He didn’tfillupthe whole tank. With gas prices in Baton Rouge up about 50 cents over the past week, he put in just $10 worth to fill his car up as much as he could.
Regular unleaded gas cost $2.99 per gallon, andhewas able to get about 3.5 gallons
He said he immediately suspected the price hike was due to the United States’ war with Iran.
La.insurers required to give fortified roof discount
BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer
Louisiana will soon push homeinsurers to give specific discounts in exchange for homeowners getting fortified roofs, aftera yearslong debate over how to deliver savings to residents whoface soaring insurance premiums.
Insurance Commissioner TimTemple’soffice quietly released abulletin to insurers last Friday that lays out the level of discount they now must provide, whichvaries depending on the type of fortification andregion of the state.Iftheydon’t meet the threshold, they must provideactuarial math justifying the lower discount, similar to how Alabamaoperates.
For south Louisiana homeowners with fortified roofs—the most commoncategory —insurers will have to give a29% discount on the hurricane portion of the premium.The hurricane portion is generally the largest contributor to the overall premium in parishes at risk from hurricanes. Homeowners with fortified “gold” homes, which must include reinforced windows, doors and other bracing against wind, will get a49% discount unless insurers justifyalower amount. Temple said in an interview that hisoffice ran data throughtwo differentcatastrophe models
See ROOF,
Hays, 45, is afather,works as a mental health professional andis pursuing amaster’sdegree to become alicensed professional counselor.The gas price increases have complicated day-to-day budgeting, he said.
“Making the dollar stretch is areal challenge,” he said Drivers aroundthe country have felt the pressure on theirwallets as the warinthe Middle East pushes crudeoil prices up, leaving consumers payingmore at the pump. Averageregular gas prices in East Baton Rouge Parishsat at $3.05 Monday, according to AAA, which tracks fuel pricesacross thecountry.That’s up about $0.49 from prices aweek agoand about $0.57 up from Feb.21, aweek before theU.S.-Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28.
Gasoline in Baton Rouge cost about $2.68 per gallon this time lastyear Double-digit increases arewell abovethe norm, said Justin Alford, who co-ownsBenny’sCar Wash and B-Quik locationsaround Baton Rouge. B-Quik sold regular gas at $2.89 per gallon Monday for their rewards programmembers and$3.19 per gallon for nonmembers, a$0.22 increase from theday prior Typically,anincrease of just $0.04 to $0.06 is significant, Alfordsaid. He first noticed an uptick in wholesale gas prices March 2, just afew days after the war began.
“It’sgoing up every day,”hesaid.
“It’s going up really fast.” Baton Rougeisonpar with the state averageprice for gasonMondayof$3.04 pergallon, up from $2.58 per gallon aweek ago. The national gas price average on Monday was $3.48 per gallon. Louisiana hassome of thelowest
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
Atop LSU athleticsofficialtoldmembersof Congress on Tuesday that one of the main problems facing college sportsnow that student athletes can be paid is the lack of acentral authority over sports programs.
“The issue is, we don’thaveagoverning organization that is able to enforce those rules on aconsistent basis, because of the evolutionof regulations and the judicial decisions and actions over the last several years,” said LSU Executive Deputy Athletic Director Julie Cromer And she said the convergence of anumber of
Bill wouldmakedisruptions at church services acrime
Lawmakerscite
DonLemon case
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
Some Louisiana lawmakers want to make it astate crime to disrupt religious services, weeks after an anti-ICE protesters interrupteda Minneapolis church service, drawing condemnation from conservatives across the country On Tuesday,the Senate’s
Judiciary Ccommittee greenlit two bills that create criminal penalties intended to address such incidents.They were SenateBill 35 by Bill Wheat,a Republican state senator from Ponchatoula, and SenateBill306 by Rick Edmonds, aRepublican state senator from Baton Rouge.
of the U.S. Constitution.
Duringthe committee meeting, proponents of the measures slammed theMinnesota protesters, who they said scared children and worshippers. They argued passing anew law would help protect the right to worship, whichis enshrined in the First Amendment
“You start seeing particular behavior,and you’re concerned that that behavior maymove across to other states,”Edmonds saidin an interview.“Ithink we have to be aggressively involvedtoprotect our churches and our church families.”
Butcivil rights advocates raised concerns that the bills were too vague and could violate the First Amendment by curtailing free speech. Following the protest in Minneapolis, multiple participants, who entered the church because apastor there wasanICE official, were arrested. The demonstrators were accused of violating laws, as were twojournalists,including former
ä See CHURCH, page 9A
ä See SPORTS, page 8A “I
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
Suspect in Rihanna’s house shooting in court
LOS ANGELES A Florida woman accused of firing gunshots at Rihanna’s home in Los Angeles was charged Tuesday with one count of attempted murder and other felony offenses including 10 counts of assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that the singing superstar, her partner A$AP Rocky, their three small children and her mother were all on the property at the time.
The district attorney’s office said Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, was charged in the shooting Sunday afternoon outside the superstar’s gated home in the Beverly Hills area. No one was hurt.
Court records show Ortiz also was charged with 10 counts of assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited vehicle or dwelling. All 14 counts are felonies, and she was brought for a scheduled arraignment before Judge Theresa McGonigle on Tuesday afternoon in Superior Court of Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender Jamarcus Bradford, Ortiz’s attorney, at first entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf, but then withdrew it in favor of postponing arraignment until March 25. She was ordered held on $1.8 million bail.
The judge issued a protective order for Ortiz to stay away from Robin Fenty and Rakim Mayers the legal names of Rihanna and her partner A$AP Rocky –- and their home. McGonigle also said Ortiz is not allowed to possess any firearms or ammunition along with several other conditions.
No new trial for man in Laken Riley’s death
ATLANTA A judge has rejected a request for a new trial for a Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, a case that became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration.
Lawyers for Jose Ibarra argued his constitutional rights were violated when the judge declined two defense motions before trial.
One was a request to delay the trial to give an expert witness time to review and analyze DNA data. The other would have excluded some cellphone evidence.
Clarke County Superior Court
Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who presided over the trial, wrote in an order Monday that the evidence of Ibarra’s guilt presented by the state was “overwhelming and powerful.”
After Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial, Haggard found him guilty of murder and other charges during the November 2024 trial and sentenced him to life in prison.
A spokesperson for Ibarra’s attorneys said they plan to file an appeal.
Ibarra, 28, had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay while he pursued his immigration case.
Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus in Athens on Feb. 22, 2024, and killed her during a struggle. Riley was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta.
Baltimore officer wounded in call
BALTIMORE A police officer responding to a burglary call in Baltimore was shot in the leg Tuesday by a gunman who was killed by another officer, authorities said.
A woman jumped out of a window during the tense confrontation and another woman was held at gunpoint by the man before he was shot, Police Commissioner Richard Worley said.
“It was relatively quick because he was firing on our officers,” Worley said.
The officer with a leg wound was in stable condition at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center Dr Thomas Scalea praised a “buddy” who applied a tourniquet at the scene.
Explosive residue found in connection with N.Y. bombing
2 men are charged in hurling devices outside mayor’s home
BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press
NEW YORK The FBI said Tuesday that it found explosive residue in a Pennsylvania storage unit as part of an investigation into two men charged with bringing homemade bombs to a protest outside the home of New York City’s mayor Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told police after their arrests that they were inspired by the Islamic State group, according to law enforcement officials and a criminal complaint.
The men live in the Philadelphia suburbs and drove together to New York City on Saturday to carry out the attack near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, officials said.
In response to police questioning, Balat said he hoped to accomplish something “even bigger” than the Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people, the complaint said
Overnight Monday, FBI bomb technicians conducted controlled detonations of the explosive residue found at a public storage facility in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, near where Balat’s family lives, the agency said.
The explosion resulted in “sev-
eral loud bangs,” the Middletown Township Police Department said Tuesday, adding that there was no threat to residents. The FBI said it has conducted multiple searches in connection with the investigation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday called the attack “absolutely despicable” and said government investigators and prosecutors won’t rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Much remains unknown about the motives, planning and relationship between Balat and Kayumi.
Court documents show Emir Balat’s father, Selahattin Balat, is a native of Turkey who was granted asylum in the United States in 1998 and later became a U.S. citizen. In a 2009 bankruptcy filing, he listed his occupation as painter and said he had three children.
Emir Balat is a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne. A school spokesperson said he enrolled in a virtual program in September and had not attended in-person classes since.
Rock High School North, according to a school spokesperson. His attorney did not speak to reporters following a court hearing Monday and declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
Online records show that Kayumi’s parents have owned and worked at multiple Popeyes fast food locations, including in Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Atlantic City
His mother filed a missing person report with police Saturday, the day of the protest, saying her son had not been seen since that morning, according to the complaint.
His lawyer Mehdi Essmidi, said his client had “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life, without elaborating. Essmidi said he did not believe the two young men had known each other for long.
Kayumi is from Newtown, about 4 miles north of Langhorne. He graduated in 2024 from Council
Prosecutors, police and FBI officials say Balat and Kayumi joined a throng of counterprotesters at a small, anti-Muslim rally organized by far-right activist Jake Lang. A Christian nationalist, Lang is a critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office.
Jou rn alists photographed Balat hurling a device, smoking with a lit fuse, that was later found to contain the explosive TATP The object, which also contained nuts and bolts, extinguished itself without harming anyone.
Balat then dropped a second object near some police officers and tried to run, but was tackled and arrested, according to a court complaint.
U.S. bishop accused of embezzling $270K resigns
Chaldean Catholic leader pleaded not guilty
BY GREGORY BULL, CHRISTOPHER WEBER and DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press
EL CAJON, Calif. — The bishop of a small Chaldean Catholic community in the San Diego area has resigned amid charges that he embezzled $270,000 from his parish, Pope Leo XIV announced Tuesday Bishop Emanuel Shaleta pleaded not guilty on Monday to 16 felony charges, including money laundering, during a hearing attended by many of his supporters. The hearing followed his Thursday arrest at San Diego International Airport as he was trying to leave the country according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.
Shaleta, 69, is accused of embezzling from the St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon, east of San Diego.
Last August, someone from Shaleta’s church provided a statement and documentation “showing potential embezzlement from the church,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
The Vatican said in its daily bulletin Tuesday that Leo had accepted Shaleta’s resignation under the code of canon law for Eastern Rite churches, which allows for the pope to agree if a bishop asks to step down.
It also said Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako retired as patriarch of the global Chaldean Catholic Church, saying he wishes to pursue “prayer, writing and simple service.”
It’s unclear if his retirement is connected to Shaleta’s case.
Leo actually accepted Shaleta’s res-
ignation in February, but it wasn’t announced until this week, according to the Vatican embassy in Washington. The Holy See appears to have waited to announce the decision to avoid interfering with the police investigation.
Prosecutor Joel Madero said the allegations against Shaleta are connected to monthly rental payments of more than $30,000 from a tenant of the church’s social hall that allegedly were missing. He said there were discrepancies in church accounts and that Shaleta “provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going.”
The judge set bail at $125,000 and seized Shaleta’s passport. Madero said Shaleta was a flight risk, but the bishop’s attorney said Thursday’s flight had been planned for a while. Authorities didn’t say where he was headed.
During a Feb. 22 Mass, Shaleta addressed allegations against him, saying he has never “abused any penny of the church money.”
“On the contrary, I have done my best to preserve and manage the donations of the church properly,” he said at the time.
Shaleta’s attorney, Sharon Appelbaum, said she planned to show that the allegations were false.
The priests of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle released a statement expressing solidarity with Shaleta.
Shaleta could face 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges, the district attorney’s office said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 27.
On Tuesday, the El Cajon parish church’s doors were closed and its parking lot was empty Leo named Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop as a temporary administrator
No injuries as gunfire strikes Toronto building
BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press
TORONTO Police in Canada searched Tuesday for two assailants who opened fire at the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto in an early-morning attack that damaged the outside of the building but did not cause any injuries.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Superintendent Chris Leather called it a national security incident and said the national police force was working with Toronto police on finding the suspects and determining the motive.
The shooting came amid heightened tension over the Iran war, and followed gunfire attacks on two Torontoarea synagogues last weekend. Leather said the U.S. and Israeli consulates, as well as embassies in Ottawa, would see an increase in security
“It is extremely concerning,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
“We will use the full weight of our resources to ensure that the perpetrators feel the full weight of justice.”
Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said two individuals emerged from a white Honda CRV SUV at around 4:30 a.m. and fired multiple shots at the building before fleeing. Police released images of the SUV, but had no further information about the suspects.
“There were people inside the building. However, this building is highly secured and highly fortified and there were no injuries,” he said.
The gunshots caused damage to the outside but did not penetrate into the building, Barredo said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called it “an absolutely unacceptable act of violence and intimidation aimed at our American friends and neighbors,” and he hinted at a possible link to the war in Iran.
NyPD police officers and a K9 walk outside Carl Schurz Park as they investigate a suspicious device on Tuesday in New york.
Mamdani
CONFLICT MIDDLE EAST IN THE
U.S. takesout multiple Iranianvessels
At least140 U.S. troops injured so far, Pentagon says
BY JON GAMBRELL, JAMEY KEATEN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
The U.S. military saidittook out multiple Iranian vessels Tuesday as the Islamic Republicvowed to block the region’soil exports and concerns grew about the country’sthreats to stop tankers from using awaterway throug h which 20% of the world’soil is shipped.
The U.S. destroyed 16 mine-laying Iranian vessels, though President Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports of Iran plantingexplosives in the Strait of Hormuz.
The American military released the figure, along with unclassified footage of some of the vessels, after Trump earlier warned Iran against laying mines in the strait.
Both sides sharpened their rhetoric as the war entered its 11th day with Trump threateningtohit Iran at “a level never seen before” if the country failed to immediately remove any mines it might have deployed in the channel.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised the most intense strikes yet whilethe Pentagon detailed thebroader toll of injuries sustained by U.S. troops.
About 140 U.S. service members have been wounded in the war,and the “vast majority”ofthe injuries were minor,with 108 service members already back on duty,according to the Pentagon. Eight U.S. service
Smoke risesfrom anIsraeliairstrikeinDahiyeh, Beirut’ssouthernsuburbs, in Lebanon on Tuesday.
memberssufferedsevereinjuries, andseven have been killed.
The conflict’seffects rippled across theMiddleEast andbeyond.
Iranian leaders ruled out talks, threatened Trump and launched new attacks against Israel and Gulf Arab countries.
In Iran, residents of Tehran said they experienced some of thewar’s heavieststrikes. Awoman said she saw aresidential building gethit. She andothers spoke on conditionofanonymity to prevent reprisals. Tens of thousands of Iranians have sought shelter in the countryside
Multiple Israeli strikes killed seven people across southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said early Wednesday. Also killed wasa Red Cross member whodied
early Wednesday after an Israeli strike targetedhis team Monday whiletheywere rescuing people following an earlier attack, the health ministry said.
On Tuesday,Israeli airstrikes killedfour, including aparamedic who worked for the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Authority who was treating the wounded. Israel saiditwas working to interceptmissilesfrom Iran and Hezbollah, which beganfiring on Israel after the start of the war In Iraq, drones targeted militarybases inside Baghdad InternationalAirport late Tuesday,two security officials saidoncondition of anonymity becausethey werenot authorized to speak to the press. Somedrones fell near Iraqi securitypositions, while others landed near logistical support sites used by
U.S.-led coalition forces, one official said.
Iranian attacks in theUnited Arab Emirates —home to the business andtravel hub of Dubai—havekilled six people and wounded 122 others
In Bahrain, theMinistry of Interior said earlyWednesdaythat sirens were sounded,urging people to seek safety.
The warnings cameaday afteranIranian attackhit a residentialbuildinginthe capital, Manama, andkilled a29-year-old womanand wounding eight people.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces hit more than 5,000 targets. In Iran, at least 1,230 people have been killed, while thedeath tollismore than
480 in Lebanon and12inIsrael, according to officials.
Iran’sleadershaveremained defiant after days of heavy strikes targeting the country’s leadership, military,ballistic missilesand its disputed nuclear program Iran’sparliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on XthatIranwas “definitely notlooking fora ceasefire.”
“Webelieve that the aggressorshould be punched in themouth so that he learns alesson so that he will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again,” he said. Atop Iranian security official, Ali Larijani, posted a warning to Trump, writing on Xthat “Even those bigger than you couldn’teliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”
TheTrumpadministration, meanwhile, faced growing scrutiny at home about the war.
“I’m not sure whatthe end game is, or what their plans are,” Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, of Nevada,said after aclassifiedbriefing that the Trump administration held Tuesday for lawmakers. Iran hasrepeatedly targetedenergy infrastructure with attacks that appear aimed at generating enough global economic paintopressure the U.S.and Israel to end their strikes. It has also firedonIsrael andU.S.military bases in the region.
Women’sBowling Head CoachBarry Doylehas builtaprogram that reflectsthatcommitment. The team haswon threeregular-seasontitles, andCoach Doylehas been namedSWACCoach of theYearthree times. That foundation helped this year’s team to be successful despiteits youth.
“I hadayoung team this year –fourfreshmen, one sophomoreand onesenior,”hesaid. Evenwithlessexperience,theteamearnedthefourth seedintheSWACChampionships,whichbeginMarch 21 in Arlington, Texas.
CoachDoylesaidmaintainingandimprovingSouthern’s bowlingfacilitiesisessential forkeeping theprogram relevant in theSWACand on thenationalstage.On hiswishlist: renovationstothe 12-lanefacility, anew oiling machineand avan that’s suitable fortakingthe team to competitions around thecountry
“There’salwaysaneed,”hesaid.“Theschoolisdoing what they can, but we canalwaysuse some help from thecommunity andthe alumni.”
WhileSoutherncoachesworktobuildwinningteams otherstaffmembersfocusonpreparingstudent-athletes forlifebeyondsports. TambriaBradford, Director of Student-AthleteDevelopmentandAcademics,oversees initiatives to help Jaguarsgrowprofessionallyand personally.One of thoseisUncaged:BuildingBeyond TheBluff,aleadershipprogramthatwelcomeditsfirst cohort last fall
“One of thebiggest things Ihavenoticed is the vision –the waytheysee theopportunity forgrowth, theway they arelooking forward andwanting to leave alegacy,” Bradfordsaid. “Thatconfidence that comes from learningand growing, Ithinkthathelps them to pushnotonlythemselvesandoneanotherinthecohort, buttheir teammates. Behindthe scenes, Southern staff also help manage complexlogistics.AlexisEllis,ChiefExecutivetoHead Football CoachMarshallFaulk,recently joined the Jaguarsprogramandisquicklyadjustingtohernewrole. AnativeofJackson,Mississippi,Ellishelpscoordinate
dailyoperationsfor roughly125 coachesand players. Over thelastmonth,she’s been familiarizingherself withseveralnewcoachesandtheirroles,whilemaking sure playersstayontop of theirnutrition,workouts, schoolwork,teamactivitiesand recovery Eventhoughthefootballseasonisstillseveralmonths away,Ellis cansense theexcitementsurrounding the Jaguars, especially with CoachFaulk at thehelm. “I’m reallylooking forward to theatmosphereon gamedays.I canfeelitinthe airalready,not just with theteam, butwiththe fans andonsocialmedia,” Ellis said.“They arelovingusand we arelovingthem. That communitysupport playsanimportant role in sustainingSouthern’sathleticprogramsand the opportunities they createfor students.Alumniand fans cancontributedirectlyduringthe Jag-A-Thon on Friday,March 27.Donations willsupport facility improvements,equipmentupgradesandprogramsthat promotetheacademicsuccessandpersonaldevelopment. Thisyear’sJag-A-Thonwillbeacombinedin-person andvirtual eventencompassingphone banking, live streamingandsocialmedia.Alivestreamwillbeavailable from 9a.m.to5 p.m. on JaguarsSportsNetwork com, Facebook andYouTube.Itwillalsobebroadcast live on CumulusRadio: Max94.1, Q106.5, Heaven 95.7 andClassic Hits 103.3.
•Inperson: Leon R. Tarver II Cultural andHeritage Center (9 a.m. to 5p.m.March 27)
•Mail:SouthernUniversityAthletics,P.O.Box9942,
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByBILAL HUSSEIN
‘No support’ from Danish about U.S. acquiring Greenland
Educator hopes to visit Landry while in Louisiana
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Frederik Waage is a professor of constitutional law at the University of Southern Denmark
He is visiting several cities in the United States to discuss President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire or even seize Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.
Waage will spend several days in Louisiana beginning Wednesday to give talks on the subject and, he hopes, to meet with Gov Jeff Landry, named by Trump in December as his special envoy to Greenland. Landry recently suggested to Trump that he send a hospital ship to the territory after talking with a Greenlander who raised concerns about health
Thune: Senate to consider voting bill
But pushes back on demands for ‘talking filibuster’
BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press
WASHINGTON Major-
ity Leader John Thune said Tuesday that the Senate will consider a bill to impose strict new proof-ofcitizenship requirements in elections, but says “the votes aren’t there” to pass it through a marathon talking filibuster sought by President Donald Trump. Trump has said he won’t sign any other legislation until the bill — known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE America Act — is passed. But it faces unified opposition from Democrats, meaning that the Senate can’t pass it unless Republicans change the rules and eliminate the filibuster
Thune has said there aren’t enough votes to do that, or to launch a talking filibuster that would force Democrats to hold the floor indefinitely to block the bill.
“That is just a function of math,” Thune told reporters on Tuesday, making his strongest statements yet after weeks of discussions among GOP senators. “For better or worse, I’m the one who has to be a clear-eyed realist about what we can achieve here.”
Republican senators are discussing, instead, voting on the legislation as soon as next week under regular procedure meaning it will likely fail. Thune said that Republicans are “going to have a fight on the floor”
PROVIDED PHOTO
Professor Frederik Waage is visiting several cities in the United States to discuss President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire or seize Greenland
care. No ship has been available to undertake that mission.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Were people in Denmark surprised when President Trump began saying last year that he wanted to have the United States acquire Greenland?
It was a big surprise that this issue came up again. We had not heard about it during the presi-
Q&A WITH FREDERIK WAAGE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR AT
dential elections. It came up only after he was elected. We had almost forgotten his wish to buy Greenland from 2019. And what was the reaction when Trump began saying more recently that he wanted to seize the island?
Great confusion and shock due to the fact that it’s the closest ally we have. There was great confusion also because America already has a big military presence in Greenland.
Do the Danish people support the United States acquiring Greenland? How about the people in Greenland?
There’s no support at all in Denmark or in Greenland for this. Greenland has mentioned that they would elect to be in the Danish kingdom rather than be part of the United States.
President Trump suddenly got people in Louisiana interested in Greenland in late
and will force Democrats to vote on “whether they think noncitizens should vote in American elections.”
Trump’s aggressive effort to dictate Senate procedure has put Thune in an awkward position as he has tried to appease the president and increasingly angry base voters who have called for Republicans to do whatever they can to pass it ahead of the midterm elections. But most Republican senators appear to be backing Thune’s approach
“There’s been enough dithering,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville. “It’s time to go and let the chips fall where they may.”
Trump has made the SAVE America Act a priority ahead of the midterm elections, arguing that Republicans need it to win — even as his party won the presidency and congressional majorities in 2024 without it. Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be U.S. citizens.
“It’ll guarantee the midterms,” he told House Republicans Monday at their annual retreat at his Florida golf club “If you don’t get it, big trouble.”
