they never did. Theyhaveeach other,intheir eternalmoment Franceswas the mother of three: KarenR Champagne (Byron), Edward Rivet(Jean),and StevenRivet (Karen); grandmotherofseven: ShawnC.Klein(Sean), StevenRivet Jr.(Cara), Byron ChampagneJr. (Shelly), RussellRivet (Michael),ChadRivet (Brandi), Deven Trosclair and the late Jason Rivet; great-grandmother of nine: Steven Rivet III, Evelyn Klein,BenjaminKlein, Jaylen Rivet, LexiRivet, Reese Rivet, Amelia Klein, Hunter Champagne,and Shelby Champagne; and great-great-grandmother of Jaslynn Gray Franceswas the daughter of the late Joseph Frank Gullung Sr. and the late Julia Meyers Gullung.She was the sister of 10 late siblings: Caroline Textor (Elmer),JosephGullung Jr. (Momas), Marguerite Hoffman(Joseph), Shirley Cavalier (Charles), Joycelyn Hosch (Harold), Harold Gullung (Marie), Nettie James (Elwin), ClarenceGullung, Beverly Appel, and Anthony Gullung. Our family wouldlike to thankPassages Hospice, including Anthony, Starr, andKisha fortheircare. We also extend our deepest gratitude to Skippy and Ada Blanchard, Frances

and Edmond's neighbors who cared for them as if they were family.Finally, we are sincerely grateful forFrances'ssitters, Kathy and Felicia, who helped make it possible for Frances to finishher life in her home of 62 years

Rupp, TheresaAnn

With profound sadness, we announce thepeaceful passing of TheresaAnn Rupp, a belovedmother, grandmother, sister, and friend, who left us on November 30, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.BorninNew Orleans to Claire Forester and Wilton Gasper Moss, Theresawas known for her compassion, quick wit, and unwavering devotion to her family

An avid cook, passionategardener, and bird enthusiast,Theresa's warmth and humor touched everyone she met.She believed in treating everyperson withkindness and respect, teaching her family,byexample to see thegoodin others and to help without hesitation.

Theresaissurvived by her loving children, Eric Rupp(StaceyRupp) and MichelleRando (Ray Rando), and her cherished grandchildren, Jessica Kingston, HaleyRupp, and RayKingston. She also leavesbehindher devoted sisters and brother-in-law: PatriciaWilson, Catherine Cangiamilla and Linda LeBlanc(JamesLeBlanc)

She wasprecededin death by her parents, her brotherLouis Moss, her sisters PaulaMoss, ElizabethPfister and her belovedhusband JosephJ RuppIII,withwhom she shared 54 years of marriagefilledwithlove and laughter.

Theresa's legacy of love, laughter, and compassion willliveoninall who knew her.

Relatives and friends are invitedtoattend a Memorial Mass on Saturday, December 27, 2025, at OurLadyofthe Lake Church, 312 LafitteSt, Mandeville, LA 70448. Visitation begins at 11AM, with Mass following at 12PM.

CraigAllen Schriber,a cherished son, brother, uncle,nephew, andfriend, passedawaypeacefully on November28, 2025, at the age of 62 in Jefferson, LA BornonFebruary27, 1963, inOld Metairie,LA, he was the belovedson of Lola BradfordSchriberand the lateMervinSchriber. He grewupalongside hissib‐lings,DawnMichelli (An‐thony), TiffanySchriber, and KevinSchriberand will bedearlymissedbyhis nieces: Lauren,Audrey, and JuliaSchriber. Aproud graduateofEastJefferson HighSchool,his profes‐sionaljourney wasmarked bydedicated serviceat NAPAAutoparts,a local Chryslerdealership, and SouthernSales,where he was notonlya valued em‐ployeebut also afriendto many. Craig'spassion for the outdoorswas unmis‐takable.Anavidoutdoors‐man,hefound solace and excitementinthe natural world, whether he wasex‐

pertly navigating aboat, casting alineintothe water,orwaiting patiently ina huntingblind. Hislove for theopenroadwas just asstrong, andhecould often be found cruising withthe topdownand a smile on hisface. Cooking was anotherofCraig's pas‐sions.Hewas amaestro in the kitchen, oftenexperi‐menting with newrecipes and flavors. Thefamily would like to give aspecial thankstoDr. Thomas Morel andhis staff fortheir careofCraig.Relatives and friends areinvited to at‐tendthe Visitation at Gar‐den of Memories Funeral Home, 4900 AirlineDrive Metairie, LA 70001 on Sat‐urday,December13, 2025 from10:00 am until 12:00 noon.Inlieuof flowers, the familyhas requesteddona‐tions to theNew Orleans Mission at www.neworle ansmission.org.Online condolences maybeof‐fered at www.gardeno fmemoriesmetairie.com

Schroeder, Susan 'MamaWillow'

Susan“Mama Willow” Schroeder took herlast breathatdawnonThanks‐givingNovember27, 2025 She was73. AnativeNew Orleanian,she wasa fierce,passionateand lov‐ing womanwitha powerful embrace forall that came intoher circle.She volun‐teered as an advocate for abusedwomen at the YWCAand initiatedmany groupstoempower women and children including ARISE,the 1st Take Back the NightMarch,the Cap Program,Sunship Earth, The NewOrleans Women’s Music Collective andSIS‐TERBEAT,a woman’sdrum and spoken word group. She waspresented theVol‐unteer of theYearaward bythe city of NewOrleans and co-author abook of poetryentitledInvincible Spring. Shedid hair from a veryyoung age, graduated frombeautyschool and becameknown as the community hairdresser. She believed in thedivinity ofwomen,teachingmany workshops on women’s spiritualityand shelived her life as an embodiment ofGoddess. Shewas cre‐ative in everymediumand her paintbrush washer magic wand.She is pre‐ceded in deathbyher son David ‘DJDave’ Ayo, her sisterDianne Bordelon and motherMaryAnne Good‐man.She is survived by her lovingpartner of 34 years Karen ‘Feather’Espeut, 3 brothersPatrick,John, and PaulGoodmanand genera‐tions of children from other motherstoo numer‐ous to name who became Her family. Herlastmes‐sagetoall is:I AM LIGHT, LET IT BEGINWITHME.

Thomas "Tom" Arthur Sima,age 75, passedaway peacefully on November 26, 2025, at his beloved shop, Westbank Audio in Gretna, after acourageous five-year battle with idiopathicpulmonary fibrosis. Services at St. Anthony

of Padua Catholic Church, 234 AngusDrive in Luling Visitation on Friday, Dec 12th from 1:00 PM to 2:00 & funeral mass at 2:00 PM Full obit on everloved.com

Smith SSND,Sr. Jean Marie'Linda Ann'

In theearly morningon Nov. 27th, Thanksgiving Day, God surprisedusall by peacefully taking Sister Jean Marie,School Sister of NotreDame, home to Himself from Trinity Trace CareCenter, Covington,LA. Shewas preceded in death by herparents,EdnaMarie (Rodriguez) and Jean FrancoisSmith as well as hersister DeloresDupuy, Baton Rouge.She is survivedbyher other twosisters, Catherine Edwards, Denham Springs, and Frances Locker,Baton Rouge as well as thefamilies of herthreesisters.

Sr.JeanMarie served in avariety of ministries duringher 60 years of religiouslife. Each newministry gave hera deeper appreciation of life in her response to God's call to her. Shewas creative and readily adapted to diverse culturesand newchallenges. May she nowrest in God's loving arms as she enters eternallife!

Serviceswilltake place at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church,501 Holy Trinity Dr., Covington, LA. December 11th, with a Prayer/Sharing at 10:30 AM with aMass of Resurrection at 11:00 AM. Burial is that afternoon at St.Mary of thePines Cemetery,Chatawa, MS.

Marie SpizaleTusa, of Madisonville whowas a beloved mother,wife grandmother and friend passedawaypeacefullyon November 30, 2025 at the age of 89. For 55 years she wasmarriedtoMichael Tusa, whoprecededher in death in 2011. Yearslater she found love again with Mike Moore,with whom she spent13years filled with love and laughter. Marie is survived by her

children, KevinTusa (Marilyn), MicheleTusa, GinaTusaMartin(Tristan), Michael Tusa Jr;her stepdaughter, Laura Michelle Moore (Matt); grandchildren,Zoe,Skylar, Angelle andKevin.Marie is precededindeathbyher daughter, Laura AnnTusa. Visitation willbeheld on Saturday, December 13, 2025 from 11:00 am until 12:00 pm at the Grace Funeral Home (450 Holy Trinity Drive, Covington). HerFuneral Service will be held at 12:00 pm at the GraceFuneral Home.

Harold HunterWhite, Jr., passedawaypeacefullyat home on Bayou La Croix, Bay St.Louis, Mississippi on Friday, November 28, 2025, oneday after celebratinghis 96th birthday on Thanksgiving Day.He wassurroundedbythe love of hislifeof54years, Lynne,his four sons, twelve grandchildrenand fivegreat-grandchildren Hunter wasbornon November 27,1929 in New Orleans. He wasa charming, kind, loving andhandsome southern gentleman wholived alifefullofspirit,vitality, andelegance. He wasa lawyer, oil man, banker, farmer,competitive sportsman,lover of boats andcarsand outdoor pursuits including fishingand hunting. Hunter wassharp of mind and quickofwit. He greeted you with hisinfectious smile, kindness, andgood humor. He wasprecededin death by hisfather Harold Hunter White(Harry), his motherGladys Legier White, hisbrother John ForrestWhite(Jack) and hisfirst wife JaneBright White. Hunter hadtwo sons with Jane, Harold Hunter "Terry" White, III (Kathleen Viguerie), Michael Bright White(Virginia Burke).He is survivedbyhis wife Lynne Farwell Whiteand theirtwo sons, Frank Evans Farwell White (WinifredMcMurry), and Paxton Legier White (Kimberly Milano). Hunter lovedhis family dearlyand wasproud of histwelvegrandchildren Harold Hunter White, IV, Shaun ForrestWhite

OPINION

Remembering thelessons of Pearl Harbor

Editor’snote:Aversion of this editorial has been published on the anniversary of theattackin previous years.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt called for adeclarationofwar after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Hawaii, the president knew how to make aphrase that would stand the test of time.

Today is, and should be, “a date that will live in infamy,” as Roosevelt told the Congress to waves of bipartisan cheers of support. Only afew in the crowd knew how costly the battle had been, even as the president spoke. Now,84years later,aswecommemorate that fateful day on Dec. 7, 1941 that changed the course of history,our nation has seen wars and terror attacks. But still we return to whatwe learnedabout the nature of our country and its people on that day

It is forever engraved on tombstones and in the hearts of families of sailors and airmen killed in the treacherous attack. Most were buried in hasty graves, the loss in lives being so great

To briefly recap: On aquiet Sunday morning, Japanese warplanes surprised American military personnel, sinking ships and shattering aircraft. The attack was meant to cripple the United States’ ability to fight back in awar that it had yet to formally enter.But fight back Americans did, eventually prevailing in along war that saved the world from tyranny

The Pearl Harbor attack claimed more than 2,400 Americans, including 45 Louisiana natives. Among the dead was Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd Sr., after whom the USS Kidd, anaval vesselnow amuseum attractioninBaton Rouge, is named. With the advance of science, those killed in the port have been identified by DNA in recent years and reburied whensurviving family members are located.

In 2022, Seaman First Class Houston Temples was buried in Bogalusa; in 2023, Ship’sCook First Class Clarence Thompson was laid torest in Slidell; and in 2024, Navy Mess Attendant First Class Ralph McHenry Boudreaux was buriedinSlidell, all mourned by family and honored by the people of the United States because of their service on the USS Oklahoma, one of the first battleships hit in the attack.

Thegeneration of World WarIIwarriors who secured this country’sliberty grows smaller by the day.Institutions such as theWorld War II Museum in New Orleans and the USS Kidd keep their legacy alive. With these historical treasures so close by,there’snoreason for any resident of south Louisiana not to know what happened 84 years ago this weekend. Even eight decades later,Pearl Harbor’s lessons —vigilance, principle, courage, engagement and leadershiponthe world stage —should remain close to our hearts, as we remember those who gave their lives and the multitudes more who served in the most devastatingconflict the world had ever seen.

The least we can do is learn. Our obligation is to never forget.

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

As masked, armed men clad in tactical gear swept through theNew Orleansarea Wednesday conducting immigration “enforcement,” asmaller group of men in central Louisiana were engaged in afar nobler pursuit Those men,19Buddhist monks, are in the midst of a2,300-mile trek that began in FortWorth, Texas, and will conclude in Washington, D.C., in an effort “toraise awareness of peace, loving kindness and compassion across America and the world.”

Wednesday morning, the Venerable Monks, as they are called, left Pineville and headed out along La. 28, accompanied by local law enforcement vehicles By theafternoon, they had entered LaSalle Parish,Rapides ParishSheriff Mark Wood told me.

Thursday was Day 40 of their journey It hasn’tbeen an entirely peaceful stroll. On Thursday,for instance, the cold and rain meantAloka rode in the monks’ support vehicle. Far worse, on Nov.19, atruck hit thevehicle near Houston, and two monks were injured. One had his leg amputated earlier this week, according to asocial media post. That samepost said theinjured monkwas resting comfortably

What struck me particularly about the monks’ quest wasthe contrast with what is going on in southeast Louisiana right now,as hopped-up, camo-clad Border Patrol agents have descended on Louisiana in this, one of Christianity’sholiest seasons.

“They arewalking every step of the way,” he said, sounding impressed. “I thinkit’spretty neat.” Wood said he had spokenwith afew of the monks as they walked. “They were very humble, very meek,” he said. Louisianaisthe second stateonthe journey that began in October.Accompanied by their dog Aloka, they walked southtoHouston before turning east towardthe nation’scapital.

The former group is humbly walking for peace; thelatter is here to spread fear through entire communities, not just the“worst of the worst” they are allegedly targeting.

They and their supporters brag about how their actions have not just led to thedetainment of many hardworking, innocentfolks, but also caused others to “self-deport,” as if that’ssomething to be proud of.

Ithink of Mary,Joseph and Jesus, who also were forcedto“self-deport”

to Egypt to escape Herod’sbrutal policies. That irony seemslost on so many whosupport these efforts, believing somehow that Christ’steachings are best accomplished while hiding their faces and wearing bulletproof vests. Meanwhile, acouple of hundred miles north, somemonks clad only in orange robes and simple shoes are literally walking the walk. Their mission is to encourage people to live peacefully,both with themselves and with others. “Goodwill on earth and peace among men,” we might paraphrase it. At various stages in their journey, other walkers have joined Walk for Peace, and ever since they entered Louisiana in Merryville in Vernon Parish, they have had law enforcement escorts. They have been greeted at times with food, water and other aid. Their Facebook page includes alink to amap of their journey,photos and thoughts along the way.I pray their journey remains safeand also offers hope and encouragement amid so much angst and injustice. They,atleast, moresothan many others, seem to get the real reason for the season.

Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

We know several of you have topics that you like to return to often in your letters, either because you have particular experience withitoritisa personal pet peeve. We welcome all letters, but we do like to vary thetopics and the writers to keep thingsfresh. Often,groups of letters will come in when there is amonth dedicated toraising awareness for acause. Generally,weonly print two or three of these. We feel that it should be sufficient to put a spotlight on theissue. It is thesame with guest columns. We know that sometimes writersfear that the public will move on from a topic as time passes, and the newspaper can be apowerful means of revivinginterest.But please know that letters and guest columns remain on our websitelong after they are published in print. We encourage writers to share the links on their social media pages if

they want to remind others of somethingthey feel is importantyear after year

Right now,wehave an importantquestion we have asked you to consider as the year comes to aclose. We want to know:Who do you thinkshould be our Louisianan of the Year? As Iexplained last week, we started this recognition lastyear as away to assess who the biggest newsmakers in thepast year were from Louisiana. Ourcriteria of whoisaLouisianan is fairly expansive, so as long as you can makeacase, we will consider it. Send us your responses to letters@theadvocate.com.

It doesn’thave to be apolitician or public figure; it could be someone you thinkhas madeadifference in your community.Wewill accept your lettersuntil mid-month and reveal our responses at the end of the year

Turning to our Letters inbox, Ican

give you the totals forthe first two weeks in November For Nov.6-13, we received 56 letters. That week, you weremost concerned about the government shutdown, which would come to aclose Nov. 12. We received six letters on the issue. Then we received three letters on Louisiana’snew closed party primaries and three letters on boats allegedly carrying drugs near Venezuela. For Nov. 13-20, we received 52 letters. A local issue was atop concern, with six letters on the tax renewal proposal called Thrive, which wasrejected by Baton Rouge voters. That week, we also received six letters on immigration, with aheavy focus on the federal agents being sent to NewOrleans. Lastly,wegot five letters on health care, with mostfocused on the expiring ACA subsidies.

Arnessa Garrett is Deputy Editor | OpinionPageEditor.Emailher at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com.

COMMENTARY

Bill Cassidycould runfor governor

The conventionalwisdomabout

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy havinga tough primary reelection battlein 2026 couldprove very wrong

Instead, the Baton RougeRepublican could engage in a 2027 donnybrook for governor against incumbent Republican Jeff Landry

The thinking goes like this: Cassidy has every reason to be frustrated as just one of 100 senators in Washington, D.C.’spolitical snake pit. He is by nature aproblem-solving policy maven not apartisan mudslinger.Why would he want another six years battlingboth the national, woke Left and the take-no-prisoners

Landry than winning reelection to theSenate, although aloss in the latter is less likely than many peoplethink.

The political plusesand minusesofeachpath are interesting.

large number of policy victories: bills signed intolaw and amendments adopted,including one that essentially saves Louisiana’s Medicaid funding for thenext few years.

If Cassidyruns for reelection to the Senate in whatalready is an 11-person primary,heisalmost certain to find himself in a primaryrunoff. There, he will havetwo significant advantages but one massive disadvantage.

Cassidy’ssecond, even bigger advantage is that he has financial resources both to publicize those victories and, if needed, to conduct blistering attacks on any Achilles’heel his opponent might have. As of Sept. 30, Cassidy’s $9.5 million campaign cash on hand dwarfs thecash of his nearest challengers by $7 million.

MAGA-ites on the Right, thelatter of whom jump at every whim of amercurial billionaireegotist, when Cassidy could instead be Numero Uno in his home state, successfullyimplementingcreative reforms?

Most people would want to be astrong governor rather than a beleaguered senator

The politics actually could work very well for Cassidy.Hemight have abetter chance of defeating

The disadvantage is well known: Most LouisianaRepublican voters remain besotted with President Donald Trump, andthey seem to remain furiousatCassidy for votingtoconvict in Trump’s2021 impeachment trial. As long as Trumpism rules national GOP politics, plenty of Louisiana Republicansare against sending asenator to Washington who doesn’t reflect theTrumpianzeitgeist.

Polls consistently show Cassidy’s conviction vote is aroadblock to hisreelection

Contrarily (advantage one), Cassidy can point to an unusually

That cash alone gives Cassidy a nearly 50-50 chance of overcoming his impeachment-trial vote.

It is that very same money, though, that makes Cassidy a threat toLandry.While statelaw says he can’ttransfer federal campaign funds directly to astate campaign, courts have ruled that acandidate can transfer such money to aso-called independent super PAC. That super PAC, which could be run by aCassidy loyalist,could carpet-bomb Landry (figuratively speaking) in a2027 gubernatorial primary while Cassidy uses his own, offi-

cial campaign to remind people of his proven, substantive, problemsolving record Landry is vulnerable. Polls consistently show him in political trouble, with an October survey puttinghis approval rate at just 39% while 54% say the state is moving in the wrong direction. Meanwhile, Cassidy’simpeachment-trialvote wouldn’tmatter much in astate race. The public’s attitudes canbevastly different when choosing agovernor than when choosing delegates to Congress.

On thelatter,voters know they are choosing one member among either 100 or 435, and they are much more likely to be “sending a message” or wanting to ally with national movements than to be worrying about specific administrative abilities. When it comes to their governor,though,“stuffgets real.” Voters want someone to deliver good government, period. They rightly view thejob as being morehandson, more practical, moremanagerial, moreconcrete —and less ideological. For example, voters twice saw right-wing Republican

David Vitter as afine messagebearer to Washington, but rejected him forgovernor.Democrat John Bel Edwards probably could never winthe Senate seat, but he won twice forgovernor Looking at the governorship as ajob the way someone would hire the best mechanic to fix a car,even pro-TrumpRepublican voters might wanttohire someone with Cassidy’sprofile as the state’schief executive, despite Landry’smore self-consciously Trumpy profile.

Cassidy has no reason to defer to Landry.Despite Cassidy endorsing Landry in 2023, Landry has quite openly machinated in waysdetrimental to Cassidy’s Senate reelection. YetifCassidy abandons the 2026 Senate race and aims at the 2027 gubernatorial race instead, Landry could be hoisted with his own petard. By all accounts, Cassidy seems determined to run forreelection anyway.The other option, though, should makeLandry reassess his machinations.

Email Quin Hillyer at quin hillyer@theadvocate.com

High-flyingJohnson is runningintosometurbulence

When Congress finallyemerged from its 43-day shutdown,I noted that House Speaker MikeJohnson of Benton, who has managed to keep control of the chamber’s slim, restive majority for two yearsnow,has some top-notch survival instincts.

Not one month later,itseems as if an addendum is in order: And these days, he really needs them. If it can beargued that Johnson won the shutdown when ahandful of Senate Democrats finally agreed to the House-passed spending bill that didn’tinclude their top priority —anextension of the COVID-era enhanced premium tax credits for people on the Affordable Care Act exchanges —it’salso thecase that the aftermath isn’tgoingthe speaker’sway

But don’tjust take my word for it. In afriendly podcast interview with KatieMiller,wife of top White House adviser Stephen Miller,Johnson said he spends much of his time in “triage” mode.

“Wetry to have order and schedule, but it gets blown up because there’sanemergency every 10 minutes,” he said.“And so we’re kind ofinsurvival mode right now.”

From the context of the inter-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By KEVIN WOLF

Speaker MikeJohnson, R-Benton, talks to reporters outsidehis office in theCapitol on ThursdayinWashington, D.C.

view, it’sclear Johnson was talking about howthings have been ever since thechaotic stretch in 2023 when hegot elected speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted and three higher-profile colleagues —including Steve Scalise of Metairie —failed to line up enoughvotes.

Still, it’smore true than ever nowthatthe shutdown is over and

anger over how he handled that and other matters is spilling out in public.

Yes, Johnson triumphed by sending his membershome long enough for those Senate Democrats to cry uncle, but thestory didn’tend there. Once back, he faced thesame pressurehewas already facing to protect the one man he can’tquit

—that would be President Donald Trump—from the release of the notorious Jeffrey Epstein files. Facingarevolt within his own caucus, he finally got on board of ameasure that attracted just a single opponent, Clay Higgins of Lafayette

That did little to assuage hard feelings from someMAGAdiehard members —reportedly including committee chairs who once held plenty of power —that they hadn’tbeen allowed to legislate on their own priorities for all that time away,orreally at all during the current Congress, as Johnson’schosen to completely subjugatethe House’sagenda to Trump’s.

The trouble goes way beyond Trumpacolyte-turned-critic Marjorie Taylor Greene, whoagitated to release the Epstein files and then up and quit Congress. More are rumored to be ready to follow her into early retirement. Andstill others are angry that thepresident’sovert power play to keep the House in GOPhands, pushing for around of mid-decade redistricting, is actually puttingsomeincumbent Republicans in electoral peril.

Things are getting so bad that Johnson’snow openly fighting with amember of his own leadership team,Elise Stefanik, who told The Wall Street Journal that Johnson’sangered so many colleagues that “he certainly

wouldn’thave the votes to be speaker if there wasaroll-call vote tomorrow.”

Add in an apparent blue wave built in part on widespread frustration over the cost of living and the Trump-instituted tariffs that are contributing to it —not to mention the likelihood that more than 20 million Americans will soon see their health insurance bills skyrocket because Republicans still refuse to extend the ACA subsidies.

Tone-wise, it sure doesn’thelp that Trumpmocks concern over affordability as aDemocratic hoax, as he merrily goes about building agreat big ballroom financed by rich companies looking to curry favor Or that manyAmericans are rightfully turning on his thuggish treatment of immigrants, or watching him appear to decline mentally in real time.

Sure, Johnson’shad his fun playing Trump’swingman, frequenting the White House and Mar-a-Lago and joining him at football games and wrestling matches. But with all the glamour come someepic headwinds.

The way things are going, it’s fair to wonder whether 2026 is the year Louisiana’sunlikely speaker comes crashing back downto earth.

Email Stephanie Graceat sgrace@theadvocate.com.

Show us the beef on ‘Catahoula Crunch’

moresereneSt. RoseinSt. Charles Parish

The U.S. Customs and Enforcementpeople are not the U.S. Border Patrol people. And they are not the only federal agencies goingafter the so-called “worst of the worst” andcomingupshort, but they have the highest profiles in Louisiana, and they’re the reason we’re in the national spotlight. The Border Patrol operates in Louisiana from digs on Canal Street in downtown New Orleans. Gregory Bovino, the chief of theBorder Patrol’sElCentro Sector and theguy President DonaldTrump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have been sending intometro areas to get ridofthe “worst of the worst,” made apoint to exit with agang of Border Patrol officers as ashow of force on the busy commercial street. ICE operates in several Louisiana locations. There are “processing centers” in Basile and Jena,and Angola’sformer Camp Jisnow Camp 57, aholdingplace for those detained based on assumed or real immigration issues. Until last month, ICE operated from the Central Business District in New Orleans.Justweeksago,that office moved from the bustlingCBD to the

The Border Patrol is still in New Orleans, with offices on Canal Street, theLakefront Airport along LakePontchartrain and at the Louis Armstrong International Airport in Kenner

Kenner was one of several places where theBorder Patrol dudes executed part of their “Catahoula Crunch” netting strategy Wednesday. If you saw any of thevideo of the detention of ayoung man outside of aBurlington store in aKenner strip mall, you likely heard jet noiseasflights flew above. The place is close to the airport. That poor soul had aphotowith handcuffs behind his back on the front page of this newspaperand at the top of broadcast and television newscasts across the country.Wedon’tknow his name. We don’t know whyhewas detained. We don’tknow whether he’sa citizen. We don’tknow whether he was shopping, working or gettingabite to eat. Idoubtthe Border Patrol knew much about him.

If they did, and if he’sone or the “worst,” I’m sure we’d know by now

What Iknow is that after detaining dozens of people in Kenner,atahome in Gretna, at aHome Depot in LaPlace and

at aLowe’sinNew Orleans, only ahandful might be considered someofthe “worst of theworst,” including aman supposedly convicted of sexual crimes and sentenced to 40 years in prison. They boasted that they had rounded up criminals “with rap sheetsthat include murder,kidnapping, child abuse and robbery.”

Butwhere’sthe beef, folks? Youround up dozens, and that’sall you can say?

If this crunch, sweep or roundup is really about going after noncitizen bad guys and gals, why aren’tthey sharing with us the fresh news about thebig catches they’ve made? Why? Because these efforts are shallow and have not yielded the promised results.

Yetmuch of Louisiana is buying in. Not long ago, the Department of Homeland Securityproudly announced that thefeds had morethan 1,000 agreements with local law enforcement agencies to help ICE in 40 states. Oneofthe most cooperative states? Louisiana. They’re in it for the money since thefeds are paying.

Since Trumpand Noem started this silly fishing for catfish with double-ring crab nets, they’ve mostly caught tadpoles. They’ve got people convicted of driving while intoxicated, marijuana possession and disturbing thepeace. If they had

award- and contest-winning catches, you’d better believe they’d be plastering them on social media.

Back in 2000, one of the mostpopular songs was“Who Let the DogsOut?” by the Baha Men. Youcan play that song today and heads will bop, feet will tap and people whocan’tsing will shout lyrics without a song sheet. People may not know,ormay not remember,that the catchy song has its roots in a1998 feminist anthem about bad actor men whocatcall women, calling those dudes dogs. The feds switched the nameofthis local immigration effort from “Swamp Sweep” to “Catahoula Crunch” with clear intent and purpose. The greater NewOrleans area has anumber of bayous, but not many swamps. Someone in Washington, D.C., didn’tdotheir homework. But Louisiana does have aCatahoula Parish, acommunity named Catahoula in St. Martin Parish and our state dog is the Catahoula leopard dog. It’s not the mostfamily-friendly animal, but it’sgood at herding cattle and sheep. Who let the dogs out? Our feds. But as fortheir claims of major results? That dog won’t hunt.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

is in the evening.While temperatures todayare higher than Saturday, we’reexpecting those temperatures to fall dramatically again on Monday.

(Kelsey), Jane White Hunicke (Derek), Kevin Beresford White (Bere) (Brooke),Michael Bright White, Junior, Shelby Jane Ottley White, Elinor Pitot White, Paxton Legier White, Junior, Grace Kerry White, Evans Farwell White, King Hartwell White, and Beauregard Hunter White. He was so fortunate to have known his five great grandchildren Jack, Pepper, Chase, Lotte, and Genevieve. Also, he is survived by his niece Allison White Zuber and nephew John Forrest White, Jr. Hunter graduated from Isidore Newman Schoolin 1947 where he was captain and quarterback of the football team. In the summers duringhigh school, he attended Culver Military Academy which instilled in him resilience, leadership, and discipline. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1951, where he captained the squash team and was amember of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After returning to New Orleans, he graduated from Tulane Law School in 1953. That same year he also graduated from the Air Force ROTC andmarried his first wife Jane Bright. In January 1954, he was commissioned as asecond lieutenantofficer in the Air Force and stationed at Pope Air Force Base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he served in the Judge Advocate office. In 1954, Hunter was reassigned to Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina. In 1955, he was assigned to the Air Force base in Alexandria, Louisiana. Afriend affectionately recallsonhis days off while on base, he bought the plans fora small wooden boat. After months of assembling and following directions he launched the boat with no leaks. However, if you turned the boat left the boat would go right and visa versa. Following his passion for the oil business he became Vice President in 1956 of the Seaboard Oil Company. Three months later he was honoredwhen John Bricker asked himto be Vice President of South Shore Oil &Gas. That was the beginning of alongstanding relationship between the two as Hunter served throughout his lifetime on The Board of Booth

DEATHS continued from -BrickerFund. He served as Vice President of Hibernia Bank from 1969 -1971. In 1971, he married Lynne WatkinsFarwell With Lynne by hisside, they were an amazing partnership and testament to devotion. In addition to sharing alifefulloflove upon the passing of Lynne's father Frank Evans Farwell,Hunter served as the President of the family businessMillikenand Farwell. He was amember of the Tulane University School of PublicHealth and TropicalMedicine from1969-1975. In 1981,Hunter purchaseda three-storyformer cotton factoring building on Union StreetinNew Orleans and restoreditas hisofficewhere he would continue to workand pursuebusiness opportunities well into his 90's. In 1995,Hunter was so honored to join TheUnited States Senior Golf Associationand thrivedon the competitionand camaraderie that came from traveling to compete and socialize with othergreat golfersfromacross the country. For the past almost 30 yearsHunter and his family have followed the sun to the Lyford Cay and the Old Fort Bay communitieswhere they have made countlessfriends and memories Hunter spentnumerous summers as achild and young adultinhis parent's home in Orford, New Hampshire and later establisheda summerresidence with Lynne in Little Compton, Rhode Island. An avid tennis player since his days at Newman, Hunter loved the competitionand was quickly embraced by the membership at the Sakonnet Golf Club in 1977 where he competedand won countless tennisand golftournaments. In addition to becoming an original memberofthe Sakonnet Point Club, Hunter was also amember of various otherclubs throughout his lifetime including the NewOrleans Country Club,the New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club, the LyfordCay Club,the OldFort Bay Club, the BostonClub, the Sakonnet YachtClub, the NewYork Yacht Club, the Jupiter Island Club, as well as numerous philanthropic organizations and men's clubs including the Recess Club,both in the New Orleans area and throughout the United States and

abroad As aNew Orleanian Hunter lovedMardiGras and was amember of many MardiGras organizations and was honored to be King of The Mystic Club in 1992 and to havetwo granddaughtersasQueens of Carnival by theRex Organization Hunter'scharismatic personality, cheerfulness, curiosity, vitality,zest for life,intelligence, wisdom, good manners, and genuine interestinothersled to hismany life adventures fromflying ahelicopterto dancing until well after midnight.A member of the bacchanalian organization, theConfrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin Hunter was as much the life of thepartyashewas thekeen intellect to debate current affairsaround thebreakfast table. Hunter was equally as elated playing golf or shooting in Scotland, Ireland, and England with his best buddies as he was at home ridinghis yellow Cub Cadet lawnmower(and latera Zero Turn) cuttingacres of grassalong thebayou and fields in Rhode Island. He relishedhis time on the water on his boat "Cajun" as much as he enjoyed plucking thefeathers off his latestdoveorquail Among all themany things that Hunter was, he was also agourmand and to celebrate his 90thbirthday Louisiana chef John Folse created one of themost exquisitemealsofclassic Cajun and Creole cuisine perhapseverserved up in Hancock County. Hunter was alife force, agentleman born in aspecial era in time. His energy was all encompassing. With even just theslightest of expressionhecouldlift anyone's spirit as they were embraced by his mile wide smileand youthful sense of humor. It is aptthat Hunter's life beganthe daybefore Thanksgivingand culminated 96 years later,the dayafter aholiday centered on gratitude,family, and feasting. Hunteroften brought people together througha shared meal or sportingactivity. He was a blessing and aman who honored traditions, charitableacts, and community gathering. He enjoyed creatingmemories with loved onesand reflectingonthe world around him. He lived alife full of thanksfor his family,nature,and hisfellowman.

