The Acadiana Advocate 02-22-2026

UNLOCKINGMYSTERIES OF THEMARSH

Unique projectprovidesdeepinsightsinto state’ssinking soil alongthe coast

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

Askinny bayou curves betweenthick reedsofmarsh grass, revealing aspot hidden deep in the muck withanimportance fargreaterthanits surroundings would suggest. Standing atop wooden planks, CalebIzdepski and Tyler Loeb pull up chunks of soil samples and take measurements to helpgauge the rise and fall of theland here. It is one tiny part of agiant research effort constantly in motion, unique worldwide and key to unlocking the mysteries of the Louisiana marsh. “It’sthe only oneofits kind in the world, really,”Melissa Hymel, ascientist with the state’scoastalauthority,said whileonthe visittothe site accessible onlybyboat, locatednearHopedale in St Bernard Parish.

Largelyunknown outside the scientific community,the project is now in its 20th year, stretching from the chenier

BY JOEL THOMPSON

Staff writer

The Youngsville City Council approved several property variances during aFeb. 12 meeting that will allow plansfor new busi-

Louisiana’snetwork of 390coastalmonitoringstationsisuniqueworldwide andhas become keytoawiderange of scientificresearch. Nowinits 20th year,the networkisdeepening understandingofLouisiana’slandlosscrisis, amongother subjects

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Guillory

The decisions and activities that ledtothe Feb.19indictment and arrest of former Lafayette MayorPresident Josh Guillory began as early as 2021. Lafayette city andparish officials had been pushing money and projects to improve drainage since a2016 deluge left hundreds of homes flooded. One of the projectsofficials considered was removing part of a spoil bank, aleveetype structure created decades earlier when the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers dredged the VermilionRiver and dumped the dredged material near the bank.

The spoil bank provided some protection to St. Martin Parish as it preventedthe river from overflowing during high water events. Lafayette officials under the Guillory administration saw the

Source:Coastwide ReferenceMonitoring System

plains ofthe state’ssouthwest to thesinking soils at theMississippi’smouth. Itsever-accumulating mountain of data has become key to abroad range of

nesses in thecitytomoveforward. Therequestsalso sparked an intense debate over thecity’s current ordinances concerning land use.

Contentionsurrounding the topic arose during arequest from B&B Contractors, in which the developer sought aproperty varianceinresponse to thecompany’saccidental violation of Youngsville’sordinance restrictingpropertysetbacks.

research, including studies helping deepen thestate’s understanding of itsland losscrisis. It is allposted onlinefor anyone to view, enabling scientists across

Ordinances in Youngsville require new buildings to be built at least 25 feet from the property line and at least 10 feet from utility lines. The garage on thehouse was 5feet closer to the property line thanallowed by Youngsville’s municipal code; however,itwas still in compliance withthe 10foot setback on utilities. The developercalled it an honest mistake.

Staffgraphic

the world to use it. If apublicist would’ve named it, the network of 390sitesmight be called

Council member Simone Champagneput forwardmotions to require letters of approval from theutility companies and a hold harmless agreement contingent to any variance approved by thecouncil. Both motions failed, andthe variance wasapproved unanimously without qualification Afterward, council member

20% of homeowners awardedgrant

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

Nearly threeyearssincethe start of astate program to dole out grants forhomeowners to get stronger roofs, the number of people seeking help is faroutstripping the money available.

Thestate’s fortified roofgrant program has emerged as apopular solution to rising homeowners insurancecosts, whichhaveculminated in acrisisthat is threatening people’sability to remain in their homes. But the chances of getting afortified roof grant through a state lottery program remain unfavorable, according to state data.

Report: U.S. accepts Iran’s uranium plans

U.S. officials have accepted Iran’s red line of continuing to enrich uranium, the semiofficial Iranian Students’ News Agency quoted one of the country’s diplomats as saying The idea that Iran would completely stop nuclear enrichment was dismissed during the recent U.S. talks in Geneva, according to the diplomat, whom ISNA did not identify but described as familiar with the discussions. Instead, the official said negotiations are focused on the technical components of Tehran’s atomic program, such as the location, level and number of uranium centrifuges, ISNA reported.

The unnamed diplomat’s remarks echo comments Friday by Iranian Foreign Minister and chief negotiator Abbas Araghchi, who told MS Now that the U.S. hasn’t asked for zero enrichment and that both sides are seeking a “fast deal.”

U.S. and Iranian officials met in Geneva on Tuesday for their second round of Oman-mediated talks, as President Donald Trump continues to bolster U.S military assets in the Middle East.

The diplomat said a regional arrangement to enrich uranium isn’t currently under discussion and dismissed suggestions that Iran would agree to relocate the nuclear material abroad, according to ISNA.

Another alleged drug boat struck, killing 3

WASHINGTON The U.S. military said Friday that it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

U.S. Southern Command said on social media that the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” It said the strike killed three people. A video linked to the post shows a boat floating in the water before bursting into flames.

Friday’s attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats to at least 148 people in at least 43 attacks carried out since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”

Mr Clean ends 68 years as company mascot

Mr Clean appears to be calling it quits.

The retirement of the bald, animated mascot used in Mr Clean ads and on products since 1958 was announced in a social media ad posted Thursday That ad features Mr Clean standing behind a podium with a “breaking news” chyron flashing across the screen.

“After a career with zero stains on the record, he’s ready for new adventures,” the narrator says That voice assures consumers the company bearing his name will continue to operate, then asks “What’s next for Mr Clean?”

Among those wishing the smiling character well on Instagram were the social media teams behind Old Spice grooming products and Brawny paper towels

“We’ll miss you, legend!” wrote the team at Old Spice. Mr Clean’s people responded by saying they too will miss their mascot.

“While our products will continue to battle your dirt and grime, Mr Clean, well, first name Veritably, (yes, really), is off to new adventures. We know his journey will be fulfilling, and we support his decision,” the company wrote.

This may not be the end of Mr Clean altogether

USA Today reported that word of his departure is tied to another announcement coming March 4. The Procter & Gamble-owned brand reportedly has no plans to change Mr Clean’s packaging or branding.

Maxwell fights release of files

Lawyers say law forcing release of Epstein documents is unconstitutional

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK Lawyers for imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell are fighting the requested release of 90,000 pages related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell, saying a law used to force the public release of millions of documents is unconstitutional.

The lawyers filed papers late Friday in Manhattan federal court to try to block the release of documents from a since-settled civil defamation lawsuit brought a decade ago by the late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell.

The Justice Department recently asked a judge to lift secrecy requirements on the files.

Maxwell’s attorneys said the Justice Department obtained the documents — otherwise subject to secrecy orders improperly during its criminal probe of Maxwell.

They said the documents include transcripts of over 30 depositions and private information regarding financial and sexual matters relat-

ed to Maxwell and others.

Some records from the year-long exchange of evidence in the lawsuit battle were already released publicly in response to a federal appeals court order

Maxwell’s lawyers say a law Congress passed in December to force the release of millions of Epstein-related documents violates the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine.

“Congress cannot, by statute, strip this Court of the power or relieve it of the responsibility to protect its files from misuse. To do so violates the separation of powers,” wrote the lawyers, Laura Menninger and Jeffrey Pagliuca about the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

“Under the Constitution’s separation of powers, neither Congress nor the Executive Branch may intrude on the judicial power That power includes the power to definitively and finally resolve cases and disputes,” the lawyers added.

The release of Epstein-related documents from criminal probes that began weeks ago has resulted

in new revelations about Epstein’s decades-long sexual abuse of women and teenage girls. Some victims have complained that their names and personal information were revealed in documents while the names of their abusers were blacked out.

Members of Congress have complained that only about half of existing documents, many with redactions, have been made public even as Justice Department officials have said everything has been released, except for some files that can’t be made public until a judge gives the go-ahead.

Giuffre said Epstein had trafficked her to other men, including the former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew MountbattenWindsor She sued MountbattenWindsor in 2021, claiming that they had sex when she was 17. He denied her claims and the two settled the lawsuit in 2022. Days ago, he was arrested and held in custody for nearly 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in having shared confidential trade information with Epstein.

Hundreds in Lyon protest far-right activist’s killing

23-year-old died from a beating earlier this month

BY NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY Associated Press

LYON, France

About 3,000 people joined a march organized by far-right groups on Saturday after a nationalist activist died from a beating in the French city of Lyon, in an incident that highlighted a climate of deep political tensions ahead of next year’s presidential vote.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for calm ahead of the tribute to Quentin Deranque, 23, who died of brain injuries in a hospital earlier this month. The demonstrations took place under heavy police scrutiny, with no major incidents reported

“This is a moment of remembrance and respect for this young compatriot who was killed, for his family and loved ones. That must come first. And then it is a moment of firmness and responsibility,” Macron said.

Seven people have been handed preliminary charges. The Lyon public prosecutor’s office requested that each of them be charged with intentional homicide, aggravated violence and criminal conspiracy. Six of the accused were charged on all three counts. The seventh was charged with complicity in intentional homicide, aggravated violence and criminal conspiracy

Deranque was attacked during a fight that erupted between far-left and farright supporters on the margins of a student meeting where a far-left lawmaker, Rima Hassan, was a keynote speaker

Macron said he will hold a meeting with ministers next week to carry out a comprehensive review of all violent activist groups that have links to political parties. He hinted that some groups could be dismantled.

“In the republic, no violence is legitimate,” he said. “There is no place for militias, wherever they come from. We must be absolutely uncompromising.”

Lyon emerges as a battleground

The main tribute to Deranque took place in Lyon, where clashes between

far-right activists and far-left groups have become frequent. Their fighting often takes the form of organized street battles in the city, sometimes involving groups of several dozen people.

Lyon’s far-left-leaning militant groups are more recent and were created in reaction to the many far-right groups that have been present for several decades. The city is seen by intelligence services as the cradle of far-right activism in France.

Deranque’s parents also called for calm and did not take part in the tribute, which was not banned by French authorities.

Deranque’s death triggered a storm of recriminations, mostly blaming the far-left France Unbowed party and its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Among the suspects is the parliamentary aide of a France Unbowed lawmaker who set up the anti-fascist group The Young Guard. There was a minute’s silence before the start of the march. Some demonstrators held white tulips and displayed stickers bearing the slogan: “Quentin, killed by Mélenchon’s militia.”

Far-left in focus

France Unbowed’s opponents accuse it of fomenting violence and tensions with its combative far-left politics. Mélenchon has condemned the violence and insisted that his party bore no blame for the tragedy Mélenchon stood for the presidency in 2012, 2017 and 2022, but failed to advance to the decisive runoff round. He is preparing for another expected run next year, when Macron’s second and last term ends.

France is holding municipal elections next month and right-wing political forces have been using the incident to demonize France Unbowed. Far-right National Rally leader Jordan Bardella has called for a common front against Mélenchon’s party

Criticism also came from prominent figures on the left, including former French President François Hollande. He said the mainstream left, including his Socialist Party, must not team up again with Mélenchon’s party for the upcoming elections, as they did in the past.

In a memoir published after she killed herself last year, Giuffre wrote that prosecutors told her they didn’t include her in the sex trafficking prosecution of Maxwell because they didn’t want her allegations to distract the jury Maxwell, 64, was convicted in December 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Epstein took his own life in a federal lockup in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was moved from a federal prison in Florida to a low-security prison camp in Texas last summer after she participated in two days of interviews with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Two weeks ago, she declined to answer questions from House Oversight Committee lawmakers in a deposition conducted in a a video call to her federal prison camp, though she indicated through a statement from her lawyer that she was “prepared to speak fully and honestly” if granted clemency The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday

New rocket problem delays launch into April

BY MARCIA DUNN AP aerospace writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla

NASA’s new moon rocket suffered another setback Saturday almost certain to bump astronauts’ first lunar trip in decades into spring.

The space agency revealed the latest problem just one day after targeting March 6 for the Artemis II mission. Overnight, the flow of helium to the rocket’s upper stage was interrupted, officials said Solid helium flow is essential for purging the engines and pressurizing the fuel tanks.

This helium issue has nothing to do with the hydrogen fuel leaks that marred a countdown dress rehearsal of the Space Launch System rocket earlier this month and forced a repeat test.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said a bad filter, valve or connection

plate could be to blame for the stalled helium flow Regardless of the cause, he noted, the only way to access the area and fix the problem is in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center “We will begin preparations for rollback, and this will take the March launch window out of consideration,” Isaacman said via X. NASA’s next opportunities would be at the beginning or end of April. The interrupted helium flow is confined to the SLS rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage. This upper stage is essential for placing the Orion crew capsule into the proper high-altitude orbit around Earth for checkout following liftoff. After that, it’s supposed to separate from Orion and serve as a target for the astronauts inside the capsule, allowing them to practice docking techniques for future moon missions.

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Trump decides to boost new tariff rate to 15%

BY CATHERINE LUCEY Bloomberg News (TNS)

President Donald Trump said he will increase the global 10% tariff he announced one day earlier to 15%, stirring up more economic turbulence as he lashed out at the U.S. Supreme Court over its ruling that his preferred mechanism for applying tariffs was illegal.

“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” Trump said in a social-media post on Saturday Trump is rushing to preserve his trade agenda following the court’s ruling against his use of an emergency-powers law to impose his so-called reciprocal tariffs around the world and to use levies as a cudgel to bend foreign governments to his will. Enraged by the decision, Trump initially imposed a 10% global tariff on foreign goods on Friday, hours after the high court ruling, as he seeks to maintain the duties he insists are key to his economic and national security power

But his post on Saturday made clear he had decided that 10% was not enough, even though he said on Friday, “Every single thing I said today is guaranteed certainty.”

The president’s efforts to restore and maintain the tariffs underscored the economic volatility ahead. The tools he is left with are less nimble than the sweeping authority he had claimed under emergency powers and will be subjected to fresh legal challenges.

Additional details were not

immediately forthcoming on how soon the 15% tariff would go into effect. The initial 10% tariffs Trump announced on Friday were scheduled to go into effect Monday night, according to a White House fact sheet.

The White House and U.S. Trade Representative’s office didn’t immediately respond to requests for com-

ment.

Trump is applying the new baseline tariff under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows the president to impose tariffs for 150 days without congressional approval. Securing that approval could prove challenging, as Democrats and some Republicans have opposed elements of his trade policy

Last April, he relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to levy duties ranging from 10% to 50% on dozens of U.S. trading partners. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 Friday that Trump had acted unlawfully in using IEEPA to justify his “reciprocal” tariffs, saying his end-run around Congress was not justified in the Constitution.

Trump said Friday he would maintain a flat 10% tariff while keeping in place existing duties imposed under Sections 301 and 232, and ordered the U.S. trade representative to launch new Section 301 investigations on an accelerated timeline.

After he changed his mind on Saturday, a spokesman for the U.K. government, which had the lowest reciprocal tariff rate of 10%, said

that “under any scenario, we expect our privileged trading position with the U.S. to continue and will work with the administration to understand how the ruling will affect tariffs for the U.K and the rest of the world.”

Those probes require country-specific inquiries and findings of trade violations before tariffs can be imposed, and could eventually replace the baseline rate. He is also weighing tariffs of 15% to 30% on foreign cars, while preserving exemptions for goods and certain agricultural products under a trade agreement among the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

“We expect these investigations to cover most major trading partners and to address areas of concern such as industrial excess capacity, forced labor, pharmaceutical pricing practices, discrimination against U.S. technology companies and digital goods and services, digital services taxes, ocean pollution and practices related to the trade in seafood, rice, and other products,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement Friday

Trump seethes over justices who opposed him on tariffs

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s vision of the Supreme Court, in which his three appointees are personally loyal to him, collided with the court’s view of itself Friday when six justices voted to strike down Trump’s signature economic policy — global tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law

The outcome led Trump to launch an unusually stark personal attack on the justices, with special rancor reserved for the two Trump appointees who defied him. The case represented a challenge of Trump’s many untested, yet forcefully

stated imperatives on everything from trade to immigration policy and the court’s ability to maintain its independence and, at times, act as a check on presidential authority

“The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing and I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for the country,” Trump said in the White House briefing room several hours after the court issued its decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump said he expected as much from the three Democratic appointees on the court “But you can’t knock

their loyalty,” he said. “It’s one thing you can do with some of our people.”

Asked specifically about Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, who were part of the majority, Trump said, “I think it’s an embarrassment to their families, if you want to know the truth, the two of them.”

Vice President JD Vance, whose wife, Usha, spent a year as a law clerk to Roberts, echoed the president’s criticism, though he didn’t make it personal. “This is lawlessness from the Court, plain and simple,” Vance wrote on X. Trump has had a checkered history with the court dating back to the start of his first

White House dinner closes a turbulent week for governors

BY STEVEN SLOAN and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press

WASHINGTON The annual dinner with governors at the White House is typically a chance for leaders from both parties to come together, socialize and spend a low-key evening with the president. But like many traditions during President Donald Trump’s second term, Saturday’s dinner has proven unusually controversial.

Ahead of this week’s gathering of the National Governors Association, Trump ridiculed the bipartisan group’s leadership, Republican Gov Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma and Democratic Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland. He refused to invite Moore, along with Colorado Gov Jared Polis, to a working event at the White House on Friday — only to relent at the last minute.

Even then, the event was cut short when Trump learned of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down his sweeping tariff policy, leaving even some Republicans frustrated by the week’s turbulence.

“It was unfortunate that the Supreme Court came out with a bad ruling at that time,” said Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry, a Republican and top Trump ally

Dozens of Democrats had threatened to boycott the dinner if members of their party were blocked from the working meeting. But even after Moore’s attendance, some said they still wouldn’t show up on Saturday

“President Trump has made this whole thing a farce,” Massachusetts Gov Maura Healey said in a statement explaining her decision to skip the dinner

Some Democrats plan to attend an alternative event in downtown Washington, according to someone with direct knowledge of the

plans who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly

Those who have attended previous dinners said they offered a rare and helpful opportunity for governors to connect with the president and members of his Cabinet away from the pressure of daily governing.

The final day of the conference on Saturday focused on issues including affordability and political civility

During a conversation about immigration, Moore and Stitt said that both parties have failed over decades to address the issue.

Stitt said that states should be empowered to issue workforce permits and warned that both parties are making false political

assumptions.

“People think ‘OK, all the Democrats want open borders,’ ” he said “and ‘all Republicans hate immigrants.’”

But Stitt noted that “rural Oklahoma Trump voters” have privately approached him, saying they couldn’t operate their businesses without people who were trying to obtain work authorization.

For all the turmoil surrounding this week’s meeting, Moore said the conference was a success

“Despite everything that we have seen and heard and all the booby traps that were laid out that had an intention of blowing this up we’re standing here at the end of this conference stronger than ever,” he said.

White House term in 2017, though he won his biggest court battle in 2024, a presidential immunity ruling that prevented him from being prosecuted over efforts to undo his 2020 election loss.

In the first year of his second term, he won repeated emergency appeals that allowed him to implement major aspects of his immigration crackdown and other key parts of his agenda. Presidential criticism of Supreme Court decisions has its own long history President Thomas Jefferson was critical of the court’s landmark Marbury v. Madison case, which established

the concept of judicial review of congressional and executive action. President Franklin Roosevelt, frustrated about decisions he thought blunted parts of the New Deal, talked about older justices as infirm and sought to expand the court, a failed effort.

In 2010, President Barack Obama used his State of the Union speech, with several members of the court in attendance, to take aim at the court’s just-announced Citizens United decision that helped open the floodgates to independent spending in federal elections. Justice Samuel Alito, who hasn’t at-

tended the annual address since, mouthed the words “not true” in response from his seat.

Trump, though crossed a line in the way he assailed the justices who voted against him, Ed Whelan, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a former law clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, wrote in an email. “It’s entirely fine for a president to criticize a Supreme Court ruling that goes against him. But it’s demagogic for President Trump to contend that the justices who voted against him did so because of lack of courage,” Whelan wrote.

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Blizzard warnings issued for East Coast states

BY ADAM GELLER Associated Press

NEW YORK A rapidly inten-

sifying storm triggered blizzard warnings Saturday for New York City, New Jersey and Boston as communities along the East Coast prepared for the Sunday arrival of heavy snow and damaging winds.

The National Weather Service increased its assessment of the potential severity of a storm that was projected to be much milder only days earlier

The weather service said 1 to 2 feet of snow was possible in many areas as it issued blizzard warnings for New York City and Long Island, Boston and coastal communities in New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

“While we do get plenty of these nor’easters that produce heavy snow and strong impacts, it’s been several

years since we saw one of this magnitude across this large of a region in this very populated part of the country,” said Cody Snell, a meteorologist at the service’s Weather Prediction Center

Snell said the storm would arrive Sunday morning in areas around Washington before stretching toward Philadelphia and New York City and reaching Boston in the evening

The weather service said the storm could begin as rainfall in some places before worsening, with the heaviest snowfall expected at night and as much as 2 inches of snow per hour at times in some areas, before tapering off by Monday afternoon.

The weather service warned that the storm, with steady winds of 25 to 35 mph would “make travel dangerous, if not impossible. Scattered downed tree limbs and power outages possible due to snow load and strong winds.”

Officials scrambled to prepare for a storm that forecasters days ago believed would have a much more limited impact.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city would expand on efforts it used to deal with a major snowfall weeks ago. But officials held off on deciding whether to open schools Monday for the time being.

“We saw on Friday there was expectation that the likelihood was that we were going to face maybe 3 to 4 inches of snow Quickly that then changed,” Mamdani said. “So we want to make sure that we make a decision based on up-to-date and accurate information.”

New York brought in additional snow clearing equipment from outside the city and planned to increase use of geocoding to keep track of bus stops and crosswalks that need clearing, he said. With the storm zeroing in,

Crews recover bodies of 9 after California avalanche

BY GODOFREDO VASQUEZ and SAFIYAH RIDDLE Associated Press

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed in a California avalanche four days ago, authorities said Saturday, concluding a harrowing operation hindered by intense snowfall.

A search team reached the bodies of eight victims and found one other who had been missing and presumed dead since Tuesday’s avalanche on Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe. The ninth person who was missing was found “relatively close” to the other victims, but it was impossible to see them because there were white-out conditions on Tuesday when the others were located.

At a news conference on Saturday Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon praised the collective efforts of the numerous agencies who helped recover the victims, including the 42 volunteers who helped on the last day of the operation

The tragedy began around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday when six survivors called for help, describing a sudden and terrifying avalanche that was approximately the length of a football field. In the aftermath of the snowfall, those survivors had discovered the bodies of three deceased skiers nearby according to Nevada County Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Hack.

It was the last day of the three-day tour in the stunning and remote Sierra Nevada, and the group of 15 skiers decided to end the trip early to avoid the impending snowstorm

Initial reports indicated that at least two people in the group did not get swept away Hack said The others were standing separately and relatively close together and were hit with the avalanche.

Hack declined to offer more information about what might have set off the avalanche.

First responders weren’t able to reach them until roughly six hours after the initial call for help, Hack said, and were forced to take two separate paths. The rescue teams also found the

bodies of five others, leaving only one unaccounted for

Officials used two helicopters belonging to the California Highway Patrol, with the help of Pacific Gas and Electric company, to break up the snow in the area to intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk of another avalanche for rescue crews Friday

The state highway agency was able to recover five victims that evening before it got too dark to access the last three.

Helicopters with the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol recovered the final four bodies on Saturday morning with helicopters by hoisting them from the mountain with ropes, fighting through severe winds.

At least 5 killed in avalanches in Austria

By The Associated Press

VIENNA,Austria At least five people have been killed in a string of avalanches in western Austria, authorities said Saturday

The government office of the Tyrol region said intense snowfall over the last week led to accumulations of up to 5 feet. Combined with windy conditions and weak snowpack below, the conditions were especially susceptible to avalanches, it said. Tyrol police said five offpiste skiers were caught up in a nearly 490-yard-wide avalanche Friday afternoon

in the St Anton am Arlberg area at an altitude of about 6,500 feet.

An American and a Pole were among the five recovered dead after the avalanche, and a 21-year-old Austrian died of injuries after being rushed to hospital, police said Dozens of mountain-rescue team members, ambulance and fire department staffers, as well as several dog squads, were deployed for the operation

Late Friday morning in the Nauders-Bergkastel resort to the southeast, a 42-year-old German man

and his 16-year-old son were caught in an avalanche. The teen survived with injuries and called for help, but his father was killed.

In Klösterle in the neighboring Vorarlberg region, a 39-year-old Swiss snowboarder was caught and killed by an avalanche in an off-piste area, regional police said.

His office said nearly three dozen avalanche incidents were reported on Friday, among more than 200 over the last week. So far, 11 people have lost their lives in avalanches this month the governor’s office said.

John Berlingieri scrapped plans for a family trip to Puerto Rico to prepare his company, Berrington Snow Removal, for what could well be a mammoth task: Clearing snow from millions of square feet of asphalt sur-

rounding shopping malls and industrial parks across Long Island. Employees spent the last few days recharging batteries on the company’s 40 front-end loaders and replacing windshield wipers

on snow removal vehicles, before resting up Saturday “I’m anticipating at least one week of work around the clock,” Berlingieri said “We’re going to work 24 to 36 hours straight, sleep for a few hours and then go back.”

By Amanda McElfresh| amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

This articleisbrought to youbyFMOLHealth|Our

It wassupposedtobearoutine wind-downafter an exhausting nightonthe fire line

On theevening of Oct. 17,2025, Eunice Fire Chief Chaise Brownand hiscrewspent hoursbattling multiple structure fires. By thetimethe sceneswere clearedaround5a.m.the next day, Browngathered theteamfor breakfastatWaffleHouse before heading home to unwind with hisfamily.

Laterthatday,Brown,then43, atehot dogs for lunchwithhis daughter Adley, 17,and sonKainon, 15.Moments laterhestarted to feel what he initially thoughtwas indigestion.

“I’vehad acid reflux issuesinthe past,soIthought it washappening again,”saidBrown,who turned44 earlierthismonth.“Itried to move around.Iwentfor awalkinmyyardbecause Ithought that wouldhelp relieveit. Then,Ifeltapaininmyleftarm.That’s when Iknewthiswasn’tindigestion.

Hisown instinctsand hisexperienceasa first respondertoldhim he needed medicalattention quickly. Therewas apartofhim that hopedthe sensationwould pass andthingswould be fine Then,hethought of hischildrenrelaxinginsidejust afew feet away

“Ifmykidshadn’tbeenhome, I’dprobablybedead rightnow,” Brownadmitted. “I canbehard-headed andIcould have seen myself lettingitlingerand hopingitwentaway. But, IknewI needed help.I didn’t want my kids to find me dead in thefront yard.”

Hisdaughterdrove himtoa Eunice hospital,where he wasadmittedovernight.The followingmorning, doctorstransferred himtoFMOLHealth|Our Lady of Lourdes HeartHospitalfor further testing. Physicians thereconfirmed Brownsufferedaheart attack.Whatcamenextwas completely unexpected

During an angiogram–anX-ray procedureused to detect aneurysms, tumors or blockages in the arteries,Dr. Chance DeWitt,cardiothoracic surgeon with OurLadyofLourdes HeartHospital, discovered Brownhad an anomalousright coronary artery,a rare hereditary defect that hadbeenpresent since birth. In patients with this condition, bloodvessels that supplythe hearthaveanabnormalshape,origin or location.

“The rightcoronaryarterynormallyoriginates from apouchlike structurejustabove theaortic valve,”Dr. DeWitt explained. “Inananomalous RCA, it arises from an abnormal locationortakes an unusualpath, whichcan sometimesrestrictblood flow,especiallyduringphysicalactivity.”

Overallcoronaryarteryanomalies affect less than 1.5percent of people whoundergo angiography, Dr DeWitt noted. Theanomalous rightcoronaryartery is themostcommonofthesedefects,affectingonly about0.17percent to 0.25 percentofpatientswho arediagnosed

Brownsaidhenever panicked butwas surprised andabit fearfulwhendoctors told himthatheneeded emergencyopen-heartsurgery

“The nursesaw my reactionand immediately said,‘You’re okay.We’ve gotyou.’ That made me feel comfortable. IknewIwas in good hands,”he

said.“Someonewas by my side thewhole time and explaining everything that washappening.They always madesureI wasdoing okay.Theywere angels sent from God. Aftersurgery,Brown embarked on arapid recovery He wasfeeling so good that he washandlingminor work tasksfromhis hospital bed. Four days afterthe operation, he walked outofOur Lady of Lourdes HeartHospitalcarryinghis ownbagstohis vehicle. Brownisgratefulthathis healingwentwell, he said,makingitpossiblefor himtoworkfromhome andwalkorrun up to threemiles aday in just a fewweeks.Several weeksago,hereturnedtowork full-timeatthe fire station, whereheissurrounded by colleagues whokeptthingsgoing in hisabsence “WhenIwas stillonthe operatingtable,the guys at work were making sure that my medicalbills were covered,”hesaid. “Theytookcareofeverything. They made sure my kids were okay.These guys even went to my housetocut my grass. At work,they oversawthe paperworkand day-to-day operations They have trulybeenunbelievable.

As an experienced firstresponder,Brown witnessed heartattacks in people of allages, even high school athletes.Yet,healwaysthought it wouldn’t happen to him. Lookingback, he recallsbeing more fatigued than usualinthe months before hisheart attack, especially comparedtohow well he feelsnow.Dr. DeWitt notedthatextreme physical exertion or stress –suchas firefighting –can causeconstriction of anomalouscoronaryarteries, potentiallyleading to ischemia,aheart attack or even sudden death.

“Itisextremely importantfor someonetogotothe hospital if they feel like they arehavingapossible heartattack,”Dr. DeWitt said.“Classicsymptoms includechest pain or pressure,painradiating up into thejaw or arms,sweating, nausea andvomiting. Sometimes,persistentindigestion-typesymptoms canbeassociatedwithheart attacks. Theearlier youcan getcare, themorelikelyyourheart attack or coronary blockagecould be treated, limiting the amount of damage done to theheart.”

Discover life-savingtips, learn aboutthe latest treatmentoptions availablelocally andtakeaFREE HeartHealthRiskAssessment at LourdesRMC com/heart.

IsraeliairstrikesinLebanon kill 8Hezbollah members

BY FADI TAWIL and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press

RAYAK, Lebanon Israeli airstrikes on eastern Lebanon have killed eight members of the militant Hezbollah group, including several localofficials, two officials with the group said Saturday

The Lebanese Health Ministry put the death tollat 10, but did not distinguish between militants and civilians.

The Hezbollah officials told The Associated Press that the eight militants were killed in strikes near the village of Rayak in northeast Lebanon late Friday.They spoke on condition of anonymity becausethey were not authorized to speak to the media about such details.

An Associated Press team that visited thesceneofthe strike Saturday morning saw that the top floorofa three-story building was knocked out.

The Israeli military said Saturday that several members of Hezbollah’s missile

unit, in three differentcommand centers in theBaalbek area in Lebanon, were “eliminated.”

The Israeli army added that theHezbollah mem-

bers killed were identified “as operating to accelerate readiness and force buildup processes,while planning fire attacks toward Israel.”

One of the Hezbollahof-

ficials said that three of the dead were local commanders andidentifiedthemas Ali al-Moussawi, Mohammedal-Moussawi and Hussein Yaghi.

Yaghi was the son of prominentHezbollahofficial and one of its founders, MohammedYaghi, who died in 2023. Mohammed Yaghi wasalso aclose aide to late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September 2024.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry saidSaturday that Israeli strikes on eastern Lebanon killed 10 people and wounded 24, including three children.

AliAbdullah,executive director of Rayak Hospital, told the AP that the strike occurredafter sunset, adding that they have received 10 bodies and 21 wounded. He added that the deadincludedtwo non-Lebanese aSyrianman andanEthiopian woman.The wounded included five Syrians and three Ethiopians.

Ethiopians often come to Lebanonasmigrant domestic workers.

Afuneral washeld Saturday afternoon in the eastern village of Nabi Chit for two Hezbollahmembers who werekilled in the strikes.

After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel triggered warinGaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The low-levelconflictescalated into full-scalewar in September 2024, later reined in but not fully stopped by a U.S.-brokered ceasefire two months later Since then, Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild and has carried out near-daily strikesinLebanonthatitsaystarget Hezbollahmilitants andfacilities. Hezbollah has claimed one strike against Israel since the ceasefire. The death toll from Friday’sstrikes wasunusually high and comes at amoment of intensified tensions in the regionasthe United States has threatened to strike Iran —a backer of both Hezbollah and Hamas —ifnegotiations over Tehran’snuclear program fail to produce a deal.

Ambassador Huckabee’s statements on Israel causeregionaluproar

He said Israel had aright to much of theMiddleEast

BY SAM MEDNICK and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

TEL AVIV,Israel Arab and Muslim nations on Saturday sharply condemned comments by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who said Israel hasa righttomuchofthe Middle East.

Huckabee made the comments in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired Friday.Carlson said that according to the Bible, the

descendants ofAbraham wouldreceive land that todaywouldinclude essentially the entire Middle East, and asked Huckabee if Israel had aright to that land.

Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States.

comment from Israel or the United States.

Huckabee responded: “It wouldbe fineiftheytookit all.” Huckabee added, however,that Israel was not looking to expand its territory and has aright to security in theland it legitimately holds.

Hiscommentssparked immediatebacklash from neighboring Egypt and Jordan, Saudi Arabia,Kuwait, Oman, the Organization of

Saudi Arabia’sforeign ministry described Huckabee’scomments as “extremistrhetoric” and“unacceptable,”and calledfor the State Department to clarify its position on them.

Egypt’sforeign ministry called his commentsa “blatant violation” of international law, adding that “Israel has no sovereigntyover theoccupied Palestinian territory or other Arab lands.”

“Statementsofthis nature —extremist and lackingany sound basis —serve only to inflame sentiments and stir religious andnational emotions,” the League of Arab States said. There was no immediate

Opposition activistsamong prisonersset forrelease underVenezuela’s amnesty

By The Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela— At least1,557 people held in Venezuela for political reasons have submitted their applications under an amnesty bill that was signed intolaw this week and are expected to be released from prison, authorities said Saturday Thursday’s measureisexpected to benefit opposition members, activists,human rights defenders, journalistsand many othersdetainedfor months or even years. Its approval marked areversalfor Venezuelan authorities, who for decades have denied holding any political prisoners. It follows last month’sstunning U.S. military raid in the country’scapital,Caracas, to capture then-President Nicolás Maduro.

“As of today,1,152 new applications have beenreceived, for atotal of 1,557 that are being addressed immediately,and at this moment hundreds of releasesofpersons deprived of liberty who are benefiting from the Amnesty Law are already taking place,” National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez said on Saturday

The president of the special commission overseeing the amnesty law,Jorge Arreaza, said Friday night on state television that379

amnesty requests had been received andthat the applicants’ releases would take place betweenFriday andSaturday.Furtherreleases could begranted within 15 days,hesaid.

Gonzalo Himiob,vicepresident of Venezuela-based prisoners’ rights group Foro Penal,told The Associated Press on Saturdaythatsofar some have been released in thestate of Barinas, in thesouthwest of the country,but the process of verifying releases under the amnesty was still ongoing.

Thenew law excludesthose convicted of homicide, drug trafficking, serious human rights violations and military rebellion.

Delcy Rodríguez, acting president of Venezuela since Jan. 5, said during the signing of the law that it showed that thecountry’s political leaders were “letting go of alittle intolerance and opening new avenues for politicsinVenezuela.”

The bill’spurpose is to grant people “a general and full amnesty for crimes or offenses committed” during specific periods since 1999 that were marked by politically driven conflicts in Venezuela, including “actsofpolitically motivated violence” in the context of the2024 presidential election.The aftermath of that election led to protestsand the arrest of morethan 2,000 people, including minors.

Since itsestablishment in 1948, Israel has not had fully recognized borders. Its frontiers with Arab neighbors have shiftedasa result of wars, annexations, ceasefires and peace agreements. During the six-day1967 Mideast war,Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan, Gaza andthe SinaiPeninsula from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria.Israel withdrewfrom the Sinai Peninsula as part of apeace dealwith Egyptfollowing the1973 Mideast war.Italso unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Israel has attemptedto deepen control of theoc-

cupied West Bankinrecent months. It hasgreatly expanded construction in Jewish settlements, legalized outposts andmadesignificant bureaucraticchanges to its policies in the territory.U.S. President Donald Trumphas said he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank and has offered strong assurancesthathe’d block any movetodoso. Palestinians have for decades called foranindependent state in the West Bank and Gazawith east Jerusalemits capital, aclaim backed by muchofthe international community

Huckabee has long opposed the idea of atwo-state solutionfor Israel and the Palestinianpeople. In an

interview last year,hesaid he does not believe in referring to the Arab descendants of people who had lived in British-controlled Palestine as “Palestinians.” In thelatestinterview, Carlson pressed Huckabee abouthis interpretation of Bibleversesfromthe book of Genesis, where he said Godpromised Abraham and his descendants land from the Nile to the Euphrates. “That would be the Levant, so thatwould be Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon. It wouldalsobebig parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” Carlson said. Huckabee replied: “Not sure we’d go that far.Imean, it would be abig piece of land.”

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something flashy Instead, it carries a humble but precise moniker only a scientist could love: the Coastwide Reference Monitoring System, or CRMS (pronounced “crims”)

In certain cases, it is confirming broader trends, such as its documentation of accelerating sea level rise. In others, it is upturning longheld assumptions, including through new insight into the dynamics underlying land loss.

Some monitoring stations, once on land, are now in open water Others sit within marsh that has proven surprisingly resilient.

And one insect may have CRMS to thank for exonerating it. It was previously blamed for a severe die-off of roseau cane, important vegetation helping hold Louisiana wetlands together, but data is now pointing to a different cause.

‘This is amazing’

How Louisiana ended up with such a powerful research tool involves a practical problem that required a solution.

Since the 1990s, the state has received federal money for coastal restoration projects under what is often called the Breaux Act, referring to former U.S. Sen John Breaux, who pushed for the law alongside his then-colleague J. Bennett Johnston. Its official name is the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, or CWPPRA (pronounced “cwipra”).

The law, funded by taxes on fishing equipment and boat fuel, has funded a long list of Louisiana projects

GUILLORY

Continued from page 1A

spoil bank as a problem, saying it prevented water from the river from naturally flowing into the nearby Cypress Island Swamp in St. Martin Parish. The Guillory administration worked with the Corps of Engineers and St. Martin Parish government, but was unable to get the necessary permits to trim or remove the spoil bank.

Lafayette Consolidated Government, without permission from city and parish councils and without permission from St. Martin Parish, bought land in St. Martin Parish along the river and converted a $390,050 asneeded excavation contract with Rigid Constructors into a $3.7 million project without seeking bids. During the nighttime over two days in February 2022, Rigid Constructors removed about 1,200 feet of the St. Martin Parish spoil bank, using the material to build a spoil bank in Lafayette Parish. In March, after the project was finished, Lafayette officials filed the land sale documents with the St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court Allegations, lawsuits and investigations, including a scathing audit that alleged possible violations of state laws, plagued the remainder of Guillory’s term as mayor-president. In November 2023, he lost his reelection bid to Monique Boulet.

The 15th Judicial District Attorney’s Office headed by Don Landry announced on Feb 12 that it would

since its inception. But evaluating those projects was problematic. That’s where the CRMS idea emerged. As sketched out in a 2003 paper, the idea was to install a vast network of monitoring stations at randomized locations across coastal Louisiana.

Doing so would provide a broad look at conditions before, during and after projects. But its value would go far beyond that, providing real-time data on erosion, subsidence, water levels, salinity and other factors all vital to understanding Louisiana’s land loss challenges, with relevance across the Gulf.

The result was the CRMS system. Its 390 sites include various components, appearing to the uninitiated to be little more than wooden platforms, PVC pipes and fuse boxes.

But those basic-looking materials are allowing for coastal understanding on a scale unmatched across the world, scientists involved in managing the system say Breaux Act funding covers roughly $8.5 million of the annual cost, and the state tosses in $1.5 million Funds related to the 2010 BP oil spill pay for another couple million or so.

The state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority teams with a contractor, Coastal Estuary Services, to operate most of the sites Izdepski and Loeb, the two scientists pulling the soil samples, work for that company

The U.S. Geological Survey is also a partner and manages some of the monitoring stations.

“I’ve been on the phone with Mississippi and Alabama and even California, and they’re like, ‘Hey, how’d you get that? This is amazing,’” said Leigh Anne

not pursue charges against Guillory or anyone in his administration after reviewing a 2025 investigative audit by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office.

On Thursday, as the statute of limitations neared for some of the criminal allegations, a St. Martin Parish grand jury indicted Guillory on four felony malfeasance in office charges:

n Removing spoil banks along the Vermilion River without a Corps of Engineers permit in violation of the federal Rivers and Harbors Act.

n Removing spoil banks along the Vermilion River without a Corps of Engineers permit in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.

n Instructing employees to do work in violation of the U.S. and state constitutions and laws by removing spoil banks without permission of the St. Martin Parish floodplain administrator per two St. Martin Parish ordinances.

n Intentionally causing barges to be placed across the Vermilion River, a navigable waterway, and rendering movement on the river more difficult, in violation of a state law: simple obstruction of a highway of commerce.

Below is a brief timeline of events that led to Thursday’s indictment 2021

n May: Lafayette City Council approves $20 million emergency allocation for drainage work in the city and parish.

n May: City and Parish Councils approve $3.85 million for spoil bank removal.

Sharp, a CPRA scientist who manages the CRMS network.

Surprising results

The data collected at the sites is vetted, then posted online to a map that allows users to click on any of the stations and see the results. Graphs can be viewed showing changes in elevation and water level over time, among other data.

One striking detail involves the condition of marsh being monitored. Given the land loss afflicting coastal Louisiana, one might expect to see a continual decline in elevation across all sites due to the combination of subsidence and erosion.

But that has not been the case at many locations. The marsh being monitored in those spots has gained elevation, which would seem to run counter to assumptions.

That can be deceiving, however It does not signal that Louisiana’s land loss problem is solved, or that it has been overblown.

But the data is beginning to shift some of the scientific understanding of dynamics driving the problem, says Sharp.

What that means is that subsidence, or the sinking of land, is not the primary cause of wetlands destruction in many cases — contrary to assumptions. Instead, what’s known as “edge erosion” and storms are to blame.

That means the edge of the marsh is being whittled away by the tides, which is easy enough to picture. But why is marsh gaining elevation in those spots?

The data is showing that the water is pushing the soil from the edges back onto the marsh itself, causing it to gain elevation at the interior while being weakened along its perimeter Gradually, the

n December: LCG awards a $390,050 as-needed excavation contract to Rigid Constructors. A few weeks later LCG amended the contract, without seeking new bids, for the $3.7 million spoil bank removal project.