But Trump’s push is running into the realities of the Senate, where minor-
ity Democrats can filibuster any piece of legislation and force Republicans to find 60 votes when they only hold 53 seats. Democrats uniformly oppose the legislation, arguing that it would disenfranchise some 20 million American voters who don’t have birth certificates or other documents readily available.
Republicans could change the rules and eliminate the filibuster to pass it, or they could attempt the talking filibuster
But Thune says they don’t have enough support within the GOP conference to do either
Even if they did, a talking filibuster would not guarantee passage. Supporters of that approach say that Democrats would eventually tire of speaking or allow the legislation to pass.
But Democrats would also be allowed to bring up an indefinite number of amendments on any subject, forcing Republicans to take hard votes in an election year and delaying the process even more.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who has led the talking filibuster push with Trump, posted on X Tuesday that the “Senate should do everything it can in an effort to pass” the bill.
December when he named Gov Jeff Landry as his special envoy to the territory.What kind of reaction did that generate in Denmark and Greenland? We’re very curious about this appointment. That is the reason for my visit here. I’m traveling to Louisiana to give him an invitation to speak at my university, the University of Southern Denmark, to give a talk there about Denmark and to talk to two of the top Danish news outlets. The main reaction in Denmark was people were mystified by this appointment. This person was appointed to follow Greenland. We’re trying to figure out to which degree he’ll play a role in Greenland politics and the hospital ship. That has led to many questions.
Landry has said he would like to visit Greenland.What kind of reaction would he get if he walked down main street of the
capital?
I know that when (Vice President) JD Vance wanted to go to Greenland, he ended up at an American base instead of a dog sled race because there were American demonstrations against him. It would make sense for (Landry) to go to Denmark to make sense of the situation in Greenland and discuss American policy toward Greenland. It would not be the outcome of JD Vance’s experience.
You are hoping to meet with Landry while you’re in Louisiana.What would tell him and what would you hope to learn? I would be very interested in hearing his idea about the hospital ship. I’d like to talk about Greenlandic health care, which is a big topic in Denmark. Does he have any other initiatives coming up? He’s considered a very important person from a Danish perspective. It would be a chance for him to talk to an expert about Greenland and for us to engage in dialogue.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters following a weekly Republican luncheon Tuesday at the Capitol in Washington.
Twomoveto Ga.runo
BYJEFFAMY Associated Press
ROME, Ga. Democrat
Shawn Harris and Republican Clay Fuller advanced to arunoff for Marjorie Taylor Greene’sformer U.S. House seat in Georgia after no candidate won amajority in Tuesday’sspecialelection.
President Donald Trump in February endorsed Fuller,adistrictattorney who prosecutes crimes in four counties, to succeed Greene in Georgia’s14th Congressional District. Greene, once among Trump’smost ardent supporters, resigned in January after afalling out with the president.
Trump’sendorsement didn’tboost Fuller to amajority of the vote in a14-candidate field that included nine Republicans, three Democrats, aLibertarian and an independent. But Fuller said he was confident he couldbring Republicans together to beat Harris on April 7.
“I thinkthe Republican Party is going to unite around us because they know that theDemocrat is too dangerous,” he said Tuesday night. “Wecan’t have aDemocratrepresenting Georgia 14. That would be atragedy for our community,atragedy for Georgia14and atragedyfor the MAGA movement.”
Harris, acattle farmerand retired brigadier general, will face an uphill battleto win amajority in the heavily Republican district. Nevertheless, he was leading in the hours afterthe polls closedand Democrats are likely to boast of his success at atime when they have focused on strong performances in special elections. Harris has promised moderation and afocus on the district’sproblems, contrasting himself with Greene’sbomb-
throwingstyle.
The winner will serve out theremaining months of Greene’s term. ARepublicanwin in the northwest Georgia districtwould bolster the party’sslim majorityinthe House Fuller was aWhite House fellow in thefirstTrump administration and isalieutenant colonel in theGeorgiaAir National Guard. He finishedfourthinthe 2020 Republican primarythat Greenewon.Hecredited Trump’snod for propelling himtothe runoff.
“They want to know who President Trumpwas endorsing in this race,” Fuller said.“Andthat’swhy they came out in drovestosupport him, because they want an America First fighter on Capitol Hill fighting for his policies that are going to make adifferencefor our community.”
This roundofvotingis only thefirst step in an electionsmarathon in the Georgiadistrict. Republicans and Democrats seeking a full two-yeartermare set foraMay 19 partyprimary and possibly aJune 16party runoff, before advancing to
thegeneral election in November
Lastweek, 10 Republicans and Harris qualified torun in November’selection for afull two-year term.That includes Fuller,aswell as Colton Moore, aformer statesenator and favorite of far-right activists who drew attentionfor avociferous attack on Trump’sprosecution in Georgia for alleged election interference. Moore was poised to finish thirdon Tuesday,short of the runoff.
ForFullervoters like Presley Stover,supportfor Trumphasn’twavered.
“I think as of right now, he’sdoing agreat job,”said Stover, wholivesinDallas, Georgia.“He’s definitely helping us alot more than Biden did. Imean, as of now,they’re not thebest, but you’re not gonna change anything overnight.”
Some Re publicans , though, were unmoved by Trump’snod.
“God,no. That’snot going to sway me one way or the other,” said Brendon O’Laughlin of Dallas, noting he votedfor Brian Stover,a Republican from his area. Thosewho backed Demo-
N.Y. judgeurges states to settle Live Nation claims
BY LARRYNEUMEISTER
Associated Press
NEWYORK ANew York federaljudge on Tuesday urged over two dozen states to settle their antitrust claims against Ticketmaster and its parent company this week after theU.S. JusticeDepartmentreached adeal and dropped out of an ongoing trial.
But Dan Wall, alawyer for Ticketmaster’sparent, Live Nation Entertainment, told Judge Arun Subramanian at ahearing in Manhattanthat the chance all states would settle their claims by Friday was “about zero.”
He said he based his assessment on the nature of discussions between the ticketing and entertainment giantsand thestatesoverthe past week. The states don’t all want the same kindsof relief, he said.
“There are too many parties,” Wall said. “Wewantto stick the landing here. Get it
down. And wewon’t stickthe landing by Friday.”
At another point,Wall said: “Thereiszerochanceweget this done by Friday.” Subramanian quipped: “Notwith that attitude.”
Still, the judge persuaded lawyers for bothsidestonegotiate in Manhattan federal court this week to seeifthey make progressbeforehe decides whether to grant a mistrial request by the states and schedule afresh start fora trial or to resume atrial next Monday that started with the presentationofevidencelastweek
“Rightnow you shouldbe focused on can we make a deal,” the judgetold them, saying hewould find them conference roomsthroughoutthe courthouse to work. He even offered his robing room foroffice space. Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation, attended thecourthouse talks Tuesday On Monday,the Justice
Departmentrevealedthatit had settled itsantitrust lawsuit againstTicketmaster, describing the terms of the deal as avictory for consumers that would endanillegal monopoly over live events in the U.S.
At the trial,lawyersfor the federal government and 39 statesand theDistrict of Columbia said Live Nation and Ticketmaster were squelching competition and driving up prices for fans through threats, retaliation and other tactics to “suffocate the competition”bycontrolling virtually every aspect of the industry,from concertpromotion to ticketing.
Thecompaniesinsisted thatartists, sports teams and venues set prices and decide how ticketsare sold.
The Justice Department announcement was immediately met withstrong criticism from multiple states.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson called it “a terrible deal.”
cratssaid theywere repelledbyTrump andeager to reduce his power
“There just needs to be checks and balances, and I don’tthink we have manyof thoserightnow,” said Matthew Wisniewski, aDallas
resident whovoted forHarris. Greene was one of the most well-known members of Congress until she left in January.She remained loyaltoTrump after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, pro-
moting Trump’sfalsehoods about astolen election. When Trump ran again in 2024, she toured the country with him and spoke at his rallies while wearing ared “Make America GreatAgain” hat. But Greene began clashing with Trump last year after he and other Republicans pushed back against her running forU.S.Senate or governor.GreenecriticizedTrump’sforeign policy and his reluctance to release documents involvingthe Jeffrey Epsteincase. The president eventually had enough, saying he would support aprimary challenge against her.Greene announced aweek later that she would resign. ReturninganotherRepublican to Congress would bolster the party’snarrow majority in the House. Republicans currently control 218 House seats to Democrats’ 214.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS By MIKE STEWART
Democratic ShawnHarris speaks to areporter after learning he would advance to arunoff election against Republican ClayFuller on TuesdayinRome, Ga.
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to arrive at the discount figures, in partnership with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
“We didn’t just pull these numbers out of the air,” he said. “We collected homeowners’ data and ran it through the models.”
“It should have a significant impact on premiums,” he added.
State Sen. Royce Duplessis, DNew Orleans, sponsored legislation in 2024 and 2025 that would have required insurers to give a minimum 20% discount on the overall premium in exchange for fortified roofs.
But Temple and Republican lawmakers, who have largely sided with insurance companies in the debate over how to lower rates, killed those measures, arguing they would push insurance companies out of the state. Temple changed course last November, saying he was working on a rule creating a benchmark, about two years after lawmakers created the
SPORTS
Continued from page 1A
difficult, interrelated challenges has created a “quagmire.”
“What I do think is absolutely critical,” she said, “is that we provide an opportunity for some organization or some entity to clarify what the collegiate experience is and to recenter that around education.” Her comments came during a roundtable discussion hosted by U.S. Sen Bill Cassidy in Washington on Tuesday about reforming college sports. Cassidy said that with “the current chaos of NIL” — referring to athletes’ ability to be paid for their “name, image and likeness” — the issue is a matter of protecting both student athletes and universities.
“It’s time for Congress to be involved,” Cassidy said Along with Cromer, Cassidy invited LSU Board of Supervisors member Collis Temple, a former professional and LSU basketball player, several senators and other voices in the college sports world to participate in the panel.
Cassidy said recent court rulings have not cleared up the complicated issues around NIL and Title IX.
“Title IX is a big issue, and I think Congress should settle that. I don’t think that the courts should settle that,” he said.
Title IX refers to federal laws meant to protect against gender discrimination in education. The law requires that schools pay out financial assistance in proportion to the number of students of each gender who play sports on campus.
A recent landmark settlement agreement that allows schools to set up a pool of $20.5 million to distribute money to their athletes through a revenue-sharing plan has raised questions about ensuring female athletes get their fair share of the cut.
Cromer said Title IX pro-
grant program. “I’m a bit surprised but I’m pleasantly surprised,” Duplessis said Tuesday “This is a positive
step in the right direction. I still think we have further to go.” Duplessis said it’s still worthwhile to debate his legislation,
which is up for consideration again for the session that began Monday Temple or a future insurance commissioner could unwind the rule in the future without legislative action. And, he noted, the rule applies only to the hurricane portion of the premium, not the entire cost.
“I still think there’s more we can do,” he said. “I still think this is something we should not take off the table doing legislatively.”
Insurers in Louisiana are already required to give homeowners an “actuarially justified” discount in exchange for a fortified roof.
But in practice, many insurers offer only a negligible break on premiums. A report last year by the Insurance Department said several insurers offered only a 5% to 10% discount on hurricane premiums.
Temple’s move comes as lawmakers convene for another legislative session amid untenably high property insurance rates for thousands of homeowners. The rolls of Citizens, the insurer of last resort, are still stubbornly high years after hurricanes in 2020 and 2021 upended the mar-
ket.
Fortified roofs likely will be a source of debate in the Legislature. The state has dedicated $30 million to a grant program to help people put fortified roofs on their homes, but demand has far surpassed supply, and advocates have called for them to invest far more.
Since the state moved to a lottery system for the grants, only about 20% of the people who have registered have won grants, the Times-
tects scholarships for student athletes and, in turn, opportunities stemming from those experiences playing college sports. But she added that those opportunities “are in jeopardy because of the financial realities of the model that we’re barreling toward.”
College sports has been in a state of disruption since 2021, when the NCAA cleared the way for athletes to cash in with NIL deals with brands and sponsors. For some of the most famous athletes, those deals are worth millions.
That change came days after a Supreme Court decision that found the NCAA cannot impose caps on education-related benefits that schools provide to their athletes because such limits violate antitrust law
In the years since, there has been a dramatic increase in money flowing into and around college athletics and a sense of chaos.
Athletes angry that they were barred for decades from earning income based on their celebrity and from sharing in the billions of revenue they helped generate have filed lawsuits that have helped gut the amateurism model long at the heart of college sports.
Trump is expected to issue an executive order related to college sports in the coming days after he held his own roundtable Friday
“The whole educational system is going to go out of business because of this,”
Trump said last week
Cassidy plans to hold a full committee hearing on the topic.
The NCAA has been lobbying for several years for limited antitrust protection to keep some kind of control over this new landscape — and avoid lawsuits — but a handful of bills have gone nowhere in Congress.
Cromer said Congress should consider passing a limited antitrust exemption for college sports.
U.S Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Repub-
lican and former longtime college football coach, said college sports programs are now causing some students to miss out on their education and fail to graduate.
“It’s a disaster,” he said.
“That’s what we’ve got to distinguish here,” Tuberville said. “Are we gonna be an education institution or are we gonna be pro sports.”
Asked about whether student athletes should be classified as employees, Bernard Dennis III, an employment and sports law attorney in Washington, said that would bring into play a slew of additional employment laws.
“Classifying student athletes as an employee would be a nightmare,” Tuberville said Sen Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat argued there has “been an unconscionable exploitative effort to try to artificially limit the compensation that many of these athletes deserve in the name of preserving massive profits and returns for a whole bunch of adults who have loved the fact that they have been able to get rich off of an artificial suppression of wages.”
Murphy said the current system isn’t working, but he doesn’t want to return to one where athletes can’t make the money they deserve.
Jim Carr president and CEO of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, said he was worried about how new college sports regulations and laws could affect smaller schools.
The NAIA consists of about 215 institutions with an average enrollment of about 2,000 students, and at an average institution, 36% of students are also athletes, Carr said.
Carr said NAIA schools currently fund athletics through tuition, donations and other means under a model that “seems to be working pretty well for us right now.” He said he hopes that system won’t be disrupted if Congress decides to act.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
gas prices in the country, partly due to its proximity to oil refineries. The price of gas at the pump is influenced by crudeoil prices, which were about $93 per barrel Monday afternoon, according to the West Texas Intermediate price, aslight decrease from the morning.
The United States produces most of the oil it uses, but also imports oil from amultitudeofcountries, mainly from Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Oil, from crude to refined petroleum, is sold in an open global market,sowhile Iran is not one of the country’s oil sources, U.S. gas prices are influencedbythe global price of crudeoil, AAA spokesperson Don Redman said.
AAA has advised its members to budget
$3.50 per gallon of gas through the end of May to account for future price fluctuations.
“Hopefully we’re wrong, but at least we feel that’sa big enough cushion for when families are trying to make
CHURCH
Continued from page1A
CNNanchor Don Lemon.
The reporters’ arrests provoked national outragefrom First Amendment advocates who said they had the right to document what occurred andshould not have been considered participants in the protest.
In an interview, Edmonds, who sponsored one of the Louisiana bills, said his proposal would not penalizejournalists whosimply documentedevents,solong as they did not become “agitators.”
“Disruptive actsare pretty clear.You have stopped the normal movement of what is in aworship service or a committee room,”hesaid.
“Wegot cameras in churches all the time. They’re not interfering. We have journalists that come in and record our services when we have guest speakers. They don’tinterfere.”
Edmonds is among several prominent Republicans who are running for Congressin the 5th District, which Rep. Julia Letlow is vacating to challenge Sen. BillCassidy.
SB306 lists multiple actions that would qualify as illegal interference with the right to worship, including “using force, the threat of force, physical obstruction, intentional injury,or attempted intentional injury, to intimidate or interfere withany person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the First Amendment right of the free exercise of religion at achurch or other place of worship.”
It also covers damaging church property and blocking people from freelymoving aroundand entering places of worship.
Most first-time offenders would face up to six months in prison and amaximum
and create abudget as to what their expenses are goingtobefor fuel,” Redman said.
Thesmall drop in crude oilprices Monday made Redman slightly optimistic that themarket will stabilize soon. But, fuel prices always comedownslower than they rise, he said.
In the late wintertoearly summer,refineries must switch from winter-grade gasoline to summer-grade gasoline in accordance with the Clean Air Act. Summer-gradegasoline vaporizes less than wintergrade gasoline,reducing emissions in thesummer heat, and is more expensive to refine.
Thetransition typically begins in February,Redman said, which has added to the price increases from the war
“Some years, it’sbeen as little as 10 cents from what theypaid in December,what you pay in May,” he said.
“Other times have been as much as $1 differencebetweenwhatyou’repaying in Decemberwhatyou’re paying in May.It’shard to say what it would be now, because we have awar go-
fineof$10,000. Those convicted forasecond time would have to go to prison for between ayear and 18 months, and they would have to paya fine ofupto $25,000.
Anyviolationthat injured achurch attendee or staff member would carry a penalty ofup to 10 years in prison.
Free speech advocates took the least issue with SB306because theysaidit was the most specific, and therefore themostlikely to pass constitutional muster
Still, Sarah Whittington, advocacy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, told the JudiciaryC committeeshe believed twoparts of the proposalwere unconstitutional.
One would bar “engaging in adisruptiveactivity at achurch or other place of worship.” Whittington argued that language was overlybroad, positing that it couldencompass asoccer game that goes into overtime on churchground.
She also took issue witha section banningpeoplefrom “knowingly financing, funding, or providing material support to aperson who is engaging, or attempting to engage, in disruptive activities designed, or intended, to interfere with thefreedom of worship in achurchor otherplace of worship.”
Meanwhile, Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, aconservative,faith-based values organization, expressed strong support for SB306, as did Will Hall, director of public policy for the Louisiana Baptist Convention Hall described the Minnesota protest as an “act of terrorism,”and Millssaid it was a“wake-upcall” for churches and church security
“We’re deeply concerned that Louisianachurches,
ing on, which changes everything.”
The last time Alfordsaw a notable increase in gas prices was in 2022, when prices peaked at $4.52 in Baton Rouge and $4.56 statewide due to Russia’sinvasion of Ukraine. Customers were panic buying gas at thetime, bumping up B-Quik sales, which Alfordsaid he hasn’t seen yet recently In times of high gas prices,sales in the B-Quikconvenience store tendtoslow down because customers will have less disposable income, but Alford saidhe hasn’tseen any impact on thebusiness so far
“I wouldsuggest customers keep yourtanksfull right now,just so they can try to winsome advantage until it levels off or goes back down,”hesaid.
Julie McLin, a64-year-old retiree, stopped Monday afternoon at aCircle Kon Government Street.Itcost atotal of $53 for premium unleaded for her Infinitisedan, but she chose to fill the tank to hopefully catch a relatively lowpricebefore it rises again.
“The war’s not going to end anytime soon,” she said.
families and children need enumerated protections againstacts of lawlessness,” Mills said. “(SB306) would ensure swift action on the part of our state and local officials to stop this type of behavior.”
SB35, by Wheat, also cleared theJudiciary Ccommittee. It would make it a crime to protest or assemble within 50 feet of aplace of worship “in amanner which disrupts, threatens to disrupt,intimidates,harasses, or interferes with any personlawfully exercising or seeking toexercise his right of religious freedom.”
Breaking thatrule would result in a$500 fine and 15 days imprisonment MeghanGarvey,ofthe Louisiana Association of Criminal DefenseLawyers, opposed the proposal. The U.S.Supreme Court has ruled that banning people from protesting on apublic sidewalk is unconstitutional, she said.
SB35and SB306 still need approvalfromthe full Senate and then the House. Three other bills, filed by House members, also address church service disruptions.
TheAssociated Press contributed tothis report.
Take advantageof 0% APR on balance transfersfor 12 months when youopenanew Pelican Points, Pelican PrimeorPelican Premier Credit Card.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Matt Hays watches the pump whileputting gasinhis caronMonday at the CircleKon GovernmentStreet.
GiantBabyJesus visits
local communities.
Jihadisintensify attacks againstNigeria’s military
Officers killed, weaponsstolen
BY CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press
ABUJA, Nigeria Jihadi extremist groups, including Boko Haramand one of its factions,have been blamed for intensified attacks targeting Nigeria’smilitary bases in the northeastofthe country in the last week.
At least two officers and several soldiers have been killedinthe attacks, which analysts sayshows aremarkable level of coordination.
Over the weekend, Islamic extremistslaunched at least six attacks in Borno andYobestates and in the
wider Lake Chad region, spiriting away trucks and militaryhardware fromthe bases, according to security analysts andsecurity reports.
TheNigerianmilitary said in astatement that the latest attacks between Sunday and Monday werean “attempt by theterrorists to overwhelm troop positions.”
Military spokesman Sani Uba said late Monday that the troops lost an unspecified number of soldiers and amilitary officer,without providing further details
It adds to adeath tollof several soldiers and at least oneofficer in the past week. Security analysts estimateatleastfourmilitary officershave been killed in
that period. Africa’smost populous country has long struggled to contain the jihadi violenceinits northeast. Afterlaunching an insurgency in 2009, Boko Haram has grown into different factions, including theIslamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP,which is backed by the Islamic State group. Thecrisishas overstretched the Nigerian military,which alsobattles other securitycrises across the conflict-battered north.
Theattacks have angered Nigerians, with many accusing President Bola Tinubu’sgovernment and the ruling party of prioritizing next year’spresidential election in which Tinubu is expected to seek reelection.
BY MARÍA TERESA
HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press
MEXICO CITY His faceand body resemble those of a newborn. Yetthe Baby Jesus statue towers 16 feet tall and travels acrosscentral Mexico spreading amessage of peace.
The giant figure arrived this week in Mexico City’s Tepito neighborhood, known for its bustling street markets and strong local identity,but also for longstanding crime problems. Prayers,offerings and aMass followed.
“The Baby Jesus means everything to me and my family because we are very Catholic,” said Guillermo Ramírez, alocal resident who coordinated logistics for the statue’svisit. “By bringing it here, Iwant to show that there are good people in
Tepito.”
The49-year-old musician first saw the giant BabyJesus in 2024 in anearbyneighborhood. Seeing the devotion it drew from worshippers, he thought his own community could benefit too. So he reached out to thefamily whoownsthe statue, which made its first visit to Tepito later that year.
“Since it representspeace, we hope forpeace in our neighborhood, in our family, said Ramírez’swife, Alma Cravioto.
Mexican artistAbraham Gómez created the Baby Jesusfigure with his brotherin 2013
“Thisbegan as aproject called ‘Walk for Peace and Good,’ intendedtopromote and spread values in families, towns and neighborhoodsthroughsacred art,”
Gómez said Thestatuehas traveled to communitiesinthe Mexican states of Puebla, Tlaxcala andJalisco, including places where violence stemming from drug trafficking affects
“Insecurity has complicated ourvisitslately,” Gómez said. “But that’swhy we think these activities are morenecessary than ever.”
Made withasteel frame and layers of polyurethane foam andresin reinforced with fiberglass, the statue weighs about half aton. Gómezsaid he found inspiration in thesmaller BabyJesus figurescherished among MexicanCatholics, whotraditionally dressthem ahead of Candlemas on Feb. 2.
He and his brother transportthe image in amassive basketplaced on top of a flatbed truck. For each of the BabyJesus’ journeys, they lead aprocession that heads to alocal church or meeting point, wheredevoteescan makeofferings and apriest celebrates Mass. After its arrivalinTepito, dozens of residentsgathered around the towering statue as music andprayers filled the street.Neighbors also shared “atole,” atraditional warmcorndrink.