In this spirit of thanks, we wouldliketoexpress our gratitude to his exceptional caregivers thepast few years who diligently stoodbyhis side including Jimmy Lopez, Ronalyn Baltero, LeslieRobin Jordan, Alma Escoto, David Nickerson, Dawn McDonald, Donna McMahon, Mery Nowel and his long time assistant DebbieDicarlo. In lieu of flowers,please considera memorial donation to The Bright School for The Deaf, 201 Pasadena Ave. Metairie, LA 70001. Aprivate family burial willbeheldfor Hunteras he wished.Family and friends will gatherat2:00 PM fora CelebrationofLife on Thursday,December 11, 2025.

SPORTS

SEC crownlongtimecomingfor Georgia

Bulldogs look likeCFP contenders,Tidewillstruggletomakeits case

ATLANTA— In aspeech leadingup to Saturday’sSoutheastern Conference Championship Game, Georgia tailback Nate Frazier told anyofhis teammates who’d ever beaten Alabama to stand up.

None did.

They all can now

If you’re ateam playingfootball in the SEC, Alabama has inflicted pain on you at some point.Manypoints, most likely.That includes Georgia, which has arguably been the league’sstandard bearer over the past decade withtwo national championships and three priorSEC titles over that span.

Saturday,Georgia beat Alabama 28-7

Zion’s ‘get right’ season hasbeen anything but

Pelicans star sits out gameswithnew injury

This season, much like every season since Zion Williamson arrived in New Orleans, was supposed to be different.

Zion had finally figured it out. And if there were thingshe couldn’tquite figure out,at least Joe Dumars was now in the buildingwith the keys to unlock all the rest of thatuntapped potential.

It was hard not to believe, even for the biggest Zion skeptics.

After all, you saw the noticeable difference in Williamson’sphysique, the results of an offseason where he clearly put in the work to getinthe best shape of his NBA career And you also heard it, straight fromthe mouthofZion, before the season began, when talkingabout the difference between talent (which he has plenty of) andgreatness (which he hasn’tyet reached).

“Greatness is every day,” Williamson said at media day in September “It’swhen you don’twant to do it and when you want to do it. It’swhen facing crazy adversity Youshow up every day.You make it happen every day.”

Unfortunately, Williamson hasn’t shown up everyday.Williamson missedhis 14th gameSaturday when thePelicans lost to the Brooklyn Nets.

In April, when Dumars was hired as the Pelicans’ new executive vice president of basketball operations, it seemed Dumars’ messages were getting through to Williamson. All the conversations theyshared about responsibilityand accountability were just what the Pelicans needed to remove the bitter taste of thepast season, when the team won just 21 games.

“I know he’sgoing to hold metoareally high standard,” Williamson said. Fast forward to the presentand not much has changed from years past. The Pelicans (3-21) played their 24th game Saturday. Williamson has played in just 10 of them. His latest setback (a grade 2right adductor strain) is abit of amystery,popping up unexpectedly on the injury report Tuesdayafternoon after not being on it the day before Williamson played lastSaturday in aloss to the Golden StateWarriors, but sat out the next day against the Los Angeles Lakers to load manage the hamstring strain thatsidelined him for eight games earlier in the season. That absence was expected considering Williamson doesn’t typically play both games of abackto-back. The last time he played on consecutive nights was in October of last season.

Pelicans’ interim coach James Borrego didn’thave any details on when or how the injury occurred when asked on Tuesday,a fewhours after the team announced it. When asked the next day if he had any clarityonit, Borrego had this to say “No clarity on that,” Borrego said. “I’m assuming the Golden

in Mercedes-Benz Stadium to claim the 2025 SEC title. Pounded the Crimson Tide into submission would be morelike it. It’sa win a long time coming for the Bulldogs, one that madethe prospect of being back-to-back SEC champs paired with last year’s22-19 overtime win against Texas taste even better going down.

“All the credit goes to theplayers who have had avery long, tough, hard season,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “The kids in our program buy intohard. Iappreciate their toughness in theway they do things. That pays off in the long run.

“Towin back-to-back SEC champion-

ships, it’s every kid in this footprint’s dream.” Smart was one of those kids. Born in Georgia. Played for Georgia.Coaching at Georgia. All apologies to thelate, great Vince Dooley,who hitched hiswagon to asuperstar named Herschel Walker and won the 1980 national title, butSmarthas established himself as the greatest coach in program history

For all of Georgia’ssuccess under Smart, though, something was lacking: Beating Bama. Yes, Georgia did slay the crimson dragon under Smart to winthe 2021 CFP national championship, so naturally that’s

ä See RABALAIS, page 9C

Sumrall, Tulane focusedas ever in titlegame

BY GUERRYSMITH

Contributing writer

Anyone whothought Jon Sumrall would be toodistracted to prepare Tulane properly for its most significant gameever was notpaying attention to his own history

Aftertwo roughseasons,Saints legend Jordan hasbounced back

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Pride is apowerful thing, and if you need evidence to back that up,justwatch what has been going on with the New Orleans Saints’ 36-year-old edge rusher lately

Check out what happened with aboutfive minutes left in the first quarter against the Miami Dolphins last week, when Cam Jordan took an insidemove at the snap on third-and-14 and split a doubleteam by the left guard and center.Watch theway he fought through ahold anddidn’tquituntilhedropped the quarterback. Then,peep thehand-over-hand “Levelz” celebration that he’s hitsomanytimes over the years, andwatch theway hisyoung teammates can’thelp but do it alongsidehim.

Thatwas his second sack of the first quarter,making 61/2 on the season, and the 128th in what shouldbeaHallof Fame career.And it was the latest reminder that, after two down seasons, Jordan still has plentytooffer Is Cam Jordanback? Ask theman himself, and he will tell you he never left.

“I’mreally enjoying the abilityto show the ability,” Jordan said.

But wasn’t that the question coming

into 2025? The cliff comes for every professional athletewhen theability that made them special isn’tthere to tapintoanymore. Jordan faced questions in thepast two seasons about whether it might be time to retire, andevery time,Jordan scoffed at the notion. At times,itlooked like he was not willing to see what everyone else could: That he was well into decline.

ä See SAINTS, page 7C

WhenhebecameGreen Wave coach in December of 2023, he worked largely by himself for nearly two weeks because he wantedthe assistants whowould join him from Troy to focusonthe Trojans’ Birmingham Bowlgame against Duke. That’sright. The Birmingham Bowl. With the stakes exponentially higher two years later,hegave everything he hadbefore20th-rankedTulane (11-2) whippedNorth Texas 34-21on Friday night at Yulman Stadium. The Wave wonits second American Conference championship in four years and assured itself aCollege Football Playoffberth five days after Sumrall washired as Florida’scoach. In the process, he fulfilledtwo of the promises he made in his introductory press conference as Tulane and will get achance to reach athird on Dec.19or20. The Wave will learn Sunday morning alittle after 11 a.m., where it will head (OleMiss? Oregon? Somewhere else?) forits firstround gameasa No.11or12seed in the 12-team playoff.

“Our vision is to winconference championships,” Sumrall said on that December day at theGlazer Family Center connectedtoYulmanStadium. “Winners win, and I’m awinner. Iamtelling you right now,weare going to makethe college football playoff and we’re going to win.”

That boldness is only part of the Sumrall persona. As is also his trademark, he deflected praise after Tulane almost held North Texas, the highest scoring teamintheFBS,tosingledigitsthrough three quarters and well below 30 points for the first time all season.

“I toldtheminthe locker room just now,good teamscan be coachled; great teams have to be playerled,” he said. “At the start of the year Ithought we had some good

ä See TULANE, page 4C

On TV AUTO RACING

6:55 a.m. F1: Abu Dhabi GrandPrix ESPN

6:55a.m.F1: Abu Dhabi GP (F1 Kids) ESPNU MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

noon Missouri vs. Kansas ESPN2

1p.m. UTSA at Alabama SECN

2p.m.Texas Tech vs.LSU ESPN2

3p.m. Hofstra at PittsburghACCN

3p.m.San Francisco at Miss. St. SECN

4p.m.Georgetown at North Carolina ESPN

4p.m. SMU at Texas A&M ESPN2

4p.m. Creighton at Nebraska FS1 WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

11 a.m. Boston U. at North Carolina ACCN

11 a.m. Purdue at MichiganBTN

11 a.m.NCCentral at South Carolina SECN

noon DePaul at UConn FS1

1p.m. DukeatVirginia Tech ACCN

1p.m. Ohio St. at NorthwesternBTN

2p.m. Oregon at UCLA FS1

3p.m. Maryland at Minnesota BTN

5p.m. Michigan St.atWisconsinBTN

7p.m. Washington at SouthernCal BTN COLLEGEFOOTBALL

11 a.m.CFP SelectionShowESPN GOLF

3a.m. DP WT: Nedbank GolfChallenge Golf

10:30a.m.PGA: HeroWorldChallengeGolf

noon WorldChampions Cup ABC

12:30 p.m.PGA: HeroWorldChallengeNBC HORSERACING

11:30a.m. America’s Dayatthe Races FS1

noon America’s Dayatthe RacesFS2 NFL

noon NewOrleansatTampa BayCBS

noon Cincinnati at Buffalo FOX

3:25 p.m.Chicago at Green BayFOX

7:20 p.m.Houston at Kansas City NBC NHL

noon Colorado at Philadelphia NHLN

6p.m.Vegas at N.y. RangersNHLN MEN’S SOCCER

5:30 a.m. Serie A: Lecce at Cremon. CBSSN

8a.m.W.Ham Un. at Brighton &H.Alb.USA

8:55 a.m. Hearts at Celtic CBSSN

10:30 a.m.CrystalPalace at Fulham USA TENNIS

8:30 a.m.UTS London Grand Final TENNIS

TexasTechwinsBig 12 title

BY STEPHEN HAWKINS AP sportswriter

ARLINGTON,Texas CameronDickey scored right afterthe firstof linebacker Ben Roberts’ two interceptions in the secondhalf as No.5TexasTech wonthe Big 12 championship game, and almost certainly locked up afirst-round bye in the College Football Playoff, with a34-7 victory over 11thranked BYU on Saturday After investing millions of dollars in the transfer portal, the Red Raiders (12-1, No. 4CFP) have their first Big 12 title they are one of only six schools that have beenpartofall 30 Big 12 seasons. They are also going to the CFP for the first time, though their win likely prevented the Big 12 from getting asecond team in the playoff.

“If we are gonna buy ateam, why not be the best,” Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez said after the game.

“Man, Ican’twait to see where the CFP is going to put us,” fourthyear Tech coach Joey McGuire said.“We’re lookingforwardto the bye. Youknow,we’rehoping and expecting that’s wherewe’ll be.” Behren Morton, who didn’tplay in Tech’sonly loss at Arizona State, threw two TDs to CoyEakin and Stone Harrington kicked four field goals for the Red Raiders.

The only losses by BYU(11-2, No. 11 CFP) are to the Red Raiders, including 29-7 in Lubbock four weeks ago before four turnovers in the second half this time. The Cougars will fall out of the top 12 instead of moving up when the new CFPrankingscome out

Sunday.They likely needed to be in the top10for aplayoff spot. Roberts, one of the holdovers on the Tech defense along with Rodriguez(13 tackles),got his first interceptionwithabout 31/2 minutes left in the third quarter when he reached up anddeflected thepassby freshman Bear Bachmeier.On thenext play,Dickeytook a directsnapand ran untouched 11 yards fora touchdownand 21-7lead after making the

2-point conversion.

Harrington, who kicked a school-record five field goals against BYU last month, missed a49-yard field goal attempt after Roberts jumped aroute to make aone-handedinterception in the fourthquarter But in between Roberts becoming the first player with multiple interceptions in one of the 24 Big12championship games,transfer Romello Height recovered whenBachmeier fumbled when being

sacked. Harrington madea 44-yarderthat time. Roberts almost had his hands on another interception, but that deflection cameona fourth-down play that gave the ball back to the Red Raiders. Tech went ahead to stay on Eakin’sincredible leaping33yard TD catch with10:42 left in the second quarter that made it 10-7. He reached up with both hands to snag theball, then got afoot down while twisting and lunging into the end zone.

WesternMichiganwinsMAC championship game

By The Associated Press

DETROIT Jalen Buckley had touchdown runs of 67 and 64 yards and Western Michigan won the MAC Championship, defeating Miami of Ohio 23-13 on Saturday Buckley’s67-yard touchdown burst on the third play of the game gave theBroncos theearly lead Palmer Domschke added three field goals in the firsthalf, thelast from 50 yards, andthe Broncos led 16-6 at halftime. Buckley’s64yard TD run made it 23-6early in the third quarter

In the regular-season matchup between the two, Miami scored 17 points in the fourth quarter,rallying to a26-17victory.Thistime, Western Michigan did notfalter Acouple of possessions after Miamiclosed to within 23-13 with 61/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter,WesternMichigan drove to the 1-yard line before turning the ball overondowns. Facing a 10-point deficit and 99 yardstogo in less than two minutes,the RedHawks only reached their own 16yard line.

Buckley finished with 193 yards on 19 carries for the Broncos (94). His career highwas 196 as a freshman against Toledo in 2023. Broc Lowry had 111 yardspassing and 65 yards rushingfor the Broncos, who had 286 yards on the ground, 397 total.

Kam Perry had 101 receiving yards for Miami (7-6) and the RedHawks managed 272 yards of total offense.

Friday’sgames

No.19JAMESMADISON31,TROY14: In Harrisonburg, Virginia, Wayne Knight rushed forcareer-high 212 yards,including a73-yard

James Madisonhires fired Florida coachNapier

HARRISONBURG,Va.— James Madison has hired former UL and Florida coach Billy Napiertoreplace Bob Chesney,who is leaving for UCLA but would coach the Dukes in the College Football Playoff if they makethe 12-team field. Napier,who was 22-23 in four seasonsatFlorida,was firedOct 19. Chesney, who coached JMUto a12-1 record and Sun Belt Conference championship, wasofficially announced as UCLA’snew coach on Saturday JMU is in only its fourth season in the Bowl Subdivision and has a combined record of 40-10 under Curt Cignetti and Chesney Napier wasone of the top upand-coming coachesasheled UL to a40-12 record from 2018-21 with four appearances in the Sun Belt title game.

UCLA aiming to revive program withChesney hire

LOSANGELES UCLA hired Bob ChesneyfromJames Madisonas footballcoach on Saturday,hoping he can turn around aprogramthat hasstruggledfor years, including in itsfirst twoseasons in theBig Ten. Chesney takes over from interim coach TimSkipper, who guidedthe Bruins (3-9, 3-6) after athletic director Martin Jarmond fired DeShaun Foster on Sept. 14. Foster went 5-10 aftertaking over the program from Chip Kelly in February 2024. Skipper washired as coach at CalPolySan Luis Obispo on Wednesday Chesneybecomes the 20thhead coach in UCLA football history Chesney led No.19James Madisontoa12-1recordthis season, with theDukes making theircase foraberth in theCFP after winning the SBC title gameonFriday

Messi, Inter Miami topple Vancouver to win MLS Cup FORTLAUDERDALE,Fla. Lionel Messi and Inter Miamihave completedtheir ascent, beating the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-1 on Saturday in the MLS Cup final forthe franchise’sfirst championship. It came21/2 years after the legend arrived in South Florida, amove that stunned plenty of onlookers at the time.

He set up the title-clinching goal with a72nd-minute assist to Rodrigo De Paul, aplay where Messi stolethe ball and threaded apass through atiny gap in awall of Vancouver defenders. De Paulgot it in stride, pushed it into the far corner of thenet —and Messi went airborne to hop into his armsafew seconds later,all smiles. Inter Miami becamethe 16th franchise in the league’s30-year history to winanMLS title.

Marinersacquire reliever

Ferrer in trade withNats

RICHARDSON

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABRA

WesternMichigan running back OfaMataele runs the ball against Miami (Ohio) in the first half of the Mid-AmericanConference championship game on SaturdayinDetroit.

touchdown, and James Madison made its case for aCollege Football Playoff berth, beatingTroy in theSun Belt Conference title game. The Dukes (12-1) will nowroot forDuke to beatVirginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Saturday night, aresult that could make them oneoftwo Group of Five schools in the12team playoff.

On achillynight when fans wererepeatedly chidedfor throwing snowballsontothe field, James Madison’sdefense recorded eight sacks,ascoopand-scoretouchdown and, for the sixth time this season, shut outanopponent in the second half. Defensive end Sahir West had three sacksand was in on 10 tackles. BOISESTATE38,UNLV21: In Boise,

Idaho, BoiseState became the first team in Mountain West historytowin three consecutive championships, defeating UNLV. UNLVsaw their four-game win streak snapped in what could be the program’sfinal trip here as the Broncos exit the Mountain West.

Boise State’sMaddux Madsenwas named thegame’sOffensive MVP after throwing for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Theredshirtsophomore completed 17 of his31passattempts andalsoran for atouchdown.

Boise State’sTyBenefield was namedthe Defensive MVP, after recording ateam-high seven tackles, one TFL and a fumble recovery in the contest.

KENNESAWSTATE19,JACKSONVILLE

STATE15: In Jacksonville,Alabama, Kennesaw State overcame afourth-quarterJacksonville Staterally to upend the Gamecocks in the 21st annual AirNational Guard Conference USA Championship Game.

TheOwls ended the thirdlongest FBS home winning streak after Jax State had mounted afurious comeback to erase a12-point deficit with just over 10 minutesleft on the clock behind touchdown runs from Conference USAMost Valuable Player CamCook and quarterback Caden Creel. CUSAChampionship Game

MVP Amari Odom calmly directed Kennesaw State75yards in 11 plays, scrambling for akey first down on afourth-and-14 play and finishing offthe game-winning drive withan11-yard TD pass to Navelle Dean with 52 seconds remaining.

The Seattle Mariners acquired left-handed reliever Jose A. Ferrer in atrade with the Washington Nationals on Saturday Seattlesentcatcher HarryFord and minorleague pitcher Isaac Lyon to Washington forFerrer,who set career highs with11saves and 21 holds in 72 appearances this year

The 22-year-old Ford is one of baseball’s topprospects,but the Mariners already have All-Star slugger Cal Raleigh at catcher.Ford made his major league debut in September,going 1for 6ineight games. The Mariners won the AL West this year for the first timesince 2001.Theymadeittothe AL Championship Series before they were eliminated by the Toronto Blue Jays in seven games.

Milan Cortina Olympics sees slow ticket sales

ROME Construction on the main hockey arena is still not finished. Spectator and media areas at the controversial sliding venue also need to be completed. And with exactly two months to go to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, thereisanother major area that local organizers are concentrating on: only slightly morethan halfofthe 1.5 million tickets forthe games have been sold.

As the torch relay began in Rome on Saturday,just over 850,000 tickets had been sold.

ABlack Friday promotion last weekincluded three days of 20% discounts on tickets. And purchasers of both Olympics and Paralympics tickets have the chance to getlift passes foreight euros ($9) valid between Dec. 9-22.

Edna Karr-St. Augustinestate final

Chris Dabe

Thefirst meeting between Edna Karr and St. Augustine drew an overflow crowd to Morris F.X. Jeff Sr.Stadium in Algiers. It was the most anticipated prep football game in New Orleans this season. Until now Up next is arematch between theschools, as Karr and St. Aug will meet for the second time this season when they play for the LHSAA Division Iselect state championship in the Caesars Superdome. For Karr,the game marks a chance at winning asecondconsecutive state title. The Cougars (13-0)have wonfive titles in the past nine seasons, all under coach Brice Brown, and seven in school history St. Augustine (12-1), on the other hand, hasn’twon astate title since it last appeared in astate final in 1979. That marked thethird championship won in aspan of four seasons, arun of dominance under hall of fame coach Otis Washington. Both schools are rich with football history.But themixture of twonationally prominentfootball programs —Karrfor all its recent success and St. Augustine

STAFF FILEPHOTO By JOHN McCUSKER

Karr quarterbackJohn Johnson throws the ball against St. Augustine on Oct. 3. Theteamswill meet again in the state championship on Saturday at the Caesars Superdome.

for the 30-plus players it has put in the NFL—should draw tensof thousandstothe Caesars Superdome for the 3:30 p.m. Saturday kickoff.

“Be early,” Brown said after histeam won asemifinalagainst Catholic-Baton Rouge. “Whatever time the game is for, be early because it’sgoingtohave the whole city of New Orleansthere.”

Pelicans lose to Nets

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

The New Orleans Pelicans played the worst scoring team in the NBA on Saturday Youwouldn’thaveknown it by looking at the BarclaysCenter scoreboard.

The Pelicans lost to the Brooklyn Nets 119-101.

It was the sixth consecutive loss for thePelicans (3-21).The Pelicans have now had three sixgame losing streaks this season.

This one came against aBrooklyn team that was averaging just 109 points per game, which ranks 30th in the league. The Netshit the 109 mark with 5:09 remaining in agame they led by as many as 28 points.

Trey Murphy ledthe Pelicans with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists.

It wasn’tnearly enough to overcome aslow start. The Pelicans trailed 35-24 at the end of the first quarter and 62-44atthe break.

“It really starts with our defense,” said Pelicansinterim coach James Borrego. “We’ve got

WALKER

Continued from page1C

Stategame.” Williamsonisexpected to be reevaluated in another two weeks, according to areport by ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania. Williamson was smiling and chatting with teammates and coaches at Wednesday’spractice, the day after the latest diagnosis. And he was vocal in the film session before practice.

“He’sgoing to put the work in and we are going to get him back,” Borrego said. “He’s in greatspirits. Pumped the team up. Iexpect him to be avocal leader.” But the Pelicans need the face of the franchise to be more than just acheerleader offering moral support. They need him to leadthe team, just as he vowed he would back in September

“Whatever my team needs, that’swhat Iwilldo,” Williamson said in September

The team needs him to play That’sit. When he does, they have achance. Williamson made that clear two seasons ago when he played in acareer-high 70 games and the team won 49 games,tied for the second most in franchise history.Whenhe doesn’tplay,things become much more difficult. Of the 496 games the Pelicans have played since the Pelicans drafted him with the No. 1overall pick in 2019, Williamson hasplayed in 224 of them. That’s only 45.2 %ofthe games, anumberthat hastohave former head coach Willie Green (fired last month) scratching his headand wondering “whatif?”

As Williamson’sabsences pile up,sodothe losses. And as the losses increase, so does thefrustration among the fanbase.

It’swhy the Smoothie King Center had more empty seats than filled ones this week in apair of

to find ways to start games with a physical edge. Obviously,it’smy job to getthem there.”

Michael Porter scored 35 to lead the Nets (6-17), who have won three of their past four games.

Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton recorded atriple-double with14points, 11 rebounds and10assists.

Borrego wasn’tpleased with the defense and was surprised by theoffense’sstruggles.

“I thought we would getout andrun and do some more things,” Borregosaid. “Maybe whenyou’re bleeding defensively,itaffects theoffensive end. In general, our offense was stagnant, too.”

SaddiqBey scored 18 points to go with five rebounds, and Bryce McGowens finished with 16 points.JoseAlvarado,playing in hishometown in frontofabout 50 friends and family members, had nine points and six assists.

The Pelicans return home to play theSan Antonio Spurs on Monday

EmailRod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com

losses to theMinnesota Timberwolves

Youcan makea case that it’s time to moveina newdirection andbuild the team around someoneelse. Dumars andhis righthand manTroy Weaver brought in somerock-solid pieces this offseason in Saddiq Bey,Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, Micah Peavy andBryce McGowens. ShouldDumars just tear it all down and start therebuild with those guys? Or continue to let Williamson be the cornerstone?

Despite recent reports that the team is listeningtotrade offers for Williamson and other core players, asource familiar with thesituation said they have not hadany conversations.

That’sadecision Dumars will inevitably have to make. Williamson has said time and time again that New Orleans is where he wantstobe.

“Nobodywantstobeonthe floor more than Zion,” Borrego said Tuesday.“He’s got love for the game, loves thiscity,wearsthis logo with pride.Hewants to be out there battling with his teammates more than anybody.Morethananything right now,he’sdisappointed. He’shere to support us and we are here tosupport him. This is abrotherhood.This is afamily andthat’s what we are goingtolean into. As frustrating as itisfor him, nowis atime to leaninto one another and build our relationship even strongerand get back towork.”

When Dumars was hired, he immediately did with Zion what so many Pelicans fans have stopped doing. He believed in him.

“Zion’sgoingtocontinue to be afocal pointhere as we go forward,” Dumars said in May

Well, it’sDecember now

The calendar has changed.

Theexecutive VP of basketballoperations has changed.

So has thehead coach.

But Williamson’savailability, unfortunately,has remained the same.

Mardi Gras-like festiveness that will be on display among the two purple-and-gold fanbases Saturday

Just look back at when these teams met in early October Snarled traffic. Fans parking several blocks from the stadium and walking. This wasunlike any gameplayed in the city in recent years.

Now,they get to do it again at a much bigger venue.

The Bayou Classic is known for thecollege football rivalry that also includes an equally entertaining battle of thebands, and this Karr-St. Augustine matchup will be no different The Dome has been home to countless prep football games, but few will match the intensity of this one. Nor have there been manygames that can match the

Karr won 42-21 when the teams met Oct. 3inWeek 5ofthe season. Despite the lopsided result, thescore stayed close into the second half. At one point, St. Augustine had achance to makeita one-score gamebut wasstopped on fourth-and-goal at the 1, and Karr responded with a99-yard drive that put Karrinfront 28-7.

West Virginia signee John Johnson, athird-year starter at quarterback, had five total touch-

Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com Football

downs (three passing, tworushing) while the Karrdefense, led by LSU signees Richard Anderson (defensive tackle) and Aiden Hall (safety), kept what had been ahigh-scoring offense in check.

St. Augustine is fueled by senior starting quarterback Vashaun Coulon. His skillful passing helped St. Augustine cover 70 yards in 36 seconds forthe winning touchdownagainst John Curtis in the semifinals.

St. Augustine has Robert Valdez in his second season as head coach, an O. Perry Walker graduate whocoached St. James to a state title in 2019. This gamehas it all. Tworivals. Excellent coaches. College level talent on both sidelines. And a state championship trophy to be awarded after the game.

Cold-shootingTulanefalls to Akron

BY GUERRYSMITH Contributingwriter

Despite struggling to hit an outside shot, the Tulanemen’s basketball team led preseason MidAmerican Conference favorite Akron 20-14 near themidpointof the first half on Saturday afternoon.

Realityhit quickly from there. While the Green Wave continuedtostruggle hittingopenlooks, the Zips begandominating inside andout, turningthat earlydeficit into a42-34 halftime lead andextending it to 20 points after the break on the way to an 88-71 road win.

Akron(8-2) looked like ateam thathad reached the NCAAtournament the past twoyears(it did) Tulane (6-3) looked likeateam still trying to find itsform following the summerdrowning of charismaticcenter GreggGlenn (it is). Specifically,the Wave could not find thebottom of the net, finishing 7of33fromlong range after starting 2of18.

“That messedwith us,”Tulane coach Ron Hunter said. “When he missed those shots, it was like, oh, here we go again, and then we panicked. Out of those33shots, I bet 25 of them were wide open.”

RowanBrumbaugh led the Wave with 16 points but on 5-of13 shooting, adding five rebounds and fourassists. Asher Woods scored 14 in the first half but was shut out in the second. Tyler Ringgold contributed 10 points and a career-high-tying eight rebounds, while Josiah Moore added 11 pointsoff thebench.

Shammah Scottpaced four Akron playersindouble figures with 15 points on 4-of-6 3-pointshooting.

The Zips blew it open by hitting five treys in alittle more than four minutes to start the second half, taking a57-42 lead on Scott’s last one. The Wave made one concerted run, getting3sbyCurtisWilliams andBrumbaugh, adriving

TULANE

Continuedfrom page1C

leaders. Thedepth of ourleadership is much improved. I’m just excited for theseguys, and selfishly I’m very grateful Iget to worktwo jobs for alittlebit longer. These guys deserve so much credit for their responsestoeverything that’s come up throughout theyear.”

It startswith quarterback Jake Retzlaff, the last player to arrive after transferring from BYU in late July butthe first to complement everyone around him. After rushing for two more touchdowns in his 21st win over thepasttwo years, he singled out injured fifth-year senior wide receiver BryceBohanon for his leadership.

Bohanon, whohurt akneeinpracticethe week before theNov.22 gameatTemple,linedupinthebackfield forthe final two plays on Friday night and took aknee on the final snap after Retzlaff handed theball to him. Bohanon enjoyed abreakthrough season with ateam-high 31 catches through the first 10 games.

3-point play from Brumbaugh and abank shot by Ringgold thatcut thedeficit to 74-64 with 5:45 left.

Ringgold missed afree throw that would have made it 74-65,though, and fouled 3-point shooter Bowen Hardman at the other end seconds later That wasthat.

“Wewould have to play really well (to beat them),” Hunter said.

“That’s asenior team that is going to go back to theNCAAtournament. Theydoanicejob.I would have love to see it if we could have made acouple of shots, especially earlywhen we hadthemonthe ropes.”

Akron outrebounded Tulane 42-26, getting 17 second-chance points and 30 in the paint. Tulane’s only way to answerwould have been knocking down treys, which did not happen.

“It’stough whenyou work really hard to getgood shotsagainst a good defensive team like thatand not see them go in,”Brumbaugh said. “Itaffects your offense and it affectsyourdefense. They both

“He put in so much time and effort to watch us succeed,” Retzlaff said. “Bryce is just an unbelievable player and an unbelievable human being. The effect he had on this team has madethisteam who this team is.This is his last year,and that (handoff) wasfor aguy like him.”

Retzlaff fit in withhis teammates immediately because of his selflessness, his talent and his wit, whichheexhibitedwhentalking aboutchampionshipgamemost outstanding playerJack Tchienchou.Tchienchoubecame the first Tulane playerwith afumble recovery,a forced fumble andaninterception in thesame game since Trent Mackey in 2010.

“It wasn’t long agoIlooked at Jack’slast nameand Isaid, ‘What is that?’”Retzlaff said. “He’saheck of aplayer in case youdidn’tknow. It’s guys like him who made it so easy for me to get in this building. The welcome wasunbelievable.It’sjust an unbelievable feeling to winthis championship with these guys. This team is special and one of akind.” The win was atotal team effort. Fourdefensive linemen accounted

go hand in hand.”

Tulane committedonly eight turnovers andforced 14. Hunter lamented theresultbut could notpoint to much wrongother than theshots that failedtofall. One adjustment he might make involvesMoore, who went 4of4 from the floor,3of3 from the foul line andgrabbedsix rebounds.

“Wemight have to move JoJo into the starting lineup,” he said. “Whenhe’sonthe floor,we’re better.” Brumbaugh citedanother needed area for improvement, pointing out Tulane went from 4-6 a year agoto19-14.

“It’s alongyear andweknow that,” he said. “Weare going to get acclimated witheach other,but something we really need to work on is sprinting back andfinding people in transition. We jog up the court back and forth. We’ve got 40 minutes twiceaweek.We’ve got to sprint everygame. If we do that, we’ll get alot more stops in transition and we’llbeamuch betterteam.”

for four sacks —Santana Hopper with twoand Mo Westmoreland and HarveyDysonwith one— while linebacker SamHowardaddeda fifth. The Wave forced five turnovers, matching the season-high totalfromthe opening-daywin againstNorthwesternonthe way to a7-0 record at home.

With twofieldgoals, Patrick Durkin passed Brad Palazzo for the most in aseason (24) by aTulane kicker Jamauri McClure, formerly a fifth-string running back who had eight carries for 50 yards through the first nine games, added 121 to hismassive finishing kick of 406 yards in the last four.His 30-yard run when he refused to go down in thesecondquarter electrified YulmanStadium.

“I’m happy it took himsolong to comearoundbecause Ithink I’mstill theleading rusher on this team,” saidRetzlaff, whose 610 yards remain ahead of anyone else. “He madea mistake early in the year andwas down in the dumps. Ihad acouplegreat conversations withhim aboutwhat this takes to be agreat player,and he took that to heart.”

OUTDOORS

Thankful at Thanksgiving

OUTDOORS NOTEBOOK

Gunsafetyparamount when goingonhunts

BY JOE MACALUSO

Contributing writer

GarretVerdun’s tragicdeath last weekend is astory told during hunting seasons —not every hunting season, butahandful during thelast 10 years.

The story relayed by Wildlife andFisheries Enforcement was that the 45-year-oldRacelandman was walking to his stand with a hunting buddy when they came up to acattle-guard crossing and Verdun handed his firearm to his companion.

The .308-caliber rifle discharged, killing Verdun.

While the first reflex is to advise about always engagingthe safety on afirearm, the best thing isto not load the firearm —pistol,rifle or shotgun —until you reach your stand or blind and are ready touse it.