2022

n Feb. 21: Rigid Constructors removes about 1,200 feet of St Martin Parish spoil bank at night, a project Guillory code-named “Apollo.” The spoil bank protected St. Martin Parish homes in the Cypress Island Swamp area. Lafayette officials said the spoil bank stopped water from draining into the swamp, causing flooding in Lafayette Parish.

n March 9: Lafayette Consolidated Government files documents with St. Martin Parish clerk of court showing they purchased land in February for the spoil bank project, which was already completed.

n March 15: The St. Martin Parish Council votes unanimously to sue LCG for removing spoil banks without permission from St. Martin Parish.

n March 22: LCG sues St. Martin Parish and Corps of Engineers in the 15th Judicial District over removing St. Martin Parish spoil bank, asking the court to declare that Lafayette did not violate any regulations.

n May 5: The LCG lawsuit over spoil bank removal is moved to federal court due to involvement of the Corps of Engineers.

n July 6: Federal judge drops St. Martin Parish from LCG lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction but keeps Corps as defendant.

n July 6: St. Martin Parish government sues LCG,

marsh weakens so much that it is washed away

The end result is the same: Louisiana is losing land But the findings matter in figuring out how to address the problem.

“I’ve been working on this my whole career, and each data point is more interesting than the last,” said Sharp “But the trends are really fascinating. They’re kind of different than what they told me in grad school in a lot of ways.”

‘It’s pretty special’

Tracy Quirk, an LSU associate professor and wetlands ecologist, knows firsthand how useful the data can be. It is central to so much of what she and her fellow researchers do out of her lab.

One of her students has been using CRMS to look at the expansion of black mangrove trees in south Louisiana and how their deep roots help reduce erosion.

Quirk has also demonstrated through her work again, using CRMS — that an inva-

seeking injunction forcing Lafayette to reconstruct the spoil bank. The lawsuit is still pending as of Feb. 20.

2023

n May 3: Annual audit identifies about two dozen potential problems with Lafayette Consolidated Government’s 2021-22 operations, including possible violations of state bid law, the state constitution, the Home Rule Charter and its own policies and procedures related in part to the St. Martin Parish spoil bank removal and other drainage work.

n Nov 18: Monique Boulet defeats Guillory for mayor-

sive scale insect previously believed to have caused a die-off of roseau cane around the mouth of the Mississippi River was not to blame.

Her research found that drought was at fault since it allowed salt water to move into those areas, setting off a process that killed the cane.

“The CRMS data is invaluable for the things that we do,” said Quirk.

At the station near Hopedale, Hymel and her CPRA colleague Bryan Gossman explain that the marsh there is in relatively good shape

Years of data have illustrated the marsh’s progression and in relation to other areas of the coast.

The tools used can seem rudimentary, but they have proven effective.

One method involves spreading a layer of white, chalky feldspar, then taking a soil sample in later years with the use of liquid nitrogen to figure out how much sediment has accumulated on top of it.

Another involves rods in-

president.

2024

n March 20: City-Parish Attorney Pat Ottinger announces plans by the Boulet administration to dismiss the federal lawsuit against the Corps of Engineers over the spoil bank removal project.

2025

n Aug 18: Legislative auditor’s investigation suggests Guillory, staff likely violated state, federal laws around spoil bank project.

n Oct. 14: Michael Haik III, district attorney for the 16th Judicial District that

serted into set locations to determine the elevation of the marsh. Using the datasets, scientists determine whether the marsh is sinking or gaining elevation, and by how much.

Nearby, in the water itself, is a “hydrographic station” attached to a wooden post and a fuse box measuring salinity, surface elevation and temperature. Vegetation is also sampled to determine what is growing there and in which conditions.

Sharp said the expansive, coastwide effort matches the scale of Louisiana’s land loss problem and the solutions required to address it. “I think it’s pretty special and pretty unique to Louisiana,” she said.

Email Mike Smith at msmith@theadvocate.com or follow him on Twitter, @ MikeJSmith504. His work is supported with a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.

includes St. Martin Parish, asked the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office to investigate the spoil bank project in the wake of the legislative auditor’s investigation.

2026

n January: St. Martin Parish Sheriff Becket Breaux presents his findings to Haik.

n Feb.12: Lafayette District Attorney’s Office announces it will not pursue charges against Guillory, staff.

n Feb. 19: St. Martin Parish grand jury indicts Guillory on four felony counts of malfeasance for his handling of the spoil bank project.

Lindy Bolgiano confronted Champagne over her grilling of the land developer’s request.

“Ifwe’re goingtorequire him to do it, we might as well require every other house in Youngsville to do it,” Bolgiano said.

“You just made amockery of this, and Ican’tfigure out why,” he said.

“I think he should have been held responsible,” Champagne said. “While I do believe it was an honest

PROGRAM

Continued from page1A

Only about 20% of those who registered in lotteries received grants, according to Louisiana Department of Insurance data. State officials also doled out several hundred more grants through partnerships with nonprofits and officialsin JeffersonParish.

The numbers suggest that while Louisiana has rapidly moved to fortify homes amid worsening hurricanes, tens of thousands of residents are stilllooking for help putting on stronger roofs Since moving to alottery systemin2024, Louisiana has allocated about 7,000 fortified roofs through the grant program, which gives homeowners $10,000 to puta stronger roof on their home. The processincludesathirdparty verification and generally leads to lower insurance premiums.

Morethan 34,000people have signed up in hopesof landing oneofthose grants. Before 2024, the state used afirst-come, first-served system instead of the lottery,meaningregistration data is not available forthe roughly 3,000 grants allocated through that system.

“I wish we couldfundevery Louisiana homeowner who has applied for agrant, but with so many people living and working in our coastal zone, that just isn’t feasible for the state to take on,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple in astatement. “At the same time, the demand is agood signal of the growingunderstanding thatwe must build stronger to make Louisiana more insurable.”

The statehas finalized nearly 4,200fortified roofs through the program, and another nearly 7,000 people have gotten afortified roof without the grant, according to data from Smart Home America.

People whomissout on the grant can still get help putting afortified roof on their home if they don’twant to wait for alater round. Arecent law passed by stateSen. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, gives people atax creditof up to $10,000 in exchange forputting afortified roof Thattax break, as well as a separate deduction,require homeownerstofoot thebill on the front end.

Many homeowners have turned to the grant program in hopes of cutting their insurancecosts.After aseries of hurricanes in 2020 and 2021, adozen insurers doing business in Louisiana went belly-up, sending thousands of people to the insurerof last resort. Climate change and inflationcaused turmoil in the reinsurancemarket, which helpsset prices, and premiums for Louisianans soared.

Temple’soffice is working on anew rule that would push insurers to offer a benchmark level of discount in exchange for having afortified roof.

Cracks emerge

Still, thedataindicates thatthe state’sprogram is notcomprehensiveenough to help all who need it. Many who win the lottery still aren’table to afford the out-of-pocket costs for a fortified roof, which include any costs over $10,000,plus evaluators and other fees. The state Legislature sent several rounds of money to the program before directing certain insurance fees to help pay for it every year

mistake, frankly,you should have to knowour ordinances before youstart building here.”

Champagnefurther expressed adesire to revisit some of the city’sexisting ordinances regarding land developmentinresponseto repeated requests for variancesbeingbroughtbefore the council.

“Everymonthitseemslike we’re approving multiple variances. Idon’tlike variances. We have ordinances, andifthey aren’t working, we need to change them,” Champagne later said.

Thedebate could result in changes to several Youngs-

ville cityordinances regarding property setbacks, which could impact future business development

Youngsville MayorKen Ritter said the main issue was thecity not properly educatingdeveloperson propercompliance, andthat changes to ordinances may not be necessary “The city needstoproperlyeducate developers on what ourrequirements are,” Ritter said. “I takealot of pride in what we do to assist growth here and being flexible with regards to different business needs. Ithink we need to look at how we can betterinformdevelop-

ersofcertainissuesbefore they start building.”

Otherpossible solutions includedcouncil member MattRomero’scall for the city to hire additionalstaff for the purpose of working with land developers on compliance and code enforcement.

Still, discussions on changes to thecity’s development code appear imminent, with Champagne saying that she and Ritterare presently in discussions regarding changes to city ordinances that could soon be brought before thecouncil.

Other variancesapproved lastweek include apermit

Sincethe program began, more than 2,500 people have dropped out after winninga grant, according to LDI data. In response to people falling through the cracks,the state partnered with nonprofits that find low-to-moderateincome homeowners and helppay for those outof-pocket costs. The “pilot” round set aside 200 grants.

JohnFord,spokesperson for the Department of Insurance, said the agency is interestedinpursuing similar rounds in the future and is sending flyerstolocal governmentsencouraging them to partner with thestate to find gapfunding. The agency partnered with Jefferson Parish to deliverroofs to homesin theprocess of being elevated againstflood risk, as well as others.

William Stoudt,head of RebuildingTogether New Orleans,which partnered with the state to help cover costs forlower-income homeowners, said thegap is significant: Many of the roofs he helps put on cost $16,000 to $17,000, far above the$10,000 grant.

Stoudtispushing for a slidingscale, where people making less qualifyfor a highergrant amount

“It’s going to getharder andharder to do,” Stoudt said. “The roofs that were easier and cheaper to fortifyare getting done more quickly We can’t justdo it the way we were doing it two years ago and expect the same results.”

Templesaid his office isn’t currently considering increasingthe amount of grantsbased onincome.He said the agency is prioritiz-

ing finding funds to cover thegap, including with local governments.

Trialand error

Thestatehas tested variouswaystoboost participation and deliver moreroofs. Forone round last year, for instance,the InsuranceDepartment told participants they didn’thave to register if they hadalreadyregistered for aprevious round. But the round hadanunusualnumberofdropouts, likely because people who registered monthsoryears agonolongerneeded aroof after being selected.

Ford, of LDI, saidthe rate of dropouts hasremained relativelysteady when excluding the 2025 round. And themostrecentround saw significant interest from registrants—about 10,400 people sought 2,000 available grants. Most of those are still pending.

SBP,a disaster recovery nonprofit, was among the nonprofitswho partnered with theInsurance Department to trytohelpthose who couldn’tafford to participate. The nonprofit completed 14 roofs under the pilot and is finalizing adeal to complete 20 more by this summer

KeithMcCulloch,SBP’s chieffinancialofficer,said committing funding for multiple years could allow theprogram to scale up.

“We’ve also seen that even with a$10,000 grant, theremaining project costs can be an insurmountable barrier for LMIhouseholds,” McCulloch said. “Exploring tiered awardamountsor blendedfundingapproaches

would significantly improve participation andcompletion rates.”

forafirearmsshop that will operate outofa residential zone in the Sugar Ridge subdivision, as well as an auto repairshopthatwill operate on Church Street with adjacentresidentialproperty.Bothvariances were approved after somedebate regarding theimpact the businessescould have on nearby residents.

“In acondensed neighborhood,the ideaofany kind of gun manufacturing there’sconcern” said councilmember Romero of the proposed gun shop. “You can get approval from oneHOA president, but there’sstill 400 or so residents that haven’t

weighed in.” Romero wasthe lone dissent in the vote to approve the variance. The council also approved the reappropriation of several hundredthousanddollars in the city budget from lightingimprovements at theYoungsville Sports Complex’sbaseball field to improvements to the tennis courts at Foster Park. Ritter saidthe lighting projectsatthe YSC baseball field have been postponed and the tennis court improvements will be fast-tracked to completion before amen’s collegiate tournament takes place in March.

Fortified grant lotterynumbers,byrounds

Trainingtoday fortomorrow’s careers: LCTCSinstitutions alignprogramswithLouisiana’s growingworkforce needs

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Training,AdrienDalton.

Aclass of newemployees at Florida Marine Transporters receivetrainingand instructions. The companyisworking closelywithNorthshoreTechnicalCommunity Collegetoprepare people to work as deckhandsastheybegin careersinthe maritime industry

AsLouisiana’seconomycontinuestoevolveandgrow, employersacrossthestatearetakingaproactiverolein shapingtheworkforceoftomorrow,oftencollaborating directly with LouisianaCommunity andTechnical CollegeSystem(LCTCS)institutionstodesignprograms that lead quicklytomeaningful careers. Twosuchpartners, FloridaMarineTransporters andExxonMobilBaton Rouge, arehelping drivenew trainingpathwaysthatreflectreal-life hiring needs, from maritime deckhandstoindustrialtechnicians AtNorthshoreTechnicalCommunityCollege(NTCC), apartnership with FloridaMarineTransporters hasled to thecreationofanew weeklong,non-credit introductory deckhand course designed to prepare students forimmediate entryintothe maritime industry.The firstcohortlaunchesinMarch,with additional sessions expected throughout thespring.

“Onceweget this introductory course established at NTCC,we’dlovetoexplore otherwaystobuild out theprogram,including more coursesfor licensing,” Smithsaid. “You cangoinsomanydifferentdirections in maritime andI’d love forstudentstohave the opportunitytoreceivetraining in thoseatNTCC. Asimilar employer-driven approach is helpingto shapeprogramsatBaton RougeCommunity College (BRCC),whereExxonMobilBatonRougeplaysacentral role viathe NorthBaton RougeIndustrial Training Initiative (NBRITI).The initiativeprovidestechnical andjob preparationtrainingtopeoplewho mightnot otherwisehaveaccesstosuchopportunities

“ExxonMobildefinestheskills,performancestandards andsuccessmeasuresneededfor safe andreliable operations,withseveralemployeesservingasNBRITI instructors.BRCCthenconvertsthese requirements intostructured,credentialedtraining,”saidTaraBazille ExxonMobil BatonRouge SocioeconomicAdvisor “The BRCC collaborationsupportsExxonMobil’s

“WithNorthshoreTechnical,wehadablankcanvas to builda programtomeetthe needsofthe maritime industryandourcompany.They’vetakenourinputand areworking with us to developtrainingbased on our needsaswellastheneedsofourpartnerorganizations,” said BrianLowrance, senior port captainatFlorida MarineTransporters.“It’sanincredibleopportunityto localize ourtraining at acollege that’s only 20 minutes awayandknowthatthisprogramwillmeetourneeds.”

BridgetLaBorde,NTCCExecutive Directorof Workforce Developmentand Continuing Education, said that whileNTCCwas alreadyofferingatwo-year maritime programonthe credit side,employers began emphasizingthe need for entry-leveldeckhands who couldbehired rapidly, then receiveadditionalon-thejob training.

“We’ve hadbusinessestellusthattheycould hire people if we hadthese classesevery month,”LaBorde said.“We’vemet with maritime industry leadersto discussthe topics that thecoursewillcover,and their feedbackhashelpedusunderstandthecomponentswe needed to add. We want to introducestudents to the maritime industry,but we also want to connectthem with localbusinesses. If they areready to go to work, companiesare readytohirethem. LowranceandNeilSmith,FloridaMarineTransporters Safety Manager, notedthatwhile employeesmay start in themaritimeindustryasdeckhands,there are multiple ways to advanceintomanagementpositions andleadershiproles,whetheronthewaterorinon-shore supportoperations.

broadergoalofbuildinga skilled, localworkforce that supportstheiroperationslong-term.Itstrengthensthe talent pipeline by aligningcommunity training with industry standardswhile creating career pathways in theNorth BatonRouge area.”

BazillesaidNBRITIprovidestraininginsomeof thearea’smostin-demand skills,including electrical work,instrumentation,millwrighting,pipefitting, processtechnology andwelding

“ThecollaborationbetweenExxonMobilandBRCC hasled to 90 percentofNBRITIgraduates receiving employment with contractors, ExxonMobil or other ownercompanies followingthe program,”she added. BRCCProvostSarahBarlow,Ph.D.,saidthecollege’s otherindustrypartners have also expresseda need for positionsininfrastructure, transportationand computer science

“Ithinkyou’regoingtoseemoreblendingofprograms –maybe HVAC with acomputer-basedsystem, or a traditional STEM field combined with craftskills,” Dr.Barlowsaid. “Healthcareisusing more simulation now. We need to make sure we have ourfingersonthe pulseofall of that to keep ourstudentscompetitive.”

Ukrainestrikes keyindustrialsitedeepinsideRussia

By The Associated Press

KYIV,Ukraine Ukrainian forces struck an industrial site deep inside Russia on Saturday,which Ukraine and unofficial Russian news channels say was akey state-owned missile factory

The attack in Russia’sUdmurt Republic left 11 people wounded, three of whom were hospitalized,according to aTelegram post by Sergei Bagin, the local health minister

“One of the republic’s facilities was attacked by drones” launchedby Ukraine, regional head AlexanderBrechalovsaidin another Telegrampost. He added that the strike caused injuries and damage, but did not identify the site or give further details.

Hours later,Ukraine’s General Staff said its forces struck akey missile plant near the city of Votkinsk, using Ukrainian-made FP-5 “Flamingo” cruise missiles rather than drones

“A military-industrial complex enterprise,the ‘Votkinsk Plant’ …was hit.A fire wasrecordedonthe facility’s premises. The results are beingclarified,”the General Staff said in aFacebook post An unofficialRussiannews channel on Telegram,Astra, said earlier on Saturday that the strike targetedthe Votkinsk Machine Building Plant, amajor state defense enterprise. Astra said its claim was based on an analysis of footagefrom residents. The Votkinsk factory, more than 870 milesfrom Ukraine, produces Iskander ballistic missiles,often used in strikes againstUkraine, as well as nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, missiles for submarinesand air-launched

Kinzhal missiles

Another unofficial Russian Telegram channel, SHOT, which often quotes contacts in the securityservices,said residents of Votkinsk reported hearing at leastthree blasts during the night, as well as what they thought was the humming of drones.

The Udmurt Republic’s main passengerairport, in the city of Izhevsk, andairportsinnearby regions suspended operations early on Saturday,according to Russia’scivil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya.

In otherovernight attacks, Ukraine’sGeneral Staff said its forces hadalso targeted a gas processing plant in Russia’sSamara region.Earlier Saturday,Russianmilitary blogs reported that an attack causeda fireatthe Samara plant.There was no immediate commentfrom Russian officials.

Russia attacked Ukraine with 120 drones and one ballistic missile overnight into Saturday,Ukraine’sair force said. Ukrainian forces shot

down 106 drones, while the missile and13drones struck targets in 11 locations in the country,the statement said.

OlehKiper, the head of Ukraine’sOdesa regionon the Black Sea, said drones damaged civilian and energy infrastructure facilities in the region, including asecondary school and an energy company’swarehouses. Two people werealso injured, he said on Telegram

Thesouthern portcity of Odesa and surrounding region have been frequent targets forRussian attacks.

Earlierthis week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saidtens of thousands of Odesa’sresidentswere left without heating and running water

In remarks Mondayevening,ZelenskyysaidMoscow should be “held accountable” for therelentlessstrikes, which he said undermine the U.S. push forpeace.

FSBfears Telegram leaks

Elsewhere,Russia’s Federal Security Service, known

by its acronym FSB, claimed that Ukraine hasbeen able to harvest data from Telegram and use it formilitary purposes. The app is hugely popular among Russians, including soldiers at the front. The FSB wasquoted by Russian state media as saying it had obtained “numerousreliable reports” thatthe use of Telegram“hasrepeatedly resulted in threats to the life of service members over the past three months.” The reports did not cite any examples or evidence.

Separately,Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed alaw requiring mobile operatorsinRussia to block cellular and landline internet services at therequest of the FSB, the latest moveinthe ongoing Kremlin efforttotighten control over the internet.

Earlierthis month, Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor saiditwill impose new restrictions on Telegram, after accusing it of refusing to observe Russian law

Hungarysaysitwill blockEUloantoUkraine untilRussian oilshipments resume

BY JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press

BUDAPEST,Hungary— Hungary will block aplanned $106-billion European Union loan to Ukraine until the flow of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline resumes, Hungary’sforeign minister said. Russian oil shipments to Hungaryand Slovakia have been interrupted since Jan. 27 afterwhatUkrainian officials said was aRussian drone attack damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russiancrude across Ukrainian territory and into Central Europe. Hungaryand Slovakia, which have both receiveda temporary exemption from an EU policy prohibiting imports of Russian oil, have accusedUkraine —without providing evidence —of

deliberately holding up supplies. Both countriesceased shipping diesel to Ukraine this week over theinterruption in oil flows In avideo posted on social media Friday evening, ForeignMinister Péter Szijjártó accused Ukraine of “blackmailing” Hungary by failing to restart shipments. Hesaid his government would block amassiveinterest-freeloan the EU approved in December to help Kyiv to meet its military and economic needs forthe next twoyears.

“Wewill not give in tothis blackmail. We do not support Ukraine’swar,wewill not pay forit,”Szijjártó said. “As longasUkraine blocks theresumptionofoil supplies to Hungary,Hungary will block European Union decisions that areimportant and favorable for Ukraine.”

Hungary’sdecision to block thekey funding came twodays after it suspended diesel shipmentstoits embattled neighborand only days before thefourthanniversary of Russia’sfullscale invasion.

Nearly every country in Europe has significantly reduced or entirely ceased Russianenergy imports since Moscow launched its war in Ukraine on Feb.24, 2022. YetHungary and Slovakia—both EU andNATO members—have maintained andevenincreased supplies of Russianoil and gas.

Hungary’snationalist PrimeMinisterViktorOrbanhas long argued Russian fossil fuelsare indispensable for its economy and that switching toenergy sourced from elsewherewould cause an immediate economic col-

lapse— an argumentsome experts dispute.

Widely seen as theKremlin’sbiggest advocate in the EU,Orbánhas vigorously opposedthe bloc’sefforts to sanctionMoscow over its invasion, and blasted attempts to hit Russia’senergy revenues that help finance the war.His government has frequently threatened to veto

EU efforts to assist Ukraine

On Saturday,Slovakia’s populist Prime minister Robert Fico saidhis country will stopproviding emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine if oil is not flowing through theDruzhba by Monday.Orbán’schief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, said earlier this weekthat Hungary,too, was exploring the possibility of cutting offits electricity suppliestoUkraine

Not all of the EU’s27countries agreed to take part in the 90-billion-euro loan packagefor Kyiv.Hungary,Slovakia and the Czech Republic opposed the plan, but adeal was reached in whichthey did notblock the loan and were promised protection from any financial fallout.

PelicanCreditUnion rewards students’goodgradeswith Dollarsfor A’sprogram

By Stevie Cavalier Licciardi,stevie.licciardi@theadvocate.com

This articleisbrought to youbyPelican Credit Union.

Investinginthe financial future of Louisiana’s youththrough programs that celebratestudent successisalong-termpriorityfor PelicanCredit Union. Thecreditunion’s Dollarsfor A’sprogram awards cash for good grades—a little lagniappe, as it’s knowninLouisiana,for ajob well done “AtPelican,webelieve good habits startearly,” said Jeff Conrad,CEO of PelicanCreditUnion “Bypayingfor good grades,werewardstudents fortheir hard work whilehelping them understandthe valueofsaving, earning, andmaking smartfinancialchoices.”

Throughits Dollarsfor A’sinitiative, Pelican hasrecognizedacademicachievement across thestate by awarding nearly $440,000 in cash incentives to hardworkingstudentsoverthe last 5years alone. Morethan12,788individual awards have been givenacrossLouisiana since theprogram began.

Students with aTeamPelican YouthSavings accountora Teen Checking accountare eligible to participateinthe programand canearnupto $70per semester on theirreportcards.Toapply fora Team Pelicanaccount,visit pelicancu. com/youth.

Taking part in theprogram is simple—eligible students areencouragedtosubmittheir report cardsattheir localPelican branch or upload them digitallythrough theMyPelican app. Once reviewed,TeenCheckingaccountholders ages 13 andupearn$10 per‘A’,and thoseunder theage of 13 with aTeamPelican accountget $5 per‘A’

As anot-for-profitfinancialinstitution,PelicanCreditUnion seekstosupport itsmembers throughevery phaseoflife. Pelicanbelievesthe moneystudents receivefor theirachievements reinforces positive studyhabitsand promotes financial literacy by creating opportunitiesfor kids andteens to earn moneyand manage their ownaccounts.Allowingstudents to gain realworldfinancialexperiencebeforegraduating high school helpsbuild confidence as students transition into adulthood.

“Thisisjust oneofPelican’s commitmentsto education, financial empowerment, community impact,and meetingmembers wheretheyare by supporting them at everystage of life,” said Conrad Beyond theDollars forA’s program, Pelican partners with Louisianaschools to offer age-appropriatefinancial literacy curriculum and workshopsfor students at no cost to theacademic institution. Pelicanalsoprovidesstudent scholarship opportunitiesand contests with cash prizes forlocal teachers. In collaborationwith localuniversitiesand high schools, Pelican’s School PrideDebit Cardsserve as fundraisers for schools. With everyswipe,Pelican donates fivetoten centstothe partneredinstitution Throughevery educationalinitiative, new doorsare openedinthe livesofstudents, and Pelican’screativity andcommitmenttothe community’sfinancial empowermentshine throughprogramslikeDollars for A’s. Formoreinformationortobecome amemberof PelicanCreditUnion,visit www.pelicancu.com

LOUISIANAPOLITICS

In report,Cassidy callsfor overhaul of FDA

‘Discoveries that never leavethe labhelpnoone’

WASHINGTON —U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidyused his high-ranking position earlier thisweek to draw attention to the beleagueredFood &DrugAdministration, releasingareport that calls for extensive changes in the way the agencyreviews and approves new drugs, vaccines and food.

The Baton Rouge Republican hasn’t submitted any legislation to that effectand getting such asweeping bill passed would be atall order with nine monthsleft before congressional midterms. But by focusing attention on the long-desired revampofthe FDA, Cassidy appears to be flexing his political muscles as chair of theinfluential Senate Health Education Labor &PensionsCommittee, aposition of leadership his campaign challengers can’t equal.

Cassidy is seekingreelection to athird term, but faces serious challenges from fellow Republicans Rep. Julia Letlow,who President Donald Trump endorsed,and Treasurer John Fleming.

Cassidy’sreport comes 10 monthsafter biotech leaders asked the HELPcommittee to address FDA practices.

Cassidy’s18-page

“Patients andFamilies: Building the FDA of the Future” details at least adozen proposed changes in legislation, regulation and practice thathe contends would modernize the agency, clear “unnecessary bottlenecks” thatslow access of newermedicines to patients and improve medical research “‘Innovation’ is meaningless unless it creates products that actually help patients. Discoveries that never leavethe lab help no one,” Cassidy wrote in thereport. “While many parts of FDA work well, unnecessarybottlenecks slow patients and consumers getting theproductsthey need.”

The report takes issue with thesystem companies face in gettingtheirproducts approved. The testsand reviews are unpredictable, often addingunnecessary

Louisiana ranks highon congressional earmarks

Four members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation ranked in the top five for receiving the most “earmarks” in this year’sappropriations bills, according to an analysis by Roll Call, a political trade publication.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy,RMadisonville and amember of the Senate Appropriations Committee, ranked third in the upper chamber,with $450.6 million directed to his home district. Roll Call looked at all 8,472 local projects, worth $15.7billion total.

Sen. Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, came in fifth, witha total of $339.8 million. That’sthe highest of 72 senatorswho requested earmarks in 2026 and were not on the appropriations committee. Over in the House, 389 members inserted earmarks. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise,

time and delays. “FDA teams can differ greatly in the extent to which they require testingorimposestandards that arenot calibrated to the relevant risks,” Cassidy wrote. He called for “new clinical trial approaches” that would be less expensive and much faster New drugs can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to test —costs that are recouped by manufacturersthrough higher prices to consumers. For instance, Cassidy’swhitepaper recommends reducing clinical testing burdens forbiological medicines similar to alreadyapproved biological medicines. Biosimilars, or biosims, have already been tested andmeet pharmaceutical quality standards. He suggested Congress con-

R-Jefferson,came in fourth with $164.8 million,and Rep.Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, ranked fifth in theHouse with $151.9 million.

One reason the four Louisiana membersranked so high is the $131.5 million appropriation to strengthen levees andother infrastructure and reduce the risk of flooding forabout 200,000 people, primarily in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

The Army Corps of Engineers’ Morganza to the Gulf project —the fifth largest earmark expenditure was sponsored by all four and was included in their totals, according to Roll Call.

In all, Louisiana’scongressional delegation gathered in $356.5 million for 51 community projects in the state.

Thepractice of individual lawmakers acquiring federal taxpayer dollars for purely local projects was restricted, even banned, through much of the 2000s as

sider additional laws.

The Washington Post in an editorial Wednesday,which did not mention Cassidy’sreport, noted that vaccine manufacturers “can’tbeasconfident they can jump through theFDA’s hoops withoutregulatorschanging theground rules mid-circus act.”

Posteditorialistscontinued, “The FDA has gone to great lengths in recent years to reduce this sort of red tape that merely slows down lifesaving medical innovations. Lamentably,itseems to be returning to its old ways under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s leadership.”

Created in 1906 on theheels of Upton Sinclair’snovel “The Jungle”and incorporating an 1848 law toreview imported

corrupt “pork barrel spending” conjuring up images of Alaska’s $223 million “Bridge to Nowhere.”

Congress voted in 2021 to again allow earmarks, though now rebranded as Community Project Funding or Congressionally Directed Spending.

The debate over directing federal taxpayer dollars for local projects has not completely lapsed, however.Many of the senators and representatives who voted against the 2026 spending bills said they did so because earmarks were included.

Landry praises CVS pharmacyscholarships

medicines, the FDAmust sign off on every new drug and vaccine before they can be administered. The agency also oversees the purity of food products and the accuracy of food labeling, in addition to cosmetics and tobacco.

About 25 cents of every consumer dollar —more than $1 trillion annually —pays forproducts that the FDAregulates, according to the Cato Institute, alibertarian think tank headquartered in Washington. But the agency has been criticized for years, and manyargue it is chronically underfunded.

The widespread refusal by manytoget vaccinated forCOVID-19 wasone sign of distrust. And, in 2021, it approved the Alzheimer’sdrug Aduhelm despite expert advisers’ objections and data that shows one-third of test subjects were subject to brain bleeds and swelling.

Prior to Kennedy becoming secretary forthe Department of Health &Human Services, which oversees the FDA, he wrote on social media: “If you workfor the FDA and are part of this corrupt system,I have twomessages foryou. 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”

The FDAemployed about 20,000 people —half of whom werescientists when Kennedy took over

The agency now employs about 16,500 people and its appropriation was cut by nearly 10% to $6.8 billion. He has limited inoculations forchildren, canceled research contracts, and packed expert adviser panels with anti-vaxxers —all activities Cassidy has criticized.

Though Kennedy is one of the mostvociferous critics of the FDA, it is unsure how he will greet Cassidy’ssuggestions. Nevertheless, Cassidy wrote: “The HELP Committee looks forward to coordinating with FDAunder its new leadership to promote patient access, accelerate U.S. competitiveness, and improve the health of American families.”

Email Mark Ballardatmballard@ theadvocate.com.

thehealth care giant, is celebrating the initiative.

Landry,inasocial media post, lauded the program, saying he is “excited” to work with CVS and “grateful fortheir commitment to helping Louisiana’snext generation succeed!”

“When we create opportunities forour students to learn, train, and build their careers right here at home, we’re strengthening our workforce and our communities at the sametime,” he said in a statement.

The pharmacy scholarship will be available in the 2026-27 academic year,and information about it will be madeavailable at the financial aid offices of the twouniversities, the newsrelease says.

Landry last summer threw his political weight behind pharmacy and prescription drug legislation that CVS fiercely opposed. The bill, which did not pass, would have barred companies in Louisiana from owning both retail pharmacies and entities known as pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate the price of drugs.

CVS, acorporation that owns both types of businesses, sent masstexts to customers saying the bill would force it to close all its pharmacies and urging them to reach out to lawmakers.

CVS announced Wednesday it is launching a$5million scholarship program for studentspursuing a doctor of pharmacy degree at either theUniversity of Louisiana at Monroe or Xavier University in New Orleans—and Gov.Jeff Landry, who in recent monthshas publicly sparred with

According to anews release from CVS, “the program will help reduce financial barriers forstudentsfrom diverse backgrounds and communities, particularly those with adesire to serve in areas with critical health care needs.”

Xavier is the country’sonly historicallyBlack Catholic university, while UL-Monroe is in a population center that anchors rural north Louisiana.

“This initiative is part of CVS Health’sbroader commitment to advancing health equity, expanding access to care, and investing in the next generation of health care professionals,” CVS said.

Velocity is stillconductingclinicaltrialsfor investigationalvaccines andtherapies that couldhelpprevent thespreadofCOVID-19. Eligible participants mayreceive compensation. No Health InsuranceRequired.

Landry backed three lawsuits Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed in June against CVS. The lawsuits accuse CVS of violating customer privacy lawswith the text campaign; treating independent pharmacies unfairly; and using its size and ownership of multiple parts of the drug supply chain to drive up costs. Murrill on Friday announced that those lawsuits had been settled.

EDUCATION

Immigrationenforcement impactsclasses,teacherssay

BY MORIAH BALINGIT AP education writer

In onetestimonial afteranother,teachers detailedall the ways President Donald Trump’simmigration crackdown has shaped theirwork and the lives of their students.

In acourt filing Thursday,educators around the country described rumors of immigration raids that scared awaystudents, immigrant parents who stopped sendingtheir children to school altogether,and stories of parents and students including one middle schooler being picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at schoolbus stops.

The stories were sharedaspart of alawsuit challenginga Trump administration policy that opened up schools, housesofworship and medicalfacilities to immigration enforcement. The lawsuit wasfiled last year by an Oregon farmworkers unionand agroup of churches that argued the policy change was “arbitrary andcapricious.” The American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and three preschool employees joined the suit in September

As the impacts of immigration enforcement on schools and health care facilities grew,the plaintiffs filed apetition askinga judge to halt the Trump administration policy as the lawsuit proceeds.

“In recent months —and escalating in the past severalweeks— immigration enforcement agents have made startling incursions into cities and towns around the country,including unprecedented and unrestrained surgesinand around vital community institutions such as schools andhealth care facilities,” attorneyswrote.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to amessage seeking comment. Administration officials have defended the policy in thepast, say-

ing that making schools,churches and other spaces off-limitsto immigrationenforcement could make them refugesfor criminals.

Officials have said Immigration and CustomsEnforcementdoes not target schools for enforcement operations, but there have been several instances in recent months where immigration authorities have pursued or detained peopleon or near school property.

Newpolicy

Thegovernment formore tha three decadeshad barred immi gration authorities from making arrests in schools andhouses of worship. That policy was updated over the years to include other

“protected areas,”such as hospitals and homelessshelters, to prevent enforcement actions that would restrictaccess to essential services and activities.

Shortly after Trumptook office, hisadministrationrescinded that policy,instead issuing afour-paragraph memo that advised officers to use “a healthy dose of common sense”whendecidingwhether to make arrests near “protected areas.”

where ICE agents attempted to arrest aman in the parking lot after he dropped off his infant son.

In Chelsea, Massachusetts, teachers union president Kathryn Andersonsaid immigration enforcement has been more disruptive to learning than the COVID pandemic, which moved school online for months. The school system lost asignificantnumberof studentsthis year and absenteeism is higher than usual.

cator having to help kids move through and exist in that fear (has) been anear impossible task.”

During aChicagooperation in October,agents released tear gas that engulfed aschool playground. Theylater arrested ateacher inside of her preschool during morning drop-off. DHSsaid agents had attemptedtopulloverthe car shewas riding in before she got to school and said she barricaded herself inside, forcing agents to enter.The woman, who haswork authorization,was eventually released.

In Minneapolis, agentsscuffled withbystanders after pursuing a man onto ahigh school campus as school was ending forthe day Fear tricklingintoclassrooms

The court filing includedtestimonyfrom 60 teachers and health careworkers from18stateswho described how immigration enforcement near their schools and medical facilities haschallenged their work. All submitted their testimony anonymously

Onemiddleschoolteacher said half of thestudents stayed home amid arumor about immigration enforcement nearby

The following month, astudent at the school wasdetained while at abus stop.

Elsewhere,aspeech pathologist describedtearful meetings with immigrant parents fearful that signing documents to get their child special education services would draw the attention of immigration enforcement.

Ahigh school teacher said many students, including immigrants still learning English, switched to virtual learning after aparent was arrested by ICE at aschool bus stop. But the virtual option is only offered in English, and the teacher said they feared the students are falling behind.

Ateacher at another school said

FESTIVAL PASSES FESTIVAL PASSES PERFECT YOUR

Frigid weather has engulfed much of U.S. so far this year

BY ISABELLA O’MALLEY and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Associated Press

WASHINGTON Millions in North America kicked off 2026 with bitterly cold temperatures, with many saying it’s been years since they’ve experienced such frigid winter weather

“Pipes that never froze on me for 15 years froze,” said Chris Ferro, 58, from Brooklyn, New York, about the abnormally cold temperatures he experienced in January and February Ferro owns several residential properties in Albany and said multiple days of below-freezing temperatures prevented him from doing repairs and renovations. He said he was thankful that none of the pipes burst and that this winter had the same bitter cold he remembers from when he was young, which contrasts with the relatively warmer winters he experienced in recent years.

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say they’ve been personally affected by severe cold weather or severe winter storms in the past five years, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That’s an increase from an AP-NORC poll conducted in February 2025, when about half of U.S adults said they’d been affected by extreme cold.

The finding points to the growing prevalence of experiences with cold weather, or at least people’s perceptions of them, after a massive winter storm brought freezing temperatures to the East Coast and caused widespread power outages in the South. In a warming world, people’s reactions to cold weather are subjective. Scientific research indicates the first quarter of the 21st century was unusually warm by historical standards — mostly due to human-induced climate change — and abnormally cold winters are happening less frequently in North America. Because this type of extreme cold occurs less frequently, experts say Americans are experiencing it more intensely now than

they did in the past and prolonged cold spells are unfamiliar to many people, especially younger Americans.

In the summer of 2024, an APNORC poll found that about 7 in 10 U.S adults had experienced extremely hot weather or extreme heat waves in the prior five years.

Higher bills, more cancellations

The most recent survey found that just in the past year, Americans’ lives have been upended in multiple ways by cold weather

About 7 in 10 Americans say that in the past year, their electricity or gas bills have been higher than usual because of winter storms or extreme cold. About 4 in 10 have experienced a work or school cancellation because of winter storms or extreme cold, roughly one-third have experienced a power outage, and about 3 in 10 have had a travel cancellation or delay

Annie Braswell, 66, from Greenville, North Carolina, said January and February felt like “it hadn’t been that cold in 40 years” and that her utility bill doubled compared with normal. She said it was a dramatic change from the weather she experienced last summer when she endured many days at

or above 100 F. “I just take life one day at a time, and I realize these are things that I can’t change,” Braswell said about how she copes with the extreme temperatures.

Heat waves and extreme cold require more heating and cooling to keep temperatures inside homes and buildings comfortable, which leads to higher utility bills.

Electricity prices are rising in the U.S. and an AP-NORC poll from October 2025 found that nearly 4 in 10 U.S. adults say the cost of electricity is a “major source” of stress for them. Bill McKibben, a longtime climate activist, said he thinks rising electricity prices will have a major political impact. The effects of cold weather were

felt across wide swathes of the country About 6 in 10 Midwesterners, about half of Southerners, and about 4 in 10 Northeasterners say they’ve experienced work or school cancellation as a result of winter storms or extreme cold, compared with 15% of adults who live in the West.

Temps and climate change

Among all of the people who experienced some kind of severe weather event in the past few years — including extreme heat, extreme cold, major droughts or water shortages, hurricanes or severe tropical storms, major flooding, wildfires, tornadoes — about two-thirds believe climate change

was a cause. “I think climate change is a natural thing that happens to some extent it’s sped up by some things,” such as pollutants released from factories and the shipping industry, said Joseph Bird, 21, a college student in Provo, Utah, who identifies as an independent. “I think it increases the frequency of extreme weather is how I’d see it,” said Bird.

Democrats and independents who experienced any kind of severe weather event are much likelier than Republicans to see climate change as a cause.

There’s a particularly large gap between conservative Republicans — only about 3 in 10 who experienced an extreme weather event think it was related to climate change — compared with liberal Democrats, the vast majority of whom think climate change was involved.

While rising atmospheric temperatures are a result of global warming, scientists say that extreme cold outbreaks across North America are a feature of climate change. The Arctic polar vortex, a swirling area of low pressure and cold air that is typically trapped over the North Pole throughout the year, can stretch down and infiltrate regions further south. Scientific research indicates such polar vortex disruptions are happening more frequently due to rapidly warming temperatures in the Arctic and shrinking Arctic sea ice.

Overall, the vast majority of U.S adults, 80%, have experienced some kind of severe weather event in the past five years, although they are much likelier to report experiencing extremely hot weather or extreme heat waves and extreme cold in the past five years than any other kind of major weather events, including major droughts or water shortages, hurricanes or severe tropical storms, major flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, or other severe weather events or weather disasters.

There are no meaningful partisan differences in Americans’ experiences of extreme weather, but about 8 in 10 Democrats who experienced any of these extreme weather events said they were the result of climate change, compared with only about 4 in 10 Republicans.

Courtallowshaltto restoration of slaveryexhibit

BY TASSANEE VEJPONGSA and MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA AU.S. appeals court late Friday said theTrumpadministration can halt work on aNational Park Service slavery exhibit in Philadelphia whileitappeals an order to reinstall it

About half of the large panels at the outdoor exhibit have been restored this week at the site of the former President’sHouse on Independence Mall.

U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman, in his order,said the exhibit as it stood Friday must remain in place and the remaining materials must be preserved. The appeals court will now weigh the dispute between the city and the federalgovernment, which began when the administration abruptly removed theexhibit in January,amid an effort to remove information it deems “disparaging” to Americans from federal properties.

Michael Coard, founder of Avenging the Ancestors

during arally celebratingthe reinstallation of aslavery exhibit at the President’sHouse Site in PhiladelphiaonThursday. An appeals courtonFridayalloweda halt to the restoration.

5p.m.Fridaydeadline to re-

nine people enslaved at the site under former President George Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia served as the nation’scapital. That order is now on hold.

The Park Service describes the exhibit as one “that examines the paradox between slavery and freedom in the founding of the nation.”

The Interior Department has said in court papers that it planned to replace it with its own narrative on slavery Rufe had said it must work with the city on any new materialundera long-standing cooperative agreement.

“(T)he government can convey adifferent message without restraint elsewhere if it so pleases, but it cannot do so to the President’s Houseuntil it followsthe lawand consults with the city,” Rufe, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, wrote in an opinion Friday

In its ownfiling Friday to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, theJustice Department calledher ruling“extraordinary”and “animproperintrusion on the workings of acoequal branch of government.”

One of the panelsbeing rehung Friday morning —titled “History Lost &Found” —details thesurprising discoveryofartifacts from the President’sHouse during an archaeological dig in the early 2000s, as work was being done on anew pavilion forthe Liberty Bell. The exhibit had been on displaysince2010, the result of years of research and collaboration between the city, the ParkService, historians and other private parties. Rufe said thefederal government was unlikely to succeed at trial. And she said the public —and the city’s reputation —was being harmed with each passing day

BY KEN SWEET Associated Press

NEW YORK JPMorgan Chase ac-

knowledged for the first time that it closed thebank accounts of PresidentDonald Trump and several of his businesses in the politicaland legal aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, the latest development in alegal saga over the controversial practice of “debanking.” The acknowledgment cameina court filing submitted last week in Trump’slawsuit against the bank and its leader,Jamie Dimon. The president sued for$5billion, alleging that his accounts were closed for political reasons.