Raul Latorre, president of Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies, gives his supporttothe final vote in favorofthe Status of ForcesAgreement military agreement between the U.S. and ParaguayinAsunción,Paraguay, on Tuesday.
Paraguay OKsagreement for increasedU.S.militarypresence
Personnelcan operateunder speciallegal rules
By The Associated Press
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay— Paraguay’sChamber of Deputies on Tuesday approved a defense agreement allowingthe temporary presence of U.S. military and civilian personnel inside its borders, widely seen as avictory for the Trump administration, which has sought to strengthen its presencein Latin America.
The StatusofForces Agreement, or SOFA, was approved by alarge majorityoflawmakers andnow awaits the signature of President Santiago Peña to take effect. Peña, one of Trump’s closest allies in theregion,is expected to sign the deal in the coming days.
The agreement passed with 53 votes in favorand eight against, and four abstentionsout of atotal 80 lawmakers. Fifteen were not
present forthe vote. Signed by bothcountries in Washington in December, theagreement establishes alegal framework for the presence ofU.S. security forces in Paraguay fortraining, jointexercises, and humanitarian assistance. It also authorizesthe United States to have criminal jurisdiction over its personnel while in thecountry The treaty,praisedas“historic” by both the U.S. State Departmentand Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, was approvedbythe Paraguayan Senate lastweek, where debatewas morepolarized due to concerns over potential violationsofsovereignty.
Some legislators argued against the agreement,citing acontroversial provision to grant foreign troops immunity from prosecution, equivalenttothat handedto diplomatic personnel
“Webelieve in international cooperation,but wealso believe in strong states, respected institutionsand real democratic sovereignty,”
said independent congressman RaúlBenítez.
Despite criticisms, Paraguay’sforeign minister backed the agreement,arguing in December that its main purpose is to strengthen cooperation between the United States andParaguay in fighting transnational organized crimeand “terrorism.”
He also clarifiedthat “there is no possibility of the installation of U.S.military bases” in Paraguay
Washington hasalso praised SOFA,withU.S. SecretaryofState Marco Rubio callingita“historic agreement” that would help facilitate bilateral and multinational training, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, andother shared securityinterests.
The approval of SOFA comes as Washington seeks to expand its influencein Latin America under the Trump administration’snational security strategy and as asector of civil society in Paraguaycontinues to raise its voice against it.
By The Associated Press
GENEVA— Abus caught fire in atown west of the Swiss capital killing at least six people andthreeothers were hospitalizedwith severe injuries, policesaid Tuesday
Policespokesperson FredericPapauxofFribourg canton, or region, said an unspecified“voluntaryact” could be the causeofthe inferno Tuesdayeveninginthe town of Kerzers, about west of Bern, the capital
The regional transport bus is operated by PostBus, which is affiliated with thenational postal service. Images from the scene on Swissmedia showedflames tearing through the bus.
“After rushing to the scene, rescue teams noted that the vehicle was totally engulfed in flames,” the
and
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By JORGE SAENZ
Towering lava from Kilauea volcano triggers closures
Residents of Hawaii island used to eruptions
BY JENNIFER SINCO
KELLEHER Associated Press
HONOLULU The latest lava fountaining episode of an erupting Hawaii volcano reached 1,000 feet high Tuesday, prompting temporary closures at a national park and part of an important highway because of falling glassy volcanic fragments, including ash.
Kilauea on Hawaii’s Big Island, has been dazzling residents and visitors for more than year with an onand-off eruption that periodically sends fountains of lava soaring into the sky
The fountaining that began Tuesday morning marked
the eruption’s 43rd episode since it began in December 2024. A livestream showed two fountains of bright-red lava and smoke. It’s unclear how long the fountaining will last. Some episodes have lasted a few days and others a few hours.
Like other times, the molten rock was confined within Kilauea’s summit crater inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and hasn’t threatened homes or buildings. But the lava fountains were creating trouble for neighboring communities and a highway where the volcanic fragments and ash, known as tephra, was falling The tephra prompted temporary closures at the national park around the summit and a partial closure of Highway 11, an important route around the island, on either side of the park Hawaii County officials
also opened a shelter at a district gymnasium for residents and tourists impacted by the road closure or falling tephra. There were no people using the shelter soon after it opened, said Tom Callis, a county spokesperson.
The National Weather Service issued an ashfall warning.
Volcanic tephra can irritate eyes, skin and the respiratory system, according to county officials. Tephra also can clog and cause other problems with water catchment collection systems, which are common in some parts of the Big Island, officials said.
Ash fell so heavily during a previous fountaining episode that some communities needed help from county civil defense workers to clean up ash that coated their homes, Callis said.
Ala. governor commutes death sentence of man, 75
Accomplice fired fatal shot
BY KIM CHANDLER Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Ala. Ala-
bama Gov Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of a 75-yearold inmate who was set to be executed this week even though he was not in the building when the victim was killed during a 1991 robbery
Ivey reduced Charles “Sonny” Burton’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, marking just the second time the Republican governor has granted clemency to a death row inmate since taking of-
fice in 2017.
Burton was sentenced to death for the shooting death of a customer, Doug Battle, during the robbery of an AutoZone store in Talladega. Though he had left the store before another man, Derrick DeBruce, killed Battle, Burton was convicted as an accomplice, with prosecutors portraying Burton as a leader of the robbery Both DeBruce and Burton were convicted of capital murder, but DeBruce’s sentence was overturned on appeal. DeBruce was resentenced to life and died in prison.
Ivey, who has presided over 25 executions, said she firmly believes in the death penalty as “just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders,” but said it also
must be administered fairly and proportionately The Republican governor said she “cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr Burton under such disparate circumstances.”
“I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not,” Ivey said. Burton was scheduled to be executed Thursday night by nitrogen gas, a new execution method the state began using in 2024. Burton’s supporters and family members had urged Ivey to consider clemency for the inmate, who is sometimes confined to a wheelchair
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Lava erupts from Kilauea volcano on Tuesday in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii.
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Israel accusesIranof usingclustermunitions
Weapon has been used for decades
BY SAM METZ and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press
TEL AVIV,Israel Israel says Iran has been firing cluster munitions throughout their 10-day war —adding acomplicated anddeadlychallenge to Israel’s alreadystretched air defenses
The warheads burst open at highaltitudes, scattering dozens of smaller bomblets acrossa widearea. The smaller bombs, which at night can resemble orange fireballs, are difficult to intercept andhave proven lethal.
Normally restrictive about releasing information on Iranian hits and damage, Israeli authorities in recent days have sought to educate the public about their dangers, which canpersistas unexploded bombs on the ground even after civilians leave shelters. At leastthree people have been killed, including two at aconstructionsite in central Israelon Tuesday Over 120 countries have signedaninternationalconvention banning the use of cluster munitions, although Israel, the United States and Iran are among the nations that have not joined the treaty
Theweapon hasbeen used for decades in conflicts around the world, including by Israel when it fought the Iran-allied Lebanese militant group Hezbollahin 2006.
Scatterand kill
After what’scalled aparent munition is launched, it releasessmaller submunitions atanaltitude of 4to6 miles. Thesebomblets scatter across alarge area, from several hundred yards to several miles, tradingprecisionfor coverage.
Critics worldwide argue that cluster munitions kill or maim indiscriminately, with unexploded bomblets remainingdangerouslong after their use. In Israel, they can be especially dangerous because most of themissiles have beenaimed at its densely populatedcenter
“Cluster bombs don’tcreate real damage to buildings, only people,” saidYehoshua Kalisky, asenior researcher at Israel’s Institutefor National Security Studies.
Toughtoshoot down
An Israeli military official, speaking anonymously under armybriefing rules, said Tuesday thatroughly half of theprojectiles Iran was launchingtoward Israel hadbeen cluster munitions.
Israel’sArrow missiledefense system has done agood job intercepting incomingballisticmissiles, Kaliskysaid. But if clustermunitions are released before the missile is destroyed, there is little that can bedone.
Israel’sIron Dome systemisgeared towardintercepting smaller rockets fired fromshortranges and loweraltitudes.But it isn’t designed to destroy theclusters once they’ve dispersed into dozens ofbomblets, Kalisky added.
Unlikeheavier explosives, the bomblets —often weighing less than 7pounds —are most dangerous to targets like cars, storefrontsorpeoplecaughtoutside shelters.
“They pose aparticular threat to the civilian population both during and after use,withvictimsoften includinga highproportion of children,” according to the ConventiononCluster Munitions.
Thesubmunitions failto explode more often than other kindsofwarheads. Unexploded ordnance can act like aland mine, detonating later and killing indiscriminately
The Open Source Munitions Portal, which authen-
ticates publicly sourced images of munitions worldwide, has published several images of unexploded submunitions foundinIsrael this week. It alsoverified images of Israeli submunitionsbeing used in Lebanon lastyear.Lt. Col.Nadav Shoshani, an Israelimilitaryspokesperson, declined to commentdirectly on the allegation, but pointed to apost on the military’s Substack, which notedthat cluster bombs can be used against military targets but not civilian areas.
Iran uses them frequently
Most of thedamage in Israel has been caused by larger Iranian missiles, but Iran has been using cluster munitions on a“nearly daily basis,”Shoshani said. He says Iran firedsimilarprojectiles during the 12-day war in June.
Themilitarysaid theIranian warheads contain between 20 and24bomblets with explosives weighing up to 11 pounds.
The Israeli military’s Home Front Command has distributedflyers warning residentsnot to touch unexploded submunitions. Apublic service announcement from police also warned people not to touch anything they see and to call authorities instead.
According to theMissile DefenseProject at the Washington-basedCenter forStrategic and International Studies, Iran said in 2017 that itsKhorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile could carry multiple warheads.
The missiles arethe largest of Iran’s submunitiondispersing arsenal. Iran also has submunition-equipped shorter range Zolfaghar missiles.
Clustermunitions, includingthose seen in videoflying westward toward Israel, can look like fallingfireballs an effect caused by thefriction of reentering the atmosphere.
BY LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press
WASHINGTON Americans are dividedalong party lines on U.S. militaryaction against Iran, according to polls conducted since the war began, with most polls showing opposition is higher thansupport Polls suggest many Americans areworriedthe military action is making theU.S. “less safe,”even as they see Iran as athreat to U.S. Thereare alsowarning signs for PresidentDonald Trump as he confronts the possibility of aprolonged conflict that could come withsignificant economic turmoil.
Trumpgaveconflicting messages Monday aboutthe war’stimeline, suggesting it could be near its end while also threatening additional force if the flow of oil is disrupted.
Fluctuating oil prices may already be alarming voters. Polls conducted over theweekendfound alarge majority of Americans are worriedabout thewar causing oil and gasoline prices to rise.The vast majority expect theU.S. action againstIranwill last at least “months,” if not longer Republicansare largely behind thepresident,aRepublican, the polls show, but there are indications thatthey are waryofany response that would lead to U.S. troops on the ground in Iran.
And after Trump campaigned on the pledge of putting “Americafirst” and ending U.S. involvement in “forever wars,”the Iran conflict could become aparticular point of friction.
About half of registered voters —53% —oppose U.S. military action against Iran, according to anew Quinnipiac Poll conducted over the weekend.Only4 in 10 support it, and about 1in10are uncertain. Anew Ipsos poll also found more disapprove than approve of the strikes. That’ssimilar to the results of text message snap polls from The Washington Post and CNN, both conducted shortly after the joint U.S.-Israel attacks began, which also indicated that more Americans rejected the military action than embraced it.
Arecent Fox News poll found opinions more evenly divided: Half of registered voters approved of the U.S. military action,while half disapproved.
Several of the recent polls show amajority of Americans believe the Trump administration hasnot provided aclear explanation of the reasons behind the military strikes, and there aresomedivisionsabout whetherIran trulyposed
an “imminent and direct threat” to the United States, as the White House has said. Most voters in the Quinnipiac poll —55% —said they did notbelieve Iranposed an “imminent military threat” to the U.S. before thecurrentmilitary action On theother hand, about6 in 10 registered voters in the Fox News poll said Iran poses a“real national securitythreat,” anda recent AP-NORC poll found about half of U.S. adults were highly concerned that Iran’s nuclear program posed adirect threat to the U.S. As oilprices oscillate,the vast majority of voters are “very” or “somewhat” concerned aboutoil and gasoline prices rising in the U.S., according to the Quinnipiac poll. Only aboutone-quarter of voters are “not so concerned” or “not concerned at all.”
The highestlevels of concernare drivenbyDemocrats and independents, but about half of Republicans are also at least somewhat concerned about the war increasing gas prices. About two-thirds of Americans expect U.S. gasprices will “getworse”overthe next year as aresult of the U.S. military action, according to the Ipsospollconducted March 6-9. Republicanswere more likely to say gas prices would worsenthan improve as aresult of the war: 44% said they would getworse, while 26% expected they would improve. About 2 in 10 thought they would remain the same. Democrats andindependents overwhelmingly expect gas prices will worsen.
Missiles launched from Iran are seen in the skyovercentral Israel last week.
Have us take alook!
La. launching new accelerator program
Training aims to strengthen suppliers
BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer
Louisiana Economic Development is launching an accelerator program to prime local business suppliers for major state projects.
The program will host two cohorts each year
“Louisiana is advancing major projects across key industries statewide, and that momentum creates real opportunity for our businesses,” LED Secretary Su-
The new Source Louisiana Accelerator Program will train Louisiana businesses on what buyers expect from suppliers and how to strengthen their operations. Applications for the first cohort, which has room for about 50 companies, are open until the end of the month
Bill would name BR bridge after Trump
House committee approves measure
BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and ALYSE PFEIL Staff writers
A member of the Louisiana Legislature who is running for Congress has moved to name a highly anticipated new Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge after President Donald Trump.
Rep. Mike Echols, R-Monroe, has sponsored House Bill 221, which would designate the bridge the “President Donald J. Trump Expressway.” He said the bill is strategically designed to get the president’s attention
“For 40 years, this bridge has been talked about and nothing has happened,” Echols said in a House transportation committee meeting Tuesday “We now have a president in the Oval Office that is an action president. And for us to take this from theory to reality, we have to get the man that helps make the decision and control the purse strings to be a part of that reality.”
Echols said Trump “likes to build big things. This is a big bridge.”
“Whether you like him or not, you put his name on something, you get his attention,” Echols said “And that’s the goal of this bill.”
Rep. Joy Walters, D-Shreveport, objected to the proposal.
“What are we saying to the people of this state?” she said. “We are dealing with a bridge right now that is theoretical because it is not actually being built.”
Walters asked why Louisiana’s Republican congressional delegation can’t get the president’s attention on the issue. She asked whether Echols was sponsoring the bill to win Trump’s endorsement in the congressional race.
“No, he’s already endorsed somebody else,” Echols responded. Asked about the proposal, House Democratic Caucus Chair Kyle Green said that “if the federal government pays the full $3 billion to fund the bridge, Echols can name it after any federal official, living or deceased.” Louisiana law generally prohibits naming public buildings and bridges after people who are still alive, but the Legislature can pass laws making exceptions.
Echols is running for the 5th Congressional District, which U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow is vacating to challenge U.S Sen. Bill Cassidy He is running against state Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge; Misti Cordell, the chair of the state Board of Supervisors; and state Sen Blake Miguez R-Erath, whom Trump has endorsed.
Other, less well-known Republican candidates are Sammy Wyatt, Austin Magee and Michael
ä See BRIDGE, page 2B
san Bourgeois said in a release. “The Source Louisiana Accelerator Program helps companies strengthen their operations, meet buyer expectations and position themselves to compete at the next level. This is about building long-term competitiveness for Louisiana businesses.”
The accelerator shares a title with SourceLouisiana a statewide directory launched
in the fall for local companies to list their information and increase their visibility to state projects. Meta, Entergy, Woodside and Hyundai use the platform to find suppliers, an LED release states.
The directory was launched alongside Project Lightning Speed, Gov Jeff Landry’s plan to streamline processes between state agencies to develop local businesses.
The six-month accelerator program is in partnership with Blue Wave, a Houston-
based consulting firm that offers a supplier development program for small and midsized businesses.
The accelerator is based on Blue Wave’s seven core pillars, which align with those of large companies: health, safety, security and environmental; cybersecurity; quality; corporate policies; financial; technical capabilities; sustainability and environmental, social and governance. More than 70% of Blue
Wave Supplier Development Program graduate companies experience increased revenue in the first year following completion of the program, according to Blue Wave.
Businesses must be a forprofit organization based in Louisiana, earn at least $150,000 in annual revenue and have a “lawful, commercially useful” purpose to apply for the program. Company CEOs, owners or key members can apply
Rollin’ down the river
Officials: Child killed in Baton Rouge shooting
Police say two children were playing with gun
BY OLIVIA TEES and QUINN COFFMAN Staff writers
A 10-year-old girl was shot and killed after she and another child were playing with a gun in the parking lot of the Sonic on Government Street on Tuesday, according to police. The two children, both similar in age, were in the parking lot playing with a gun while their parents were inside the restaurant, said Lt L’Jean McKneely Baton Rouge EMS said they got a call at 4:12 p.m. to the 1000 block of Government Street and took the victim to the hospital in critical condition. Speaking from the scene, Baton Rouge Police Chief Thomas Morse said homicide detectives were brought to the scene due to the severity of the girl’s injuries. He said witnesses have been taken for questioning and surveillance video of the shooting was being reviewed.
“Some of the information leads us to believe this was an accidental shooting, so we’re trying to still piece all of that together to make (ourselves) very sure of what transpired and how exactly this young female wound up getting shot,” Morse said Tuesday Other details were slim Police officers could be seen walking around the business, setting up crimescene tape, while detectives stood in the lot, speaking with District Attorney Hillar Moore and viewing footage on a tablet.
The shooting comes just days after an 8-year-old boy was killed in the crossfire of an argument-turned-gunfight while he was playing basketball at the end of his street
“The parish Sheriff’s Office is dealing with an 8-year-old that was killed over the weekend, and now we have a 10-year-old that was also shot, whether it was accidental or not,” Morse said. “Getting guns out of the hands of people that don’t need them is definitely something that we are striving to enforce.” The investigation is ongoing.
Paul assists transition for next N.O. sheriff
Ex-police chief left BRPD two years ago
BY OLIVIA TEES Staff writer
Former Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul is serving on the transition team of Orleans Parish Sherf- el ec t Michelle Woodfork, just over two years after leaving the Baton Rouge department. Woodfork officially will take over the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office on May 4. As co-chair of the transition team, Paul will work alongside a legal expert, a strategic adviser and an accountant. Paul served as a law enforcement officer with the Police Department for 33 years In 2018, he took over as chief of the department and led them through the coronavirus pandemic During his tenure as chief, he established the Real-Time Crime Center, which uses technology and analytics to assess crime and police response Paul resigned from the Police Department in June 2023. “His experience leading complex organizations and advancing internal accountability will play a critical role in shaping (the Sheriff’s Office’s) operational excellence and culture of integrity,” Woodfork said in a statement.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Bike riders zoom along the levee trail outside downtown Baton Rouge on Friday.
‘Itwas adream that Inever knew Ihad’
La.nativegets chance to play Banana Ball
BY RODWALKER Staff writer
The FaceTime call came throughjust as Bryce Grizzaffi’shead hit the pillow, which is really when dreams are supposed to start anyway The baseball draft that Grizzaffi had been highly anticipating wasnearing the end.
Rounds seven, eight and nine cameand went and he had yet to hear his name.
As the disappointment started to creep in more and more on that day in November,hedecided to take anap. But the nap plans wereinterrupted by thatFaceTime call where one simple question was askedbythe guys on the other end.
“Are you ready to be aBanana?”
This was the call that Grizzaffi, aMorgan City native, had been waiting for.Itwas an opportunity to play with the Savannah Bananas, the oh-so popular baseball team that travels the country and mixes America’spastime with awhole lot of showmanship and fan participation.
“It was adream that I never knew Ihad that came true,” Grizzaffi said. That dream becomes even more euphoric Saturday and Sunday when the Savannah Bananas play games at Caesars Superdome, just 70 miles from where Grizzaffi was born and raised. The Dome, like it is to many folks in Louisiana, is near and dear to Grizzaffi. He attended football games there as akid, rooting for his childhood heroes likeReggie Bush, Deuce McAllister and Drew Brees. He remembers cryinginhis living room that day Garrett Hartley’s field goal sailed through the uprights to send the Saints to theSuper Bowl forthe first time. He just might cry
again whenhegets to play baseball in that very same building.
“I don’tevenknowwhatto sayabout getting to play in the Superdome,” Grizzaffi said. “I might shed atear walking on that field. That’s how bigofaSaints fan Iam andhow big of afan Iamof New Orleans and Louisiana I’m full Louisiana, born and raised. That’sgoing to be so awesome, Ican’tdescribe it.”
Theticket requestsfrom friends andfamilyhave been nonstop. Sorry,folks. They are all gone.
TheDome will be sold out, just likeevery stadium is when the Bananascometo town. Grizzaffigot hisfirst taste of just how passionate thefans are last week when he made his debut withthe Bananas.Thatgamewas played atDoak Campbell Stadium, the football stadium at Florida State University.The attendance was over60,000. Thelargest crowdGrizzaffihad ever played in before that was in 2023 when he was acatcher at Southeastern Louisiana when the Lions made the NCAA baseball tournament and played in theAuburn regional.
“That place (at Auburn) wasjumping,” Grizzaffi said. “But when Isaw that whole football stadiumfilled with people in everysingle seat the other day,that was breathtaking. That was crazy.”
Expect more ofthat craziness Saturday andSundayasbaseball’sversion of the Harlem Globetrotters makes itsway to New Orleans. The Bananas will take on theParty Animals, one of their Banana Ball rivals,at 6p.m. Saturdayand at 3p.m. Sunday
“It’sa show,” Grizzaffi said. “I don’tthink fans shouldexpecta baseball game.Whenpeoplehear baseball game,theysometimes think slow pace, boring and alot of down time. Fans shouldexpect to be excitedand ready forashow
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Bryce Grizzaffi,a Morgan Citynativewho playedcollegeball at SoutheasternLouisiana and Lamar University,isinhis first season with the Savannah Bananas.
everysingle inning, every single at bat.It’sjust ashow theentire time.”
Fans will get to see Grizzaffi and his teammates swing their bats and sway theirhips. Dance routines during games are apart of the craze. The Bananasset aside 30 minutes to an hour during practice working on the routines with first basedancing coach Maceo “Mace” Harrison.
“I wouldn’thave considered myself adancer before this,” Grizzaffisaid. “But I like to have fun though. A lot of energy.Alot of moving around. Just beingaball of energy on the fieldisexactly howIhaveplayed baseball my whole life.”
Baseball is one of the sports he loved growing up in Morgan City.Hedreamed of playing in the Major Leagues, the NFL and the NBA. But baseball became his love. He was the kid who
would skip his friends’ birthday parties if they conflicted with agame. Andhewas the kid whose parents hadto makehim come in the house because he would be outside long after the sunwent down throwing balls against thebrick wall of their home. Athree-sport star at Central Catholic High School, he won abaseball statechampionship as afreshman.
He playedfourseasons at Southeastern Louisiana, earning second-team AllSouthland Conference honors and also making the AllDefensive Team.Hetransferred to Lamar University and finished his career there last season.
“I wasn’treally sure what Iwas going to do next,”he said.
He began pursuing a coaching career andlanded ajob as director of player development at Lamar.He was invited to aBanana Ball
tryout in Philadelphia last summer.His initial thoughts about the invitation?