Moreover,unload all firearms when climbing into or descending astand, crossing afence, climbing uphill or going downhillona steep grade. And never pull afirearm’s muzzle toward you.

fyou’re the kind of hunter who believes there’saneed to beready to engage your quarry on the way to astand or blind, then please, don’thave around or ashotshell in the chamber.You canload the magazine, then quicklychambera

round when needed. Safetyfirst, please.

Firstsegment

During the last 30 some-odd years of writing about waterfowl seasons, it’sbecome obviousthat duck hunters complain loudly when there are noducks. They are noticeably quiet when ducks show in enough numbers to provide for successful hunts.

This first segment, which is coming to aclose,must be extraordinarily good. No complaints. No “should have been hereyesterday” moans

What happened in this first segmentisa procession of an Arctic cold frontthat blistered the northcentral andmidwestern states with downright frigid temperatures andenough snowtocover the food sources ducksusually find in the fields in states to our north.

Take thesurvey

This is the last day for bass fishermen across our state to give their responses to what Wildlife and Fisheries’ Inland Fisheries Section calls the“Statewide Black Bass Angler Survey.”

Thesurvey is designed to let anglers express their preferences and opinions on managementof largemouth, spotted and Florida bass.

Youcan find thesurvey at surveymonkey.com/r/YC78TGP

Bigreward

Wildlife and Fisheriesenforcementfolks said there’sa$3,500 reward for information leadingto theconviction of someone responsible for killing a375-pound adult maleblack bear found in Concordia Parish last weekend on the Richard Yancy Wildlife ManagementArea. Call the 24-houroperation game thief hotline at 800-442-2511 with any information. Countthose birds

Louisiana has thousands of avid birders, but Audubon’s126th Christmas Bird Count, running Dec 14-Jan. 5, wants more people to engage in this annual event. Backyards areagreat way to spot birds. Feeders help, and you don’thave to be an expert to become partofthis continent-wide activity

Audubon’s website is audubon org, then search for the Christmas BirdCount. There you can watch a recording tounderstand your role in the event.

Other website infowillgive you a“circle map” to find acount near you (green and yellow circles are openfor new participants) and instructions on how to register

MONDAY

OUTDOORS CALENDAR

RED STICKFLY FISHERS BANQUET:

7p.m Broadmoor Methodist Church, Sharp Road at Mollylea Drive, Baton Rouge.Email Brian Roberts:roberts.brian84@gmail com Website: rsff.org

MONDAY-WEDNESDAY

STATECOMMERCIAL FISHING

LICENSE RENEWAL: 8a.m.-noon

&1-3:30 p.m., LDWF office,2045 LakeshoreDrive, Suite438, New Orleans. Also Dec. 15-17m 8a.m.noon &1-3:30 p.m., LDWF office, 468 TexasGulf Road, Bourg. Call (225) 765-2898.

WEDNESDAY

LA. SHRIMP TASK FORCE MEETING: 10 a.m.,Terrebonne ParishMain Library,151 Library Drive, Houma. BUGS&BEERS: 6:30 p.m Skeeta Hawk Brewing, 455 N. Dorgenois Street, New Orleans. Flytying. Open to thepublic. Email A.J. Rosenbohm: ajrosenbohm@gmail. com. Website: neworleansflyfishers.com

THURSDAY

JUNIOR SOUTHWEST BASSMASTERS AWARDS BANQUET: 7p.m., SeminarRoom, Bass ProShops, Denham Springs.Call Jim Breaux (225) 772-3026.

HUNTING SEASONS

DUCKS/WEST ZONE: Through Dec. 7&Dec. 20-Jan. 25, includes coots &mergansers.

GEESE/WEST ZONE: Through Dec. 7 &Dec. 20-Feb. 1. Includes Canada, blue, snow& Ross’ &specklebellies. Take of Canadageese prohibited in portions of Cameron &Vermilion parishes.

SNIPE:Through Dec. 7&Dec.20-Feb. 28, statewide.

DUCKS/EASTZONE: Through Dec. 8 &Dec. 20-Jan. 31, includes coots & mergansers. GEESE/EAST ZONE: Through Dec. 8 &Dec. 20-Feb. 7. Includes Canada, blue, snow& Ross’ &specklebellies

GEESE/CONSERVATION ORDER: West Zone,Dec. 8-19; EastZone, Dec. 9-19, firstsegments. Limited to takeofblue,snowand Ross’ geese only.Nodaily nor possession limits. Huntersallowedto use electronic calls and shotguns capable of holding morethan three shells.

DOVES: South Zone,Dec. 13-Jan. 11; North Zone,Dec. 20-Jan. 18. WOODCOCK: Dec. 18-Jan. 31, statewide.

DEER/MODERN FIREARMS: Through Jan. 4, State Deer Areas 1, 3, 4, 7&

8, with/without dogs

RAILS/GALLINULES: Through Jan. 7, statewide.

DEER/MODERN FIREARMS: Through Jan. 11, State Deer Area 2, with/ without dogs

DEER/ARCHERY: Through Jan. 15, State Deer Areas 3, 7, 8&10. Eithersex takeallowed.

DEER/MODERN FIREARMS: Through Jan. 18, State Deer Areas 5&9 with/without dogs,bucks only except either-sex takeallowedDec. 7 &Dec. 13-14.

DEER/MODERN FIREARMS: Through Jan. 18, State Deer Areas 6, with/ without dogs

DEER/ARCHERY: Through Jan. 31, State Deer Areas 1, 2&4.Eithersex takeallowed.

DEER/ARCHERY: Through Feb. 15, State Deer Areas 5, 6&9,eithersex takeallowed.

QUAIL, RABBITS &SQUIRRELS: Through Feb. 28, statewide, private landsonly

AROUND THECORNER DEC. 16: LAFAYETTE KAYAKFISHINGCLUBMEETING: 6p.m., Pack & Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Call (337) 232-5854. Website: lafayettekayakfishing.com DEC. 17: FLIES&FLIGHTS: 7p.m., Rally Cap Brewing, 11212 Pennywood Avenue,Baton Rouge.Fly tying. Open to public. Sparetools, materials for novices. Email Chris Williams:thefatfingeredflytyer@ gmail.com

DEC. 18: ACADIANA FLYRODDERS PROGRAM: 6p.m., Pack & Paddle, 601 E. Pinhook, Lafayette. Open to public. Email DarinLee: cbrsandcdc@gmail.com. Website: acadianaflyrodders.org FISHING/SHRIMPING SHRIMP: Fall inshore&outside watersopen statewide. OPEN RECREATIONAL SEASONS: Flounder;graytriggerfish; lane blackfin, queen and silk snappers &wenchmen among othersnapper species; all groupersexcept closed for goliath &Nassau groupersin state/federal waters.

CLOSED SEASONS: Redsnapper; greater amberjack; bluefin tuna; gag, goliath& Nassau groupersin state/federal waters. Commercial greater amberjack seasonclosed. LDWF UPDATES Closed: Hope Canal Road/boat launch (Maurepas Swamp WMA, leveeconstruction). Road Closure: SectionofLa. 975 through Sherburne WMA closed through June 12, 2026 (replace bridge)access from U.S. 190 and I-10 open. Drawdowns:Underway on Henderson Lake,LakeBistineau, Saline, Kepler, Iatt, Black&Clearlakes, Clear-Smithport Lake &LakeMartin. Email: jmacaluso@theadvocate.com

CHANCE CAVIN DOUBLES UP ON STATETITLES

Chance Cavinclaimedthe topprizesinthe South Louisiana High PowerRifleClub’sGarand/Springfieldchampionship held at the Ascension Parish Sheriff’sRangelast Sunday.

Cavin wonboth the M1 Garand and Springfieldriflestate championships. Dwayne Vidrine usedhis shooting in those twoevents to win the IronMan Trophy. Both events limit shooters to using iron sights. Vidrine scoreda 287 with six bull’s-eyeswith a1903 model Springfieldrifle. Joey St.Germain wonthe F-Class match. Joe Macaluso

SAINTS GAMEDAY

ROSTERS

SAINTS

BUCCANEERS

FOUR THINGS TO WATCH

GETBIG GAME FROM SHOUGH

MAKE PLAYS

SLOW DOWN BAKER

SAINTS

OUT: TTaliese Fuaga(ankle), RB Alvin Kamara (ankle), SJustin Reid (knee)

QUESTIONABLE: WR Chris Olave (back)

BUCCANEERS

OUT: WR MikeEvans (collarbone),WR Jalen McMillan (neck), SRashad Wisdom (quad)

QUESTIONABLE: CB Benjamin Morrison (hamstring),OTTristan Wirfs (oblique)

TAKE CARE OF THEBALL

TheSaintsdidn’tdothatinthe firstmeeting with theBuccaneers in late October. TheSaints committedfour turnovers, including a3-yardpick-six by Bucs’linebacker AnthonyNelson. Theinterceptionofthe Spencer Rattlerpassset thetonefor the day. TheBucsalsopickedoff Tyler Shough andrecovered apairof fumbles. TheBucsare tied for second in theleagueinturnover differential,thanksinparttoan opportunisticdefense that has forced 18 turnovers. TheSaints will havezerochanceofpulling off an upsetiftheycan’t take care of theball

In the first meeting of the season between the twoteams,Tyler Shoughcame off the bench and replaced Rattler Shoughcompleted 17 of 30 passesfor 128 yards that day in the Superdome and has been the starter ever since. He’s had some highs and lows since taking over. Last week against the Dolphins, the Saints had just 63 yards of offense in the first half. But Shough gotgoing in the second half and gave the Saintsachance. He’ll need that second-half productivitytospill over intothis game. Can Shough farebetteragainst the Bucs in his second time seeing them?

TheSaints finallyunlockeda weapon last week when receiver Devaughn Vele gotgoing.Vele, acquired in atrade in August,had barely been targeted before thegameagainst theDolphins. He had caught ninepassesall season but reeled in eightpasseslastweek. He showed whythe Saints traded forhim in the firstplace,using his 6-foot-5 frametomakecontested catches. Shough should go to him earlyand often. He canbeagreat complement to ChrisOlave,who wasunabletohaulinwhatlooked like acatchable touchdownlast week.Theywillbothneedtomake playswhencalledupon.

1 2 3 4

The Saints did apretty good job with Bucsquarterback Baker Mayfield in the firstmeeting Mayfield completed 15 of 24 passes for 152 yards and was sacked three times.Saints defensivecoordinator Brandon Staleyprobablylikes his chances if theycan hold Mayfield to those numbers in arematch. Mayfield will have afew more weapons this time. ReceiverChris Godwin has returned after missing the teams’ firstmeeting.Running back Bucky Irving also missed the firstgame. The Saints held the Bucs to 212 yards of offense, but the taskwill be tougher thistime around.

Rod Walker

Thegoldstandard

Demario Davis, who turns37inJanuary,isn’t supposed to still be thebest player on the New Orleans Saints.

Cam Jordan, who turns 37 in July isn’tsupposed to be leading theteam in sacks.

But herethe two ageless wondersare, in the midst of the team’sdisastrous season, adding bullet pointstotheir respective résumés showing why they aretwo of the best defensive players to ever wear afleur-de-lis on the side of their helmets.

One day —probably sooner than later —Mickey Loomis will have to try to replace Davis and Jordan.

Chances are, Loomis won’tbeable to find someonewho can record 922 tacklesinless than eight seasonslike Davis has done since arriving in New Orleans in 2018.

Even more unlikely is him landing another edge rusher who can rack up 128 sacks like Jordan has done since being drafted by theSaints in 2011.

As crazyasitmay sound, finding that type of productivity won’teven be the hard part.

The real difficultywill be trying to replace two playerswho arejust as productive off the field as they are on it.While Sundays in theSuperdome are where Davis and Jordan get theloudest cheers, it’sthe workthey do outside the Dome that really deserves thekudos

It’swhat will makethem irreplaceable. I’m not even sure if they still even make football playerslike Demario and Cam. They have missed just one game each (out of 364 they’ve played with the Saints) becauseofinjury. They areiron men with hearts of gold.

The latestexample of their exemplary community service came Friday when Davis was named the Saints’ nominee for theprestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The award recognizes playerswho excel on the field and demonstrate asteadfast commitment to creating apositiveimpact beyond the game.

“It’satremendoushonor,” Davis said.

“I think anytime you get arecognition of this stature, it takes you back to your

why.For me, my why will always be centered around my faith. Ithink we are called to take the gospeltothe ends of the earth. I’m so grateful for this organization because of the platform I have; Iamable to do that.”

Truthbetold, the Saints could nominateDavis for this award every year It’sthe thirdtime he has been the Saints’ nominee. He was also the nominee in 2020 and 2022.

Jordan has also been nominatedfor it three times (2017, 2021 and 2024).

Tyran Mathieu, who retired before this season,was the nomineein2023 and is the only other playerthe Saints have nominated since 2020. When Davis and Jordan hang up theircleats, theSaints will have to find someoneelsetonominate. And the city of New Orleans will need someone else to carry thetorch that Davis and Jordan now carry,the one passedtothem by thegreat Drew Brees. In the 2006 season,Brees became the only Saints nominee to beat out the other 31 nominees and win the award. Davis, who is a Mississippi native like Payton, hopes to become thesecond

“This awardisthe highest honorthat you can receive in our game,” Davis said. “It speaks to whothe award is named after.(Walter Payton) is atremendous player on the field. But even more important is the impact that we are able to have in thecommunity we serve.”

Saintsdefensive coordinator Brandon Staley,inhis first seasoninNew Orleans,has admired Davis fromafar.But this season,hegot to personally witness Davis’ commitment both on and off the field.

“He’sjustapro’spro,” Staley said. “I

think he’s oneofone. He’spartofthat rarifiedair of aspecial player Aleader affecting so many people. Affecting so many things. The league is so fortunate to have an ambassador like him.” Davis’ Devoted Dreamers Foundation, which he operates with wife Tamela, is a big part of his giving back. He hasalso partneredwith The 18th Ward to create aleadership development program. He also took atrip to Paris to help with the NFL’s efforts to expand the game globally.But it’sNew Orleans, less than200 miles from his hometown of Brandon, Mississippi, thatisnearestand dearest to Davis.

“It’ssuchaneasyplace to serve,” Davis said. Davis andJordanare nowmuch closer to the endoftheir careers than the beginning. Someone will eventually have to try to fill their shoes both on and offthe field.

“You can’t force anybody to be outin the community,” Jordan said. “You can seeguys andsay,‘yeah, he’snextup.’ But it hastobeinyou to want to be going outonyouroff days andsetting up events or looking outfor people.For the longest time,Ididn’thave the foundation. Iwas just outhelping. Ifinally realizedthatyou can do so muchmore with so many more people.One message with 100 people behind it can go so much farther thanone message by one person.” It helps, Jordansaid, whenplayers have been in the city for awhile.Jordan is in his 15thNFL season, all in New Orleans. Davis is in his 14th season and eighth in NewOrleans. Davis took fellowlinebackersJaylan Ford and Isaiah Stalbird on oneofhis most recent endeavors. “This is what it’sabout,” Davis said. “Everything youlearn and acquire in life is meant to be passed down and passedforward.”

Whoever thatperson is will have a good blueprint to follow,thanks to two Saints’ defensive greats.

EmailRod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

WESTERHOLT

By BRIAN

ASSOCIATEDPRESS FILE

Saints defensiveend Cam Jordan, center, celebrates with teammates after asack during agame against the Carolina PanthersonNov.9 in Charlotte,N.C.

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

At age 36, that was alegitimatequestion. Since sacks became an official statistic in 1982, only fiveplayers have recorded double-digit sacks after turning 36, andthey’re all Hallof-Famers: ReggieWhite, Bruce Smith, Chris Doleman, Kevin Greene and JuliusPeppers.

The Saints, though,werewilling to entertain the idea that Jordan could contribute to their new scheme. One of the first callsdefensive coordinator Brandon Staley madeafterhetook thejob went to Jordan. He toldhim aboutthe ways they thoughthecould affectthe game in the new scheme, but also wantedtoknowhe could count on Jordan to exist outsidehis comfort zone.

“If you can put him in position where he’simpactful, he’s going to make the plays more often than not,”Staleysaid. “You’ve seen that throughout the season.”

Now that the Saints are officially out of the playoffpicture, Jordan said he wants to makethe endofthis season about a“legacy push.” Counting the postseason,Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will markthe 250th time Jordan has suited up in aSaints uniform. Pride is at play here, too. Pride in that 250 number, notbecause it’snice and even, but because of the 1 that is often associated with it: In 15 seasons, Jordan has missed just onegamebecause of injury,and if he’d had it his way,hewould have found away to play with that broken orbital bone back in 2022. Pride because it’snot like Jordan hasn’tbeen injured. The discussion about hisdecline began to truly heatup in 2023, when he finished the season with only two sacks.

mainly because he’sawarm-blooded creature that can’tstandthe cold tub.

“I’malwaysworkingonsomething,”Jordan said. Pride, because sometimes it getshurt.The Buccaneers have replaced the Saints as the NFC South’s power,winning each of the last four division titles since Drew Brees retired and handing theSaints sixdefeats in the past seven times they’ve played.

The recent history made Jordan the butt of some jokes. WhenTampaBay beat the Saints 23-3 earlier this season,Buccaneersgeneral managerJason Lichtsharedamocking video of Jordan after the game, replaying an old comment of Jordan’sabout the Buccaneers going back to being irrelevant after the retirementof TomBrady,only to flash Jordan’sstatistical line in the 2025 loss: One assistedtackle next to a bunch of zeroes and apicture of him in his purposely dyed gray hair

Youwork so hard in the offseason, youwork so hard in OTAs, youwork so hardintraining camp, and youtry to meld together during the season to tryand create …asuccessful season, and it doesn’t come out that way— yeah, it keeps you up at night fora couple of days.”

CAM JORDAN, Saints defensiveend

Injury reports that season stated:Cam Jordan, ankle. What“Cam Jordan, ankle” failed toget across was atorn peroneal tendon that left the pass rusher with little lateralmovement ability That, Jordan said, is just love for the game. Thedegrees of the injuries are alwaysdifferent, but the injuries are almost alwayspresent. This season, it has been an ankle sprain thathas bugged him for about half this season.

“Just alow ankle,” Jordan said, addingthathe was glad it wasn’tahigh ankle sprainbecause “I’d have had to miss apractice, then.”

Notably: apractice, notagame. Jordan puts an extreme amount of timeintotaking careof his body so he doesn’tmiss games.

When hisankle wasfeelingthe worstthis season, Jordan was spending 90minutesevery morninginthe hyperbaric chamberatthe team facility,often before sunrise. He gets “scraped” and “cupped” severaltimesper week, athletic training techniques that promote soft tissue recovery.Hegets atwo-hour massageevery Wednesday.Hevisits achiropractor twice a week. He endures dry needling and acupuncture. At home, he wears aGameReady device that combines compression andcold therapy—

Jordan shrugged off the shot, saying Tampa Bay had the right to talk trash after its sustained successes. But even if he didn’t take it personally,hehas not adapted to what it’slike playingfor a team that last week clinched its fourth consecutive season without aplayoff berth.

Jordan loves playing football —a statement that can feel empty sometimes comingfrom millionaire players, but is legitimizedevery time Jordan bounds onto thepracticefield like ahappy puppy He lovesplaying football at ahigh level, andthis season has validated what he’salways thought about himself. Butheacknowledged it’s harder to be happywithhis own play when the team is mired in arut the way it currently is

“You work so hard in the offseason,you work so hard in OTAs,you work so hard in training camp,and you try to meldtogether during the season to try and create asuccessful season,and it doesn’t come out that way —yeah,itkeepsyou up at night for acouple of days,” Jordansaid.

Last year was oneofthe darkest in Jordan’s career.The Saints firedtheir head coach midway through the season after agame against thePanthers in which Jordan played10snaps. At that point in the season, he hadyet to recordasack as he buttedheadswith defensive line coach Todd Grantham abouthis role within the unit. Grantham left shortly after Dennis Allenwas letgo, andJordan’s playing time andproductionspiked, withfoursacks in the remainder of the season.

He hadtoo much beliefinhimself to worry he was done.For every argument to be made about Jordan’scurrent ability on thefield, he hasa counterargument ready. And thisseason has been about backing up what he’s always known to be true.

In fact, Jordan had aline ready for it: “When proofhas alwaysbeen in thepudding, why don’t you just eat thepudding?”

Email Luke Johnsonat ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

STAFF PREDICTIONS

JEFF DUNCAN

BUCCANEERS 26,SAINTS19:

TheBucshavedominated this series in recent years, winningsix of the last seven. Butthe Saints’lone wincameinTampa,and they have traditionallyplayedwellatRaymond JamesStadium.Tohangclose in this one, they’llneedagreat effort by the defense, becauseTampa Bay’stop playmakers,Chris Godwin andBucky Irving,are expected to play,unlikethe teams’ firstmeeting in NewOrleans LUKE JOHNSON

BUCCANEERS 21,SAINTS13: I mostlylikewhatI’veseenfromrookie QB TylerShough, andIbelieve abig breakout game is coming sometime soon.It’sjusttough to predictitthis week.Tampa Bayhas agoodrun defenseand should be able to make theSaintsone-dimensional

MATTHEWPARAS

BUCCANEERS 24,SAINTS17: The Saints tend to play well in TampaBay, so Icould seethisbeing closefor most of theafternoon.But theBuccaneers should still stop theSaints’ rungame, andBaker Mayfieldwill probably get outofone toomanynear-sacksfor the Saints to actually pull theupset

RODWALKER

BUCCANEERS 27,SAINTS10: The Saints will putupamuchbetter fight this time againstthe Bucs.Theymight even find theend zone this time.But BakerMay

TOP TOPICS FOR WEEK 14

at 102.4 and Jackson at 102.2 Rodgers is expected to make his second straight start with a broken left wrist Jackson was limited in practice this week because of ankle issues, but he was given the all clear on Friday to start the game

Texans try to end skid vs. Chiefs

The Houston Texans face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. The Chiefs have a slight edge in the odds, favored by 31/2 points Houston has been strong defensively, ranking first in total defense and scoring The Chiefs have a powerful offense, ranking second in passing Key injuries for Kansas City include left tackle Josh Simmons and right tackle Jawaan

when the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars play Sunday. The Colts will need to end a 10game losing streak in Jacksonville to stay atop the division. The skid includes a home game for the Jaguars in London. The Colts’ most recent win in Jacksonville came in 2014. This is just the third December home game in Jacksonville’s 31year history that features two teams with a 667 winning percentage or better Jaguars WR Jakobi Meyers has 18 catches for 245 yards and two touchdowns and no drops in four games with Jacksonville.

are

for the NFC West lead at 9-3 and have momentum after a shutout win over Minnesota as they visit the struggling Atlanta Falcons The Falcons have lost six of seven to fall to 4-8 and need a win to avoid their eighth straight losing season. The game will match running backs Bijan Robinson of

Rivals Packers, Bears jockey for NFC North supremacy

BY STEVE MEGARGEE AP sportswriter

GREENBAY,Wis.— The NFC North leaders are eager to show they’re not the same old Chicago Bears who continually took their lumps against the Green Bay Packers over the past 15 years or so. Chicago snapped an 11-game skid in this rivalry when it ended the 2024 regular season by winning at Green Bay The Bears (9-3) have built on that momentum this year as they have the NFC’s best record and carry a five-game winning streak into their Sunday matchup with the Packers (8-3-1) at Lambeau Field.

“I think throughout this whole year, what we’ve been able to accomplish has given us extreme confidence,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said. “And then, for myself, being a part of something that, everybody knows the stats of the Bears going up there before last year it wasn’t the best. And so being able to be a part of that

(win), being able to contribute to that, provides confidence for myself, and I’m going to exude that to the other guys.” Chicago hasn’t had a winning season since 2018, but the Bears’ emergence doesn’t surprise Packers safety Xavier McKinney McKinney was impressed with the creativity new Bears coach Ben Johnson showed as the Detroit offensive coordinator when the Lions swept the Packers last season.

“I knew they were going to be good,” McKinney said. “Especially whenever they ended up getting Ben Johnson, I was, ‘OK, they’re going to be a problem this year.’ “

The Packers also are feeling good about themselves. They’ve won three straight and are eager to regain control of this rivalry

These two teams will face each other twice in a span of 14 days in a pair of games that will go a long way toward determining the NFC North champion. They meet again Dec. 20 at Chicago.

“I feel like our team knows that

we control our destiny at this point,”

Packers safety Evan Williams said “There’s a lot that’s to be said about the Bears and how they’re doing right now They’ve put together a hell of a season. But at the end of the day, I feel like we all understand if we go out there, put our best foot forward and play our best ball, that we don’t feel there’s a team that can hang with us.”

Chicago has an NFL-leading plus17 turnover margin. The Bears have 26 takeaways, four more than any other team.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur credits the arrival of former New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen as the Chicago defensive coordinator

“He does such a great job getting that out of his guys, but I also think it’s a credit to his players in regards to just, they’ve got tremendous ball skills, really on every level of the defense,” LaFleur said.

Chicago might have a tougher time taking the ball away from Green Bay, which hasn’t committed a single turnover during its threegame winning streak.

QB Herbert expects to play with broken hand

BY DAN GREENSPAN Associated Press

ELSEGUNDO,Calif.— The Los Angeles Chargers had to adjust on the fly after Justin Herbert broke a bone in his non-throwing hand last Sunday

As optimistic as they are that Herbert will be ready to start against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, the Chargers (8-4) have spent this week accounting for every possible contingency

“I think you got to try to look at it from all the different angles, you know, as you prepare,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. “What if this happens? What if that happens?”

Planning went into practice during a 31-14 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, when Herbert had to play the final three quarters with his left hand in a hard cast and protective glove. The injury prevented Herbert from taking snaps under center, with the Chargers using shotgun and pistol formations the rest of the way

“It’s just a good reminder you really need to work through these contingencies in your mind,” Roman said. “A lot of what we practiced that week went out the window So, really hats off to Justin and really everybody.”

Herbert had surgery on Monday and was back at practice Thursday, leaving an organization that typically treats such matters as state secrets expressing an unusually public degree of belief he will be ready to go against the NFC East-leading Eagles (8-4). Herbert was listed as “questionable” on the injury report Saturday following three straight days of limited practices.

“That’s the plan, is to prepare as if I’m going to play,” Herbert said Wednesday “See how the next couple days goes, and do everything I can to be

out there for the team and for the guys.”

However, that does not necessarily mean Herbert will be able to run the full offense.

Backup Trey Lance worked with the first unit on Wednesday, and coach Jim Harbaugh has said the third overall pick in the 2021 draft would be prepared for situations where the Chargers might need to be under center, such as in short yardage or at the goal line. Roman has used quarterback platoons at times, but never because of an injury like Herbert’s.

“It was because of, you know, trying to throw some trickeration at people,” Roman said.

“But, no, I mean, we’ll do whatever it takes.”

The uncertainty carries over to the Eagles, where defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has also been devising plans for Herbert and Lance, who has not thrown a touchdown pass in the NFL since Jan. 2, 2022, the last game of his rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers.

“We’ll have to prepare for both quarterbacks,” Fangio said “Probably knowing that if Herbert plays, he’ll be in the pistol a lot and in the gun. Yeah, we’ll have to be ready for both.”

Eagles run over Philadelphia’s offense has absorbed the bulk of the blame for the team’s struggles of late. Yet, it was the defense especially the line — that got whipped against the Bears, when the unit allowed 281 yards. Chicago had two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since its dominant Super Bowl-winning 1985 season.

“I didn’t do a good enough job of preparing our squad for the quality and the diversity of their run game,” Fangio said. “We didn’t play the run and the blocks the way we had been playing.”

1

SECCHAMPIONSHIP

THREEAND OUT: SCOTTRABALAIS’ TOPTAKEAWAyS FROM THESEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

OUTSIDELOOKING IN?

TAKING ADVANTAGE

The Bulldogs didn’t pile up an enormous edgeintotal offense Saturdayagainst theCrimson Tide (297-209) Theydidn’t have to. Instead,Georgia turnedevery bigAlabama mistakeinto points.Ablockedpuntand an interception in the firsthalf, a24-yard punt returntostartthe thirdquarter and aturnoverondowns in the fourthled to Georgia touchdown drives of 21, 57, 40 and 12 yards.With Christmas giftslike that, Georgia couldn’t help butwin.

ROUNDINGINTOFORM

2

Earlier this season, Georgia’stypically fearsome defense looked gettable.The Bulldogs wonawild 4441 overtimetussleatTennessee.And theyhad to rally from a 35-26 third-quarter deficit in Athens to beat Lane Kiffin’sthen OleMissRebels 43-35. But thisunitisturning up in time for championship season. GeorgiaonlyallowedAlabama to run three plays on the Bulldogs’ side of the field in the first three quarters. Georgia’sCFP opponents are on notice.

3

Alabama came into Saturday’s game at 10-2 and No 9inthe CFP standings, but wasconsidereda pretty sure thing forthe playoff as long as it didn’t getblown out by Georgia.Well …Alabama painted averyunimpressivepicture of itself forthe CFP committee, which also must weigh its 3117 season-opening loss to 5-7 Florida State.Anxious hours ahead forthe folks from Tuscaloosa. Don’t be surprised at all if Bamaisleftout Sunday.

GeorgiawinsSEC titlegame

BY CHARLES ODUM AP sportswriter

ATLANTA— Gunner Stockton

and Georgia finally put an endtoAlabama’s masteryof therivalry between Southeastern Conference powers.

Stockton threw three touchdown passes as the third-ranked Bulldogs solidified their position for a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff and beat Alabama in theSEC championship game for the first time, pounding the 10thranked CrimsonTide28-7 on Saturday

Stockton, who completed 20 of 26 passes for 156 yards and rushed for 39 yards, was named the game’sMVP It was the first victory over Alabama for Georgia’s fourth-year players, including Stockton “Weapproacheditthe same,like it was abig game, and didn’tmake it bigger than it was,” Stockton said Georgia(12-1,No. 3CFP) had been 0-4against Alabama in the SEC title game and 1-7 against the Crimson Tide under coachKirby Smart. Playing in their fifth straight league championship game, the Bulldogs earned their fourth title under Smart and 16th overall.

During ateam meeting at the start of the week, Georgia players who had awin over Alabama wereasked to

RABALAIS

Continued from page1C

abiggie. But Alabama won theseven other meetings with Georgia in the Smart era, including a24-21 victory in Athens back on Sept. 27. Bama was also 4-0 against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Amazingly,the Crimson Tide had won 17 straightin this city all told against a variety of victims.

All that came tumbling down Saturday evening as Alabama made mistake after mistake and Georgia drove home the dagger with each stagger It started with ablocked punt on Georgia’sfirst possession,setting up a neat little 21-yard scoring drive capped by a1-yard touchdown pass from Gunner Stockton to Roderick Robinson.

On Alabama’snext possession, Ty Simpson’spass over the middle was swiped by cornerback Daylen Everette, who had two picks here against Texas last year to earn game MVP honors. That set up a57-yard drive ending with a5-yard Stockton to Dillon Bell touchdownpass to stake Georgia to a14-0 halftime lead. Alabama wasn’tout of it. But the Tide had to punt to start the third quarter, and a24-yard Zachariah Branch punt return set up a9-yard touchdown run by Frazier after a40-yard drive. Alabama finally punched back with a23yard Simpson to Germie Bernard touchdown pass, but after Bama failed to convert on fourth-and-2 from its 12 midway through the final frame, Georgia delivered the coup de grace with a13yard TD pass to Branch from Stockton. Stockton may look more like a

stand up.

“None of them stood up,” Smart said Now the Bulldogs can stand. They also can brag aboutwinning back-to-back SEC championships.

“I thought it hit right between the eyes of doing it for the seniors,” Smart said

The lopsided loss forces Alabama (10-3, No. 9CFP) to worryabout its standing with the College Football Playoffselection committee. The Crimson Tide were believed to be in good position when they moved up one spot in last week’sCFP ranking, but the loss tothe Bulldogs provides renewed causefor concernthat the Crimson Tide couldmiss the playoff for thesecondconsecutive season under coach Kalen DeBoer

“Wefellshorttoday, but I’mproud of our season,” DeBoer said.“Getting to the SEC championship, getting to this greatgame, there’sa lot to build off of.” Alabama will learn its playoff fateonSunday.

“If this gameapplies to and takes away from our resume,Idon’tthink that’s right,” DeBoer said. “I really don’t.” Georgia led 21-0 before Alabama’sTySimpson threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Germie Bernard earlyinthe fourth quarter

championship game on SaturdayinAtlanta.

Georgiawill play aCFP quarterfinalgameinthe Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By MIKE STEWART Georgia coachKirby Smartishanded the SECtrophyby commissionerGregSankeyasthe team celebrates after a SoutheasternConference championship against Alabama Saturday in Atlanta.