“In February 2021, JPMorgan informed Plaintiffs that certain

accounts maintained with JPMorgan’sCBand PB would be closed,” JPMorgan’s former chief administrativeofficer Dan Wilkening wrote in the court filing. The “PB” and “CB” standsfor JPMorgan’s privatebankand commercial bank

Until now,JPMorgan has never admitted it closed the president’s accounts, andwould only speakhypothetically about when the bank closes accounts andits reasons for closingaccounts. Emails and text messages to a spokespersonfor thebankwere notreturned. Trump originally sued JPMorgan in Floridastate court, where Trump’sprimary residence is now located. JPMorganChase is lookingtohavethe case moved to New York, which is where thebankac-

counts were located andwhere

Trumpkept much of his business operations until recently

Trumpaccuses the bank of trade libel andaccuses Dimon himself of violating Florida’sUnfair andDeceptive Trade Practices Act.

In the original lawsuit,Trump alleges he tried to raise the issue personally with Dimon afterthe bank started toclose his accounts, andthat Dimon assured Trumphe would figureout what was happening. The lawsuit alleges Dimon failed to follow up with Trump.

Further,Trump’slawyers allege that JPMorgan placed the president and his companies on areputational “blacklist” that both JPMorgan and other banks use to keep clients from opening accounts with them in the future.

JPMorgan has previously said it believes the suit has no merit.

Debanking occurs when abank closes the accounts of acustomer or refuses to do business with acustomer in the form of loans or other services.Once arelatively obscure issueinfinance, debanking has become apoliticallycharged issue in recent years, with conservative politicians arguing that banks have discriminated against them and their affiliated interests.

“In adevastating concession that proves President Trump’sentire claim, JPMorganChase admitted to unlawfully and intentionally de-banking President Trump, his family,and his businesses, causingoverwhelming financialharm,” thepresident’slawyers said in a statement. “President Trump is

standing up for all those wrongly debanked by JPMorgan Chase and its cohorts, and will see this case to ajust and proper conclusion.”

Debanking first became anational issue when conservatives accusedthe Obama administration of pressuring banks to stop extending services to gun stores and payday lenders under “Operation Choke Point.”

Trump andotherconservative figures have alleged that banks cut them off fromtheiraccountsunder the umbrella term of “reputational risk” after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on theU.S. Capitol. Since Trump cameback into office, the president’s banking regulators have moved to stop any banks from using “reputational risk” as areason for denying service to customers.

Trumpadministrationstocked with people whobackfalse election claims

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press

President Donald Trump has long spread conspiracy theories aboutvoting designed to explain away his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Now that he’spresident again, Trump has stocked his administration with those who have promoted his falsehoods and in some cases helped him try to overturn his loss

Those election conspiracists now holding official power range from the attorney generaltolawyers filing lawsuits for the Justice Department. Kurt Olsen, a lawyer whounsuccessfully pushed the Justice Department in 2020 to back the president’sfalse claims, is now leading asweeping probe of the vote from that election.

The most dramatic action from that mandate was the seizure in late January of ballots and 2020 election records from Fulton County in Georgia, aDemocratic stronghold that includes Atlanta. The county has long been atarget of election conspiracy theoristsaligned

with Trump,and theaffidavit for the search warrant shows the action was based on 2020 claims that inmany cases had been thoroughly investigated.

Election officials across the country,especially those in statescontrolledpoliticallybyDemocrats, are bracing for more turmoil duringthisyear’selections, when control of Congress is on theline.

“The election denial movement is nowembeddedacross our federalgovernment, whichmakesit more powerful than ever,” said Joanna Lydgate, chief executive officer of States United Democracy Center, which tracksthose whopromoteelectionconspiracy theories.

“Trump andhis allies are tryingtouse all of the powers of the federal government to undermine elections, with an eyetothe upcomingmidterms.”

Trump hasremade the federal governmentasanarm of his own personal will, and his attorney general, Pam Bondi —who helped try to overturn Trump’s2020 loss —has declared that everyone working at the Justice

Departmentneedstocarry outthe president’sdemands.

Even with allthe issues facing him in his second term, from persistent concerns about the economyto his immigration crackdown, Trumpcontinues to push the false claim that he won the 2020 presidential election.

Some of the people who populatehis administration are, like Bondi, longtime supporters whocontinued to help Trump even as he sought to overturn an election

Someplayed minor roles in supporting thefalse claims about the 2020 presidential election. Still others have pushedconspiracy

DDA to appeal ruling in condo fight

Authority concerned with parking garage

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

The Lafayette Downtown Development Authority voted to appeal a district-court ruling that found that it lacked standing in a dispute over a condo project on Jefferson Street.

The DDA unanimously voted to appeal to the Third Circuit Court In January, District Court Judge

Crawfish season starts with good prices

Restaurants offering around $8-10 a pound

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

I had my first platter of boiled crawfish for the 2026 season last week, and it was well worth the wait.

Crawfish Time on Ridge Road in Lafayette was bustling the week before Mardi Gras, with crowds in the restaurant and drive-thru focused on one thing: putting away 3 or 5 pounds of succulent, tender crawfish and fixings.

I went for a 3-pound platter of nice-sized crawfish, easy to peel with delicate spice and tangy citrus soaked in. At $26.99 for 3 pounds, with two potatoes included, I noted that the price was on par with boiled crawfish prices at the beginning of February last year LSU AgCenter crawfish extension agent Todd Fontenot said that this season is looking to be a good one in regard to yields, so crawfish lovers won’t have much to worry about as the weather warms and the crustaceans continue to grow According to Will Mills, owner of Coastal Fire & Ice in Youngsville, “Public turnout has been great so far.” He started selling boiled crawfish in December, and on Ash Wednesday was offering a special of 3, 5 or 10 pounds of crawfish at $7.50 a pound.

“The crawfish are looking better every day,” he said “The big ones are coming out now with the warmer weather, and we’re about to start on the ponds with the really big crawfish that are saved for the bulk of the season. Prices will go down as more volume comes on the market — the state takes a cut too, so it’s not just me picking a price.” Looking at prices at Crawfish Time and other crawfish hot spots across Lafayette, $8 to $10 a pound is the rough going rate this week. If you are planning to dive into crawfish this Lenten season, note that many places are serving boiled crawfish with potatoes included, and other sides, including crawfish dip, are available a la carte. Pro tip: if you prefer to make your own dip, many places provide tableside condiments for the purpose, including Worcestershire sauce and seasoning blends. Here’s what to expect from crawfish pricing after Mardi Gras at restaurants around Lafayette, as of Feb. 16. Prices are subject to change daily.

Cajun Table

4510 Ambassador Caffery Parkway Lafayette $33 for 3 pounds with 2 potatoes, or $52 for 5 pounds with 2 potatoes and corn.

Coastal Fire & Ice

6412 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Youngsville

John Trahan cited the appeal court’s precedent when he ruled the DDA had no standing to push the Lafayette Board of Zoning and Adjustment to reconsider its vote to approve a downtown condo project with ground-floor parking at 444 Jefferson St.

The DDA will next ask the City Council to formally approve an amended DDA budget to continue its legal representation in a lawsuit against the zoning board.

While the request may appear to create a conflict, DDA CEO Kevin Blanchard believes the council will approve it. “I will cross that bridge if it presents itself,“ Blanchard said following a Wednesday meeting. A 21-unit condo with a first-floor parking garage and a lack of habitable space at street level are at the center of DDA’s lawsuit. Devel-

oper Cliff Guidry pushed the zoning board for a variance to allow the parking garage, but the district argues that the board approved the variance on the assumption that the DDA approved the changes, as assured by Guidry Guidry would later recant that DDA OK’d the project, stating it “was probably the wrong word to use at the time, “ and that he planned to move forward with the project following the January decision.

“We are suing because the deci-

sion makers here (BOZA) were not told the truth and they made their decision based on material misrepresentation of the facts,” Blachard said. In January, Trahan ruled that the DDA lacked standing to bring its lawsuit because it failed to meet a two-pronged test requiring an interest in the land and monetary damages. The ruling came despite the fact that the condo project sits within the DDA’s legal taxing

PUTTING ON A SHOW

Study:

Stretch

of I-10

one of deadliest in La.

Segment near Lafayette had 14 fatal crashes in five years

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

A portion of Interstate 10 near Lafayette ranks among the deadliest highway segments in Louisiana in the past five years, according to a new analysis of fatal crash data. The study, published by Chris Corzo Injury Attorneys, examined fatal crash records from 2019 through 2023 using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Researchers divided highways into 10-mile sections and counted how many deadly crashes happened in each zone If two sec-

tions had the same number of fatal crashes, they ranked the one with more deaths higher The study found that six of Louisiana’s nine deadliest 10-mile stretches were on I-10, the main thoroughfare running east and west across the state. The other three were on Interstate 12. One of the I-10 segments identified in the study is located near Lafayette, between Louisiana Avenue and Grand Point Highway in St. Martin Parish. That section tied for fourth place in Louisiana, with 14 fatal crashes and 15 deaths recorded during the five-year period. It is the only roadway segment in southwest Louisiana to appear among the most fatal 10-mile stretches in the state, according to the study The study shows that the

Late-night sweet treats coming to Lafayette

Insomnia Cookies planning downtown location

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON Staff writer

Insomnia Cookies is planning a new downtown Lafayette location at 505 Jefferson St., according to Developing Lafayette. The popular cookies shop will be nestled between Hub City Cycles and Teche Drugs Pharmacy, in the former DBR space, according to records. Known for warm, made-to-order cookies and late-night hours, Insomnia Cookies’ menu includes classic and deluxe cookies, cookie cakes, brownies and ice cream The new Lafayette store will expand the brand’s Louisiana footprint, which al-

ready includes locations in Lake Charles, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Insomnia Cookies was founded in 2003 by Seth Berkowitz, who launched the concept from his college dorm room after becoming frustrated by limited late-night food options. Stores typically operate late into the night — often until about 1 a.m. — and are commonly located in high-traffic areas such as downtown districts and near college campuses, where late-night restaurants and bars draw steady foot traffic. Public records show permits filed for renovations and signage at the Lafayette site, according to Developing Lafayette. An opening date has not been announced. However, given the small size of the space, construction is expected to take about two to four months once work begins.

Airport begins paving terminal road

It will provide a quicker route for shuttles, officials say

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

A new road is under construction at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to provide a quicker route for shuttles carrying people from the new terminal to the car rental center and garages near the old terminal.

Crews began paving the roadway earlier this month, and airport officials say it should open by the end of 2026. The road will snake around the landing strip on airport property and connect Jerome S. Glaser Airport Access Road with the new terminal, allowing shuttle buses to bypass traffic on Veterans Memorial Boulevard and avoid Kenner’s bumpy side streets.

It’s the first of two phases in an $84.5 million project that airport officials say will cut the shuttle’s travel time in half when completed in 2027. The second phase will extend the road parallel to Glaser to create a completely separate road to the old terminal.

The airport hopes eventually to connect the road to a future rail station on a proposed line from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, which is at least several years away from coming to fruition as federal, state and local agencies work

through financing and designing the project.

Airport officials say around 9,000 people ride the shuttle daily to get between the new terminal at the north end of the campus and the passenger and employee parking garages and car rentals at the south end

“It will make it much, much easier and quicker to get people back and forth,” said Chris Span, a program management consultant with Burns & McDonnell, on Thursday after a New Orleans Aviation Board meeting.

The airport hosted a groundbreaking for the project in August and submitted a permit to the city of Kenner in late October for the new road, two new surface parking lots that would add around 450 spaces and a 54,000-square-foot tarmac expansion.

The Kenner City Council signed off on the permit in a 6-1 vote in January

The dissenting vote came from District 2 council member Ronnie Scharwath, who said he supported the new road but worried the other projects would worsen flooding.

Kenner Planning Director Christopher Sliwinski told council members that his department reviewed the airport’s stormwater plan and determined it was adequate.

The airport is owned by New Orleans and run by the New Orleans Aviation Board, a group of nine city mayoral appointees, but is in Kenner Two of the mayoral appointees come from

lists selected by the Kenner and St Charles Parish governments.

Kenner receives tax revenue from the parking spaces at the airport, so the new parking lots — slated for completion in 2027 — should benefit the city’s coffers, Krygowski told the council in January. He also noted that the new road will reduce congestion on Veterans.

The new road is funded by $65 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration made available through the 2021

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Another $11 million came from the state, and the remaining costs will come from the airport’s capital budget.

The new road could someday be used for an automated people mover or autonomous vehicles instead of shuttle buses, said Erin Burns, deputy director for communications at the airport.

New Orleans and its airport secured a federal grant of about $1 million from the FAA in 2025 to fund an automated people mover, according to Baton

Rouge Republican U.S.

Sen. Bill Cassidy’s office, though officials said in 2022 it would require at least five years and $500 million to build.

The airport is also anticipating the need for a new terminal by 2031 to keep up with demand, which would need to include 15 more gates, another parking garage, new ticket counters, security checkpoints and baggage claims areas.

Email Blake Paterson at bpaterson@theadvocate. com.

Professor awaits decision on return to research

Woman removed from project after revealing pollution

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

A Southeastern Louisiana University professor removed from a research project after revealing pollution in Lake Maurepas now awaits a decision on whether she can return to her role after a hearing that examined if the transfer violated academic freedom.

During the academic grievance hearing on Friday, Fereshteh Emami and two SLU research officials behind her removal offered dueling cases to a sevenmember panel made up of university academics in SLU’s Fayard Hall.

Emami revealed this summer that Lake Maurepas is more polluted than anyone had realized, ratcheting up a running debate over a proposed carbon capture network planned for the water body by the Air Products company

Heavy metals, microplastics and other chemicals were found in the lake and in some lake sediments, possibly from long-term industrial runoff and air pollution. The findings from the Air Products-funded research project have raised concerns from critics that new lake dredging to build the company’s planned platforms and pipelines to inject carbon dioxide under the lake could stir up those pollutants.

After her results gained news media attention in mid-June, SLU officials removed her from the project. Emami contends it was in retaliation for speaking out and hurting prospects to replicate the research project with other companies pursuing carbon capture.

University officials say the charge is false and obscures the more prosaic reality that she simply wasn’t keeping up the administrative demands of her job as a principal investigator and, as a result, was falling behind on research deadlines.

Led by geography professor Molly McGraw, the panel has 10 days to make

a recommendation to university President William Wainwright, who makes the final decision.

‘Shaken me’

Emami, an Iranian immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2024, said she fled repression and corruption in her home country. But she argued that she suffered interference from SLU administrators, including an allegation that she was pressured to sign time sheets to pay interim Dean Daniel McCarthy for work she says he didn’t do.

“I came to the United States for freedom of speech and freedom of scientific inquiry,” she said.

“To be repressed like this here too has shaken me to my core.”

With her attorney, William Most, not allowed to speak, Emami went through a timeline of events that she contends shows project lead Kyle Piller, McCarthy and others tried to remove her after an Illuminator story on June 19 about her results that caught university officials off guard. Other media interest, including from The Advocate, emerged in the weeks that followed.

Based on emails and text messages she obtained through a public records request the timeline ended with her removal in late July, a search between Aug. 1 and 3 for negative material on her, and a later letter on Aug. 4 detailing why Emami contends this was an after-the-fact justification and that her work was “on track.”

In a text sent a day after The Illuminator story, an unnamed official asked if there was “any plan for Fereshteh? and another responded, “Yes, there is a plan for Fereshteh.”

University lawyers redacted who sent or received those texts, but the request that produced the texts was limited to Piller McCarthy and SLU Dean Patrick Moyer, according to Emami’s grievance letter When Emami asked Piller later, however, who sent or received the “plan” texts, Piller said he couldn’t recall and didn’t know why university lawyers had redacted the names.

Continued from page 1B

boundaries and the organization owns property downtown.

The test comes from Lafayette, where, in 2013, a signage company requested that the zoning board allow a modification to a sign outside a Lafayette business. The zoning board denied the request, and the signage company would appeal to the Third Circuit which adopted the two-pronged test. The court decided the signage company did not have standing.

Even though the ruling favored the city, Trahan said the outcome might have been different in another jurisdiction. “If I’m sitting in Orleans, you win,” he said at the time.

CRAWFISH

Continued from page 1B

$23.99 for 3 pounds, $39.99 for 5 pounds, $79.99 for 10 pounds.

Crawfish Time

3401 Moss St. and 320 Ridge Road, Lafayette

$26.99 for 3 pounds or $43.99 for 5 pounds, each with 2 potatoes. $1 less when ordering through the Ridge Road drive-thru.

JJ’s Boiling Shack

405 Duhon Road, Lafayette $15.99 for 1 pound, $27 for 3 pounds, $36 for 4 pounds or $45 for 5 pounds, all with 2 potatoes. $85 for the 10-pound special, with potatoes and corn.

Louisiana Crawfish Time

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID J MITCHELL

Southeastern Louisiana University researcher Fereshteh Emami, left, speaks with her attorney, William Most, before a grievance hearing Friday at SLU Fereshteh was seeking a return to her role as one of the principal investigators on an Air Products-financed university project to study the aquatic health of Lake Maurepas. Emami contends she was removed over the summer after speaking to the media about her published findings showing toxic heavy metal contamination in lake waters, possibly from industrial sources. SLU officials say she was removed over her administrative management of her piece of the multiyear research project.

Based on speculation?

Under questioning by Emami, Margaret Adelmann, an SLU grants specialist, said she did try to find past information on Emami in early August as she was being removed but didn’t do that at Piller’s direction. It was on her own initiative, she said.

In separate presentations, Piller and McCarthy told the panel that they had been working on removing Emami for six months before the news attention on her research and that her removal involved the highest levels of university leadership.

McCarthy charged that Emami’s attempt to connect the dots with emails and texts failed produce any explicit statement that SLU was removing her for drawing publicity to her work and the lake’s pollu-

tion concerns.

He added that Emami’s failure to keep up had delayed analysis of aquatic tissue sampling that might show if lake water pollution was in crabs and fish people eat.

“So, it was nothing reactive at all. So, the way that they’re weaving this narrative is based essentially on speculation,” not on facts, he said.

University officials say a new team in place since Emami’s removal has processed those samples and they anticipate an announcement of preliminary results March 20.

Piller detailed alleged administrative breakdowns, including failing for months to fill research positions to analyze her collected crab and catfish samples, missing a few months of sampling trips on an SLU research boat

and failing to be on campus frequently enough over this past summer to supervise a research assistant in Emami’s lab.

Piller went through alleged problems going back to 2023 as Emami tried to hire enough experienced staff to keep up with the field research and efforts later by him and McCarthy to help her deal with the administrative load.

“Twenty months into a 36-month project, Dr Emami hired a postdoctoral researcher despite having the funding day one,” he said. That worker left three and half months later; Emami said it was for a job more aligned with the worker’s research interests.

David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

2019 Verot School Road, Lafayette $27.99 for 3 pounds, $44.99 for 5 pounds, $88.99 for 10 pounds (10-pound orders available in drive-thru only). The Bulldog

109 Gen. Mouton Ave., Lafayette $21.99 for 3 pounds, $34.99 for 5 pounds, $69.99 for 10 pounds. Prices are cash only

Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

STUDY

Continued from page 1B

highest-ranking segment overall was a portion of I-10 in New Orleans between South Norman C. Francis Parkway and Bundy Road. Four of the top nine deadliest stretches identified were located in or around the New Orleans area. The analysis also identified multiple deadly segments along I-12 east Baton Rouge.

Researchers said the rankings are based on total fatal crash counts within each 10-mile segment, rather than crash rates adjusted for traffic volume. According to the study, the goal is to highlight where fatal crashes have been most concentrated geographically in recent years. For drivers in the Lafayette area, the inclusion of a local stretch of I-10 among the state’s deadliest segments places a regional spotlight on a corridor that serves both daily commuters and long-distance travelers. The data illustrates how fatal crashes have been distributed along Louisiana’s major highways between 2019 and 2023, with I-10 playing a central role in the statewide rankings.

THE GULF COAST

Little haschanged in longtime Gulfport chickenspot

‘Fabulous’ buffet still drawsincrowds

BY POET WOLFE Staff writer

Fried chicken, biscuits and dinner rolls glistened with oil and butterunderthe heat lamps as locals slid trays down the buffet line, pausing for sides until their plates disappeared beneath Cajun rice and red beans.

The lunch crowd —mostly gray-haired, save for afew stiff cowboy hats —settled into tables and booths, the same seats they’d claimed for years. Some conversed over diet colas and plates doused with Louisiana Hot Sauce; others sat comfortably alone, content in their owncompany.Nancy Sinatra, then Patsy Cline, played from the speakers, singingstories of failed love.

Perhaps over the years, time skipped past Cajun’sFabulous FriedChicken —and yes, it is quite fabulous —inGulfport,Mississippi. That still seems true today, even as the Gulf Coast rapidly grows in both populationand development, including new offices and boutiques neighboring the restaurant Owner TomHarvey,who opened the first shop in 1979 with hisfather,seems to recognize his own resistancetochange.For thefirst twoorthree years, hiswife, Patricia, mixed the spices by hand until they finally agreed to geta machine —adecision that came only after many discussions, they said, laughing together in alemon yellow booth.

Just over amonth ago, chicken tenders were added to the menu, the first addition in years. That required some convincing In aworld of debit cardsand mobile payments,the chickenshop accepts cash only.And don’tget your hopes up: That is unlikely to change any time soon.

While little has changedinside the restaurant, the opening of Cajun’sitself waspartofa larger shift in South Mississippi,asit was among the firstrestaurantsto

Plates fromCajun’sFabulous

Tomand Patricia Harveyopened Cajun’sFabulous Fried Chicken because, ‘Weliketoeat fried chicken,’Tom Harvey said.

bring Cajunfood to theCoast Back when TomHarveyand his father opened their first storefront in Biloxi’sEdgewater Village, étouffée appeared on the menu

adish customers didn’teven know howtopronounce.Today,Cajun food stretcheswell beyond Louisiana’sbayous and the sole of its boot,into neighboring states like

Mississippi

Butthe Harveys, whohad never been in the restaurant business, didn’topen Cajun’s withthat missioninmind. Their reasoning, in fact, was rather simple.

“Weliketoeat fried chicken,”

TomHarvey said.

As aNew Orleansarchitect designed the building, thefamily perfected the fried chicken. Tom Harvey,along with hisfather,his wife andanyone willing to tastetest, spent about ayear making and mixing spices for recipes that have remained unchanged for 47 years.

“Weworeour friends andfamily out on fried chicken,” Patricia Harvey said.

The restaurant started as atakeoutplace, pairing its main dish withCajun rice before transitioningtoa buffet in 1982.Thatwas around the sametimeCajun’swas expanding acrossthe Coast, with storefronts in D’Iberville, Pass

Christian and Ocean Springs, before franchising in 1989. Thefirst out-of-state storeopenedinBaton Rouge,followedbylocations in Florida and Alabama. Those shops are no longer around. The Harveys stopped franchising after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the originalCajun’s. When they returned after the storm, little remained. Asingle gaslight stood amid the wreckage, spewing gas onto the ground.

The only Cajun’snow sits along Pass Road in Gulfport, where carrots are peeled, cabbage is cut and red beans simmer before the doors open to alineofcustomers at 10:30 a.m. If they’ve been coming long enough, they know the menu will be the same as it was yesterday —and the year before.

That’sbecause TomHarvey’s philosophy on the food is as simple as the reason he opened Cajun’sin the first place.

“If something’snot selling real good,” he said, “Something’swrong with the recipe.”

Hisfavorite dish on themenuis the fried chicken.PatriciaHarvey, meanwhile, favors nearly everything, from the brownies topped with ice cream to the coleslaw and fried fish. Unlike many restaurants along the Coast, the fish doesn’tcome from the Mississippi River or the Gulf. Instead, it’san Alaskan deep-water fish, caught in “the Gulf of Alaska, Iguess,” Tom Harvey said with ahint of dry wit. Cajun’sold commercial jingle, which once rang fromtelevisions across Mississippi,had itsown opinion: “Red beans and rice, they taste so nice and our biscuits can’t be beat. It’s thegreatestfried chicken in the whole wide world.” It’s hard to say what therest of the world has to offer when it comes to fried chicken. No longer confined to the South, the delicacy now appears in nearly every corner of the globe. Popeyes can even be found on the streets of London and Paris —telling signs that the times have indeed changed for fried chicken.

Butalong thesideofthe road in Gulfport, you’ll still find someof the South’sgreatest.

OPINION

OUR VIEWS

La.can stop over-detaining inmatesby reviewing practices

Afundamental protection against tyranny,an imperative not just by the Constitutionbut by normative ethics and basic human decency,is that nobody should be deprived of liberty (or life or property) “without due processoflaw.”

An obvious corollary to that imperative is that if the law,after alegitimatetrial, sentences someone to serve acertain amountoftime behind bars, any imprisonment beyond that sentenceisa violation of theconvict’sright to liberty In that light, it is encouraging,but notyet satisfactory, that Louisiana reportedly hasmade progressinfixing an old habit of keeping inmates in prison beyond what aresupposedtobe their release dates

Until recently,the problem wasquite bad.In 2023, theU.S. DepartmentofJustice reported that Louisiana, since at least 2012, had held as many as thousands of prisoners beyond the releasedates set by their sentencesorregulations. In 2019,this newspaper reportedthatthe state “routinely” keeps inmates “weeks,months, [even] years aftertheir release dates.”Federal judges have blasted the statefor itspractices In October 2025, federal district judge John W. deGravelles granted class actionstatus to lawsuits seeking redress for the alleged abuses of prisoner rights, but state Attorney General Liz Murrill argues that “everything in thelawsuitsiseither long outdated,out-of-context or just flatly false.”

William Most, an attorney whorepresents people claimingto have been over-detained,asserts that the problems continue. Either way,state officials report that they have taken major steps tocorrect the errors, and anew audit released Feb.4did notdetail anycurrent instances of over-detention. Nevertheless, the audit wasanythingbut a declaration that all is well. Forthe fifth consecutive year,the audit found thatLouisiana’s prison system has notfollowed proper proceduresin calculating release dates.The properdateof releasecan move up for good behavior or back for disciplinary infractions. Auditors insist that the Department of Public Safety &Corrections should have asecond person review, as afailsafe,any initialchange in release datesthatis entered into the system.

State officials say the secondary-reviewrequirement is burdensomeand unnecessary,and that anew software system calculatesrelease dates automatically Obviously,this is all open tointerpretationand judgment. What is not in disputeis that Louisiana had along-standing over-detention problem that remains enmeshed in potentially costly court fights. With this in mind, it behooves the corrections department to erronthe side of caution, and thus to comply withthe auditor’s suggestions. Legislators and Gov.Jeff Landry,meanwhile, should continue providingclose oversight. When basic human rights are at stake and have arecordofbeing violated,extra attentionis warranted.

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

Attorney whousedAIinhot water

Perhaps we should forgive Covington attorney JohnR.Walker or,at least, be willing to afford him alittle grace. He was admitted to the bar in 1983 and, as he notes in one filing, is a43year veteran of the legal profession. So it is perhaps easytobelieve his explanation for mistakes he made in alawsuit involving thecityofMandeville. Walker sayshedidn’tunderstandthe “limitations and potential pitfalls”ofthe cuttingedge tools he was using to help him writealegal brief. Plenty of folks struggle to adaptto new technologies ButWalker’sstruggles withtechnology might get him fined or otherwise punished when he has to go beforea judge next week. So what exactly did he do?

whole cloth. And Walker didn’tnotice beforefiling.

U.S. District Judge Brandon Long was not amused.

“The Courthas chosentoignore most of Plaintiffs’ arguments brought in itsresponse motionbecause many, if not all, of Plaintiffs’ case citations are to cases that do not exist,or, if theydoexist, incorrectlyquote from or inaccurately describe its facts and holding,” he wrote in aruling that went against Walker’s client.

again. It would be easy, at this point, to dismiss the tale as just aone-off example of alazylawyerand the seductiveness of AI. But Walker is far from unique

“Presumably,” Long continued, “this is the result of an astonishingly careless use of generative AI …A failure by licensed attorneys to performeven acursory check to ensure their cited caselaw actually exists is wholly unacceptable.”

Per his own admission, Walker filed amotion in the case that, is normal, included caselaw citations and quotations. Butinwriting themotion, he used two generative AI programs: Westlaw Precision AI and ChatGPT The programs,Walker said, “hallucinated” cases.Made them up out of

To Walker’s credit, he took full responsibility and threw himself on the mercy of the court.

“I was new to using these toolsand did not appreciatethe limitations of and potential pitfalls in using such tools, including therisk thatChatGPT would ‘hallucinate,’”hewrote He vowed it wouldnever happen

The last threeyearshave seen hundreds of documented cases of attorneys failing to checktheir AI-written briefs forfictional content worldwide, according to adatabase maintained by Frenchresearcher Damien Charlotin. In some cases,attorneys have been finedorotherwise punished. Walker probably should be, too. None of this should be surprising. These AI models are seductive precisely because they seem so authoritative Real or not, what they produce looks good.And if theycan fool longtime practitioners like Walkerwith their bunkum, whatchance do us laypeople have?

Perhaps that’sthe real powerofAI: It’snot actually intelligent, but it’s very good at making us believe it is. Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

It’sclear that our country’sdemocracy and itstraditions are important to mostcitizens.One of the most common themes in letters these days is thehealth of our democracy and whether political leaders are infringing on our constitutional rights.

As elections approach, of particular concern in Louisiana are changes to how we vote and who is allowed to vote.

rightsina democracy,soit’sunderstandable that many worry when rules change.

est, with seven writers opining on the issue.

Arnessa Garrett

Closed party primaries this year will require voterswho do not belong to apolitical party to choose which party’sprimaries they will participate in.

Ournewspaper has done extensive reporting on this change, and our Editorial Boardhas urged all voters to check their registration early to make sure they will be able to vote in theprimaryoftheir choosing.

Butother issues that readers have raised concerns about arevoter ID laws and efforts to purge voter rolls.

Votingisone of our most fundamental

Efforts to stifle freedom of speech and of the press have also been on your mind. Some feel that we have entered a period where citizensare being intimidated, if not outright harassed, when they seek to exercise these rights. That’s concerning because ahealthy democracy relies on the free exchange of ideas, even if they are unpopular

Ourreaders often provide an importantbarometer of public sentiment. So we listen when you say you are feeling fearful about thefuture of our democracy.Wewant to hear what you believe we need to do to repairdivisions and unitebehind common goals.

Turning to our letters inbox, Ican give you thenumbers forthe previous two weeks. From Feb. 5-12, we received 72 letters, and immigration was the topic that drew the mostinter-

The next biggest concern was voting, which was the subject of four letters. Three letters talked about issues along the Mardi Gras parade route. Then we had anumber of topics that prompted twoletters, including abortion pills, prisons and criminal justice. From Feb. 12-19, the hottest topic was Mardi Gras, not surprisingly.Wehad 13 letters about issues related to the holiday or parades.

Immigration was second among your concerns that week, with eight letters on the subject. Elections and voting prompted twoletters.

As election season swings into high gear,please continue to let us know about your experiences with voter registration or any other election-related issues. We’ll be watching, as we know you will.

Arnessa Garrett is Deputy Editor | Opinion Page Editor.Email her at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com

COMMENTARY

Landry learns cooperativespiritisscriptfor CVS

time.”

Sometimes the bestprescription for dealing with powerful corporations is cooperation, not confrontation.

Whateverthe reasons, Gov.Jeff Landry is suddenly singing the praises of CVS, the pharmacy giant, after spending many months treating it as apublic enemy.The encomiums, as we shall soon see, come for anew development —a pharmacy scholarship program for Xavier University of Louisiana and the University of Louisiana at Monroe —well worth celebrating. First, though, consider some background, which is bothironic and interesting.

the multiple-ownership practices

Murrill may well be right, meaning CVSand United may be wrong, about howthe laws govern vertical ownership structures. (She’sstill dead wrong about their First Amendment rights, but that’sadifferent subject.)

Last year,Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill waged legislative and court battles against CVS andUnited Healthcare of Louisiana, which they accused of unfairly driving up prices by improperly leveraging their ownership of multiplesectors of the drug supply chain. Murrill also filed suit to stop CVS from—Lord forbid! using its First Amendment rights to ask customers to oppose legislation Landrywas pushing against

Murrill, with Landry’s support, went so far as to demand that the Louisiana Department of Health suddenly end its contractual arrangements for Medicaid insurance with aCVS affiliate and with United, specifically becauseof the ongoing litigation.When CVS in December entered legal settlement talks with Murrill —settlements that on Friday finally were consummated with a$45 million pledge from CVS—Murrill quickly dropped her opposition to the CVSaffiliate’sMedicaid insurance. (After ample pushback from legislators, United’scontract also, wisely,was extended).

Nonetheless, Landry was so invested in Murrill’shardball tactics thatwhen your humble scribe noted (correctly) that theunplanned ban of the two insurance

providerscould leave hundreds of thousands of Louisiana patients in asort of limbo, he accused this columnist on multiple social media platforms of being “a shill for big corporations that prey upon consumers.”

As of this week,though, Landry no longerconsidersCVS an ogre that devoursunsuspecting Louisiana patients. Apparently, the transformation from predator to benefactor is transactional: Allit takes is afee of $5 million, payable to aworthy cause. Rather than wanting to slay CVS, Landry now saysheis“excited” to partner with thedrugstore king and“grateful for their commitment to helping Louisiana’snextgeneration succeed!”

The governor’s about-face was precipitated by acorporate good deed. CVSannounced a$5million scholarship initiative for students seeking adoctor of pharmacy degree at Xavier or ULM.

As Landrysaid, “When we create opportunities for our students to learn, train, andbuild their careers righthere at home, we’re strengthening our workforce and our communities at the same

The governor is right. Moreover,ifhehad anything to do with facilitating CVS’ donation, he too merits compliments.

Both colleges have admirable pharmacy programs. Xavier’s pharmacy school is known far and wide for its excellent graduates, and it produced Mary Muson Runge, who half acentury ago became the first Black and first woman to lead the American Pharmacists Association. ULM boasts, amongothers, Brian Primeaux, theManager of Clinical Pharmacy Services at the renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center

The timing of the scholarship announcement was particularly poignant,coming (by happenstance) on the very day that longtime XavierPresident Norman Francis, the educational and civil rights icon, died at age 94. It was Francis who movedXavier to concentrate on training health specialists, including pharmacists, thus carving out adistinctive educational niche long before the national trend toward science/math education.

So, one could say all’swell that

ends well. Still, there are lessons here. The first is that big corporations are neither demons nor angels; they are just organizations seeking to makemoney while providing goods and services for which people are willing to pay They aren’tanimate; they are literally impersonal.

Businesses are, however,run by human beings. Sometimes those human beings are selfish, but sometimes they have humane instincts. Often, of course, they blend several very human traits. Various metaphors (and clichés), therefore, apply: building bridges rather than barricades, using honey instead of poison, carrots rather than sticks.

One way or another,CVS is now making asmallish but still eminently valuable contribution to the future of the industry —asociologically valuable one —inwhich it is amajor player For the health of the state, perhaps morefriendliness from the governor might attract even greater beneficence.

Email Quin Hillyer at quin hillyer@theadvocate.com

Some Republicansare stillinCassidy’s corner

in his corner,though,and that’s hismost powerful peers in Washington.

It’sfair to say that Louisiana’s rip-roaring U.S. Senate race would be amuch calmer affair if not for the disruptive energy of one Donald John Trump. Indeed, it’sonly because of Trump that Bill Cassidy, the two-term incumbent nowin the fight of his life for athird, is even remotely controversial. Some voters are mad that he voted to convict Trump back in 2021for inciting the Jan. 6attack on the U.S. Capitol. Others are angry that he tried to get back into the newly reelected president’sgood graces last year by enabling the confirmation of RobertF.Kennedy Jr.tohead the Department of Health and Human Services, even though Kennedy’s wackadoodle ideas on healthcare couldn’tbefurther from what Cassidy’sown expertise as aphysician tells him. There’sone group that remains

Senate Majority Leader John Thune of SouthDakota came to Baton Rougetocampaign with Cassidy shortly before Trump cast his lot with U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow inthe state’snew Republican primary.Thune reportedly urged the president to leave well enough alone, tonoavail.

South Carolina U.S.Sen. Tim Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is another big-name supporter

Whether this will help Cassidy’scase at all is verymuch in doubt. Senators from other states obviously don’tvote in Louisiana elections, and the NRSCisunlikely to spend in astate that is allbut guaranteed to stay in the Rcolumn when other seats that could cost Republicanstheir majority are very much in play

Butitistelling. That these establishment Republicans —the same people who have largely

ceded their independent roles in confirmation, legislation and oversight of the executive branch —are chafing at Trump’s heavy hand suggests that maybe, just maybe, there’ssome desire for independence left in theU.S. Capitol after all. Trump’sinvolvement will surelyplay well withmany of theLouisiana voters who support him. Butifyou’reasitting Republican senator,his call for Letlow to challenge Cassidy couldn’t possibly have been welcome.

If apetulant president can recruit an opponent for asenator whohas done everything to supporthis agendasince his return to theWhiteHouse —even when it forced him to humiliate himself, sellout hisprofessional standards and verylikely put American lives at risk —then what could it mean for the rest of them if they darestray?

Also, what effect might this have on their agenda? As Thune toldthe president, according to The New York Times’ account,

Trump’sendorsement of an opponent could well free up Cassidy to actually followhis ownconscience on future votes. It could also cost Trump Cassidy’shelp on the health carelegislationthat Trump hopestopassbefore the midterms, on which the Louisiana senator is expected to be a major playerasbothanexpert and chair of the committee that oversees health, education, labor and pensions. Should Cassidy somehow pull offawin despite Trump’sopposition, it could free him entirely over the next couple of years.

Andhere’sthe good news for those whoare hoping Congress will reassert its constitutional roleasacheck on presidential power:The Letlowendorsement could backfire even further by letting othersenators know there’snoguaranteed return on absolute loyalty.

It’sworth noting thatTrump isn’tjustgoing after one of his own here in Louisiana. He’salso refusing to back another veteran

establishment Republican who’s been areliable vote for his agenda.Texas U.S. Sen. John Cornyn faces aprimary challenge from the state’s much more controversialattorneygeneral Ken Paxton, even though, as Cornyn hasworriedaloud in recentdays, aPaxtonprimary victory would give Democratsanopening to take the seat Trump hasalso talkedatvariouspoints aboutnot supporting otherRepublicans who normally back him but on rare occasions don’t, although it’sunclear whether he’ll followthrough or use the threat as leverage. This much is clear,though: He’s alreadygiven up his leverageoverCassidy,now that he’s basically declared him persona nongrata.AsThune warned, Cassidy’sreally gotnothing left to lose Now if only he’d finally start acting like it.

Email Stephanie Graceat sgrace@theadvocate.com.

Norman Francisbuilt leadersacrossall disciplines

It’snot the norm for university presidents to continue in their roles beyond five to sevenyears these days. Apresident with a ten-year tenure is someonewho really beat the odds.A20-year tenure is amiracle. Four-plus decades is darn near worthy of sainthood. Only afew in modernday American higher education have had presidential tenures of that length or longer.Norman C. Francis wasone of afew

national figure that he is today

In his 47 years as president of Xavier University of Louisiana, Francis achieved citywide, statewide, nationwide and global fame. He’sthe man who built the nation’sonly historically Black Catholic university into an academic powerhouse. He’sthe man who made aCatholichigher education institution competitive with better-funded Catholic higher educationinstitutions. He’sthe manwho took St. Katharine Drexel’s dream to heart and built out her vision, making it his own. It included civil rights, social justice and educational excellence as apart of his good work Francis died at the age of 94 on Wednesday He leaves behind aloving family of daughters, sons,other relatives and close friends wholoved himbefore he became theinter-

He also leaves behind alegacy of leaders he coached,encouraged, groomedand nurtured to continue hisGod-given mission work. Loren J. Blanchardwas a Xavier student when Francis was president in the early 1980s. Likeanumber of Xavierites, Blanchard remembers when Francis asked him his last name and proceeded to tell himhis family history Blanchard knew now-famous musician and trumpeter Terence Blanchard was his cousin, but he didn’tknow howhewas related until Francis told him. That interaction became deeper and important. Loren Blanchard earned his graduatedegrees andstarted his education career.Hereturned to Xavier as chair of the education departmentfor 10 years. After Hurricane Katrina significantly damaged the Gert Town campus, Francis asked Loren Blanchard to return to be apart of rebuilding the campus— and thecity.He returned as provost. He learned alot about higher education,leadership and life underFrancis.You might call it the Norman C. Francis Leadership Academy. “I had afront-row seat daily as provost,” he said. “I’d listen to the things he’d tell me, thelittle things I’demulate the thingshewoulddo.”

building abetter society through higher education.

AntoineGaribaldi’sfive siblings attended Xavier.Hewent to Howard University in Washington,D.C. But Francis got him to return home to NewOrleans as he grew hiseducation career.He worked for Francis as chairman of the education department, then as dean of arts and sciences and as vice president foracademic affairs, the first lay person to hold that role. Though he had several opportunities to go elsewhere, he stayed at Xavier to be apart of somethingspecial. “Xavier was agreat opportunity,” he said, and Francis was “supportive of education (as amajor) when others were not.”

dents and manyother university leaders. “They are department chairs, deans and faculty-senate leaders, too,” added Blanchard. Former NewOrleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu isn’tsurprised. “He wasbright enough to be mayor,achief justice or the president of the United States,” Landrieu said. “But he decided to go to that Catholic school, invest alot and accomplish much so that others could do even more.”

Francis didn’tlimit his impact to Xavier students, faculty and staff. Former NBCsportscaster Bryant Gumbel didn’tattend Xavier University,but his father did. Francis and Gumbel’sfather wereschoolmates.

To this day,hehas abook of Francis’notes and quotes. He’sone of many Somebecame attorneys, doctors, engineers, judges or public servantslike U.S. Rep. Troy Carter Xavier was one of the leadership stops made by Monique Guillory.She was aspecial assistant Now,she’spresident of Dillard University.Tuajuanda C. Jordan was aXavier associate dean and faculty member.She studied Francis andleadership and recently retired as president of the prestigious St.Mary’sCollege in Maryland after serving from 2014-2025. More than afew followed Francis’ footsteps and focused on

Garibaldi wentontobecome the sixth, and first African American, president of Gannon University,a Catholic diocesan university,before becoming the longest-serving president of the University of Detroit Mercy Just last month, Blanchard, president of the14,000-student University of HoustonDowntown, waschosen by the California State University (CSU) BoardofTrustees as president of California State University, LongBeach (CSULB), aschool with about 44,000 undergraduate and graduate students. He knows Francis-mentored university presidents. There are Francis Academy provosts, vice presi-

The elder Gumbel fought in the warand attended the New Orleans school as aveteran, an older student with awifeand a family.Francis had great respect forhis dad. When Gumbel’sfather passed away,Francis called him to offer his condolences, his encouragement and his support. That call developed into aspecial, lifelong relationship.

Francis has taken his muchdeserved seat in Heaven. He can rest in peace, and in power

And he can look downonthe Norman C. Francis Leadership Academygrads continuing his good trouble and his good work.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com

Shown is today’sweather.Temperatures aretoday’shighs and tonight’slows.