“I don’tdance andIdon’t do TikTok.”
Buthewent to the tryout anyway
“I went andIabsolutely killedit,” he said. “Some of the mostfun I’ve ever had on abaseball field. After that, it was the waiting game.”
Being patient is one of the lessons his dad always taught him
“The cream will always rise to the top,” Ronnie Grizzaffitaught his son.
He wasn’t goingtobe denied. The Tommy John surgery he hadafter leaving SoutheasternLouisiana wasn’tgoing to deny him. Neither was the fractured orbital that occurred when he was hitinthe face by a fastball while playing fall ball after that.
“He worked his butt off through blood,sweat and tears,” hisdad said. “A lot of blood. And he got through that.”
Now he’sgetting to play baseball with abit of atwist. Not abad way to enjoylife fora small-town guy living abig dream
“I’m just so happy that he gets to do what he loves,” said AmberTaylor, his mom.
Bryce Grizzaffi turns 25 on St. Patrick’sDay.But the real celebration will be Saturday and Sunday when thousands of sports fans pack the Superdomeasifit was one of those fall Sunday afternoonsheremembersas akid.
“The people in Louisiana are going to absolutely love it,” Grizzaffisaid. Nobody will love it quite as much as Grizzaffi himself. He’sonaone-year contract with the team, but he hopes this is just the beginning.
“I feel like I’ve always just been meanttobehere,” Grizzaffi said. “I can see myself doing this forhowever long they let me do it.”
Email RodWalkerat rwalker@theadvocate. com.
BRIDGE
Continued from page1B
Mebruer.Democrats
Jessee Fleenor, Larry Foy,Lindsay Garcia, Dan McKayand Tania Nyman are also running. The districtstretches from East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes up to Monroe and the northeastern corner of thestate. The new bridge is plannedfor oneofthree sitesthatwould connect La.1 nearPlaquemine to La. 30 near St. Gabriel. The goalistoalleviate notorious traffic pileups on theexisting I-10bridge Thebill to namethe bridge after Trump passed outofthe House TransportationCommittee on Tuesday on a12-2 vote. TwoDemocrats Reps.Tehmi Chassion, of Lafayette, and Chasity Martinez,ofPlaquemine —joinedRepublicansin support of the proposal. Walters and fellow Democrat Ed Murray,ofNew Orleans, voted against it
MONDAY,MARCH 9, 2026 PICK 3: 4-1-8
4: 6-3-6-1
5: 4-7-0-2-7
Unofficial notification, keep your tickets
BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer
Afederal judge sentenced aNew Orleans man Tuesday to 12 years in prison for robbing aU.S. PostalService worker in the Hollygrove neighborhood.
U.S. Eastern District Judge Darrel Papillon handed down the 144-month prison stint for Jody Harris Jr.during asentencing hearing in the New Orleansfederal courthouse. Papillon also placed Harris on five years of court supervision after his release fromprison. Harris, 32, pleaded guilty Oct.30toassaulting aU.S. postalworker andbeing a felon in possession of afirearm. Federal authorities categorized him as a“career offender” under federal sentencing guidelines, aclassifi-
cationthat carriesa stiffer punishment.
But prosecutors agreedto limit his sentenceto12years as part of the deal with Harris. Papillion agreed tothe terms.
“You can’t runawayorescape the long arm of the law,” the judge told Harris. “Itwill find you. It will catch you. It will bringyou to jail and into acourtroom to causeyou to go to prison.”
The midafternoon robbery occurred Dec. 16, 2024, in the 8400 block of Forshey Street. Thevictim was walking his mail route whenaman wearing abag acrosshis chest approached as he clutched a pistol, thepostal carrier told New Orleansdetectives
The robber, later identified as Harris, showed thebutt of pistol andsaid, “let me get them checks.” He then
threatened thepostalworker telling him, “don’tmake me blow you down, this allI got,” courtdocuments show.
The postal worker gave Harris the keys to hispostal truck, his mailscanner, his personalcellphone andthe satchelhewas carrying with all the mail inside. Prosecutors said Harris used thekey to break into the carrier’s mail truck, then stoleapostal service“arrowkey,” which carriers use to open mailboxes.
Police tracked Harristohis girlfriend’s apartment afew blocks away,but he’d driven to hismother’shouse before officersarrived.
Detectives raided the girlfriend’sForshey Street apartment andfound the stolen key to the mail truck, thearrow key and several pieces of mail he’d allegedly
swiped. Policealso recovered the loaded 9mmsemiautomatic Beretta pistol that Harris allegedly used in the robbery,according to court documents.
Investigators laterrecovered thecarrier’sstolen mail satchel andthe crossbody bag at Harris’ mother’s home.
During Tuesday’shearing, thejudge took note of some of Harris’ past struggles, including the loss of his fathertogun violence before his third birthday,during a Christmas Eve kidnapping in 1995.
Harristurned to alifeof crime as ateen, and by 21 he hadprogressed to violence. He served as the lookout when agunmanopenedfire on four people in Central City in 2014, wounding two. Seven months later,Harris
pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted second-degree murder,and aCriminal District Court judgesentenced him to 10 years in state prison.
In prison, Harris fought often and was stabbed multiple times, still bearing the scars, Papillion noted during Tuesday’scourt proceedings. He sufferedpermanent nerve damage in one of his hands while in prison before, and Papillionindicated thatHarris has been treated for multiple mental health disorders.
The judge urgedHarris to shedthe guns, drugs and crimeand better himself in a federal lockup.
“What you have been doing has not been working,” the judgesaid. “Ifyou don’t change theway youlive,it’s going to put you in prison again.”
BUSINESS
BRIEFS
FROM WIRE REPORTS
Wall Street waits for next signal on Iran
NEW YORK The U.S. stock market held steadier Tuesday as Wall Street waited for the next signal on when the war with Iran may end.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, a day after its latest wild swings caused by extreme moves in the oil market The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite edged higher by less than 0.1%.
Oil prices, meanwhile, remained sharply below their peaks hit on Monday Such spikes have been rocking financial markets worldwide because of worries that the war could block the global flow of oil and natural gas for a long time
The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, settled at $87.80. That’s down 11.3% from its settlement price the day before, but much of that drop happened on Monday before the U.S. stock market finished trading. That’s why it did not give much of a boost to U.S. stocks Tuesday Oil prices plunged Monday afternoon from a high of nearly $120 per barrel, its most expensive level since 2022, after President Donald Trump told CBS News he thinks “the war is very complete, pretty much.” That raised hopes that the war may end relatively soon, which could allow oil to flow freely again from the Middle East to customers around the world.
But Trump’s comments later Monday, after the U.S. stock market finished trading, were not as clear That has Wall Street waiting for the next clue about how long the war may last.
One point where Trump remained clear was his desire to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The war has effectively blocked the waterway off Iran’s coast, where a fifth of the world’s oil sails on a typical day That’s been a central reason for extreme swings in oil prices recently, which have dominated other financial markets and raised worries about the global economy
JetBlue briefly grounds flights due to outage
All JetBlue flights were briefly grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration early Tuesday at the request of the airline as it dealt with a short system outage.
The ground stop was lifted about 40 minutes after it was imposed, the agency said in a notice posted to its website “A brief system outage has been resolved and we have resumed operations,” JetBlue said in a statement. The airline did not provide further information. JetBlue, which was founded more than 25 years ago, has its headquarters in New York City and its flagship terminal at the city’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Beyond Meat drops
‘Meat’ from name
Beyond Meat is changing its brand to just Beyond.
The maker of plant-based proteins that look and taste like meat changed its website and social channels last week to reflect its new full name: Beyond the Plant Protein Co.
“We are not moving away from making plant-based meat. This is a strategic expansion of our portfolio into additional protein categories,” Beyond spokesperson Shira Zackai said. In an Instagram post announcing the change, the company repeatedly described its products as “clean.”
“We start at the farm with clean and simple, non-GMO ingredients like yellow peas, red lentils and faba beans,” the post read. “We love clean protein and fiber.”
In an August quarterly earnings call, Beyond Chief Executive Ethan Brown said the shortened name “provides for reduced emphasis on facsimile, a now-complicated frame that overshadows the real, highquality protein offerings we provide to consumers.”
U.S. home sales rose last month
Buyers seized on easing mortgage rates
BY ALEX VEIGA AP business writer
Sales of previously occupied
U.S homes picked up in February from the previous month as home shoppers took advantage of easing mortgage rates and a modest increase in properties on the market heading into the spring homebuying season.
Existing home sales rose 1.7% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday Sales fell 1.4% compared with February last year with every region except the South posting lower sales versus a year earlier
The latest sales figure topped the
3.84 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.
“Good momentum, but nonetheless sales are still below one year ago,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said during a conference call.
Home prices continued to rise last month, albeit more slowly The national median sales price increased 0.3% in February from a year earlier to $398,000, an all-time high for any February on data going back to 1999, NAR said. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 32 months in a row
The latest sales trends follow a dismal January, when existing home sales posted their biggest monthly decline in nearly four years and the slowest annualized sales pace in more than two years, although NAR has since revised January’s sales data modestly higher
The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to
2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S homes remained stuck last year at 30-year lows.
Sales have been hovering close to a 4 million annual pace now going back to 2023.
That’s well short of the 5.2 million annual pace that’s historically been the norm.
A sharp run-up in home prices, especially in the early years of this decade, and a chronic shortage of homes nationally worsened by years of below-average home construction have left many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market.
At the same time, mortgage rates have been trending lower, boosting the purchasing power for home shoppers who can afford to buy at current rates.
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped two weeks ago to just under 6% for the first time
since late 2022, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. First-time buyers were among those who took advantage last month of easing mortgage rates. They made up 34% of all home purchases in February, matching the highest level in the last five years, Yun said.
However, the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use to price home loans, has climbed following the spike in oil prices since the Iran war started which could lead to higher mortgage rates just as the spring homebuying season gets going.
“Despite mortgage rates falling below 6% briefly international conflict has sent them higher in recent days,” Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, said in an email. “If the conflict with Iran is limited, the housing market could rebound quickly However, a prolonged conflict could stall home sales activity this spring.”
Conflict with Iran delivering another shock to global economy
Closure of Strait of Hormuz a ‘nightmare scenario’
BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer
WASHINGTON The war with Iran is doing collateral damage to the world economy
The conflict is driving up energy and fertilizer prices, threatening food shortages in poor countries, destabilizing fragile states such as Pakistan and complicating options for the inflation fighters at central banks like the Federal Reserve.
Causing much of the pain: the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes was effectively shut down after the U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes Feb. 28 that killed Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“For a long time, the nightmare scenario that deterred the U.S. from even thinking about an attack on Iran and which got them to urge restraint on Israel was that the Iranians would close the Strait of Hormuz,” said Maurice Obstfeld, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “Now we’re in the nightmare scenario.”
With a key shipping route cut off, oil prices have surged. They’ve taken gasoline prices with them In India, restaurants are already warning of possible shutdowns as the government prioritizes gas supplies for households. Thailand has suspended overseas travel for civil servants and urged them to take stairs instead of elevators. The Philippines has introduced a temporary four-day work week for some government agencies, while Vietnam is encouraging people to work from home.
Every 10% increase in oil prices — provided they persist for most of the year — will push up global inflation by 0.4 percentage points and reduce worldwide economic output by as much as 0.2%, said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
“The Strait of Hormuz has to be reopened,” said economist Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and recipient of the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in
economics. “It’s 20 million barrels of oil a day going through there.”
The world economy has shown it can take a punch, absorbing blows from the Russian invasion of Ukraine four years ago and from President Donald Trump’s massive and unpredictable tariffs in 2025.
Many economists express hope that global commerce can stagger through the latest crisis.
For now, the war is likely to create economic winners and losers.
Energy importers — most of Europe, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India and China — will get clobbered by higher prices, Shearing wrote in a commentary for London’s Chatham House think tank.
Pakistan finds itself in an especially bleak position. The South Asian country imports 40% of its energy and relies especially heavily on liquified natural gas from Qatar, supplies of which have been cut off by the conflict. Higher energy prices will squeeze Pakistani families and damage their economy Far from cutting interest rates to provide
some relief, though, the country’s central bank will probably have to raise them instead, say economists Gareth Leather and Mark Williams of Capital Economics. That is partly because inflation remains uncomfortably high in Pakistan — and higher energy prices threaten to make it worse.
But oil-producing countries outside the warzone — Norway, Russia, Canada — will benefit from high oil prices without the risk of missile and drone attacks.
“Any countries with significant agriculture sectors, including the United States, would be vulnerable,” Obstfeld said. “The effects are going to be most devastating in low-income countries where agricultural productivity may already be challenged. Add this extra cost component and you get the prospect of significant food shortages.”
The United States, now a net exporter of energy, should gain slightly overall from higher oil and gas prices. But ordinary families will feel the pain at a time when Americans are already furious about high costs ahead of November’s midterm elections.
FDA finds little evidence drug can help people with autism
Trump, others had touted effectiveness
BY MATTHEW PERRONE AP health writer
WASHINGTON The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a generic medication for a rare brain disorder, while walking back statements by President Donald Trump and other administration officials that the drug showed great promise for people with autism The agency said it approved leucovorin for children and adults with a genetic condition that limits delivery of folate, a form of vitamin B, to the brain. FDA officials estimate the ultrarare condition impacts fewer than 1 in a million people in the U.S.
It’s a major step back from com-
ments made at a White House news conference in September, when Trump and FDA commissioner Marty Makary announced the drug was under review to benefit patients with autism, some of whom have a form of the vitamin brain deficiency “It might be 20, 40, 50% of kids with autism,” Makary said at the news conference. But senior FDA officials told reporters Monday that their review was narrowed to focus on the strongest evidence, which only supported the drug’s use by patients with the rare mutation that impacts folate levels in the brain. The FDA officials also pointed out that one study supporting the drug’s use for autism was retracted earlier this year Autism researchers on Tuesday reiterated that the drug has not
been shown safe or effective for the vast majority of people with the brain disorder
“There is no evidence to say that leucovorin will help most people with autism, and there’s certainly no evidence to say it’s safe,” said Dr Alycia Halladay of the Autism Science Foundation. Halladay noted there is also no established figure for how many people with autism have a form of the folate brain disorder Some doctors diagnose the folate condition using a specialty laboratory test that isn’t FDA-approved. The administration’s White House event touting the drug last year followed promises from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr to determine the cause of autism by September
Leucovorin is a synthetic metabolite of folate, which is essential for healthy pregnancies and is recommended for women before conception and during pregnancy The drug’s current FDA label covers leucovorin’s use in reducing side effects of certain chemotherapy drugs and treating a rare blood disorder
Patients affected by the condition targeted by Tuesday’s approval experience movement disorders, seizures and other neurological problems that can resemble symptoms of autism. But professional medical societies say it’s far from clear whether the drug helps people with autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend routine use of leucovorin for autistic children, including those with the brain condition known as cerebral folate deficiency
Makary
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU Motorists line up as others wait behind a rope for their turn to get fuel at a pump, fearing a possible fuel shortage due to the Iran war, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Sunday.
LeBlanc, Barry
Sacred HeartChurch,616 Main St
Gramercy,La. at 11am
Miglacio, Peter
OurLadyofMercy Catholic Church at 10am.
Taylor,Claude
SaintTheresa of AvilaCatholic Church in Gonzales,La. at 11am
OurLadyofPromptSuccorCatholic Church in Chackbayat11a.m Williams,Raynard
Greater Hollywood BaptistChurch at 10:30a.m
Obituaries
Ainsworth, Cheryl D.
Cheryl Denison
Ainsworth, age 69, passed away on Friday, March 6, 2026, with her family by her side. Cheryl dedicated over 30 years of her lifeto teaching at Jefferson Baptist Church's MDO, wasa member of Camp Moore UDC, and was an avid crafter. Cheryl is survived by her husband of over50 years, Byron Clay Ainsworth; daughters, Lauren Lynn Ainsworth and Caitlin Ainsworth DiBiase (Marc); siblings, Stephanie Denison Cliburn (Benjamin) and Leland Denison, Jr. (Brenda); and ahost of other loving family members. She is preceded in death by her parents, Leland Denison, Sr. and Ann Belello Denison. Visitation will be at Greenoaks Funeral Home, 9595 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge,LA, on Thursday, March 12, 2026, from 4pm to 7pm, and will resume on Friday, March13, 2026,from 8am until the time of funeral servicesat 10am. Burial willimmediately follow at Greenoaks Memorial Park. Family and friends are invited to sign the online guestbook at www.greenoaksfunerals.c om
Allain,Mark G. 'Gravy'
Mark G. "Gravy" Allain, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Saturday,March 7, 2026, at the age of 60. He was aretiredwelder, resident and native of Plaquemine, LA. A memorial mass will be held at St. John the Evangelist CatholicChurch, Plaquemine on Thursday, March 12, 2026, at 1pm, celebrated by Father Martin Lawrence. Inurnment of ashes will follow at Grace Memorial Park, Plaquemine. Gravy is survived by his significant other, Gina Gauthreaux Junot; daughter, Haley Allain Callicoatte and husband George; grandsons, Owen and Drew Callicoatte; siblings, Fred Allain, Jr., Rhonda Allain Stagno and husband Frank, Marsha Allain Dupont and husband Adrian,and Tanya Allain Joyner and husband Ken; numerous nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his parents, Fred andBeverly Gascon Allain. Gravy was an avid outdoors man, who loved hunting, fishing, and being at his camp. He was alifelong member of the Blue Goose Hunting Club. Please share memories online at www.wilbertservices.com.
sisterand sister-in-law, and an amazing aunt.Myra Price Anding,73, aresident of Norwood, LA, passed awaypeacefully on Friday March 6, 2026.Myra was born on May7,1952 in Baton Rouge. She worked for Zachary Walmart for29 years. Myra was passionate aboutgardeningand her embroidery.She was a devoted auntand will be rememberedfor her warmth, dedication and the love she sharedwith allwho knew her.Those left to cherish her memory arehusband of 55 years, Michael W. Anding, sister Linda P. Carmena and husband Gary, sister-in-law Sigrid Price, 12 niecesand nephews AndraPrice(Tony Perez),Barry J. Price, Denton(Robin)Price, Daniel(Dia nne)Carmena,Sr., Karen(Steve)Langlois, Kim(Mike)Daugherty,ConniePrice,Courtney(Kevin)Jones, Carolyn(Ian)Armstrong and numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents Alton and Ruby Price,Sr.,sister Carol Gwen Price,brotherAlton "AJ" Price,Jr, brother Harold "Doug" Price and wife Faye,brother Edward "Teddy"Windsor, nephew ChristopherR.Price, nephewLonnie G. Price and niece-in-lawDeborah Price. Pallbearerswill be GaryCarmena, DanCarmena, JonathanCountess, MikeDaugherty, Josh Daugherty, Kyle Langlois, MatthewLanglois,Steve Langlois,Blaine Price and Ian Armstrong. Visitation on Thursday, March 12,2026 at Blackwater MethodistChurch, 10000 BlackwaterRoad, Baker, LA from 1:30pmuntilfuneral servicesat2:30pm,conducted byRev.Amy Castro. Burial willbeinthe church cemetery.Inlieu of flowers donations may be made to Mary Bird Perkins CancerCenter or Blackwater Methodist Church www.Blackwaterumc.org/ give in her memory.
Michael "Mike" John Baronne passed away Friday,March6,2026,peacefully, after abrief illness, surrounded by his loving family.Michael was born October2,1945,tothe late Leona (Gauthier) and Anthony Baronne in Bunkie, LA. He graduated from BunkieHigh School in Bunkie, LA and enlisted in the UnitedStatesArmy and served from 1966-1968 withthe 7/15th Heavy Artillery Division,being honorably discharged as an E3servicemember.Heis preceded in deathbyhis parents and two older brothers, Frank (Marilyn) and Edgar Baronne;and nephew, Anthony "Tony" Baronne. Michael was a lovinghusband and doting father and grandfather, deeply patriotic and committed to his Catholicfaith. Michaelissurvived by his beloved wifeNorma Doga Baronne; asister-in-law, Barbara Baronne;daughter Denise Payne (Michael); sonCorey Baronne;bonus daughter Alyssa Simoneaux (Kevin); bonus son Blaine Smith(Regina); grandchildren Wade,Drew and Natalie Payne;Tyler and PeytonBaronne; Kip Michael,Madelineand Grace Simoneaux; Peyton, Brody and Arianni Smith; great-granddaughter Lily Baronne; and numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral serviceswill be held Thursday, March12, 2026, at St. Alphonsus Ligouri CatholicChurchinGreenwell Springs,LA, with a viewing 10:30-12:00noon, and mass immediatelyto followat12:00 noon. Graveside interment at GreenoaksMemorial Park, Baton Rouge, LA. PallbearerswillbeMichael Payne, CoreyBaronne,Blaine Smith, Kevin Simoneaux, Wade Payne, and Drew Payne. Honorary pallbearerswillbeKip Michael Simoneaux, PeytonSmith and Brody Smith.
Lois Clark, abeloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and faithful servant of theLord, passed away peacefully at her home in BatonRouge, Louisiana, on March 8, 2026, surrounded by her loving family.She was 97 years old. Lois was born on January31, 1929, in Ripley, Mississippi,toMarvin Johnsonand JessieJohnson, bothofwhom preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her siblings, Betty Wilbanks, William "Billy" Johnson, and Bobbie Johnson. Lois liveda life defined by devotiontoher family and adeepand abiding faith. She wasa longtime and faithful memberofthe Goodwood Boulevard Church of Christ in Baton Rouge, where she found greatjoy in worship, fellowship,and service Throughout her life,Lois was aconstant source of love and support forher husband, Don, faithfully standing besidehim throughthe many moves and opportunitiesofhis career across theUnited States. No matter where life took them, Lois quickly made each new place feel like home, finding achurch family,supporting local ball teams, and creating a warm and welcoming home for her family Thoughshe and Donmade their home in many places over theyears, Lois always helda deep love forher rootsinRipley, Mississippi. Herconnection to her hometown and extended family remainedstrong throughout her life,and she held aspecial bond for her belovedgrand nieces and nephews. Lois was an exceptionally talented seamstress, askillshe practiced and perfected throughout her life.She was also curious and forward thinking,becoming an earlyadopter of personal computer technology and embracing new tools that helped her stay connected and engaged with theworld around her. She is survivedbyher devoted husband, DonaldClark; her children, Donnita House (David), Richard Clark (Jan), Glenda Pearson(Terry, deceased), and Wesley Clark (Pam).Loiswas a proud grandmother to Jay House (Carrie), Sara House Rich (Josh), Clay Pearson, Cody Pearson, JasonClark, Brian Clark (Taylor), Justin Clark (Danielle),and Travis Clark (Madison). She was also blessed with great grandchildrenJackson House, Emma House, AmeliaRich, EverettClark, and Eloise Clark, who brought her immense joy. Lois'slegacy of love,faith, and devotion to her family willliveonthrough the many livesshe touched She willbedeeplymissed and lovinglyremembered by allwho knew her. The family extendstheir heartfeltgratitude to thecompassionate caregivers of St.Joseph Hospice for the care, comfort, and support they providedduring Lois's final years. AMemorial Service willbeheldat GoodwoodBoulevard Church of Christ, 10715 Goodwood Blvd Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday, March 13. The CelebrationofLife willbegin at 11:00 a.m.,and family members willbepresent at thechurch prior to the servicetogreet friends. Visitationand burial will take place in Ripley, Mississippi. Visitation willbe held from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at McBride Funeral Home,206 North Commerce Street,Ripley, Mississippi,onSaturday, March 28. Interment to followatJacobsChapel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, thefamily requests that memorial donations be madetoGoodwood Boulevard Church of Christ in BatonRouge,Louisiana or WestRipleyChurch of Christ in Ripley Mississippi
Jeanette M. Coppock,87, was born November 25, 1938, in Ramseytown, NorthCarolina, and passed away on March 3, 2026. Jeanette was aspirited, loving presence whose life was marked by warmth connection, and thejoy she brought to those around her. She wasa resident of Gonzales, Louisiana.