30-something gym teacher than acollege quarterback, but he can now call himself an SEC Championship Game MVP Georgia’soffensedoesn’t overwhelm. The Bulldogs gained just297 totalyards Saturday and ground out a16-9win overGeorgia Tech in this building a week before. But the defense has allowed10or fewer points in its past four games, afine statistic for a12-1team thatsurely locked up aCollege Football Playoff bye. What to make of 10-3 of Alabama in the CFP? Bama coach Kalen DeBoer,who is about to learn the meaning ofthe term “hot seat,” hyped the fact that his team came into this one asthe No. 1SEC seed. It beat four of the five ranked opponents this season, including of course Georgia. “If this game applies to and takesawayfromour résumé,” DeBoer said, “I don’tthink that’sright. I really don’t. Idon’tknow how you can go into aconference (title) game when you’re the No. 1seed,did

all these things throughout the year,and playing in this game against oneof the top teams in the country,aswell, howthatcan hurt youand keep youout of the playoff.” Bama, No. 9inthe CFP, will present aconundrum for the selection committee for the reasons DeBoer described. But there is also the teensy matter of Alabama’sseason-opening 31-17 losstoaFlorida State team that finished 5-7. It’sapairofscuffed and chipped-looking bookends that the CrimsonTide presents to the committee. And over the past six weeks, Alabama also had to rally to winatSouth Carolina, looked fairly pedestrian in a20-9 win over LSU, lost to Oklahoma and needed afourth-down touchdown pass to subdue archrival Auburn. If Bama feels thepain of being left out,noone in the SEC will shed atear for the bullies on the block. Leastofall, Georgia. Email Scott Rabalais at srabalais@theadvocate. com

Essence Festival ticketsnow on sale

Changes planned forSuperlounges

BY DESIREESTENNETT Staff writer

After several hiccups at last year’sEssenceFestival of Culture, organizers for 2026 have launched ticket sales earlier, revampedaccesstothe popular, mini-concertSuperlounge passes andpromised to provideinformation on musical acts sooner The changes have come in response to criticism from festivalgoers, fans andartists afterlower ticket sales and hotel bookingslast year

Early bird tickets for theJuly 4weekend celebrationwenton saleon Tuesday for the holiday shopping season. Onlymulti-day weekend packages areavailable so far, with the most affordable tickets starting at just over $200, and thebest seats closesttothe Caesars Superdome stagetopping $1,900 for three daysof concertsover the summer holiday weekend.

The earlier-than-usualticket launch comes before anymusicalacts havebeen announced. Essence Fest officials said the early tickets came in response to “a consistent ask” from festivalgoers who wanted “more breathing room to secure EveningConcert Series ticketsbecause this impacts their overall travel plans.”

Organizers said this will be the greatest discount available, and that prices willonly rise from here. Single-day tickets are notyet on sale.

Essence Festival officials did not say whenthe daily lineup would be announced, butsuggestedthat fans stay updated on the Essence360 app, the magazine’ssocial media channels and its newsletter Superloungechanges

Festival organizers also say they will bring back anew kind of Superlounge experience for 2026 Last summer,the Superlounges returned from athree-year hiatus caused by Superdome renovation but were only accessible through a$500 VIP ticket Organizers ended up opening them up to everyone laterinthe weekend after low ticket sales.

ä See ESSENCE, page 8D

J.B. Lafargue is buried in the WesleyMethodist Church Cemetery in Pineville.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

BY MATTHEWHAINES

Contributingwriter

’Tis theseason to buy gifts for your family,friends andeventhose white elephant exchanges. At best, you’ve already made great strides in finding the rightpresentsfor those on your list. At worst, this is giving you anxiety if you haven’t begun looking.

The great news is that there are dozens of local nonprofit organizations and institutions who have come up with ideas that will make gifts feel thoughtful —without taking up morespace in thehome. Not only that, but in atimeofeconomic uncertainty andgovernmentfunding cuts, holidayshopping through New Orleans’ nonprofitshelps those organizations in important ways

“For WYES, we’ve always relied on community supporttoprovide qualityeducation andinformative programming,” said Robin Cooper, president and CEO of New Orleans’ local PBS member station. “With the loss of federal funding in 2025, support this holiday season is even more important than ever.”

From public broadcasting to museums, and from performing arts to organizations that care for our

Glass Half Full and local artist AndrewBarrows of LiquidArt Glass partnered to create jewelrymade fromrecycled glass.Sales support coastal restoration and sustainableMardi Gras beads.

mostvulnerable citizens, there are countlesswaystosupport your favorite causeswhile also making progress on your gift-giving list.

Thegiftofstreaming

Beginning with WYES, adonation of $96 (or $8 per month) in thename of the television-lover in your life will give them access to an entire yearofWYES Passport. That includes extended online access to an on-demand libraryof both national public television programming, as well as local WYES programming

DINING SCENE

Hispanic eateries need help as immigrationsweepsstart

calamity,from stormstoviolence at their doorstep. And forFrench Quarter restaurants and bars after the Jan. 1terror attack.

Ian McNulty WHAT’S COOKING

Taqueria Guerrero had barely any customers by late November —asign of the pervasive fear across the New Orleansarea from then-impending federal immigration enforcement operations. Many of theMidCity restaurant’s Hispanic customers were staying home. Then the taqueria announced it would temporarily shutter,starting in December,until things felt safer.Swiftly people turned up in droves, intent on bolstering the business and itsstaff for the uncertainty ahead.

On the last day beforeclosing, aline snaked downthe block on North CarrolltonAvenue as people waited their turn to help; the restaurant sold out of food by the evening.

“I didn’tknow there was so much love out there,” Taqueria Guerrero proprietor JesusMartinez told me the next day.“But people really showed us.”

More of that love could goa long way at Hispanic restaurants that have kept theirdoors open but are barely hanging on,along with marketsand otherbusinesses that countonalarge Latino clientele. They’re seeing justa trickle of their normal business. There are moves in the community to marshal more support, in the way that NewOrleans reliably does, starting by simply showing up for ameal.

Widespread impact

In interviews, restaurantoperators say it’swrong to assume that the people staying home —now that the U.S. Border Patrol has launched its “Catahoula Crunch” operation —are undocumented immigrants.

They say many people wholive and work in the country legally fear being profiled because they are Hispanic. They’ve allseen videos and have heard stories of people who look like thembeing detained in other cities targeted for similar federal operations. They fear getting steamrolled in asweep.

“Nobody wants to get caughtup in that, and then maybe it takes months to get yourselfout,” said

bustle of abusy diner during a workday lunch shift, with people tucking into pollo con tajadas, big bowls of beef soup and fajitas platters.But during the peak lunch hour on Monday,I sat in the dining room with just one other customer,while afew morefiltered in for takeout orders.

Delivery and takeout orders have been alifeline forother restaurants. It’s reminiscent of the early pandemic period, though this time restaurant operators say it’soften someone less likely to be profiled (a non-Hispanic spouse, say) who is venturing out for pickup.

Takeout has been keeping the doors open at MawiTortillas in Metairie, where chef Wilfredo Avelar has been helping workthe griddle instead of shuttling between his multiple businesses.

Craig Kraemer is one local trying to direct moreofthat impulse forHispanic restaurants right now

Back in June, aware of the simmering fear the national immigration crackdown was causing, he started agroup called N’awlins Hungry Gringos to rally wider support for local Hispanic restaurants.

It’s agoofy name, matched by a lighthearted logo. But the intent is serious and heartfelt. Kraemer,aselfdescribed “gringo” and 60-something New Orleans native, is not particularly knowledgeable about Hispanic food. He’sjust begun to discern Mexican from Honduran dishes on his own outings. But he understands the power of community After Hurricane Katrina, he watched construction crews that wereoverwhelmingly composed of Latin American men build his city back. It made alasting impression that motivates him today

“These people were here for New Orleans; we should be here forthem,” Kraemer said.

He started aFacebook page where people can get ideas of restaurants to visit, post photos and share their experiences as they dine out. Somemembers of the group now meet up weekly at the samerestaurant to multiply their impact. In an incendiary political environment, he calls this “an apolitical initiative.”

Jose Almendares, who helps run hisfamily’s Honduran restaurant TiaMaria’sKitchen in Mid-City

“Our regular customers who are Hispanic —the construction workers, the hotel workers —theyare MIA now,but alot of other people have been showingupand we really appreciate them,” hesaid The anxiety over immigration

sweeps is hardly isolated toHispanic restaurants. Many other businesses are working withfewer employees as staff stay home. ButatHispanic restaurants and markets in particular,the impact has been crushing.

Emptyseats,takeout lifelines La Cocinita, aHonduran restaurant in Kenner,normally has the

“We’re shifting the business model to get through this, just like we do forhurricanes, just like we did forCOVID,”said Avelar.“What Iappreciate is how everyone who does comes in all ask about the staff, they wanttoknow if they’re OK.”

Dining outwithpurpose

New Orleans people do show up for theirrestaurants. Through theseasonal travails of summer After restaurants suffersome

“I just wantittobeabunch of New Orleans people whowant to help our neighbors whoare just trying to keep their businesses open,” Kraemer said.

Keep in mind that morerestaurants may temporarily close as the days progress, and somewith diminished staffmay not be able to accommodate large groups. But from my experience around town, even another table or two can makeadifference.

Email Ian McNultyat imcnulty@theadvocate.com.

HOORAY FOR HONOREES

n Role Call

It all began in 1986. That’s when the Young Leadership Council (YLC)decided to select, and honor,agroup of outstanding NewOrleanians,composed of business, community and civic leaders, whose servicetothe community is exemplary.Asin the past, this year’s class of honorees “servesasaninspiration to YLC’syoung professional membersand to the community at large.”

Take abow 2025 Role Models, LisaD.Alexis,WayneBaquetJr., Dr TrevaT.Brown,JimCook,LowreyCrews,ClaraBaron-Hyppolite,ChristopherKane,RuthLawson,MargaretOrr, and LeonRittenbergIII. The laureling, which had LynneBurkart as theTitle Sponsor,took place at The Sazerac House, where apatron party opened the activity. Then camethe welcome andopening remarks by executivedirector AllisonHotard and Words on Leadership by LizWaller, vice presidentofleadership. For the presentation to the 2025 Role Models class, event co-chairs KatieNeeb and BrookeLaizer stepped forward. Due applause ensued.The program closed with remarks by YLC president JosieDelaune More namestoknoware thoseofthe 2025 Executive Committee of the YoungLeadership Council Board. In addition to the aboveDelaune, Waller,Laizer and Hotard, the names to knoware YLC president-elect EricaSensenbrennerBergeron, past president GrahamWilliams, general counsel/secretary BlairShilling,treasurer ElizabethEumont,and vice presidents DamianClark (community engagement)and LauraMeagher (development). The board members include Katie Neeb, AnaMuñoz-Solis,BlakeEckert,DetBeal,DrewChapman,Gabrielle Broders,JoshuaBartholomew,KristieKaaa-O’Brien,MorganEngland,NickLacour,SamuelCookIII,Sara Kuebel,SydneyKastner, and TaylorJackson

Most were noted at the eventthat includedmanyofthe nearest and dearest of the 10 honorees. All enjoyed the “Sazerac-inspired” cuisine by Messina’sCatering that consisted of small muffalettas, flatbread,pecan-crustedchicken,Cane Rum Run shrimp lollipops, and achef’s presentation of Messina’ssignature charcuterie spread. As for the musical menu, itwas purveyed by HarryHardin and his New Orleans classical andjazz stylings

n ASpecial Event

So many gatherings are indeed aspecial event, but this one uppercased three letters and used the words as atitle. “A Special Event,” as given by Hadassah New Orleans, paid tribute to BettyMoore at the Woman of Valor Brunch. The Windsor Court Hotel was the venue. Teamed to co-chair the brunch were HarrietHillson, mistress of ceremonies, and SueSinger (with Harold). Further notables were CaroleGlazerJacobson, representing the Louis A. and Lillian L. Glazer Family Fund, and DaveDickson, along with Hadassah New Orleans President MarcelaTotah,Coloradan MarySueKatz,CaroleCukellNeff, GailWall,PattyUngar Dr DianeAfrick, LeeKansas,SylviaFinger,BriannShear, and BarbaraPailet. And from the Moore family RachelandBertMoore and sons Harrison,MattandJason;

Atlantans KurtMoore and children HallieandJordan;and PeggyMoore from Cold Springs, New York. Duringthe program, Kurt and hischildren paid tribute to his mother,and MyraDunn madethe WomanofValor presentation to Betty Moore. In 2015, Lee Kansas received the award that “fits the biblical description” of avalorouswoman. “She is trustworthy,industrious,hospitable, generous, cheerful,wise and respected by family,friends, and community.” Furthermore, the WomanofValor is along-time Hadasasah worker and has risen to the challengesofits leadership

Addingtothe eventwere the flowers by Federico’sFamily Florist, sumptuousbuffet selections, andarafflethat had Kansas, Betty BennettLazarus,SusanRosenblat,and CindyHogan as winners of GW Fins restaurant gift certificates.

Nell Nolan SOCIETY

Contact: nnolan@theadvocate.com

n The Bounty of Bertel

Each year,excitement develops concerning the identity of therecipient of the C. Alvin Bertel Award of the World Trade Center of New Orleans. This year,the recognition befell GregoryRusovich,CEO of Transoceanic Development. “Since 1967, the prestigious honor has recognized individuals who have madesignificant contributions to Louisiana’sport and maritime industry.” Like father,like son. In 1990, Gregory’sfather,Basil J. Rusovich Jr., was tapped for the Bertel Award. It was named after C. Alvin Bertel, who, in the early 1940s, helped bring about astate constitutional amendment providing for thenonpolitical selection of New OrleansPortCommissioners. As aresult, the “Dock Board” instituted reformsthat still continue. The Higgins Hotel housed the midday encomiumsand lunch. A spring mix salad, braised short rib, and triple chocolatemousse menupleased the collective palate. Further attractions were the arrangements by Kim Starr Wise Floral Events.

Mast headers included Greg Rusovich and spouse Suzanne, WTCNO executive director HarrisonCrabtree,Greater New Orleans Inc. President and CEO Michael Hecht, and Louisiana Economic Development Secretary SusanBourgeois. Also, and several are former awardees, JamesCarter,MikeKearney,MerrittLaneIII,GuyWilliams,DawnLopez,KristiApp,Jim Letten,WillBaldwin,Capt. MichaelMiller,and PaigeCarter

Said Greg Rusovich about his recognition, “I am honored to receive the C. Alvin Bertel Award. The maritime industry is dear to me and my family,and is the lifeblood of our beloved region and state. Now morethan ever,our industry is poised to be the Gateway to America, and export hub to the world.”

TRAVEL

AirPodstakeawayalearningopportunity

BY MADISON DARBYSHIRE Bloomberg News (TNS)

Years ago, after graduating from culinary school, Ilived for awhile with relatives in Switzerland, often cooking them dinner and asking my aunt, who spoke limited English, how it tasted. Every night she would pat me on the shoulder and say,“It’sfine.” Ispoke none of the multiple languages she wasfluent in, but one time, Icould have sworn she described amealtomy uncle as “gross.” Ibecameajournalist instead.

It was only years later that I learned one translation for gross, or groß, in Swiss German is great. And fein means something closer to elegant, delicate, even delicious. If I’d had atool to accelerate my understanding, Imight have made different life choices.

Ithought of that night when I read about the latest Apple Inc. AirPods, which can translate foreignlanguages in real time Aperson speaks to you in English, French, German, Portuguese or Spanish (with more languages on the way), and Sirirepeats it in your native tongue. It’sanincredible inflection point for futuristic personal tech, with the potentialto open up the world in wayshumans have dreamed about for millennia And yet Ifeel sad for how much we may lose, especially when traveling abroad.

According to the Bible,the diffuse languages of the world were handed down from Heavenasa punishment for human ambition, a way to limit mankind’s belief in its ownimportance over the divine. But cautionary tales have never muchbothered Silicon Valley Technology has alreadyall but eliminated the chance of getting lost on our way to dinner,limitingopportunities to stumble upon

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

By ChristopherElliott

things we didn’teven know we were looking for.What happens when we stop misunderstanding, misreading and mistranslating? How much serendipity—and comedy —will simply cease?

Some of the bestdishes I’ve ever eatenabroad showed up afterI accidentally nodded yes when I meant no to awaiterlisting specials faster than an auctioneer It’shappened less and less since Googlemadeitpossible to translate aphoto ofa menu in real time, but my anecdotes have suffered. It would have made for amuchbetter story if in Vietnam I’d actually orderedthe goat testicles, thinking Iwas askingfor chops And so Iworry,not simply that someone might end up in asweaty kitchen insteadofbecoming a writerprone to eating microwaved peas for dinner,but also that we will lose what remains of our motivationtolearnlanguages when urgency to understand is suddenlystripped away Americans andBritsare already broadly derided for theiroverconfidencewhen traveling abroad

our willingnesstotraipse around the world with the assumptionthat we will be able to speak English and be understood. It’snot instinctive for English-speaking tourists to learn basic pleasantries before going on atrip to Italy or Spain, the way it might be for speakersof other languages

The new AirPods —which can alsotranslate speech intowriting —only exacerbate this complacency.Sure, you might get what you want faster by holding up your phone, but isn’tthere more to gain from the embarrassment of slightly mispronouncing your request for atable for two? At least you will have tried. Without understanding, we observe moreclosely,weread physical cues.Weslow down. We watch what theydosothat we can copy it. We make mistakes,embracing an increasingly rare experience in our day-to-day: failure.

To try is “cringe,” especially in front of others. But traveling, being aforeigner,isone of the truly great opportunities to be outside what makes us comfortable —and

to grow from the challenge. A certain amount of friction is an essentialpart of being aperson in the world, and the muscles we develop to deal with it are vital for self-esteem and resiliency.Asthis friction is removed from our daily life, human beings are, rather than finding themselves more relaxed and connected, feeling lonelier and moreanxious.

So few opportunities fornot knowing remain. We can judge a date by stalking their LinkedIn profile and sleuthing photos of their middle-school homecoming dance, before ever learning if we like the waythey laugh, how they take their coffee or if they’re polite to waitstaff. We decide what looks good on amenu long before we stroll into aneighborhood trattoria.Preparation can make life morestreamlined and less stressful, but is the loss of mystery (and surprise,and often embarrassment)really better?

As we becomemore reliant on technology and artificial intelligence to provide us with answers, there arefewer chances to be inexpert. It is nice, but not good, to be constantly reassured that we areright, smart and have all the answers. Some things in life should be difficult.

I’m not advocating for ignorance: People should commit to learning languages. Gaining another language is notjust functionally rewarding, it teaches you to think differently.But there are times in life where things should be new —even completely unintelligible— so you can look at themintheir entirety,and appreciatethe scale of everything you don’tyet understand.

Our phones and Google Maps already mean we are now rarely, if ever,lost. If you’re walking around with your eyes trained on a map, you’ll get to where you’re going, but you’ll miss so many of the wrong turns and mysteries that make you curious about the world

that you’re exploring. Without the barrier of language, the experience becomes even more straightforward, less unknown.

It is so often our missteps —our not knowing —that give life its flavor.Even within language groups, dialects can catch us off-guard. Ionce announced to aroom of Brits that Ineeded to go put on pants (to them, underpants). The verb “to grab” as in “to grab a taco” in Spain means to do something entirely different —and very NSFW —inCentral and South America. Iwonder whether the AirPods know that.

The new technology made me think about the 2001 novel “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett. When a group of foreign dignitaries and businessmen are taken hostage by arebel terrorist organization, the relationships between the characters lay bare how little human communication relies on common language.

Her point, on some level, is that language can actually get in the way of human understanding. To believe in love at first sight is to believe that love is its own language, and that spoken dialects are somewhat irrelevant.

Speaking with bilingual friends, they often note that they have subtly different personalities in each language —more subtle in one, more loose or comedic in another How well can you really know your spouse whenyou know them only in their second language? Would you gain adeeper understanding if you could hear them in their first? Can AirPods ever be a nuanced enough tool to bridge that divide?

There remain, after all, compelling arguments for keeping alittle bit of illegibility in life. “Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to speak fluently with your mother-in-law?” Iasked an American friend who married aman from Paris. “That is exactly why Idon’t learn French,” she said.

Turo unfairly accusesrenterofcausing $1,200 in damage

IrentedacarthroughTuroinEdmonton, Canada,andreturneditinthesamecondition—butthehostaccusedmeofcausing ascratch.

ThecarwascoveredinmudwhenI pickeditup,makingitimpossibletoinspectforexistingdamage.Atdrop-off,it wasdark,snowyandmyphonewasdying, somyphotosweretoo dimtoproveanything.

Christopher Elliott

Thehostadmittedthe damagecould’vehappenedafterIleftthecar inanunsecuredparking spot.Herefusedtomeet inpersontodiscuss theallegeddamage.He rentedthecaroutagain immediately,andTurobackedhis$1,200 claimdespitemechanicssayingthescratch

wasminor Turoignoredmyevidenceandraised thechargeby$400for“hiddendamage” foundafterotherrentersusedthecar.Asa studentlivingonlessthan$2,000amonth, thisfeeisdevastating.DidIjustbecome avictimofaTuroscam?—BartoszJusypenko,Olszanica,Poland Turo,which is like Airbnb for cars, shouldhave ensured thehost followed its own policyrequiring vehiclestobeclean at pickup. A dirty car preventedyou from documenting preexisting damage, violating the company’sterms (Turo’s guidelinesstate hosts must“clean the vehicle beforeeach trip”).

Alberta’s Consumer Protection Actalso requires businesses to act in goodfaith,whichTuro ignored

by rubber-stamping blurry photos and refusing to addressyour evidence.

But youmade afew mistakes, too. First, youshouldn’thave accepted amuddy car.Ifyou had no choice, you should have spoken withyour Turo host about the difficulty of documenting any preexisting damage. (For me,knowing what Iknow about damage claims, Iwould have been highly reluctant to accept anything other than a writtenwaiver from the host.)

Youshould have taken better photos at drop-off. But thehost’s refusal to allow an inspection and Turo’s failure to mandate one —tiltedthe process unfairly Always keep adetailed paper

trail, as you did, and escalate to executives if acompany stonewalls you. I’ve published Turo’scontacts on my consumeradvocacy site, Elliott.org. Before Iget to the resolution of this case, Iwanted to note that I agree withTuro and the host on one issue.Ifarenter damages acar whilethey have it —even if it’snot their fault —they are responsible. In other words, if someone scratched your car and you didn’tnotice, it doesn’tmatter You’re still on the hook. But theevidence in this case was as muddy as the side of your Turo car.The photos were inconclusive Turo didn’tfollow its procedures, and neither did the car’sowner

The company needed to take another look at your case. Icontacted Turo on your behalf. The company admitted the host’s photos were “unclear” and voided the claim.“We remind all hosts and guests of the importance of clear trip photos,” arepresentative told me Moral of the story? Never let a company pressure you into paying for damage that was notvisible at the time of pickup —and always snap those pre-trip photos, even if it means borrowing aflashlight. Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy,anonprofit organization that helps consumers. Email chris@elliott.org.

ARTS &CULTURE

Michalopoulosopens newexhibit at theCabildo

Worksofone

The exhibition “Michalopoulos: Mystical Expressionism,” on view in the top level of the Cabildo through Sept. 27, 2026,takes place only afew steps and decades away from the artist’s start in New Orleans, painting plein air on French Quarter streets.

Dave Walker

The James Michalopoulosbrand has traveled widely and well throughout and beyond the art world. In addition to exhibits of his work in Geneva, London,Berlin and his own Bienville Street gallery,hefounded Orleania Art Studios, Celebration Distillation (a rum distillery that closed in 2021), and recently the art-centric Hotel Pompadour on Elysian Fields Avenue.

His eighth Jazz Fest poster,adding Tank and the Bangastothe lineup of Dr.John (1998), Louis Armstrong (2001), Aaron Neville (2013) and others, headlined the 2025 festival. And anew documentary about him premieres Dec. 14 on WLAE-TV,called “Michalopoulos –The Art of Celebration.”

APittsburgh native who is arguably New Orleans’ most successful living artist, Michalopoulos couldnot have imaginedacareer retrospective in an exhibition space he once literally looked up to.

“I never once thought of this possibility,” he said during arecentpre-opening interview in the gallery “Back in the days when Iwas on the other end of PirateAlley,my focus was much more on learning, on mastering perspective, light and dark, on composition and commerce, on making it all work.

“I thought at one point to name the show ‘From One End of the Alley to the Other,’ which would havebeen an apt summary,” he said.

The more than 60 paintings in theexhibition range throughout the artist’s40-year professional career,all calling-card depictions of classic New Orleans vernacular architecture, most rendered in his quavering, paint-heavy,color-rich, dreamy,dramatic style, which he describes in the exhibit wall text as “liberated engagement, not characterized by intellectual deliberation, adirect experience.”

The labels on the paintings are meticulous in describing the exact style of house or building depicted —shotgun, Italianate, double gallery,etc. —and often offer a history lesson in how and from where the style evolved, which are learnings that tourists wandering in from JacksonSquare can take home.

There are afew examples of how Michalopoulos’ style has changed over time, as well. In a1980 painting of acottage,

“You can see that my style has evolved from this period,” he said. “There’sasoft quality to this, very soft and very atmospheric, and it’sless abstract.”

There are manylater examples of themore mystical andexpressionistic, of course.

“My style does evolve,and also my mood evolves,”hesaid. “So,I allowmyself to go where themoment takes me.”

He described how,whenhe looksatabuilding forapainting,

“Sometimes, for instance, it is as simple as there’s something magnificent in frontofmeand there’s amood, and it’s really galvanizing. It’ssoalluring that my sole focus is to just kind of recreate what’s there.”

JAMES MICHALOPOULOS,artist

he feelsenthralledand hopeshis deep appreciation translates into his work

“Sometimes, forinstance, it is as simple as there’ssomething magnificentinfrontofmeand there’s amood,and it’s really galvanizing. It’s so alluring that my sole focus is to just kind of recreate what’s there.

“In another moment,I feel something that is beyond the physical appearance. So,there’s a kind of energy in asituation,and I’moften in that mode where I am allowing theenergy in themoment to kindoflead me through something.”

The Michalopoulosstyle,however popular it may be withart collectors, JazzFest fans andnow Cabildo visitors, will continue to evolve,hesaid.

“I don’tfeel like I’mheldwithin acertainstylisticlimit,right?” he said.

“In fact, I’m planning on breaching even manyofthe limited norms that Ialreadylive within. Yeah.I’m readytoviolate allof that, and Iwill. That’sa promise.”

Dave Walkerfocuses on behindthe-scenes coverage of the region’smany museumshere and at www.themuseumgoer com. Email Daveatdwalkertp@ gmail.com.

WHAT’S HAPPENINGAT NEWORLEANS-AREA MUSEUMS

n The Museum of the Southern JewishExperience,818 Howard Ave., will host a Hanukkah Family Day from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. Sunday. Therewill be free admission, kid-friendly programming, and Hanukkah snacks. msje.org

n The National WorldWar II Museum will host a PearlHarbor Commemorative Ceremony at 11:50 a.m. Sunday, starting with amomentofsilence to mark the timeofthe attack followedbya brief ceremony.The free event will takeplace in-person and online nationalww2museum.org

n The PhotoNOLA 2025 Festival will kick offatthe New Orleans Museum of Artwitha free screening of the documentary “Chasing the Light: ALife Through Photographs,” profiling the life and work of AGallery for Fine Photography’sJoshua Mann Pailet, at 6:45 p.m.Wednesday.A Q&A withPailetand Brian Piper, NOMA’s curator of photographs, will follow.APiper-ledtour of NOMA’s current photographyexhibitswill precede the screening at 5:45 p.m. photonola.org

n The Friends of the Cabildo’s Second ThursdayLecture Series will present StefanSchöberlein and ZacharyTurpin in afree virtual discussion of their upcoming book, “Whitman’sSouthernSojourn: Rediscovering the Poet in New Orleans, 1848”at6 p.m.Thursday. louisianastatemuseum.org

n The annual Friends of the Cabildo Academic Symposium, scheduled for9:45 p.m. to 4p.m. Saturdaywill explore the historyof Spanish Colonial Louisiana and the American Revolution.The event will takeplace in-person and online friendsofthecabildo.org

n At 1p.m. Dec. 14, the Historic NewOrleans Collection will present, in conjunction withthe PhotoNOLA Festival, the 2025 Cahn-Lawrence Lecture,“New Orleans in the ’90s,” featuring photographers Cheryl Gerber and GusBennett. The lecture will also explore photojournalism through thelens of HNOC’sarchiveofThe TimesPicayune photographs.The event is free but registration is required. hnoc.org

READS WE LOVED IN 2025

We opened up the floor in the newsroom to see which new books our reporters loved most this year

Below are five suggestions, three of which were published this year and two that were published in 2024.

“Alchemised,” by SenLinYu, and “The Irresistible Urge To Fall For Your Enemy,” by Brigitte Knightley

These two books made their way onto my shelf via the same popular new sub-genre of romance novel “Dramione” fan fiction. The books were written by authors who penned and uploaded fan-fics about love blossoming between Harry Potter characters/rivals Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger

They are two of three Dramione tales that proved so popular online that their authors got deals to rework and publish their stories this year

The books fall squarely in the enemies-to-lovers category. Be forewarned, “Alchemised” is the darker of the pair, delving into themes of war and trauma, while “The Irresistible Urge” is lighter with fun banter and a slow-burn yearn. —MichelleHunter,NewOrleanscrimereporter

“Dinner for Vampires,” by Bethany Joy Lenz

I was addicted to the teen drama television series “One Tree Hill” as a teen and thought this memoir would be an interesting look behind the curtain. But “Dinner for Vampires” surprised me, reading more like a suspense novel that I could not put down Bethany Joy Lenz writes a fascinating tale about how a young actress looking for connection wound up in a cult while also filming one of the most famous shows on television. She’s honest about her scars while also sharing hardwon wisdom and hope. —AndreaGallo,seniorinvestigationseditor

“Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert,” by Bob The Drag Queen

The only new-release book I read this year was “Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert” which is an excellent palate cleanser between heavier reads.

It’s a hilarious trip through history through the eyes of Bob the Drag Queen, served with a lot of attitude and even some original songs. I love that it makes historical figures so accessible, and it has a great message about getting past the fear of putting yourself out there! Lauren Walck,NewOrleansfeatureseditor

“The Heartbeat Library,” by Laura Imai Messina

This book is quite literally a meditation. It is a portrait of emotions, of how we grieve and how we grow, and how one cannot do one without the other.

The story is of a man coming to terms with losing a child and a marriage, but it is told in a way that is contemplative, tender and ultimately hopeful. The story describes its characters’ thoughts and feelings with such clarity and affection that I found it helped me understand my own. — MattAlbright,politicseditor

Author James Nolan ‘a bit odd,’ ‘mesmerized by darkness and joy’

Writer thoroughly ‘represented New Orleans’

BY RIEN FERTEL Contributing writer

“I’m good at running away,” the New Orleans writer and teacher James Nolan once wrote me in an email. Always moving, always writing, that was Nolan, who died earlier this year, on Aug. 22, at the age of 78. For those who only knew his work on the page, he was not only a prolific multihyphenate of an author a published poet, novelist, essayist, memoirist and translator — but thoroughly represented New Orleans: a bit odd, equally mesmerized by darkness and joy unafraid to let life get in the way of work.

Though his back-flap biography would later describe him as a “fifthgeneration New Orleans native,” as a bisexual and bookish young man, he couldn’t wait to escape.

“The city struck me as brutally backward,” he wrote in his first book of memoirs, “nowhere I wanted to call home.”

He longed to be a poet a crime for which his conservative parents committed him to a mental hospital. Set free, he set out west in 1966, joining the generation bound for San Francisco, where he communed with that city’s famed class of social deviants.

“I’ve never been so happy in my life,” he wrote. After college and graduate school, meandering around Central and South America, destined for the poetry hot spot that was Chile, he learned of the death of the Chilean Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda. Years later, he would translate a book he purchased en route to meet the master “Stones of the Sky.”

That book’s six final lines would have inspired any aspiring artist: “In this point or port or birth or death / we shall be stone, borderless night, / unbending love, unending brilliance, / eternal light, buried fire, / pride condemned to its intensity: / the only star that is ours.”

Nolan’s early travels inform the first two books of his own verse.

“Why I Live in the Forest,” published in 1974, shows a restless but shackled Nolan, not yet able to escape his birthplace.

“Walking again down Canal Street / in this seething Scorpio city,” he writes. “You never really leave New Orleans / you only dream you do.”

His 1980 follow-up, “What Moves Is Not the Wind,” broadcasts lyrical dispatches from a poet on the run and thoroughly enjoying himself — eating ceviche on an Ecuadorian beach, bargaining for avocados in a Guatemalan market sipping mango juice and anise gin in Popayán, tramping through the jungles of Tierradentro and Tikal.

“He washed through a life / that seemed a lot like / the lives all around him,” he writes.

Center for Creative Arts student His friends show up to hang out and smoke joints while taking in this performance from the beyond. WWOZ shows up to transmit a “Live from the Crypt” program to kick off Jazz Fest. It turns out his grieving girlfriend snuck a portable radio into the casket. The assembled face a second silencing when the radio’s batteries run out.

“For weeks to come,” Nolan writes, “many still didn’t speak, afraid they would somehow find their own voices abruptly, irrevocably, gone.”

“He churned with the currents / and was thrashed by the rhythms / growing louder and louder / until it was all he could hear.” Nolan bargained that his nomadic lifestyle was not conducive to the life of a poet and turned to academia. He earned a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of California, taught English and creative writing coast to coast, scored a pair of Fulbright scholarships to lecture in Spain and navigated the perils of teaching Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” in Beijing (his administrators banned the book, but his students had already clandestinely read it).