SPORTS

Graves wouldbeagreat Saints o ner

Cane’s co-founder checks all theboxes needed to succeed Benson when thetimecomes

Todd Gravesfinallyspoke into existence ahypothetical many New Orleans Saints fans have pondered in recent years. Yes, in fact, he would love to oneday own theSaints.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, theRaising Cane’sco-founder acknowledged that he’d like to own an NFL team andsaid the Saints would obviously “make sense”because of his local ties andbudding friendship with Gayle Benson.

Jeff Duncan

Predictably,Graves’ comments caused astir.Heprefers to keep alow profile, so it was unusual to hear him publicly address the issue of potential NFL ownership. He likes and respects Benson and the last thing he would want is to be seen as some kind of stalking horse to her ownership. After all, she and her trustees will determinewho becomes the next owner And that scenario is likely tobeaways off. At 79, Benson isn’tgoing anywhere anytime soon. She remains in good health and

keeps herself in great shape with daily workouts.

“Mrs. Benson has addressed this issue publicly anumber of times where she has madeitvery clear that she has no intention of selling aminority stake in theteam, nor does she plan to sell the team prior to her death,”Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said Friday.“Upon her death, bothteams will be sold and all of theproceeds will be distributed through her charitable trust toavariety of initiatives and organizations with the sole focus being to support theoverall bettermentofour cityand state.”

See DUNCAN, page 4C

‘BIG MOMENTUM’

BYKEVIN FOOTE Staffwriter

Not that’show UL coach Matt Deggsenvisioned it. After needing four runsinthe bottom of theninth Friday to nip Marylandbya run, his Ragin’Cajuns dismantled the Terrapins 9-1 to claim the series winSaturday at Russo Park.

“Lastnightwas oneofthose bigmomentum games,” Deggs said. “Anytime somethinglikethathappens, you’ve got an opportunity to capitalize on it. And I thought we did that.”

The Cajuns have now won four straight games and improved to 4-2 on the season, whileMaryland dropped to 3-3. Game 3ofthe series is at 1p.m.Sunday

“It’s justamatter of using February to figure out who

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

JACKSONVILLE,Fla. What impressed Notre Dame coach Shawn Stiffler the most about LSU’soffensive approach Saturday?

Not what the Tigers did, which was substantial, but what theydidn’tdo.

“They understand the value of not swinging,” Stiffler said after LSU’s9-4 victory.“They don’tchase. They have a really,really great knackofwhichpitch to handle. “It’sfunny,but by doing nothing,they create so much more pressure than just

youare alittle bit, andmaybe we’re doing that alittle faster than we might have thought,” Deggs said. “They’re having alot of fun and playing thegame the right way.” For starters, there was great starting pitching in senior left-hander Andrew Herrmann.

Herrmann didn’tallow ahit until theleadoff batter in thefourth. The only run he gave up was asolo homer by Rylen Stockton in thetop of the seventh.

He finished off his outing by only allowing thatone run on twohits, threewalks, and struck out seven in 6.1 innings and 116 pitches.

“I can tell you he’snot pleased with the walks,” Herrmann said of new pitching coach TaylorSandefur.“I think they had7 of 9leadoffguys get on today and just

standing there swinging.” Sometimes, apparently, lessreallyis more. TheTigershavehad much more offense than their first two opponents in the Live Like Lou JaxCollege Baseball Classic at VyStar Ballpark. Afteropeningthe classic by pounding Indiana14-7 on Friday,LSU has acombined23runs here with atotal of 30 hits, alongwith 19 walks. The Tigers haven’t relied on thelong

ball, either.Just two of their hits here are homeruns: Zack Yorke’sthree-run blast against Indiana thattouched off aninerun rally in theeighth inning andCade Arrambide’stwo-run homer in the fourth against Notre Dame.

“Our offensive approach has been great,” LSUcoach JayJohnson said.“We’veleft stuff on the table. That’show good it’sbeen. That’sa credit to our hitters.

“Wehave avery smartteam. Alot of college at-bats. Alot of experience. We’re really patient.Wetrain to be good at that.

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

In basketball, making shots can cover up alot of other messes.

ä UL at Troy 6P.M.TUESDAy, ESPN+

The UL Ragin’ Cajuns suffered10more turnovers than in Thursday’shome loss to Arkansas State. It didn’tmatter because the Cajuns madeseven more 3-pointers than Texas State in a67-54 win over the Bobcats on Saturday in the Cajundome.

“I can’ttell you how proud andhappy I am to coach this team andhavethe opportunitytocoach them,” UL coach Quannas White said. “These kids are beyond resilient. They just keep coming. They never quit.” The win snapped UL’s three-gamelosing streak and allowed the Cajuns to win their final homegame of the season. UL is now 10-19 overalland 7-9inleague play,while Texas State had itsseven-game winning streak snapped, to fall to 18-12 and 10-7.

“Westarted out the year with the goal of trying to get to the NCAA tournament,” White added. “If you’re trying to do that, allofthese gamesare important. Youdon’t want to continue to lose, so this one wasbig forus.”

The Cajuns went back to the formula of leading wire-to-wire, jumping outtoa9-0 lead and never trailing the entire game. UL hadsix 3-pointers in the first half to build a34-18 halftime lead.Texas State cut the lead to single digits at 50-41 on aJalen Bolden basket with 6:53 lefttoplay,but the Bobcats didn’tget any closer than an eightpoint deficit downthe stretch. Fittingly,senior Dariyus Woodson played

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No.4 ArizonatopplesNo. 2Houston

HOUSTON Anthony Dell’Orso tied aseason high with 22 points and No. 4Arizona toppled secondranked Houston 73-66 on Saturday to move into sole possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference.

Arizona (25-2, 12-2),which opened the season 23-0, won its second straight game following consecutivelossestothen-No. 9Kansas and then- 16th-ranked Texas Tech, that knocked the team out of the No. 1spot in theAPTop 25 poll.

The Wildcats were down by two before scoring the next 12 points to make it 60-50 with about five minutesremaining. The Cougars missed eight consecutive shots andhad three turnoversinthat stretch to allow Arizona to build the lead.

Houston (23-4, 11-3)hadn’t scoredinabout eight minutes when Emanuel Sharp made two freethrows with 4 1/2 minutes to go. Kalifa Sakho made twomore free throws to cut the lead to 6054 with lessthan four minutes remaining.

It had been more than 10 minutes since the Cougars made a field goal when a3-pointer by Kingston Flemings got them within 61-57, but Arizona got four straight points by Jaden Bradley to pad the lead with just over a minute left.

Flemingshad 17 points and Sharp added 14 for the Cougars, who lost consecutive games for the first time this season after falling 70-67 at No. 6IowaState on Monday night to end asix-game winning streak.

TheCougars struggled to take care of the ball, committing12 turnovers that led to 16 points for the Wildcats.

Arizona led by as many as 10 in the first half and was up by four early in the second half before the Cougars used an 8-2run to make it 44-42, giving them their first lead of thegamewithabout 14 minutes left.

NO.20ARKANSAS 94, MISSOURI 86: In Fayetteville, Arkansas,Billy Richmond III scored21points and Darius Acuff Jr.added 20 topace No.20Arkansas to awin over Missouri on Saturday. Arkansas (20-7, 10-4 Southeastern Conference) improved to 7-0 in games following alossthis season while also staying in contention for the SEC regular-season title. The Hogs are in secondplace, twogames behind conferenceleading Florida with four games still to be played.

NO.21LOUISVILLE 87, GEORGIA 70:

Continued from page1C

akey role on Senior Day at the Cajundome. His second 3-pointer at 5:29 of the first half gave UL a26-11 lead “I say to him all the time that every time he comes up big forus, we win,” Jaxon Olvera said.“He’s the X-factor.Soitwas big time game by him.” Indeed, Woodson provided that complementary scoringthe Cajuns lacked during the three-game losing streak. He finished the game4-of-4 from3-pointlandfor 12 points to go along with three boards and a steal.

“My teammates are always involvedwith me, always trying

7:10 a.m. Men’sGoldFinal NBC IN BRIEF FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARIALySAKER

Arizona guardAnthonyDell’orso controls the ball as Houston guard MercyMiller defends during the first half of agameonSaturday in Houston

In Louisville, Kentucky,Mikel BrownJr. scored 19 points, including seven during a17-2 run midway throughthe second half thathelpedpropel No. 21 Louisville past Georgia Tech 87-70 on Saturday

TheCardinals (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) nevertrailed but allowed the Yellow Jackets to get within 44-35 just after halftime.

NO.13TEXAS TECH100, K-STATE72: In Lubbock, Texas, Donovan Atwell had 26 points with six 3-pointers, Christian Andersonscored 21 and No. 13 Texas Tech beat Kansas State on Saturday in thefirst gamefor theRed Raiderssince standout post JT Toppin’sseasonendingknee injury

TexasTech (20-7,10-4 Big 12) maintainedadouble-digit lead after makingnineconsecutive shots, includingthree 3s ina row by Atwell, during a26-10run in just underseven minutes for a40-20 lead with 6:20 left in thefirst half NO.12FLORIDA95, OLE MISS 75: In Oxford, Mississippi,Alex Condonscored 24 points andNo. 12 Floridatightened its grip atop the Southeastern Conference standings with awin over Ole Misson Saturday.

Florida (21-6, 12-2 SEC) entered as theconference leader with atwo-game cushion in theloss column over Alabama,Arkansas

to swingthe ball,”Woodsonsaid.

“So when they get me involved, and I’m being aggressive, taking the opportunity,Ithinkithelps us create more opportunities.”

Olvera came offthe bench becauseofthe senioractivities and poured in 20 points and four rebounds in 26 minutes

“I wasn’t reallythinkingabout comingoff thebench or starting,”

Olvera said.“Ijust wanted to win and just letthem guys getthatmoment for senior night.”

Dorian Finister continued his steady season with 15 points, five rebounds and fiveassists. Theother factor in the win was an improved defensive effort for theCajuns, limitingthe Bobcats to 37.3% shootingand forcing 15 turnovers.

“The thing that Ican’tstop talking about is the defense, because

and Tennesseewith fourgames remaining The winwas theseventh consecutive for the Gators and extended its SECroad game winning streak to six. Floridaimproved to 16-2sincemid-December andremained unbeaten in February.

TENNESSEE 69, NO.19VANDERBILT65: In Nashville, Tennessee, Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 17 points as Tennessee outlasted No. 19 Vanderbilt in aback-and-forth affair on Saturday Aturnaround jumper by Nate Ament, whowas double-teamed by Commodores Jalen Washington and Chandler Bing, gave the Volunteers(20-7, 10-4Southeastern Conference) a66-65 lead with lessthana minute to play.Ament finished with13points.

After that shot, Vanderbilt (216, 8-6) sent Tennessee to theline twice, with the Volunteersmaking 2of4attempts NO.14VIRGINIA 86, MIAMI 83: In Charlottesville, Virginia, Chance Mallory drewafoulona3-point attemptwith3.6 seconds to play, and then sank all three free throws tolift No. 14 Virginia to an win over Miami on Saturday Jacari Whitecameoff the bench to score17points, hitting five 3-pointers for theCavaliers (243, 12-2 Atlantic Coast), whowon their eighth straight. SamLewis had 15 points, Thijs

defense wins games, especially in collegebasketball,” White said. “Weput two halves together.These kids playfrom start to finish, and that’swhat I’m more proud of, more than anything.”

Abig part of thedefensive upgrade was preventing the Bobcats from getting to thebasket as easily as Old Dominion and Arkansas Statedid in thelast two games.

“Wetalked about it alot in film,” Woodsonsaid. “Wehad long, three, four-hour film sessions where we’re just paying attention to detail.Westopped the ball betterbecause we had people low to theball.

“Texas State is atransition team, so we stopped that. We talked earlier on switches, talked early on ball screens… we were allplaying defense together.” White was alsoappreciativeof

Canada wins Olympic goldinmen’scurling

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO,Italy The Canadianmen brushedaside earlier accusationsofcheating and beat Britain for Olympic gold in curling on Saturdayatthe MilanCortina Games Brad Jacobs’ team defeated BruceMouat’s all-Scottish squad 9-6inside Cortina’s historic ice arenatogive curling powerhouse Canadait’sonlygoldofthe Olympics in the sport.

It’sCanada’sfirst gold in men’s curling sincethe 2014 Sochi Games, when they also beat Britain in the final with Jacobs as the skip. This is his first Olympics sincethen—helostinthe Canadian Olympictrials for2018 and 2022.

Mouat was off on the freeze and Canada chippedBritain out of the house forthree in the ninth end.

uns star Booker out for a week with hipstrain

De Ridder scored 14, and Mallory hadall 12 of his points in the second half.

NO.17ST. JOHN’S 81, CREIGHTON 52: In New York, Bryce Hopkins had 15 pointsand 10 rebounds as No. 17 St.John’sbreezed past Creighton on Saturday for its 13th straight victory —marking the school’s longest winning streak in 41 years.

Dylan Darling scored 17 points off the bench and Zuby Ejiofor added 15 for the first-place Red Storm (22-5, 15-1 Big East), who ledwire-to-wire andheld Creighton to 32% shooting in their 18th win in 20 games.

NO.16UNC 77, SYRACUSE 64:InSyracuse,New York, Henri Veesaar returned to the starting lineup and scored 19 points in leading No.16 NorthCarolina to awin over Syracuse on Saturday

The 7-foot center,who averages 16.4 points and 9.0 rebounds for the TarHeels, missedthe Tar Heels’ past twogames, mostrecently Tuesday’s 24-point loss at N.C. State.

SethTrimble and Luka Bogavac each had 13 points and Zayden High added nine for North Carolina (21-6, 9-5 ACC).

No. 9NEBRASKA 87, PENNST. 64: In Lincoln, Nebraska, Pryce Sandfort scored 20 of his career-high 33 points in the first half andfinished witheight 3-pointers, leadingninth-ranked Nebraska in an rout of Penn State on Saturday The Cornhuskers (23-4, 12-4 BigTen) bounced back from a 57-52 loss at Iowa on Tuesday and moved into atie forthird place in theconference with their dominant performance against the league’slast-place team.

Sandfort, who setthe school record for 3-pointers in aseason against Iowa, made his first five deep shots and started 6for 6 overallagainstthe Nittany Lions (11-17, 2-15). He finished 8of14 from beyond the arc.

CINCINNATI 84, NO.8 KANSAS 68: In Lawrence,Kansas, Moustapha Thiam had acareer-high 28 points andled Cincinnati to an upset of No.8 KansasonSaturday.

This was the secondwin of the season for Cincinnati (15-12, 7-7 Big12) against arankedteam, having taken down then-No.2 Iowa State 79-70 on Jan. 17. The 7-footer Thiam made11 of 17 shots from the field and hadeight rebounds. BabaMiller added18points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Jalen Celeste had 14 points and eight rebounds, shooting 4of8 on 3-pointers. Day Day Thomas scored 10.

the 14 minutesMichael Collins gave, including four points, an assist and ablocked shot.

“Mike Collins was huge offthe bench for us,” he said. “He hadn’t played very many minutes, but he stepped up todayand played 14 minutes. He hada block,but was just controlling the gamelike pointguards do.Oh, he made a huge impact forus.”

Theother seniorhonored was MilanMejia,who drained a 3-pointerwith 13:04 left in the first,and spentmostofhis 20 minutes diving on the court for loose balls.

“Wereally just needed to prove, prove to everybody in the conference that we’re not done yet,” Olvera said.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

PHOENIX Phoenix Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker will miss at least oneweekbecause of aright hip strain that happened against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday

The team made the announcement on Saturdaybefore agame against the Orlando Magic. Booker is averaging 24.7 points, 6.1 assistsand 3.9 rebounds over 44 games this season. The 29-yearold recently missedseven straight games with asprained right ankle. TheSunsalsosaidthatrecently signed guard Haywood Highsmith is continuing to recover from right knee surgery last offseason. The team said Highsmith is making “good progress.”

Cardinalssigninfielder Urías to a1-year deal

JUPITER, Fla. The St. Louis Cardinals have signed infielder Ramón Urías to aone-year contract with amutual option for2027, the team announced on Saturday

The 31-year-old Urías played most of his career with the Baltimore Oriolesbeforegetting traded to the Houston Astros in the middle of last season. Between the two teams, he hit .241 with 11 homersand 44 RBIsin 2025.

Urías had his best season in 2022 when he hit 16 homers and won aGold Glove at third base, which is hisprimaryposition. He also has experience at second base, shortstopand first base.

To make room forUrías on the roster, right-handedpitcherZak Kent was designated for assignment.

Thitikultakes 3rd-round lead in Thailand tourney

World No.1Jeeno Thitikul birdiedher final three holesSaturday for a6-under 66 andatwo-stroke lead going into the final round of her homeLPGAThailand tournament.

Thitikul made a15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th to break away from afour-way tie for the lead, then sawher eaglechip justslide past the hole on 18 beforetapping in for abirdie.

Thitikul had a54-hole total of 20-under 196 at the Siam Country Club Old Course.

In second place wasHyo Joo Kim after a65. Allisen Corpuz (67), second-round leader Somi Lee (72) and Chizzy Iwai(68) were tied for third, three strokes behind Thitikul.

No. 18 Saint Louis,VCU

fined by Atlantic10

The Atlantic 10 has issued reprimands and fined both No.18Saint Louis and VCU for violating the conference’ssportsmanship policy following ascuffle between the twoteams near theend of abasketball game. The conference said in astatement that it would not issue suspensions and praised game officials forhandlingthe situationin “exemplary fashion.”

The A-10 did not disclose the amount of the fines, but said they would be according to conference policy

On Friday,the coaches from Saint Louis andVCU were preparing to shake hands when the benches cleared with 1.1 seconds left. With its 88-75 victory,Saint Louis (25-2, 13-1 Atlantic 10) prevented VCU (21-7, 12-3) fromtaking over first place.

UL takes loftyexpectationsto SunBelt Indoor Championship

shine in that event.

Cajuns getpast Howardbut suffer toughlosstoLSU

UL softball pitchers shineinearly win, extra-inning loss

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Since Tommy Badon became the head track coach at UL two years ago, his ultimate goal was to get the Ragin’ Cajuns programback to the glory days of the 1990s.

Badon was an assistantcoach in that era, when UL won 18 conference championships The Cajuns tookthe first step in that direction with amen’sindoor crown last year.ULheads back to Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday and Tuesday hoping to defend that title on the men’sside and improve upon last year’sfifth-place finish among the women.

“I talk alot about what theydid and how they did it,” Badon said. “I try to get this group of kids to try to reach those kinds of goals. …To try to be that same kind of team. When we went into meets expecting to be in the top two andwedid.

“It’snot being overconfident.We just went into the meet thinking that we had achance to win, and Iwanted them to feel the same way.” The Cajuns head to the Birmingham Crossplex with hopes of contending.

“I think going in, we’re going to be considered one of the top three teams, but so do acouple of other teams in the conference,” Badon said. “Wehave to go in with the attitudethat we’ve got to be hitting on all cylinders.”

On paper,the team to beat on the

women’sside is Texas State, which wonlast year with 68 points.On themen’sside, Arkansas State was second to UL’s 142 ayear ago with 137 points.

One huge addition in theoffseason for the Cajuns is recordbreaking transferdistance runner Henry Lyon from East Carolina.

He recently broke UL’s 43-yearold milerecord from Ian Wilkinson of 4minutes, 5.49 seconds with a 4:05.30 performance.

“He’shaving aphenomenal indoorseason,” Badon said of Lyon.

Lyon has alot of help in the 200 alone. Mark Daley won the Sun Belt indoor title last year,but Caemon Scott and Mekhi Boutte also

In the most lasttuneup meet, MasonHaley was third in the 3,000 meters (8:26.99), Kyron Sumler was second in the high jump (6feet-63/4), Praiyer Jones was secondinthe shotput (57-23/4)and Federico Bevotook third in the long jump (23-31/2).

Camren Hardy has also posted thebesttimethisseasoninthe 60 meters(6.74).

TheCajunsare strong in distance running on the women’sside as well,with Isabelle Russelland Ella Segura taking turns at school records in themile.

Northside High product Alaysha Veal is coming off awin in the high jump (5-10.75) and is the first woman to eclipse 6feet.

Otherlegitimatethreats on the women’sside are Reem Tammam in the long jump, Daijah Miller in the triple jump, Tijuanique Morton in the 200and Jasmine Sakaguchi in thepole vault.

“Track is just different,”Badon said. “It’s almost like thebases are loaded and you’vegot one shot to win the game. It literally is thatfor every kid in track. It’sall on you.

“There ain’tnohelp. Thereain’t nobodyelsetaking the last shot You’re taking every lastshot. You’ve got to know that it’s your turn to step up to the plate and do what you’ve gottodofor yourself and for the team.”

Email KevinFooteatkfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Canada,U.S.meetintitanic showdown

BY STEPHENWHYNO Associated Press

MILAN Dylan Larkin has been thinking about the U.S. facing Canada for gold at the Olympics fora year.All thedreamshehad as akid crystalized after he andhis teammates lost to their rival in the final of the 4Nations Face-Off.

“I’ve thought about it so much,” Larkin said.“It’s what everyone wanted, this matchup in agoldmedal game.Yeah, I’ve thought about it alot.”

Those thoughts becomereality Sunday when the North American countries that havebecomethe preeminent global hockey powerhouses face offinatitanic final with many of the NHL’s biggest stars. The U.S. against Canada on thebiggeststage in sports should be hard-hitting, quick-skating, must-seeentertainment.

“It’sgonnabeabig-boy game,” Canada’sTom Wilson said. “It’s going to be as fast and physical and skilled as you can ever imagine. Rightnow it’s thetwo bigcountries for hockey in the world. Every single guy is going to be doingeverything they can at every single moment.”

Favoritesreach the final

Canada and the U.S. entered the tournament as thefavoritesand played like it. Each team went undefeated, winning all five games, with the U.S. outscoring opponents 24-8 and outshooting them201-124 and Canada 27-8 and 202-106.

“It’stwo of probably the best teams ever,maybe,” U.S. winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “We’ve got alot of respect for the players over there and what they’ve donein the past, and we want to be the team that comes out on top.”

There were some scares and nervous moments along the way: Canada needed late tyinggoals to get past Czechia in overtime in the quarterfinals and Finland in the semifinals, while the U.S.alsogave up the lead late againstSweden before winning in OT

ä USA vs. Canada. 7:10A.M. SUNDAy,NBC

Unlikethe preliminaryround, the U.S. and Canada have each been tested facing elimination.

“Ithasn’tbeenthe smoothest quartersand semis for us,” said Canada’sConnor McDavid, the leading scorer at theOlympics with an NHLplayer-record 13 points.“But Ithink that adversity is good. Going through that has brought us closer

“You can definitely feel that in thegroup. It’sbeen fun to play in those games.”

Gold standard

In theprevious two Olympicsthe NHL participated in, Canada took home gold. In 2014, the team never trailed. In2010, Sidney Crosby scored in overtime to defeat the U.S.and win on home ice.

Canada has won three of the five Games with NHL playerstogive it arecord ninegold medals.Hockey was born inCanada, and the expectation is always to be thebest in the world at it.

“You always feel that responsibility asaCanadian,” Wilsonsaid.

“Wewant to be thebest.”

Crosby,arguablythe best Canadian Olympian in history, may notplaybecause of an injurythat knocked him outofthe quarterfinals.Coach Jon Cooper did not show his hand over whether Crosby will be available.

Notsince 1980

The last American men’s hockey gold medal at theOlympics was 46 years ago in Lake Placid. The 1980 team of college players pulledoff the “Miracle on Ice,” beating the heavily favoredSovietUnion on theway to authoring one of the most talked-about underdogstories in sportshistory

None of the players on this U.S. team were alive to seeit; coach Mike Sullivanwas abouttoturn 12. The reverence for that team remainsasthe current generation of playersseek to join the likes of Mike Eruzione andJim Craig in USA Hockey lore.

“It’s unbelievable,”said forward Brock Nelson, whose uncle Dave Christianwas on the1980 team. “It’sexciting. The adrenaline, the chills, everything. This is kind of what you dream about as akid and why you want to play thegame.”

Aftersurrenderingthree runs in the first inning of Saturday’s 6-3 win over Howard, UL’s pitching staff was close to flawless the rest of theday But oneout shy of throwing 10 innings,ULstarter Sage Hoover yieldedatwo-out RBI triple to LSU’sKylee Edwardsina heartbreaking 2-1loss to the Tigers at thePurple and GoldChallenge at Tiger Park. With two outs and none on in the bottom of the 10th, CharLorenz drew awalk in front of Edwards’ game-winning triple.

Edwardsfinishedthe game 3-for-4 with both RBIs. Her triple spoiled aheroic performance fromHoover,who allowed one earned run on 10 hits, five walks and six strikeouts. She threw 172pitches in the loss. It appeared UL was in great position to score in the ninth when Haley Hart led off with atriple. Butwithone outand runnerson the corners,ULpinch-runner Erin Ardoin was calledout for leaving first base early,and the Cajuns didn’tscore. The loss dropped UL to 8-5 before headingtoplay Missouri and Houston in an 11 a.m.doubleheader Sunday in Lake Charles. There wasn’t alot of offense to be hadinthe nightcap against the homestanding Tigers. LSU scored in the second inning when Tori Edwards walked andstole second before scoring on atwooutRBI single from Kylee Edwards. The Cajuns answered right back in the third. Mia Liscano reached on atwo-base error, took third on aDayzja Williams sacrifice and scored on Kennedy Marceaux’sRBI single.

Cece Cellura threw the first

eight innings forLSU,allowing five hits, no walks and struck out three. Jayden Heavener threw twoperfect innings forthe win. In the first game, UL’s bats took along timetowarm up, but the Cajuns did enough in the final three innings to claim the threerun win.

Trailing 3-0, Gabbie Stutes broke the ice with aleadoff triple in thefifthand scored on Ardoin’s RBI groundout. It was the sixth inning that really did it forthe Cajuns witha four-run frame. Walks to Mia Liscano, Haley Hart and Emily Smith set the table.

Cecilia Vasquez quickly tied it with atwo-run single to center before pinch-hitter Miki Watts singled to center to give UL the lead forgood at 4-3.

Vasquezthenadded arun by sneaking home as Watts was caught stealing.

UL addedaninsurance run in theseventh when Brooke Otto singled and scored on Emily Smith’stwo-out RBI single. UL’s pitching was the opposite in this win —starting off abit iffy and then getting better as the gamedragged on.

Starter Lexie Delbrey gave up three hits to open the game with Taylor Ames-Alexander’ssingle scoring the first run before a Maryn Jordan groundout and a Makyia Taylor sacrifice fly gave Howard an early 3-0 lead. Delbrey (2-1) surrendered only three hits over the next four-plus innings.Infive innings, thesenior right-hander allowed three runs on six hits, no walks and struck out five in 80 pitches.

Butthen BethaneyNoble, who threw seven shutout innings over Howard in Friday’s4-0 win, relieved Delbrey two singles into the sixth inning and made quick work of the Bison. Noble gotsix consecutive groundouts in only 13 pitches to notch her first save of the season.

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

U.S. wins record 11th Winter gold medal

BY EDDIE PELLS Associated Press

LIVIGNO,Italy

The U.S. Olympic team won its record-breaking 11th gold medal of the Winter Games on Saturday,with at least onemore goodpossibility when itsmen’shockey team wraps up theaction on closing day with the title game against Canada.

The trio of Kaila Kuhn, Connor Curran and Chris Lillis gave the U.S. the record by capturing the American team’s second straight title in mixed aerials.

The11th gold breaks the country’smark set at the last Olympics on U.S.soil—inSaltLake City in 2002, which has long stood out as aturningpoint fora winter sports program that had struggled over previousdecades.

This could endupbeing another turning point, notsomuchfor the sheer number of medals but the variety of places fromwhichthey came: Twelve of the 17 sports disciplines representedinthe Winter Games produced U.S. medals.

“Our focusand ourstrategy hasalwaysbeen aboutbreadth,” said Sarah Hirshland, the CEO of theU.S.Olympic andParalympic Committee. “Wewant to win in everything. We want to make everysport better Ourgoal has been to improve Winter sport across the board.”

There are 38 moremedal events on the program this year than therewerein2002. Alot of the newevents have come at the snowpark—halfpipe,slopestyle and big air —whichused to be America’sdomainbut hasnow been taken over by Japan, which, forinstance, won nine medals in snowboarding, compared to two for theU.S. Here is alook at the rest of the 11 U.S. gold medal winners: Alex Ferreira,freeskiing Halfpipe skier rounds out his Olympiccollection —gold, silver, bronze. Back home, he’llkeep going with streamer “Hotdog Hans” where he dressed up like an 80-something ski sensation.

Breezy Johnson, Alpine skiing

Her long journey includeda knee injury four years ago on the same mountain whereshe wonthe gold.

ElizabethLemley, moguls

Nicknamed “Lizard,” she joins along line of great U.S. moguls skiers, including 2010 champion Hannah Kearneyand herteammate, Jaelin Kauf, who nowhas three silver medals.

AlysaLiu, figure skating

The 20-year-old stepped away after theBeijing Games in 2022, rediscovered her love for figure skatingand happilyclaimed the title.

ElenaMyers Taylor,bobsled

At hersixth Olympics, she finally brokethrough, becoming the oldest WinterOlympianto wingold at age 41.

MikaelaShiffrin, Alpine skiing

The most winning skier of all time cashes in at the Olympics with slalom gold after atearstained shutout four years ago.

Jordan Stolz, speedskating (2) Joined Eric Heiden at Lake Placid in 1980 as only the second man to capture the 500 and 1,000.

U.S. figure skatingteam

Liu, AmberGlenn andIlia Malinin are among the members of ateam thatbrings home second straight gold; thelast one took twoyears to capture after aRussian doping saga.

U.S. women’shockeyteam

Atense thriller, highlightedby HilaryKnight’sequalizer with 2:04 left, then Megan Keller’s winner in overtime.

Charting LSU’spathtoaNo. 1NCAATourney seed

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Believe it or not, the LSU women’s basketball team maystill have ashot at landing aNo. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It looks like there’sstill apath, albeit anarrow one, for theTigers to move back into consideration for one of those spots in the bracket. They’ll just need to break off asix-game winning streak, starting at 3p.m. Sunday vs. Missouri (SEC Network) and ending in theSEC Tournament championship.

It’sunlikely.But it’scertainly possible, especially if LSU can play in the rest of its matchups the way it did Thursday inthe fourth quarter of its comeback road win over Ole Miss.

“The thing about this team,” coach Kim Mulkey said, “I don’t ever get upset at thisteam.I mean, Icoachhard,get on them and challenge them.”

But, as Mulkey pointed out, the Tigers (23-4, 9-4 SEC) have played well enough to win all but one of their games. LSU has four losses, and three of them were close battles. Kentucky, Vanderbilt and South Carolina beat theTigersbyanaverage margin of 4.3 points. They missed keyfree throws against the Gamecocks, turned the ball over afew too many timesagainstthe Commodores and fell victim to abuzzerbeater against the Wildcats.

“So those are all learning opportunities,” Mulkey said. “We’re always in the ballgames.”

The NCAA selection committee revealed Feb. 14, before the loss to South Carolina, that it had LSU ranked eighth overall, penciled into the tournament field’slast No.

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While the teams have not enjoyed as much success asshe’d like in recent years,Benson has been aterrific steward of the teams for the city and state. She understands theresponsibilityof her position and, above all, is loyal to New Orleans. She has spent muchofher recent tenure trying to secure successful futures for both teams in the state. As we all know,though, Father Time is undefeated. Eventually, she will have to sell the teams, as stated in TomBenson’ssuccession plan. Benson has designated anumber of trustees to handle the sale of both teams. When that happens, Graves will certainly be astrong candidate. He checks every box:

He’slocal. Anative New Orleanian, he was raised in Baton Rouge and has spent his entire life in Louisiana except for his college years at Georgia.

He’sviable. Forbes recently listed his net worth at $22 billion, which makes him the wealthiest person in the state and oneofthe wealthiest in the country.He’s more than qualified to buy an NFL team. He cares. Through his various donations and sponsorshipsof local sports teams and events,

LSU

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We don’twant to kickfieldgoals in thered zone;we want to score touchdowns.

“Wedid that today.”

The No. 2-ranked Tigersextended their best start in five seasons under Johnson to7-0 and won their 15th straight game overall, extending backtolast year’sNCAA Baton Rouge regional.

The Fighting Irish, who lostto Central Florida 4-2 in 10 innings Fridaynight despite six perfect innings from starting pitcher Jack Radel, fell to 2-3.

Right fielder Jake Brown led theLSU attack with the Tigers’ first four-hit game of the season. He wasoriginally credited with going 3-for-5, but after the game, ascoring decision was changed from an erroronthird baseman Parker Brzustewicz to ahit, raising Brown’sseason average to .514. Brown was on base with aoneout single in the fourth inning when Arrambide —filling the designated hitter’sslot in the lineup instead of his usual role as catcher —leftthe yard. He smasheda 1-1 pitchfromNotre Dame reliever GarrettSnyder to straight away center,right over the 400-foot sign at VyStar Ballpark. Arrambide explained that the

LSUcoach Kim Mulkey listens to guard Flau’jae Johnson during abreak in the fourth quarter of agame against South Carolina on Feb.14atthe Pete Maravich Assembly Center

2seed

Barring asurprise upset, UConn, UCLA and South Carolina should each hold onto their No. 1seed until the bracket is set on March 15, which leaves Texas, Vanderbilt, Michigan,Louisville andLSU battling for the last top seed. If the Tigers win sixstraight, picking up one or two victories over theSEC’stop teams in Greenville,SouthCarolina, along theway

particularly LSU,hehas shown a commitment to strengthening the local community and sportsscene. And he seemingly has the league’sendorsement. Restassured, he’sonthe NFL’sradar Graves gained bona fides by donatingtoseveral important causes at Super Bowl LIX. It wasn’t an accident that he served as thegrandmarshal of the NFL’s SuperBowl paradeand co-hosted afireside chat for the Manning FamilyChildren’sHospital event. Whenthe time comes, Graves will be well-positioned to become the fourth owner in Saints franchise history.But he’s far from ashoo-in.The competition will be fierce. There are only 32 NFL clubs, andthey are incredibly valuable assets.

TheSeattle Seahawks recently wentupfor sale, and industry experts expect theteam to sell for$7billion to $10 billion. The final sale price is projected to exceed the$6.05 billionpaid for the Washington Commanders in 2023. With such skyrocketing valuations, NFL teams, including the Saints, are approached regularly by vetted investors interested in buying their teams or pieces of them

TheNFL hasstrict guidelines for ownership transfers. Prospective owners can form groups with upto25total partners, but theleague requires the principal ownertoholdatleast 30% of the

plate patience that Stiffler admired in the Tigers helped him on that at-bat.

“I took achangeup for astrike, then thought Iwas very likely to get afastball,” Arrambide said. “He laid afastballinthere, andI put agood swingonit.

“Quality at-bats arewhatwe traintohave. Inever try to chase pitches. Iwantto make the pitcher work to get me out, not just make outs.”

LSU led Notre Dame 7-0 at that point, more than enough support to make awinner out of starting pitcher CooperMoore (2-0).Heran into alittle difficulty after cruising through the first four innings, allowing arun in the fourthand two in the fifth, but gave the Tigers asecond straightqualitystart.

Moore struck out sixand walked just one batter in 52/3 innings of work

“I felt really good,” Moore said, “flooding the (strike) zone. That’s one of my strengths as apitcher. Puttingupzeros and letting the defense workbehind me.”

Relievers Ethan Plog, Deven Sheerin and DaxDathe combined for 31/3 innings of one hit, one-run relief while striking out eight to make Moore’sstint stand up. Sheerinhad to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh afterissuing apair of walks on top of oneby Plog, but gotout of it with astrikeout and asoft liner to Milam.

“Bothofthemhavetremendous

then they’d be 29-4overall and15-4 in league playonSelection Sunday. That’sa strong resume, especially because it would include atournament title in the nation’stoughest conference.

Texas (25-3, 10-3) andVanderbilt (24-3, 10-3) would each drop at least one moregameinthat scenario, which would leave the selection committeechoosingbetween abunch of four or five-loss teams

total equity of the team’svalue. With teams selling for $6 billion andmaybe more soon, that would mean $1.8 billion or more in cash. This stipulation alone limits the candidate pool to aprivileged few While theBenson trustees will have afiduciary dutytothe beneficiaries of the trust, they don’tnecessarily have to go with thehighest bidder.Trustees can argue that aslightly lower bid is “better” if the bidder has more liquid capital, acleaner background for NFLvettingorabetter plan for theteam’slong-term stability—all of which protect thetrust’s assets. Because theNFL is aprivate entity and requires theapproval of at least 24 of the 32 NFL team owners (a three-fourths majority) forany ownership change, fit is critically important. If theowners don’tlike aspecificperson —regardless of how much money they have —the trustees can’tforce thesale. Consequently,trustees usually only present abuyer they know theleague will ratify.And Graves, by all accounts, would qualify No, the question on Graves isn’t whether he would be agood owner for the Saints or another NFL team. By all accounts, he would. The better question is, will he eventually become theSaints’ owner?

That answer remains to be seen —and is along way off.

for the last No. 1seed. LSU could have victories over two of them.

The Tigers couldn’thave imagined that possibility had they lost to theRebels on Thursday.But because they erased a13-point thirdquarter deficitand pulled out the win, they still can.

Junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley led the comeback,scoring 10 of her career-high 26 points in just thelastseven minutes of the

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for me to keep putting up zeros. I thinkthat waskind of the biggest thingtodo.”

Herrmann credited his mental approach forhis steady outing.

“Itwas fun,” he said. “I just tried to be alittle bit more energetic and more relaxed on the mound, just being in agood mood the whole day.That paid dividends, that’sfor sure.I just tried to have fun

“I like to playa game calledthe smile game. Yousee abunch of us smiling out there having fun.”

Offensively,the Cajuns swungsome bigger bats.

ä Missouri at LSU 3P.M. SUNDAy,SEC NETWORK

fourth quarter “Wehave each other’sback,” Fulwiley said. “Andregardless of how we’re playing or who’sgoing off or who’snot doing as well, we have each other’sback, and we want to win.”

LSUhas been givena No. 3

NCAA Tournament seed in each of the first four seasons of Mulkey’s tenure. The Tigers haven’tlanded aNo. 2seed since2008, andthey haven’tearned aNo. 1seed since 2006.

The only way LSU can ensure that it would avoid running into either of the nation’s top twoteams (UConn and UCLA) until the Final Four this season is by landing a No. 1seed. If the Tigers get one of the No. 2seeds, then the selection committee could decide to put them next to either the Huskies or theBruins at thetop of oneofthe bracket’sfour regions.

This year,Sacramento, California, and Fort Worth, Texas, are the two sites that will host the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight. LSUtraveled to Albany,New York, andSpokane,Washington, to play those two rounds the past two seasons.

The Tigers fell one step shy of the Final Four both times. Now they’re trying to climb back over that hump.

And yes, they still have achance to do it as aNo. 1seed.

“All of us wanttowin,” Fulwiley said. “It’snot just afew of us.It’s all of us, and we just keep playing. We’re hard, we’re tough.”

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

too high or too low —just try to stay the course andsustain our momentum as muchaswecan.”

An error and aDrew Markle bunt single preceded aMax Mandino two-run double to deep right. Kasen Bellard chased home the fifth run witha sacrifice fly fora 5-0 cushion.

It wassome similar names getting homeaninsurance run in thefifthwhenSpalitta walked, advanced on awild pitch andtook third on aBrown sacrifice. Amedee singled to left to get the run home.

“I feel really good. We’retrying not to gettoo high or toolow —justtry to staythe course and sustain our momentum as much as we can.”

LEEAMEDEE, UL infielder

After aslowstart, UL exploded for fiveruns in the fourthinning. Colt Brown followed aleadoff walk to Steven Spalitta with his seconddouble of the game.

Lee Amedee then singled two runs with abase hit.

“I’mjust trying to contribute as much as Ican forthe team,”said Amedee, who finished 2-for-3 with threeRBIs in the game. “I feel really good. We’re trying not to get

stuff, but both are very young pitchers,” Johnson said of Plog and Sheerin. “This is great experience for them.

“Weneed those guys to be good. Our ceiling is higher with them pitching well.

Yorke also hada pair of hits, as did second baseman Seth Dardar, who doubled and scored in the second and followed that with an RBI double in the third to drive in

shortstop Steven Milam. “As many good hitters as we have,” Johnson said, “no one feels like it’sjust on them to get it done.”

UL later added two moreinthe seventh whenRigoberto Hernandezfollowedan Amedee walk with atwo-run homer for an 8-1 lead. In fact, the bottom four spots in the order accounted for eight of UL’s 11 hits in the game.

Markleand Brownalsohad two hits in the win.

“I thought Lee hada tremendous day and obviously Rigo (Hernandez),” Deggs said. “Colt Brownisastud. Twodoubles and that (sacrifice bunt) was on his own. He’saversatile guy.He’s not one-dimensional at theplate. He’sgot somepop, but he can play the gamealittle bit.”

ON DECK

WHO: LSU (7-0) vs.UCF (4-1 entering Saturday’splay)

WHEN: 2p.m. CST Sunday WHERE: VyStar Ballpark (11,000), Jacksonville,Florida

ONLINE/TV: D1Baseball.com

RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (New Orleans);KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSUisNo. 2by D1Baseball.com; UCFisunranked

PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU— TBA; UCF —TBA PREGAME UPDATES: www TheAdvocate.com/lsu ON X(FORMERLYTWITTER): @ RabalaisAdv

WHATTOWATCH FOR: The Tigers close out the weekendgoing for the seriessweep afteralso beating Indiana 14-7 Friday.The Tigers have pounded out acombined 30 hits against the Hoosiers and Irish while also drawing19walks. Neither team wasexpectedtoannounce apitcher until afterSaturdaynight’s UCFIndiana game, but LSUislikelyto startsophomore right-handerWilliam Schmidt (1-0, 6.75 ERA). —Scott Rabalais

The Tigers wrap up their trip to Jacksonville on Sunday in the final game of the classic against UCF. Firstpitch is setfor 2p.m andwill be streamed live on D1Baseball.com. The Golden Knightswere4-1 going into Saturday’ssecond gameagainst Indiana, which plays Notre Dame at 10 a.m

STM beats rival Teurlnigs for outright district title

Cougars limit Rebels’ twin towers to finish unbeaten in league play

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

As long as there is district play, St Thomas More boys basketball coach Danny Broussard said those contests will never be just another game. Because as long as a district champion is crowned at the end of league play, Broussard wants the Cougars to possess that title.

Already with at least a share of the District 4-4A championship, STM secured the title outright with a 46-36 win over rival Teurlings Catholic (21-6, 5-2) in Friday’s regular-season finale.

While some have placed more importance on power ratings for the playoffs, Broussard is still a believer in the importance of winning a districct title.

“It means a lot to us It really does,” he said. “We have a banner in the gym and I don’t care how this new environment is, district championships will always be important to us.”

Considering the quality of compe-

tition they faced in district, Broussard said winning it means that much more.

“Look, the New Orleans district is the best one this year,” Broussard said of the Catholic League. “But we’re the second-best district in Division I. To win this district and overcome David Thibodaux, Westgate and Teurlings, it says a lot.”