Acelebration of Jeanette's life is best told throughthe moments she created and thebeauty she loved. She found happiness in gardening—surrounding herself with flowers—and enjoyed decorating with aspecial flairthat madespaces feelwelcoming and lived-in. Jeanette also had an eye for jewelry and thelittletouchesthat madeeveryday life feel bright and special. Justas much as she lovedcreating beauty, she lovedsharing it—wining and dining with family and friends, and hosting celebrations that brought people togetherand madeeveryone feelincluded
Jeanette is survived by her daughter, Debbie Robinson(John); her son Kevin Coppock; her sister, Olean; her daughter-inlaw, Charlene Coppock; her grandson, Gerald Coppock (Michelle); her grandchildren, Anthony Robinson (Lindsay) and Vanessa Hemenway (Duke); and her great-grandchildren, Joshua Coppock, Mia Hemenway and Avery Hemenway.
She was preceded in death by her sisters, Goleanand Nelly;her brother, Gordon Coppock; her son, Kenneth Coppock; herlongtermcompanion, SteveBateman; and her parents, Alfonso and Lora Berry.
Visitation willbeheldat Ourso FuneralHome, 13533 Airline Hwy, Gonzales, Louisiana 70737, on March 13, 2026, beginning at 10:00 a.m. ACelebrationofLife Service willfollow on March 13, 2026, at 11:30 a.m.
Lawrence
AnativeofCleveland, Ohioand alongtime resident of BatonRouge, Larry passed away surrounded by lovedones on March 3. He was agraduateof Garfield HeightsHigh School, earneda BA degree with honors in economics fromOberlinCollege, an MBA degree fromThe Wharton School of theUniversityofPennsylvania, andwas elected to Beta Gamma Sigma honorary business society.
He workedinretailmerchandising andstore operationsfor over 20 years with theHigbee Company departmentstore in Cleveland. In Baton Rouge,he wasa store manager and merchandise controllerfor Goudchaux Maison Blanche departmentstore He also workedinspecialty discountstoresinBaton Rouge.Heworked for and retiredfromthe Robinson Brothers Lincoln Mercury dealership in Baton Rouge He wasactiveinseveral churches in Clevelandand Baton Rouge wherehe served as chieflay officer, longtime teacher, and boardmember.Hewas also aSundaySchool teacher for over 40 years and a lifelongstudentoftheology. Larry is survivedbytwo sons, StevenJ.Davis of Centerville, Ohio and Robert L. Davis of Baton Rouge.Hehad three granddaughters, Janette (husbandRuss),Elizabeth (husbandKyle),and Katherine Davis, as well as asister,Jane Haug (husbandKenneth), niece Pamela Kaufman,and nephew David Haug Visitation willbeat RabenhorstonGovernmentStreetonWednesday March11, from 6to8 p.m. Visitation will also be held at First United Methodist ChurchofBaton Rouge on Thursday, March 12, at 10 a.m. with amemorial service at 11:00 a.m. He will be buriedatSunset Memorial Gardens in North Olmsted, Ohio In lieu of flowers, please make donationstoHands ProducingHope through theirwebsite: https://ww w.handsproducinghope.or g/
MaryElizabeth Vince DeMarco, cherished wife, mother,grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, passedawaypeacefully surroundedbythe love of herfamilyonMonday, March9,2026, at the age of 78. Mary wasbornon November 22, 1947, in Baton Rouge,Louisiana, and wasthe beloveddaughter of thelateSamuel Vince Jr andMary Cashio Vince Sheearned herBachelor's Degree in Business, paving theway for asuccessful career in Human Resources. Adevoutmember of Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church,Mary served as aEucharistic Minister, and wasanactive participantinthe ACTS Women'sGroup.Inher free time, Mary foundjoy in baking,traveling, andmost importantly, spending qualitymomentswith her family. Mary is preceded in death by herparents, Samuel andMary Vince, andher sister,Carolyn VinceStott.She is survived by herbeloved husband of 55 years, Tony DeMarco; herloving children, MicheleZeber (Neal), Dana Brasuell (Todd), and Vincent DeMarco(Christine); herbrother Samuel Vince Jr.; hertreasuredgrandchildren, Madison Zeber Fletcher (Ashton), Nolan
Hutchinson(Allie), Reid Brasuell, Hayden Zeber, MiaBrasuell, RomanBrasuell,Christian DeMarco, andSophia DeMarco, along with many nieces and nephewswhomshe adored. Thefamilywould like to extendtheir heartfelt gratitude to Clarity Hospice fortheir exceptional care andcompassion duringthisdifficult time.Weinviteall who knew andloved Mary to join us as we commemorateher life. Avisitation will be held at Resthaven Funeral Home, 11817 Jefferson Hwy, In Baton Rouge, on Thursday March 12, 2026, from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM. Visiting hourswill resume on Friday, March 13, 2026, at Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church,15615 Jefferson Hwy, in Baton Rouge,from 10:00 AM until Mass of Christian Burial at 12:00 PM.Gravesideserviceswill follow at ResthavenGardens of Memory. Family and friends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal note to thefamilyatwww.resthavenbaton rouge.com.
McHenryJackson enteredintoeternal rest at hisresidence with hisfamilybeside himonMarch 4, 2026. He wasa 95-year old native of Wilson, Louisiana. Viewingat Greater King David Baptist Church on Thursday, March12, 2026 from 6-8 pm; viewingresumes at thechurch on Friday at 9:00 am until Celebration of Life Service at 11:00 am conductedbyRev.JohnE Montgomery,II; interment at Southern Memorial Gardens. Survivors include his devotedwife,Helen B. Jackson;children,MacJeffrey Jackson,Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Debra Jean andDavid Jackson, Baton Rouge;grandchildren,Ashlon,MacJeffrey, Jr,David, Alexandria, Jared andAniyah Jackson;brother,BurnellJackson(Frances)Denver, CO; Godchildren, nieces, nephews, otherrelatives andfriends; preceded in death by hisson,Cedric Jackson;daughter-in-law RoShawnJackson, grandparents, parents; and five siblings. Arrangements entrustedtoMiller &Daughter Mortuary
Clark, Lois
Coppock, Jeanette M.
Jackson, McHenry
DeMarco,Mary Elizabeth Vince
Baronne,Michael
Davis,
Jewett'Larry'
Kennedy, Shelton Joseph 'Hop'
Anding, Myra Price
8. Alifelong Louisianan, Hop was known for his deep devotion to family, his larger-than-life personality, and his ability to turn everyday moments into lasting memories. He was born on April 8, 1935, in St. Landry, Louisiana.Hespent his career working as amechanic and electrician helper Hop was an avid golfer and adevoted supporter of LSUathletics. In addition he loved dancing, listening to Cajun music, and taking gambling trips to Las Vegas with friends. Those who knew Hop will remember aman who embraced life fully. He believed in showingupfor the people he loved and living life with courage, humor, and generosity.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 69 years, Dolores Kennedy;his daughters, Terri Cutrer, Tammy Mabry,Theresa Martin, and Tracy Cox (Dac); 9grandchildren, Christopher White (Dylea), Sasha Trana, Jason Martin (Christin), Rani Glass, AlexandraShanks (Pat), Codi Ross (Michael), Kayla Pierce (Nathan), Cayne Cox (Victoria), and Elaine Harris (Taylor); 19 greatgrandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews;and alarge extended familyofrelatives andfriends whose lives were deeply enriched by knowing him.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Agnes Thibodeaux Kennedy, brothers Raymond and David Kennedy, sister Idell Kennedy Deville, two infant siblings, sons-in-law Sammie Cutrer, Gary Martin, and grandson Douglas Glass.
Funeral serviceswill be held at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Prairieville on Friday, March 13. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until Mass of Christian burial at Noon. Private burial will be held at Green Oaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge at 3:30 p.m.
Klein, Victoria Pelaez
Victoria Pelaez Klein,affectionately known as "Toto", passed away peacefully on February 22, 2026. She was born on June 2, 1941, in Manizales, Colombia to Elvia and Jose' Abel Pelaez. Her family realized the American Dreamwhen her father moved them from Colombia to Miamiinthe early 1950s and began an agricultural and beef cattle operation that thrived for 75 years. Toto was the middle of seven siblings and served as bridge from the older three siblingsto the younger three siblings. She was agraduate of Notre Dame Academy and attended the University of Miami. Whileworking in higher education in Miami she met her future husband, George, whileonan international trip. This chance encounter would prove to be aforeshadowing of their life together when they married and began traveling the world. During theiryears together, they visited every continent and relished new adventures. They enjoyed semi-retirement in Palm City, Florida where they built their dream house and en-
tertainedfamilyfor years. After George's passing in 1997,Toto took over his property development company and successfully ranitfor several years. Shelater returnedtoMiamiand settled in abeautiful Mediterranean-style waterfront condominium on Williams Island. Soon after celebratingher 80th birthday, she made the difficult but necessary decisiontomove from South FloridatoLouisiana to be closertoher youngersister, Carmenza, andCarmenza'sfamily. Shemoved into St. JamesPlace in 2023 and took great pridein renovating herapartment into abeautiful open floor plan that was showcased to visitors at St.James Place. Despite the change, she was happy to be reunited with friends from Baton Rouge and St. Jean VianneyCatholic Church withwhom she had traveled with over the years.
Toto was aloving and supportive wife, daughter, sister, aunt and great aunt to George,her parents,siblings, nephews, nieces and theirchildrenand grandchildren.Her generosity knew no bounds, and she consistently shared her blessingswith familyand numerous Catholic parishes and causes. Her Catholicfaithwas at the center of her life,and she was grateful to her parents forthe giftofher faith and forproudlylivingGospel valueseachday. Shecarried theirdevotion to the MostHoly Rosary of the BlessedVirgin Mary throughout her life. Toto was predeceased by her husband George, herparents Elviaand Jose' Abel as well as her older brother, Fernando. She is survived by her siblings Christina Hooker, MyriamPelaez, Carmenza Funes (Ronaldo), Ralph Pelaez (Bonnie) and Mauricio Pelaez; sister -in-lawMaryPelaez nephews and nieces Andy Pardo (Christine),Mauricio Pardo (Benita), Diego Jose Pardo (Alexandra), Henry Hooker, Deborah Hooker (David), David Funes (Kristina), John Paul Funes (Ann), ChristopherFunes (Kelsey), Veronica Orrego (Carlos), Stephanie Moesching (Cory) and EmilieDarling(Dan)aswellas numerous great nephews and nieces, whom she loved dearly
Afuneral Mass willbe held at Our Lady of Mercy CatholicChurch at445 Marquette Drive in Baton Rouge on Thursday, March 12, 2026,with visitation beginning at 9amfollowed by aMassofChristian Burial at 10 am concluding with interment in OurLady of Mercy's Garden of Peace and Memorial Columbarium. Honorary pallbearersare Ralph Pelaez, Mauricio Pelaez, Dr.RonaldoFunes, Andy Pardo, Mauricio Pardo, Diego Jose'Pardo, Henry Hooker, David Funes, John Paul Funes, Christopher Funes, DanielPardo, Patrick Funes, LukeFunes, Diego Pardo, SamuelPardo, Jacob Orrego, McKinley Fowler, Leighton Moesching and Tobias Moesching. Her nieces and great nieces willserve as giftbearers and honorary giftbearers at the Mass: Deborah Hooker, Veronica Orrego, Stephanie Moesching,Emilie Darling, Monique Pardo, Victoria Funes, Alexandra Funes, Olivia Funes, Kathleen Elvia "Kate" Funes,Camille Funes, Juliette Orregoand Mila Orrego. The spouses of her nephews &nieces were aspecial part of her life,and they willberepresented by ChristinePardo Benita Pardo and Kristina
Funesasreaders at the Mass. The family would like to thank Toto's loving and supportiveteamincluding her priestsinresidence at St.JamesPlace, Fr. Donald Blanchard and Fr. Tony Russo;her loyal friend and guide Carolynn Gaines, her devoted companion Javetta Queen, her designconsultant Joli Bryan; WendyStanford Cori O'Brien and theteam at StanfordSenior Services; Mother Joan Weber, thestaff at St. James Place,St. James Place Highland Court Nursing Unit, theSt. JamesPlace Caring Companions, Baton Rouge Hospice, Triton Therapyand thewonderful residentsand families of St.James Place fortheir love and support. In lieu of flowers,pleaseconsidera donationtoSt. Joseph's Academy -3015 Broussard Street,Baton Rouge, LA 70808; Louisiana Parole Project -POBox 2029, Baton Rouge,LA70821 or the CatholicDiocese of Baton Rouge's Office of Life, Peace and Justice -1800 South Acadian Thruway, Baton Rouge, LA 70808.
Klimavicz, Gynne Malstrom
Gynne MarieMalstrom Klimavicz, age92, aresident of BatonRouge, LA, passed away on March7 2026. Gynne is survivedby her husband,John, daughterKarin Deen, sonJohn Klimavicz II (Hyon-Sun Chong),daughter-in-law, Dana Klimavicz, 8grandchildren, and 7great grandchildren. She was preceded in deathbyher parents, Walter and Anna (Banik) Malstrom,brother, RobertMalstrom, and son, Jeremy Klimavicz.Visitationwill take place at Resthaven Funeral Home 11817 JeffersonHighway, Baton Rouge,LA70817 on March12, 2026 from 12:30pm until services at 2:30pm with burial to followatResthaven Gardens of Memory.Family and friends mayviewa full obituary, sign theonline guestbook or leave apersonal notetothe family at www.resthavenbatonroug e.com.
Zita Muhammad transitionedatage 54,
electrical engineering. She workedasanengineering contractor at telephone switchboards and several othercompanies. She returnedtoSouthern University for graduateschool. She worked forthe Vice President of Finance at Southern Universityin 2003. She receivedher master's in mathematics in 2005 and her Doctorate in Mathematics Educationin 2010. She became an educator,teaching college algebra and statistics. She returned to Allahsurrounded by family and lovedones. Preceded in death by her husband, David Muhammad,and her father, Gussie Trahan. Survivedbyher daughter, JalilahMuhammad;her sister, Desiree Spann; and her mother, SylviaTrahan. MayAllah be pleased with her. Services held at 10am, Friday, March 13thinHall Davis and SonFuneral home, 9348 Scenic Hwy., Baton Rouge, LA
PatriciaWilhitepassed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 26, 2026, surrounded by her children at theBaton RougeGeneral Hospital.She was 77 and a nativeofAlexandria.Patricia was adevoted wife and loving and supportive mother to her threechildren.Patricia possessed a fanatical devotiontoher animals, especiallyher exotic parrots, whom she lovedasifthey were her own children. Patriciaretired fromthe East Baton Rouge ParishSheriff's Office in 2001 as theirPurchasing Agentafter acareer of over 25 years. Patriciawas survivedbyher children and their families, Shawn Simmons and husband Mike, and their children,Patrick, Preston,and Chase; Scott Politz;and Dr. Marcus Politz and wife Phyllis, and theirchildren, Samueland Lainey; and one great-grandchild, Gavin.She is also survived by her sister, Jeanne Scallan. Patricia was pre-
cededindeathbyher husbands, Joseph "Bubba" Politz (d. 2009) andIrvin AndreuWilhite (d. 2018); Parents, Thomas andWinsome MaeStogner; Brother,Thomas Stogner; Sister, Murwynne Politz; and niece, Laura Martin.The familywould like to extend thanks to theICU "C" staff, Dr.Griereand Dr.Campbell,Hope, Meagan,Abigail,and Kenzie, whoprovided compassionatecare through herfinal days. A special thanks goestoDr. Koganti, whoseunmatched empathy andcompassion were amasterclass in patientcare. Perher wishes, aprivatefamilyservice will be held.
Marilyn Moore Price, belovedwife,mother, grandmother,teacher,and friend, passedaway peacefully at home, surroundedbythe love of her family. Shewas born May 15, 1948, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Marilyn devoted herlifetoeducation and spent manyyearsserving as adedicated teacher before herretirement.She earnedher Master's plus 30 years in education and hada lifelongpassion for learningand helping othersgrow. Shewas afaithfulmember of Istrouma Baptist Church.Marilyn will be remembered for her warm heart, gentle spirit, anddeep love forher family andfriends, as well as herunwaveringfaithand commitmenttoGod. She foundjoy in painting, photography,traveling, and exercising.Above all,she cherished spending time with thepeople she loved. Marilyn is survivedbyher loving husband of 25 years, Malcolm B. Price Jr."Mackie"; daughters, Caroline, Emily, MacKenzie, Olivia, andNaomi; sons-in-law EmileMarchive III andTaylor Shaw; daughter-in-law Marie Kerrin;brother,Ray Moore;beloved grandchildren,Emile, Grace, Sloane Marilyn,Brinkley, Caleb andChristian;and greatgrandchildren, Raeleeand
Featherweight Scooter
$2,195.00 $1,999.00
Colton.She is preceded in death by herparents, Elsie Steadman Moore and William JerryMooreSr.; andbrother,William Jerry Moore Jr.Marilyn's legacy of kindness, strength,and love will live on in the hearts of all whoknewher Shewill be deeply missed and forever remembered. The familyextendstheir sincere gratitude to our many friends,toPatricia Stewart, andtothe caregiversand medical professionals from Southside Gardensand theALS nurses whosupportedMarilyn with compassion during herillness. Pallbearers: Ray Moore Jr., TreyMoore, EmileMarchiveIII,Emile MarchiveIV, Taylor Shaw, andChristian Shaw. Avisitationwill be held at 9:00 AM,followed by afuneral service at 11:00 AM on Friday, March13, 2026, at ResthavenFuneral Home. Burial to follow at ResthavenGardensof Memory. "She is clothed with strength anddignity; she canlaugh at thedays to come. Shespeaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on hertongue" Proverbs 31:25-26. Family andfriends may sign the online guestbook or leave apersonal note to thefamilyatwww.resthavenbaton rouge.com.
Williams, Raynard RaynardWilliams enteredintoeternal rest at The Crossing on March2 2026. He wasa 76-year old native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Viewingat Greater Hollywood Baptist Church on Wednesday, March11, 2026 at 9:30 am untilCelebrationofLife Service at 10:30 am conductedbyRev.Anthony Burton;interment at Louisiana National Cemetery.
Price, Marilyn Moore
Politz Wilhite,Patricia Stogner
We were gratifiedto seerecently aLouisiana appellate court reaffirmakey principleofour democracy —that meetings of apublic body to discuss public business needtobeconducted in front of the public, no exceptions. That means efforts to skirt aquorum, informalgatherings not labeled meetingsand failure togiveadvance notice to citizens of ameeting are illegal.
All of this apparently happened in 2019 as officials in St. James Parish were considering the permit application from Wanhua Chemical, a Chinese company that wantedtobuild a$1.25 billionpolyurethane manufacturing facility in Convent. Residents of the largely Black community near the proposed planthad objected to the location, citing concerns over emissions in the area, aheavilyindustrialized stretch alongthe Mississippi River Citizens there have organized over thepast decade to form grassrootsgroups like RISE St James, which have been ahighly visible and effective counterweight to powerfulinterests seeking to sway public officials.
That’sperhaps why,days before akey vote on theWanhua plan, members of theSt. James ParishCouncil and Planning Commission convened twomeetingswiththe company so theycould receive information and askquestions aboutthe project without the public present
The meetings were carefully structuredso that no quorum of either bodywas present; they were held at aplace where public businessisn’t usually conductedand there was no public notice given for the meetings.
All this subterfuge, St. James officials would testify during the trial, was in order to “alleviatethe potential forbickering”about the plan. In our democracy,that“bickering” is generally known as public debate and should be welcomed as major projects are considered in an area.
Wanhua would later withdraw itsproposaldue to public opposition, ballooning costs of construction and tariffs during President Donald Trump’sfirst term, when he pursued atrade war with China.
Still, it’simportant that alower court ruled against the parish, and theFifthCircuitCourt of Appeals agreed Feb. 25 thatwhatofficials did was against the letterand spirit of theopen meetings law
The open meetings lawhelpscitizens —as well as we in the media —hold government to account. The illegal meetingsperhapswould have never come to lightbut forwatchdog groups RISE St. James and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade represented by the Environmental Law Clinic at Tulane University. Thesegroups filed numerous publicrecordsrequests about the project, uncovering emails where themeetings were discussed.
We wish the trial court had issued astronger penalty for the violation,but it foundthatofficials had no “ill-intent”and argued thatthey know now what the law requires, so an injunction on future secret meetingswas not necessary We hope public officials around thestate are watching. If they aren’t, thisshows citizens why they need to be.
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE
WELCOME. HERE AREOUR
GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence
TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.
TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE
I’ve lived my entire adult life in Baton Rouge. The great majority of thecity is within walking distance of City Park. This is where Ifell in love with the game of golf. In theearly 1980s and for many years, it wasn’tlush fairways and impeccable greens. Icouldn’tfigure out why such amagnificent tract of land wasn’tbetter cared for.Fast forward to about 2015. Amovement to put some lipstick on this goat ranch finally started happening. Andithas only grown and improved. When friends come in from out of town,Inow proudly takethem to our gem,known as Historic CityPark Golf Course.
Buttobeclear,this is still not Pebble Beach or AugustaorCountry Club of Louisiana. It is acourse for the common working man,the upcoming youth, parentsand their children, and
In his Feb. 21 letter,Jeff Wilson of Mandeville shares wonderful experiences withAmtrak’sCity of New Orleans.
Sounds marvelous.
I, however,have not had such luck. Not that my ride was all that bad. It never happened.
Fouryears ago, Iwanted to take Amtrak to Chicago for acelebration of life for adear friend.
Disliking air travel, Itried to book thetrip on Amtrak. Isaw an ad for exactly that trip and began booking it Amtrak responded that thetrip was not running that day.This was one month ahead of my planned trip.Then Ibegan receiving ads on my cellphone for “City of New Orleans” to Chicago and back. Great! Just what Iwanted. Tried again. Nope. Train not running
likely one of the best golf values in America. Yet, agroup has formed to do away with our nine-hole gem. In its place, they envision coffee shops, paddle boatsand launches, amphitheaters and more—more hardscape structure, moreconcrete —alot moreconcrete for parking, etc. It reminds me of the classic Joni Mitchell lyric, “They paved paradise and put up aparking lot.” These are all nice ideas, just not for this location The added congestion local homeowners would face is not whythey live here. Pleaseconsidercontacting your BREC commissioners and requesting that they leave City Park GolfCourse just theway it is. Andcome play around here. Ithink you’ll enjoy it MITCH EVANS Baton Rouge
that day.More ads. Itried three moretimes. Ieven went tothe downtownLafayette train depot, directly to Amtrak. Amtrak has an office there but no personnel. Youbook Amtrak on your phone and show yourdigital ticket to theconductor and climb aboard. Easy peasy.However,Amtrak will not run on the day Ichoose. Amtrak will, however,send more and moreads stating “how enjoyable it would be to ride the City of New OrleanstoChicago. Leave Friday,return Sunday.”Noluck. My lovely wife said, “Let’sdrive and have amini vacation.” We did. It was lovely.But,I sure wish Icould have experienced the City of New Orleans.