After returning to New Orleans in 2002 to care for his ailing mother, Nolan taught at Tulane, Loyola and independently, nurturing many writers, including Maurice Carlos Ruffin.

Post-Katrina, perhaps horrified by the city’s fortunes and reinvigorated by its possibilities, he wrote at a rapid pace — beginning with his debut short story collection, “Perpetual Care,” released in 2008, the body of work that the storm engendered found hope and more often humor in the darkest of places.

In one story, a middle-aged New Orleanian faces funerals at home and away His mother’s dying wish is that her family not eat the post-wake meal at Mandina’s.

“There was too much butter in the meunière sauce, she insisted, and the string beans were canned.” Concurrently, he agrees to scatter the cremains of a San Francisco friend into the Pacific headwinds, only to receive a mouthful of ashes.

In another, music emanates from the tomb of a recently deceased, trumpet-playing New Orleans

A first novel, “Higher Ground,” followed A madcap murder mystery “A Confederacy of Dunces” meets Dashiell Hammett — the novel is set in the “open-air mental hospital” that was New Orleans in the months immediately after Katrina.

On a roll, Nolan would publish “Flight Risk: Memoirs of a New Orleans Bad Boy” in 2017. The story of his family, travels and many sexcapades including one toogood-to-not-be-true dream sequence involving Mick Jagger — is devilishly chatty

The following year, he collected his New Orleans-set poems in “Nasty Water,” titled after his most famous poem, a sordid slice of verse that earned a “rapturous response” at readings. It’s easy to see why.

“New Orleans is a shimmering / mirage floating on nasty water,” he chants, “irrigated by nasty water, / nasty water seeping out / of every pore.”

It’s the “drain ditch gumbo” accumulating in the neutral ground of St Claude Avenue that gives New Orleans life, the Easter lilies rotting in cemetery urns, the “black tadpole broth” of the City Park lagoons, “where swans preen / in mean perfection / and stale bread crusts / bob, bloat, and sink / among mosquito hawks.”

The last book Nolan published before his death is his best. “Between Dying and Not Dying, I Chose the Guitar,” which I reviewed in these pages last November, is a charming and cantankerous memoir of our recent plague years. In the COVID summer of 2020, Nolan was evicted from his apartment, setting up a metaphysical spiral into “the guitar of my imagination,” a phrase inspired by Neruda. He writes of the loss of loved ones, pandemics past and the thin line that separates the dead from the living.

In reading over the past several months everything he published, what stuck with me most was a poem featuring Nolan at his most bawdy and beatific, a selfelegy of sorts, titled “In Lieu of Flowers.”

“After I die / no more erections, / no more wild parties / for anyone, okay?” he teases. “No more smoking, drinking, staying / up late. The good old days / officially will be over / Do your taxes on New Year’s Eve. / Darn your socks on Mardi Gras. / You’ll finally have a great excuse / to mope, so go ahead, be morose. / Order bottled water Become a vegan. / You could never keep up / with my leaps of joy.”

Rien Fertel is the author of four books, including, most recently, “Brown Pelican.”

I’m in aseasonoflife when more of my former teachers are passing away,each lossreminding me how early mentors helped lead me to the right place. All of this came to mind recentlywith the news that David Busekist, who taught me high school trigonometry and so much else, had died at 73.

It’sbeen said that the world’s newsrooms are full of failed math students —journalistswho toil in the world of words because the world of numbers eluded them. Isuppose Icount myself in that legion.

As ascholar of arithmetic and geometry,Iwas dutifulbut uninspired, and Isigned up for trigonometry only because it was

CURIOUS

Continued from page1D

what is now Peabody MagnetHigh School, named for GeorgeFoster Peabody,a wealthy Massachusetts philanthropist, who gave agrant to help build the school in 1895 Lafargue teamed up with his wife to operate the school.

“Hisgrave is in the Wesley Methodist Church Cemetery on Hunter Street in Pineville,” Alexandria historian and author Michael Wynne said. “When Iwas searching for it,Ihad to clear away grass and other growth to find it.”

The reason for Wynne’ssearch forLafargue’sgravesite wasthe same as Burns’. Both wanted to tell the story of how Lafargue rose frombeing born to an enslaved person to become anational education pioneer

“He was eveninvited to the White House at atime when no Black people would have been asked there,” said Wynne.

Wynne did extensive research of Lafargue’slife for the book, “JeanBaptiste Lafargue, The ‘Negro’ Who Re-InventedBlack Education For America.”

“He accomplished so much, yet there’snot much said abouthim,” Wynne said.

As weeds slowly overtake the flat headstones marking the graves of Lafargue and his wife, it’salmost as if he’sbeen lost to time.

DannyHeitman AT RANDOM

expected of me.

Gazingatthe equations Mr Busekist scribbledonthe board, I was quickly lostinthe fog of sines, cosines andtangents—somystified, in fact,thatI couldn’tsee my wayout. The fog never lifted in that anguished daily hour of my senior year, andI suspect that Mr Busekist waved me through to graduationongrounds of mercy rather thanmerit.

PROVIDED PHOTO By MICHAEL WyNNE

The original PeabodyHighSchool building in Alexandria.J.B.Lafargue founded the city’s predominantly Blackschool, which nowisknown as PeabodyMagnet HighSchool

But Wynneisworking not to let that happen.

“The City of Pineville is going to put up astate historic marker honoring Lafargue at the cemetery,” Wynne said.“It takes about sixmonthsfor themarker to be made,soit should happen in May or June.”

So,what story will the marker commemorate?

Well, it begins with the1863 birthofJohnBaptiste Lafargue in Marksville

“His father,Arnaud Denis Lafargue, was awell-known politician and newspaper editor in Avoyelles Parish,” Wynne said.

“Arnaud was also alieutenant in the Confederate Army.His mother was an enslaved person named Mary Jackson, who was born in Virginia, transported to New Orleans and sold to J.B. Lafargue’s grandfather.The family owned

The lessons from Mr.Busekist that really stuck with me unfolded outside of his classroom. He was the faculty sponsor of our Key Club, ajunior arm of Kiwanis that, in that place and time, was all-male. In the interest of fellowship, we gathered one Sunday amonth for thebreakfast buffet at alocal hotel, then went to church as agroup. The place of worship changed each time so that all of us, regardless of our faith lives, could see what it was like to sit among Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians and Baptists

town,I’m sure we would have ended up there, too.

Busekist

For ourmonthly church tours, Mr.Busekist required us to wear suits. Ican still picture us perched over our eggs and pancakes —adozen boys fingering their collars and neckties like beagles chafed by the leash. Inevitably,there would be somehorseplay at the breakfast table as teenagers still groggy on aweekend morning tried to tease themselves awake. There would be no mischief in church, though.

If there had been amosque or synagogue in my Louisiana home-

land and was very influential.”

Though his mother was enslaved, Lafargue’sfather had him baptized at St.Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Mansuraand sent him to an Avoyelles Parish school supported by thePeabody Education Fund, established in 1867 by Peabodytopromote education in the post-Civil WarSouthernUnited States.

Lafargue later would pursue a grant from the same fund to establish the Peabody school in Alexandria. He received his state teaching certificate in 1889, which would set himonapathtochange education for Black people in Louisiana.

“He was such an incredible influence not only in central Louisiana, not only in Louisiana but in theSouth,” Wynne said.

Lafargue actually started out working in journalism for his father’spaper,the Marksville Bulletin,then started his own newspaper,the LouisianaProgress, in 1895. The paper was aimed at Black readership, and though arsonistsdestroyed his building, Lafargue was elected vice president of theColored National Press in 1896. Then came his work in education. His accomplishments include the1907 creation of aMother’s Conference, which would become thefirst Parent-Teacher AssociationinLouisiana. He alsocreated and servedasfirst president of the Louisiana State Colored Teachers Association in 1902.

“When you wearasuit,” Mr Busekist told us, “you’re telling others that you wanttobea

“In 1907, he first broached the idea of having acity library in Alexandria,” Wynne said. “His idea developed into the creation of the Carnegie-endowed library on WashingtonStreetinAlexandria in 1908. Unfortunately,during Lafargue’stime, this library building was basically inaccessible to the Black citizenry.”

ButLafargue kept pushing forward. He started asecond newspaper,the Advanced Messenger in Alexandria in 1911 and served as its editor

“He was thefirst Black man in thestate to becomeanewspaper editor,” Wynne said. “And in 1929, he created theAlexandria Advocate newspaper.”

Lafargue also was moving in political circles.

In 1896, the Rapides Parish Republican Party sent Lafargue to theRepublican National Convention.Hewas the only Black man in the nation to serve in aparty leadership position in the nomination of William McKinley forthe presidency Lafargueand McKinley developed afriendship during the convention andremainedfriends throughout McKinley’spresidency.

“In 1896, McKinley gave him theflag that liberated Cuba,” Wynne said. “And in 1902, he met Booker T. Washington and convinced him to come to Alexandria in 1903 to speak before the National Negro Congress convention,which Lafargue organized.”

gentleman. When you put on a coat and tie but forget your manners, you look like afool. I’mnot having any of you represent us that way.”

We’d heard that clothes make the man,but Mr.Busekist was reminding us that it wasn’tquite so. Dignity didn’tmagically grow from looking acertain way;you had to act with dignity,too. David Busekist taught me that all faiths are worthy of respect. From him,I also learned that grace comes from inside you, not from aclothing rack. I’ve thought about him every time Iput on a necktie.

Email Danny Heitmanat danny@dannyheitman.com.

This is just asmall listing of Lafargue’s activities, whichalso includedorganizing “EducationalSocieties” educationofBlack adults, amusic programatPeabody, the state’s first at aBlack school Peabody’spopular Marching Stampede marching band is a legacy of that program Meanwhile, Lafargue maintained asuccessful marriage to his wife, Sarah, whose father was the first Black representative in the Louisiana Legislature.

“She wasaprincipal at aBlack school in Rapides Parish whenshe metJ.B., and from what I’ve found in my research, Ibelieve she was the first Black female principal in the state,” Wynne said. Still, there wereobstacles.

“He wasignored by his family,” Wynne said. “When his father died, Lafargue could not inherit any part of the estate, because his father’srelationship with his mother was illegal at the time.” Lafargue sued. The case went to the Louisiana SupremeCourt, which ruled in his favor,but court expenses bankrupted the estate. Lafargue died in 1943 at age 80, and with Burns nationalizing his story,hewon’tbeforgotten.

Do you have aquestionabout something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phonenumber andthe city where you live.

An Advent approach to disengagingfromsocialmedia

BY KEITHHORCASITAS

Contributing writer

By this time of the morning,after prayers, Iwould havealready checked my Facebook, Instagram and other social media at least afew times on my phone just to stay connected to things, right?

As one of my social work colleagues, Jan, used to wisely note to me: “Da Nile” (denial) is not ariver in Egypt!”

OK, Iadmit it —whileIcertainly have some good routines and organized tendencies, Imust admit how important it is to really “know thyself,” as Socrates sharedmany moons ago And Jesus certainly brought this fully to being in Mt. 22:39, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

So, yes, Idohave asocial media

GIFTS

Continued from page1D

We all have people that are hard to shop for on our gift list, and WYES Passport offers something for everyone —drama, the arts, documentaries on local and national history,cooking shows, music specials, award-winning PBS series and more. Alternatively,anannual membership with WWNO or WWOZ could be agreat present for music and radio fans.

Jewelryisforever

Frustrated withthe lack of glass recycling in New Orleans, two former Tulane University students created Glass Half Full, anonprofit dedicated to recycling used glass into somethingfunctional.

One initiative is NOLA Alchemy,acollaboration betweenGlass HalfFull and local artist AndrewBarrows of LiquidArt Glass. The result is handcrafted piecesof unique jewelry created by glassblowing 100% recycled glass.

It’salocal gift that also benefits thelocal environment.

Let’sdolunch

Taking your foodie friend to ameal is agreat wayto support the city’sfood-focused nonprofits. Oneoption is Cafe Reconcile, which is celebrating its 25th year of empowering young New Orleanians to pursue their potential. They do this by welcoming 16- to 24-yearolds into a14-week, in-person training that addresses barriers to employment and educational opportunities as well as providing real-world hospitality industry experience. Youcan help support Reconcile’smission by treating aloved one to aholiday meal.

addiction

SinceIhave facilitated in the past as alicensed clinical social worker for many support groups for others, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, infant loss, Parkinson’s,

stroke, etc., it is time for me to start an SMA (Social Media Anonymous) support group.

With Advent underway and New Year’scoming up soon, it is a good time to makesome practical resolutions, so here’smy12-step plan:

1. Fast from social media, including Facebook, Instagram and other accounts.

2. Spend that surfing time in service to theneedy and the poor —sometimes, right in my own family

3. Write more handwritten letters.

4. Call family and friends, and leave averbal message of love for them, if that is available.

5. Only use my cellphone for calls and texting (not while driving!) when needed —OK, and also for Googling things, maps, etc.

6. Only use my laptop for personal needs twice aday —inthe

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Culinary &Hospitality Institute is preparing students to go into theworld of food and beverage. They offergift cards, available in any amount, whichcan be redeemedfor enthusiast classes (learn how to make king cake,for example), theirChef Instructor Series ledbyinstitute staff, private cooking lessons orevena twice-yearly pop-up restaurant designed and staffed by the institute’sstudents.

Finally,the Southern Food and Beverage Museum offers 2.5-hourcooking classes —lunchincluded —three times aweek. Learn to cook dishes like gumbo, maque choux, Creole jambalaya and bananasFosteratthis one-of-a-kindmuseum.

Uncovering localtreasures

Swingbyyour favorite museum’sgift shopfor a range of curated, memorable ideas for presents. For example, The Shop at the Collection, attached to TheHistoricNew Orleans Collection,isfulloflocally themed treasures. Case in point: whoever gets an umbrella decorated with Bunny Matthews’ artwill be prayingfor rain

The purchasesthathelp thecollection morethan anything else, though, are

thebooks they publishinhouse. More than 60 titles focused on New Orleans and theGulf Southare available online at shophnoc.com and at the shop.

Become amember

Many of your favorite nonprofitsalso offer annual membership opportunities.

Longue VueHouse and Gardens offersmembership at avariety of levels that include perks such as free entry,aswell as discountsto the slate of special events, cafe, giftshopand children’scamps. Membership withFriends of CityPark includesallyear access to theBotanical Gardens with aplus one, andevena free carpassto Celebration in the Oaks. Meanwhile, Ogden Museum membership features agrab bag of benefits, including free entry to more than athousand museums around the country

What kind of party?!

APenguin Party at the Audubon Aquarium could be theperfect gift for animal lovers. A$145 experience includes 45 minutes of interaction with an endangered African penguin! (Note that penguin parties pick back up in Marchoncebreeding season has concluded, but

morning after prayers and in the evening before prayers.

7. Look forthe “Facebook of Christ” in everyone, as Michael Acaldo, former CEO of St. Vincent de Paul, so greatly promoted with the homeless.

8. “Start where the person is” —the motto formyprofession of social work

9. Follow the example of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta in reaching outtoall in need.

10. Make adaily examination of conscience to find ways to amend for my mistakes, and to ask forgiveness from God and others and using “the Golden Tool:” the Golden Rule.

11. Weekly,and moreoften and possibly daily when possible, attendchurch services.

12. Keep humor in my daily life to share my humanity in honesty and simplicity,asSt. Francis de Sales noted,“Remember this

you can still buy aticket as agift now.)

The Audubon Nature Institute offers abunch of other Wild Encounter options that makefor great gifts.

Top-tier swag

UnCommon Construction uses thebuild process to empoweryouthwith the skills, network, resources and experience to lead the workforce after high school or college. Support the mission by purchasinghats, sweatshirts, tees andmore from theonline store at uccnolaswag.itemorder.com. Not only will you be gifting great gear,you’ll also turn your lovedone into awalking billboard for acause you love.

ThePreservation Resource Center of NewOrleansalsosells apparelto supportits mission of protecting historic architecture.This “Baby Got Back” shirt, with adrawing of a camelback home, is just one of many fun examples.

Make memories

New Orleans nonprofits put on fun eventsyearround, and tickets also make great giftsthat don’ttake up room on ashelf. For example,nonprofit construction organizationRebuilding Together is hosting its Build

well: We are sometimes so busy being good angels that we neglect to be good men and women.” Our imperfections are going to accompany us to the grave. We can’tgoanywhere without having our feet on the ground; yet, if we fall, we don’tjust lie there, sprawled in the dust. On the other hand, we must not think we can fly,for we are like little chicks whodon’thave wings yet.

“Wedie little by little, so our imperfections must die with us, a little each day.” —St. Francis de Sales, “Golden Counsels,” page 14. —Horcasitaslives in Baton Rouge. HumanConditionsubmissions of 600 wordsorfewer may be emailedtofeatures@ theadvocate.com. Stories will be kept on file and publication is notguaranteed.There is no payment forHumanCondition

&Boil on May 16.For $40, your guest gets unlimited crawfish and the opportunity to hang out withlike-minded localswho careabout safe and affordablehousing for residents.

Or,ifit’sagala you’re after,Roots of Music, the youth-focused nonprofit music program,hosts theirs each November. Call them to inquire about buying aticket to next year’scelebration as agift.

Keep it simple

For your friendswiththe biggest hearts, youcould also simply makeadonation or giftintheir name. The local branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is collecting gifts and monetarydonationsthrough its NAMI Angels program for the hundreds of community members spending their holidays in local behavioral health andsubstance use hospitals, away from family and friends.

Giftsthatkeepongiving

Shopping for someone who loves the theater, orchestra, opera or ballet? Many of our city’sperforming arts organizations sell season subscriptions in addition to individual tickets—bothof which would makeanexcellent present. The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, New Orleans Ballet Theatre, New Orleans Opera Festival, andstages such as Le Petit Theatre all offer ticket subscriptions.

Of course,ifit’sa subscription you’re after,we’d be remiss to notmention digital and print subscriptions to our very own TimesPicayune.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. As youcan see, if you wanttoget aspecial giftfor your loved one while also supporting the organizations that make New Orleansgreat, youhave no shortage of options this holiday season.

ESSENCE

Continued from page1D

In 2026, Superlounge tickets won’t be forsale. Instead, organizers have revamped access again to honor their greatest supporters forfree. “A subscription to ESSENCE Magazine is your accesstothe Superlounge,” organizers said in astatement. “Providingfreeaccesstoour biggest supporters is our way of honoring the people who’vecreated an opportunity for ESSENCE to thrive for55years across print and digital.”

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday,Dec. 7, the341st day of 2025. There are 24 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On Dec. 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an air raid on theU.S. Navy base at PearlHarbor in Hawaii, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The United States declared war against Japan the following day

Alsoonthisdate:

In 1787, Delaware became thefirst state to ratify the U.S. Constitution

In 1972, America’slastcrewed moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral

In 1982, convicted murderer Charlie Brooks Jr.became thefirst U.S. prisoner to be executed by lethal injection, at aprison in Huntsville, Texas.

In 1988, amajor earthquake in the Soviet Union devastated northern Armenia, killing at least 25,000 people In 1993, six people were killed and19wounded in amass shooting aboard aLong Island Rail Road train in New York.

In 2004, Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan’sfirstpopularly elected president.

In 2018, James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into acrowdofcounterdemonstrators at a2017 White nationalist rally in Virginia, wasconvicted of first-degree murder in the death of Heather Heyer,an anti-racism activist. He was later sentenced on that and other convictionstolife in prison plus 419 years In 2024, the restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was reopened to the public afteradevastatingblaze nearly destroyed the beloved Gothic masterpiece in 2019. World leaders attended the reopening ceremony amid great fanfareand celebration. Today’sbirthdays: Linguistand political philosopher Noam Chomskyis97. Actor Ellen Burstyn is 93. Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is78. Singer-songwriter TomWaitsis76. Republican Sen. Susan M. Collins of Maine is 73. Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird is 69. Actor Jeffrey Wright is 60. Actor C. Thomas Howell is 59. Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens is 52. Football Hall of FamerAlan Faneca is 49. Actor Shiri Appleby is 47. Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is 46. Actor Nicholas Hoult is 36. MLB All-Star Pete Alonso is 31. Olympic swimming gold medalistTorri Huske is 23.

When thesushi rollsare toodarnbig to eat

DearMissManners: What is the polite way to eat large sushi rolls? Sometimes they’retoo big to comfortably eat whole without gagging! Gentlereader: Dissect them. Miss Manners does not usually condone deconstructing food in public, but these are desperate times. Use your chopsticks to pull out the insides and eat them separately.Then either squish the remaining rice and seaweed togetherand eat it in two bites or use the side of the chopstick to cut it in half. Perhaps the sight of their beautiful creationsbeing desecrated will inspire the chefs to make more manageable bites Or at least have them wonder why everyone is suddenly ordering them as takeout instead.

thefirst place.

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

reciprocity, and we both agree that even with “old-fashioned” concepts, things must be reciprocated. The gentleman will pay for dinner thefirst time, but then thelady must reciprocatethe next time. However,ifthe lady does not have an income sufficient to fund dinner for two at arestaurant, what should shedo? If therelationship is new and she does not yet wishtoentertain her gentleman friend in her home (unchaperoned),what are some low-costoptions that she might offer as anext date?

Ithought of asummer picnic, but arethere other options that might takeplace in thecolder months?

DearMissManners: My friend and Iwere discussing dating

Gentlereader: Coffee? Tea? Miss Mannerswill resist adding “Me?” —since presumably that is thereason for not hosting in her home (unchaperoned) in

DearMissManners: Six weeks ago, afriend andIscheduled a meetup. We have not seen each other in person formore than ayear Oneday before ourscheduled appointment, Itexted her to ask where she would like to get together. This washer response: “Oh, I did notput this in my calendar and we areleaving in acouple days to go overseas. Let’sreconnect in the fall. Apologies.” Would it be rude of me notto respond to this text? Honestly, given thatshe did noteven put our appointment in her calendar and did notreach out to reschedule or cancel whenshe made otherplans, Idon’twant to signalthatIamOKwith how lightly she treated ourplan to get together. At the same time,Idon’t want to senda snippy response that’snot who Iam. Can Ilet my silence speak for itself?

Gentlereader: Friends should generally be allowedone scheduling mishapevery fewyears. It is when it happens every single time thatwestart reconsidering the friendship. So while Miss Manners understands your annoyance, she suggests an alternative to silencethatisstill not snippy: “Oh, Iamsodisappointed. I was looking forward to seeing you, andhad it in my calendar. But yes, let’splease gettogether once youare back.”

The advantage is thatitwill make herfeel just alittle bit bad—and therefore less likely to forget aboutyou again come fall.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@ gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St.,Kansas City,MO64106.

Aconvenientway to getthose dailysteps in

Hints from Heloise

DearHeloise: After having total knee replacement surgery,Ibought asmall treadmill that goes under my desk. Since it doesn’t have anything to hold onto, Iplaced awalker over the top to steady it as Iwalk It workslike acharm! —Marie G.,inConnecticut Paperbag soundoff

DearHeloise: Ihope you get many responses to your idea aboutusingpaper bags. No, no! Usereusable totes; this way, there’snothing to toss out or recycle. Think “reduce, reuse, recycle,”with emphasis on reduce. —JoyceL.,viaemail Joyce, for people who live in apartments, using apaper bag to collect and carry plastic, paper orglassobjectsmakes recyclingeasier Even homeownerswill tell me

that using paper bags to gather recyclable itemsiseasier

I’d rather see someone using a paper bag than merely dumping plastic in theregular trash, or worse, dumping it in theocean or on the ground. —Heloise Letthere be light

DearHeloise: When thelights go out at our house, Iuse solarcharged lights but not theones that are used to light up my walkways. There are companies that sell lights that are perfect to keep on-hand for power outages, camping, and many other uses. They can be charged by sunlight or by plugging them into acellphone charger,and a charge will last for six monthsif thelight is not used.

In addition, you can charge your cellphone from your light There is no heat, flame or carbon monoxide. Somecompanies also donate their products to disaster victims —LeonP.,inParksburg,West Virginia

Painting hints

DearHeloise: Iamanartist who paintsinacrylics and also paints thewalls of an arts festival boothtwice ayear.Here are somepainting and paint removal tips:

n Iwear thin latex-type gloves when painting. If Ineed to take them off, Idust my hands with baby powder before putting them back on.

n Icollect the plastic hair caps they hand out in hotels, store them with my paint supplies, and slip one on my head when painting.

n Before Ipaint, Irub alight layer of baby oil on any exposed skin, such as my legs, face and arms. Cleanup is easy!

n When Idoforget to wear my gloves or to follow the above tips, Ifind witch hazel and drop someonto ababy wipe. It’s great forscrubbing dried paint off my hands and body.When used with anail file, the baby wipe gets dried paint out from

under my fingernails.

n My favorite remover of dried acrylic paint from clothes and surfaces is an ammoniabased window cleaner.Rinse promptly and launder the clothing right away —HedyB.,inLaguna Beach,California Adrain strainer

DearHeloise: Iread aletter from areader whosaid that she had problemswith things going downthe drain and clogging it. So, she uses, among other things, the back of acardboard cereal box! This cardboard cereal box should be going into the recycling bin, not in her sink and then the trash. Ibought asimple piece (a strainer) that goes in the sink drain, which you could buy at nearly any discount store for about $1.50. It keeps things from going downthe drain. —S.D Doerr,viaemail Sendahinttoheloise@heloise com.

DearHarriette: Igot married recently,and while the day was beautiful overall,afew unexpected guests showed up —actual wedding crashers! At first, Ithought maybe they were distant friends of my husband’s, but it became obvious they didn’tknow anyone. They ate, drank and even joined us on the dance floor like they belonged there. By the time we realized what was happening, they had already helped themselves to food, drinks and favors meant for our guests. I’mstill upset thinking about how they took advantage of such aspecial day.Part of me feels silly for caring since the wedding was otherwise amazing,but another part of me feels disrespected. How do Ilet go of the frustration and focus on the positive without feeling like Ilet something so tacky slide?

It’sbecome the story everyone keeps bringing up when they talk about my wedding, and Ihate that it’s overshadowing the good memories. Should Ijust laugh it off, or is it OK that I’m still bothered by it? I want to move on, butIcan’t help replaying the moment and wondering how people could be so inconsiderate. Crashers DearCrashers: Everywedding has its idiosyncrasies. Yours had wedding crashers.Embrace the novelty of it. Your wedding was so hot that others wanted to join the fun!

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o

Learning to setboundarieswithestranged

hoping for amiracle. Let him

DearAnnie: My stepson is 22and autistic. For 12 years,helived with us half the time and with his mother the other half. During those years, Iwas veryinvolved in his life —Iwent into his classroom to help with hisneeds, drove him to school and appointments, took him shopping and spent time just hangingout with him. Itrulytried to be aloving, steady parental figure. As he got older and bigger,things changed.Hebecame more volatile. He has put holes in walls,broken furniture and been physically violent toward my husband. Three years ago, he threatened me directly,and before that he stalked oneofmydaughters online.My children and Iare genuinely afraid of him. At that point, Itold my husband he had one year to findother living arrangements for hisson because

Inolonger felt safeinmyown home.Myhusband did so, but he hasnever stopped hoping his son could “comeback” into the fold. He believes his sonhas made progress and deserves redemption.

My stepson has been in and out of therapy.

My husband and Idocouples therapy and individual therapy, but family therapy with my stepsonendedwhen he said Icould not be includedbecauseI am “nothis mom.”Ihave now hadminimal contact with him for acouple of years, and although Ifeel guilty, Ialso feel ahuge weight off my shoulders.

Now my husband has asked if his soncan join usfor Thanksgivingwith my large extended family—including my grandchildren andmybrothers’ young children. Itoldhim that if his son is there, my childrenand Iwill not attend. I said that if we had consistent familytherapy withmystepsonover acouple of yearsand Isaw real change, Imight reconsider.But

right now, my fear is greater than my compassion. Isee how much it hurts my husband thathis son is essentially beingshunned, and Idonot want to add to his pain. At the same time, I feel responsible for protecting my kids, my grandkids and my own sanity

How can Imaintain my boundaries and sense of safetywhile still being asupportive spouse? Am I being selfish or cautious with good reason? —ProtectingMyPeace

DearProtectingMyPeace: Youare not selfish. Youare frightened, exhaustedand trying to keep the people you love safe. Given your stepson’spastthreats, stalking and violence, it is entirely reasonable to say, “I cannot have him at abig family gathering right now.”

Your compassion for him is clear:You showed up for him for years, in classrooms, carsand appointments. Wanting distance now does not erase that love. It means youfinally listened toyour own limits.

Your husband is grieving and

know,gently: “I support you having arelationship with your son. I just cannot be part of holidays or closecontactwith him until there has been real, sustained change and good therapy —over time.”

This is not apunishment. It is a boundary.And boundaries are how people with long, painful histories keep going without breaking.

DearAnnie: I’m writing about my sister, “Claire,” who seems to be living twocompletely different lives. By day, she’sahigh-powered attorney, wearing tailored suits and commanding boardrooms. But on weekends, she disappears to a tiny town in Michigan, where she rents acabin and paints. None of her colleagues know about her art, and she told me she doesn’twant themtofind out.

Recently,Claire confided that she’s thinking of quitting her firm to paint full time. The problem is, she’s spent 15 years building her legal career,and her husband is firmly against the idea; he calls it a“phase.” Ican see how much

happier she is up north, but Ialso worry she’sabout to throw away everything she’sworked for Ilove her and want to support her,but Idon’tknow whether to encourage the leap or remind her whatshe’d be giving up. How do you tell someone you love that chasing fulfillment might come with avery real cost? —Torn Between Logic and Love

DearTorn: Before Claire trades her briefcase for apaintbrush, she needs to run the numbers. Can her husband’sincome support their family while her painting gig gets off the ground? And if it doesn’t pan out, could she get back into law without too muchdamage to her résumé?

Passion alone won’tkeep the lights on. If Claire wants to make this transition, maybe she can ease in —part-timelawyer,part-time artist —until she knows for sure whichone fits.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators. com.

Achange in leadership at RoyOMartin, Louisiana’s largest private timbercompany 4E

HAZARD WARNING

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

When self-driving taxi company Waymo announced plans last monthtolaunch its service in New Orleans in 2026, the news drew cheers from economic development executives, technophiles and local tourism boosters, who said the city’srole as an early adopter of the evolving technology gives travelersanother reason to visit.

Some New Orleanians wonder if Waymo cansafely operate in atown with notoriously bad streets, endless construction and arowdy partyculture.

Rideshareand taxidrivers worrythat the autonomousvehicle startup’sentry into the market will threaten their livelihoods. And policymakers,playing catchup to aquickly evolving industry, may need to establish new regulations.

Expertssay additional benefits of Waymo’srollout in New Orleanscould include lower carbon emissions, feweraccidents and reduced insurancecosts.

But the high-profile company’splanned arrival also brings concerns.

Experts whohavestudied Waymo’sdebut in other towns saythe questionsand concerns are understandable. New industries and technologies bring change that can be disruptive.And, for some, theidea of self-driving cars is downright terrifying.

But Harry Campbell, aformer rideshare driver who reportsonthe industry

fromhis Los Angeles home base, said the experience of cities with Waymohas been generally positive and that thecompany is winning over skeptics.

“I’veheardconcerns in every city whereWaymo is trying to launch,” said Campbell. “L.A. thinks it has the worst drivers, or Boston and New York have so much rain and snowand angry drivers. Thereare legitimatequestions about how Waymo handlesthe idiosyncrasiesof each city,but it’s doing better than you’d expect and getting better.”

As thecompanyprepares to resume testingonlocal streets, here are answers to some of thequestions on people’s minds.

HowdoesaWaymo vehiclework?

Driverless driving seems like science fiction, but it’s becomeareality as aresult of decades of progress in robotics,

computervision, machine learning and other areas of artificial intelligence, according to Tulane computer science professor Aron Culotta, who studies the industry

In aWaymo taxi,cameras seelane markings, traffic lights, signs and other vehicles. Radarsenses the distance and speed of surrounding objects. Lasers create 3D maps. Andultrasonic sensors, which emit high-frequency sound waves, help judge close-range distances for parking andother maneuvers.

Machine learning —a type of AI that can detect patterns, make predictions and improve its performance —allows computers to understand what the sensor information meansand to take actions, like braking, accelerating or turning.

Recent hotel‘fire sales’ illustrate industry pressures

Wave of marquee properties hitting market at steep discounts

BY ANTHONYMcAULEY Staff writer

New Orleans’ hotel market is in the middle of an unusually turbulent chapter,asacluster of marquee properties have quietly —or in some cases very publicly been put up for sale at steep discounts to their replacement cost or even to valuations from just a few years ago. Brokers, operators and industry analysts saythe downturn reflects amix of national pressures and local complications, creating one of the most buyer-

friendlyenvironments the cityhas seen in more than adecade. Nothing captures the moment more vividly than the looming sale of Virgin Hotels New Orleans Built four yearsago in the WarehouseDistrictfor roughly $80 million, the stylish 238-room property is now expectedtosell early next year for about half that amount.