The Cougars (25-8, 7-0), are one of the hottest teams in the state. The Cougars, who were 9-7 through their first 16 games, have won 13 straight games and 16 of their past 17.

“This is the not the same team we were a month and a half ago,” Broussard said. This team is really playing great basketball at the right time I’m really excited.”

In what has been their calling card, defense carried the Cougars past the Rebels, who have a huge height advantage against most teams with their twin towers Jordan Senegal and De’Von Warren, who both stand 6-foot-8. The Cougars countered Teurlings’ size by doubling and sometimes running a third player to the post players when they received the ball.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Broussard said. “We knew we had to take away the two bigs, and we did a super job of staying

with the game plan. We made them work for everything they got We knew we couldn’t shut them down, but we made them work for every basket.”

Senegal (13 points) and Warren (eight) combined for 21 of the Rebels’ 36 points, while teamate A.J. Price scored the team’s other 15 points. Senegal also had 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

“Price, that kid is the glue of that team,” Broussard said. “He kept them in the game, but just a great defensive effort by us.”

Ryan Robertson finished with a team-high 11 points, eight rebounds, four steals, two assists and a blocked shot for STM. John Michael Charbonnet had 10 points and seven rebounds while Xarian Babineaux finished with nine points, five rebounds and two steals for the Cougars.

“We had them frustrated because every time their bigs caught it, we had two guys on them,” Broussard said. “We told them we didn’t care if there were three guys on them. I think it was the difference, just bottling them up. Price almost beat us because he kept hitting shots, but we said we’re going to live and die with that, but not the two bigs That was the difference.”

PREP REPORT

SCOREBOARD

(10-19) Jones 2-3 4-4 8, Woodson 4-4 0-0 12, Finister 5-10 4-6 15, Lavergne 2-9 0-0 5, Mejia 1-2 0-0 3, Olvera 7-14 4-6 20, Bilal 0-1 0-0 0, Collins 1-1 2-3 4, Evans 0-1 0-0 0, Ratliff 0-0 0-0 0 Totals 22-45 14-19 67. Halftime—UL 34-18. 3-Point Goals—Texas State 2-12 (Emmou 1-2, Davis 1-4, Fields 0-1, Gumbs 0-1, Bolden 0-2, Drone 0-2), UL 9-13 (Woodson 4-4, Olvera 2-3, Finister 1-1, Lavergne 1-2, Mejia 1-2, Bilal 0-1). Fouled Out—Hall, Mejia. Rebounds—Texas State 27 (Hall 6), UL 26 (Jones 8). Assists—Texas State 6 (Drone 3), UL 9 (Finister 5). Total Fouls— Texas State 19, UL 18. A—2,484 (11,550) National scores EAST Colgate 101, Loyola (Md) 98, OT Dartmouth 64, Columbia 63 Fordham 63, Davidson 59 Harvard 73, Cornell 54 Hofstra 82, Northeastern 68 Howard 100, North Carolina Central 67 La Salle 59, Rhode Island 46 Maine 61, New Hampshire 58 Maryland 64, Washington 60 Mercyhurst 91, LIU 83 Morgan State 82, Delaware State 68 Navy 81, Army 63 North Carolina 77, Syracuse 64 Pittsburgh 73, Notre Dame 68 Saint Joseph’s 75, Loyola Chicago 61 St. John’s 81, Creighton 52 Stonehill 77, Le Moyne 68 Stony Brook 79, Hampton 72 UMBC 66, Albany 62 UMass Lowell 92, Binghamton 79 Wagner 65, St. Francis (PA) 56 Yale 74, Pennsylvania

Now’sthe time to celebrate Acadiana’s Lee AllenZeno

In his raucous “Soul Alive!” album, singer,bishop, mortician, limousine driver,drugstore owner,backstage barbecue vendor and father of 21 Solomon Burke testified, “The answer in life is love and understanding.”

The soul-singing minister continued, “I don’t want nobodyto give me flowers when I’m dead and gone. Give me my flowers while I’m living. So Ican feel ’em, smell ’em, see ’em.”

Ithought about Burke’s words after hearing fateful news of Lee Allen Zeno of Lafayette. Zeno is asideman, a musician who makes the stars sound great but rarely gets the spotlight. Zeno and his remarkablebass guitar skills helped Buckwheat Zydeco become a Grammy winner and the only zydeco bandtowin an Emmy Zeno is all over “New Beginnings,” the debut album and Grammy winner for Buckwheat Zydeco Jr

PROVIDED PHOTO Lee Allen Zeno performs at the 2024 Clifton Chenier Centennial &Slim’sy-Ki-Ki Fundraiser in Opelousas.

Since 1980, Zeno has song credits on at least 73 albums singles, EPs and videos. They include works by Burke,Charlie Rich, Marcia Ball, Irma Thomas, Tracy Nelson, Kenny Neal, Bobby Rush, Boozoo Chavis and the Neville Brothers. Zeno’sbass fuels “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco,” which won the Best RegionalRoots Album Grammy earlier this month. Just afew weeks after that joyous Grammy newscame Zeno’stroubling announcement. After fighting cancer throughout his music career, Zenodecided he’shad enough He’sending chemotherapy. According to longtime friend and supporter John Williams, Zeno’scancer count after his latest round of chemo showed his leukemia is getting worse. Williams said on social media that Zeno will now “focus on staying healthy and receiving blood transfusions as needed, in order to have more vibrant time with his family and playing his music.” Williams has been on amission to help unsung music heroesand forgotten legends.

ä See ZENO, page 4D

BY JUDYBERGERON| Staff writer

Twenty-eight seasonsin, “TheVoice” has yet to crownaLouisiana winner. But thestate keeps sending singersdeep into thecompetition— and turning national exposure into momentum long after thecameras stop rolling The 29th season of “The Voice” premieres 8p.m. Monday on NBC with judgesJohn Legend, Kelly Clarkson andAdamLevine. The show streamson Peacock theday after airing.

MeghanLinsey came oh-so-close to winning “The Voice” in 2015, finishing as runner-up. It was abanner Season 8for four other fellowLouisianans whoalso fared well in thecompetition, among them NewOrleans’ Tonya Boyd-Cannon.

ä See 'THE VOICE', page 4D

Triton makessomemovie magiconValentine’s Day

The mighty KreweofTriton made some movie magic at its 46th ball and pageant. The annual ball took place on Feb. 14 at the Cajundomein Lafayette.

Kris Wartelle

The fact that it took place on Valentine’sDay was notlost on this men’skrewe. They madesure to payspecial attention to the special ladiesintheir lives.KingTriton XLVI Scott Coco celebrated with his lovely wife, Julaine. Queen Triton XLVI Katherine Couvillion was honored by her king, as well as her proud papa Kevin Couvillion. King and queen Triton looked stunning in gold robes and crowns, adorned with exquisite gold trim, jewels and beaded mantles. Thegentlemen of Triton alwaysdothings ina big way.They are the only ones whose ball takes place in the Cajundome. The kreweputsonafullscale parade completewithmarching bands and royalty atop actual parade floats.

This year,royal dukes and maids portrayed characters from some all-time favorite movies. Think “Grease,” “ThePrincess Bride,”and “Pretty Woman” to name afew.Floatriders threw beads, trinkets, and flowers to the crowd of thousands packing the dome. The highlight of theparade for many was the AcadianaHigh SchoolMarching Band. They performedrousing numbers that had everyone dancing.

The Triton Ball always takes place on the Saturday before Fat Tuesday.That means itis one of the last ones scheduled, but by no means is it the least. To the delight of many,they are the krewe that promises maximum entertainment and they deliver.Thank you, Triton, for inviting me to witness all the fun!

MavisDomingue, Barbara McMillan,

It’s amad,mad,world at Xanadu’s MadHatters masquerade

Wow. Xanadu just keepsdoing Mardi Gras better eachyear.The ladies krewe pulled outall thestops fortheir annualball andpageanton Feb. 14.The theme,AMad Hatter’s Masquerade,was aspectacular production with costumes right out of AliceinWonderland.

Queen Xanadu XXXVI Kimi Hargrave and herKingXanadu XXXVI JeffHargravereignedover thefestivitiesatthe Cajundome Convention Center. The royalcouple worestunning royalred and black adornedwith diamonds andrubies. The beautiful redrobes and were quite fittingsince this year’sball collided with Valentine’sDay forone bigcelebration

There trulywas lots of lovetogo around as friends, family,and guests cheered on their king andqueen The royalcourt muses, known as the Enchanted Hearts, portrayed classic characters fromLewis Carroll’s “Alice Through theLookingGlass.” There was head muse Alice, theMad Hatter,the pink rabbit, andmore. We’ve seen alot of MardiGras balls.Itisour job,after all. But theseladiesout didthemselves with apageant that was colorful,crazy, anda little madall at once.Theyhad thecrowd of thousands on their feet forevery minuteofthe show

We areincrediblygrateful to Xanadu President PamBlock for invitingustoshare afront rowseat

all theaction.Cheerstoyou,

AT THE TABLE

Savorsimplicityina generational Cajunfamilyfavorite

BY DEBRA TAGHEHCHIAN Contributing writer

“OK, whose turn is it to go and get the milk?” Mama asked.

“I’ll go,” Isaid.

Although Iamthe youngest of the four children in the family,getting milk from the dairy was everyone’s job. Icollected the stainless-steel pail, the one with the side handle for easy pouring, and Iheaded to the dairy.Once there, Iwent to the room with the large bulk tank where the milk was collected after milking.

The stainless-steel tank had a large paddle that circulated the milk, and the chilledtank kept the milk cold until the local milk coop truck came by to collectthe fresh milk.

Our dairy farm was one of many small farms in ourarea. Lafayette Parish during the 1960s and ’70s had about 100 family-owned dairy farms. Nowadays, the whole state of Louisiana does not have 100 dairy farms. Milkisbrought in from midwestern states down to Louisiana.

Iwas told that the shift from local dairy farms to milk being brought in from out of state happened when interstate travel was opened, and trucking milk south became possible and more economical. Cows give more milk in colder climates, so milk production was higher With my pail in hand, Imade my way to the end of the milk cooling bulk tank, where there wasalarge spigot, or milkoutlet valve. Iwould position my pail under the valve and ever so slowly open the valve for milk to drain into my pail. Iwas careful not to overfillthe pail, only filling it halfway.Istillhad to carry the milk back to the house, and I didn’twant it splashing around.

Once in the house, Mamausually took over.Wehad glassjugs for storing our milk. Mama poured the unpasteurized,unhomogenized, fresh milkinto the jug andcapped the opening with paper tabs to seal it. The milkwas then placed in the refrigerator.

As you might imagine, milk was served as the drink at every meal at our home.

On occasion,wehad freshsqueezed lemonade or root beer madewith root beer extract, water and sugar.But most of the time, milk is what we drank.

My father liked his milk ice cold and sometimes added acouple of ice cubes to his glass tokeep it really cold.

My father liked hismilk ice cold and sometimes added acouple of ice cubes to his glass tokeep it really cold.

As milk was left to cool in the jug in the refrigerator,the cream would rise to the top of the jug. Before we served ourselves aglass, we would shake the jug to distribute the cream into the milk. The taste of thatwhole milk was delightful. Our milk, to describe it in present-day terms, was grass-fed, whole raw milk.

“Mama, can Ihave somecoffee milk?” Isaid after having helped with themilk.

“OK. Let me see if Ihave some coffee left,” she said.

Mama walked over to the stove where the drip coffee pot sat on the stove in ashallow pot of simmering water

“I have just enough for you to make one glass of coffee milk,”she said.

Like most Cajun families in southwest Louisiana, dark roast coffee was astaple.Myparentsdrank coffee every morning, but kids were only given smallamounts occasionally —adults would say it wasn’t good for kids. We were only given alittle bit of coffee,and thenour glasses were filled with milk, creating awonderful coffee-flavored milk drink.

Ilaugh now when Ithink about the first time Iheard about an iced latte Iremember thinking, “Mais, that’s coffee milk!”

My recipe today is ever so simple. Andlike allsimple recipes with few ingredients,each ingredient should be of good quality.Buy grassfed whole milk,makea good, strong, dark roast coffee and use sugar

Some of life’sgreatest pleasures can be as simple as acold glass of coffee milk. Enjoy

TODAYINHISTORY

Today is Sunday,Feb. 22, the53rd day of 2026. Thereare 312 days left in theyear

Todayinhistory:

On Feb. 22, 1980, the “Miracle on Ice” took place at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NewYork, as the U.S.Olympic hockey teamupset theSoviet Union, 4-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal two days later,4-2,over Finland.)

Also on this date:

In 1732, the first president of the UnitedStates, George Washington, wasborninWestmorelandCounty in the Virginia Colony

In 1784, aU.S. merchantship, theEmpress of China, left New York for the first tradevoyageofan American ship to China.

In 1819, aweakened Spain,facing revolutions in Latin America, signed atreatyceding Floridatothe United States.

In 1862, Jefferson Davis was inauguratedtoafull six-year term as president of theConfederate States of America afterhis election the previous November. He previously served as theConfederacy’sprovisional president.

In 1959, the inauguralDaytona500 race washeld; althoughJohnnyBeauchampwas initially declared the winner,the victory was later awardedtoLee Petty In 1967, more than 25,000 U.S.and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation JunctionCity,aimedat smashing aViet Cong stronghold near theCambodian border

In 1997, scientists in Scotlandannounced they had successfully cloned an adult mammal forthe first time, asheep they named “Dolly.”

In 2010, Najibullah Zazi, accused of buyingproducts from beauty supply stores to make bombsfor an attack on New York City subways, pleaded guilty to charges including conspiringtouse weapons of mass destruction. (Hespent nearly adecadeafterhis arrest helping the U.S. identify andprosecute terrorists andwas givena10-year sentence.)

In 2020, pioneering Black mathematicianKatherine Johnson,who calculatedrocket trajectories andEarth orbits for NASA’s early space missionsand was later portrayedinthe 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” diedat theage of101.

In 2022, three White men were convictedoffederal hate crimes in the killing of AhmaudArbery,who was joggingthrough theirneighborhoodnear Brunswick, Georgia, when he was attacked in 2020. (Themen are serving life sentences after being convicted of murder in state court.)

In 2024, aprivate lander built by Intuitive Machines made thefirstU.S. touchdown on themoon in more than 50 years, but the spacecraft only managed a weak signal and spotty communicationswith flight controllers.

Today’sbirthdays: Actor Paul Dooley is 98. Actor James Hong is 97. Actor Julie Walters is 76.BasketballHall of Famer Julius Erving is 76. Golf Hall of Famer Amy Alcottis70. ActorKyle MacLachlan is 67. Golf Hall of Famer Vijay Singh is 63. Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine is 61.Actor PaulLieberstein (TV:“The Office) is 59. Actor Jeri Ryan is 58. Actor-singer Lea Salonga is 55. Tennis Hall ofFamer Michael Changis54. Singer James Blunt is 52.Actor DrewBarrymore is 51. Comedian Iliza Shlesinger is 43.Dancer andsinger Genneya Walton is 27. Rapper Molly Brazy is 27.

Some of life’sgreatest pleasures

Coffee Milk

Serves 18-ounce glass

1. Pour 1/4 cup of freshly brewed dark roast coffee into an 8-ounce glass.

2. Add2teaspoons sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Allthese people aresoobsessedwithme

Dear Miss Manners: Lately,Ifind that whenever Ischedule even the most mundane of appointments, Iam endlessly nagged by correspondence from thehost: “Please confirm LadyTuna’srabies booster appointment,” or “Are you still planning to attend our Needle-Felting Calico Cats class at the library?”

Such repetitive messages arrive by post, text, email and sometimes even dreaded phone calls —atall hours of the day These multiple demands for confirmation have grown tiresome. Perhaps I’m annoyed because such hounding dredges up memories from my dating life.

am usually requesting from them a crucial service —say,surgery

Martin MISS MANNERS

Gentlemen were so eager to spend time with me that they pestered me endlessly to ensure our date was still on. The consequence of their exuberance was that Iwould, politely and with fair warning, release them to the wilds: “Somethingsuddenly cameup, andIfear Imust forgo thepleasureof dining withyou …ever again.”

How do Ipolitely discourage restaurants, salons and taxidermists from hounding me? After all, Iamthe party who initiated the appointment, so of course Iwill attend! Furthermore, I

Dear Heloise: Regarding Mr.Kupstas’ comment that was published in arecent column, Iexpect medical office staff to provide patients with clear scheduling information and to treat us as adults. I highly doubt that medical office schedulers tell drug representatives or accountants who review thedoctors’ retirement plans that they have an appointmentataparticular time but “must comein15minutes early to sign in.” They just provide an appointment time to them. If there is paperwork that must be done for apatient at 10 a.m., this is fine. Just say so:“Your paperwork appointmentwith theoffice staff is at 10 a.m. Your appointment with the gynecologist (or whatever specialty) is at 10:15 a.m.” Patients should show up on time and still be respected. —FrancilleR., via email Francille, manydaily schedules in

I’m inclined to escape the unending confirmation requests by “breaking up” with the desperateparties, but I’mquite sure it’s not good formyhealth to dumpmysurgeon simply due to theoffice’swild desire to makesure Ishow up.

Perhaps the solution is as simple as Miss Manners issuing apolite, but stern, PSA or awitty bon mot discouraging this practice.

GentleReader: As someonewho likewise keeps her appointments, Miss Manners also finds it annoying to receive 236,475 emails, phone calls and texts reminding her about them. Especially when she then finds herself in waiting rooms long past those scheduled times.

Many of these reminders are automatic, so unsubscribing from emails or blocking texts is ashort-term solution

ButifMiss Manners is to issue a declaration, it is that everyone else should stop canceling appointments at thelast minute and commit to showing up on time. Youare ruining it forthe rest of us.

Dear Miss Manners: Iamwondering how one responds to people whoofferrude and unsolicited commentary on one’s alma mater

Iwas introduced to the friends of aneighbor,and the question “Where do you go to school?” came up. Itold them,and one of them responded, “I’m sorry.” He evidently thought himself the soul of wit, but, as Ihave to look fora job with my degree from this school, Idid not find his comment at all amusing. Ilaughed with him anyway, partially because it was expected, but mostly because Iwas startled. Later on, Ifelt like atwitfor laughing. Is there any polite response to a comment such as this one? Idonot wish to laugh at the reputation of a school at which Ihave had agood experience as astudent, nor do Iwish to respond with rudeness.

Gentle Reader: “Why?” comes to Miss Manners’ mind. Or genuinely asking what is funny.Nothing disarmsa bad joke like taking it seriously.And watching the joker splutter an explanation is what really makes it amusing.

Send questions to Miss Manners at dearmissmanners@gmail.com.

aphysician’soffice are disrupted by emergencies, staff shortages, phone calls from the lab or other offices with requests, and patientswho think that their appointment time was only a suggestion. I’mbeginning to wonder how the front office getsanything done, but they do their best to keep everyone on track.

Aperfect day in adoctor’s office when everythingruns smoothly is rare!

Fillingout paperwork or waiting to see your doctor has nothing to do with respect —Heloise Onlinepaperwork

Dear Heloise: In reply to the hint submitted by David J. Kupstas about doctors’ offices, here is my experience: I don’tknow how tech-savvy Mr.Kupstas is, but Iget an email and/or text from thedoctor’soffice afew days before, asking me to check in early online.

If filling out paperwork is warranted, it’sdone online. Then, on the day of the appointment, Iarrive at the office about 10 minutes early to show my ID and insurance cards. —Ann R., via email Epsomsaltuses

Dear Heloise: Iread your column every day and am grateful forthe many money- and time-saving hints. An oldtimer once told me that forclipping tough toenails, it helps to soak the feet (up to the ankles) in warmwater after one-half cup to 1cup of Epsom salt dissolves in the water foratleast 20 minutes. Notonly does this help, but moreimportantly,I’ve found that this soaking shrinks apainful bunion on my right foot so that my shoes fit comfortably with little, if any,pain. Epsom salt has several other uses and is available at mostdrug stores. —JohnM in Longview, Washington Sendahinttoheloise@heloise.com.

Fast forward to Season 25, when Louisiana’s Karen Waldrup placed fifth and Zoe Levert reached the top 12.

Last season, Acadiana’s Dustin Dale Gaspard brought something new to “The Voice,” wowing the judges in his blind audition by singing Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me” in both English and Cajun French. He made it to the knockouts round before being eliminated.

Here, we catch up with BoydCannon, Levert and Gaspard, and give a glimpse of what those five Louisianans from Season 8 have done post-”The Voice.”

‘She is unafraid and she’s bold.’

When someone tells Boyd-Cannon she’s a busy woman, she’ll quickly correct with, “No, I’m blessed.”

According to the Mississippiborn-and-Louisiana-raised BoydCannon, 46, the blessings have only multiplied since her 2015 appearance on “The Voice.” The NBC singing competition wasn’t her first stop on the road to national TV She had pursued “Star Search,” “Showtime at the Apollo” and “American Idol.” She was turned away from the last one not because she lacked an impressive voice, but for being “too gospel.”

However, Boyd-Cannon, who grew up in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward, had early success on “The Voice” with soul, pop, rock, gospel and rhythm-and-blues performances. She advanced to the live playoffs, when contestants were trimmed from 20 to 12, before being eliminated.

At one point, her coach, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, had this to say: “She is unafraid and she’s bold The No. 1 one thing I try to tell everybody else on my team, do what Tonya does.”

“That makes me feel amazing, to know that someone, that he saw me in that light, because it’s such a great opportunity to be able to do what I love to do, be bold and just to take a chance,” she said

Nevertheless, Boyd-Cannon needed time to heal post-”The Voice,” leaning on the words of another of the show’s four coaches.

“I recalled something Pharrell (Williams, singer, songwriter and record producer) told me on that same day (of her elimination). He said, ‘Tonya, this is your springboard. Don’t let nobody take this moment from you,’” she said. “And so I left remembering that.”

Following that pause, her music picked back up in a big way Since 2015, Boyd-Cannon has toured around the globe, released multiple singles and albums. She also teaches voice in the Black American music program at Tulane University as an adjunct professor, at an after-school program at the Leah Chase School, and at a vocal workshop at the Jazz and Heritage Center

She described her most recent

CURIOUS

Continued from page 1D

parents now live near him in the Nashville area As for the restaurant, Jardon said the Cafe Des Amis was the first restaurant that came to mind when reading about the HayesDuvall meeting.

“I remember how famous people who ate there signed the poles in the Cafe Des Amis,” she said. “And I remember seeing an autograph by Robert Duvall on the door.”

Duvall’s inscription? “I love the smell of napalm in the morning, Bobby Duvall.”

The inscription offers proof that Duvall had visited the restaurant, which opened in 1992, but the autograph, like the restaurant, is no longer there. The eatery closed its doors in 2017, and it has since reopened as the Cafe Syndie Mae.

“All of the autographs are gone,” said Tina Begnaud, executive director of the Breaux Bridge Area Chamber of Commerce. “But there were a lot of famous people who passed through there. The former owner, Dickie Breaux, even had the Beach Boys there one night.”

So, Mulate’s was the place, and Duvall and his wife, Luciana, were in town for the seven-week filming of “The Apostle.”

A movie legend Duvall was a movie legend with such roles as Don Corleone’s consigliere Tom Hagen in “The Godfather” movies, Major Frank Burns in “M*A*S*H,” former Texas Ranger Gus McCrae in “Lonesome Dove,” volatile Marine fighter pilot Lt Col. Wilbur “Bull” Meechum in “The Great Santini” and his Oscar-winning

record, 2025’s “The Cluster,” as “a Dear Tonya letter.” Her latest single, the lively, fun “Everywhere Else It’s Tuesday,” dropped just before Mardi Gras.

She currently has 21,000 followers on Facebook and 27,100 on Instagram.

Levert makes her move

Things have been moving quickly for folk/pop/contemporary Christian artist Levert since her move to Nashville, Tennessee, last year

The New Orleans native and former Baton Rouge resident, 23, has signed with By Design music company and WME, a talent and booking agency She’s writing and releasing songs, scoping out gigs and mapping her future in Music City

Reflecting on Season 25 of “The Voice,” where she reached the top 12 in 2024, Levert calls the experience “incredible.”

The then-20 year old, in what was essentially her stage debut, impressed the judges and the voting viewers at home with her spins on songs like “Cowboy Take Me Away” by The Chicks, Little Big Town’s “Better Man” and “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls.

sard’s “Feed the Flame” and a reprisal of “Bring It On Home To Me.”

Soon,he’lldo10daysofshows on Prince Edward Island, off Nova Scotia. Gaspard will follow that with a four-week tour across British Columbia.

Audiences at these abovethe-border performances aren’t like back home, Gaspard has observed.

“Oh, far off rowdy I hate to use the word respectful, but it’s just a different environment,” he said. “People are there to consume music, not to be entertained by it. It’s not like a background feature of the culture or atmosphere. It’s actually the feature that you’re going to witness, you know? That’s the biggest difference.”

Likewise, song choices vary greatly while in Canada from Lafayette on Saturday night.

He pursued music in South Carolina for a while but has since earned a juris doctorate, graduating magna cum laude from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in 2020. He was admitted to the Texas Bar Previously, he earned a bachelor of science in marketing from LSU. He currently has 1,900 friends on Facebook and 2,303 followers on Instagram.

“It was my first time really performing on a stage like that. I had to learn how to perform and how to be captivating on stage,” she said. With John Legend as her coach, Levert says the many vocal coaches and choreographers put her through what she calls “artist boot camp.” She had a crash course in the facets of the music industry building a brand and becoming an artist.

Levert adds that she feels like she thrived the most on the singing competition series when she started being herself — requesting songs that she loved and talking about her faith

“I definitely carry that into my career now; just trying to be who I am and who God designed me to be and tell stories that I’m passionate about,” she said

Those stories surface in the three singles Levert has dropped in the last five months, including this month’s breakup song, “sharing Jesus with an ex.” Now happily married to fellow musician Ryan Turner, she reached into her past for inspiration

“I remember, when I was younger, going through a really bad breakup and having this temporary thought of, ‘I feel like Jesus would be on my side in this breakup,’ which isn’t exactly fair to the guy that I ended the relationship with,” she explained “The song is kind of a sarcastic, funny way to deal with that feeling of wishing Jesus would only take your side, especially when it’s a guy that didn’t treat you super well.”

Levert initially posted the song on TikTok, attracting millions of views. With the amount of people who were relating to the story, she

decided to release the song with her label.

The singer-songwriter’s other two recent singles are “Custody,” released in October — a song about who gets custody of coffee shops and friend groups after a breakup and “Dear Carpenter,” released in December

“In the Bible when we talk about how Jesus was a carpenter and a craftsman, there’s gotta be something there with him being a carpenter and him fixing things and how the love of Jesus can fix and heal us,” Levert said. “Instead of saying, ‘Dear God,’ I say ‘Dear Carpenter,’ and I use the language of fixing and refining and rebuilding.”

Plans for an album from Levert in the near future are still fluid. For now, she and her team are focused on producing one song at a time. Levert currently has 1,000 followers on Facebook and 26,200 on Instagram.

Gaspard on the road again

Acadiana’s Gaspard can sum up the difference in his music career since competing on “The Voice” last fall in one word: volume.

“Nothing has changed except the volume, you know? Everyone is finally paying attention, so I have opportunities that I’ve never had before,” Gaspard, 33, said by phone on Monday “And the frequency of which those doors open is a little more often, but besides that, I’m still performing as much as I can, playing as often wherever I can to wherever people will have me.”

On Lundi Gras, that “wherever” was the 20th annual Swamp Pop Reunion Show in Ville Platte. The Cow Island native performed three songs: Rod Bernard’s “Allons Danser Colinda,” Van Brous-

role as Mac Sledge, the former country music singer who finds redemption, in “Tender Mercies.” And that’s not forgetting the role of Lt. Col. Kilgore in “Apocalypse Now,” where his famous “napalm” line became his most

memorable catchphrase the same phrase he inscribed on the Cafe Des Amis door

But the character of a charismatic Pentecostal preacher named Euliss F. “Sonny” Dewey was his focus while filming “The

“When I’m there, I’m doing folk music and telling stories. When we’re playing somewhere here out on Saturday night, we’re trying to keep the people on the dance floor,” said Gaspard. Gaspard says he “had one of the best times of my life” while working with the coaches on “The Voice.” The main lesson he took away from the experience is that all artists, no matter where they are, have the same passion, sacrifice and humility to share their craft with the world.

Gaspard, who’s released a few singles, also hopes to make an album happen. Meanwhile, his fan base has grown exponentially since his global exposure on “The Voice.”

Tens of thousands of followers on every platform, videos viewed by millions of people across the world and many requests to perform and produce new music.

“And I’m hoping to find a way to keep them all satisfied because it feels like a lot of pressure,” he said. “And it’s hard to keep up with when there’s so many people that you care about because they care about you.”

Gaspard currently has 51,000 followers on Facebook and 21,000 on Instagram.

The Louisiana 5 In Season 8, five Louisianans made it deep into the season. These days, four of the five are still in the music world — while one has become an attorney in Texas. Another is also dabbling in the world of real estate.

Besides Boyd-Cannon, filling out the 2015 five are:

Travis Ewing: In 2015, Lafayette native Ewing moved to Charleston, South Carolina, just before auditioning for “The Voice.” He was originally on Pharrell Williams’ team, but was stolen by Blake Shelton. After Ewing advanced to the top 32, he was eliminated in the knockouts round. He originally said “The Voice” experience gave him the confidence to pursue music as a full-time career

Apostle” in Acadiana. The movie co-starred Walton Goggins, Billy Bob Thornton, June Carter Cash and Farrah Fawcett.

And the cast included Hunter Hayes in a church scene among a group of churchgoers in the Acadiana area.

After hearing the young musician play, Duvall approached his parents’ table and asked if their son could appear in his film.

A pivotal birthday present

The Hayes family joined the Duvalls for dinner a couple of times afterward, then invited the Duvalls to Hunter’s fifth birthday party

That’s when Hunter Hayes’ music career forever changed. Duvall not only attended the birthday party but presented the young musician with a beginner guitar and amplifier

But this wasn’t just any guitar it was Hunter Hayes’ first. Hayes didn’t waste any time in learning to play it. Today, he plays guitar accordion and piano in his repertoire of country pop music and has shared the stage with such artists as Taylor Swift, Hank Williams Jr., Merle Haggard, Carrie Underwood, Johnny Cash and Stevie Wonder

And through it all, Hunter Hayes and his parents maintained a friendship with Duvall, keeping in touch with the actor and exchanging annual Christmas cards. Lynette Hayes remembers the actor as the most down-to-earth, kindest and humble person. Now Duvall is a part of Hunter Hayes’ musical journey

Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.

Koryn Hawthorne: This Abbeville native competed on “The Voice” in 2015 and won fourth place on Pharrell Williams’ team. Abbeville’s mayor proclaimed May 6, 2015, as Koryn Hawthorne Day Her debut studio album, “Unstoppable,” was released July 13, 2018, and earned her multiple awards nominations, including two Grammy nods. She released her most recent album, “On God,” in 2024. These days, she’s still performing, but also self-contracting residential buildings, including a decked-out barndominium in Acadiana.

She currently has 505,000 followers on Facebook and 509,000 followers on Instagram.

Meghan Linsey: In April 2015, the Ponchatoula native and four other Louisiana contestants made it up the ranks in Season 8 of “The Voice.” She finished in the runnerup spot behind Sawyer Fredericks, and rose to fame as one half of the country music duo Steel Magnolia with her then-boyfriend, Joshua Scott Jones. In 2023, she reworked the theme song for “Queer Eye” when the then-fab five filmed in New Orleans and Baton Rouge Most recently, she released ”Blue” on Feb. 13. Nashville Noise described Linsey’s newest song: “After nearly a decade between full-length albums, Meghan Linsey is stepping back into the spotlight with ‘Blue,’ a retro-tinged, emotionally rich ballad that leans into heartbreak’s quieter more lingering aftermath.”

She currently has 75,000 followers on Facebook and 68,000 on Instagram.

Rob Taylor: Hailing from Donaldsonville, Taylor was 22 when he auditioned for Season 8 of “The Voice.” Coach Christina Aguilera was so impressed, she rushed the stage to hug him. Guess which team Taylor joined? He made it to the show’s Top 10. His Top 12 night performance of “I Put a Spell on You” reached No. 1 on the iTunes R&B/Soul singles chart. In 2020, he decided to give the television singing-competition world another go and auditioned for “American Idol.” He made it through round 3 and went to Hawaii where he was eliminated before making the Top 20. He currently has 5,300 followers on Facebook. As a new season of “The Voice” begins 8 p.m. Monday on NBC, Louisiana will once again be watching — and waiting — to see whether one of its own can finally claim the title.

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate.com.

ZENO

Continued from page 1D

Through the years, many musicians struggled in their final days. Families had to hold “benefit dances” to bury them. Love of People, Williams’ nonprofit organization, has helped senior musicians with medical bills, home repairs and other financial and health challenges. Funding has come through the “Blue Monday Concert Series,” a blues jam which celebrated its 10th anniversary Feb. 9 at the Ruins Lounge in Lafayette. Williams went the extra mile literally in Zeno’s latest cancer bout. He transported Zeno to treatments in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and beyond, before suffering a serious flareup of diverticulitis. Williams said he will now “lean on all the angels” that have been part of Zeno’s fight.

I hope Zeno accepts this bouquet of gratitude for a life of award-winning music in the shadows of the stars. As your friend Solomon Burke said, feel, smell, see and enjoy the flowers. I hope you’re moved to celebrate a Lee Allen Zeno in your life with a handshake, hug or a few dollars. It’s the least we can do for artists who create in the shadows, yet still bring sunshine to our lives.

Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.

Follow themusic trailto find out if it’s truthor fiction

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Icould be anywhere

In my heart I’m always there

Where they drink sweet teaand they raise you to be polite.

No changin’ who Iam

That’sthe way I’ve always been No matter what state I’m in I’m in asouthern state of mind.

—DairusRucker,“SouthernState of Mine”

Darius Rucker doesn’t needto pinpoint aspecific place when he closes his eyes and thinksof home

And though home for therockerturned-country singer-songwriter is Charleston, South Carolina, he knewwhen writing “Southern State of Mine” that he could be home anywhere in the South

Because it’sinthe South where storytelling is an art —where people will stop and listen to a tale about akid named BillyJoe or contemplate the heartache of a man who is mired in the blues of his personal crossroads.

Sometimes, whenthe stories aren’tenough, they pack their bags and follow the lyrics to see where these stories happened. Itdoesn’t matter if the storiesare truthor fiction, they were inspired by a place in the South.

Once there, with alittle bitof imagination set to amelody,they come to life.

Here are three suggestions of lyric trails to follow:

Thereisahouse in NewOrleans

In 1964, The Animals madean internationalhit from an old blues song, “The House of the Rising Sun.” It shot up to No. 1onmusic charts in both the United States andUnitedKingdom, yetthe group wasn’tthe firstto record it.

Theearliest versions of this song can be found in musicologistAlan Lomax’scollection at The Smithsonian. Other recordings weremade and commercialized beginning in the early 20th century,probably the most notable being renditions

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

By ChristopherElliott

PROVIDED PHOTO By KANDACE

by Woody Guthrie and Louisiana’s own blues legend, Huddie “Leadbelly”Ledbetter

But The Animals immortalized it through lead singer Eric Burdon’shauntingvocalization, which naturally piqued the curiosity of listeners not just in the States but throughout theworld.

Wasthere really aHouse of the RisingSun?

First take into consideration that themelodyoriginated out of the Appalachian folk tradition andprecededthe lyricsbyquite afew years. No singlesongwriter is creditedfor the“House” lyrics, though Georgia Turner andBert Martin first wrote them down from Lomax’soriginal recording.

That said, apopular theoryfor the inspirationbehind the lyrics points to aFrench Quarter house at 826-830 St. Louis St.

It’s saidthe house, aformer brothel, was named for Marianne LeSoleil Levant, whose surname in translation would mean “The Sun.”

Butisit true?Some historians and musicologists are skeptical, saying “Rising Sun” could have beena commonnamefor various disreputableestablishments.

Still, the St. LouisStreet house

TRAVEL

offers travelers aspecific address to aplace perfect for speculation.

Even The Animals’ lead singer made his own pilgrimage there in 2000 to experience what may have been theinspiration for his hit

Burdontold The Los Angeles Times that he connected withthe house at once whenthe ownerinvited him for avisit. He joked that theowner made him sing “House of the Rising Sun” acappella for 40 minutes.

“What can Itell you?” he said.

“The house was talking tome.”

Pass thebiscuits, please

The usual questions surrounding Billie Joe McAllister have moreto do with what he andthe narrator were throwing off the Tallahatchie Bridge andwhat, exactly, drove him to jump off said bridge tohis death.

Thequestionofwhere the bridge is located usually ranks third when Bobbie Gentry’s1967 hit, “Ode to Billie Joe” flows through earbuds or speakers The song follows alunchtime conversation amonga Mississippi

Quickswapofdamaged rental

Deltafamily in the heat of summer,where it’srevealed that Billie Joe hasjumpedtohis death from the Tallahatchie Bridge, which crosses the Tallahatchie River

The town is called Choctaw Ridge in Carroll County. Both are real, as is the Tallahatchie River, which flows through the county Gentry,whose real nameisRoberta Lee Streeter,lived there.

Butwhat aboutthe bridge?

There are twobridges that cross the river near Choctaw Ridge, but theState of Mississippi has markedonly one with ahistorical marker,which stands on Grand Boulevard on theedgeofGreenwood, Mississippi. The second bridge is ametal structure in Money,Mississippiw, thatreplaced awooden bridge, which burned in 1972. It has no marker,but Gentry hassaidthe original wooden bridge was the inspiration forher song. Check out both for good measure.

Thatway,all bases will be covered in thestory of Billie Joe McAllister

Poor Bobissinkin’ down

Ah,the crossroads along what is now the Blues Trail on U.S. 61 through theMississippi Delta. It’s said this is where an aspiring musician named Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil to becomeone of the greatest legends to play the blues.

Movieshavebeen madeabout thestory, bookshavebeen written, but intrigue doesn’tnecessarily mean the tale is true.

The intersection where Johnson’s purported conversation with the devil is marked by guitar-shaped signs topped by aU.S. 61 highway sign where the highway crosses U.S. 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The spot is the perfect landmark for selfies, but, as is the case with so many lyric trail stops, there’s contention about this location.

Other fans of the story,including bluesguitarist Joe Bonamassa, believe the true crossroads are located where Mississippi Highway 8crosses state highway 1atRosedale, where Johnson grew up. Rosedaleis38milessouth of Clarksdale,soitmight be worth stopping to take aphoto at its quiet crossroads before continuing to the more celebrated stop along U.S. 61. As for Johnson’ssong, “CrossroadsBlues,” it wasrecordedin 1936 and released in 1937. The lyrics asks for God’smercy at the crossroads, yet they don’tmention the devil. Thefocus seemsmore about aman at adecision-making crossroads in his life.

Accordingtothe legend, Johnson aspired to be agreat blues musician and was instructed to take his guitar to acrossroad near his home on the grounds of Dockery Plantation in Rosedale at midnight. There,hewas metbythe devil who tuned the guitar and returned it to Johnson.

This gave Johnson mastery of the instrument, allowing him to becomethe foremost player of the Delta Blues. Is it true? Probably not. But it makes agood story to chase on the lyric trail.

Email RobinMilleratromiller@ theadvocate.com.

atic on several levels.

Christopher Elliott

Irecently rented aHyundai Sonata from National at Raleigh-Durham Airport.Within minutes of driving off the lot, Istarted hearing noises from underthe car.I drove acouple of exits, then turned around and brought it back. When Ientered the National facility,one of the attendants said, “Well, there’sanother Sonata with thelower engine cover coming loose.”I explained what happened, and arepresentative said no problem, and Igot another car.I had the Sonata for maybe 30 to 60 minutestotal. About amonth later,I gotanemail from National’sDamageRecoveryUnit demanding my insurance information. Icalledand explained Idid nothing to the car —Ijust

droveitout of the lot and onto the highway Arepresentativesaid that since Ionlyhad the car forsuch ashorttime,I should be good. But three months later,I gotanother demand. Iappealed,and they denied it with no explanation.I nevergot photos of the damageorexplanations of what they’re claiming Idid. I’ve emailedthree National executiveslistedonyour site but haven’t heardback. I’ve been aloyal National customer for20years. National wants me to pay$2,000for the damage.This is ridiculous! —Walter Gluzkin, MiamiBeach, Fla.

When you returned that defectiveSonata within an hour and an employee acknowledged there was “another” car with the same problem, that should have been theend ofit. National should have

documented this as amechanical failure, not customer damage. The fact that even its own employee recognized this as arecurring issue withthat model should have protected you completely Instead, National’sdamage recovery unit decided to pursue you for money.I’ve lostcount of the number of times I’ve seen this. Usually,customers roll over and surrender their insurance information.But not you. Ithink you could have strengthened your case by getting the employee’sconfession in writing. But honestly,you shouldn’t have needed to. National’sown employee confirmed this was a known defect National’sactions are problem-

Under moststate consumer protection laws, businesses can’tchargecustomers forpreexisting defects. Also, National should haveprovided you with detailed documentation of the alleged damage, repair estimates and photographic evidence —not just vague demands forinsurance information.

Youdid exactly what Iwould have recommended: escalating to National’sexecutives. Ipublish their contact information on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott. org. The fact that they initially ignored your appeals is frankly embarrassing foracompany that claims to value customer service.

Most importantly, you were not

apushover.That’sakey ingredient to asuccessful resolution. When you’re right, you have to stand up foryour rights! Icontacted National on your behalf and it reviewed your rental record. “Customer satisfaction is our top priority,” acompany representative told me, “and maintaining acustomer’slong-term loyalty is important to us.” National contacted you and agreed to drop the claim.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy,anonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy org

BOOKS

Book examines lives of thosewho found inspirationinnature

BY BARBARA B. SIMS

Contributing writer

“SouthernWomen, SouthernLandscapes:CulturalReflections on the Garden, 1870-1970,” by Judith W. Page and Elise L. Smith.UniversityPress of Mississippi, 2026.

While Eudora Welty’sgardenin Jackson, Mississippi, may be themost famous of those discussed in Southern Women, Southern Landscapes,” Louisiana’sCarolineDormon may be the most important.

The scope of Dormon’swork embraced Louisiana’sKisatchie National Forest, aportion of mainly old-growth forested landthat might have lost its natural quality to development without her advocacy

She promoted highway andlandscape beautification using native plants and cultivatedand hybridized native irises.

In an era when women had norole in forestry,Dormon was thefirst person to serve as the education specialist for public schoolsfor the Division of Forestry,LouisianaDepartment of Conservation, and thefirst female memberofthe Society of American Foresters.

“Southern Women, Southern Landscapes” is replete withpaintingsand drawings by Dorman, andwe learn of her friend, folk artist Clementine Hunter

In fact, the coverofthe bookdisplays one of Hunter’s colorful paintings of her favorite flower,the zinnia Hunter’spaintings in recentdecades have been featured innational magazinesand the subject of an exhibition at the LSU Museum of Art in 2024.