DARREL LEGER Lafayette
In addition to theUnited States government destroying vessels carrying drugs, “The navies of El Salvador and Mexico announced drug seizures in the PacificOcean this week of more than 10 tons of cocaine,” according to aFeb.
20 article. What happens when supply is reduced but thedemand stays the same? Prices goup. Users have essentially two choices: one, less drug use, or two, womensell
For National Engineers Week last month, the theme was Transform Your Future. At Baton Rouge STEM, we believe that transformation shouldn’tdepend on achild’sZIP code. Through our STEM Exploration initiative, we are maximizing exposure for students in under-resourced schools and underserved communities, ensuring every child can see themselves as afuture innovator
Our mission spans afull “K-tocareer” pipeline. During National Engineers Week, K-12 students at our partner and community sites engaged in hands-on challenges across aeronautical, electrical, structural, mechanical and chemical engineering. By dismantling the mystery of these fields early,weturn curiosity into acareer path.
The journey is ongoing with our BRSTEM Fellowsand ninth and 10th graders at Scotlandville High and Capitol High. These high schoolers receive the mentorship and technical rigor needed to lead the next generation. We close the loop with our STEM internship program,placing college students directly into professional environments to ensure Baton Rouge’shome-grown talent stays right here to build our city’sfuture.
From coding robots to designing resilient infrastructure, these students are proving that “underserved” does not mean “undertalented.”
By bringing guest speakers and high-tech tools into their neighborhoods, we aren’tjust teaching science —weare engineering amore equitable Baton Rouge.
The next great breakthrough is waiting in one of our classrooms and in manyunderserved neighborhoods. It’s our job to give them the tools to build it.
ERICLEWIS
executivedirector,Baton RougeSTEM
their bodies and men break into cars to maintain their habit. Perhaps our government should focus on demand instead of supply
JAYWIERIMAN
Metairie
pay.”
As President Donald Trump continues to bombard Iran, triggering violent reprisals across the Middle East, is he also blasting Republican chances for controlling Congress afterthis fall’s midterm elections?
Much depends on how the conflict plays out, especially how many American soldiers come home in coffins. But this fact is already clear: Trump is taking an enormous political risk, and the odds seem heavily stacked against him. While Americans traditionally “rally ‘round the flag” whenU.S. forces are in danger, that’s not happening now.Inanew CNN poll, 59% of Americans disapprove of the strikes against Iran, with 41% approving. Just 12% favor sending ground troops into Iran, an option Trump has refused to rule out, while 60% would oppose that move.
If you’re like me, Iran feels so far away,and it is. Iran is easily more than 7,000 miles from Louisiana, and that’s if you were to walk astraight line. No one does that, of course. Flying is the best option,and that takes more than 25 hours.
I’m floored by the frequent gas price increases in recentdays in ournation and in our state.
Ilooked at one national gas price survey and saw that the Louisiana average was listedat $2.95 per gallon of regular gas. That didn’tlast long. Ilooked again.Itwas up to $3. I’ve gotten used to paying$2.09 to $2.15 at my “secret,” four-pumpgas station. Ican’ttell you where it is because far too many of you would make me sit in longer lines thanI already do There are plenty of ride-share drivers, caband taxi driversand big truck drivers who know when to show upfor the cheapest gas.
secret spot has lottery tickets, no latte, andI’m more likely to see someone askingfor money
Ipay more at the gas station .1 mile away from my home. They havemore pumps, better coffee, abetterselection of snacks, lottery tickets andlattes. My
But Iprefer to pay less. Just in the last couple of days, there have been reports of gas prices at $3.06 in Allen Parish, $31.12 in East and West Feliciana parishes,and $3.15 in Plaquemines Parish. Recently,gas prices have ranged from $3.54 to $3.79 in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Shreveport. High enough, but Ihave family and friends in Nevada paying that much andothers in California paying $4.90 agallon. The good news is that Louisiana continues to have some of thelowest gasprices as we watch “seasonal” gas prices increase further,impacted by the United States’ and Israel’sdecision to go takeout Iran’sruling regime, push for regime change and more. Iran is fighting back, throttling the Strait of Hormuz, akey waterway for keeping oilflowingthroughout the world.
President Donald Trumpsaid what we’reexperiencing is a“small price to
Really?Maybe 48 cents more for a gallon of regular gas is small toTrump. Buttothose of us who have to drive to live our lives, it adds up.
My secret gas station prices per regular gallon have risen to $2.19, $2.29, $2.39, $2.49 and $2.59. Just this weekend, the price changed again —to $2.79. I’ve noticed recently that some regular gas is selling for as little as $2.49 in Metairie and $2.29 in Marrero. Imay have to kiss my secret gas bye-bye. I’m troubled by increasing gas prices. I’m sure you are, too. This IranMideastiscomplex, complicated and sticky.But it doesn’tmean we don’t care about how much we’repaying at thepump.
Twenty-five cents, 50 cents or $1 moremight seem like asmall price to pay per regular gallon of gas, but it’sa big discomfort for those gassing up to go to church, doctor’sappointments, school or work.
Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.
Democrats have had trouble in recent years attracting conservative evangelical voters, who mostly vote for Republicans. In 2000, former Vice PresidentAlGore gave it atry.Hefailed badly when he said the first instance of pollution in the Bible is when “Abel’sblood cried out from the ground”after his brother Cain murdered him. Gore said this meant Abel’sblood had “defiled” or “polluted” the ground, rendering it incapable of yielding crops. Not exactly Now comesDemocrat James Talarico, the Democraticnominee forthe Texas Senate seat currentlyheld by RepublicanJohn Cornyn.Talarico is giving it another try This time his appeal to religious voters is more subtle. The media refersto Talarico as a“Christian” and “seminarian.” No one should question the legitimacy of another person’sfaith,but asJesuswarned: “Bewareoffalse prophets, who come to you in sheep’sclothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves Youwill know them by their fruits.” (Matthew7:15-20) Avisit to Talarico’scampaign website displays his “fruits” on several issues, all of which could be held bya secular progressive. Curiously (or maybenot) there is no mentionofhis views on social issues, other than astatement that might be regarded as ideological and theological pablum. Talarico opposes school choiceand vouchers which allow the parents of publicschool children, especially poor children trapped
in addition to a“Green Seminary” declaration, there is this: “Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary affirms theGod-given dignity of all persons and recognizes persons of all faith traditions to be uniquely created in God’s image. The Seminary welcomes people of all races, cultures, abilities, sexual orientations, gender expressions, and socioeconomic status to learn and study at this school of the church.”
in underperformingschools, to get a good education in private schools. The teachers’ unions oppose school choice and contribute heavily to Democrat candidates who share their view Talarico also believes in “climate change,” though that issue has sharply declined among voter priorities. Now aboutthe seminaryheattended but fromwhich he has not yet graduated.Not all seminaries are the same. Some denycentral doctrines of the Christian faith, including theVirgin Birth, the bodily resurrection of Christ the authorityofScripture and the miracles, among other things. Some attempttomarry theworld’ssecular agendawith the “kingdom not of this world.”
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is affiliated with thePresbyterianChurch USA, considered by many to be atheological and politically liberal denomination.Ontheir website,
That sounds very inclusive and an example of how theworld thinks, but Scripture teaches the Gospel is exclusive; meaning, in order to be saved from thefires of Hell one must repent of one’ssins and receive Jesus Christ as Savior.That has been Christian doctrinefor 2,000 years. There is nothing on the seminary’ssite and nothing I have discovered on Talarico’ssite that reflectsthese central doctrines.
The mostimportantquestion for voters to consider is what difference Talarico’sproclaimed faithmakes on his policy positions? Many liberal Democrats link whatever faith they claim to have to government programs and spending. Talarico does that when he says we don’tlive in aleft-right country,but in atop-down one. It’sthe old Robin Hood-Democrat playbook. Again, asecular progressive who never went to seminary (andsome people who did) could affirm what Talarico believes. Texas voters should not be fooled because “not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven.”(Matthew 7:21) Or perhaps theU.S. Senate.
Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@ tribpub.com
The first explanation for those dismal numbers is that Trump has broken one of his most emphatic and effective campaign promises: “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars.” Video clips of him making this and similar statements are already being replayed constantly,vividly documenting his deception.
While most MAGA loyalists continue to support the president, cracks are beginning to show in his base. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from her congressional seat afterbreaking with Trump, condemned his waras“the worst betrayal.”
The right-wing agitator and Trump ally Tucker Carlson called the attacks “absolutely disgusting and evil” on ABC and predicted they would fracture the MAGA movement. “This is going to shuffle the deck in aprofound way,”Carlson said.
This is how Trump always operates. At heart, he is aperformer,given to dramatic gestures and sweeping promises that work well on the campaign trail but are poor guidelinesfor governing. Remember his vows to end the war in Ukraine and bring down prices “on day one?”
As his list of failures and frustrations mounts, confidence in his leadership continuestoerode. In aWashington Post/ABC poll conducted before the Iran campaign, only 29% describedTrump as “honest and trustworthy.”
NowTrump has made another grandiose promise that will be almost impossible to keep —demolishing Iran’styrannical theocracyand replacing it with astable, popularly chosen government. There seems to be no clearstrategy or game plan for accomplishing such an ambitious goal, and past attempts by American presidents to reshape regimes in the Middle East have all ended badly
“Our leaders don’tseem to have learned anything from U.S. interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya,” says New York Timesopinion writer MeganK.Stack. “Sure, the U.S. military can kill all the leadership. And then what?”
“Wars always are easier to start than to finish, especially whenyou’ve set apolitical goal of regime change, rather than aclearly defined military objective,” adds David Ignatius, the foreign affairs columnist for the Washington Post. “President Vladimir Putin thought he would take Kyiv in aweek. Israel thought it would throttle Hamas in afew months. But wars to erase aregime don’twork like that.”
Add athird dimension to Trump’spolitical gamble: the potential impact of his war-making on domestic prices, especially energy.Even before the attacks on Iran, Americans were deeply distressed over Trump’seconomic record, with only a32% approval rate for his handling of inflation in the Post/ABC survey
As the bombs and missilesfell, oil prices surged, stock markets wobbledand shipping channels closed. About one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, controlled by Iran, and Clayton Seigle, aseniorfellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned in Wired: “The more desperate Iran becomes, the greater likelihood forittouse energy as leverage to advance its interests.”
This all adds up to afinal and potentially fatal problem for the president: the growing conviction that he simply does not care about the issues that matter most to the voting public
Notasingle American family is better off today,inreal terms, because Trump axed the ayatollahs in Tehran, or kidnapped the president of Venezuela, for that matter
On the eve of his latest foreign foray,only 32% told CNN that the president “had the right priorities,” while 68% agreed that he “hasn’tpaid enough attention to the country’smostimportant problems.”
Trump loves to put his name on things —the bigger and bolder,the better.Well, his name is now on the war in Iran, in huge gold letters. But those letters are already spattered with blood, and voters will remember that in November
Email Steven V. Roberts at stevecokie@gmail. com.
Steve Roberts
Will Sutton
Cal Thomas
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
The war in Iran is driving up gasprices.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO By ERICGAy
U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico speaks on March 4.
Bam’s83-pointgamesecondonlytoWilt
BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer
MIAMI It’sWilt,then Bam. Bam Adebayo had anight for the ages on Tuesday,with apointtotal second to only Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA record books. Adebayo scored 83 points,setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in agame for the Miami Heat in a150-129 win over the Washington Wizards
“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Adebayo started with a31-point first quarter and neverstopped rolling.Hewas up to 43athalftime and 62 by the end of thethird quarter. And then came the fourth,
when the milestones kept falling despite Adebayo facing double-, triple-and what once appeared to be aquadruple-team from aWizards defense that kept sending him to thefoulline.
His final numbers: 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7of22from 3-point range.Itwas astat line unlike any other in NBA history, and anight like noneother for Adebayo.
He was in tears as he hugged his mother,Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floorafter the game.
“Welp won’thave the highest careerhigh in thehouse anymore,”
Adebayo’sgirlfriend, four-time WNBAMVP A’ja Wilson, wrote on social media, “but at least it gives
me somethingtogoafter.”
Adebayo’sdunk with22seconds left in the third quarter gave him 62 points forthe game,breaking theHeat single-game record of 61 set by LeBronJames on March 3, 2014.
The NBA’s previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver againstMinnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 pointsthrough three quarters:one of Adebayo’s basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, whohad exactly thatmany through three quarters for the Los Angeles Lakersagainst Dallas on Dec. 20,2005.
Adebayo wounduppassing
ä See BAM, page 2C
‘Shock’and advance
BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer
Jalen Reece fielded the final question for players in LSU’s last postgame newsconference of the regular season Saturday Afterhaving 17 points, fiveassists and three steals in a94-91 triple-overtime loss to Texas A&M, Reece was askedabout his team’smentality entering theSoutheastern Conference tournament. The freshman point guard’sresponse brimmed with confidence unexpected of aplayeronthe
last-place Southeastern Conference team. “Goout there and fight untilthe end, Reecesaid.“Ithink we are goingtomake arun in the tournament,soI’m not really worried about what we are going to do. We aregoing to play hard every time out. So I think it’s amatter of time till we just start winning. Ithink thetournament is where we are going to shock people.”
LSU can inject ashock factor when the No.16-seeded Tigers face No.9 Kentucky (19-12, 10-8SEC) at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the first roundofthe SECTournament
at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.Inthe first meeting Jan. 14, LSU (15-16, 3-15) lost 75-74 at home on agame-winning jump shotbyMalachi Moreno as timeexpired.
TheTigersenter thesingle-elimination tournament on athree-gamelosing streak and losers of eight of their last nine games. The only way LSU can participate in March Madness is by miraculously winning five games in five days.
Pelicans readytowelcome back Ingram
Former N.O. star returnswithRaptors
BY RODWALKER Staff writer
Donnetta Etienne knowsthere is no place like home.
Herson Travis knows it, too.
It’sthe reason the running back from Jennings agreed to adeal with theNew Orleans Saints on Monday,bringing him hometo the state he was bornand raised.
Donnetta Etienne spent the pastfive yearsliving in Jacksonville, Florida, watching her son runfor more than 1,000 yards in three of the four seasons he played in actual games for the Jaguars(he missedhis entirerookie season with afoot injury).
Former Saints LB Elliss returning PAGE 4C
During that time, shealsohad to mixintraveling to games to watch her other son, Trevor,who played college ball at Florida and Georgia beforeplaying lastseasonwith the Carolina Panthers.
“I had alot of houses,but I didn’thave ahome,” shesaid.
She got anew homeinLafayette for her birthday lastweek. Butperhaps the better present cameMonday,the first day NFL teams could negotiate deals with free agents
“It’sa surreal moment, afullcircle moment for the family,” shesaid.
The deal is reportedly worth $52 million over four years.
ASaints team that has struggled running the ball in recent yearsmay have found an answer Travis Etienne is considered the second-bestrunning back in this free agency classbehind Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker of the Seattle Seahawks.Walker agreed to adeal with theKansas City Chiefs just hoursbeforeEtienne chosethe Saints
What the Etienne deal means for the rest of the New Orleans running back room remains to be seen.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, who had NFL scouts and fans drooling at the combine, probably is not as high on Mickey Loomis’ wish list.
Alvin Kamara, arguably the most beloved player on the roster, will no longer be the guy getting the bulk of the carries.That’sifKamara, whose
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOFILE PHOTO Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne carriesagainst the Saints on Oct. 19, 2023, in the Caesars Superdome. The Jennings native agreed to adeal with the Saints on Monday.
ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTO Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scores abasket on the waytoatotal of 83 points, the second-highestsingle game scoring effortinNBA history, on TuesdayinMiami.
6:20 p.m.
8:20
Clark happy with LSU gym’s position
BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer
Two days of perspective on LSU’s 198.450-198.325 dual-meet loss at Florida on Sunday didn’t change gymnastics coach Jay Clark’s feeling about his Tigers’ performance — and where they are going forward.
“It was by far the best meet we’ve had all year,” Clark said Tuesday LSU also lost narrowly at Oklahoma on Feb. 20, 198.125-197.925. To Clark, the difference is being away from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“Our environment is worth about two-10ths to us,” Clark said, “as is Florida’s to them and Oklahoma’s is to them. On a neutral floor and four judge panels when you get out of the regular season, I like our chances if we’re dialed in like that.”
The postseason looms, starting with the Southeastern Conference championships March 21 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, followed by an NCAA regional at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (April 1-4) and the NCAA championships in Fort Worth, Texas (April 16-18). First up is one more tough home meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday against No. 8 Arkansas.
Clark indicated he would like to have a chance to rest some of his gymnasts, but based on the quality of the opponent and the need to keep up his team’s national ranking, that likely isn’t in the cards.
“We need to win the meet,” he said. “I don’t know that we’ll treat it all that different. We have a couple of nagging things from a physical perspective
“We’re still watching Kaliya (Lincoln’s) Achilles. Amari (Drayton’s) shins stay pretty hot. We’ve chronicled Konnor (McClain’s) different aches and pains. It may affect the things we do with the lineups, but it’s a meet we need to win. We have a good team coming in here.”
Top of charts
Despite losing the meet at Florida, LSU improved its NQS
BAM
Continued from page 1C
Bryant for single-game scoring as well. Bryant’s career-best was 81 — a game that was the secondbest on the NBA scoring list for two decades.
Until now And Adebayo only needed the first half to set his personal career-high, too.
Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Wizards, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.
He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career-high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.
Adebayo’s season-high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat
scoring record
Adebayo had the
uneven bars (9.930) while Drayton is ranked eighth nationally (9.915).
Lincoln gets SEC honor
(National Qualifying Score) average from 197.836 to 197.897. The Tigers remain No 2 behind Oklahoma (197.967) and ahead of No. 3 Florida (197.593), which leapfrogged Alabama. Individually, LSU sophomore Kailin Chio remains the nation’s No. 1 all-arounder (39.760), just ahead of UCLA’s Jordan Chiles (39.725). Chio is also No. 1 on balance beam (9.990) and vault (9.970), and tied for sixth on floor (9.940).
Chio and Chiles are also tied for the most perfect 10s this season with six Utah’s Avery Neff has three, and no one else in the nation has more than one. McClain is tied for seventh on
Lincoln was named SEC specialist of the week after a stellar performance at Florida She shared first place on vault with a career-high 9.975 and won a share of first place on floor with a career-high-tying 9.975. She also had a 9.95 on beam.
Florida’s Selena Harris-Miranda, who won the all-around 39.850-39.775 over Chio with a perfect 10 on beam, was named SEC gymnast of the week. Alabama’s Azaraya RaAkbar was freshman of the week.
Lagniappe
Friday’s meet will be shown on a streaming basis on SECNetwork+. Some general admission
tickets were still available as of Tuesday afternoon, in part because LSU students are on spring break. “There’s opportunity for people to get good seats,” Clark said. “I want this place full for these seniors.” … 2027 LSU commitment Josie Lynch, the No. 2 prospect for that year’s class, won the senior all-around title Saturday in the Nastia Liukin Cup. In February LSU recruit Hezly Rivera the 2024 Olympic gold medalist and 2025 U.S. national all-around champion, won the senior allaround, beam and floor titles in the Winter Cup. Advocate staff writer Reed Darcey contributed to this report.
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Franklin gets LSU softball rolling in rout of Nicholls
The No. 20 LSU softball team shook off a weekend sweep by No. 1 Tennessee to crush Nicholls State 12-2 on Tuesday night in Thibodaux.
LSU (18-7) took a 2-0 lead on Alix Franklin’s two-run triple in the top of the first inning and never trailed. The Tigers put the game away with a four-spot in the top of the fourth inning, highlighted by Avery Hodge’s three-run home run. Nicholls (12-11) scored its first run in the second inning on Gabby Higbee’s run-scoring single. She added an RBI double in the seventh.
Cali Deal picked up the win for LSU after allowing one earned run on two hits in four innings. Franklin and Kylee Edwards each had three hits and two RBIs for the Tigers.
Masters gets ‘relief’ with 11th Paralympic gold medal
Oksana Masters’ 11th Paralympic gold medal was “redemption” for the most decorated American Winter Paralympian. And it was clear just how much it meant to her Masters screamed loudly several times in delight after winning the women’s sprint sitting discipline in Para cross-country skiing on Tuesday at Milan Cortina.
She finished second in the event four years ago.
“It was just such a relief and redemption from Beijing. It was the one that got away I love sprints and I hate sprints because there’s so much stress,” Masters said. Masters now has seven Winter Paralympic gold medals to go along with her four victories at the Summer Paralympics. She has competed in every Paralympics since 2012.
QB Smith set to return to Jets in trade with Raiders
Geno Smith is making a fullcircle return to the New York Jets, who found their new starting quarterback by reaching back into their past.
The Jets are acquiring Smith — who was the team’s second-round draft pick in 2013 — from the Las Vegas Raiders, a person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press on Tuesday
New York is also getting a seventh-round pick and sending a sixth-rounder to Las Vegas in the deal.
Las Vegas likely has its sights set on Fernando Mendoza, the Indiana quarterback widely expected to go No. 1 in the NFL draft. Smith’s days with the Raiders appeared well over before the trade, even if it meant releasing him.
Reds ace Greene could miss up to four months
GOODYEAR, Ariz Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene is scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday on his right elbow and could miss up to the first four months of the season.
The Reds said Greene was diagnosed with bone chips and loose bodies in his elbow Greene needed an MRI last week after he left spring training camp due to right elbow stiffness.
Greene went 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA last year, helping Cincinnati earn an NL wild card for its first playoff appearance since 2020.
Greene, whose 99.5 mph average four-seam fastball velocity led the major leagues among those throwing at least 1,250 pitches, was limited to a career-low 19 starts and 107 2/3 innings.
Luzardo commits to Philly with $135M, 5-year deal
PHILADELPHIA Jesús Luzardo found the stability in the Phillies’ rotation along with the good health he craved as he bounced around the major leagues with three other organizations.
With a chance to potentially become a free agent next offseason during a winter that could include labor strife, Luzardo decided to opt in with the Phillies over the long haul and become the latest starter with a long-term deal. Luzardo and the Phillies finalized a $135 million, five-year contract that starts in 2027. The deal for the 28-year-old left-hander announced Tuesday calls for annual salaries of $27 million, a $32.5 million team option for 2032 and a $10 million conditional team option for 2032.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By REBECCA BLACKWELL
Heat teammates celebrate center Bam Adebayo, right, after he scored 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, on Tuesday in Miami.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
LSU head coach Jay Clark celebrates after Konnor McClain finishes her routine on uneven bars against Alabama on Feb 27 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center McClain is tied
THE VARSITYZONE
East Ibervilleboys putawayLakeview
Tigers settomake program’s firststate championship game appearance
BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer
LAKE CHARLES – Everyday this season, the East Iberville boys basketball team remembered the pain of regret.
After the Tigersfellinthe semifinals last year,this year’s team wasn’t readytolet that happen against Lakeview East Iberville led by four points after three quarters. The Tigers exploded to a14-2 run in the fourth and outscored the Gators 24-11 in the final period.
The run helped No. 3East Iberville defeat No. 2Lakeview 5942 in the Division IV nonselect semifinalonTuesday in Burton Coliseum. The win marks the Tigers’ first state title appearance in boys basketball history
“It’struly ablessing for us to have this opportunity,” Tigers coach Donovan Maryland said. “It’sajourney to get here.”