The hotel’sfinancial unraveling has effectively wiped out investors in the fund that financed the project —an“opportunity zone” REIT managed by SkyBridge Capital, the group run by hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci, who rose to fame during his brief stint as White House communications director in President Donald Trump’sfirst term. In November, Bloomberg and other outlets reportedthat SkyBridge informed investors in a

September letter that the REIT formally the SkyBridge-EJF Opportunity ZoneREIT,whose sole asset is Virgin HotelsNew Orleans —now expects theirequitytobe reduced tozeroonce the sale closes. Despite receiving an appraisal valuing the hotel at $94 million last December,the fund had little practical choice but to sell: rising expenses, especially unexpectedly high insurance premiumsand city property taxes, had climbed to levels thatmade injecting additional capital financially unjustifiable, theletter said. The troubles at Virgin Hotels highlight the uneasy path of the federal Qualified Opportunity Zones program,created under the 2017 TaxCutsand Jobs Act during Trump’sfirst term.

WINNERS

n Building (Over $10 million)

WINNER: Ryan Gootee — Harrah’s

MERIT: JB Mouton — Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium

n Building (Under $10 million)

WINNER: Ryan Gootee — Board of Trade

MERIT: RNGD — Regional HQ

Campus

n Highway (Over $25 million)

WINNER: Gilchrist — Loyola Drive / Interstate 10 Interchange

MERIT: Boh — Interstate 10 & Interstate 12 College Drive Flyover

Ramp n Highway (Under $25 million)

WINNER: RNGD — Globalplex Access Bridge

MERIT: Hand Construction — Shreveport Gate Capacity Expansion

n Utility Infrastructure (Over $20 million)

WINNER: RNGD — St.Anthony Group A n Utility Infrastructure (Under $20 million)

WINNER: Boh Brothers — French Quarter ROW Improvements

MERIT: Wharton Smith — New Cheniere Water Storage Tank & Duplex Pump Station

n Federal / Heavy / Coastal (Over $10 million)

WINNER: Cycle Construction — 17th St. Canal

MERIT: Primoris — Comite River Bridges

n Federal / Heavy / Coastal (Under $10 million)

WINNER: Massman — Algiers Lock Dolphin Replacement

Inaugural Build La. Awards honor contractors

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

The contractors behind some of Louisiana’s most high-profile recent construction projects recently presented the inaugural Build Louisiana Awards Winners included the firms that worked on casino and sports stadium renovations, interstate improvements and canal restoration. Presented by Louisiana Associated General Contractors, the awards were modeled on the Build America Awards given out by the Associated General Contractors of America, with categories for each of the four occupational divisions the organizations represent — building, highway and transportation, utility infrastructure and federal, heavy and coastal.

Reldon Owens, CEO of the Louisiana AGC, said the timeline for nominations for the new awards was arranged to encourage more applications to the national awards.

In a normal year, only a couple of Louisiana firms submit projects to be Build America awards, but this year — with the application process for the statewide awards mirroring the national one — there were eight to 10.

“It’s a fast-paced industry,” Owens said. “I think sometimes we’re so busy building the future and building tomorrows that we forget to stop and celebrate our wins and our victories.”

Owens said his organization’s first-ever gala, held at Renaissance in Baton Rouge, exceeded expectations, with about 50% more attendees than anticipated

The competition for Build Louisiana Awards drew 36 entries

— twice as many as Owens anticipated who were judged by an outside panel of 42 engineers, architects, faculty and neighboring industry professionals.

Projects were divided into small and large-scale categories in each division based on contract value, ensuring a fair comparison between multimilliondollar infrastructure jobs and smaller-scale improvements

Email Jonah Meadows at Jonah.Meadows@theadvocate. com.

WAYMO

Continued from page 1E

“It’s a giant pipeline of data and analysis that helps the computer systems behave intelligently, detecting and reacting to pedestrians, street signs and potholes,” Culotta said.

Are they safe?

Waymo, now active in a half dozen cities, boasts about its safety record since its 2020 debut in Phoenix, Arizona.

Last month, the company released data showing that its fleet had traveled 96 million miles as of June, and its vehicles are “91% less likely” to be involved in crashes resulting in serious injury compared to human drivers.

The first fatal accident involving a Waymo car happened in January in San Francisco, but local law enforcement charged the human driver of another car with multiple crimes related to the incident.

The vehicles do make mistakes, though. When a Waymo car struck and killed a cat last month in San Francisco, angry neighborhood residents called for new regulations. There was also an incident in 2023, when two separate Waymos crashed into a backward-facing truck that was being towed.

“When the system fails, it fails in weird ways that makes people lose confidence, which is why they roll out slowly,” Culotta said.

Can they handle N.O conditions?

One way to get a preview of how Waymo’s autonomous taxis could perform is to take a ride in a Tesla sedan, which has similar capabilities.

When a local Tesla owner gave a reporter a test drive through the Central Business District earlier this week the results were mostly impressive. The car followed a prescribed route, making careful turns and lane changes while stopping at stop signs for a beat longer than any human would. It also drove through several potholes without slowing down, and when it slowly pulled from a parking lot into traffic on Orleans Avenue, it provoked an angry outburst from the driver of a truck that was speeding by

The Waymo fleet, which costs up to $200,000 per vehicle, won’t last very long if cars drive headlong into every crater in town. So it’s fair to wonder if the robotaxis will eventually do what human drivers do: either drive through them very slowly or try to avoid them.

Tulane’s Culotta said it’s tough to predict exactly how the cars will

HOTEL

Continued from page 1E

The program was designed to incentivize long-term investment and job creation in economically distressed areas, but in practice much of the capital flowed into high-end real estate projects in central business districts — ventures once viewed as “safe,” including Virgin Hotels, the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, and other property development projects across the city.

SkyBridge and fellow investor Buccini Pollin Group did not respond to requests for comment.

Virgin declined to comment, other than providing a general statement of support for financial backers The Virgin Hotels New Orleans situation reflects a national trend.

Jan Freitag, national analyst for CoStar, which tracks the hotel industry, noted that The Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55 San Francisco hotel complex sold last month for $408 million, a 75% discount to its last appraisal in 2016.

“People have been talking about a looming distressed hotel market since 2020,” Freitag said. “But bankers had been doing this ‘extend and pretend’ thing, allowing investors to use their capital funds to pay interest and stay current. Those days are over.”

Virgin Hotels isn’t alone in setting a new baseline for diminished hotel valuations in New Orleans High-profile properties have been changing hands at numbers that would have seemed unthinkably low just before the pandemic.

In June, Sunstone Hotel Investors sold the 252-room Hilton St. Charles for $47 million—well below the $59 million it paid for the asset in 2014.

Three months earlier, longtime owner WH Holdings finalized the sale of the Ritz-Carlton and its adjacent Marriott Courtyard, totaling 758 rooms, for an estimated $195 million. There is no recently published appraisal for the RitzCarlton, but the transformation of the former Maison Blanche department store into the luxury hotel cost $250 million in 2000, sug-

behave, but he believes they will be able to successfully navigate pockmarked roads over time if they gather enough data.

“That’s why the initial rollout will be cautious,” he said. “They’ll stick to certain neighborhoods, driving around collecting data at the millimeter level.”

Wet weather will create additional challenges because potholes filled with water could confuse the vehicles’ sensors

“When light is bouncing off a puddle, it’s hard to tell if it’s a pothole or not,” Culotta said.

Will Waymo steal jobs?

A decade ago, the rise of ridehailing platforms completely disrupted the generations-old taxi industry

Now, ridesharing, a roughly $30 billion industry in the U.S., is facing threats from autonomous vehicles, and local rideshare drivers and cabbies are scared.

“Self-driving cars are a threat to our existence,” said Mark Grzywacz, a full-time driver in New Orleans. “AI will definitely be replacing human jobs.”

Bolstering those fears are studies showing that the average rideshare driver’s pay is lower in cities with autonomous vehicles in operation because of increased competition.

It’s hard to say for sure how many local jobs could be obliterated by Waymo because Uber and Lyft drivers are not represented

by an industry that tracks job numbers. But there are about 200 drivers working for United Cab, one of the city’s remaining major taxi companies.

Rideshare and taxi advocates also say there are times when a human driver is essential, such as when an older or disabled passenger needs help getting to the airport with luggage, or loading and unloading groceries. And they argue that in New Orleans, human drivers are uniquely prepared to manage unpredictable situations like preventing a drunk passenger from getting sick in the backseat or figuring out workarounds to parades.

“What’s a driverless taxi going to do when there’s a second-line?” said Kirtan Parmar, United Cab manager. “It can’t call the passengers and tell them to meet on the other side.”

Another plus for human-powered rideshares is that they’re about 30% cheaper according to Obi, a global platform that helps customers shop around for the best rates for a ride.

But robotaxis offer a couple of advantages over human drivers. In a fully autonomous vehicle, there’s no human driver to behave abusively, commit a crime or be the victim of one. And AI cars don’t get tired.

“They aren’t looking at their phone,” said Campbell. “And, unlike a human, there’s no chance they didn’t sleep well the night

gesting significant lost value when adjusted for inflation and escalating construction costs.

“The New Orleans hotel market has not fully recovered post-COVID, and because of where interest rates are today hotel valuations are dramatically lower,” said Randy Waesche, who manages the hotel trusts of the late developer Joe Jaeger Waesche has been trying to sell Jaeger’s “J Collection” of hotels — a total of 16 properties, mostly in or near the French Quarter over the past 18 months. Earlier this fall, he transferred management of all those hotels to Waterford Hotel Group in hopes of improving performance while waiting for a more favorable market.

Marquee hotels

The list of New Orleans properties recently offered for sale includes some of the city’s marquee properties in historic buildings. Le Pavillon, a 226-room landmark perched at the edge of the French Quarter on Poydras Street, has been under contract to sell to local investor Bobby Guidry and Florida-based David Bansmer in a deal valued near $43 million. That would represent a drop of roughly one-third from the price that seller Ashford Hospitality Trust paid ten years ago. Ashford declined to comment.

The Loews New Orleans Hotel, the Troubadour the Mercantile Hotel, and the Q&C Hotel and Bar have also been shopped in recent months. Most owners have ultimately backed off, preferring to hold their assets and ride out what they hope is a temporary trough in valuations. Yet not everyone sees doom in the downturn. For Len Wormser, vice president at Hospitality Real Estate Counselors and one of the city’s most active hotel brokers, the current moment represents a rare confluence of low pricing and favorable long-term fundamentals.

“This is the best time to buy hotels in New Orleans in the last 10 years,” said Wormser, who brokered the $73 million sale of the dual-branded Marriott Courtyard and SpringHill Suites in the Warehouse District last year to Guidry and Bansmer

Positive trends

Beyond bargain prices, Wormser pointed to several encouraging indicators. Chief among them is the Pace Report, which tracks future room bookings at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

After several soft years following the pandemic, the report shows convention bookings returning to their 2017–2019 average over the next two years and then climbing

before.”

Who will regulate the company?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to establish a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles, so Waymo and its competitors operate under different rules in different cities and states.

Some states require permits, safety certifications and data reporting while others have minimal regulations. There are different insurance requirements as well. California is among the stricter states, while Texas has created more industry-friendly rules. Louisiana already has laws on the books dating back to 2016 related to commercial operation of autonomous vehicles. The state’s innovation chief Josh Fleig said the state’s approach is “on par” with Texas.

New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno’s office did not respond to a request for comment about autonomous vehicle regulation. But as rules get written, officials will have to consider some of the challenges particular to life in south Louisiana. The cars can’t go offline during a hurricane, for instance. Said Campbell: “When people need to get out of the city, they can’t have 200 Waymos bricked in the middle of a thoroughfare.”

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

sharply through 2030.

If that forecast holds, it would mean a long-awaited rebound in group travel —the lifeblood of the city’s hospitality sector and for occupancy levels of its 26,000 downtown hotel rooms.

At the same time, New Orleans is adding very few new hotel rooms in the near term. Developers are facing high construction costs, complex zoning requirements and a financing drought driven by interest rates that remain elevated. Meanwhile, City Hall’s crackdown on illegal short-term rentals is reducing the number of alternative lodging options in several key neighborhoods, gradually funneling more demand back toward licensed hotels.

Waesche, despite navigating the difficult process of attempting to sell legacy assets at depressed prices, agrees that the market now strongly favors buyers with available capital and patience.

“I think if you talk to the New Orleans banking community, you’ll find that none of them have an appetite for hotels,” he said. “But people with capital —they can come in and buy attractively, absolutely.”

Freitag of CoStar agrees that hotel deal-making continues apace for big institutional backers with capital, pointing to the sale in September of EAST Miami hotel and residences for a reported $300 million (with fixtures and furniture), compared to its build cost four years ago of about $174 million.

For now the city’s marquee hotel owners are hunkering down, trimming costs, renegotiating debt where possible, and hoping for either lower interest rates or a meaningful jump in demand. But for a small group of investors, the moment represents a chance to acquire once-premium assets at discounts not seen since the aftermath of the Great Recession. And for New Orleans — a city whose economy is inseparable from its hotel rooms the next two years may determine whether today’s bargain prices were a temporary valley or the new normal.

Email Anthony McAuley

tmcauley@theadvocate.com.

TALKING BUSINESS

ASK THE EXPERTS

Professor: Your calendar reveals your true priorities

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

Michelle Johnston, a longtime management professor at Loyola was preparing to publish her first book on new leadership models when the COVID pandemic inspired a rewrite that focused on building human connections in a hybrid workplace.

After identifying the rise of artificial intelligence as the next major challenge coming to the office, Johnston recently published her second book, “The Seismic Shift in You,” with co-author Marshall Goldsmith.

With advances in technology and remote work coinciding with rising rates of loneliness — linked to health risks comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day Johnston calls for leaders to focus less on control and more on maintaining connections

Besides studying leadership and management through an academic lens, Johnston knows about it first-hand from real-world experience As an executive coach and podcast host, she has worked with clients including Ochsner Health System, Entergy, the New Orleans Saints and Georges Enterprises, the parent company of The TimesPicayune and The Advocate.

In this week’s Talking Business, Johnston discusses her new book and how she teaches her clients to keep the teams in their workplace connected.

This interview has been edited for brevity

Whatisyouradviceforhowtoconnectin ahybridorremoteworkenvironment?

What we’re seeing is, even in a hybrid environment, we need face-to-face time to build the connection, to build the trust that fuels the innovation, that fuels the productivity and the financial performance.

I advocate for at least quarterly off-sites. It’s really hard in these

virtual meetings to go deep with connections. If you’re running big monthly meetings, try to get people in breakout rooms and say, “OK, I’m going to give you all a question.” Share each other’s stories: Where are you from? What’s your birth order? We’ve got to know each other’s stories first, because when you know somebody’s story, then it’s very hard to judge and assume the worst.

You can also begin with connection questions. Some people think it’s hokey, I believe that it is necessary Share the agenda, pass it around from person to person each week. We have to run meetings differently They’ve got to be more of a conversation, rather than talking at people.

Howdoaccountabilityandconnectionbasedleadershiprelatetoeachother?

I think they go hand-in-hand, because in order to hold each other accountable, you have to have open communication, you have to have dialogue, you have to have trust. You have to be able to lean in and have difficult conversations. You have to be comfortable with conflict.

Connection requires courage. It takes a lot of courage to lean in and have those delicate conversations, and when conflict arises, figure out how to resolve it, how to hold each other accountable.

Think about this: if you want to go super fast with your team, just barking at them and giving them orders and telling them to figure it out is not going to work. You have to spend a lot of time building that connection, getting to know each other as humans on a personal level.

And I am not advocating being a therapist. I don’t want people to show up and talk about all their problems. If you want to build a team that is high-performing, spend time developing them together, so that we all get to know each other, who we are as humans,

Q&A WITH MICHELLE JOHNSTON

able, because if the most important people in your life, personally and professionally, are not on your calendar, then business has taken over And then you wake up, and years have gone by You’re like, “Why haven’t I seen my family?” “Why haven’t I seen my best friends?” “Wait, I haven’t nurtured these relationships because it’s not on my calendar.”

Haveyou—eitherfromstudentsorfrom businessleaderswhoyou’recoaching—experiencedapushbacktothisphilosophy?

Some leaders, in the very beginning, when I’ve worked with them, they’ll say, “Michelle, I lead finance. I’ve got all these agenda items, you’re telling me you want me to spend 15 minutes at the beginning of my meeting going around and asking my people on a scale of 1 to 10 how they’re doing?” I said, “Yes, try it out. Try it out for six months. I understand, and I appreciate your being honest that you think that you have too much to accomplish to actually ask your people how they’re doing on a scale of 1 to 10, but try it out.”

what our preferences are, how we work best, how we communicate best, what our background is. If you do all that up front, then you build that trust, then you go fast Howdoesthelackofasharedreality,of beingabletotrustwhatyoureadorwhat yousee,changethevaluepropositionof one-on-one,individualizedconnections?

Social media makes you feel like you’re connected, and all of a sudden, you look up and it’s been 45 minutes and you’ve been scrolling and you’re like, “Oh, but I’m connecting.” But then the research is showing that it actually creates emptiness and anxiety

Automation, AI, is going to help us immensely — it really will, if we use it the right way it can do so much for us, and it also means we’re going to be more dependent on technology, on our computers, on our phones. I believe that productivity without connection equals emptiness. Make sure that we’re focusing on face-to-face when we can, meaningful connection, and then we’ll be happier, healthier, and everything else will fall in place. Show me your calendar, and I will show you your priorities. It might make you really uncomfort-

Every single one of them who’s tried it has come back to me and said, “You are absolutely correct. It works.” Because once you build that relationship, the team members know more about each other. We’re all human. We’re not just cogs in a wheel. They’ve all come back to me and said, “Now we have a cohesive team who trust one another, who now collaborates well. They’re so much more productive. I can now retain my people. They’re more engaged.” Those are all the indicators of success. I tell my leaders: If you want to go fast and drive financial performance — who doesn’t, right? — then you have to start with the building blocks of connection.

Email Jonah Meadows at jonah. meadows@theadvocate.com.

AROUND THE REGION

Leadership changesatRoyOMartin

CEOpassesreins of La.’slargest

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Over the past century,Alexandria-based RoyOMartin has grown from asinglesawmill foundedin 1923 by thecompany’s eponymous founder to the largestprivateforestryand timberproductsbusiness in Louisianawith more than500,000 acres of land,three processing plants in two states, 1,400 employees and clients around the globe Now,after six years at the helm of the company founded byhis grandfather,third-generationCEO Roy O. Martin III, 65, is passing the torch to Presidentand Chief Operating Officer E. Scott Poole, the first chief executivetoleadthe company who is not amember of the Martin family

While the succession is notable, it isn’tlikely to bring about any significant changes at the company.The plan has been5 years in the making and Poole is a40-year veteran of RoyOMartin. Besides, Martin will continue to keep acloseeye on business as chiefinvestment officer and chairman of the board. “I think we will have aseamless transition,” Martin said. “Every goodcompany hasa succession plan. It should not be aproblem. Scott shares our values.”

The transition comes at atime of upheaval in the timber industry Tariffs, higher interest ratesand ahousing slump have driven timber prices down and softened demand for many of RoyOMartin’s products. Adding to the pressure is an influx of several new Canadian competitors, who are buying up timber mills in the South. Martinacknowledges the industry has seen alot of change in the four decades since he joined his family’sbusiness. But the company has diversified, branching out beyond timber into otherholdings andisable to weather industry

After six yearsatthe helm of RoyOMartin, the companyfounded by his grandfather,third-generation CEO RoyO.Martin III, left, is passing the torchtoPresidentand Chief Operating Officer E. Scott Poole, the first chief executive to lead the companywho is not amember of the Martin family

ups and downs, he said.

“The industry is in aslump but we are acommodity business,” he said. “Weplanfor slumps.”

‘A manufacturing company’ Thecompany was foundedby Martin’sgrandfather, RoyOtis Martin,who came to Louisiana from his native Michigan and purchased alumbermillinAlexandria. In the decades that followed, he acquired thousands of acres of timber land acrosscentral Louisiana, opened larger facilitiesand grew the company into aregional powerhouse.

In the1960s, Roy Martin Jr.took the reins and continuedgrowing the company.Martin III’suncle, Ellis Martin, and first cousin, JonathanMartin, also hadstints as CEO

“RoyOMartin’ssuccess has always been rooted in its people, its values, and its commitmenttodoing what’s right for ourteam members, our customers, and our communities. Ilook forward to building on that legacy as we move steadfast into the future.”

E. SCOTT POOLE

Today,the company has its corporateheadquartersinAlexandria, aplywoodand timber mill in Chopin, aplantinOakdale that specializes in manufacturing a type of engineered woodcalled orientedstrandboard or OSB, and afacilityinCorrigan, Texas, that

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also makes theengineered wood products.

The company does not disclose revenues but estimates from online industry sources estimates them to be at least$350 million.

RoyOMartin is vertically integrated, with holdings that include rawtimber land, mills and processing plants, as well as mineral holdings andbusiness that manufacture pipelines, among other things,though the bulk of its revenues come from manufacturing wood products, Martin said.

“Weused to be aforestry company that manufactured products,” Martinsaid. “Nowweare amanufacturingcompany that owns alot of timberland.”

Thecompanyisknown as an early adapter of sustainable forestry practices andhas pioneered technologiesusedingrowing and processing timber.

“Weare able to growour timber fourtimes faster than my grandfather did because of smart agriculture practices,” Martin said.

It also has its own health care company on-site with adoctor, physicians assistants and nurses who provide primarycare and wellness services to employees on-site.

“Theyhave always been very environmentally minded, concerned about sustainable agriculture andahead of the curve,” said Richard Vlosky,aprofessor and director of the Louisiana Forestry ProductsDevelopment Center at theLSU AgCenter’sSchool of Renewable NaturalResources.

Building on alegacy

Louisiana’svast acres of pine are the number one agricultural crop in the state,Vlosky said, bigger than corn, cotton, soybean andsugar cane combined.Ithas an economic impact of $11 billion.

It is the state’ssecond-largest employer

But global pressureshave softened themarketfor pine in

recent years. President Donald Trump’shigher tariffs have actually helpeddomestictimber producers to an extent, Martin said, because it hasmadeinferior Brazilian plywood products less attractive.

The housing market slump, however,continues to dampen demand fortimber and building products. Martinisoptimistic things will turn around soon.

“Demand is there it’sjust an affordabilityissue,” he said. “But interest ratesare coming down and housing prices are coming down.”

The companyisalso developing newtechnologiesand usesfor its pine in partnerships with LSU and Louisiana Tech, which awarded Martinwithanhonorary doctorateearlierthis month for his contributions to the industry

His successor, Poole, said in a statementheplans to continue growing acompany that is aleader in the industry

“RoyOMartin’ssuccesshas always been rootedinits people, itsvalues, andits commitment to doingwhat’sright forour team members, ourcustomers, andour communities,” Poolesaid. “I look forward to building on that legacy as we move steadfast into the future.”

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

Louisianaisanall-of-the-aboveenergystate —leveragingits deep rootsintraditional oil andgas whilerapidly building on that tradition to advanceenergyinnovationand attract record investmenttoLouisiana Jones Walker attorneysbring decadesoflegal regulatory,and practicalexperiencetothe entire energy spectrum,including offshore andonshore drilling andproduction, pipeline transportation andstorage,and liquefied naturalgas (LNG)facilities. Andmorerecently, this includesextensive experiencesinthe useofcarboncapture andsequestration to expand marketsfor Louisiananatural gas and manufacturing products,aswellasthe useof newerenergysources such as lithiumand biofuels.Our firm proudlysupportsLouisiana’s balancedand forward-thinking approach to energy development.

By advising clientsonbothlegacyand emerging energy solutions, we areproudly helpingsupport thestate as aleader in shapingAmerica’s energy independencefor thefuture.

Thinkstoresget thetax break?

Thetruth

aboutcheckoutdonations

The TikTok creator leans into the camera with righteousindignation. She has some important financial advicefor people confused about donation requests at checkout.

Yousee the solicitationsall the time —various charities teaming up with retailers to raise needed funds.

tion when customers give. That video hadmore than 500,000 likes andwas shared 28,000 times on theplatform,she wroteina2020 blogpost.

Fool’s Take:Kimberly-Clarkis gettingbigger

grow

Michelle Singletary

THE COLOR OF MONEy

Just before you finish paying either in person or online, you’re asked for a contribution.You can give aspecific amount or roundup your purchase total to help fund achildren’shospital charitable campaign or afood bank.

“When you go to check outand get asked to donate to charity do not donate to it,” the TikToker warned. “Thatmoney is atax write-off for the company.”

The video, posted ahead of Thanksgiving, received over 1,000 likes. Retailers “don’t deserve the tax write off for MY generosity,” one person commented.

Similar videos have been uploaded on Instagram, claimingto revealthe truthabout checkout charity,and it’sfueling agrowing wave of consumer skepticism: Why giveyour dollars if thestore benefits from the tax break?

While mistrust of corporations is understandable and often justified, in this specific case, the advice is entirely wrong. If you’re declining to give because of asocial media video, you’re making afinancial decision based on bad information.

Corporations cannot take tax deductions for charitable contributions made by their customers. This would be illegalunder U.S. tax law,accordingtoRenu Zaretsky,awriter and editor for the Urban-Brookings TaxPolicy Center Zaretsky has been trying to correct the misinformation ever since she came across aTikTok video during the pandemic claiming companies get the tax deduc-

“It really irritated me abit because it was just so wrong,” she said in an interview.“There are charities that are working really well to collect alot of money for good causes, andIwould hate for peopletobemisinformed and stop giving if they could afford it.”

Zaretsky saidcharities can benefitfrom point-of-sale donations in two ways: Either the business donatesaportion of its sales or it acts as an intermediary for donations.

In other words, if thebusiness is actinglawfully,the company can donate apercentage of sales and takeacharitable deduction. Or it can ask customers to donate, then pass alongthe money to the charity.Inthat case, the customer might claim thededuction. For small donations, though, many peopledon’t take adeduction, she said.

Here’smore reason to give at checkout: Startingin2026, taxpayers who claim thestandard deduction (meaningthey don’t itemize) can take an above-theline deduction for qualified charitable contributions —upto$1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married couples filing jointly.An above-the-linededuction means you cansubtractitfrom your gross incomebeforecalculatingyour adjusted grossincome, which in turn lowers your taxable income.

That’sabig change from this tax year,when you can deduct charitable contributions only if you itemize your deductions.

The bottom line: Don’tavoid giving just because you think companies are taking advantage of you

By discouraging donations at checkoutbased on an inaccurate understanding oftax law,these social media videos could disrupt acrucial funding source for some charities.

Youmight feel annoyed or pressuredbycheckoutcharity

campaigns. However,they have proven to be an effective way for nonprofitstoraise funds. How manytimes have you meantto give, but life getsinthe way,and you don’tfollow through? Encouraging generosity at thepoint of sale helps generate essential funds.

“The concept of ‘checkout charity’ is really one of impulse giving,” wrote two researchers for a paper published in theJournal of Public and Nonprofit Affairslast year The study also discovered somethinginteresting. Younger customers and women were more likely to give at the register

“The mostdrastic impact on giving at the register was being Black,” the researchers found.

Black customers reported giving $122.80 moreannually than aWhiterespondent. “This is in alignment with previous research on African American giving,” they wrote.

The research pointed out that somecustomers might feel pressured to donateatcheckout. The decision is completely yours. If you can’tafford it or don’twant to support that specific charity,say no without hesitation or guilt.It’s your money,and nobody should makeyou feel obligated.

Usually,Iwarn against making hastydecisions, but with checkout donation campaigns, small change makes adifference.

In 2024, 92 checkout charity campaigns raised over $275 million, according to areport by Engage for Good, which tracks this specific type of giving. The average donation was $1.13. Taco Bell reported raising $50 million in 2024, with an average donation of 44 cents. Walmart and Sam’s Club gathered $43 million for the Children’sMiracle Network Hospitals’ campaign, which included customer donations.

As with most online content, independently verify the information before it affectsa financial decision.

Email Michelle Singletary at michelle.singletary@washpost com.

Kimberly-Clark (Nasdaq: KMB)isacquiring Kenvue (NYSE: KVUE), creating ahealth and wellness giant with $32 billion in revenue, and 10 brands generating over $1 billion in annual sales each (such as Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenexand Huggies and Kenvue’s Tylenol and Listerine).

Kimberly-Clark is expecting anet benefit of $2.1 billion within four years of closing the deal. The larger scale will alsohelp the combined company navigate the issues Kenvue has faced since becoming independent in 2023, following its separationfrom Johnson &Johnson.

The combined company should be in astrong financial position to continue paying agrowing dividend. While Kimberly-Clark is taking on debt to fund the deal, it aims to reduce its debt level quickly.Kimberly-Clark’sdividend yield was recently ahefty 4.7%.

The deal isn’twithout risk, though. While the combined company will be in abetter positiontoweather potential legal issues, they could still be costly This could weigh on its stock and potentially impact its ability to grow thedividend in the future. Kimberly-Clark’srecent share price is attractive, though, with arecent forward-looking priceto-earnings (P/E) ratio of 14.1, well belowits five-year average of 18.9. (The Motley Fool owns sharesofand recommends Kenvue.)

Fool’s School:PhilFisher’s15 questions

In Philip A. Fisher’s1958 book, “CommonStocks and Uncommon Profits,” he laid out “the 15 points to look for in acommonstock.”

The list can still help us evaluate stock candidatesfor our portfolios. Here are some of the questions he posed.

”Doesthecompanyhaveproductsor serviceswithsufficientmarketpotentialto makepossibleasizableincreaseinsales foratleastseveralyears?” Ideally,a company will have alarge target market, offering alot of room to

”Doesthemanagementhaveadeterminationtocontinuetodevelopproducts orprocessesthatwillstillfurtherincrease totalsalespotentialswhenthegrowthpotentialsofcurrentlyattractiveproductlines havelargelybeenexploited?” The best companies have shown they can innovate and keep introducing new offerings for customers. Significant investments in research and development are apromising sign.

”Doesthecompanyhaveaworthwhile profitmargin?”and“Whatisthecompany doingtomaintainorimproveprofitmargins?” Favor companies with profit margins greater than those of their peers. And increasing margins are desirable, too.

”Doesthecompanyhaveoutstanding laborandpersonnelrelations?” Companies that treat their workers well have lower turnover rates, which can save money.And asatisfied employee maytreat customers better,too

Askthe Fool:Earningsseason Whatis“earningsseason”?—N.T., Jacksonville,NorthCarolina It’s when manycompanies’ earnings reports are released. Public companies(thosewith publicly traded stock) mustissue three quarterly“10-Q” reports andanannual “10-K” report (for theirfourth quarter), detailing theirearnings andfinancialcondition

Many companies conclude their years at theend of December, while others choose March, June or September.Earnings reports are typically issued afew weeks after theend of each quarter,so there are four “earnings seasons” throughout theyear: generally, from mid-January through February,from mid-Aprilthrough May, from mid-July through August andfrom mid-October through November

Earnings seasonsare noteworthybecause if resultsare better than predicted or expected,a company’sstock pricecan jump —and, conversely, it can sink on worse-than-expected results. Reports also offer investors thelatest information on revenue,earnings,growth trends andmore, and they can result in analysts revising theiropinions on companies. It’s agood ideatolearn to read andunderstandfinancialstatementsyourself— andtokeep up with your holdings’ earnings reports.

Gallagher: LessonsinResilience

On the recent 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Gallagherteam has been looking backat theexperienceand howitshaped today’sinsurance industry.

NancySylvester is an area executive vice presidentatGallagher,based in Baton Rouge. Sherecentlysharedher story of Hurricane Katrina, the challenges the insuranceindustry facedand howresilienceshaped the path forward.

With damages exceeding USD200 billion, Katrina notonly altered the city’sphysical landscapebut alsoreshaped global perspectives on disasterpreparednessand response.Today, 20 yearsafter Hurricane Katrina struck NewOrleans, its impact remains deeply felt acrossthe affectedcommunities as the costliestand one of the fivedeadliesthurricanes in US history.

Q: Take us back to Augustof2005. Howdid youexperience the landfall of the hurricane?

IliveinBaton Rouge,70milesfromNew Orleans. That weekend, my oldestson wasfishing in the Gulf of Mexicoand when we urged him to come back inland, whatshould have been an hour’s drivetook about 12 hoursdue to the worseningconditions. The news reports initiallysaid things were under control, butby lunchtime on Monday, the levees began breaking and things quickly spiraled out of control.

Q: What were the firstdayslikewhen family andfriendssought shelter at your home,far from the mostaffectedareas?

Iwelcomed my family from NewOrleans,expectingittobe manageable,but soon found myselfhosting 26 people.Islept undermydining room table,the only privatespaceleft. Wandering into the kitchenatnight, I’dmeetstrangers saying, “I work foryour cousin. He said it would be OK.”Ireassured everyone,“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Q: Howwas daily lifeimpactedinthe aftermath of Hurricane Katrina?

My usual 15-minutedrivetothe office would takehours due to the crowds seeking refuge in BatonRouge and justtrying to get somewhereelse. Schools also faceda suddensurge in students, andthe schoolofficeswould announcewherepeople could find food.