Page and Smith presentfascinating accounts of Southern womenand their gardens in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, North Carolinaand Louisiana from Reconstruction through the civil rights era.

“Page and Smith explore the women’svarious attitudes toward the natural world as they responded tothe disruptions of war andthe restrictions

of race and gender,” the University PressofMississippi website states “Thebook emphasizes the concept of a‘storiedlandscape,’ recognizing that landscapes areboth natural and cultural phenomena that speak to humans whoare open totheir narratives.”

The stories begin with Harriet Beecher Stowe’sdescription of the flora,bothcultivated and wild, in the area near Jacksonville, Florida, where sheestablished awinter home. Her book, “Palmetto Leaves,” was published in 1873.

In “Southern Women,Southern Landscapes,”the chapter on Florida features theworks of writers Zora Neale Hurston and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

So rich anddetailed is the book that it’s impossible to highlight morethan afew individuals, but Welty is unique in that she often spoke of the way she absorbed the natural environments she found herself in —and used the memories that emerged as she was writing fiction.

The other aspect of her gardening hadtodowith thephysical garden her mother,Chestina, designed in 1925 at

their home.

Until 1945, Welty and her mother spent much time cultivating the garden. Today,the Eudora Welty Garden is one of only two public botanical gardens in Mississippi and is recognized as an official stop on the American Camellia Society Poet andwriter Margaret Walker is thefinal gardener/writer discussed. Her historical novel “Jubilee, published in 1966, is afictionalized account of her great-grandmother Margaret Duggans Ware Brown, who was born enslaved and lived through Reconstruction in southwest Georgia.

Though “Jubilee” doesn’ttouch on any experiences Walker had in growing plantsherself, her poetry describes her grandmothers as women who worked theland.

In “Southern Women,Southern Landscapes,”Pageand Smithgive biographical accountsofthe lives of all thegardeners, including stories of the mothers, offspring, servants, neighbors and fellow gardening enthusiasts who encouraged them.

Both of the book’sauthors are academics —Page, aliterary scholar,and Smith, an art historian. They draw from thepublications of the esteemed figures they highlight to address the issues in “Southern Women,Southern Landscapes,”but they also conducted archival research from novels, poetry essays, letters, newspapers, bookillustrations, photographs, folk art and more.

The quality that this book offers, which many others about gardens do not,isthat it does not feature publicsupported national or stateformal spaces, but rather shows what the individual can do and what some have already done.

It might inspire areader to get a trowel and some seeds or pass along plantsand learn what nature can do with alittle help. If digging in the dirt does not appeal, perhaps awalk in somewooded area with acamera or sketch pad could provide an experience akin to the devotion to nature that many have found in creating a garden.

Newbook praises pleasuresof La.winters

Winter officially ends next month, but in Louisiana, we assume the gig is already up. Though it’sonly February,the days grow longer,brighter,bluer,greener and more glorious, like acanvas filling with paint. As winter wanes, fewwill grieve its passing. But in “Winter,” her new book, author ValMcDermid offers alove letter to the year’scoldest season, arguing that the frigid interlude between autumn and spring is worth embracing. She mentions Louisiana as one reason to love what winter offers.

McDermid lives and works in her native Scotland, where winters tend toward the gray,the dampand the blustery.She’sbest knownasapopular mystery writer,excelling in agenre that requires ajust-so arrangement of action and details.

“Winter,” aseries of brief essays about the joys of bundling up foroutdoor adventures or snuggling inside by the fire, doesn’t aspire to that kind of design. It’s loosely discursive in the best sense, like a long chat with a good friend near ablazing hearth.

In one chapter,“The Light Fantastic,” McDermidexalts the pleasures of holiday lights, their brilliance madeall the morevivid because they shine against winter’s gloom.She cites the Christmas lights of New Orleans, which she visited in 1998, as the gold standard forilluminated cheer

“The friend Iwas visiting insisted we had to tour the annual display in Audubon Park,” McDermid recalls. “I’ll admit, Iwas alittle ‘whatever’ about it.”

After seeing Yuletide lights in manyother places, she didn’texpect to be impressed by what the Crescent City had to offer

“I waswrong,” McDermid tells readers. “Wepaid our admission feetodrive into Carousel Gardens and joined aslow-moving line of cars taking their time to get their money’sworth. And it was worth every cent. The display was breathtaking in its beauty,its witand charm, and its sheer scale.”

That’shigh praise from an author who’s seen winter wonders in manyother corners of the globe.

In another chapter,McDermid recounts frosty journeys by rail, including an eventfultrip through the snowybackdrop of Russia.

“There is something quite magical about train travel through adark landscape,” she writes. “There are so fewclues as to where we are.”

Despite her travels —orperhaps because of them —McDermid seemstoappreciate winter best at her homeinScotland. The bare trees beyond her window makeiteasier “to let the wheels turn so the next piece of prose can form in my head,” she notes.

“Winter makes it easy to follow strange tracks in my mind; summer is less straightforward, obscured by green,” she writes.

Illustrated with magical images by artist and printmaker Philip Harris, “Winter” hints that the season is as much astate of mind as aspot on the calendar.It’sall the morereason to enjoy this charming book long after winter has passed.

Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com

Kestler. Copies of theRFP specifi‐cationsare available upon requestatthe Pur‐chasingOffice locatedat 705 West University Av‐enue,Lafayette,LA 70506. Telephonenumber (337) 291-8071(Attn: HeatherKestler) hkestler@lafayettela.gov RFPspecificationsshall be availableuntil twentyfour (24) hoursbefore theproposalopening date No Vendor maywithdraw hisproposalfor at least sixty(60) days afterthe time scheduledfor the openingofproposals Each proposal shallfol‐lowthe instructions listed in theRFP regard‐ingsubmittal of their proposal

Proposalswillbeevalu‐ated by thePurchaser basedonthe evaluation criteria outlined in the Requestfor Proposals. TheLafayette Consoli‐datedGovernmentre‐serves theright to reject anyand allproposals or anyportionsthereof,to waiveinformalities and to select thematerial that best suitsits needs. TheLafayette Consoli‐datedGovernment strongly encourages the participationofDBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise)inall con‐tracts or procurements letbythe Lafayette Con‐solidatedGovernment forgoodsand services andlabor andmaterial. To that end, allcontrac‐tors andsuppliers are encouraged to utilize DBEs business enter‐prises

ment Building,located at 705 West University Av‐enue,Lafayette Louisiana, until4:15p.m CentralTimeonthe 13th dayofMarch,2026 for thefollowing: ELECTRICAL LINECON‐STRUCTION andwill, shortlythere‐after,beopenedand the NAMESONLYreadaloud in theOffice of Purchas‐inglocated at 705 West University Avenue Lafayette,LA. Proposals received after theabove specified time foropen‐ingshall notbeconsid‐ered andshall be re‐turned unopened to the sender.Sealedproposals maybehandcarried or mailedtothe address listed above. Proposers areinvited to attend the openingvirtually by usingthe followinglink https://us02web.zoom us/j/82351962408? pwd=erDrv90Gh4XrsLr 8WyF9Ad0K5nGNJf.1 MeetingID: 823 5196 2408 Passcode:495935

DEADLINEFOR QUES‐TIONS: Allquestions re‐gardingthisprojectmust be submittednolater than 4:00 PM on March6, 2026 to be considered valid.All questionsbe summittedinwriting to HeatherKestler at hkestler@lafayettela.gov

Lafayette Consolidated Government PUBLISHDATES: 2/18, 2/22,3/1 DPR# 928605 177031Feb.18, 22, Mar. 1, 2026, 3t $296.85

ScopeofServices: The scopeofworkshall con‐sist of,but is notlimited to,providing laborand equipmentnecessary for theinstallationofelectri‐calfacilitiesonthe over‐head portionofthe mu‐nicipalpower system TheContractorthe Con‐tractor’sdesignatedGen‐eral Forman shallhave a minimumof fifteen (15) years’ experience in the construction andmainte‐nanceofenergized over‐head electric distribution linesofatleast 13.8kV andenergized overhead electric transmission linesofaleast 69kV.

Proposalsshall be either hand deliveredormailed in asealedenvelopeto theaddresslistedbelow Proposalsreceivedafter theappointedtimewill be determined non-re‐sponsive andwillnot be opened.Sealedpropos‐alsmustbesubmitted in one(1) original hard copy marked original one(1) exactcopy marked copy,one (1) redacted copy marked redacted,and oneelec‐tronic copy on aCDor USBdrive.Proposals should be sent to 705 West University Avenue Lafayette,LA70506 at‐tentionHeather Kestler. Copies of theRFP specifi‐cationsare availableat thePurchasingOffice lo‐catedat705 West Univer‐sity Avenue,Lafayette LA 70506. Telephone number(337) 2918071(Attn:Heather Kestler).RFP specifica‐tionsshall be available until twenty-four (24) hoursbeforethe pro‐posalopening date No Vendor maywithdraw hisproposalfor at least forty-five (45) days after thetimescheduled for theopening of proposals. Each proposal shallfol‐lowthe instructions listed in theRFP regard‐ingsubmittal of their proposal

Proposalswillbeevalu‐ated by thePurchaser basedonthe evaluation criteria outlined in the Requestfor Proposals. TheLafayette Consoli‐datedGovernmentre‐serves theright to reject anyand allproposals or anyportionsthereof,to waiveinformalities and to select thematerial that best suitsits needs. Contractorsshall be li‐censed forthe classifica‐tion of “ELECTRICAL WORK (STATEWIDE”and thesubclassification of “ELECTRICALTRANSMIS‐SION LINE” Proposals whichhavenot bidinac‐cordance with there‐quirements,shall be re‐jected andshall notbe read.Additional informa‐tion relative to licensing maybeobtainedfrom theLouisiana StateLi‐censingBoard forCon‐tractors,Baton Rouge, Louisiana. TheLafayette Consoli‐datedGovernment strongly encourages the participationofDBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise)inall con‐tracts or procurements letbythe Lafayette Con‐solidatedGovernment forgoodsand services andlabor andmaterial. To that end, allcontrac‐tors andsuppliers are encouraged to utilize DBEs business enter‐prises in thepurchaseor sub-contractingofmate‐rials, supplies, services andlabor andmaterialin whichdisadvantaged business areavailable Assistanceinidentifying said businessesmay be obtained by calling2918410.

andsouth of West Con‐gressStreet 2. Case No.2025-30-REZ 323 RueDeCommerce Rezoning Arequest to rezone prop‐erty from CH (Commer‐cial-Heavy)toCM-1 (CommercialMixed)lo‐catedgenerally northof

FREMIN, SONJA DAHLHAUSER FUSELIER, JECKELL JOSEPH

ALFRED, ANNETTE M ALLEMAN, PAYTON RYAN ALLEN, HATTIE MAE

ALVARADO, JADA BENOIT ANDERS, VICTORIA BEADOW

ARCEMENT,HEATHER BOURQUE

ARCENEAUX, DAISY DENISE

ARDOIN, JEFFERYJ

ARDOIN, DENNIS M

ARMSTEAD, KRISHWANA F

ASHBEY,ALEXIS CAROLINE

ASHLEY,LATONYARACHAEL

ASHLEY,BRITTANY KAY

AUZENNE, ELIZABETH NOEL

AVIE, FREDRICK TWAIN

BABINEAUX, SEBRINA MICHELLE

BAITY,NAGMEH BALLOWE, CLARENCE JOSEPH

BATISTE, SHERESSE MARIE

BAUDOIN, GLENN J BAUGHMAN, MICHELLE SHEAN

BAYARD, KRISTEN E

BEDNORZ, DARRELL JOHN BELL, KEA ALYCE

BELVIN, KAFFY BABINEAUX

BENOIT,AUDREY A

BENSON, MYAMONAY

BERGERON, MICHEAL DANDRE

BERNARD, PATRICK ALEXANDER

BETHEA, ERIN NICOLE

BLACK, BREANNA RAYE

BLACK, MICHELLE WINTERS

BLANCHARD, CLYDE J

BLANCHARD, JAMES ANTHONY

BLUNDELL, MADELINE KATE

BODE, CATHERINE E

BONGU, SAIKARTHIK

BONHOMME, FRANCHESSKA LAWANDA

BOUDREAUX, MARK LEE

BOURGEOIS, DEANDRE MYKEL

BOXIE, LINDSEY PAULETTE

BRASHIER, MICHELE C

BREAUX, SUSAN MARIE

BREWSTER, MICHAEL KINGMAN

BRIDGES,SHARON JENNIFER

BROADWAY,JONATHAN H BROGGI, AIDEN CHARLES

BROUSSARD, RASHAWN PAUL BROUSSARD, RODERICK JAMAL

BROUSSARD, CHRISTINE MARIE

BROUSSARD, JOSEPH E

BROUSSARD, TANYAMARIE

BROWN, KRYSTLE JOY

BROWN, STEPHEN DAVID

BRUNO, KEITHLIN JARELLE

BRYANT,CORLISSMACKENZIE

BURGOON, GERALD W BURUM, VANCE DOYLE

BUSCH, CASSANDRA ROSE LYNN

BUTEAU, CRAIG J CADE, CAROLINE AMELIA CAESAR, MEGAN

CAMPBELL, AMY B

CARLSON, DAVID ROY

CARRIER, JARREN BLAKE

CARRIERE, SHANDY PAIGE COMEAUX

CARTER, TYRELL J

CATALON, JOHN H CAZABOUN, NICOLE M CELESTINE, MARYELIZABETH CHADDICK, MYRTLE CHARGIOS, MICHELLE ANDREW CHAUVIN, LISA M CHAUVIN, HARRIET P CLARK, KATHLEEN B CLARK, TINA ANN CLARK, DYLAN OCTA COINTOT,DANIELLE EDEN COLLINS, SALLIE J COLLINS, ALEXIS TAYLOR COLLINS, BEATRICE TOLIVER COMEAUX, MONIQUE COMEAUX, PAUL S CORMIER, JEANNE ST ROMAIN

CORMIER, TARONSLER CORMIER, KRISTIANNICOLE CZOSCHKE, JUSTIN CURTIS DAIGLE, MAISON BRETT

DAMMONES, DEVANTE LAMONT

DARBY,CALLYNN FAYE DARDEN, TRENT PAUL DAVIDSON, ROLAND MELVIN DAVIS, JANET C DAY, TORYCLAYTON

DECKLER, RACHEL DAWN

DELANEY,DANIEL A DELATTE, STACY MARIE

DEROUEN, JOANNE WILLIAMS

DESVIGNES, CLARK GABRIEL

DICKINSON, JOHN DONALD

DICKINSON, KIMBERLYANNE

DIEUJUSTE, ARABELLA

DOIRON, JENNIFER CLICK

DOYLE, CALEY LYNN

DOZIER, MALIK KARRELL

DUBOSE, DILLON ROSS

DUCK, KAREN MARIE

DUGAS, LEAH F DUGAS, FERMIN

DUHON, SYDNEY

EDWARDS, NICOLE MARIE

ELLERBEE, NATHAN JERREL ESTRADA, DANIEL ISAIAH EVANS, LINDSY MORGAN

FLETCHER, PATRICIACAMPBELL

FLORSTEDT,JAMES E FONTENOT,NEIL J FONTENOT,GRAYSON JAMES FOREST,BILLYJOSEPH

FOX, HUNTER JAMES FRANCIS, XAVIER AMIRE

FRANCOIS, SCARLET WILSON

FREEMON, CHARLES KENT

GARNER, ANDREW JAMES GARRICK,CHRISTIAN RICHARD GARY,KENNETH

GASPARD, LAKIN RENEE

GATLIN, SAMUEL

GEORGE, TREVERANCELEE

GEORGE, MONICALYNN

GERACE, JOHN GERMILLION, CHARLES MARK

GHOLSTON,LAWRENCE EDWARD

GILDERSLEEVE, JUSTIN HUGH

GIRARD, SHANEMITCHELL

GONZALES, KYLE DIAZ GOODMAN, PAULA ABSHIRE

GRAY,JUDYBRIZENDINE GREEN,HALIECATHERINE GRIGGS,JAY MICHAEL GROSSIE, KYLIEPAIGE

GROSSIE, BETTY JANE

GUIDRY,VICTOR LOUIS

GUILLORY,CLINTON JOSEPH

HABBIT, PAULETTE L HAMBURG, MAURICE LAVERGNE

HANNA, MARK S HANNIE,KELSEY LAYNE

HARRIS, TRACEY MARIE

HARRISON, HARVEY EDWARD

HARST,KALAB CHANCE

HART,ROBERTJAMOI ZACHIAH

HAYES, KAITON PAIGE

HAYES, SCOTT DARSEY

HAYMAN,MALIKELI

HEBERT, ELLEN RODRIGUE

HEBERT, DONNA LEE

HEBERT, ANNETTE D

HEBERT, LAFAIR

HELAIRE, DEIONDRE ANTONIO

HENRY, LLOYD WENDELL

HESTERLY, NATALIE ANNE TUMINELLO

HIGGINS,ISAAC LANDON

HOSMER, DANIELLE MINETTE

HULIN,KEVINJOSEPH

ICARD, CHADMICHAEL

IRVIN, RONALD JOSEPH

ISADORE, MONICA ANN JACK, APRILSTJULIEN

JACKSON, MICHAEL J JACKSON, SAMANTHA J JOHN, GEORGE J JOHNSEN, MOLLY

JOHNSON,TODD KEVIN

JOHNSON,TAYLEXISSHENIA

JOHNSTON,GARYA

KAMALAKAR, MOHANAVAMSHI

KEITH, DEREK JAMES KENNEDY,TAYLOR ANN KING, JENNA FONTENOT

KING, MELISSA YVONNE KING, KARNINA DARGIN

KIZZIAR, TIMOTHYRUSSELL

KNIGHT,DAWND KNOWLTON,SUSAN W KRIDER, CLAYBURNETT

LACOMBE, IVYANNE

LANDRY, DENA D

LAPOINTE, CHELSEA RENEE

LASTRAPES, WILLIAM

LAVERGNE,CLAIRE ELYSE

LAWRANCE,THERESA BONNET

LEBLANC, ZACHARYDAVID

LEBLANC, ROXANNA

LEBLANC, SHARELLYRENEE

LEBLANC, SHAWNEDWARD

LEDBETTER, CHRISTOPHER GARY

LEGER, CHRISTA VIDRINE

LEONBANDOMO, ALEXISJOSE

LEWIS, CRAIGA

LEWIS, KEYANNTRA NESHEA LIM, BOPHA RATANAKSOK

LLEWELLYN,CHRISTOPHER

LUTZ, SHELLYROBIN

MAGEE, LEONARD R MANNTING, HALEY P MANOLAKAKIS, ERINHIGLEY

MANUEL,KAVARRIEN ANTREL

MARIE, ROBIN

MARTIN, JULIE SIMON

MATTE, MICHAEL JUDE

MATTOX, AYLA AZUCENA

MAYEAUX, GARY JOSEPH

MCCALL, KATHLEEN PATRICIA

MCMURRY, TIMOTHYCHRIS

MCZEAL, KAMMY MARIE

MELANSON, ELIZABETH CUMMINS

MENARD, NICHOLAS COLLIN

MENDOZA, DYLAN PAUL

MERCHANT,ROBERTENSLEY

MERRICK,HERBY J MILKE, MARGARET ROSE

MILLER, AARON J MILLER, JOSEPH ADAM

MILLER, ANDREW

MILLER, WENDY SARAH

MIRE, RYAN P

MITCHELL, GALEN T

MITCHELL, CANDRA RONDELL ADRIENNE

MOLES, LEE CARLTON

MORGAN,TIA LANAE

MORRIS, JOHN D MOTON,DOLORIES GAYLE

MOTON,CORYWILLIAM

MOUTON,DAVID PAUL

MOUTON,JOYCE D MOUTON,WILLIS JAMES MOUTON,MICHAEL ALLEN

NASSANS, LOUIS

NAVA-GAMEZ, XITLALYYAMILE

NETTLES, ROBERTR

NICKO, JOANNT

NIKOLSKY,SUZANNEE

NOLAN, ROBERTJAMES

NORRIS, TAYLOR BONIN

OGE, MATTHEW MURRY

OGOTI,SRIHARSHA

OWENS, CHARLES ANTHONY PARKS, ROBERTODELL PARRA, LEONARDO PATIN, HANNAH JADE WALKER PATTERSON, SCOTT ANDREW PAYNE,BRIANAKENTRELL PEARSON, JORDAN ALEXANDER PEEBLES,PIERSON LEE PELLERIN,HELEN DUGAS PETE,SERENITY LASHAWN PICARD,DARRELL JAMES PICKNEY, CODYDIONEL PIERRE, ALIANA AVELLIAN PILLARS, CARL DUSTON PLAISANCE,JANICE A PLOWDEN,GWENDOLYN CHANTEL POLK, LAKONDRA ANJANETTE POLK, KARENANN POMMIER, AMBERLASHAY PORTALIS, DEXTER JAMES PRADIER, MARCELLA ANN PREJEAN, JENNIFER LEBLANC PREJEAN, PAUL A PRY, NATHAN JAMES QUEBEDEAU, CHRIS RAWLINSON, GRAFTON R REED, JOEY SCOTT RENARD,ANDRE MICHEAL RIVERO, SUNNY GIOVANNA ROBERTS, LINDSEYSIDNEY ROBERTSON, KURT ROBINSON, ZACKARYBEAU ROBINSON, ANTONIO TORELLE RODAS, TEDDYERNESTO RODRIGUEZ, MATTHEW PAUL ROMERO, SARAH ANN ROSSLER, KELLYLYNN RUTHERFORD, KARA WYNNE SALAS-CITAL, CARMENRAMONA SANCHEZ, THERESA SANCHEZ, INEZ FRANCISCA VIZCARRA SAUCER, DANNECIA DANIELLALATRICE SAVOY,JEFFREY SCOTT SCHAUBERT,COLBREN CRAIG SCHMID,JOSEF CHARLES SCHOEFFLER, TARYNMONCRIEF SCHOLLIAN, JOHN STEVEN SCOON, BRIAN SCOTT,ALEXANDRA EMANUELLE SELF,LORI A SHAMBURGER, JAMIE TAYLOR SHANNON, THOMAS BRIAN SHAW, DAVID DAVION SHELVIN, BRENTLYN LAURA SHUMPERT,BONNIE T SIMON, CHAZ RORY SINITIERE, DONTAYLEE SMITH, WAYDEC SMITH, BELINDA WINDHAM SOLOMON, KESHIA LYNN SONNIER, MARY STEPHANIE D SPELL, HARRY LEE SPRIGGS, STEPHANIE ANN STANSBURY, SCOTT W STELLY, JOYCE C STJULIEN, BRITTNEY RENEE STONE,TIMOTHY MORRIS SUDDUTH, TRACI LANCON SUTHERLIN,JOHN W SWAIN, BEEANNA SWEAT,JOSHUA BURL TAYLOR, REBECCA SMITH TAYLOR, HYLON TROVAR THOMAS, JOANEL SHANAEY THOMPSON, JENNIFER HERNANDEZ TODD,ALCEDRICK TONYVONSHON TOFANI, JOSHUA VINSON TOLIVOUR, RENEE MARIE TONCREY,ANGELA M TRAHAN, DONNA WYATT TRAHAN, MEGAN MARIE TRAHAN, GEORGE TROCHESSET,KYLIE RENEE TROSCLAIR, LINDAR TROTTER, LINDSAYHAYES TUCKER, GARYEUGENE UGGEN, ALIAS RYKER VALLOT,BROOKE MICHELLE VEAZEY,RALPH J VICE, JOSHUA ALLAN VICE, RYAN TIMOTHY VICTOR, JOELLE MARIE VINCIGUERRA, JOHN JOSEPH VOORHIES, CHLOE EMERI WAGER, HAIDEN DREW WALKER, KRISTY BERGERON WALTON, DESMONDC WASHINGTON, PEGGY MARIE WASHINGTON, SHANICE CHANTEE WATKINS, BARRYGLENN WATKINS, BOBBIE JO WEBER, CATHERINE ROSE WICHTERICH, JOHNATHAN EDWARD WIGGINS, TROYLYNN NICOLE WILLIAMS, FRANCHESCA SHERE WILLIAMS, JAYDAVID WILLIAMS, SHEAMICHAEL WILLIAMS, ASHLEEFREDERICK WILLIAMSON, PATRICIA A WILLIAMSON, MARSHAM WILLIS, MICAH DAVID WILLIS, CINDYMARTELLE WILLIS, WILBERT WILSON, FELICIA L WILTZ, JERRON KIEFER WOODS, STEVEN YODER, JOSHUA PHILLIP ZENO, PEARL CORMIER

Aglobal jointventure is planning tobuild Starlab,one of severaldesigns competing to replace the International Space Station, which has been operated by NASAand four other space agencies for the last quarter-century.

PROVIDED RENDERING By STARLAB

WORLD OUTOFTHIS

Station

IDEAS INNOVATION &

BY RICH COLLINS Staff writer

For more thana quarter-cen-

tury, humans have lived on the International Space Station,a collaborativeorbiting laboratory paidfor by NASA and the space agencies of fourother countries.

Butthat era is scheduled to end in 2030, when NASA will most likely let the ISS,which is nearing the end ofits lifespan, reenter Earth’sorbit and fall into the PacificOcean.

Now,NASA is making plans to replace the historic spacecraft with new versions developed by theprivate sector,and aNew

Orleans aerospace contractor is playing aroleinthe process. Last fall, the company, Vivace International Corp., won abid to provide engineering, design and fabrication services for Starlab, aroughly $3 billion commercial space station being developed by aU.S.-led global joint venture competingwithseveral other high-profile contenders to launch replacements to the ISS. Because of thecompetitive nature of the work, Vivace isn’t able to disclose the pricetag for its contributiontothe project, but Luke Wright, the company’s

topexecutive,saidthe contract and several others in the pipeline will bring hundreds of hightech jobs to Michoud. Wright,a New Orleans native, saidthe project alsoisanopportunity for his hometown to playa key role as the commercial spaceflightindustry takes off, boosted by technological breakthroughs that make it more affordable thaneverbeforetosend infrastructure into space.

BELOW LEFT: Qualitycontrol inspector Johnnyyates uses a lighttolook for fractures on a high-pressure tank being built by Vivace International Corp.at Michoud AssemblyFacility in NewOrleans East. The tanks, which cancost several hundred thousand dollars each, sometimes holdspecialized gasses worthmillions.

“This will accelerate our country’sability to beat our

ä See SPACE, page 2E

BELOW RIGHT: Vivace executiveLukeWright, center, along with technicianChad Bealer and engineer Dylan Macon, looksatthe frictionstir weldingmachine at Michoud.

Smallerairportsare adding hangars

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

Since the pandemic,

services, hangar space and concierge-typeservices at fixed-base operators, the plane equivalent of gas stations and

parking garages. Across Louisiana, regional and smaller airports are expanding and upgradingtheir infrastructure, addingnew hangars, new FBO operators andnew services aimed at the private aviation market.

While the state’slargest airport, Louis Armstrong New Orleans InternationalAirport,has two large FBOs, both owned by global private equity firms,much of the recent growth has come in markets with smaller airports but growing companies and increased demand for more air service.

Over the past five or so years, fournew FBOs have opened in Baton Rouge, Hammond, Monroeand New Orleans’ Lakefront Airport Otherproviders have expanded existingoperations. Experts esti-

By CHRIS GRANGER

Privatejet boom boosts demand fornew services in Louisiana

mate theinvestments have totaled in the tens of millions of dollars. And they expect thegrowthto continue.

Baton Rouge attorney Brett Furr, whoownsacharterplane company,Baton Rouge AirCharter & Management, and recentlysold his FBO, BTR Jet, said thebiggest appeal of private airtravel is the convenience of not having to deal with airlines, airport security or weather delays. “If you’ve got six people going to Houston for ameeting on Tuesday for four hours, it’snot awhole lot moreexpensive to charter aplane than it is to buy six tickets,” said Furr,apartner at Taylor Porter Plus, smallerplanescan reach

ä See JET, page 2E

adversaries to the moon and our general defense posture,” Wright said during a tour of Vivace’s 150,000-square-foot Michoud production space last week. “It’s also important to this area because Michoud has provided quality jobs for engineers and highly skilled technicians for years We’re going to capitalize on that for aerospace, space travel and national defense.”

Space station competition

Starlab is in play because NASA wants to get out of the space station business, which costs the agency roughly $4 billion annually

Instead, the agency is prioritizing a return to the moon and other space exploration. To that end, it’s hoping the commercial space industry will take over the construction and maintenance of stations that can house astronauts, researchers and even space tourists.

To get things started NASA is funding several competing groups that are pursuing their own designs.

Starlab majority owner Voyager Technologies raised $383 million via an initial public offering last year for its solution. A competing partnership between the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin and Sierra Space is developing a station called the Orbital Reef. Another domestic competitor, Axiom, is planning its own design.

To date, NASA has committed more than $200 million toward Starlab’s total price tag and has made large investments in the other projects as well. All are competing for more public dollars though it’s possible more than one will launch space stations without additional taxpayer help.

Each company’s approach is different. Starlab, which will hold at least four astronauts, is built with research in mind. The Orbital Reef has been described as an outer space modular “business park.” And Axiom infrastructure will start by connecting to the existing ISS before forming its own selfsufficient spacecraft

“Starlab is designed for research, but also for commercial space tourism,” Wright said. “Wealthy individuals could potentially fly up there for a vacation. Katy Perry could stay the night instead of just a few minutes.”

To the moon

The Starlab partners announced the selection of Vivace to manufacture the primary structure of their commercial space station last September. The small company was able to bid on the job after building a track record of making similar

Continued from page 1E

more remote locations with smaller runways.

“The biggest reason people fly privately is to save time,” said Doug Gollan, a longtime aviation journalist who founded a subscription-based buyer’s guide called Private Jet Card Comparisons. “It’s not the ‘Kardashians luxury experience’ or glamorous videos. It’s basically door-to-door time savings.”

Changing market

Last year, saw a record number of private jet flights, around the world and in the U.S., which makes up about two-thirds of the market, according to data from aviation market intelligence firm WingX. Activity in 2025 was up by 34% over 2019 levels.

New business models have also boosted demand. Fractional ownership allows for customers to sign a multiyear contract to buy access to a set number of flight hours on a private jet. Jet cards that come preloaded with $100,000 or more that can be used for private flights without the complications and commitment of full ownership. Owner-operated jets now make up a minority of flight hours, having been overtaken by charter and fractional jets in 2020.

As a result, revenue for U.S. FBOs has grown more than 25% over the past decade to $6.2 billion and is projected to grow even faster over the next five years, according to market research firm Insight Partners.

Capital investment at capital

Some of the most significant FBO growth in Louisiana has come at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, which local users attribute, in part, to a $3.7 million taxiway expansion in 2024 that opened up land adjacent to the airfield for additional development.

Since 2020, there have been 18 new hangars of varying sizes and configurations built at the airport

two by BTR Jet, three by Williams

Vivace International Corp. executive Luke Wright stands next to a sample structure panel for the Starlab commercial space station at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East. Last fall, Vivace, won a bid to provide engineering design and fabrication services for Starlab a roughly $3 billion commercial space station being developed by a U.S.-led global joint venture competing with several other high-profile contenders to launch replacements to the International Space Station.

“Starlab is designed for research, but also for commercial space tourism. Wealthy individuals could potentially fly up there for a vacation. Katy Perry could stay the night instead of just a few minutes.”

LUKE WRIGHT,Vivace International Corp. executive

aluminum structures using a special type of welding that’s become common in aerospace.

The company was founded in 2006 in San Antonio to make very lightweight, specialized tanks for satellites and other spacecraft. It moved to Michoud in 2012 to take advantage of attractive rent and amenities after the facility sought new tenants to fill space left behind after the end of the Space Shuttle program.

Several years ago, Vivace began building larger space hardware at Michoud using “friction stir welding,” in which a spinning tool heats up, softens and blends the edges of metal pieces together Once the metal cools, the connections are much stronger than those created by traditional welding.

Wright said the company has been getting more and more work related to the booming private sector space industry, including

fabricating several tanks for an uncrewed spacecraft created by Texas company Firefly Aerospace that landed on the moon last year

“We’re a partner for many of the industry’s lunar payload programs,” he said.

In 2024, Vivace founder Dave Cochran sold a portion of the business to Cerberus, a $70 billion global investment and private equity firm.

At the same time, the company hired Wright, who spent nearly two decades at industrial conglomerate Textron, to be director of operations. Since then, Cerberus bought the company outright and made Wright its top executive.

Today, Vivace has about 70 employees. It does not report annual

revenue figures, which will likely get a boost from its work for Starlab.

Wright said that, when completed, the space station will be the largest pressurized vessel ever designed to launch in one piece. The habitat is nearly 30 feet in diameter, and the entire spacecraft is about six stories tall when including a cone that houses life support equipment and other systems.

“The International Space Station was constructed in space, piece by piece, using the shuttle,” Wright said. “This project aims to build the entire structure on Earth.”

Starlab is one of many subcontractors working on the project. Others will attach armored panels,

Smaller airports like New Orleans Lakefront Airport are responding to a growing interest in private aviation, which is boosting demand for fueling services, hangar space and concierge-type services at fixed-base operators, the plane equivalent of gas stations and parking garages.

Jet Center and 12 by a retired op-

tometrist’s real estate venture, 337.

BTR Jet also has built a new, larger administrative building, and Signature Aviation, the world’s largest FBO chain, has renovated its offices and hangar area.

“We had demand for tenants, so we felt like, if we built the hangars, we would generate enough fuel sales,” Furr said. “We’ve been pretty much continuously full since we’ve been open.”

Local companies with their own aircraft are also getting in on the act. Industrial construction firm

Performance Contractors for one, is completing construction on a new hangar on land adjacent to the recently extended portion of taxiway Williams, the airport’s smallest FBO, has plans to build new hangars with space for about 32 more aircraft, aiming to more than double the amount of planes it services.

Owner Luke Lewis said there is a

national shortage of hangar space.

He’s targeting clients who own their own planes, with plans to sell one-third of the new hangar space to owner-operators in a condo-style arrangement.

“Some of them build out little areas in the corner for TV and lounge or whatever,” Lewis said.

“It’s like their own little slice of paradise before they take off in their private aircraft.”

More than half of the spaces have already presold, he said anticipating the construction would be complete in about a year

Expansion across state

At some of the state’s airports, the growth has been fueled by industrial expansion. In Monroe, construction of the Meta data center in nearby Richland Parish helped boost the airport’s 2025 passenger traffic by more than 12% over the previous year Now, plans are underway to build the airport’s second FBO.

life-support systems and more crucial components. It’s a complicated collaboration.

“Every small adjustment by any of these companies can affect what you’re doing,” Wright said. “If they add half an inch to something, we have to redo everything.

Wright’s team in New Orleans will design, engineer and build the structure. A sister company in California, called Votaw, is machining some of the metal panels, which will be sent to New Orleans to be welded together

Vivace’s goal is to complete construction of the cone section by June, and the entire vessel is due to be operational before the ISS is decommissioned at the end of the decade. Wright is hoping Michoud’s strategic location and access to a deep water port will allow more work to be done on site.

“We have a lot of capability here and would love to do more of the assembly,” he said. “It’s hard to move a structure of this size. It makes sense to do as much as possible here.

More work for Michoud

Wright isn’t the only one hoping for more work at Michoud, an 832acre complex in the swamps of New Orleans East with a 65-year history of contributions to space exploration. The facility has also been a crucial source of high-tech engineering and manufacturing jobs in the state.

In the 1960s, NASA and its private contractors used the site to build the rockets that sent Apollo missions to the moon. Later, it was the manufacturing location for the external fuel tanks that powered the Space Shuttle flights. Now it provides several key components for NASA’s Artemis program, which has struggled with delays and cost overruns but is gearing up for its first crewed flight in the next few months.

Vivace, meanwhile, will be competing for more work for companies building satellites, lunar landers, space stations, hypersonic weapons and other areas of expertise.

Wright said the Cerberus acquisition of Vivace, which was officially announced Wednesday, Feb. 18 will help the company scale production capacity, enhance advanced manufacturing capabilities and support a growing portfolio of national security and space programs. But a key milestone will be completing its most high-profile project.

“Starlab is making this replacement for the space station,” he said. “Yes, there’s a competition with the NASA program, which is very important, but they are positioned very well to succeed.”

Email Rich Collins at rich. collins@theadvocate.com.

of a new FBO in Hammond aimed at luxury flyers. Once complete, it will include more than 100,000 square feet of hangar space able to accommodate the industry’s largest private jets, with amenities like a recreation room, private showers and a movie theater in a 10,000-square-foot terminal building.

At New Orleans Lakefront Airport, the owner of charter aircraft company Jazz Aviation last year opened a new FBO, Skyborne. It’s the third FBO at the lakefront airport. CEO Ankur Hukmani is now hoping to build a new private terminal at the site.

Private equity sees opportunity

The growth in the aircraft services market, with its recurring revenue from fuel sales and leases, has made it appealing to private equity, which is buying up FBOs like it has medical practices, law firms and real estate brokerages.

Airport Director Charles Butcher, who also heads the Louisiana Airport Managers Association, said there are a variety of different ownership arrangements between airports, FBOs and airplane hangars.

“Sometimes the FBO owns the hangars, sometimes the airport owns most of the hangars,” Butcher said. “Regardless, for the most part, the airport always owns the ground underneath the hangars.”

Private aviation at Monroe Regional Airport was “dead” prior to the pandemic, according to DaveAir owner Dave McGee, who is building the new FBO in 30,000 square feet of hangar space vacated by Lumen Technology two years ago. It’s an expansion of his flight school and will be an “all-inone” facility, able to store, service and repair planes.

Elsewhere in the state, Rob Scariano’s Sky X Aircraft Services recently completed the first phase of a $16 million construction

“It’s like Monopoly There’s only a certain amount of FBOs on a field, and some of them are longterm leases,” said Gollan. Experts date the trend to 2021, when Signature Aviation, the world’s largest FBO chain with six Louisiana locations, was acquired for $4.7 billion by a Blackstone-led consortium.

“It’s almost like it was the first company or first ownership structure to break the ice, and once that happened, everybody’s like, ‘OK, this is safe, we can do this,’” said Jessica Ballou, an appraiser and a partner in the aviation real estate consultancy BA Group.

In 2020, none of Louisiana’s FBOs were owned by private equity Today, five are, including Furr’s BTR Jet Center, which was acquired in early February by the Miami firm that owns the Velocity FBO Network.

“We’ve had offers in the past,” Furr said. “This was the best offer we had, and we felt like there was a good commonality of how to manage it, be customer-focused, offer quality service, good prices.” Email Jonah Meadows at Jonah. Meadows@theadvocate.com.

ASK THE EXPERTS

Developer’s

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Q&A WITH MIKE WAMPOLD

With a portfolio that includes hotels, office buildings, apartment complexes and an 1,800-acre, mixed- use community in Baton Rouge with hundreds of upscale, single-family homes and a school, Mike Wampold is, arguably, Louisiana’s most prolific and experienced real estate developer

He got his start in the early 1980s, using low-interest loans from the Farmers Home Administration to develop apartment complexes in rural Louisiana. His big break came in 1985 when he won two federal contracts, totaling $30 million, to develop military housing at Fort Polk. Before he could break ground, interest rates plummeted, enabling him to finish both complexes with a profit that he would go on to leverage.

A few years later, when a variety of economic crises resulted in a huge inventory of distressed properties on the market, Wampold was able to buy cheap, fix them up and lease them at a premium He gradually amassed a diverse portfolio, often holding onto raw dirt for years or even decades until the timing was right to build. It was a slow-growth strategy that paid off.

Today, Wampold counts among his holdings the historic Whitney Bank building in downtown New Orleans, which he insists he still plans to renovate more than seven years after buying it; hotels in Texas, Atlanta and Clearwater Florida; and some of Baton Rouge’s best known properties, including: I and II Rivermark Centre (the old Chase Bank towers), City Plaza and II City Plaza United Centre (the old Shaw Tower), Bayonne at Southshore (which overlooks the

Milford ‘Mike’ Wampold III, of Wampold Cos., has gradually amassed a diverse portfolio, often holding onto raw dirt for years or even decades until the timing was right to build. It was a slow-growth strategy that paid off.

LSU lake), the Watermark and Renaissance hotels, and Harveston, the mixed-use community

In this week’s Talking Business, Wampold discusses where he sees opportunity across Louisiana, what’s on the top of his to-do list and why he’s more bullish on Baton Rouge than ever. Interview has been edited for length and clarity

You buy and sell so much and are constantly growing and developing.What is the status of Wampold Cos.’ portfolio today?

We still have our original 600 military family housing units in Fort Polk that we finished in 1988 — and plenty of others. But we

have pared it down to what we feel are the best and brightest of our properties Bayonne The Residences at Rivermark (high-end apartments in 14 floors of I Rivermark Center, the old Chase South Tower), Chateau Dijon (a luxury apartment complex off Essen Lane in Baton Rouge), Bayou Shadows in Lafayette. Rivermark was an ambitious project — converting a midcentury,brutalist-style high-rise to mixed use with 168 luxury apartments. How is it doing? It’s doing really well. The apartments are 99% leased and all but one of the seven floors of office is leased.

Rivermark II, the former Chase North Tower, was 100% occupied until McGlinchey Stafford closed and moved out, so now we have one floor in that building that is completely built out, fully furnished and available. So, overall, that project is doing well.

Another of your high-profile projects is the old Whitney Bank building in New Orleans. Is that still moving forward?

I guess it depends on your definition of forward. We are in the process of gathering economic incentives and a potential joint venture partner I would think in 2026, we’ll establish a definite direction for that building. But the plan is still to convert it to a hotel.

Over the past year we’ve seen several downtown hotels sell at a deep discount as occupancy rates have remained relatively soft. You still believe there is demand for this one?

What you say is true, but I do believe there is demand. What has been built new in the last five years down there? Not much, and the No. 1 complaint you hear is that there are not enough hotel rooms. I think highest and best use for that building is a hotel. It’s a great location, ideal for the business traveler and just two blocks from the French Quarter

What is your main focus these days?

Harveston. It’s the most exciting thing right now on our plate. We are currently under construction on all the infrastructure work for the mixed-use commercial

There has not been overbuilding in this market. Our hotels the Watermark and Renaissance — outperform all the New Orleans hotels I have seen the numbers on. Hotels in downtown New Orleans averaged 60% occupancy last year and their ADR was suffering. We were at 79%

Amid controversial pricing, Chipotle is losing its sizzle

BY CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN

Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, the Cal-

ifornia-based chain known for its bursting burritos and lunch bowls, just finished its worst year ever

Its same-store sales declined last year for the first time since going public two decades ago. The downturn reflects what analysts say is a broader slowdown in fast casual chains — considered a step above fast food but below full-service restaurants.

In a K-shaped economy where the few with money are still spending while everyone else is anxious about rising prices and keeping their jobs Chipotle is stuck in a sour spot. It isn’t a destination for the rich. Instead, it is a skippable splurge for those looking to save.

“Our guests (are) placing heightened focus on value and quality and pulling back on overall restaurant spending,” Chipotle Chief Executive Scott Boatwright said recently after announcing earnings.