The pain of last year’ssemifinal loss fueled the team’swin on Tuesday “Weknow how thatpain of not actually being able to finish feels,” Maryland said. “You have to rememberthe momentsthat we had last year to get over the hurdle that we had this year.”
East Iberville (25-7) opened the game on an 8-2 run with three steals leading to fast-break scores.
The Tigers led 10-4 after sophomore Jordan Scharnett cut to the basket and senior Tyran Burks found him for alayup. Lakeview’sBobby Reliford hit acorner three to make it 11-7 at the end of the first quarter
TheGators’ Daylon Telsee draineda corner 3-pointer to get his team within one point early in thesecond quarter. The score sparkeda 6-0run to putLakeview in front. Scharnett tied it with a corner three.
Theteams continuedtotrade buckets late,and Lakeview held an 18-17 lead at the break
Both sides traded scoresin the third.The Tigers closedthe quarter on a7-4 run to takea 35-31lead. Scharnettnabbeda rebound and lobbed it from halfcourt down to sophomore Kaleb Redditt, whoscored alayup just before the buzzersounded.
The Tigers scored consecutive layups to start thefourth to take an eight-point lead. Reliford ended the run with apull-up jumper
The East Ibervillelead swelled to 10 points after senior Collin Banks hit ajumper and junior Chase Joseph rose up andtipped an errant shotback in.
The Tigers’ defense continued to stymie Lakeview shots,leading to consecutive fast-break layups to push the advantage to 49-33 with 4:42 left. The 14-2 run to start the quarter forced a Lakeviewtimeout.
Maryland said his message to the team headinginto the fourth was just to stay the course.
“We’ve been battle tested throughout the course of this season,” Maryland said. “We’ve seen everything imaginable.They were bought in, anditshowed right there in that fourth quarter.”
Lakeview(27-5)failed to battle back, andthe Tigers sealed a 17-point victory.Scharnett finished with18 points andseven rebounds. Banks totaled 15 points.
The team now turns itsattention to bringing home astate title.
“Itwould be great to bring something toSt. Gabriel on the boys’ side that’snever been done before,” Banks said.
Brusly staves offNorthwest
Panthers advance to titlegamefor firsttimein42years
BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer
LAKE CHARLES – Brusly raced out to a29-point lead against Northwest in the secondquarter of the semifinals.
The Raiders chipped away and cutthe deficit to two points early in thefourth. As thelead evaporated,Bruslydidn’tpanic. After two years of heartbreak,losing in the semifinals, thePanthers wouldn’tbedenied again.
Brusly went on a16-4 run to end thegame to take down Northwest 72-56 in theDivision II nonselect semifinalsonTuesday nightin Burton Coliseum.The win marks the Panthers’ first appearance in the state championship since 1984.
“When we left here last year, we had abad taste in our mouth,” Brusly coach Kirby Loupe said. “I’vebeen watching these guys a long time.I’m just so proud they gettowalk off that court with a win.”
Brusly (23-5) started the game on an 11-2run that forced two early Northwest timeouts. Theadjustments did little to slowdown Brusly as the Panthers went on a 15-0 run to close thequarter
SeniorBen Radfordplayeda bigrole in therun with four points and two blocks early on. Senior Ryland Johnsondrove to the cup for alayup in the closing seconds to put Brusly up 26-5 through one quarter
Johnsoncut through the defense at will with twolayups to start the second quarter.Brusly madeits first four shotsofthe period to push itslead to 34-5.
Northwest (22-8) rallied with a 17-2run to trim the deficit to 14 points after switching to afullcourt press. The Raiders’ Jonreyon Freeman hit apairof3-pointers to
Live Oaknabskey victory in walk-off againstWalker
Eagles move into tiefor lead in District5-5A
BY WILLIAM WEATHERS
Contributing writer
Live Oak third baseman Jeanne Janise relied on her training with thegameon the line.
TheEagles were able to get their first two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth inning when Janise, who singled in her previous plateappearance, went with the first pitch from Walker’sNyla Boutte into right-center field for a walk-off single Tuesday for a7-6 victory in aDistrict 5-5A victory at homeover
Walker
“With arunner at third base,wepreach if we see the outside pitch to take it theother way, especially when we’re tryingtoscore the run,” Janise said. “I saw the outside pitch, and Iknew it was my chance to scorethe run.”
Live Oak (9-4, 3-15-5A) moved into atie for the district lead with St. Amant
(11-4, 3-1) and EastAscension (10-2, 3-1).Walker dropped to 9-3 and into secondplacewith a3-2 league mark.
“Everydistrictgame, we’ve got toshow up,” Walker coach Hali Westmorelandsaid. “That’sthe beautiful part ofour district. We play two rounds because weknow the competition’sgoingtobethere. Winorlose, you know your team is gettingbetter.”
Live Oakovercamean early1-0 deficit andbuilt a5-3 lead in the fourth inning when Walker answered withathree-run fifthtotie the game at 6-all.
Asolohomer from Boutte led off the inning andthe Cats pulled even on Adalyn Stoltz’sRBI single.
Boutte retired six of seven batters in thesixth and seventh innings. Shewound up throwing atotal of 42/3 innings, allowing nineofLive Oak’s10hits with two walks andtwo strikeouts.
Centerfielder Molly Latham, who was 3of5,led off Live Oak’s eighth witha single to right. An obstruction call inthe base path against Walker,on aball hit by A.K. Phillips, resulted
in Lathambeing awarded thirdbase.
Janise hadbounced into adouble play and grounded out in previous at-bats againstBoutte until leading offthe sixthwith asingle and collecting the gamewinning hit in theeighth.
“You’re just thinking just to do something little just to score therun in that situation,” Janisesaid. “It’sreally big when you have your teammates behind you.”
Walkerouthit Live Oak 12-10withthird baseman
Harlee Usry going3of5 with ahomer and two RBIs. The Cats stranded three runners after singles over the seventh and eighth innings.
Phillipswent thedistance for Live Oak and her sixth strikeout of thegame ended the eighthwith tworunners on base.
“A.K.’sone of the toughest kids Iknow,bothphysically and mentally,” Live Oak coach Katie Prescottsaid.
“She’sthe epitome of what buy-in is in this program. If Isay to do something, she says, ‘howfar do you want me to go, Coach?’ She’svery rare in whatshe’sdonefor our program.”
get Brusly’slead downto40-28 at halftime. Northwest continued to find shots around the rim to trim away at the deficit.The Raiders outscored Brusly 20-12 in the third. Brusly’slead shrunk to 52-48 at theend of thethird quarter
“Their run was coming,” Loupe said.“We just wanted to try and manageit, and Ithought that was thedifference.”
ARaiders bucket to beginthe fourth got them within two,but the Panthersrippedoff consecutive scores to get back some breathing room Brusly went back up by 12 points with threeminutesleft. Johnson drovetothe paint and then kicked it out to senior Blake Lawrence, who burieda 3-pointer.
Senior Micah Bryant then connectedwitha tripleonthe ensuing possession. Loupe said the focus shifted to forcing Northwest into contested jump shots andnot letting the Raidersget around therim or to the charity stripe.
“Every timewecame to the bench, we talked about just going to have to commit to defense to win this game,” Loupe said.
“Somewhere it just clicked.” Bryant finished with 19 points forBrusly.Radford had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Johnson totaled 15 points.
“Weknew come our senior year that this was our expectation,” Johnson said. “Wejust didn’twant that to slip away,sowejust stayed strong together.”
Baton Rouge Metro At JS Clark Team results: 1. Zachary 2. St. Michael3.West Feliciana Individual medalists: 1, Ella Nugent, Zachary 37, 2. Madeline Brown, St Michael 46, 3. Dottie Carlton, West Feliciana 51. Girls gymnastics
Saturday BRHS Girls Gymnastics Invitational At Baton Rouge High School Team Scores: 1. Dutchtown 231.05, 2. St. Joseph’s 231.05 (tiebreaker), 3. Prairieville 223.45. Level3All-Around: 1. Landon LeBoeuf,
SCORING: East Iberville: Jordan Scharnett 18, Collin Banks 15, Kaleb Redditt 10, Chase Joseph 9, Christopher Reed 6, Isaiah Johnson 1; Lakeview:BobbyReliford18, Malique Prelow7,DaylonTelsee 7, AtlasHicks 6, Jordan Reliford2 KeltonCarter2 3-POINT GOALS: East Iberville3 (Redditt 2, Scharnett 1) Lakeview2 (Reliford, Telsee) RECORDS: East Iberville 25-7, Lakeview 27-5 Brusly 72, Northwest 56 Brusly 26 14 12 20 -72 Northwest 523208 -56
FILE PHOTOByAPRIL BUFFINGTON Brusly’sBen Radford,seen in agame against Plaquemine on Jan. 30, had 14 points and 14 rebounds against Northwest on Tuesday.
Earlyscore
LSU shortstop StevenMilam hits asingle in the firstinning against Creighton on Tuesday night at AlexBox Stadium.Milam’ssingle scored Jake Brownfrom thirdfor the game’s first run. Thegameended after press time. Foracomplete report, pleasevisit theadvocate.com
Saints bringbackLBElliss
BY RODWALKER and ZACH EWING Staff writers
The Saints are bringing aformer linebackerback to NewOrleans.
The Saints agreed Tuesday to a deal to sign Kaden Elliss, who was drafted by the Saints in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Elliss spent his first four seasons with the Saints before playing the past three seasons with the rival Atlanta Falcons.
The three-year deal is worth $33 million, with $23 million guaranteed.
Elliss recorded 107tackles and 31/2 sacks last seasonfor the Falcons. He recorded more than 100 tackles in eachofhis three seasons there. He didn’tmiss a game, playing in all 51 games for Atlanta. The deal came aday after the Saints loststar linebacker Demario Davis. Davis, who played eight seasons with the Saints, agreed
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
AtlantaFalcons linebacker Kaden Elliss stops Saints running back Alvin KamaraonNov.26inAtlanta. Elliss, drafted by the Saints in 2019, signed athree-year deal with NewOrleans on Tuesday worth$33 million.
to join the New York Jetsona two-year,$22 million deal that includes $15 million guaranteed Davis was originally draftedby
the Jets in 2012. Davis’ departure leftagiant void in thelinebackerroom that the Saints are hoping Elliss can
help
Also on Tuesday, aday after signingRyan Wright to handle their punting duties,the Saints made atrade from their surplus at the position.
The Saints traded last year’s starting punter,Kai Kroeger,to the HoustonTexans forapick swap in afutureNFL draft. The Saints sent their seventh-round pick in 2028 for the Texans’sixthrounder the same year Kroeger started all 17 games in 2025 for the Saints as arookie out of South Carolina, averaging 44.8 yards perpunt (30th in the NFL) and 37.3net yards per punt (31st). He also tied for the league-high with two punts blocked. Wright waseighth at 49.0 yards per punt forthe MinnesotaVikings and fourth at 44.5 net yards perpunt. TheSaints and Wright agreed to afour-year,$14 million deal Monday
EmailRod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.
Ravens nixtrade forDECrosby
BY SCHUYLERDIXON
AP profootballwriter
HENDERSON, Nev.— TheLas Vegas
RaidersonTuesdaysaid Baltimore hasbacked out of the tradethat was supposed to send star pass rusher Maxx Crosby to theRavens for two first-round draft picks.
Thedealwas agreed to last Friday but couldn’t be finalizeduntil the start of the league year on Wednesday. The Raiders announced Tuesday evening that Baltimore backed out of thedeal. Theteam saidithad no further comment.
Crosby underwent surgeryin January to repair atornmeniscus in his left knee and would have needed to pass aphysicalfor the dealtobefinalized. He missed the final twogamesofthe season because of the injury despite wanting to play through it at the time.
Crosby said on arecent appearance on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” thathewas “ahead of sched-
ule” in hisrehab
Theaddition of Crosby was supposed to be thepiece to help lift the Ravens over the top,withthe draft picks expected to be part of arebuildingeffort for the Raiders.
The 28-year-old Crosbyhad 10 sacksand acareer-high 28 tackles for loss last season, and he has reached double-digit sacksfour times in hisseven seasons.
Also on Tuesday,the Detroit Lions reached an agreement with running back Isiah Pacheco as a replacement for David Montgomery after theLionstraded Jahmyr Gibbs’ backuplast week.
Pacheco spent hisfirst four seasons in therunning back rotation with the Kansas City Chiefs,who agreed to a$45 million, three-year deal with Super Bowl MVPKenneth Walker in the opening hours of free agency Monday
Pacheco rushed for 2,537 yards and 14 touchdowns over four seasons with the Chiefs, helping them win two Super Bowls.
The Chiefs also agreed to a$24.5 million, three-year deal withformerBaltimore safety Alohi Gilman and an $11 million, two-year contract withreceiver Tyquan Thornton, whoemerged as perhaps their best deep threat during a6-11seasonthatendeda 10-year playoff streak. Pittsburgh agreed withrunning back Rico Dowdle on a$12.25 million, two-year deal in what will be areunion with new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy. They weretogether in Dallas, whereDowdle became the first undrafted Cowboys running back to rush for 1,000 yards in McCarthy’sfinalseasonin 2024.
Dowdle signed with Carolina last year andfolloweda 206-yardouting against Miami with 183 yards rushing and a36-yardtouchdown catch against the Cowboys. Dowdle finished the season with 1,076 yards. New England picked up one of thetop availablereceivers in
RomeoDoubs, agreeing with the former Green Bay player on a$70 million,four-year contract.The reigning AFC champions also added guardAlijah Vera-Tucker on a $42 million, three-year deal.
The Buffalo Bills and tight end Dawson Knox agreed to athreeyear contract extension that will save money under the salary cap.
The seventh-year player was entering thefinal year of his deal and scheduled to count $17 million against Buffalo’scap.
The New York Giants have an agreementwithcornerbackGreg Newsomeafter losing starter Cor’Dale Flott to Tennessee on the first day of negotiations for free agents.
Cleveland andlinebacker Quincy Williams agreed on atwo-year contract worth up to $17 million
The deal reunites Williams with new Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, who was the New York Jets linebackers coach from 2021-24.
Judge, Skenes lead U.S.
By The Associated Press
Aaron Judge hit atwo-run homer andRoman Anthony added athree-run drive in a big third inning to lead the United States over Mexico 5-3 in the WorldBaseball Classicat Houston’sDaikinParkonMonday night
TheU.S. improvedto3-0 and will meet Italy (2-0) on Tuesday night, seekingtosecurea spot in the quarterfinalsinHouston this weekend. JarrenDuran homered twice for Mexico (2-1), whichwill face Italy Wednesday night in thelastgame of Group Bplay. The game wasplayedinfront of asellout crowdof41,628 that wasdecidedly pro-Mexico.
Reigning NL Cy Young Award winnerPaul Skenesallowed one hit and struck out seven in four innings as the U.S. beat Mexico at theWBC for thefirst time since2006. The Americans lost 11-5 to Mexicoin2023.
The U.S.led by three entering theeighthinning beforeDuran took Matthew Boyd deep for his secondhomer.Boydthen hit Randy Arozarena on the armwitha pitch before striking out Jonathan Aranda. Griffin Jax took over and induced adouble-play grounder from Alejandro Kirk to end the inning.
Bryce Harper singled on a ball that hit reliever Jesus Cruz on the leg with no outs in the third inning.
Judge followed withhis second home run of the tournament, an opposite-field drive to right fieldthatput theAmericansup2-0
Kyle Schwarber singled and CalRaleigh was hit by apitch with one out before Anthony’s homer to right-center pushed thelead to 5-0.
Raleighsaysthere’s no beef
Cal Raleighinsisted Tuesday he has no beef withRandy Arozarena even though his Seattle teammate lashed outwith a vulgar rant after Raleigh left him hanging for ahandshake at theWorld Baseball Classic. The kerfuffle went viral when Arozarena, atwo-time All-Star outfielder playing for Mexico, cursed out Raleigh to a reporterafter theU.S.catcher didnot acceptahandshake before an at-bat in the Americans’ 5-3win.
Speaking to Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert in Spanish, Arozarena said Raleigh “has to thankGod that he has nice parents, well educated,” and said he recently hugged them during afriendly greeting at the team hotel
He then used profane Cuban and Mexican slang to insult Raleigh before pivoting to English and saying Raleigh could shove his “good to see you” in his rear.Arozarena was born in Cuba but defected to Mexico to pursue an MLB career Arozarenahad reached down to greet Raleigh in his catcher’s squat at home plate, and Raleigh declined to offerhis hand back. Raleigh appeared to say something to Arozarena during the exchange at the plate that could have setoff the Mexican star Arozarena appeared to be visibly upset at Raleigh, though it wasn’ttotally clear if he was just having funathis teammate’sexpense. The pair have been teammates since Arozarena wastradedfrom Tampa Bay to Seattleduring the 2024 season RaleighcalledArozarena a baseball “brother” while explaining therewas no tension between theteammates
Continued from page 1C
contract wasrestructured last week, remains on the roster at all. He turns 31 in July,considered ancient in running backyears. And the Saints have draftedtwo running backs over the last three years. Kendre Miller,selected in 2023, has struggled to stay healthy.Devin Neal selected in the sixth round
lastyear,showed promise as arunner and ablocker in 2025. What we do know isthat Loomis investing that type of moneyinEtienne means Etienne is the guy.And as he showed at both Clemson in collegeand in Jacksonville as apro, he can be the guy. He combined for 1,399 yards last season (1,107 rushing and 292 receiving). He’sbeen over 1,400 total yards rushing and receivingtwo othertimes
That’sthe type of weapon Saints head coach Kellen Moorewants to pair with second-year quarterback Tyler Shough. The running game has struggled with explosive plays lately.Etienne can fix that. He’shad at leastone run of at least 60 yards in three of his four seasons, including a 71-yarder lastseason.
Loomis, who had abanner day Monday,also agreed to adeal with guard David Edwards from the Buffalo Bills to help open
holes for Etienne. Edwards was considered one of the best guards in free agency
The Saints appeared to fill their void in the running game. And for Etienne’s mother,a void was filled as well.
“When you’re in other places, the culture is different,” she said.
“The food is different The things theydoare different. So we had to adjust to our way of living.” Now things will feel more normal. Etienne will try
to replicate in the Caesars Superdomewhat he did on all of those electrifying Friday nights at Jennings High School yearsago. It’ll be much easier for the family “We’ve all gotten older,” his momsaid. “You have eldersand grandmothers whocan’ttravel like they used to. Butthey can all travel to New Orleans.” Nobody would be more proud than the late Betty Jackson. She was Etienne’s great-grandmother and a
die-hardSaints fan. She would watch her favorite team play everySunday
“That was her favorite team,” Donnetta Etienne said. “Travis is overjoyed. Everybody in the family is overjoyed. Youthink about it and you dream about it, but for this to actually happen is surreal.” Saints fans should be overjoyed, too.
Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.
PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS
Floridalooking foranother title
BY TERESA M. WALKER AP sportswriter
NASHVILLE, Tenn. The fourthranked Florida Gators head into the Southeastern Conference men’sbasketball tournament knowing exactly what they want.
The defending nationalchampions also know how quicklyeverything can slip away.
“As long as we maintainthe mindset that as greatasitisright now, it could be gone tomorrow if we don’ttake care of business or play the waywebelievewe’re capable of,” Florida coach Todd Golden said Tuesday.“And Ithink our guys have agood grasp on that.”
The SEC regular-seasonchamps come to Music City as the winners of 11 straight, beating opponents by an average of 21.7points in that streak. Asecond straight tournament title and sixth overall certainly would burnish the Gators’ resume for aNo. 1seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The top-seeded Gators(25-6) start in the quarterfinals Friday with No. 15 Alabama, No. 17Arkansas and No.22Vanderbiltalso earning double-byes in the tournament that starts Wednesday Golden, the AP All-SEC coach of the year,said his team doesn’t need any reminders about how much aloss this week might hurt. The coach remembers too well how losing to Auburn or Missouri feels.
“Wedon’twant to feel that way,” Golden said. “This team’smature, man. That’s justthe reality. We gotsome studsthat can handle the expectations at this point. Ithink that was an issue for us early in theyear.We’ve battledthrough that and we’ve grown up alot, han-
dling all that.”
No record this time
The SEC won’tmatch its performance of ayear ago with arecord 14 teamstothe NCAA Tournament.The league still is projected to lead all conferences with 11 when thebracket is announced Sunday,which wouldtie the Big East in 2011 for the second-most teams in the field. No. 8seed Missouri (20-11) and 10th-seeded Texas (18-13) need wins to avoid starting the NCAA Tournament in Dayton. Vanderbilt has won twostraight knowing that stringing togethermore victories can improve seeding.
No.1 Duke losesFoster, Ngongbadue to injuries before ACCTournament
BY AARON BEARD
AP basketball writer
Top-ranked Duke hasloststarting point guard Caleb Fostertoa broken right foot that will keep him out for an extended period, while starting big man Patrick Ngongba won’t playinthisweek’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament while dealing with his own foot issue.
Foster was hurt in the first half of Saturday’srivalry win against No. 19 North Carolina, and coach Jon Scheyer said Tuesday that Foster had surgery Sunday morning “In his mind and our mind, we’ll do everything we possibly can with our mindset to continueto advance where we can givehim a shot to come back when it’sall said and done,” Scheyer said Foster had started 30 of 31 games this year,averaging 8.5 points and 2.8 assists for the Blue Devils (29-2). He was hurt with about five minutes left before the break when he stumbled backwardsand planted his right foot awkwardly, then immediately turned to the bench. Foster grabbed at his right foot whilebeing evaluated, thenleftthe bencharea. He didn’t return until well into thesecond half with his foot in aboot.
It’sthe second time in Foster’s three seasons that he has dealt with aright-foot injury that will impact his availability in March.
Foster missed theteam’slastnine games as afreshman witha stress fractureinhis right ankle, sidelining him during the team’srun to the NCAA Elite Eight. Scheyer said Tuesday that Foster has emphatically said “I’m going to be back” sincethe injury,but that also will depend on how well
the Blue Devils play without him.
“I think the reality of it is, we’d have to advance to aFinal Four,” Scheyer said. “Is there achance earlier? I’m not going to eliminate that rightnow.But Ithink that’s really difficult to try to even imagine thatscenario.We’re not going to have himthe next couple of weeks, the next few weeks.”
Ngongba’sstatus offered abit more optimism. Scheyersaid Ngongbahad been dealing with foot soreness thatcreptupinthe win at N.C. Statetostartlastweek. He hadbeen agametime decision forSaturday’sUNC win but ultimately sat out. He waswearinga bootonhis right foot in the second half.
“Our mindset is to get him ready forthe NCAATournament, that’s thepriority,that’sour focus,” Scheyer said.
The6-11, 250-pound sophomore has started 28 ofhis 29 games, averaging 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.He’sjoined with starfreshman Cameron Boozer and versatile senior Maliq Brown in giving theBlueDevilsadominatinginsideedge
“We’ll cross that bridge next week to really see how he’sfeeling andmaking sure justhis soreness is down,” Scheyer said.“But he’s goingtoplay,it’samatter of when. Andour expectation is it’s going to be at the beginning of the tournament.”
Duke is the top seed for this week’sACC TournamentinCharlotte, North Carolina. The Blue Devils haveadouble-round bye into Thursday’squarterfinals as they chase athirdtitle in Scheyer’sfourseasons, and they’re positioned to be aNo. 1seedinMarch Madness forthe secondstraight season.