Blackhawk helicopterswereconstantly flying overhead, transporting the injured from NewOrleans to Louisiana State University(LSU), where the athletics departmentbecame a makeshift emergency hospital. TheLSU studentbody even donatedclothingtothose in need, and youcouldsee people wearing purple andgold, thecolorsofthe university. It wasa touching displayofhumanity after Hurricane Katrina, with everyone welcomed and cared forasbestaspossible

Q: Howhaveyour clients’ perspectives on extremeweather risks evolved since Hurricane Katrina?

BeforeKatrina, redundancies were oftenviewedasunnecessary expenses. Today, having backups is understood as essential. Clients nowprioritizestrengthening buildings to ensuretheir facilities can enduresevereweather,addressing all potential exposures on supply chains or backup power, forexample Everyoneisfocused on preventing businessinterruptionclaims and avoiding closingtheir doorsbecause, once theydo, theymay neveropen again. We knowthatFEMA [Federal Emergency ManagementAgency] has stated 40%ofcompanies don’t reopen after adisaster, and another 25% fail within oneyear

As acommunity, we’realso massively investing in roof resilience to withstand strong winds and preventpiercings. When damage or lossoccurs, my clientsaren’tinterestedinjustrebuilding what wastherebefore; they’refocused on constructing to newercodes and following thehighestbuildingstandards

levee-frontcul-de-sac5Bd,3.5Ba,3,992 SqFt home w/ 105ftoflake-facing frontage &exceptional privacy. Freshly repaintedinteriors feel bright &modernw/new lighting,fans &anelectricfrplc.A versatile3rd-flrsuite boasts anew balcony overlookingthe levee.

•Lakeview$1,349,000 Near City Park &Yacht Club!Indoor-OutdoorAppealin15-yr oldhome. Custom builthomehas 2large porches, heated-salt waterpool! Open FloorPlanw/6 Beds,3.5 Baths, 3964 SqFt of Living area,FormalRooms,HugeChef’sKitchen &Den w/ great architecturaldetailing.2-car garage &3-car parkingpad Wholehouse generator, gasburning frplc& many otherfeatures! LindaBabineaux •504-957-8014J.Babineaux •504-813-8460 COMPASS• Uptown/Maple St. 504-861-7575

RidgeDrive•Heart of OldMetairie$720,000 Rare OldMetairiegem on a70x150lot w/ alush, resort-style backyard,oversized pool &expansive deck/patio fortrueindooroutdoorliving& greatfor entertaining.Inside: high ceilings, plantation shutters,openlayout, oversized2 bedrooms +ofc/ flex room &abundantstorage.Add’l features:metal roof,Bermuda shutters,irrigation, Cat-5wiring, &ample prkg w/ dble garage Michelle Soliman504-327-0888 MirambellRealty504-889-9850

Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of DonI.Briggs, Jr.and/orBianca Latoya Whitaker,pleasecontact Paul A. Bonin, attorney,at pab@boninlawfirm.com or (504) 915-5377 or 4224 CanalStreet,NOLA 70119. Important property rights involved to 8828 BirchStreet 169504-Dec6-7,2t $124

If youknowthe whereabouts of RoxieMartinWatkins,please contactAtty.Danielle Phillipsat504345-2377. 169461-Dec6-8,3t $85

If youknowthe whereabouts of TOMAKLLC THROUGHREGISTERED AGENTSHAWN TOUPS, please contactthe Law Office of Mark D. Spears,Jr.,LLC at 504-347-5056. 169501-Dec6-8,3t $97

Anyone knowingthe whereabouts of Warren Woods, please contact Trendell M. Shorty,Curator AdHoc/Attorney,650 PoydrasStreet Suite2515, NewOrleans,LA70130, (504) 207-1370; regardingU.S.Bank TrustCompany,National Associationv.Woods, Warren,Suit No.2025-04472, CivilDistrictCourt forthe Parish of Orleans. 169396-Dec6-8,3t $157

Please be advisedthatW.Benjamin Valentine, Esq. hasbeen appointed to representthe UNOPENED SUCCESSION OF AUDREY MELANCON RIETHinthe matterofRicky Lamar Babin, as theIndependent Administratorofthe Succession of HelenBerteau Babin, ET Al,Docket# C-145694 Div. Dofthe 23rdJDC in AscensionParish, Louisiana. If you have anyinformation regardingthe whereabouts of theHEIRS OF THE UNOPENED SUCCESSION OF AUDREY MELANCON RIETH, who is oneofthe childrenofALFREDMELANCON, JR. andLOUISEDIEZMELANCON, please contactattorney,Ben Valentineat 2107 S. Burnside Ave. Suite4, Gonzales,La70737, (225) 644-6584, 225-571-2571 or wbvalentine@eatel.net. 169538-12/6-7-2t $267.00

attorney,Ben Valentineat2107 S. Burnside Ave. Suite4,Gonzales, La 70737, (225) 644-6584, 225-571-2571 or wbvalentine@eatel.net. 169532-12/6-7-2t $267.00

RAFAELASISACESPEDESoranyone knowingher whereabouts please call attorney StephanieQuinlan 504 799-9222 or 504267-9158 or smquinlanesq@bellsouth.net Anyone

If youknowthe whereabouts of OLIVER E. BALL, please contactthe Law Office of Mark D. Spears,Jr. LLCat504-347-5056. 169500-Dec6-8,3t $85

Please be advisedthatW.Benjamin Valentine, Esq. hasbeen appointed to representthe UNOPENED SUCCESSION OF JESSIEMELANCON HARRISinthe matterofRicky Lamar Babin, as theIndependent Administratorofthe Succession of HelenBerteau Babin, ET Al,Docket# C-145694 Div. Dofthe 23rdJDC in AscensionParish, Louisiana. If you have anyinformation regardingthe

Please contactmyoffice regarding theabove-referencedcaseand the whereabouts of MichaelJohn Reynolds,a/k/a MichaelJ.Reynolds, a/k/aMichael Reynolds 169459-Dec6-8,3t $97

py to an act

equaland parallel lines of 120 feet.Lot 33 forms thecornerofHomestead Avenue andCanal Street andinaccordancewith a survey by J.J. Krebs, C.E. datedMay 26, 1953, a copyofwhich is annexed b f d d

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JOHN&ANGELEALVENDIA AOSINTERIORENVIRONMENTS

To allthose whomade our2025AnnualGala asuccess,wewanttoextendour sincerest appreciation.Yourgenerosityand presence made theeveningtruly unforgettable.

We extend ourheartfelt gratitudetoour outstandingGalaCo-Chairs, Rico andKristin Alvendia,for theirleadership andunwavering commitment.Their visionofsuccess,passionand support brought theeveningtolife.

We areespecially grateful to our dedicated sponsors whosepartnership makesthis work possible. Aheartfelt thankyou to AKDLaw, Ochsner Health,and Entergyfor your steadfast support andbeliefinour mission. Every sponsor,donor,and partnermakes an invaluable contribution that goes beyond thegala.

We arealso deeply proudofour menteesand alumni,whose voices continue to inspire us and remind us that themission of Sonofa Saintis making alastingdifference.

Thankyou to ourBoard of Directors, staff,and volunteers fortheir consistent support and dedication.Because of this community, ourboys cancontinuetogrow,thrive, andilluminatetheir futures. Theirpotentialisboundless withsomuch support by theirside.

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Your supportfuels ourmission to transformlives year-round.

“Having my child in the programwithmewas the pinnacle, the top-notchservice Ineeded.”

Creating an ‘opportunity’

BY EMILYWOODRUFF Staff writer

At asmallplay area insideanewly renovatedbuilding on Canal Street in New Orleans, De Jon Muwwakkil watched her daughter work apulley elevator on adollhouse and tuck a stuffed panda behind aminiature cupboard —“hisnew home,” the child announced For Muwwakkil, who completed outpatient substanceuse treatment through Volunteers of America SoutheastLouisiana, moments like that show what recoverycouldlike when women don’t havetochoose between getting help and caring for their children

“Havingmychild in the program with me was the pinnacle, the topnotch service Ineeded,” she said. Many women in New Orleans have never been able to consistently stay with theirchildren throughout treatment. But on Nov.25, VOASELA held aribbon-cutting ceremony for CanalPointe, New Orleans’ onlyfamily-centered residential

“I’ve worked with clients where sometimes their first substance usewas with their parents, when they were as young as 9doing heroin. It’sreally important to break that cycle.”

JACKIE KELLETT,Volunteers of America Southeast Louisiana’s assistantvice president of integrated and behavioral healthand alicensed clinical social worker

treatmentand recoveryfacility for pregnantwomen and mothers with children. The site, aformer auto dealership acrossfromUniversityMedical Center,has been transformed intoa31-room center where families will live together for about 90 days while the parent goes through treatment.

“This is an opportunity,” Muwwakkil said.“It keepswomenand childrensafe, away from the triggers, away from the badactors in thestreets, away from the bad sub-

stances,the traumatic experiences of someone’slife.”

Asmall library inside Canal Pointe is stocked with local children’s books, and the facility also includes ateaching kitchen, play areas, communityareas forfamilies,and private roomsequipped with cribs and trundle beds so mothersand childrencan stay together.Outpatient services are already operating, and residential admissionsare expected to begin in December or January

Medication-assistedtreatment will be provided on site through DePaul Community Health Centers. The first week for new residentsistypically a blur of medical appointments, group therapy,individualcounseling and casemanagement, staff said Jackie Kellett, VOASELA’s assistantvicepresident of integrated andbehavioralhealth anda licensed clinical social worker,saidtreating mothers alongside their children is essential. Child care barriers often stop women from seeking help, but

Zinc shows promise in muscle treatment

BY MIRIAM FAUZIA The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

DALLAS— Far from any battlefield, north Texas scientists are testing afamiliarnutrient they hope can helpregrow soldiers’ damaged muscles.

At theUniversityofTexas at Arlington, professor of graduatenursing ZuiPan andher colleagues are studying whether a zinc-infused gel can spur injured muscle to regenerate after ablast. Suchtraumatic injuriesmostoften occur in war,terrorist attacks and serious accidentswhenanexplosive force sends apowerful pressure wave through the body,tearing muscle and other tissues. Theproject is part of theUniversity of Texas system’s Trauma Researchand CombatCasualty Care Collaborative,whichlaunched in 2022 to fund trauma research and innovation. In October,the initiative announced it had awarded $18 million to universities andmedical centers across the public university system Trauma injuries are the leading cause of deathand permanent disabilityinchildren andadults younger than 44, according to the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.Though initial damage from ablast is irreversible, it may be possible to prevent someofthe secondary injury to muscle andother tissuesthat happens when blood flow is cut off with atourniquet or bandage and then suddenly restored, Pan said in anews release.

That’swhere zinc,a metal and essential micronutrient, comes in. In thehumanbody,zinc plays a critical role in supporting the immune system and healing wounds. In a150-pound person,roughlytwo to three grams of body weight is zinc,and only about 0.1% of that is replenishedeachday through diet, according to someestimates. Unlike iron, zinc isn’tstored in the body.About 60% of it is found in skeletal muscle and 30% in bone.

Studies in rats have found that, whenzinc levels are low, muscle growth is stunted. Other research has suggested minerals such as zinc mayhelp prevent or treat sarcopenia, or age-related loss of muscle massand strength, among people with cirrhosis or late-stage liverdisease. Zinc may also help with muscle atrophy in people with diabetes, at leastbased on animal studies.

But toomuchzinc is toxic and can cause damage, Pan said in the newsrelease. This toxicity can result whether zinc is taken orally or placed on the skin.

See ZINC, page 3X

HEALTH MAKER

La. doctor discovers passion for treating bone cancer

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

Dr Gustin Zervoudakis

went to the University of Dayton in Ohio, majoring in exercise physiology and minoring in biology He completed medical school at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine as part of the inaugural class in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he also received his orthopaedic surgery residency training. Zervoudakis then went to Tampa, Florida, to complete his orthopaedic oncology fellowship at the Moffitt Cancer Center followed by a fellowship specializing in sarcomas also at Moffitt.

returned to rugby one last time after this injury

The same drive that pushed him to recover from near career-ending injury now fuels his dedication to patients whose challenges are often far greater.

Zervoudakis

“I first got into rugby my freshman year of high school,” he said “I fell in love with the sport almost immediately and have been involved with the sport in some capacity ever since whether that be as an athlete, a coach or spectator.”

Whoinspiresyou?

Zervoudakis is now a pediatric orthopedic oncologist at Ochsner Health specializing in bone cancer treatments. Once a professional rugby player, he endured a devastating knee injury tearing his MCL, ACL and PCL — and still

I’ve always been inspired by the love and dedication of my parents. I am one of five brothers. Despite having their hands completely full raising and providing for all of us, particularly the weekly grocery bill, I never heard them complain, and they always put us first. I attribute a lot of the credit for being where I am today to them as I attempt to emulate just a portion of their work ethic

and dedication in my professional endeavors.

Atwhatpointdidyouknowyou weregoingtostudyorthopedics?

I knew I wanted to go into orthopaedic surgery very early in my premedical path. This was mainly based off a long-standing interest in the musculoskeletal system and my experience in orthopaedic surgery on the patient side. Naturally, I had envisioned myself as an orthopaedic sports surgeon working with athletes and teams. However, I discovered my passion for oncology while shadowing my uncle, Dr Emmanuel Zervos, who is a surgical oncologist at the ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville, North Carolina, during my summer between junior and senior year of college. I was immediately drawn to the complexity of the cases, interdisciplinary treatment paradigm, and the opportunity to help patients in what is most likely the scariest time of their life.

WhatbroughtyoutoLouisiana?

My oldest brother and his

family used to live in New Orleans, so I had visited the city a number of times in the past and always left looking forward to the next visit. Professionally, I was drawn to Ochsner specifically for the opportunity to utilize the resources and partnerships with worldrenowned establishments like MD Anderson Cancer Center to bring an elevated level of care to Louisiana. My typical week consists of clinic and surgery days. Clinic will consist of seeing post-op patients, follow-up patients, and new patients that may either present with a known diagnosis of sarcoma/cancer or require a complete workup.

Whatshouldpeopleknowabout bonecancer?

Bone cancers are part of the sarcoma family of cancers. These cancers are different from the more common carcinoma family of cancers that most individuals are familiar with cancers of lung, breast, thyroid, kidney, prostate They are derived from cells of mesenchymal origin

including bone, fat, nerve, muscle, cartilage or blood vessel cells. Sarcomas make up less than 2% of all cancer and thus are very rare relative to their carcinoma counterpart.

Some major changes in the treatment of cancer involving the musculoskeletal system include advances in percutaneous treatment such as minimally invasive internal fixation techniques as well as development of immunotherapy treatments that have made great strides in the management of metastatic disease.

Howdoyouexperiencechangeas anoncologist?Howdoyoumanage theever-evolvinglandscapeofthe medicalworld?

I experience change the same way as everyone in the medical field. Medical knowledge, particularly in the world of oncology, is an exponentially expanding body of information with new discoveries occurring seemingly every day requiring a large amount of diligence and curiosity to stay up to date through reading articles and attending conferences. Luckily, I have plenty of both, so I enjoy getting the chance to read about the most advanced techniques and treatments. Whatisthe firstthingyouaska patientaftersayinghello?

The first question I ask after saying hello is “How are you?” It’s very easy to get wrapped up in labs, notes and images, so I find starting with this question brings my focus back to the actual person across from me. This habit also serves as a reminder that every patient is someone’s family member or friend and should be treated the same as my own family member or friend.

Whatdoyouenjoydoingmost outsideofworkatthehospital?

Outside of the job, I love spending time with my family at home exploring nearby hikes, going camping or just playing in the yard. I also enjoy working on small woodworking projects and building furniture for the house when I have the space and time.

Menopause hormone therapy warning is removed

Health officials discuss treatment benefits

BY MEG WINGERTER

The Denver Post (TNS)

Removing the most dire warning from hormonal therapies to treat menopause is likely the right call, women’s health experts say, but exuberance for the treatments could be getting ahead of the evidence.

Since 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required a “black box” warning — reserved for the most-serious side effects on products that use estrogen, progesterone or both to treat symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. The black box warned of an increased risk of blood clots and certain heart problems.

Recently U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced providers would no longer see the black box, and described the decision to place the warning as a betrayal of women that denied them “strength, peace and dignity,” and may have shortened their lives.

Other top officials said in a news release that estrogen would help women prevent chronic diseases while “extending their vigor,” and that female brains need estrogen to function at their best.

“With the exception of antibiotics and vaccines, there may be no medication in the modern world that can improve the health outcomes of older women on a population level more than hormone therapy,” FDA Commissioner Dr Marty Makary

RECOVERY

Continued from page 1X

they don’t have to choose between getting help and their children at Canal Point With everyone able to stay together Kellett pointed out the facility would also be able to offer services to anyone in the family who needs it. She often has seen multigenerational substance use.

“I’ve worked with clients where sometimes their first substance use was with their parents, when they were as young as 9 doing heroin ” Kellett said. “It’s really im-

wrote in an opinion piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Removing the black box is the right call for forms of hormone therapy delivered directly to the vagina, and may be for pills and other “systemic” medications, though those require a nuanced conversation about risk, said Dr Jill Liss, an associate clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus.

But despite what Kennedy and other federal officials said, no studies have proven that hormone therapy prevents heart disease or dementia, said Liss, who is on the board of the Menopause Society It is, however, a highly effective and generally safe option for treating hot flashes and vaginal symptoms of perimenopause, and delays bone loss that can lead to osteopo-

portant to break that cycle.” Louisiana continues to see high overdose rates among pregnant and postpartum women. Accidental overdose is the leading cause of death among pregnant women in the state. In the most recent report, 28 women died of overdose in a single year Nick Albares, who helped oversee the project’s development, said the $8-millionplus facility was funded through a mix of tax credits, federal and private grants, and philanthropy It will cost roughly $2 million annually to operate. Medicaid is expected to cover about a month of treatment

rosis, she said. Some women also report better sleep and mood.

“It’s a really nice tool for the menopause transition,” she said Some of the comments from federal officials “gave this notion that hormone therapy is more miraculous than it really is.”

Older women who didn’t get hormone therapy while the black box was in place likely suffered more symptoms than they would have if it had remained widely available, but they don’t need to worry that their long-term health took a hit, Liss said. Black box warnings don’t technically limit availability, but doctors are more reluctant to prescribe medications that carry one, and women who saw media coverage of hormone therapy’s risks were less likely to seek it out, she said.

“It’s not an anti-aging medication,” Liss said.

per participant, supplemented by TANF dollars But outside support will remain critical

No one will be turned away because of an inability to pay Albares said. “But it’s not a program that is sustainable on its own.”

“It’s going to take everyone to make it work,” said Voris Vigee, CEO and president of VOASELA.

The facility will accept women from across Louisiana.

VOASELA leaders emphasized the project’s goal of providing long-term stability for families navigating both addiction and poverty

Views on hormone therapy have shifted dramatically over the years. In the 1960s, doctors recommended it for almost all women in menopause, often with an eye toward pleasing their husbands. Concerns about a kind of uterine cancer dampened enthusiasm in the 1970s, though interest started to pick up again as data showed combining two hormones largely eliminated that risk.

While the research clearly showed that hormone therapy was effective for treating some of the more bothersome symptoms of menopause, no one knew whether it had any effect on women’s risk of chronic diseases.

In the 1990s, the Women’s Health Initiative study tried to answer that question. The trial stopped early, in 2002, after finding an increase in breast cancer diagnoses and blood clots among women taking one type of hormone

therapy For the first decade or so of the millennium, most gynecologists took the view that women should avoid hormonal therapy, said Dr Katie Rustici, one of the gynecologists certified in menopause care at Intermountain Health, which has a clinic for holistic menopause care in Denver

As of 2020, about 5% of women who reported they were in the menopause transition were taking estrogen, progesterone or a combination product, down from more than one-quarter in 1999.

Later analyses found that women who started hormone therapy in their 40s and 50s had small increases in risk, with about six additional breast cancer cases and five cases of heart disease or stroke for every 10,000 people treated. They had a lower risk of broken bones,

diabetes and dying during the follow-up period. The risks are higher for women who start hormone therapy after 60. The study didn’t last long enough to generate conclusions about the safety of starting early and continuing to take hormones well past when perimenopause symptoms typically end, though the risk is clearly lower than starting late, Liss said. Rustici said she typically sits down with patients to reevaluate hormone use after about five years. The risk of breast cancer continues to rise with longer use, but some women are willing to accept that trade-off because they report more energy and better sexual functioning, she said.

“There really is a piece here that is patient autonomy,” she said. Even so, systemic hormone therapy isn’t an option for breast cancer survivors or women who’ve had heart attacks, strokes or certain high-risk blood clots, Rustici said Those patients generally can use estrogen products applied in the vagina, however because only trace amounts of hormones reach the rest of the body

Vaginal estrogen won’t help with hot flashes and night sweats, but patients can get some relief from using antidepressants or the antiseizure drug gabapentin, Rustici said. A new class of drugs works on the brain’s temperature control mechanisms, though those aren’t an option for women with liver problems.

Ultimately, each woman’s symptoms, risks and priorities — all of which shift over time need to guide conversations with her doctor about treatments during menopause, Liss said.

“What’s right for your friend or your mother or your sister could be different from what’s going to be right for you,” she said.

The organization expects Canal Pointe to serve 150 to 200 mothers and children each year The organization is accepting donations of hygiene items, cleaning supplies and new clothing for residents.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU

The Louisiana Health section is focused on providing in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state.This section looks at medical innovations, health discoveries, state and national health statistics and reexamining tried and true methods on ways to live well.

Health editions will also profile people who are advancing health for the state of Louisiana. Do you have a health story? We want to hear from you. Email margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com to submit health questions, stories and more.

Eat Fit LiveFit

Holiday bakingthat’sactually good forus

The holidays can be awonderful mix of comfort, nostalgia and, let’s be honest, temptation. It can also bring stress, especially if we’re navigating specific nutrition needs or simply trying to feel ourbest. This isn’t about giving up traditions or being “good.” It’s about having more options, more curiosity and moreways to make food both joyful and nutritious

That’sexactlywhatdrivesCarolyn Ketchum,founderoftheblog:Allday Idreamaboutfood,oneofthemost extensivelow-carbbakingresources online.Aself-taughtbakerandfood bloggerofmorethan15years,Carolyn startedexperimentingwithrecipesafter developinggestationaldiabeteswhen shewaspregnantwithheryoungest child.Herdiagnosisledhertowarda lower-carblifestyle.

“I’vealwayslovedtobake,andIdidn’t wanttogiveitup,”saidCarolyn.“Istarted playingwithalmondflour,coconutflour, alternativesweetenersandjustfiguring outwhatworksandwhatdefinitely doesn’twork.”

Carolynjoinedmeonmypodcastto sharesomeofherfavoriteholidaybaking andgift-givingtips.Youcanhearour fullinterviewonmyFUELEDWellness +Nutritionpodcast,justsearch‘holiday baking’.Herearethehighlights:

StartEarlyandFreezeSmart

One of Carolyn’s biggest stress-saving tips is to plan ahead. “I start early because Ilove cookie swaps,and I especially love having amix of abunch of different options,” she said. “If you waituntil three days beforeChristmas, you’ll just be grumpy you committed to it.”

Shepreferstofocusonsturdy, freezer-friendlycookies,likelow-carb biscotti,shortbreadorslice-and-bake doughs.“Freezingstopsthestaling

process,”sheadded.“Fridgestendtomake themgostalefaster.”

ChoosetheRight Gluten-FreeFlours

InCarolyn’sworld,glutenfreeisn’t aboutrestriction.It’saboutbetter ingredients.“Gowithagood-quality almondflour.Ipreferafinealmondflour versusalmondmeal.Thetextureoffine almondflourissmoother,andthecoloris lighterandprettierinbakedgoods.Also, almondflouraddsagoodbitofmoisture tobakedgoods,”shesaid.“Coconutflour, ontheotherhand,isverydry,soIuse justalittletoaddstructure.”Theresult? Cookiesandcakesthatlookandtastelike therealthing,minusthestarchycarbs

LearnHowSweetenersBehave “Almond flourdoesn’t act like wheat flour, and zero-sugarplant-based sweeteners don’t actlike realsugar,” Carolyn said.That means followinga testedrecipe at first. Erythritol-based sweeteners (like Swerve) give crispness, while allulose makes cookies soft and chewy.

RepurposeOurMess-Ups

Acakethatsank?Cookiesthat crumbled?Carolynrepurposesthem intootherbakedgoods,likecakepops ortruffles.“Pleasedon’tthrowmistakes away,”shesaid.“Pulsedrycookiesinto crumbs,mixwithabitofcreamcheese,

rollintoballsanddipintoalow-carb chocolate.Boom—instanttruffles.” GiftwithLove(andFunction) Youdon’tneedtospendafortuneto togiveathoughtfulgift.Masonjarsfilled withlittlecookiesortrufflesaresimple, prettyandeasytopersonalizewitha recipecardandaribbon.Forsavorytreats, thinkcheesestraws,rosemary-Parmesan crackersorevenCarolyn’sfan-favorite spinachsquares(madewithfrozen spinach,coconutflour,eggsandcheese). Carolynhasbuiltavastlibraryof meticulouslytestedrecipesandauthored adozenrecipebookssofar,including “TheProteinAdvantageCookbook”and “TheUltimateGuidetoKetoBaking,”a full-colorreferenceguidethatbreaks

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsnersEatFit nonprofitinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia. Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam.

BY THENUMBERS

downthescienceofswappingflours, fatsandsweeteners.Recipesfilledwith Carolyn’ssignatureblendofplayfulness andprecisionarealsoavailableonher website,AllDayIDreamAboutFood com.Youcansearchthesitebyflavor, ingredientoroccasion.

Shesaidallbakingisallaboutcuriosity, notperfection,andthat’strueforlowcarbrecipestoo.“Bekindtoyourself,” Carolynsaid.“Startwitharecipethat’s alreadybeentested.Then,onceyougeta feelfortheingredients,playaroundwith it.Addyourownflavors,experimentand havefun.

Theholidaysdon’thavetobeabout guilt,pressureorfoodsthatare“off-limits. Whetheryou’regivinggiftsfromyour kitchenorreworkingafavoriterecipe,it’s allinthespiritofcreativity,connection andcare.

AsCarolynremindsus,“There’salwaysa waytomakethethingsyouloveandenjoy inahealthierway.”

ForCarolyn’slow-carbrecipes everythingfrompeppermintbiscottito focaccia—visitAllDayIDreamAboutFood. comorpickup“TheUltimateGuideto KetoBaking.

DEATHS FROM CHRONICLIVER DISEASERISENATIONALLy, IN LOUISIANA

Over the past decade, the rate of deaths due to chronicliver disease has jumpedfrom10.5per 100,000peopleinthe U.S. in 2014 to 14.4 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023, according to data from the CDC In Louisiana, although steadily lowerthan the national average, has also seen an increase in chronic liver disease deaths, from 9.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2014 to 10.9 deaths per100,000 in 2023.

Since 2014, the rate of people per 100,000 who died due to chronic liver disease in Louisiana are

ZINC

Continued from page 1X

as follows:

n In 2014, there were 9.8 deathsdue to chronic liver disease per 100,000; n In 2015, there were 10.5 deaths dueto chronic liver disease per 100,000; n In 2016, there were 9.7 deathsdue to chronic liver disease per 100,000; n In 2017, there were 10 deathsdue to chronic liver disease per 100,000; n In 2018, there were 9.5 deathsdue to chronic liver disease per 100,000; n In 2019, there were 9.2 deathsdue to chronic liver disease per 100,000; n In 2020, there were 10.8 deaths dueto chronic liver disease per 100,000;

“Our long-term goal is to identify asafeand convenient way to apply zinc directly to muscletissue,” Pan said of her team’sresearch. That way,they aim to protect skeletalmuscle from further injury and promoteregeneration. The researchers are looking into azincinfused gel called gelatin methacryloyl asan option to jump-start muscle regrowth.The gel is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as amedical product formuscle regeneration, but it is generally considered safe to use, according to somestudies. It is alsoamong the many soft, Jell-O-like substances known as hydrogels that scientists use to support cells as they grow and repairtissue. Although the UT Arlington study is aimed at battlefield wounds, thesame kinds of blast and crush forces can affect people in car accidents, people sufferingsportsinjuriesor people injured in natural disasterssuch as earthquakes. The research, therefore, could oneday benefit those affected bytraumatic injuries outside the military as well. Miriam Fauzia is ascience reporting fellow at TheDallas Morning News. Her fellowship is supported by the Universityof Texas at Dallas.

n In 2021, therewere 12.2 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000; n In 2022, therewere 11.8 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000; n In 2023, therewere 10.9 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000.

Since2014, therateof people per 100,000 who died duetochronicliver diseaseinthe U.S. areas follows:

n In 2014, therewere 10.5 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000;

n In 2015, therewere 11.4 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000;

n In 2016, therewere 11.1 deathsdue to chronicliver

diseaseper 100,000;

n In 2017, therewere 11.4 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000;

n In 2018, therewere 11.7 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000;

n In 2019, therewere 12.1 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000;

n In 2020, therewere 14.6 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000;

n In 2021, therewere 16.2 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000; n In 2022, therewere 15.4 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000; n In 2023, therewere 14.4 deathsdue to chronicliver diseaseper 100,000.

Must-knowFacts

Diabetes

7 Signs

DiabetesisoneofthemostcommonconditionsintheUnitedStates,andratesareaboveaverage alongtheGulfSouth.Somepeoplehavediabetesanddon’tevenknowit.Butknowingthewarning signsandhowtomanagediabetescanhelpyouliveahealthierlifeandavoidtheserioussideeffects ofthiscondition.

Hereare sevencommon warning signs of diabetes: Increasedthirstandurination.Whenyourbloodcontainstoomuchglucose(sugar), thebodyproducesmoreurine,whichtriggersincreasedthirst.

Unexplainedweightloss

Persistentfatigue

Blurredvision

Slow-healingcutsorwounds

Tinglingornumbnessinyourhands,feetandtoes

Recurringinfections

Doyouhaveanyofthesesymptoms?

It’simportanttotellyourdoctorandgetscreened,particularlyifyouare overweightandbetweentheagesof35and70.Ifyoutestpositivefor diabetes,youcanworkwithyourdoctortocomeupwithaplantomanage yourcondition.Medicationsmaybeprescribed,andeatingahealthierdietand exercisingcanalsohelp.

TheOchsnerDigitalMedicineprogramisagreatwaytomanageyourcondition fromthecomfortofyourhome.Participantsreceiveadigitalglucometerthat connectstotheirsmartphoneortablet,helpingcutdownonthenumberof visitsyouhavetomaketotheclinic.You’llalsohavethebenefitofateamof healthcoachesandadedicatedclinician.

Top Ways Diabetes Might Hurt Your Eyes and HowtoProtect Them

Diabetescanaffectyoufromyourheadtoyourtoes.Onespecialareato focusonisyoureyes.

Whenyouhavediabetes,toomuchglucose(sugar)canbuildupinyour bloodstream.Thatcandamagenerves,bloodvesselsandtissue,including youreyes.Thiscanleadtoblurryvision.

Diabeticeyediseaseincludesseveralconditionsthatcanchangeover time.Youreyesarelikecameraswithmultipleparts.Diabetescan damagethefrontpartofyoureye,thecornea,causingdryeye

Thisleadstotearingupandburninginyoureyes.Insideyoureyeisthe lens.Acataractisacloudyareathatformsonthelens.Cataractsare commonaspeoplegetolder,butdiabetescancausecataractstohappen soonerthantheywouldotherwise.Morecomplexformsofdiabeticeye diseasecanharmyourretina,whichcanleadtodeclinesinvision.

Ifyouhavediabetes,itisimportanttohaveregularvisionscreenings. Prompttreatmentwithcontinuedfollow-upappointmentscanprevent blindness.Controllingyourdiabeteswiththehelpofyourdoctoror enrollingintheOchsnerDigitalMedicineProgramcanhelp.

Tips for Peoplewith Diabetes During the Holidays

Holidayspresentspecialchallengesfor thosewithdiabetes.Thegreatnewsis thatyoucanstillenjoyfestivemeals andcelebrationswiththeseninetips, andafewtweakstofavoriterecipes.

Keepregularmealtimes.Starvingyourselfcanleadtoovereating unhealthyfoods.

Minimizetemptation.Putfoodsawayaftermealstoavoidendless grazing.Focusonfunandconversationovermindlesssnacking.

Beapickyeateratparties.Trysmallsamplesofholidaydishes,butpass onchips,dipandfriedfoods.Freshveggieandfruittrays,orroasted veggies,arebettermainstays.

Listentoyourhunger.Eatslowlyandpayattentiontowhenyou’refull. Goeasyonalcohol,whichcontainslotsofcaloriesandfewnutrients. Drinkplentyofwater.

Stayactiveandgetexercisewithfamilyandfriends,whichcanbemore funthanjustsittingaround.

Managestress.Enlisthelpforyourholidaygatheringsfromfamilyand friends.Planaheadandpreparefoodinadvance.

Giveyourselfabreak.Onecheatmealorskipping oneexercisedayisn’ttheendoftheworld. Progress,notperfection,isthegoal.