In an uncertain economy muddied by tariffs and an immigration crackdown, consumers are cutting back on discretionary spending and increasingly seeking the best value on essentials such as lunch and dinner

Chipotle has boomed in popularity since opening in Denver in 1993. It moved its headquarters to California in 2018.

The burrito staple opened 334 new locations last year bringing its total to roughly 4,000 The company’s net income was $1.5 billion in 2025, virtually flat compared to the year prior Its comparable sales lost steam with a roughly 2% decline in 2025 following a 7.4% increase in 2024.

In an earnings call earlier this month, executives estimated that same-store sales would be about flat in 2026, with 350 to 370 new restaurants slated to open.

“As we move into 2026, the consumer landscape is shifting,” Boatwright said.

In a K-shaped economy where the few with money are still spending while everyone else is anxious about rising prices and keeping their jobs, Chipotle Mexican Grill, the California-based

He tried to suggest that Chipotle customers are from the upwardsloping part of the K in the Kshaped economy so it will not be planning big price cuts to attract new customers. Boatwright said on the earnings call that 60% of Chipotle’s core customers make more than $100,000 per year

“We’ve learned the guest skews younger, a little more higher income, and we’re gonna lean into that,” Boatwright said.

The company’s suggestion that it doesn’t plan to do much more for cost-conscious consumers sparked an online debate that the burrito giant is no longer for regular people. McDonald’s demonstrated the

value of offering more value these days It announced recently that its sales surged after the launch of its $5 meal deal last year part of broader value wars among fastfood establishments.

Chipotle has tried to offer value by not raising its prices as much as inflation would require, reviving a rewards program, testing a “happier hour” with lower prices and offering smaller portions at lower prices.

Chipotle came under fire in 2024 for dishing out inconsistent portion sizes but has since recommitted to giving every customer a “generous” helping.

Late last year, Chipotle launched

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a high-protein menu that includes inexpensive options like a cup of chicken or steak for around $4.

Protein has been trending as the rise of GLP-1s have many Americans eating less and focused on getting the most out of their meals.

“This is going to be a marquee year for Chipotle to get back on track,” said Jim Salera, a restaurant analyst at Stephens. “Chipotle has traditionally been much more resilient through ebbs and flows of the consumer, but nobody’s immune.”

The company has weathered other challenges in the past. Its business took a hit when it served tainted food that sickened more

than 1,100 people in the U.S. from 2015 to 2018. The company paid a $25 million fine to resolve criminal charges connected with the outbreaks.

Some full-service restaurants are also lowering prices to levels that compete with Chipotle, analysts said. A Chipotle burrito or bowl plus a drink costs around $15, while the value-focused fullservice restaurant Chili’s offers a multicourse meal for under $11.

“The pricing advantage that fast casual has relative to other segments has eroded significantly,” said Aneurin Canham-Clyne, who covers restaurants for the trade publication Restaurant Dive. Middle- and upper-income consumers aged 25 to 30 make up a significant share of Chipotle’s business, but many are looking for cheaper ways to get their meals.

Fast casual chains have to rely on consumers with a range of incomes, not just the top 20% of households, Canham-Clyne said.

“White collar workers making in the low six figures in major cities who are feeling the heat from services inflation or feeling insecure in their jobs as a result of AI, they’re going to be saving a little bit more money,” he said.

Chipotle shares have fallen more than 37% over the past year, and it is not the only fast casual company to struggle in the stock market.

Sweetgreen, headquartered in Los Angeles and catering to a healthconscious Southern California consumer has seen its shares plummet 80% over the past year The Mediterranean bowl spot Cava saw shares fall more than 50% over the same time period.

Canham-Clyne said Chipotle is not yet in dire straits. The brand has proven itself consistent and appealing to those looking for high-quality meals at a lower price than most sit-down restaurants.

“They sell a lot of burritos, they have a lot of stores,” CanhamClyne said. “They can survive a bit of a downturn and continue to grow.”

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Tariff uncertainty,tax changes,and ashifting jobmarkethaverecentlyhinderedproject momentum —but opportunityisonthe horizon. AvidentAdvisors is readytoguide your site selectionstrategyasactivity acceleratesin2026, fueled by growth in steel, shipbuilding,hydrogen, batterymaterials aerospace, food processing,and data centers. Across industries,top site selection criteria remain consistent:power,infrastructure, workforce, andwater.Statesare investing heavilyinsitereadiness,withLouisiana recently announcing a$150million initiative along withother US states.Atthe same time incentive structures areevolvingfromdirectdisbursements to customizedpackagesemphasizing infrastructureand workforcesolutions tailored to specificindustries.

Fromsitereadiness programs to customized solutions, AvidentAdvisors is proudtohelpleadthe wayforward to secure competitiveadvantagesina changinglandscape

MajorprojectsacrossLouisiana aremoving from announcementtoreality.Morethan $76 billion in capitalinvestment is creating over 70,000 jobopportunities,with averagesalariesexceeding $90,000 The work spansacrossenergy, manufacturing, infrastructure andlogistics to grow Louisianacommunitiesstatewide

Veteran’s filtration concept wins contest

NavyveteranDemiladeOloyede won first place at the Veteran Energy and Manufacturing Pitch Competition last week.

The event, co-hostedbyFuture Use of Energy in Louisiana and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’sLouisiana Entrepreneurship andEconomic Development Center,was held to advance energyinnovation, commercialization and workforce developmentacross Louisiana.

Oloyede is the CEO of Texasbased AquaGuard, atechnology

Fool’sTake:

Apaycheck giant

company focused on helping water filtrationsystems catch contaminants, such as heavy metals, at an early stage. Her company uses absorption technology through aphysical attachment added to existing systems,she said. This saves time and resources by shortening installationtime andallowing businesses to have cleaner water withoutthe need to build additional water filtration systems.

Since joining AquaGuard in 2024, Oloyede said her company hasexpandedinto national businesses like P.F. Changs, LA Fitness and Children’sNational Hospital,

BUSINESS BRIEFS

generating morethan $1 million in sales in 2025.

Army veteran DarylRoy won secondplacewithSentiFiber,a company thatuses its ownmaterialtointernally assess theintegrity of composite materials.Compositematerials areusedinlarge vesselslike aircraft,dronesand spacecraft According to Roy,the technologyallows damage to be detected before thefailure of thematerial.

Todd Buckman, an Army Ranger veteran, placed thirdwith his company, Roadrunner Mobile DisasterUnit. His company delivers support to displaced families,

for your first few years, too.

homeless communitiesand first responders through distributing disaster mobileunits.

Theunits include essentials like beds, sanitation,power sources andintegrated communication systems.

Othercontestants wereTom Barnett,ofNovaSpark;Jesse Stephens, of ARC; Brandon Hotard, of AquaShield; and James Hess, of Unknown Cyber Dunkin’ site to feature ‘Next Generation’ design

ADunkin’ location planned for Lafayette will open in March, the

company announced.

The popularbreakfast andcoffeechain’s1,700-square-foot store at 3546 Ambassador Caffery Parkway,Suite 100, will featurethe brand’s“Next Generation” design andinclude aconferenceroom. It will be open from 5a.m. to 9p.m. daily It is the second Dunkin’ location planned for the Lafayette area. AFlorida group recently bought the oldHardee’sinCarencrowith plans to open aDunkin’ combolocation witha Baskin-Robbins and Jimmy John’s. Work has yet to begin on that building.

Motley Fool

Automatic Data Processing (Nasdaq: ADP), also known as ADP,isalongtime dividend-paying stock —and it has increased its payout every year for more than 50 years. Its most recent increase was asolid10% bump, and the stock recently yielded 2.8%. (It has also been rewarding shareholders via share buybacks.)

More than 75 years old, ADPis aleading provider of employer solutions, best known for its payroll and human resources services. It serves more than 1 million companies of every type and size, both in the U.S.and worldwide.

Given the nature of itsbusiness, ADPisnot ahigh-growth company.Itis, however,ahighly and reliably profitableone.Its January earnings report (for the second quarter of its fiscal 2026) showed revenue up 6% year over year and earnings per share up 11%. And its stock has notched average annual gains of 12% over the past 15 years.ADP can keep growing by adding more companies to serve, and also by offering them more services to sign up for Businesses with ADP’skind of sustainedprofitabilityare rare. That stability,combined with a

dividend yield that’swell above the averageof1.1% for all S&P 500 componentstocks, makes ADP asolid andreliable income stock. It’sresilient during economic downturns, too, because companies will still need to keep paying workers and managing their workforces.

Fool’sSchool: Wayto abetter retirement

Whether retirement is around the corner or it’sstill decades away,there are some actionsyou can taketomake your future more financially secure. Here are some tips. You’llneed aplan. Take some time to estimate how much incomeyou ll need fora comfortable retirement, and then figure out how you’ll get it. Make your estimate as accurate as possible, consideringfactorssuch as health care costs and inflation. Consider consulting afee-only financial planning professional, too, as they should know much more about retirement issues than you, and they can save you or earn you more than they cost. (You can find afee-only adviser nearyou at napfa.org.)

Aim to have multiple income streams in retirement, so that if onedisappoints, you’ll still have others. These could include Social Security benefits, pensions, annuities, dividends,interest and/or rental income. Youcan graduallymakewithdrawals from retirement accounts. You might consider apart-time job

Other possibilities include relocating to aless costly region or takinginaboarder.You might even consider getting areverse mortgage.

The easiest way to amass a retirementwar chest is to regularly invest part of your income in one or morelow-fee broadmarket index funds over many years.

Be sure to learnmoreabout Social Security, because thedecision about when to start collecting your benefits is important. Youcan start as early as age 62 or as late as 70, and your checks will be bigger or smaller depending on when you start. (Remember that while starting earlier meanssmaller checks, you’ll also get more of them.) Find out moreatssa.gov In your planning, also consider nonfinancial matters. It’scommon for new retirees to feel aimless or lonely.Explore activities that you might enjoy in retirement, including social outlets.

Youcan get moreretirement advice at fool.com by clicking on the “Retirement” tab up top Consider asking retired friends for their tips, as well.

Ask the Fool:

The strike price

What’sa “strikeprice” in relation to a stock option? —B.N., Folly Beach, South Carolina It’sthe price at which the option (which gives you aright to purchase stock before acertain

date) can be exercised. Imagine that youwork forScruffy’s Chicken Shack (ticker: BUKBUK) and receive 100 stock options with astrike price of $40 each. Later —before the expiration date —Scruffy’sstock is trading at $90 per share, so you decide to “exercise” your options.

Youcan do so by buying 100 shares at $40each —rather than their going price of $90 —paying $4,000 for100 shares that are worth $9,000. Of course, it’sabit morecomplicated than that. There are tax issues to consider,for example. Andoptions do expire, so you’ll need to keep that in mind. It’s best to read therules of your stock optionplan carefully and consider seeking professional financial advice as well.

What’sastock’s“multiple”? —H.S., Atlanta It’sa ratiocomparing two metrics related to the stock or company.Acommon one is the price-to-earnings ratio, which is thestock’s current price divided by thecompany’sannual earnings per share. Imagine Buzzy’s Broccoli Beer (ticker: BRRRP) is trading at $50 per share. If it earned $2 per share over the past year,its trailing P/E is 25 (50 divided by 2), so you can say it’s trading at a“multiple” of 25. Of course, you should never base an investmentdecision on just one or afew numbers. But it can be helpful to compare a company’smultiples with companies in thesame industry to

advise

We

to stick with the

lieve

—because

Do you have asmart or regrettableinvestmentmove to share withus? Email it to tmfshare@fool.com.

What was the best piece of advice you received early in your career?

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

Whether business or personal, the best advice rarely comes from a textbook.

You can’t find it in a strategic plan or an employee handbook. It’s not emblazoned on the wall. It may not have sounded profound at the time.

But regardless of its origin, it stuck with you for decades, shaped your professional development and helped guide your business philosophy

In this week’s One Big Question, we ask several business leaders from different industries across south Louisiana: What was the best piece of advice you received early in your career?

TIM BARFIELD

principal and president, CSRS, Baton Rouge

They call it “work” for a reason

You’re going to have to do a lot of things you don’t want to do or aren’t comfortable doing, you’re going to have to go out of your comfort zone.

But whatever you’re asked to do, whatever you’re called to do, just throw your heart and soul into it and do the best job you can, and learn as much as you can. If you put in the effort and do a good job, people will notice that and give you more opportunities.

That’s what I was told early in my career, and now, when I sit and mentor people, that’s what I tell them. It has served me well, and I still try to live that almost every day

If you put that effort in, you may not be the expert like some people are, but people respect you really soon. That’s been a great telltale for my career, which has been a crazy career I’ve done a lot of dif-

Regardless of its origin, the best advice can stick with you for decades, shaping your

and help guide your business philosophy.

ferent things, none of which I was qualified to do when I started.

VICTORIA PHIPPS

vice president of global philanthropy, JP Morgan Chase, New Orleans

It likely was from one of my college professors — I truthfully cannot pinpoint which one — but it’s something that I have carried around with me and that I talk about most frequently when I’m having conversations with young people in their careers.

I was taught to “sharpen the points of my star.” There’s a lot of conversation about being wellrounded in business and in your career, but I don’t subscribe to that.

I think you should focus relent-

lessly on your strengths and be intentional about surrounding yourself with people whose strengths offset your weak spots.

In my own career, I spend a lot of time assessing the things that I know I am exceptional at, the things that I’m pretty strong at, and the things that I know I’m never going to be at the top of the heap at, and try to govern myself accordingly

We all have things that we either are exceptional at or have the potential to be exceptional at — and we likely will get further faster and deliver more impact by focusing on those things than trying to strengthen the things that might not be our natural assets and strengths.

DEANNA RODRIGUEZ

CEO, Entergy New Orleans

I had just moved to Louisiana and I called one of my colleagues in Baton Rouge, and I said, “Hey, this is Deanna Rodriguez. I’m calling about, blah blah blah blah.”

And he goes, “Hey, Deanna, how’s your mama?” I’m like, “What?” He goes, “Well, we should start this conversation with how’s your mama?” I just started laughing. “My mom’s fine.” I loved it. It really stopped me. It got me thinking: That’s where you have to add connectivity to whatever it is that you’re doing.

People are people Do you know about them? Do they know about you? That way, people are more likely to understand where you’re

coming from, and business can be dealt with in a way that is less adversarial and more collaborative. We’re at the (New Orleans City) Council often, and we’re an adversary Sometimes we have angry customers — more often we have happy customers — our team knows this: We need to lean in either way If they don’t know you, if you’re invisible, if they don’t see you, it’s easier to hate somebody that’s a corporation rather than somebody that’s a person.

DENNIS STINE

CEO, Stine Lumber Co., Lake Charles I worked with Buddy Roemer many times. In his speeches, he said, “It’s real simple: Buy low and sell high,” which was the same values as Warren Buffett, and I’ve read every one of his board reports since 1965.

His advice is enduring over time for small businesses or large businesses throughout any and all economic conditions. It was the same principle that he undertook in being a value investor that he learned from his mentor, Benjamin Graham, of Columbia University

It’s all about creating economic value, to add economic value in everything you do. And quite frankly it’s getting harder and harder to do it with an economy that is not good in Louisiana, when we’ve lost 55,000 people in the last five years, and most other states have increased population. We’re struggling. We’re really struggling. And I’m struggling to figure out how I can add value between lost population and increased inflation. I think about it constantly What was the best career advice you ever received? Drop us a line at biztips@theadvocate.com.

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A new program at Southeastern Louisiana University aims to help Louisiana stroke

‘Positive changes’

Southeastern University program helps stroke patients with aphasia

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

When a stroke steals a person’s ability to communicate, the loss is often invisible but life-altering.

Conversations halt. Independence shrinks. Isolation creeps in A new program in Hammond aims to help Louisiana stroke survivors reclaim both movement and language.

The program’s origins go back to 2024, when Eddie Hebert stumbled upon a science journal newsletter

about a program in Montana that combined university efforts to provide care and support for stroke patients who suffered aphasia.

“I thought, ‘Well, we could do that at Southeastern,’ ” said Hebert, a Southeastern University professor of kinesiology His first mission: learn more about aphasia. That’s where Rebecca Parker, a Southeastern associate professor for communication sciences and disorders, came in.

Together a year later the pair launched the Physical Activity and

Communication Together program, or PACT The university-based program, open to people with aphasia in Hammond and surrounding Louisiana communities, helps stroke survivors practice speaking, moving and reconnecting socially Aphasia is a language disorder typically caused by stroke that creates difficulties speaking, understanding, reading or writing.

One third of all stroke survivors have long-term aphasia and many

ä See PROGRAM, page 2X

Uterine cancer cases are

Survival gaps persist for Black women

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

In January, the American Cancer Society reported that for the first time women younger than 50 had a higher cancer incidence rate than men. Based on 2023 data, cancer incidence rates among women under 50 were 82% higher than among men, up from 51% in 2022. One cancer driving that shift is uterine

cancer

Uterine cancer is a collection of different diseases, but the most common is endometrial cancer, a cancer that forms in the lining of the uterus.

“Those are the majority of the cases that we see,” said Dr Chad Hamilton, gynecologic oncologist at Ochsner Health, based in New Orleans. “Both the incidence rates and the mortality rates are increasing for endometrial cancer.”

As the incidence and mortality of many cancer types are declining in the U.S. uterine cancer cases have been increasing by about 1% per year and the

climbing

death rate by 1.5% per year even more among non-White women.

In 2025, an estimated 69,120 uterine cancer cases were diagnosed in the U.S. and 13,860 died from the disease, according to American Cancer Society data. In Louisiana in 2025, 780 new uterine cancer cases were diagnosed with 120 deaths due to uterine cancer

Over the last decade, the incidence for uterine cancers in Louisiana increased from 5.5 new cases per 100,000 in 2011 to 6.4 new cases per 100,000 in 2021, data

ä See CANCER, page 3X

HEALTH MAKER

Sports medicine doctor followed his roots to medicine

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

Dr Christopher (CJ) Tosino is a sports medicine specialist and primary care physician in Acadiana, with expertise in sports-related injuries.

Tosino earned his medical degree from Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Dublin Ohio. He completed a residency at Dublin Methodist Hospital and a sports medicine fellowship at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama Tosino, who started working with Ochsner Lafayette General Andrews Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Institute in November, is accepting new patients and referrals for sports injuries, musculoskeletal conditions and regenerative treatments.

Originally from Ohio, Tosino said he enjoys running, cycling, hiking, golfing, enjoying live music and spending time with his fiancee outside of work. When did medicine become a possibility for your career? Where did your interest begin?

I lean heavily on my roots. I come from a family that originated in the Philippines. My grandfather was a first-generation immigrant. He was the first generation of my dad’s side of the family to disconnect from the usual family trade, which was farming. His family laughed at him, said, “There’s no way you’re going to do it.”

He married his childhood sweetheart and immigrated to the United States to start his medical residency in anesthesiology and was a practicing anesthesiologist in Toledo, Ohio, for over 40 years. My father grew up in that household and ended up in medicine as well. He’s still a practicing family physician in northeast Ohio. He’s an incredible doctor He’s an incredible father He’s

Dr Christopher (CJ) Tosino is a sports medicine specialist and primary-care physician in Acadiana, with expertise in sports-related injuries.

an awesome guy in general. I usually tell people that, for better or for worse, I’m becoming him a little bit more.

I’m a former athlete. I played football, baseball, basketball growing up my entire life. I ended up playing baseball in college, and it really gave me a good shot to try to work out for a couple major league teams before I ended up having an unfortunate injury that ended my career

But those experiences — the experiences of being an athlete and a teammate — led me down the path of sports medicine. I want to take care of patients who are motivated to get back to what they love That’s something that pushes me harder and harder, not only as the physician in the room, but also in my own life

At what point did you move from athlete to doctor?

I was a collegiate baseball

player I was a double major, double minor I think that gave me a sense of accountability and a lot of responsibility to stay on top of my studies and to also try to work as hard as I could to be the best in baseball and to be the best teammate that I could be.

I graduated in 2016 and through my “failed baseball career,” I took a year off in between college and medical school. In that gap year I got a job as a medical scribe at an orthopedic surgery clinic. They took care of Akron University Athletics in Ohio. That was my first true introduction to sports medicine.

I think that experience, that insight, gave me more and more determination to eventually get to that, that mountaintop.

My time in my family medicine residency at Dublin Methodist Hospital in Dublin, Ohio, was an

PROVIDED PHOTO

Students at Southern University work in the Physical Activity and Communication Together program to assist stroke patients with aphasia. Anthony Vosbein, from left at top, Goodness Egware, Aiijahnae Leagea, Caroline Dominique, Katelyn Taylor, Rylee Vicknair, Brianna Harper, Jada Clark, Rylan Hiatt, Nicholas Bowden and Asyia Blount. Taylor Tran, from left at bottom, Briana Boyle, Emily Peltier, Nicole Opdyke, Hannah Bradham, Dr Rebecca Parker, Emily Lambert, Savannah Madere, Kendall Curran and Nancy Webb

PROGRAM

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have unilateral paralysis or paresis (incomplete paralysis caused by nerve damage). As a result, individuals with aphasia often experience social isolation, depression and poor quality of life.

The PACT program runs year-round, according to the academic calendar semesters with breaks in the winter and summer The program provides physical therapy sessions and communication development activities on Friday mornings. Plus, the 10 patients involved this semester get to socialize with their care team and other participants in the program — caregivers, too.

“There’s such a fantastic range of both physical capabilities and various ways that aphasia kind of manifests itself,” Hebert said.

Exercises, in 30-minute sessions, are primarily focused on coordination, strength and balance. Participants receive individualized support from kinesiology students and faculty who monitor participants

and provide individual feedback and ability level modifications.

Communication activities, in 45-minute sessions, are designed to improve receptive and expressive language skills. Activities are designed and supported by speech-language pathologists and student clinicians.

“We look at their syntax, semantics, phonology We look at pragmatic language. We work on morphology We look at those aspects of language in terms of a social communication model,” Parker said. “We also try to make it engaging and fun.”

Graduate students under Parker’s supervision are also gaining clinical experience working with participants as well.

In addition to the educational, social and physical services PACT provides, the program is collecting research to further inform treatment opportunities for future patients

“The main variable of interest, I think, in the research study component, would be increasing their quality of life,” Parker said. Each participant is evaluated by Hebert’s team physi-

incredible residency I was delivering babies. I was helping with surgeries. I was in the ER. I was in the hospital. I was on the staff for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon. I was on the staff for what’s called the Arnold Sports Festival that’s held by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Columbus, Ohio — professional amateur weightlifting, slap fighting and professional tag.

I got to take care of a local area high school for all their athletes.

I ended up actually choosing an extra year of sports medicine as a fellowship at Auburn University in Alabama, where I got to take care of all the athletes, all the staff.

The head team doctor at Auburn trained and was good friends with Dr James Andrews, who is the godfather of sports medicine, as some people like to say

Last October, he called me and asked, “Have you ever been to Louisiana?”

He told me about an opportunity in Lafayette, a new sports institute. They flew my fiancee and me down here, and we were both so in shock and awe of how awesome this community was, how great the providers were. We realized just how beautiful it is down here in Lafayette, and that really drove my decision to take the job.

How has developing, or working in, a new institute been in Lafayette?

Opening up this brandnew space, it’s just beautiful. I don’t know if there are enough words in the dictionary to be able to describe how awesome the complex care that we’re able to provide is.

I’m a primary care sports medicine physician. I have another partner who’s a primary care provider We have general orthopedic surgeons. We have specialists in the shoulder hip, knee, ankle. We’re adding specialists as fast as we’re

Study ties junk food to heart health

growing.

Also, having physical therapy in the building was a nice addition that we all appreciate as providers to be able to continue care in-house and send patients to physical therapists that are sports medicine trained downstairs. I think the communication availability is invaluable.

Can you speak to any interesting, or new and novel, changes that have been happening in sports medicine? What’s on the horizon?

Both my partner and I are trained in musculoskeletal ultrasound, a noninvasive imaging method used to diagnose muscle, tendon, ligament, nerve and joint conditions. We can diagnose things before we even have to get an MRI, but we also use it for treatment and therapies.

We also do ultrasoundguided steroid injections, trigger point injections and platelet-rich plasma injections (a concentration of a patients’ platelets from their own blood to accelerate healing in injured tendons, ligaments, muscles and joints). That is a relatively new thing. Those are things that are already on the horizon and starting to really take off.

I think everybody wonders about regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies as well. I think that is an area that will be introduced to sports medicine as research and medicine pushes things forward.

We want to be on top of the wave, not behind it. We want to be coasting in with the newest and the best for our patients.

What are three things you want people to know about their health?

I think, unfortunately, most men tend to not care about their health. They’re usually either taking care of their family They’re worried about their job. Or they’re oblivious to the things that may be unknown and under the surface that they don’t know

are happening with their health.

Priority number one is heart health. Heart disease is leading cause of death in men, and things like high blood pressure and high cholesterol can be asymptomatic. I always want to highlight the importance of health maintenance — going and seeing your doctor, getting your physical done, getting some blood work done. Staying on top of your health is always going to be a huge piece to overall living a healthier life. I wouldn’t be a primary care doctor if I didn’t mention cancer screenings. There is a nationwide increase of colon cancer that is contributed by diet or possibly genetics. It’s important that patients rediscuss the new screening age of 45 years old with primary care providers. That way we can make sure that we do so that we can screen and ensure that you are not at any risk for developing something that may end up taking your life. Those recommendations can go for prostate and testicular cancer, too.

I think that the other priority is mental health. It’s not optional anymore. Our mental health is not something we can sweep under the rug. Everybody deals with it to some degree. Speaking out, leaning on support systems, but also knowing that there are so many other support systems that you can utilize is huge. That could start with a conversation with me as a primary-care sports provider my job as a primary care provider is never going to go away I hope it never does for me. I want to make sure that I’m taking care of my patients, not only for their injury, but also the thoughts, beliefs, fears, stresses and anger that come with it.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney @theadvocate.com

Ultra-processed items linked to cardiovascular disease GETTy IMAGES PHOTO

BY CHRISTOPHER

O’DONNELL

Tampa Bay Times (TNS)

cally, takes a standardized test (the Western Aphasia Battery) on their communication abilities and fills out self-reported evaluation forms about their progress.

Three semesters in, Hebert says that the program’s results are promising. However, the long breaks in summer and winter between school sessions show a regression in the participants’ progress.

“That increase, then decrease, then increase again shows how important the program is,” Hebert said. “Even a once-a-week program is having some positive changes in their capabilities and their lives.”

Enrollment is rolling and open to all who have a referral from an occupational therapist or with approval from a physician. The program is completely free for participants.

“Our target audience for this is people who live within reasonable driving distance of Hammond who would like to participate,” Hebert said. Space in the program is limited, but Hebert and Parker hope to be able to bring on more participants in the future.

Junk food like sodas, potato chips, packaged snacks and processed meats has long been linked to higher risks of diabetes and hypertension.

Now an increasing body of research is also tying ultra-processed foods to cardiovascular disease.

The latest is a study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University, which found those who consumed more junk food had a 47% higher risk of heart attack or stroke compared with those who ate the least

The findings were stark enough for researchers to warn that the nation’s fondness for processed foods represents an urgent public health priority similar to past efforts to curb tobacco use.

It comes as the food on American tables has come under increasing criticism from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr as part of his Make America Healthy Again initiative.

The study, which was published in the American Journal of Medicine, calls for more large-scale observational studies to verify its

Junk foods like sodas and potato chips could be bad for your heart, a new study from researchers in Florida said.

findings. In the meantime, health care providers should advise patients to decrease consumption of junk food, along with adopting other healthy lifestyle changes, it states.

“These results have major implications for future research as well as clinical care and public policy,” said Charles H. Hennekens, professor of medicine and preventive medicine at FAU Schmidt College of Medicine.

Around 70% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, and nearly a third of adolescents have prediabetes, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. A 2016 study found that junk food makes up as much as 60% of American’s diets.

In January the departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture released new dietary guidelines and described the nation’s diet as a “national health emergency.” The guidelines urged Americans to eat real food like meat, vegetables, fruit and whole grains.

The same message was repeated during Sunday night’s Super Bowl 60 broadcast with an advertisement showing former heavyweight world championship boxer Mike Tyson biting into an apple while the messages “Processed food

kills” and “Eat real food” flashed. It was paid for by the MAHA Center, a new advocacy group aligned with the Make America Healthy Again movement, according to a New York Times report. Florida Atlantic researchers from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2021 to 2023 to conduct their study.

Just under 4,800 adults who provided at least one day of detailed dietary records and information about heart attack or stroke were included in the study The participants reported everything they ate for two days, which researchers used to calculate how much of their diet was ultra-processed food.

For the purposes of the study, ultra-processed foods were categorized as those that are industrially modified and loaded with added fats, sugars, starches, salts and chemical additives like emulsifiers.

“Addressing (ultra-processed foods) isn’t just about individual choices it’s about creating environments where the healthy option is the easy option,” said Hennekens. “Clinical guidance and public health education are necessary to make nutritious foods accessible and affordable for everyone.”

Eat Fit LiveFit

Hot chocolate,reimagined: Cozy comfort without the sugar crash

Wedon’tneedcoldweatheras anexcuseforhotchocolate. Formanyofus,it’sago-to comfortdrinkyear-round.It’swarm, andit’snostalgic,buttraditionalhot chocolatealsocomeswithaheftydose ofaddedsugar —sometimesnearly doublewhat’srecommendedforan entireday.

Thegoodnews?Wedon’thaveto giveupthiscold-weatherritualtomake itworkforourbodies.Today’sready-touseoptionsmakeiteasierthaneverto enjoyhotchocolateinawaythat’smore balanced,nourishingandstillsatisfying. RethinkingHotCocoa

Mostclassichotcocoarecipesand mixesarecenteredonsugarfirst,cocoa second.Asingleservingcancontain20 to35gramsofaddedsugar,withvery littleproteinorfiber,whichhelpsexplain thefamiliarsugarspike(andcrash)that oftenfollows.

Butcocoaitselfisn’ttheproblem. Infact,it’snaturallyrichinflavonoids:plant compoundslinkedtoimprovedblood flow,bettervascularhealthandpotential benefitsforbloodsugarregulationand brainfunction.Cocoamayalsosupport moodandcognitiveperformancethanksto itspolyphenolsandmildstimulanteffects.

Thechallengeisthatmanycommercial productsdilutethesebenefitswithadded sugarandprocessing.Anewgenerationof hotchocolateoptionsisflippingthatscript. Thinklessdessert,morefunctionalcomfort.

Thefollowingarethreeoptionsthat highlightdifferentnutritionalbenefits, dependingonwhatyou’relookingfor

Note:Nutritionfactsareforthe chocolatemixonly.Totalcalories, carbohydratesandsugarwillvary dependingonthemilkused.Iprefera plant-basedmilk,likeRipple,orFairlife, anultra-filteredoptionforcow’smilk.

LakantoMonkFruit-Sweetened DrinkingChocolate

Ifyoulovetraditionalhotchocolatebut wanttoskipthesugarload,lookforblends sweetenedwithplant-basedsweeteners likemonkfruitorerythritolinsteadofcane sugarorcornsyrupsolids

LakantoDrinkingChocolate(available athealthfoodstoresandonline)isa greatexample.Itdeliversthatfamiliar cocoaflavorbutissweetenedwithmonk fruit,whichincludesnoaddedsugar orartificialsweeteners.Withabout30

caloriesandonegramofnetcarbs perserving,it’splant-based,low-carb andeasytopreparewithhotmilkora milkalternative.

Thisoptionworkswellforpeoplewho wantsomethingcomfortingandfamiliar withoutthebloodsugarrollercoaster. It’salsoaneasyswapforfamiliestrying tograduallyreducesugarwithout feelingdeprived.

OMMushroomSuperfood HotChocolate

Anothercategorygainingpopularity isfunctionalhotchocolate:blendsthat includespecificingredientsdesignedto supportwhole-bodywellbeing ProductslikeOMMushroomSuperfood HotChocolate(availableonline)include adaptogenicmushroomssuchaslion’s mane,reishi,chagaandturkeytail,along withcocoa.Thesemushroomshave beenstudiedfortheirpotentialroles insupportingimmunehealth,stress resilienceandcognitivefunction.

OMalsocontainsafulldose(250mg)of ashwagandha,anadaptogenicherbshown tohelpreducestressandsupportfocus andsleepquality.

Sweetenedwithasmallamountof sugarandmonkfruit,itcontainsjusttwo gramsofsugarper30-calorieserving Theflavorisstillchocolate-forward,but slightlyearthier,makingitacomforting optionforthosecuttingbackoncaffeine orlookingforacalmingeveningritual.

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsnersEatFit nonprofitinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam.

BY THENUMBERS

1IN3LOUISIANANS ARELONELy, LACK EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL SUPPORT

Lonelinessand lack of social connection are widespread and negatively affect physical and mental health and well-being,according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Positiverelationships and interactions with family,friends, co-workers, and community members can have a protectiveimpact on individual health andwell-being.These relationships can alsohelp mitigate the negativeimpacts of challenges that people face likeliving in an unsafe neighborhood or trouble affording housing or food.

High levels of social isolation increases the risk of developing chronic conditions —depression, cardiovascular disease, hypertension —by25%, research from the National Institutes of Health says These Louisianaparishes had the highest percentage of adultswho reported sometimes, rarely or never

CANCER

Continued from page1X

from the National Cancer Institute says. The main driving factor for endometrial cancers is thelifetime imbalance in estrogen versus progesterone, two important hormones that most of the time the body does agood job of keeping regulated. In endometrial cancer,the body is producing too much estrogen. Hamilton says rising obesity rates are likely amajor contributor to the upward trend of uterine cancers. The American Cancer Society estimates that 60%ofuterine cancers can be attributable

getting the socialand emotional support they need, according to the CDC, in descending order:

n East Carroll Parish with 37.8%, n Claiborne Parishwith 34.9%, n Madison Parish with 34.8%, n Morehouse Parishwith 34.3%, n Tensas Parish with 34.1%, n St. Helena Parish with 33.8%, n IbervilleParishwith 32.9%, n St. John the Baptist Parish with 32.7%, n RedRiver Parish with 32.3% n Avoyelles Parish with 32.1%

These Louisiana parishes had the lowest percentageofadults who reported sometimes, rarely or never getting the socialand emotional support they need, according to the CDC, in descending order:

n St.Tammany Parish with 25.4%, n LafayetteParishwith 26%, n CameronParishwith 26.6%, n Livingston Parish with 26.7%,

to excess body weight and insufficient physicalactivity —and are thus potentially preventable.

Overall excess body weight andabdominal fatness increases theriskofuterine cancer partlybyincreasing the amount of circulating estrogen, whichisa strongrisk factor becausefat cellsin thebodyconverthormones in the body to estrogen. An excessoffat cells leadstoan excessofestrogen. “It’sanother source of the body producing estrogen to throw thatbalance of estrogen and progesterone off,” Hamilton said.

Other conditions like high blood pressure,diabetes and insulin resistance cancause inflammation in thebody,

whichisalso linkedtoanincreased risk of endometrial cancer

Since 1975, the five-year survival ratefor uterine cancer has decreased from 87% to 81%.Itisnow the fifthleading causeofcancer deaths in women. Additionally,uterine cancer hasone of thelargest racial disparities in survival—84% in White patients, compared to63% in Black patients

Thedisparity is partly because Black women are much less likely to be diagnosedearlywhen the disease is localizedand are more likely to have aggressive subtypes, although neither fully explains the survival gap. “The ratesoverall of endo-

VitalProteinsCollagen

HotChocolate

Forthose looking to make hot chocolatemore filling or to support muscle recovery, connective tissue, joints, gut and skin health, collagenbased optionsare worth considering. Chocolatecollagenpowders,like thosefromVitalProteins,mixeasilyinto hotliquidsandprovideabout20grams ofprotein(fromcollagenpeptides)per serving.They’renaturallylowinsugar, oftenlightlysweetenedwithsteviaand blendsmoothlywhenwhiskedorfrothed intowarmmilk.

Incorporating collagenintoour hot cocoa canturnanindulgenceintoa more functional treat–especially helpful during colder monthswhencravings tend to increase

HowtoMakeItCreamy(Without aSugarSpike)

Afewsimpleupgradescanelevateany oftheseoptions:

•Whiskoruseasmallmilkfrotherto preventclumps

•Addapinchofcinnamonorvanilla fordepth

•Forextrarichness,addateaspoonof coconutcream

Thesesmalltweakscanmakeabig differenceinbothtextureandsatisfaction.

TheTakeaway

Hotchocolatedoesn’thavetobean occasionalsplurge,anditdoesn’thave tocomewithasugarcrash.Whetheryou choosealow-sugarclassic,amushroombasedfunctionalblendoracollagenboostedoption,today’sbetter-for-you choicesmakeiteasytoenjoythecomfort ofhotchocolatewhilestillsupporting yourhealth.

n

metrial cancer are lower in Black women,but high-risk cancer typesare twotothree times higher in Black women,” Hamilton said. “Andwe don’thavegreat reasons for that.”

Like othercancers, uterine cancer can develop when mutations happeninthe DNAcells of the uterus and endometrium, alsocalled the endometriallining. Sometimes, these mutations can turn normal, healthy cells into abnormal cellsthat grow and multiply uncontrollably and invade nearby tissues. Whenthis happens, two main typesofcancer can develop: n Endometrial cancer starts in the endometrium. This is the most common

type of uterine cancer,and it can oftenbecured when detectedearly.Endometrioid cancer is atype of endometrialcancer that starts in gland cells.

n Uterine sarcoma starts in the muscles andsupporting tissues of the uterus. It is much less common,about 10% of all cases, but usually more aggressive. Abnormalvaginalbleeding can be asign of uterine cancer.After menopause, anyamount of blood is considered abnormal.

“If you have any bleeding after menopause, it’ssoimportant to get checked out quickly,” Hamilton said.

For youngerpeoplewho haven’tgone through menopause, abnormal bleeding

can include bleeding between menstrual cycles or after sex, and prolonged or heavy bleeding. Though in manycases abnormalbleeding can be attributed to non-cancerous conditions, it’sbest to talk to health care professionals if thereare anychanges in the menstrual cyclethatare out of the ordinary “Spotting or abnormal bleeding doesn’tmean something’sthere,”Hamiltonsaid. “The risks are high enough that if everybody would just come in whenithappened, we would be ahead of the game.”

EmailMargaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.

Doctors

Doctors: You likely don’t need to control cortisol

Stress hormone has become talk of the internet

BY DEVI SHASTRI AP health writer

Cortisol, what is known as the stress hormone, is the talk of the internet.

Wellness influencers warn about the various symptoms of chronically high cortisol: waking up at 3 a.m., swollen “cortisol face” and accumulating belly fat. And many offer diet and exercise routines that they claim will help.

But do you really need supplements and advice from influencers to control your cortisol? Doctors say it’s very unlikely Don’t be so quick to label this hormone as a villain, they say And if you suspect something is off, talk to a professional.

Cortisol keeps you alive

Cortisol is a hormone and you need it to survive. It comes from the adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, and is one of many hormones at play in times of stress. It can influence inflammation, the immune system, metabolism, blood pressure and many other bodily functions.

Cortisol is incredibly attuned to your body and environment. It fluctuates throughout the day, rising in the morning when you wake up and falling at night before you go to sleep It also rises when you’re sick or in other times of stress, doctors say “Our cortisol level is regulated by the minute,” said Dr Roberto Salvatori, a Johns Hopkins University endocrinologist. “It is very sensitive.”

It’s rare that people have a disorder where cortisol on its own is the cause. If a person’s cortisol level is chronically low, doctors would diagnose them with adrenal insufficiency This includes an autoimmune condition called Addison’s disease, in which the immune system attacks the adrenal gland.

People with Cushing’s syndrome have cortisol levels that are too high Among its causes are tumors, which are usually benign, in the adrenal or pituitary glands. It is treated with medication, surgery or both. Talk to your doctor

The symptoms of either high or low cortisol are wide-ranging and can overlap with signs of other health issues.

Adrenal insufficiency can manifest as fatigue, unintentional weight loss, low blood pressure and loss of appetite. Cushing’s syndrome comes with weight gain, high blood pressure, brittle bones, weight gain around the face and belly, abnormal hair growth in women, sleep issues and more Diagnoses take time, multiple tests and an understanding of a patient’s overall health,

Experts

BY MEG WINGERTER

The Denver Post (TNS)

doctors said. Cortisol can be measured through the patient’s saliva, blood or urine.

“There’s a lot of nuance to interpreting cortisol and that’s what makes me a little bit nervous about patients getting cortisol testing for themselves without having some kind of physician oversight,” said Dr Katie Guttenberg, an endocrinologist at UTHealth Houston.

A one-off cortisol blood test won’t provide useful information for most people, she said and could lead to unnecessary stress and medical follow-ups. For example, women who are on birth control will have falsely high cortisol blood results, because of how the medicine works in the body

Be cautious of supplements

Endocrinologists say there are no proven over-the-counter treatments for high or low cortisol, despite claims that supplements like ashwagandha and magnesium are helpful in “lowering cortisol.”

Beyond Cushing’s syndrome, chronically high cortisol is a concern, said Dr James Findling, an endocrinologist with the Medical College of Wisconsin, but more research into treatments is needed.

He worries about people taking unregulated supplements when it’s not always clear what’s in them

“They’re not innocuous,” Findling warned.

Even in patients who have Cushing’s syndrome, the medications have to be carefully dosed, Salvatori said, because an overcorrection could drive cortisol levels too low and cause other health issues.

Manage stress

Salvatori notes there is a condition called “pseudo Cushing’s syndrome,” which is often milder but causes some of the same physical effects despite the patient not having a tumor. It can be caused by alcoholism and other chronic issues.

It is generally treated by addressing the underlying cause, doctors said, like getting the patient to stop drinking.

Endocrinologists are learning new potential benefits for treating high cortisol, said Findling, who studies the condition. For example, it could potentially help diabetics who are on multiple drugs better control their blood sugar

The doctors also acknowledged that stress is highly subjective and Cushing’s syndrome patients can go unheard and undiagnosed.

But their advice for the vast majority of people: Talk to a doctor if you are concerned.

For healthy people, rather than focusing in on one elusive hormone, the doctors recommended going back to the basics of stress management: Eat well, get enough sleep, move your body or go to therapy

“Nothing new about any of that,” Findling said

Researchers link obesity, estrogen use, blood-clotting

LSU Health New Orleans publishes study

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

Obesity combined with estrogen-based medications may significantly increase the risk of dangerous blood clots.

Researchers at LSU Health New Orleans published a study connecting obesity and estrogen-based drugs — including hormonal therapies and oral contraceptives — to an increased risk to develop harmful blood clots in veins or arteries in premenopausal women.

Dr Rinku Majumder from LSU Health New Orleans led the study published in November 2025 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Researchers discovered that the risk of blood clots increases dramatically in premenopausal women with obesity who are taking estrogen-based medications due to a substantial reduction in Protein S, a natural blood thinner that helps prevent harmful blood clots. When Protein S levels fall, blood clot risk rises.

“This study gives us a clearer picture of how everyday factors like weight and hormone use can interact in ways that have real health consequences,” said Majumder professor of interdisciplinary oncology at LSU Health New Orleans. “For cancer patients especially, having this knowledge helps us protect them more effectively.”

LDH expands ‘Louisiana Carrot Initiative’ to 2 more parishes

The Louisiana Department of Health expanded a project encouraging healthy eating among SNAP recipients to Walmart stores in East Baton Rouge and Orleans parishes.

The Louisiana Carrot Initiative gives Louisiana SNAP recipients a 30-cent bonus for every dollar spent on fresh produce at participating retailers. Participants can earn up to $25 in bonus benefits each month, which are automatically credited to their benefits card to purchase SNAP-eligible groceries at any retailer accepting SNAP benefits.

By expanding to both East Baton Rouge and Orleans parishes, the program will reach an additional 135,000 Louisianans, according to LDH. Ascension, Calcasieu, Jackson, Lafayette, LaSalle, Rapides, Sabine, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Webster and West Carroll parishes already taking part in the project.

LDH is working with retailers to expand the program to all 64 parishes.

Tulane study explores mother-to-child infection

Cytomegalovirus, or CMV is an infection passed from mother to child through the placenta and diagnosed in 1 in 200 newborns in the United States — about 20,000 to 40,000 annually

In some cases, about 5,000 newborns each year, the infection can lead to children developing permanent issues like hearing loss or developmental disabilities.

Most people are exposed to the virus during their lifetime, often without symptoms and without ever knowing they have had CMV In healthy children and adults, CMV infections are typically mild or unnoticed.

The concern arises when someone who has never had CMV before experiences a first infection during pregnancy

Researchers at Tulane’s National Biomedical Research Center (previously known as Tulane National Primate Research Center), led by Dr Amitinder Kaur and first author Tabitha Manuel, followed CMV in primates as it infects the placenta during pregnancy and reaches a developing fetus.

The study showed that CMV affects pregnancies in different ways, according to a news release from Tulane: n Some pregnancies had only brief or lowlevel signs of the virus, while one showed more extensive involvement Others had little to no virus detected.

HEALTH NOTES

n Across nearly all pregnancies, CMV was present in the placenta, even when the fetus itself did not show signs of infection.

n Pregnancies with higher amounts of virus in placental tissues tended to have smaller fetuses at delivery, suggesting that placental infection alone may influence growth.

n The study also identified differences in maternal and fetal immune markers that may help identify pregnancies at higher risk for transmission.

The study was conducted in collaboration with Weill Cornell Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and the Oregon National Primate Research Center Ochsner ALS center marks 10 years of care in Louisiana

Ochsner’s Neuroscience Institute announced its 10-year anniversary of its Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, center Since opening in November 2015, the center served more than 500 patients in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, Michigan and Puerto Rico. The center became a center of excellence, awarded by the ALS Association, in 2018. In 2026, Ochsner is set to open the new Debra H. and Robert J. Patrick Neuroscience Institute. The Institute will bring together Ochsner’s neuroscience programs under one roof, including a multi-specialty early onset dementia clinic, patient education and caregiver support, a state-of-the art neurological rehabilitation center and the ALS center

State launches maternal mortality initiative

The Louisiana Department of Health has announced hospitals for Project Maternal Overdose Mortality, or M.O.M., an initiative to reduce maternal mortality associated with substance use.

The statewide project aims to reduce pregnancy-associated opioid overdose deaths by 80% within the next three years, while protecting an untold number of infants from loss or foster care placement.

The hospitals participating “advance evidence-based, compassionate care for pregnant and postpartum women impacted by substance use disorder across Louisiana,” according to LDH:

n Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for Women

n Lakeview Hospital

n Lane Regional Medical Center

n Ochsner American Legion Hospital

n Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center

n Ochsner St. Anne Hospital

n Opelousas General Health System

n Our Lady of the Angels Hospital

n Rapides Regional Medical Center

n Touro Hospital

n Woman’s Hospital.

New Orleans hosts national summit for lung cancer

The third annual African American Lung Cancer Patient & Caregiver Summit in New Orleans is set for April 23-25 at the Marriott Warehouse Arts District. The weekendlong event will focus on “survivorship, emerging treatments, clinical trials, environmental and clean-air justice, public policy AI in care, mental wellness, financial navigation, caregiver support and patient advocacy.”

The event is free for lung cancer patients and caregivers and includes meals, hotel accommodations and travel and learning materials.

Health Notes is an occasional listing of health happenings around Louisiana

Have something you’d like to share? Contact us at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.

discuss how much protein is needed in your diet

DENVER Protein is having a moment, with federal guidelines significantly raising the recommended amount people should eat every day and products ranging from coffee drinks to Pop-Tarts touting enhanced levels of the nutrient. Eating enough protein is important for good health, Denver-area dietitians said, but people who want to increase their intake need to make sure they choose quality foods and don’t crowd out healthy carbohydrates and fats.

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that, as of 2020, the average American already ate enough protein to meet the new recommendations.

The most recent edition of the federal nutrition guidelines, released in early January, raised the recommended floor for protein consumption, setting a range from 50% higher to double the previous recommendation

U.S. Health and Human Services

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr also unveiled a flipped food pyra-

mid, with beef and full-fat dairy among the foods to emphasize at the top. Federal recommendations had ditched the pyramid about 15 years ago for a model plate divided between produce, protein and whole grains. The previous protein guideline was a bare minimum to avoid malnutrition, so raising that was probably the right call, said Jessica Crandall, a registered dietitian nutritionist who works at HCA HealthOne Rose.

Generally, Crandall recommends 60 to 80 grams of protein each day for women and 80 to 100 grams for men. For comparison, a threeounce serving of ground beef has 22 grams, a skinless chicken breast has 18 grams and 6 ounces of Greek yogurt has 15 to 17 grams, according to Washington University in St Louis.

But the right amount for any individual will depend on their body weight, age, level of physical activity and health, with some conditions requiring more protein and others demanding restrictions, Crandall said. The International Food Informa-

tion Council’s 2024 Food and Health survey found about 71% of Americans were specifically trying to eat protein, up from 59% in 2022. About one in five said they specifically follow a “high protein” diet, making it more popular than calorie counting, low-carb or Mediterranean food plans.

People who work in nutrition have known about protein’s importance to the muscles and immune system for quite some time but public perception of it has changed significantly in recent years, said Kelly Elliot, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Saint Joseph Hospital. “It’s interesting how marketing sways the public and how the public sways marketing,” she said.

While protein shakes and bars have been staples among the gymgoing set for some time, other food brands are getting in on the game. Snickers and Pop-Tarts unveiled higher-protein options, and Thomas’ bagels added a line about protein content to the front of the packaging for their existing products. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts recently debuted drinks

enhanced with whey protein, and Chipotle’s menu now promotes a “protein cup” of chicken and a chicken taco, designed to offer a similar mix of protein, fat and carbs to a protein bar, said Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s interim chief marketing officer

“We’ve seen growing demand for protein-forward choices across more occasions, especially snacksized portions at accessible prices,” she said in a statement. “We’ll carry this focus throughout 2026, with our culinary team driving protein-led innovation informed by customer behavior and emerging trends across our restaurants and digital channels.”

As more people get the message that they need to increase their protein intake — despite the fact that most Americans already eat enough — food companies have responded by adding protein in unexpected places, including pretzels, chips and even bottled water, said William Hallman, a psychologist at Rutgers University who studies how people think about food.

Emphasizing protein creates a “health halo” around products that

makes people think they’re a better option, even if the manufacturer had to increase sugar and fat to mask the taste of protein powder, he said.

“Consumers think it’s healthier for them, and that’s the problem,” he said.

Brands highlight the positive aspects of their food, but that doesn’t mean that every high-protein product is a good choice, Elliot said. Consumers need to consider other factors such as sugar and saturated fat content, and whether the ingredients list includes a string of additives, she said.

The new nutrition guidelines also warned the public to avoid added sugars and ultra-processed foods, while maintaining the existing advice to limit saturated fat for heart disease prevention.

The new nutrition guidelines may encourage products to continue jumping on the protein bandwagon, but in the long run, food companies will have to consider whether the costs of fortifying their products are worthwhile in an increasingly crowded marketplace, Hallman said.

By Amanda McElfresh amcelfresh@theadvocate.com

Thisstory is brought to you by OchsnerHealth.

UHeart HealthCan’t Wait: Ochsner HealthExpertson Protecting Your Heart Before40

pto80% of heart disease, including heart attack and stroke,ispreventable with regular screenings,control of chronic diseases and a healthy lifestyle.Adopting heart-healthyhabits earlier in lifeisnow moreimportantthan ever,asagrowing number of adults arebeing diagnosed with heart disease beforethe ageof40. Heart diseasehas long been considered acondition thatprimarily affects older adults,but Ochsner Health physicians saythatperception no longer matches reality. Increasingly, theyare diagnosing serious heart conditions in people in their 20s,30s and 40s,some of whom initially appear healthyand active. Experts attributethis to acombinationofgenetics andlifestylefactors,underscoringtheimportance of early screening and empowering individuals totakeanactiveroleintheirhealth.

Thatwas the case forEllen Pino,aBaton Rougebusinessowner,mom ofthree and competitivetennis player. Duringaroutine tennis practice in October 2022,Pino felt likeher heart briefly stopped, then began beating rapidly. HerApple Watchindicated her heart rate wasmorethan200 beats per minute. Similar episodesbegan happening almost daily.Pino,then in her mid-30s,also noticed that her resting heart rate wasoften morethan 100beats per minute, even when she wasrelaxing at home.

“It didn’tmakeany sense. I’mactive and healthy. Iplaytennis severaltimes a week. Ieat healthy. Idon’tsmoke. Irarely drink,”Pino said. “It wasscary,and Iknew something waswrong from the first timeit happened. My chestgot tight, and it literally took my breath away;then my heart was suddenly pounding very hard. It wasavery distinct feeling.”

Afterseveral months of theepisodes,PinoconnectedwithPavanMalur,MD, acardiologist at OchsnerMedical Complex–The Grove.Dr. Malur immediately placed Pino on a24/7 heart monitor,which confirmedhis suspicions thatsame day. Pino wasdiagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), arhythm disorder If left untreated, SVTweakens the heart overtime, especially with frequent or prolongedepisodes, potentiallyleadingtoheartfailure, stroke,or,inrarecases,suddencardiacarrest

Since sharing her story with morepeople, Pino has referred multiple friends and acquaintances to Dr.Malur.Likeher,theyare often activeadults in their 30s and 40s.Some have had similar concerning symptoms, while othersare awareofafamily history of heart diseaseorother risk factors.

“I think the useofsmart devices alsoplays arole in younger people comingtousmore often. Many people wear thosetomonitor their heart ratesand other health metrics,” Dr.Malur added. “Lately,alot of patients who arediagnosed with aform of AFib notice irregularities on their watches beforeI seethem. The devices aremoreaccurate and reliable than even afew yearsago.”

While wearable technologycan help people keep bettertrack of their health on adayto-daybasis,itcan’treplacewellnessvisits with trained physicians

“The demographic shift is broad, but the riseisparticularly noticeable in people with obesity, sedentary routines and strong family histories of early heart disease,”said SamyA Abdelghani,MD,cardiologistatJohnOchsner Heartand Vascular Institute–Slidell. “The most common pattern is earlier onsetofhigh blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol and insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes,often alongside weight gain, lowactivity levels,poor sleep and high stress.

SamyA.Abdelghani,MD Cardiologist JohnOchsnerHeartand VascularInstitute–Slidell

“Anirregular heart rhythm canlead to a weakening of the heart muscle or astrokeifa blood clot develops,” Dr.Malur said. “In some people, their blood pressuredrops to avery lowlevel, which cancausethem to faint. That canbedangerous if someone is driving or in another environmentwherepassing out can causethem to be in harm’sway.”

Dr.Malur said thatwhen cardiac conditions arediagnosed, modern medications and operations canoftenresolvethe problem. Pino was referred to Michael Bernard, MD section head of electrophysiologyat Ochsner Medical Center -New Orleans,and underwent acatheter ablation proceduretocorrect the misfiring areas of her heart

Dr.Abdelghani said common symptoms of heart problems can include chest pain or tightness, shortnessofbreath, feelingsof discomfort or heaviness, dizzinessorfainting. Symptoms can be subtle in some individuals, whichmakes regular primary care visits so important.

“I went from having symptoms every single daytomaybe every couple of weeksatthe most,” Pino said. “I’mstill kind of shocked thatall of this happened. Ifeel like thepeople at Ochsnertruly savedmylife. I

Reshma A. Bhanushali, MD,primary care specialist at OchsnerLafayetteGeneral InternalMedicine, said atypical appointmentshould include blood pressureand blood sugar measurements,aswell as an accurate check of aperson’sweightand body massindex(BMI). People whohaveexperienced heart-relatedsymptoms maybereferred to acardiologist forcardiac monitoring,anechocardiogram or tests to determine their coronary calcium score, a measureofplaque in the arteries leading to the heart,which can be an early indicatorofcoronary artery disease.

ReshmaA.Bhanushali,MD Primarycaredoctor OchsnerLafayetteGeneral

Increasingly,thosetests reveal high blood pressure cholesteroland blood sugar— conditions that maynot have immediate symptoms,but canput aperson at risk of serious futurecomplications if

thatsmart lifestyle choices canmeaningfully reduce aperson’srisk of heart disease even when geneticsare not ideal,”Dr. Abdelghani said.

In particular,Dr. Abdelghanisaidhehas seen improvementamong adults who adopt an exerciseroutinethatcombines aerobic activityand strength training, eataMediterranean-style diet heavyinvegetables, fruit,beans,nuts,seeds and fish, maintain a healthysleep schedule, and avoid all formsof tobacco and vaping.

“Establish routine primary care early and treatyourhealthlikealong-terminvestment. Know your numbers, move consistently and eatinawayyoucansustainforyears,”hesaid. “If youdoafew basics well, most people can dramatically lowertheir lifetime risk.”

Dr.Bhanushali added thatpatients should seek outphysicians, like thoseatOchsner, who will listen to their concerns and discuss their lifestyles to uncoverany risk factors.

“A lot haschanged to lead to this trend of heartdiseaseatyounger andyounger ages,” Dr.Bhanushalisaid.“Ourgrandparentsdidn’t have the stressofsocialmedia.Theyprobably walked to work, and therewas alot more physical activityinthatgeneration without actually calling it exercise. So,our genetics cannot be changed, but our lifestyle canbe.

She stressedthataheart-healthylifestyle has long-term benefits forevery organ, including importantprotections forbrain health as people age.

“Sometimes,people don’trealizehow poor habits canbedetrimental to their health. Thoseconversations areoften eye-opening,”she said. “Theseare young adults who have alot of lifeahead of them. The sooner we canaddressany problems theyare having, thesoonertheycan getback to the thingstheyenjoy.”

I’mstillkindofshocked thatallofthishappened. Ifeellikethepeopleat Ochsnertrulysavedmy life.Idon’tknowwhatthe repercussionswouldhave beenhadInotadvocated formyselfandmyhealth.

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LOUISIANA

New-agelearning

Museum’s partnership bridgesgapsin earlyeducation

BY QUINN COFFMAN Staff writer

There’splenty to do at Knock Knock

Children’sMuseum, even if you’veonly just celebratedyour first birthday

From crawlingthrough aplastic cypress tree trunk or sliding out of an eagle’snest, to dressing up as aswamp critter and completingablock puzzle with other kids, the Crawbaby Learning Zone at Knock Knock is made so even the youngest visitors can learnwhile having fun.

Now,the Crawbaby zone has anew sponsor who’sbringing opportunitiesfor Louisiana’syoungest learners to visit and explore: Volunteers of America.

“We’re extremely excited about this partnership. Not only are we sponsoring this beautiful exhibit that is going to enhance infant toddler development, but we’re also sponsoring hundreds oftickets so that families do not have to face abarrier to come and enjoy this,” said Tonya Harden, director of the Partners in Childcare division with Volunteers of America.

Volunteers of America is anearly 130-year-old charityorganization operating across the country,with more than 15,000 professionals working to provide affordable housing, skilled nursing care,veterans’ services and more.

The South-CentralLouisiana branch of VOA servesEastBaton Rouge and 26 other parishes in thestate.

Its Partners in Childcare division helps to refer parents to child careproviders, traincaretakers and fundraise forchildren’seducational experiences like those at Knock Knock.

At aribbon-cutting ceremony outside of the children’smuseum,leaders with Volunteers of Americaannouncedthey would sponsor theCrawbaby zone as part of their mission to make earlychildhood education and child careavailable for more Louisianans

This partnership is aidedbyfunds from the state’sWorkforce Child Care

TaxCredit,which helps Volunteersof America collect donations from business ownersfor their various early child care initiatives.

“Wewant to pour(this funding) back into this age group and into families, and what better way than to support one of thepillars of ourcommunity,which is our Knock Knock Children’sMuseum,” Harden said.

Alackofearly childhood opportunities

Thepartnership withKnock Knockwas soughtout specifically because the Louisiana Department of Educationhas emphasized how important the infant-to-toddler learning period is.

Not only is that developmentalperiod moreimportant for children than previously thought, but there’salso not alot of resources available, Harden said, so she and her team are bolstering their support for infants and toddlers.

“There are hundreds of families on the waiting listfor child care assistance in our community,” she said, “Hundreds. So, how can we fill in that gap of those families, those children who need quality, hands-on learning experiences?”

State data from the early 2000s,when Louisiana’soriginal child tax credit package was passed, showedonly 27% of 4-year-old children in Louisiana were enrolled in public child care.

These numbers haven’t improved enough yet for Harden, whocites day care expensesasamainbarrier to families.

“The deficit is so wide,and it costs so much for one child to be educated for a whole year,” she said.

For a4-year-old child to be in care fora year,itcosts theaverage Louisiana family $8,153, or 9.7% of the medianfamily income.

Kayla Paul, who attended the ribbon cutting with her 2-year-old son Pilar,said that child care is an expense new parents don’toften thinkof. Luckily,getting Pilar into aprograminBaton Rouge wasn’tdifficult

“It was prettyeasy. We didn’thave anywait list,” Paul said. “This is my secondbaby, andmyfirst child also went to Greater King David Nursery,but we didn’thave any issues.”

As his mom spoke, Pilarran up the plushstairs to the Crawbaby zone’seagles nest, looked out over thefaux-branches, and quickly slid down the slide.

While it might seem liketoddlers are too young to benefit from schooling, that time is actually one of the mostimportant periods forchildrentobelearning and experiencing new things, said ChristinaMelton, executive director of Knock Knock.

“I think it’simportant to remember that something like 90% of brain development happens beforea child enters kindergarten,” Melton said. “Soreally trying to form these little synapses in theirlittle brains early-on is really crucial.” Meltonsaid exploring astimulating

ä See LEARNING, page 2Y

JanRisher

The boring parade?

It’s4:37 on aFridayafternoon as Isit to write this week’s column —and Iamout of words. I’m tired. Not sleep-for-a-week tired. Just ready-to-go-home tired. Decision-fatigue tired Edited-too-many-words tired. Like so many across Louisiana, Ifeel like Ijustran amarathon —somanyparades, so many parties, so many late nights,so many king cakes. Andthen, time did its thing, andTuesday became Wednesday After allthe foofaraw,weare easing back into ordinary time ordinary in the everydaysense, notthe church-calendarone

Five days after Mardi Gras, Louisiana is back to its other rhythm. By now, most of the piled-up laundryhas been washed.Costumes, wigs,headpieces and beadsare back in the closet.At ourrentalhome as we rebuild from ourAugust2025 house fire, we have packed up Mardi Gras in oneofour many boxes. It’swaiting for next year with so many others, each labeledin black marker Fornow,the music has stopped. Emails have resumed. Even for Louisianans whodon’t observeLent, the quietthatfollows Carnival feels earned.Lent is often describedasaseason of giving something up, but subtractionhas its own kind of generosity.Afew empty evenings.A calendarwithout colored blocks. Aflower bedweeded before Louisiana’s spring makes its many demands.

Experience makes onefact undeniable:Life cannotbelivedat afull-time crescendo

My fourth-grade piano teacher, Mrs. Edna Earle Gibson,insisted on honoring the dynamics. Crescendo means building volume Decrescendo means lessening. Music requires both. We have to pauseand lower the volume.Thatsaid, there’snothing gradualbetween Mardi Gras andAsh Wednesday Celebration is beautiful —but maintenance keepsaplace functioning.

Louisiana hasjustsurviveda wholelot of sparkle,but there’s beauty in matte finishtoo. Amatte finishdoesn’t demand attention. It holds its color quietly with asurface thatdoesn’t shout. Matte-finish paint absorbs light rather thanthrowing it back.Itholds steadywithout flash or fanfare.

Carnival is gloss. Ordinary days are grain. Gloss dazzles underbright lights.Graincarries the weight of daily use.

Parenting hasits shiny moments, but most of it hasamatte finish. Parenting isn’tlivedat crescendo Neitherismarriageorfriendship.

Andyet,crescendo hasits appeal.The music, the crowd,the bright lights.It’sintoxicating —noone organizes aparadefor maintenance. However,doing so would be a very Louisiana thing to do.Bill it as the Boring Parade. It could be ahit. Ican see it already.

The Boring Paradewould feature its own brandoffloats.

The LaundryKrewe would rollbyona flatbedtruck with clotheslinesstrung endtoend, white sheets snapping in the breeze, mismatched socksflapping behind.

The Insurance Adjusters float would sport folding tables, clipboards, flashlights andsomeone carefully examining aroof. The

ä See RISHER, page 2Y

INSPIRED DISCUSSIONS

ASK THE EXPERTS

La. woman champions cardiovascular health

Survivor started out as heart association volunteer

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer

Katie Ferguson is a heart disease survivor, caregiver advocate and community leader in Acadiana. After being diagnosed with an ascending aortic aneurysm and bicuspid aortic valve, she underwent open-heart surgery in January 2023 and now champions awareness of women’s cardiovascular health.

She served as the immediate past chair of American Heart Association’s Greater Acadiana Go Red for Women campaign. A 2020 Fellow of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, Ferguson dedicated more than 15 years to caring for a catastrophically injured family member and advocating for caregiver rights. She is also a recipient of the Lafayette Commission on the Needs of Women award for her advocacy and community service.

This interview was edited for length and clarity

What first pulled you into heart advocacy work, and how has that connection evolved over time?

In 2005, I was just a volunteer I had friends who worked for the association, and it was always an organization that I paid close attention to because heart disease ran in my family My father had a heart attack, and my grandfather had open-heart surgery back in the late ’70s. It’s something I knew I needed to pay attention to.

Fast forward to 2021: I was diagnosed with an enlarged ascending aorta. That brought it all back

LEARNING

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environment like the Crawbaby zone is useful for that development, especially when paired with interactions with a trusted adult or other young children.

“This special little swamp is specifically designed for that age group, and it’s one of the only designated spaces for that purpose in the entire capital region,” Melton said.

Volunteers of America began providing free tickets in November to families with young children at child care facilities across the parishes the organization supports.

So Pilar Paul, and the other kids from Greater King David’s Nursery, are not the

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Katie Ferguson served as the immediate past chair of American Heart Association’s Greater Acadiana Go Red for Women campaign.

because, for 20 years, I was raising money for heart awareness and heart health. It was one of those full-circle moments where 20 years later I was able to give the survivor story at the 20th anniversary for Go Red for Women in Acadiana.

The advocacy and fundraising work I was doing 20 years before partially saved my life When they got in there, they found out I had a bicuspid heart valve. I had to have a mechanical heart valve For both the graft and the valve, the research was paid for through American Heart Association dollars.

It was very humbling and made me proud of the work I did years prior What are the statistics for heart disease?

One in three women are going to die from heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. That’s more than all cancers combined. One in four men are going to die from heart disease.

A lot of times, when people have cancer, for example, it physically shows on the outside. Most heart disease does not show, so most people aren’t aware that every

first attendees to explore the zone for free.

Other ways to support

Neither the deficit in available child care, nor the state’s child care tax credits, are new

The 2007 legislation provides a partially refundable credit for families, child care providers and businesses for contributions to child care in various forms, including child care center construction costs and payments for child care on behalf of a company’s employees.

For families, these credits pay for the child care itself, while for child care professionals, the credit helps support their salaries and to encourage more early childhood teachers to join the field.

Volunteers of America

Q&A WITH KATIE FERGUSON

HEART DISEASE SURVIVOR

80 seconds a woman will die from heart disease.

It’s prevalent in different populations. We’re recognizing that more research needs to be done on females, African Americans, Native Americans, etc. The more we’re able to diversify, the more we are able to help others.

What small, realistic lifestyle changes can make the biggest difference for heart health?

What comes to mind immediately is changing eating habits. You can still have the cookies, but have one instead of five. Instead of having a full sandwich, have a fold-over sandwich to have less bread and more protein.

Small changes start adding up. All of that ultimately affects your overall health, but definitely your heart health.

How has volunteering with the American HeartAssociation changed the way you think about your own health?

I’m more intentional now I’m intentionally trying to make sure I have enough protein and drink enough water every day I intentionally walk, if something is one or two blocks away, as opposed to taking my car

Whenever you have something as wild as open heart surgery, you recognize that the more you can do every day the better off you are.

How is the American Heart Association working toward solutions in Lafayette?

Money that’s raised does go to nationals for research, no doubt, but they have focused in the past 10 years to start putting money back into local communities.

Right now, they’re focusing on areas such as food safety and partnered with

operates a child care referral agency of their own, which sources donations from Louisiana businesses interested in the credit, then sets their own goals for how best to use that money to promote early childhood learning.

“How will we want to invest this back into early childhood? What initiatives do we want to go forth this year? What’s needed?”

Harden said about how Volunteers for America prioritizes how to spend those funds. “Some of it is classes to build a workforce. We have a very-high turnover rate in early childhood educators, so we look at ways that we can keep the workforce together.”

One example is a program that gives out $100,000 to Louisiana teachers to make over

the Second Harvest Food Bank. They purchased freezers to help with foods that need to be refrigerated, blood pressure cuffs and things for local public libraries. The association has also been putting dum-

their classrooms with.

Another is how Volunteers for America brings child care experts and educators to train the caregivers at the various facilities they support.

As part of their partnership, the children’s museum will soon be hosting these trainings as well.

But for 19-month-old Rylee Grant, who joined other toddlers in running around the Crawbaby zone after the ribbon cutting, the most important part was having a new space to play in and explore.

“She’s been all over,” her mother Jaeda Grant said. “She’s been loving rocking back and forth on this boat.”

Email Quinn Coffman at quinn.coffman@ theadvocate.com.

mies in local high schools so that teachers can use these mannequins to perform CPR and teach their students. They’re putting blood pressure check stations in public recreation centers —

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crowd cheers politely

The Calendar Krewe’s giant planner would have neatly blocked squares mapping out the spring a dentist appointment, an oil change, the parentteacher conference. Individual highlighters would be placed in onlookers’ hands.

The Maintenance Department would be the traditional last float. People in work boots carry tool boxes. Someone replaces a faucet mid-route. The crowd simply nods in appreciation.

Throws for the Boring Parade would include coupons, spare buttons, laundry pods (wrapped safely,

trying to meet people where they are and give them the tools to actively stay on top of their heart health.

Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.

of course), and packets of flower and bird seeds. The Boring Parade would issue a strict no-glitter ban. Attendees would wear khaki shorts or capris, comfortable shoes and sun hats.

But I digress. The truth is that 24 years of writing Sunday columns in Louisiana has reinforced the same lesson: Endurance requires rhythm. Some weeks demand repetition rather than applause. Some weeks look a lot like the Boring Parade.

At 6:48 p.m. on a Friday, this column is nearly finished. For now the parade has passed. Dinner still needs deciding. The whites still need folding. That is the rhythm.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

LSU Shreveport Olympian to launch healthy youth initiative

Statewide project released in conjunction with Winter Games

MATT VINES

LSU Shreveport

Three-time U.S. Olympian

Kendrick Farris is launching a statewide school-based initiative to advance youth wellness and expand access to plant-forward nutrition.

The FEED initiative, which stands for Fueling Every Eater’s Development, is designed to support the roll out of the Healthy Kids Act across Louisiana in conjunction with the 2026 Winter Olympics this February and beyond.

Farris, an LSU Shreveport graduate who got his weightlifting start at the on-campus USA Weightlifting Development Center, will visit schools and deliver interactive assemblies focused on active lifestyles and plantforward nutrition.

“I believe this initiative promoting movement, nutrition literacy and plant-forward eating to underserved youth can uplift students, schools, and families while making Shreveport a model for health equity,” Farris said. “As a three-time Olympian, husband, and father of four, I have seen firsthand how access to food, movement and education shapes long-term outcomes.”

The Healthy Kids Act legislation includes guidelines to improve school lunch nutrition by removing ultra-processed foods and foods with certain dyes and additives.

Farris is partnering with the Louisiana Department of Education along with other entities like the locally-based Heartwork Institute in this initiative.

Farris, whose diet has been fully plant-based for more than a decade, advocates for more access to and education about plantrich meals.

“I help young people understand how to fuel their bodies

activity and nutrition in conjunction

with accessible foods like lentils, beans, hummus, fruits, vegetables and other plant-rich meals that support both performance and long-term health,” Farris said. “I changed my diet after my second Olympics (2012 London Olympics) “I discovered my Hebrew an-

cestry, and I aligned my lifestyle more intentionally toward holistic performance — spiritually and physically That shift transformed how I trained, recovered and ultimately how I now coach and mentor youth.”

In addition to nutrition, Farris intends to enhance after school

and summer programming and conduct fitness activities to include community workouts, plant-based taste testing and local athlete engagement.

The Shreveport native is the only American male to break two U.S. records in two different weight classes en route to three

top-11 Olympic finishes in his weight class. He also captured two Pan American championships. Farris recently educated youth at a Rockford, Illinois, weightlifting meet and is active locally and nationally in the youth health and education space.

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Shell in Louisiana is

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As thelargest deep-wateroperator in theGulf of America, Shellhas along history of leading theway in producing thesecure, reliable energy our world needs. None of this would be possible without thedrive and innovative spirit of generations of Louisianians

Louisiana Hinduism combines ancient, modern practices FAITH & VALUES

BY JON PARKS Contributing writer

A visit to the Datta Temple, a Hindu place of worship in Baton Rouge, is an experience both ancient and modern at once. Priests lead chants and perform rituals that have been practiced for millennia, and incense and candles create a sense of eternal mystery

Meanwhile, the lighting, sound and live streaming are controlled from iPads, and the priests sometimes reference their smartphones to lead the chants.

“We may be the world’s oldest religion,” says temple priest Harish Jagarlapudi, “but we have to keep up with technology.”

The temple, tucked in a quiet corner of an industrial park, provides an apt symbol for the Hindu communities in Louisiana — they’re often hiding in plain sight.

Most Louisianans know little about their Hindu neighbors, many of whom have immigrated to the U.S. from India. They may have come for work or for university, but they have found a home here and have established thriving communities of Hindu practice in south Louisiana.

The world’s third-largest religion, Hinduism has at least 1.2 billion adherents across the globe, mainly concentrated in India. When many think of India or Hinduism, they think of yoga, spicy vegetarian food or festivals like Holi and Diwali.

Like any religion or culture, the truth is deeper than the stereotypes.

What’s it like to move to the Deep South and live as a practicing Hindu? Many said they have been pleasantly surprised by the openness and kindness they’ve experienced here For those who immigrated here, their country of origin will always be “home,” but they feel like they are equally at home in Louisiana.

As the Hindu community has grown, so has the curiosity and awareness among their neighbors.

“We have many school groups that come to visit our temple and learn about our faith,” says Piyush Maisuria, coordinator for the Hindu Temple of New Orleans in Metairie. “Sometimes we have more requests than we can accommodate.”

While the Hindu community is becoming more recognized, there are still many misconceptions — and not everyone has been so generous. Some in Louisiana confessed that they have faced discrimination because of their clothing, their accent or their bindi the red dot on their forehead that represents the “third eye” and the seat of wisdom and intellect Nidhi Sthanki recounts being teased for the Indian meals she took to school.

“I used to have such delicious Indian food that I’d bring from home, because there weren’t a lot of vegetarian options at the cafeteria,” Sthanki said. “Then some of the students said my food was ‘disgusting,’ and I never wanted to take my food there again.”

Sthanki wrote a book, The Magical Promise,” about her experiences as a Hindu growing up in the United States, as a way of reaffirming her cultural identity and her faith.

Many Hindus follow a strict vegetarian diet, an extension of the Hindu belief that all forms of life are precious and should be protected which can present a challenge at restaurants, which may prepare vegetarian foods side-by-side with meat dishes At sandwich shops, for example, Hindu patrons may ask the servers to change gloves after they’ve handled meat

The practice of devotion is an integral part of daily life for Hindus Some perform rituals at home two or three times a day, a time-intensive

Temple priests lead chants during services at Datta Temple recently in Baton Rouge. The day’s veneration focused on Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge. In her honor, school children, students and all seekers of knowledge were blessed as part of the ritual. While many believe Hindus worship thousands of different gods, they actually consider these to be different facets of the One Eternal Brahman.

process that involves ritual bathing, prayers and offering food at their home altar

They attend temple activities weekly and go more often during the numerous Hindu festivals that occur throughout the year “I’ve seen our community grow from 200 attendees in 2019, to more than 400 at our biggest festivals last year,” says Srinivasan Ambatipati, one of the volunteer leaders at Sri Krishna Balaji Temple in Lafayette. “It’s been wonderful to see the Indian community grow here, and to see how Lafayette has embraced its Hindu citizens.”

Holi, the festival of colors, became an official yearly event by proclamation of the mayor of Lafayette in 2014, Ambatipati said.

Asha Sthanki says one thing outsiders should know about Hindus and their faith is that it is not a single belief or practice but “a way of life that’s grounded in values like compassion, discipline and respect for diversity.”

“The best way to learn about Hinduism is to come experience it,” says Bala Subramanian, noting that all temple activities are open to the public “Come to our worship time. Share a meal with us, and let’s learn from one another.”

Jon Parks is a pastor, writer and musician residing in Baton Rouge. Reach out to him at jon@ jonparks.net with any questions or comments.

Forest Service examines ban on commercial huckleberry picking

BY STEVE LUNDEBERG

Contributing writer

Editor’s note: This story, created by Steve Lundeberg for Columbia Insight, 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. Nine months after announcing a moratorium on commercial huckleberry harvesting, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest wants to gauge public sentiment regarding how well the 2025 ban worked. On its Facebook page, the forest has posted links to a feedback form and a news release explaining its desire to “hear about your 2025 huckleberry experience.”

“Great year Even better than years past since commercial picking wasn’t allowed,” wrote one commenter

“Best year ever!” added another While providing argument that the pause may have been a step in the right direction, “great” and “best” aren’t entirely accurate descriptions of a Pacific Northwest resource that’s been under pressure for more than a century

The Gifford Pinchot National Forest encompasses 1.32 million acres along the Cascade Range’s western slope in southwest Washington and includes the 21,000acre Indian Heaven Wilderness, home of the legendary Sawtooth Berry Fields.

Named for the first director of the U.S. Forest Service, the forest is bounded to the north by Mount Rainier National Park and to the south by the Columbia River Prior to the moratorium — whose announcement came amid lobbying from tribal nations, forest users and local government officials to address dwindling huckleberry numbers, enforcement limitations and disputes among harvesters — the Gifford Pinchot had been the only national forest still allowing the large-scale, com-

mercial harvesting of huckleberries.

Perspectives gathered via the feedback form “will help inform decisions about whether and how to offer a commercial huckleberry program for the 2026 season and beyond,” said forest spokeswoman Amanda Kill.

The Forest Service is using multiple methods to make people aware of the survey, Kill said, including postcards and flyers that have been shared with various stakeholders and partners.

Huckleberries, which can sell for up to $200 a gallon, are a relative of the blueberry They remain an important traditional food for the region’s Native American tribes, under whose stewardship the berries thrived for millennia.

A series of developments following White settlement, though, including 100-plus years of forest fire suppression and prohibitions on cultural burning, have eaten away at habitat for the roughly one dozen species of huckleberries native to the Pacific Northwest

A popular ingredient in consumer products ranging from lip balm to ice cream, from wine to honey, huckleberries can’t be cultivated, meaning supplies are limited to what grows in the mountains.

“There are no domesticated varieties,” said Stephen Cook, a University of Idaho professor who studies huckleberries. “We can produce plants that grow in a greenhouse, and we can outplant them, but it doesn’t matter what we do, when we outplant them they die within three or four years. Very seldom do they flower.”

Tribal rights, picking limits

An 1855 treaty gave the Yakama Nation the right to hunt, fish and gather food, including huckleberries, throughout their ancestral homeland, whether on or off the reservation that had been created for the Yakama. It didn’t take long, however, for the federal government to begin falling short of honoring the treaty

During the Great Depression, thousands of white huckleberry harvesters descended upon the Sawtooth fields, leading in 1932 to what’s known as the Handshake Agreement: 2,800 acres of the Sawtooth fields would be reserved for tribes during each summer’s huckleberry season.

The agreement, codified in the forest’s cultural resource management plan in 1990, prohibited non-Indian harvesters from picking huckleberries east of Forest Road 24.

At about the same time, the Gifford Pinchot’s permitting system for commercial pickers went into effect. In 2024, the last year before the ban, a commercial harvester could purchase a two-week permit with a 40-gallon limit for $60, or a season-long permit with a 70-gallon limit for $105.

Personal-use pickers, who are not affected by the ban, also need a permit; it’s free and is good for up to three gallons per year

The forest sold more than 900 permits in 2024 and says that annual harvests range between 50,000 and 70,000 gallons.

“In the last 10 years it’s been really bad,” said tribal picker Elaine Harvey, a member of the Kah-milpah Band of the Yakama Nation. “Thousands of commercial pickers take the berries before we can get there; they clear it out.”

For the tribes, harvesting doesn’t begin until after an annual huckleberry ceremony in late July or

early August, and unlike commercial pickers who use “rakes” tools that look like a cross between a comb for grabbing berries and a dustpan for collecting them tribal harvesters pick with their fingers

“They used to wait till tribes had had their ceremonial feasts, but now people are just going out there to gather berries,” said Brigette McConville, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and a Columbia Insight board member “The rakes are damaging to the huckleberry bush If commercial picking is allowed again, they should ban the use of the rakes.”

“I don’t have data, but rakes have to do some damage,” added Cook “People who are concerned about them have a right to be.”

Misunderstood berry

Another concern is that while huckleberries have been culturally important for thousands of years and economically significant for more than 100, they continue to pose questions that science struggles to answer

“New starts are almost always associated with stumps of some conifer, but we don’t understand pollination for huckleberries,” Cook said “We don’t know that insects are truly necessary for pollination activity That leaves us in a quandary: How do we protect or restore something when we don’t even understand how it

reproduces?”

Botanical mysteries aside, the reevaluation of commercial harvesting on the Gifford Pinchot that began with last year’s ban seems like a good place to begin. Harvey said the influx of commercial pickers from Seattle, Portland and even California had become a free-for-all with virtually no regulation. Over the past two decades, McConville said, commercial picking simply devolved into a “disrespect of the resource.”

“In the last 15 years they’d been harassing us, intimidating us, siccing dogs on us, bringing weapons against us,” said Harvey, referring to commercial harvesters. “Women and elders have been scared to go up and pick alone, and we never let our children run in the forest like I did as a kid. Last year we felt safe to camp, safe to pick, safe to let the kids run free. There were actually berries on the bushes for us to harvest. It was like the clock went back to a time when it was peaceful.”

Peace and commercial picking don’t have to be mutually exclusive, said McConville, who has on occasion purchased commercially harvested berries.

“If I don’t have time to get out there and pick, I don’t mind paying someone for the time they put in, the fuel, the food, the man-hours,” she said. “But it’s fair to have a stricter policy, and the Forest Service should have more employees to patrol and check how people are gathering, check their permits. And there should be some education component to the permitting process, an understanding of the berries’ importance to native people.”

Determining if, when and how to offer commercial huckleberry harvesting in the future is all part of the current feedback gathering effort, said Kill.

The first decision will cover what happens this year The Forest Service is in ongoing discussions with partners, interested parties, tribes and the wild foods industry

SUNDAY, FebrUArY 22, 2026

grams

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 — snAPPisHLY: SNAPish-lee: Curtly; arising from annoyance.

Average mark 44 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 63 or more words in SNAPPISHLY?

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

super Quiz

Louie in a rush

It was the last round at the club’s Saturday night duplicate and Hard Luck Louie’s game had not been going well He estimated that he had a below-average score and he wanted to head for the bar to drown his sorrows. He playedthisdealtooquicklywhen he covered the king of spades lead with dummy’s ace East ruffed and there was no way for Louie to come to 10 tricks. Down one and off to the bar, cursing his luck on the way out.

Lucky Larry played this deal a round earlier. Larry was having his usual solid game and he gave this deal the attention it deserved. Larry played low from dummy on the opening spade lead and also played low on the spade continuation. West persisted with another high spade Larry played low from dummy once more and ruffed in hand. He drew trumps in three rounds and discarded a diamond on the ace of spades. Larry conceded a club to the defense and claimed 10 tricks. Larry had given up on

a fair chance for an overtrick because he knew it was possible, at this vulnerability, for West to have seven spades for his pre-empt, rather than six. Well done!

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

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Social events will lead to new beginnings. Doors will open through the connections you make. Love, romance and the exploration of new possibilities are on the rise. It’s up to you to make things happen.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Connections can make a difference to your financial outcome. Put in the effort, use your imagination and draw on your expertise to develop a lucrative plan.

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CANCER (June 21-July 22) The impression you make will impact how others treat you. Be bold and take initiative, and the returns will be excellent. If you love someone, let them know. Romance is apparent if you are open to it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Emotional challenges will require thought. Don’t make promises you cannot afford. Monitor your time, energy and money carefully to avoid setbacks. Rethink and redirect your plans to meet your needs.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22) Place your feet firmly on the ground and take a realistic look around you. What you discover will determine what’s next. Too little thought and planning will get you in trouble.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Engage in direct, from-the-heart talks, and initiate conversations that resolve issues. Participating in events that address your concerns will lead to interesting encounters.

LIBRA (Sept 23-Oct 23) Set limits before you engage in anything that can cost you financially emotionally or physically Indulgent

behavior will lead to regret and can affect your reputation.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Choose compassion and understanding over anger and disruption. Social events will lead to interesting encounters and conversations. If you love someone, tell them so.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stay home. Be wary of fast-talking scammers. If something sounds too good to be true, know enough to walk away Set standards that suit your needs.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Opportunity is within reach. Don’t limit what you can do by the company

you keep. Step out and see what’s available in your community and make the most of whatever situations you encounter AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take the plunge and follow through with your ideas. Life is too short to waste your time stressing over things you cannot fix. Apply pressure where necessary and work to make a difference.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

1. Lorry.2.Windscreen.3.Cot.4.Handbag. 5. Petrol. 6. Torch. 7. Braces. 8. Pram. 9. Nappy 10. Flat. 11. Waistcoat. 12. Flyover. 13. Biscuit 14. Post. 15. Interval.

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: It wasnot theapple on the tree butthe paironthe groundthatcaused the trouble in the garden of Eden.—Elizabeth Barrett Browning