Userecipesubstitutions.Searchonline orusecookbookstofindhealthy substitutesforingredients. Forexample,tryskimmilkfor wholemilk,twoeggwhitesfor onewholeegg,orplainyogurt insteadofsourcream.

LOUISIANA

Starting a longtime tradition

Sometimes holiday traditions have strange backstories. Iremember the first time Uncle Mack, Aunt Doris and my cousin, Angie, cameover for biscuits on Christmas morning. Iwas 8years old, and Icalled to see what Santa Claus brought Angie that morning. Ihad gotten one of those life-size Barbie heads that camewith accessories so that Icould fix her hair and makeup. Iwas beyond excited and whispered to my mom, “Can we invite them over for biscuits?”

My momsaid yes, and aunt, uncle and cousin arrived 30 minuteslater They cameover every Christmas morning for the next 52 years until my dad died and my mom moved away from the town where we all grew up.

I’m grateful for those years we hadtogether,but all these decades later Irealize that traditions change no matter how muchwe love the waywe’ve always done things.

UNABANDONED

N.O. artist imagines apostapocalyptic Louisiana throughreclaimed oilwells

BY ALEXLUBBEN Staffwriter

Hannah Chalew salvaged an old oil well from the Poland Avenue scrapyard in New Orleans. She coated itwithbagasse, or sugar cane pulp, from Grow Dat,the urban farm in City Park.The paint is recycled, from another nonprofit, theGreenProject, and theplants —palmettos,cypress, elephant ear —are largely from the Coalition to RestoreCoastal Louisiana’s greenhouse.

The embedded plastic trash atoothbrush, aCOVID-19 test, an old burned CD —“came from my life,” she said. “Plasticwill be afossil marker of our time, here long after we’re gone.”

The result is an artwork that gesturesatwhathumansmight leave behind, asculpturecalled “OrphanWellGamma Garden.” It’sawindowinto the post-apocalypse, where the stuff of civilization has coagulated around Chalew’sreclaimed steel wellheads, that questions the kind of future that humans are creating, and what might survive us.

“I felt kind of like areverse archaeologist, imagining how some person in the distant future would

think about this, like, disembodiedsippy-cuptop,”Chalewsaid. “What will thepeople, or the creatures,who encounter this make of it?”

That workturned out to be only the firstinaseries of orphan-oilwell-inspiredwork. Anew piece, “Christmas Tree”—named after the Christmas Tree wellheadsthat pockmark Louisiana’scoastline and are so called because they taper somewhat like atree—was inspiredbya June trip to the mouth of the Mississippi River. There, Chalew saw wells that had become “orphaned.” Thecompanies that owned them had gone bankrupt and responsibilityfor plugging them hadfallentothe state. Some wereleaking oil. She wonders, too, what kind of plant life might recolonize old wells.She embedded “Christmas Tree” with oak wood and resurrection fern—aplant that can dry out andenterinto adesiccated, dormant state, andremain that way for up to acentury.When exposed to water,the fern comes back to life.

She said she wanted to imagine “what mightrecolonize” old,abandoned fossil-fuel infrastructure.

Chalew’s“Christmas Tree” is on

STAFF PHOTOSBySOPHIAGERMER

TOP: An artpiece titled ‘Orphan Well Gamma Garden’ stands in the back of artist Hannah Chalew’sstudio recently in NewOrleans. The piece wasondisplayatthe Contemporary Arts Center in NewOrleans during Prospect.6.

ABOVE: Chalew’snew sculpture, ‘Christmas Tree,’isondisplayatGood Children Gallery on St.Claude Avenue in NewOrleans.

display now at Good Children Gallery, at 4037 St. Claude Ave.,part of ashow called “Mining for Wonderinthe Humdrum.” Theshowis on view until Dec. 7. She has work on displayaspart of anotherexhibition, called “Fragile Matter,” at the HilliardArt Museum in Lafayette.

“I realized that this is abody of work,” she said. “These totemic sculptures arepart of an eventual showthat will be akind of ‘orphanage’ of old well sculptures.” Don’tworry aboutradon

The ‘gamma garden’ in the title is an allusion to thepost-World WarII, U.S.-led initiative called Atoms for Peace, which sought to find peaceful usesfor nuclear technology.The idea was to speed evolution in plantsbyplanting them around apole made of radioactive metal. (Most of theplants died.)

Chalewnamed herworkafter this practice becauseold oilwells can themselvesberadioactive,

ä See UNABANDONED, page 2Y

What Ididn’tunderstand then —and only now see clearly —is how often traditions start that way: with achild’swhim, aparent’syes, followed by aknock on the door that ends up echoing through half a century

As we settle into December again, Ifind myself thinking about how traditions not only start in unexpected ways, but they also can end quietly,without ceremony, even the ones we thought were stitched into our bones. And, that the change is OK. Life goes on. We can still smile real smiles. We can still laugh. We can still be happy These days, Christmas morning for our family takes place in adifferent house in adifferent city.My momisstill there. She still makes the biscuits, but there’sadifferent knock on the door.Mybaby brother and his small herd of little boys comebarreling in —not aBarbie head in sight. From there, we still sit at the table and eat my mama’s biscuits with Blackburn syrup, usually followed by games galore. The morning feels like Christmas all the same.

Iknow my family isn’talone in quietly renegotiating the holidays —deciding whichrituals to keep, which no longer fit or those that are no longer possible. There wasatime when the prospect of such change would have crushed my spirit —when Ifeared things wouldn’tbeOKifthis year didn’t unfold exactly like the last.

Now, Iknow better.Life keeps moving. Circumstances shift. Grief arrives and recedes. Love remains and joy keeps finding away,remaking itself.

While Iamgrateful for the steadiness and meaning family traditions have provided, Inow know that achange in the ritual can be delightful —and the change doesn’t have to be an expensive big production or require aDisney-style hullabaloo.

I’ve never been afan of people saying they are “making memories.” In my experience, core memories are rarely designed or curated.

They usually stem from something as simple as an 8-year-old girl smearing blue eyeshadow on aBarbie head and realizing she needed her fashion-forward cousin’sadvice —and accidentally starting ahalf-century tradition. No one clapped. No one announced it in a newsletter —and yet it stuck.

Perhaps that’sthe heart of every tradition: ordinary moments offered to someone else, repeated again and again, until they become part of who we are —and, if we’re lucky,feel like home.

And sometimes, just sometimes, they start with alittle blue eyeshadow,somehot, buttered biscuits and alot of love.

INSPIREDDISCUSSIONS

ASK THEEXPERTS

BatonRouge educator builta life of service

BY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

Baton Rouge native Barry Jackson found his calling unexpectedly in aclassroom —inhis former middle school, KenilworthMiddle School. Although he graduated from McNeese State for radio and television broadcasting and from Southern University with amaster’sinmasscommunications, the classroom was where Jackson discovered his life’s purpose. Through teaching, coaching and leading for over 30 years in East Baton Rouge Parishschools, Jackson impacted hundreds of students. Many still consult him today with life decisions.Jackson coached football, basketball, softball and volleyball. Remarkably every student athlete he coached graduated fromhigh school. In his lengthy career,Jackson also served as dean of studentsand athletic director at Tara High School. The Louisiana Blue Foundation chose Jacksonasone of their Angel Award winners for 2025. Jackson, 63, retired this year,but he still volunteers at Tara High School, offering guidance tothose he continues to mentor

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

Whathasworkingineducationmeantto you?

It’smeant everything. Just the Lord allowing me an opportunity to be apart of what he desired to do in andthrough thelives of young people. It was so humbling when it was revealed to me what my true calling was. It means everything to know that you can play the smallest of roles in impact-

UNABANDONED

Continued from page1y

which she learned as she was building the sculpture. She called up afriend who works at an environmental advocacy group, who told her,“Youdon’tneed to worry aboutthe radon.You need to worry about the benzene,” another carcinogenic chemical that can waft off oil wells. She tested her wells for both and found them to be free of radiation and toxins.

ing positively the lives of young people. Inever took it forgranted. I’ve looked at itassomething that Iwas purposed to do,and Ialways approached it in that manner

Howdidyouworktowardsolutionsasa coachandasateacher?

Ithink thebiggest thing was just showingthe fact that you cared.The wholeapproach to teachingisnot really aboutonly teaching and coaching. It’snot about just the ABCs, or just about X’sand O’swhen you’retalking about coaching. It’sabout teaching and coaching the whole child. If we bring thatawareness and if we approach itinsuch amanner,then Ijust think it helps build and foster better relationship withyourstudents andwith your studentathletes. Therefore, youcan actually better meet their needs.And then, that’s where true learning canbegin to take place.

Inallofyourexperienceasacoachand asanathleticdirector,whatisthevalueof sportsinayoungperson’slife?

Ithink the greatest thing is just seeing them succeed over the course of thetimethatthe Lord afforded me tobeable to do what I’ve what I’ve done in coaching. Every one of my student athletes graduated, which is just so phenomenal when youlook at the grand scheme of things.I’ve been at Tara along timetosee the dynamics change and shift in terms of the population we serve. Many comefromsingle-parent homes and low-income families, so being abletosee them thrive in that space, not even understanding what they’regoing through or what they havebeen through, is special.

If Ihad to look at anything that

STAFF PHOTOSBySOPHIA GERMER

An artpiece titled ‘Orphan Well GammaGarden’ stands in the backofartist Hannah Chalew’s studio recently in NewOrleans. The piece was on displayatthe ContemporaryArtsCenter in New Orleans during Prospect.6

Q&A WITH BARRy JACKSON TEACHER AND COACH

was most impactful to me besides wins and lossesinthe sport and those type of things, its seeing them graduate and stepping into themanyopportunitiesthat’s ahead of them.

Whatwouldyousaytoyoungteachers andtoparentswithteenagers—howdo

youhelpthembesuccessful?

Ibelieve that youhavetobeable to be open to what hasevolved. Theteaching approach is always centered around the child. That should be ourmain thing.

Ourmain focus, our motive should be to do what’sinthe best

interest of the child.

Thenwehavetobeable to be receptive to how things have evolved without jeopardizing the integrity of what we do.

Email Joy Holdenatjoy.holden@ theadvocate.com.

“HELIS OIL +GAS” on each of the wells, areference to theonetime Louisiana oiland gas company,which, through its charitable foundation,isamajor patron of the artsinLouisiana. By centering this particular well in herwork, sheiscritiquing how thearts in New Orleans are funded. She’sre-

The legacy of the petrochemicalindustryhas beenthe focus of Chalew’s work. In one of her recent paintings, “Feedback LOOP,” now on displayatthe Hilliard, Chalew paints plants as intertwined —asthey often are in south Louisiana —with industrial pipes and valves. An oak tree, downed in Hurricane Ida, almost appears to be fighting against the pipesthat make up LOOP,anoffshore oil hub connectedtopipelines that weave their waythrough Louisiana’scoastal wetlands. As with her orphan well sculptures, the materials are natural or salvaged, with ink made fromoak trees and paper made from sugar caneand used plastic. Her critique extends further, callingout industry’saffiliation with the arts. She emblazonedthe words

fused funding from grant-making institutionsthatare linked to the oil and gas industry,she says, and won’taccept supportfrom Helis She alsologged thecarbon footprint of producing andtransporting thesculpture at 2.5 tons of

carbon dioxide, which she’stried to offset by planting cypress trees. She considers this achallenge to other artists to consider theenvironmental impact of their work.

“I want to create these visions

thatare beautiful, but thenasyou explore them, sort of unsettling,” she said. “Isthis the future we want ourdescendants to inherit?”

Email AlexLubbenatalex. lubben@theadvocate.com.

THERE’S GOOD NEWS, TOO

STORIES OF GLOBAL PROGRESS, COMPILED By FIX THE NEWS

MENINGITIS

A global study from BMC Public Health found that childhood meningitis deaths have decreased significantly worldwide due to conjugate vaccines and faster outbreak detection.The study which analyzed trends in childhood meningitis from 1990 to 2021, explored patterns in the incidence mortality and disability-adjusted life years in children aged 0–14 years across 204 countries. By 2035, it’s projected that N. meningitidis will become the leading pathogen. Despite overall global improvements, disparities persist, particularly in lowincome areas and among newborns.

‘AHA’ MOMENTS

A cognitive neuroscientist at Duke University, Maxi Becker, and her team have pinpointed how the brain generates ‘aha’ moments — and why they tend to stick.A sudden realization, or aha moment, is known as insight, like when Greek mathematician Archimedes exclaimed “Eureka!” By studying people as they viewed ambiguous images (so-called Mooney images) in an fMRI scanner scientists found that insight triggers a rapid surge of activity in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex, which processes visual patterns, the amygdala (emotion) and the hippocampus (memory).

An article from Quanta Magazine reported that those neural bursts appear to rewire how the brain represents the information — making the moment subjectively powerful and easier to recall later

TRACHOMA

Egypt has been officially certified by the World Health Organization as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem It is now the seventh country in the eastern Mediterranean region — and the 27th globally — to reach this milestone.

PRIMARY EDUCATION

Over the past century, global primary school enrollment has soared.According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, about 9 in 10 children of school age are enrolled in school Based on a report from Our World in Data, this data represents a dramatic expansion of access to basic education worldwide — and “education is widely seen as a basic right that governments are expected to provide.”While gender gaps were large for much of the 20th century, they have largely closed, with 91% of boys and 89% of

This accomplishment follows decades of coordinated action under WHO’s SAFE strategy (Surgery,Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness, Environmental improvements), national surveillance across Egypt’s governorates and integration of trachoma surveillance into Egypt’s disease-reporting system

BUMBLEBEES

A new study led by Lancaster University found that solar farms in Britain — if managed for biodiversity — could become important refuges for bumblebees.Their modeling shows that solar-farm sites with wildflower margins (rather than plain turf) could support about 120% more bumblebees While the increase is

mostly limited to the solar farm itself, strategic placement of multiple wellmanaged farms could help sustain local bee populations.

LARGEST CAVE

In Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam, the world’s largest cave can be found.A report from the nonprofit Mongabay said that, when a Vietnamese hunter found Son Doong cave, he conducted expeditions with the British Caving Association in 2001. In 2008, a team stepped inside the cave’s chambers, which are as wide as an airplane hangar and taller than the Great Pyramids of Giza.Today, the national park has made significant

It starts with aspark

in 2023. HelpingSmall Businesses Thrive

progress in tourism, development and conservation After 15 years of efforts, wildlife populations are rebounding, studies have increased and poaching has decreased — leading UNESCO to create a new transboundary World Heritage with Laos.

COLOMBIA

Also from Mongabay, the Colombian Amazon has been officially declared a protected “renewable natural resources reserve,” and its government has banned all new oil exploration and large-scale mining projects in the region.The decision covers about 42% of Colombia’s territory, aiming to prevent forest

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degradation, water pollution and biodiversity loss.The government also called on other Amazonregion countries to adopt similar protections.

CORAL RESTORATION

Researchers on the Great Barrier Reef have developed a new technique — the “larval seed box” — to help restore damaged reef areas, according to Oceanographic Magazine During a 2024 trial at Lizard Island, the method boosted coral-larvae settlement rates up to 56 times higher across thousands of square meters of reef habitat. Scientists collect millions of larvae during the annual coral spawn place them in seed boxes then deploy the boxes over degraded reefs so larvae can settle slowly and effectively A second trial is now underway in the Whitsundays to test efficacy under varied conditions.

LONDON

The first nine months of 2025 in London included fewer homicides than any year since monthly homicide records began in 2003, according to the Mayor of London’s Office for Policing and Crime Between January and September of this year, there were 70 homicides, a 16% drop from the same period last year Violent-injury crimes decreased across all 32 boroughs, and homicide rates remain lower than in several major international cities.The improvement is credited to increased policing prevention programs and the efforts of the Metropolitan Police Service alongside the London Violence Reduction Unit

Fixthenews.com is a solutions journalism newsletter that finds stories of progress and shares them with readers from across the world. Acclaimed author Steven Pinker calls Fix the News “the best source for positive news on the internet.”

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FAITH & VALUES

UK’s ancient stones draw renewed awareness

BY YONAT SHIMRON

Contributing writer

On a gray fall afternoon in November, a group of 19 people gathered outside the Church of St. Buryan, an iconic medieval parish with a 92-foot granite tower that dominates the skyline.

Clad in raincoats, reflective vests, waterproof boots with some holding wooden staffs, these residents of Cornwall, England’s coastal southwestern county, were ready for a different kind of spiritual experience — not in the church, but a stone circle.

Carolyn Kennett, an astronomer leading a 3.2-mile hike to the stone circle Boscawen-Ûn, explained why she organized the trip for Nov 5, the full moon. She was curious to see whether the moon rising opposite the sun cast a particular light on the taller inclining stone the only one made of quartz.

“It would have been a really nice thing to have seen,” she told the group, motioning to the overcast sky “We’re just going to hopefully have to imagine it, but you never know, we might get a small gap.”

The group assembled before her was undeterred With one or two exceptions, they had trekked to Boscawen-Ûn multiple times. Cornwall has several stone circles, and as many as 800 sit across the United Kingdom, remnants of prehistoric people who dwelt there. The most famous is Stonehenge, estimated to be 3,500 to 5,000 years old, which draws more than a million visitors a year and is now a managed site, roped off and requiring a ticket.

Boscawen-Ûn, which lies in the middle of emerald green grazing fields, is far less well-known, more rugged and remote, with no defined roads leading to it only a short footpath. Its configuration — 19 evenly spaced upright stones plus the one slanting stone — resembles a sundial.

The walkers consider BoscawenÛn and other stone circles to be sacred.

“There is some sort of spiritual presence in these holy places,” said Jane Weller, one of the walkers who lives in Marazion, a tiny coastal town nearby “It’s magic enough for me to be happy to go there.”

Ûn stone circle recently in Cornwall county, England Floyd and a group of 18 others walked 3.2 miles toward the circle as part of an organized group walk to prehistoric sites. “I just like the feeling of connecting with our ancestors, something that’s really old and ancient,” Floyd said

Weller, like many in the group and across the U.K., no longer considers herself a Christian though she grew up in the Anglican church and attended regularly well into adulthood. In 2020, the Christian share of the U.K.’s population was reported to be less than half (49%). During that same time, the share of the religiously unaffiliated increased to 40%, according to a Pew Research Center survey Across the U.K. some have turned instead to history, folklore and nature as sources of spiritual nourishment. Stone circles in particular have become pilgrimage sites. These megalithic formations, dating back to the Bronze Age (3300-1200 B.C.E.) and sometimes the earlier Neolithic Age (10000 to 2200 B.C.E.), are ultimate mysteries The upright stones were obviously laid out carefully and methodically in regularly spaced intervals. But because they were constructed prior to the use of written language, there’s no record of how they were used.

Scholars think they had ritual significance and may have been used to mark celestial events such as the solstice and equinox, or more common events such as sunrise or sunset, a particular fascina-

tion of Kennett’s, the tour leader

But there’s no consensus.

“This whole part of the British islands and Ireland holds this past that was just there in our fields, but we don’t know much about it,” said Suzanne Owen, an associate professor in the philosophy ethics and religion program at Leeds Trinity University who studies Druidry Public engagement with these mysterious stones is growing. In 2021, a Cornwall couple started a group, Stone Club, to run ad hoc walks, concerts and exhibitions for a network of enthusiasts that now includes almost 3,000 people who share tips and tales about their stone explorations.

On the way to Boscawen-Ûn (the name is Cornish), the group walked through alternating fields of grass and brown scrub. They talked in small groups, stopping to admire the native plants, the sloe and gorse. At the edge of each field they slowed down to help fellow walkers climb over stiles separating the fields.

Some, like Andy, a 55-year-old solar panel installer from Penzance, who asked to be referred to by his first name only, proudly identified as pagan. He and his wife held an old-fashioned handfasting —

an ancient Celtic wedding ritual in which the couple’s hands are bound with ribbon — at Boscawen-Ûn about 30 years ago. Since then, he has been walking to stone circles and other ancient sites on a weekly basis.

“I couldn’t really worship in a church, in a sort of sterile environment,” he said. “I worship in nature.”

Modern-day paganism was born in the U.K., as people began exploring the prehistoric sites in the mid-20th century Today, scholars such as Ethan Doyle White regard paganism as a family of related religions including Wiccans, Druids, heathens and goddess spirituality

The official 2021 census put the number of U.K. pagans at 105,809 — which includes those who identified themselves as pagan, Wiccan and more but scholars don’t trust that number Religious identification was a voluntary question on the census. And many who hold some pagan beliefs don’t self-identify for various reasons. They may not hold membership in a particular pagan group or they may feel stigmatized for acknowledging their beliefs. In addition, some on the walk said they have read up on recent scholarship into paganism that concludes its present-day practices were mostly made up and have no historical antecedents. They still have immense reverence for prehistoric sites but a healthy dose of skepticism about pagan celebrations and rituals, some said. Others criticized paganism’s romantic and nationalist undertones that sought to recover a great pre-Christian golden age. They are what scholars call “eclectic pagans” or “cultural pagans.”

“There is a cultural milieu that draws a lot on paganism but isn’t necessarily reflective of people who would actively practice a set of traditions,” said Doyle White, a visiting lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, U.K. That group now also includes a host of people with strong views on protecting the environment.

Gail Charman, a 66-year-old retiree who was on the walk, prefers to call herself a nature lover She still attends a church service at

Christmas, but her community of fellow believers are fellow environmentalists on such walks.

“I love nature passionately,” Charman said. “So, I like the chance to mingle with people on the walk and then doing all this learning, going to these really old sites. When you’re there with a group of people with mutual interests, it doubles the joy.”

As they entered the stone circle on a narrow hedged pathway, the walkers grew quiet. There was no one else at the site. Aside from an occasional bird overhead, and some detritus left from other walkers — including a woolen hat tucked under the central stone the circle was still and undisturbed. Some walked meditatively around the stones, alone or with a partner

Tamsin Floyd, a former nurse who now sells condiments, pesto and jams that she makes from foraged ingredients, walked straight to the central quartz pillar, wrapped her arms around it and rested her head.

“It’s really comfortable to put your arms around it,” she said. “It just feels nice. It feels supremely relaxing. I just like the feeling of connecting with our ancestors, something that’s really old and ancient.”

Floyd and her partner are planning a wedding at Boscawen-Ûn next July. She also likes to visit holy wells and springs around Cornwall, which are thought to bring healing to those who dip in its waters.

Kennett gathered everyone around her in the center of the circle and offered a few observations from archaeologists and astronomers about how the site developed. Was the leaning stone always leaning? Was it the original slab around which the other standing stones were erected? What about the carvings on the bottom of that stone? Do they represent axe heads or maybe feet? Did ancient people come to watch the sun set at one end and the moon rise over another? She took questions and allowed for more quiet time. Then, with dusk descending quickly, she motioned for the group to begin the trek back over the fields to the Church of St. Buryan.

Farmers struggle to commit to cover crop practice

BY OLIVIA COHEN

Contributing writer

Editor’s note: This story, created by Olivia Cohen for the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk is part of the AP Storyshare. Louisiana Inspired features solutions journalism stories that provide tangible evidence that positive change is happening in other places and in our own communities — solutions that can be adopted around the world.

When Levi Lyle was just 6 years old, his father was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer With treatment, his father survived his diagnosis. The ordeal changed how he farmed.

“It created an openness in his approach to farming to start doing things differently,” Lyle said. His father started no-till farming when the practice was still rare in Iowa. A decade ago, when Lyle, now 47, moved back to the family farm, he and his father jumped into organic farming.

“My experiences seeing my father overcome cancer, along with the Agricultural Health Survey’s Midwest cancer statistics, which point to a rural health crisis, inspire me to farm differently,” he said.

Today, Lyle grows corn and soybeans in Keokuk County, in southeast Iowa. Lyle farms about 250 acres, with 40 acres of that organic certified. His father farms an additional 250 acres.

Lyle said introducing cover crops into his practice was a “nobrainer.”

According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, cover crops are usually grasses or legumes that are planted between cash crop seasons to provide soil cover and improve soil health. Cover crops can reduce erosion and compaction, improve soil’s ability to hold water, reduce nutrient runoff, suppress weeds, as well as provide other services.

Despite being an advocate for cover crops, Lyle said the practice

Cattle graze on cover crops on a field at the Rodale

Iowa, on Oct 3. The mix of plants are clover, radishes, Japanese millet and oats. According to a new study by Iowa State University researchers, nearly 20 percent of farmers who reported planting cover crops on their land one year had ceased using them the following year

does present challenges.

“The initial challenge is that there is more labor involved,” Lyle said Cover crops “do not pay for themselves in the short run.”

In the U.S. more than 153,000 farms had land planted in cover crops in 2022.

In Iowa specifically, the use of cover crops has expanded significantly in recent years, growing from 1.3 million acres in 2022 to 3.8 million acres in 2024.

The conservation practice is promoted by the state through cost share incentives. It’s an effort by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to reduce the nutrients that go into local waters, make their way into the Mississippi River and ultimately contribute to the Gulf Dead Zone, an annually reoccurring area of reduced oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, an initiative aimed at reducing nitrogen and phosphorus runoff into Iowa’s waterways, to achieve 45% nutrient reduction will require about 14 million additional acres of cover crops to be planted

But a study published in July 2025 in the Society & Natural Re-

sources Journal found that while the number of acres being planted with cover crops has grown, many farmers abandon the practice after one year

“This study shows that adoption is not a one-time decision — it’s a dynamic process influenced by a range of factors,” co-author Suraj Upadhaya, assistant professor of sustainable systems at Kentucky State University, said in a news release about the study

Chris Morris, a postdoctoral research associate at Iowa State University was part of a research team that interviewed more than 3,000 Iowa farmers between 2015 and 2019.

The survey showed that nearly 20 percent of the farmers who reported planting cover crops on their land the first year had ceased using them the following year

However, the survey found that most of those farmers would be open to resuming the practice in the future.

Only about 4% of the farmers who participated in the survey said they have no intention of using cover crops again.

“What we found was a whole lot more shifting back and forth than we anticipated,” J. Arbuckle, pro-

fessor of rural sociology at ISU, said.

Nationwide, in 2022, nearly 18 million acres, or 4.7% of total U.S. cropland, had cover crops, up 17% from 2017.

Cover crop use is most common in the eastern U.S In states along the Mississippi River Iowa had the most acreage with cover crops in 2022 but Wisconsin had the highest percentage of its cropland using cover crops, at nearly 8%. All 10 states saw an increase in cover crop usage from 2012 to 2022, though some states, like Tennessee and Kentucky, saw a drop in cover crop use from 2017 to 2022.

Experts say cover crops present challenges to farmers that can act as barriers to permanent adoption.

Anna Morrow senior program manager with the Midwest Cover Crops Council, said one hurdle is that cover crop planting overlaps with the busy harvest season.

“Cover crops are a practice where a lot of the labor is right at a peak labor time in our season, right? So obviously (farmers) have to prioritize the cash crop so that they get paid,” Morrow said.

“It’s complicated because a lot of farmers are doing the cover crops in the winter so between getting the current crop harvested, planting the cover crop, getting that terminated before the next crop, if this cover crop is not going to work in that schedule, it’s going to be abandoned,” Morris said. Morris said barriers beyond timing abound, too, like the cost of purchasing and planting cover crops, balancing the cover crops with other farm work, and challenges that come with farming on rented land.

“A lot of farmers are in really short-term leases, and a lot of farmers feel like landlords aren’t interested in investing in conservation practices on rented land, because they may or may not be farming that land one or two or three years from now,” Arbuckle said.

In Lyle’s case, he owns the 40 acres he uses for organic farm-

ing, but he and his father lease the rest of their land. They plant cover crops on both the land they own and rent.

Lyle said for him it’s “economically justifiable” to plant cover crops on his leased land because he expects a “reduction in number of field passes, reduced herbicides, and reduced fertilizer use due to the nutrient scavenging capacity of cover crops.”

To address cost barriers and encourage the use of cover crops, various federal and state programs offer cost-share incentives. Lyle said this year he has been awarded cover crop funding for 150 acres, getting paid $10 per acre On average, it costs producers about $60 per acre to pay for cover crops.

Morris said these programs are helpful, but farmers told him they often don’t pay enough, require complicated, time-sucking paperwork, and only last one to three years.

But cover crops are a long game, Morris said. While use of cover crops can reduce the need for fertilizer, increase soil health and lead to better productivity, he said those benefits can be difficult to measure and can take years to materialize.

“It’s hard for farmers to justify that high economic cost of cover crops in any given year if there’s not going to be an immediate payoff. Most of these farmers are making marginal profits in any given year, if any, and some are at a net loss. So, there’s a huge weight on farmers’ shoulders of trying to keep the farm going, especially if it’s a farm that’s been in their families for generations,” Morris said.

“Anything that could potentially put them out of business is going to seem like a threat.”

Cover crops are generally not harvested; rather their benefits come from simply being on the land. At the end of their life they’re terminated using herbicides or manual methods, like mowing, and tilled into the soil or left atop it as mulch.

SUNDAY, December 7, 2025

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

word game

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

todAY's Word — KeYBoArd: KEE-bord: A bank of keys on a musical instrument such as a piano.

Average mark 50 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 66 or more words in KEYBOARD?

ken ken

instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner

instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

By John andrew agpalo

Inspired play

South in today’s deal was American expert John Schermer, who we believe is from the Seattle area. He covered the opening jack of diamonds lead with dummy’s king, losing to the ace. East returned a diamond.

Schermer played the 10, expecting it to be ruffed, but West followed with the five. Knowing that West started with short diamonds, Schermer decided not to play West for short clubs also. He cashed the king of clubs and led another club, picking up West’s queen. What next?

Who had the king of spades?

If West had it, Schermer could make his contract by leading toward the queen Schermer decided, however, that East would not have bid four hearts on only three trumps and the ace of diamonds He played East for the king of spades. Did that mean that the contract couldn’t be made? Not at all!

wuzzLes

super Quiz

a low spade and West was endplayed. He had to give dummy the king of hearts Had West unblocked the jack, Schermer would have crossed to dummy and led a spade toward his nine. Very nicely played!

West’s distribution was almost certainly 2-7-2-2. Schermer could make his contract if West held either the jack or the 10 of spades, or both. He cashed the queen of diamonds and led the queen of spades. East covered, Schermer played the ace, and West was under the gun. When West played low, Schermer led

Tannah Hirsch welcomes readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, Ny 14207. E-mail responses may be sent to gorenbridge@ aol.com. © 2025 Tribune Content Agency

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Home improvements, investing in yourself and your livelihood, and setting yourself up for success are on the rise. Take control and do what’s best for you.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan. 19) When opportunity knocks, open the door Look for new ways to utilize your skills and apply your experience to professions that are experiencing growth.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put your energy into personal improvement, updating your resume and connecting with people who can help

you advance Upgrade your look to encourage better responses. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Refuse to let anyone push you. You’ll know when the right opportunity comes along. Listen to your heart, not someone trying to take advantage of you. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Say no to temptation and yes to learning, personal growth and romance. Do your research and get the lowdown before you pursue something new Do your due diligence.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Go through the proper channels before you

make a decision that may put you in a vulnerable position. Trust your instincts, not someone trying to take advantage of you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Be open to suggestions, but rely on yourself and your intuition to guide you in a direction that’s best for you. Choose common sense over someone’s ego-boosting rhetoric.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) You are in a better position than you realize Take a moment to review the facts and reevaluate your past, present and future. Advancement awaits you.

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

SUBJECT: HISTORICAL BOOKS

(e.g., Isaac Newton’s book about gravitation and motion. Answer: Principia.)

FRESHMAN LEVEL

1. Betty Friedan’s book that sparked second-wave feminism in the United States.

Answer________

2. Complete the Adam Smith title: “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of _____.”

Answer________

3. The earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe.

Answer________

4. Writings by Anne Frank. Originally published as “Het Achterhuis” (“The Annex”).

Answer________

5. Karl Marx described his economic theories in this book.

Answer________

GRADUATE LEVEL

Charles Darwin’s work, considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology

Answer________ 8.

Answer________ 7. Published in 1611, it is the widest distributed book ever, with over 6 billion copies.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Show everyone what you can do. Socialize, network and address situations that require your attention You stand to prosper if you take hold of situations and turn them in your favor

VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept. 22) Think before you act, and protect those you love from people who are out to take advantage of you. A change may be necessary if you discover you have misinterpreted what someone is offering you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) What you hear will not be factual. Verify information before committing to

an action. Focus inward and put your time, effort and energy into self-improvement.

SCORPIO (Oct 24-Nov 22) Explore the possibilities, learn from an expert and take advantage of what you discover by using it to advance your current position. Change is within reach; all you must do is ignite the fuse.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact.

© 2025 by NEA, inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Answers to puzzles

SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the booksharder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?

Saturday's Cryptoquote: Nothing says holidays like acheeselog.—Ellen DeGeneres

1. "The Feminine Mystique." 2. "The Wealthof Nations." 3. Gutenberg Bible. 4. "The Diaryofa Young Girl." 5. "Das Kapital." 6. "On the Origin of Species." 7. King James Bible. 8. Domesday Book.9."The Birds of America." 10."The Prince" ("Il Principe"). 11. "A Dictionary of the English Language." 12. "Silent Spring." 13. "Rightsof Man." 14. Dead Sea Scrolls. 15. "Quotationsfrom Chairman Mao Tse-tung." Crossword Answers