“Wewant apeak in March and hopefully April,” Vanderbilt guard TylerTannersaid. Tennessee(21-10) lost the title game to Florida last year and freshman NateAment, the Vols’ second-leading scorer,isnursing an injured right leg that kept him out of the last twogames.Coach Rick Barnes with his 857 career wins knows the challenge now well: “You can’t have badnights right now.”
Kentucky on deck
TheWildcats— yes, theprogram with 49 SEC regular-season titles and31tournamentchampionships—play theveryfirst game
in this tournament Wednesday morning. Kentucky hasn’tplayed on aWednesday at this tournament since the SECbrought the event back in 1979 and finished that year on aSaturday Now No. 9seed Kentucky (19-12) plays 16th-seeded LSU (15-16) to open thetournament. These Wildcats werebooed in this same arena back in December
“Weare going to put ourwhole heart and soul into it, and that’sthe only thingthatmatters to us and that’sthe beauty of thepostseason,” coach Mark Pope said.
That means the Wildcats must winfive games in as many days for Kentucky to take home its
first title since 2018, and this team strung together fivestraightwins only once back in January.
Bubblewatch
Auburn probably has themost on the line in Nashville. Ayear ago, the Tigers were the topseed both in this event and also the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament on their way to the Final Four
Now first-year coach Stephen Pearlneeds more than lobbying from his father and former Auburn coach Bruce Pearltopush the Tigersoff the bubble and into an NCAA berth. No. 12 seed Auburn(16-15) opensWednesday against No. 13 seed Mississippi State.
Pearl ticked off his Tigers’ resume noting awin at regular-season champion Florida and a2-2 recordagainstthe winners of the BigEast, SEC, BigTen and Big12 on the road.
“It’s win or go home, Idon’tknow what moreurgency you need at this point,” Pearl said. “We’ve put ourselves in obviously adifficult situation but agreat situation. We play in the best league and deepest league in college basketball.”
Theschedule
Play opens Wednesday with four first-round games, including No 10 seed Texas against 15th-seeded Mississippi and No. 14 seed South Carolina against No. 11 seed Oklahoma. Tennessee is theonly ranked team playing Thursdayin the second round with the top four seeds having double-round byes into Friday’squarterfinals.
The semifinals are Saturday afternoon followed by Sunday’s championship justahead of the NCAA bracket announcement.
SECTOURNAMENTGLANCE
Continuedfrom page1C
Accomplishing asingle win, letalone five consecutive,will “shock people” in aseason where fourth-year coach MattMcMahon already hasanswered questions about why he should remain the leader of theprogram. Despite the steep odds,LSU players and coaches are solely focusedonwinning the next game.
Fifth-year senior Marquel Sutton said records are meaningless in the SEC Tournament
“Weare zero-zero now,” he said. “The tournamentisnext, so we got the chance to still go out there and prove ourselves.”
McMahon said theywill clear their mindofthe Texas A&M loss and look forward to Kentucky
“It’sdisappointing when you pour everything youhaveintothe cause here over the last 72 hours, and you come up one possession short,”hesaid.
“So that’llbethe first piece, and that’s my job as coach— providethe encouragementand thebalance that’sneeded there. And thenit’ll be about getting better follow oursame process. And that’ll be the mindset movingforward.”
LSU’s game plan almost worked in itsone-point loss againstKentucky in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.The Tigers led by as many as 18 points early in the secondhalf and wereahead for nearly 36 minutes of gametime. They built alead partly because of howthe 6-foot-9Suttonwas a
INGRAM
Continuedfrom page 1C
Game and also was named the league’sMost Improved Player
“He shares alot of relationships here, so it should be afun game,” Pelicansinterim coach James Borrego said.“Ihopemore than anythingthe city welcomes him back and embraces him. He gave alot to this city.Blood, sweat and tears. He was acompetitor.”
Ingram was abig reason the Pelicanspushed the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to six games in the first roundofthe playoffs in the 2021-22 season. He averaged 27 points, 6.2 rebounds and6.2 assists in that series that hadPelicansfansthinking thefranchise was headinginthe right direction Ingram, whomadehis second All-StarGame this season,isalso abig reason theRaptors are fifth in the Eastern standings after not makingthe playoffs last season.
His time in New Orleans wasn’t all highlights. There were some tough times, including apoor performance in thefirst-round playoff series in 2024 when the Pelicans
at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn. Wednesday’s games Game 1: No. 16 LSU vs.No. 9Kentucky,11:30 a.m., SECN Game 2: No. 13 Mississippi State vs.No. 12 Auburn, 25 minutesafter of Game 1, SECN Game 3: 15 No. Ole Miss vs.10Texas,6p.m., SECN Game 4: 14 South
RESERVE MILLER OUT VS.WILDCATS
LSU will be without an important contributor to start the SoutheasternConference Tournament on Wednesday. Backup centerRobert Miller is out against No.9-seeded Kentucky,according to the SoutheasternConference availability report. No.16-seeded LSU (will playthe Wildcats at 11:30a.m.Wednesdayat Bridgestone ArenainNashville, Tennessee. Miller playedinthe team’s final regular-season finale Saturday In the 94-91 triple-overtime loss to Texas A&M, Miller had 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting,eight rebounds, four blocks, twosteals, threeassists and four fouls in 30 minutes.
mismatch against the Wildcats. Sutton, LSU’ssecond-leading scorer during conference play (12.4 ppg), scored 11 of the team’s first 19 points. His 3-point shooting andinsidemoves challenged Kentucky’swings. What doomed the Tigers was their inability to defend the 3-pointline, whereKentucky
were swept by the Thunder.And there were also the injuriesthat forced himtomiss so many games.
In fact,former Pelicans coach Willie Green never coached asingle game with Ingram, Williamson and Dejounte Murray in the lineup together.But that shouldn’ttake away from what he meant, especially to the locker room
Borrego, who arrived in New Orleans as an assistant in 2023, grew close with Ingram during their time together
“His professionalism and his work ethic were the two things that always stood out,” Borrego said.“Youcontrol your work.
And B.I. brought it every day Whether he was going through a great stretch or apoor stretch or the highs and lows, every day he showed up to work. Ithink that work ethic rubbed off on alot of theguys.”
Trey Murphy was one of the guys aided by Ingram. Murphy was drafted by the Pelicans in 2021 as Ingram was entering his third season with theteam.
“B.I. was the guy Ilooked at and said ‘OK,ifIwant to get to his level, I’ve got to work as hard as he does,’ ”Murphy said. “So that
ToyloyBrownIII
made 8of11inthe last 20 minutes. TheWildcats have succeeded after trailing early and finding arhythm later in games this season. They’ve beaten LSU, No. 25 Tennessee twice and Mississippi State after trailing by at least12pointsineach game. They also had a10-point comeback win against No.13St. John’s.
helped me work on my game a lot. I’m moreefficient and tactical. Seeing him make All-Star this year,Iwas super happy for him. He’sabig brother to me so I’m happy to seehim play again.”
While Murphy and Borrego want to seeIngram do well this season, Wednesday night’s game and the rematch in Torontoon March27are two times they hope he doesn’tbring his A-game.
“(Wednesday),Idon’twant to see any of those buckets going through the hoop,”Borrego said. Anyothertime, theywant to see Ingram doing what he does. Not just because of the player he is on the court but alsofor who he was in the locker room.
“He’safantastic human being, Borrego said. “He’sabout the right things. He taught me alot about working. He had agreat spirit about him. Aworkethic about him. He brought ajoy to the gym everysingle day.Itwas an honor to coach him. Oneofthe special guys Igot to be around.”
In Ingram’sfirst game in the Smoothie King in 14 months, Pelicans fans get their chance to show Ingram just how special he was to the city.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByMORGAN HURD
Florida players huddle up to celebrate their win over MississippiState on March 3inGainesville, Fla.The Gators arethe No.1 seed in this week’sSEC Tournament.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN MCKEOWN Dukebig man Patrick Ngongba, left,works in thepostagainst Ugonna Onyenso, right, of Virginia during agame in Durham, N.C., on Feb. 28.
Wednesday Memphisvs. Tulane,6p.m. FAUvs. Temple, 8:30 p.m. Second Round Thursday Charlotte vs.Memphis-Tulane-winner, 6p.m. North Texasvs. FAU-Temple-winner, 8:30 p.m. State women’s scores, schedule Sun Belt Conference Tournament At Pensacola,Florida Championship Monday James Madison69, Troy 52 Southland Conference Tournament At LakeCharles First Round Monday Northwestern St.69, East TexasA&M 56 Nicholls 81, Incarnate Word 55 Quarterfinals
Dishes with layers of flavor
Staff report
Cuban sandwich and empanada
n Sazon Latin Grill, 1230O’Neal Lane, Baton Rouge
When people ask me about good restaurants in Baton Rouge, I’m quick to name Sazon Latin Grill, afamily-owned spot on O’Neal Lane. When Ihad ahankering for aCuban sandwich, Iknew just the place.
The Cuban empanada came stuffed with juicy,shredded beef and was served with aside of cilantro-lime sauce, which Ihadn’t tried yet. The sauce was so good! The cilantro brought abright flavor,and the lime juiceadded apunch of acidity.Idipped my sandwich in it, too.
The Cuban sandwich was built as it should be: pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on French bread. It tasted just like Iremembered: downright delicious.Isentphotos andbragged aboutthe meal in my family group text.
If it’syour first time here, I recommend this order to start off, because you can’tgowrong with this classic handheld and empanada. Though it’sabout a 20-minute drivefrom my house, the flavors are worth it every time.
—Maddie Scott, features reporter
Pizza
n Wild Child Wines, 210E.Vermilion St., Lafayette
Wild Child Wines, anatural wine shop in downtown Lafayette, added sourdough loaves, baguettes, pizza and other items to their Friday-only lunchmenu acouple of years ago
ä See BEST, page 3D
RAISEA GLASS
BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer
The bestday to reach for aGuinnessisdebatably March17, St.Patrick’s Day, andluckily,Baton Rouge hasnoshortageofthe Irish stout.
“Wherever you drink a Guinness, you access just atiny bit of that Irish romance,” said Baton Rouge mixologist Alan Walter, or as his business card says: theSpirithandler.“Andthat makes it special as abeer.”
Walter was sittingatthe bar tucked in theback of BinQ Liquor at 3911 Perkins Road, wherehedoes pop-ups twicea week,drinking canned, nitrogen-infused
stoutfrom achilledglass. He said it tasteslight andattractive with grace notes of coffee and cocoa —grace notes being subtle, fleeting flavors.
The experience brings a faint echo of an Irishpub, Walter said.
AGuinness is airy and fluffy,saidBin Qco-owner BenJones frombehind the bar.Ithad been alongtime since hislast Guinness, and he said the beer was better than he remembered. He reachesfor Guinness on occasion and likes the beer’s consistency and lightness.
“I neverdrink dark beers,” Jones said. “But this isn’ta
ä See GUINNESS, page 2D
ALAN WALTER,Baton Rougemixologist “
Wherever youdrink aGuinness, you accessjustatinybit of that Irish romance.And that makes it special as abeer
“
Advocate Cookie Contest retu vocate CookieC test
BYLAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer
The smell of achocolatechip cookieawakens the senses. We’ve even heard that some real estate agents bake cookies before an open house tofill the air with that sweet scent and allure future homeowners to seal the deal.
This year,the newspaper is reintroducing itsCookie Contestatthe MainLibrary’s BakerFairfrom 2p.m. to 5p.m. on April 12 at 7711 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge.The first-place winner will receivea $100 gift card; second place, $75 gift card; andthird place,$50 gift card.
We know people have strongcookiepreferences. Some like undercooked, doughy cookies,while others prefer theirs to be soft in themiddle and crispy around the edges.We’re lookingforwardto the variety that will be presented at thefair.
The winners and their cookies will be featured in The Advocate’sfeatures section. For more details and to enter the contest,go to ebrpl.co/advocatecookiecontest. The Advocate CookieContest Rulesare asfollows: n Any style of cookie —cut, roll, droporbar
may be entered in the contest, but the cooki be homemade.
n Thecookieshouldbemadefromscr without relying on ready-made cookie dough or mixes.
n On contest day,bring two dozen cookies in adisposable containertoThe Advocate’s Cookie Contest at the Baker Fair at 2p.m. on April 12 at the Main Library at Goodwood.
n Each cookie entry container must be clearly labeled TWICE (ontop ANDon bottom). Labels mustbetaped to the top cover and the bottom of container and include the name of cookies, baker’sname, address and phone number on a3-inch by 5-inch index card or similar-size piece of paper
n Each cookie entrymustbeaccompanied by its recipe, printed or typed on an 8.5-inch 11-inch piece of paper that will be turnedi contest administrator when thecookies are ered on theday of thecontest. Thebaker address and phonenumbershouldbeincluded the recipe.
STAFF PHOTO By MADDIE SCOTT
Cuban sandwich andcongri from Sazon Latin Grill
STAFF FILE PHOTOBy
SOPHIA GERMER
GUINNESS
Continued frompage1D
The stout’sdark color may suggest heaviness to those who haven’ttried it —somethingJones remembers thinking before his first Guinness at O’Haras Irish Pub, located downtown.
“I expected it to be really heavy and sweet, and Iwas surprised it wasn’tat all,” Jones said Agreat accessorytoa Guinness is aboilermaker, Walter said, whichisthe combination of ashot and abeer It could complement the Irish whiskey flights at Bin Q’sSt. Patrick’sDay party at 4p.m. March 13, with live music, afoodtruck andof course, Guinness. It’sthe business’ second
By The Associated Press
Today is Wednesday, March 11, the 70th day of 2026. There are 295days left in the year
Todayinhistory:
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9earthquake and resulting tsunami struck Japan’snortheastern coast, killing nearly 20,000 people and severely damaging the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.
Also on this date:
In 1918, what werebelieved to be the firstconfirmed U.S. casesofadeadly global flu pandemic were reported among U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Riley,Kansas; 46 soldiers would die. (The influenza outbreak would ultimately kill an estimated 20 million to 40 million people worldwide.)
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act, which provided war supplies to Allied countries during World WarII.
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was chosentosucceed the late Konstantin Chernenko as general sec-
biggestday of theyear, after Christmas Eve, Jones said. Folkscan find Guinness at Bin Qon St.Patrick’s Day as well as several other bars, grocery stores and restaurantsacross BatonRouge.
Whereto find Guinness
KeggedGuinness(draft) can be found at:
n O’Haras Irish Pub,136 ThirdSt.
n Pelican to Mars, 2678 Government St.
n The Chimes, 3357 Highland Road
n Ivar’sSportsBar & Grill, 2954 Perkins Road
n ZeeZee’s, 2943 Perkins Road
n Mid City Beer Garden, 3808 Government St n The Bulldog, 4385 Perkins Road
n Somewhere Neighborhood Bar,214 Third St
TODAYINHISTORY
retary of the SovietCommunist Party. In 2004, three days before general elections in Spain, 10 bombs exploded in quicksuccession inside commuter trains in Madrid, killing 193 peoplein an attack linked toal-Qaida-inspired militants.
In 2006, former Serb leader Slobodan Miloševi was found dead at age 64 of aheart attack in his prison cell in the Netherlands, abruptly ending his fouryear U.N. war crimes trial. In 2010, afederal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the use of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust”onU.S. currency In 2012, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales shot and killed 16 Afghan villagers —mostlywomen and children —as theyslept. (Baleslater pleaded guilty and was sentenced tolife in prison without parole.)
In 2021, President Joe Bidensignedinto lawa $1.9 trillion COVIDrelief package that he said would help defeat the virus and nurse the economy back
Canned Guinnesscan be found at:
n Hayride Scandal, 5110 Corporate Blvd.
n Chelsea’sLive,1010
Nicholson Drive
n Brickyard &South, 174 SouthBlvd.
n CountryCorner,1923 Perkins Road
n Matherne’s Market, 440 N. Third St.
n Calandro’s Supermarket,4142 Government St.
n Bin Q, 3911 Perkins Road
n Ivar’sSports Bar& Grill, 2954 Perkins Road
n ZeeZee’s, 2943 Perkins Road
Nonalcoholic canned
Guinness can be found at:
n TheBulldog, 4385 Perkins Road
n Somewhere Neighborhood Bar,214 Third St.
n Calandro’s Supermarket,4142 Government St.
to health. Lower-income Americans would receive up to $1,400 in direct payments, along with extended unemployment benefits.
In 2025, PhilippineexPresident Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on awarrant issued by theInternational Criminal Courtoncharges of crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in killings in awar he waged against drugs in a political career spanning decades Today’sbirthdays: Media mogul RupertMurdoch is 95. Former ABC News correspondent Sam Donaldson is 92. Singer Bobby McFerrin is 76. Actor Elias Koteas is 65. Actor Alex Kingston is 63. Actor John Barrowman is 59. Singer LisaLoeb is 58. Actor Terrence Howard is 57. Actor JohnnyKnoxville is 55. Basketball Hall of Famer BeckyHammon is 49. Rock musicians and twins Benji and Joel Madden (Good Charlotte; The Madden Brothers) are 47. Singer LeToya Luckettis 45. Actor ThoraBirch is 44. Actor Jodie Comer is 33. Actor Madison Brydges is 22.
Trythese hintsinthe kitchen
Dear Heloise: Ihave two hints. The first is that I’ve had rotator-cuff issues and find it easier to use ahand mixer or stir thickfoods if the bowl is in the sink.The lower angle puts less stress on my shoulders. It alsokeeps the countertop cleaner and avoids splatters.
My second hint is thata box of inexpensive latex gloves has multiple uses when you want to keep your hands clean but don’t want to wear heavy rubber gloves. Iuse them when deboning chicken and mixing thingsbyhand like meatloaf, cookie batter, pimentocheese, etc. Just toss theminthe trashafter asingle messy use —C.E., in Los Angeles
C.E., Iknow I’m going to get backlash from some of my readers about the latex gloves going into the trash after only one use. However,consider this: Mixing food with apair of latex gloves is cleaner than using your hands. Youdon’t spread any bacteria from your hands onto the food. Iknow some readers will say,“Just wash your hands before and after the mixing the food.” But too many of us forget to wash our hands this often. —Heloise
Handwashingimportant
DearHeloise: I’ve worked in research at the Centers for Disease Control in the past, and if there is one thing that was extremely important, it was handwashing. Unfortunately,many Americans forget to wash their hands after using the bathroom or touching their faces or hair
During this century and the previous one, we reduced the spread of diseases simply by understanding and practicing proper hygiene. When you wash your hands, use soap. The surfactants in soap do amuch better job of removing dirt and germs from the skin than just plain water We know that globally, only about 19% of people around the
wash their hands after using the bathroom. Youshould wet your hands first, turn off the
soap, and scrub all parts of your hands, including the back of your hands and between your fingers. Don’tforget your nails either.Scrub for aminimum of 20 seconds, then rinse well. Let’sall stay healthy! —A Reader, via email
Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
Simplyput —without dental insurance, there may be an importantgap in your healthcarecoverage
Whenyou’recomparing plans ...
Look forcoveragethat helps pay formajor services. Some plans maylimit thenumber of procedures —orpay forpreventive care only.
Look forcoveragewithnodeductibles. Some plans mayrequire you to pay hundredsout of pocket before benefits are paid.
Shop forcoveragewithnoannual maximumoncash benefits.Some plans have annual maximums of $1,000.
Medicare doesn’tpay for dental care.1
That’s right. As good as Medicare is,itwas never meanttocover everything. That means if youwant protection, youneed to purchase individual insurance.
Early detectioncan prevent small problemsfrom becomingexpensive ones
The best way to preventlarge dental bills is preventive care. TheAmerican Dental Association recommends checkupstwiceayear.
Previous dental work canwearout
Even if you’ve hadqualitydentalworkinthe past, youshouldn’t take your dentalhealth forgranted. In fact, your odds of havinga dentalproblemonly go up as youage.2
Treatment is expensive especially theservicespeople over 50 often need
Consider these national average costsof treatment. $274for acheckup $299 for afilling $1,471 foracrown.3 Unexpected bills likethiscan be areal burden, especially if you’reonafixed income
STAFF PHOTO By MADDIESCOTT
Canned Guinness is available at Bin Q, 3911 PerkinsRoad,Baton Rouge.
Hints from Heloise
Your overreaction explains quiteabit
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
Dear Miss Manners: While having acasual dinner at my parents’ house, Inoticed that my brother and his fiancée were wearing wedding bands. I texted my sister to ask if they had secretly gotten married and she told me Ineeded to talk to our brother He finally called me tonight and told me that they did indeed go to the courthouse to get married He explained that they are trying to buy ahouse, and that it is easier to get amortgage whenlegally married.
Iamthe last in the immediate family to find out. I feel very hurt that Iwas not includedinany of the initial announcements and had to find out by noticing wedding bands on their hands. The icing on the cake is that they plan to keep this hush-hush and have abig white wedding next year they will have aceremony, register for gifts and pretend to the entire extended family like they have not been married the entire
time. Ithink this is highly irregular andinappropriate, and it feels likelying.There is nothing wrong witha courthouse wedding,and Ithink it should havebeen celebrated in themoment, maybe with anice dinner with close family
Idon’t know how Iam supposed to celebrate and support my brother now that he has gone about this in such an untraditional way,and Iamhavinga hard time gettingbehindlying to ourextended family members and friends.What is the best way to navigate this situation?
Gentle reader: When he was young, didyour brother tell histeachers that he couldn’t take the test as he was in mourning because thedog died —and then thenext week complain that thedog ate his homework?
Miss Mannersasks because hedoes not seem particularly adept at lying (as evidenced bywearingthe weddingrings).
Separating a“wedding” from theact of marrying, as if thetrappings were moresignificant than the ceremony, is no longer unusual —although ayear is along time to wait between thetwo.
Youare not required tolie about it to others, although this may be why they didn’t tell you. Butifheand his fiancée plan to wear their rings to therehearsal dinner,perhaps you can offer to sequester the jewelry
Dear Miss Manners: This may be alosing battle, but as an adult with abirth defect, Icompletely abhor the phrase “special needs” in all its forms.
People with disabilities have theSAME basic needs as everyone else. Shocking, Iknow! The accommodationsmay be morethan others generally require to get to thesame baseline, and may affect family routines, bonds and behaviors, but theneeds themselves are not “special.”
There are organizations that are trying to help correct this mindset, but do you have any suggestions?
Gentlereader: Miss Manners suggestscompassion, dignityand an assumption of goodwill and good intentions. Also needed, she fears, will be patience in getting people to understand and change. Email questions to Miss Manners at dearmissmanners@gmail com.
STAFF PHOTO By LAUREN CHERAMIE Edamame and grilled porkbao buns from AvaCafeinBaton Rouge
BEST
Continued from page1D
If you’re in the mood for a long,delightful lunch at the end of the week, stop by for aglass of wine, some people watching and one of the most special slices of pizza in town. The sourdough crust is bouncy and flavorful, perfect for the robust flavor profiles built on top: red sauce, cloves of garlic, fresh basil and cheese, crisp pepperoni and juicy shrimp with abright burst of pesto
have all graced the menu in recentweeks, andevery sliceisbetter than the last. Forme, it’susually atough choice between thepizza, or my favorite sandwich on Wild Child’slunchmenu
—arustic jambon buerre with unbelievably richand creamy butter on afresh sourdough baguette
—JoannaBrown,staff writer
Grilled pork bao buns and edamame
n AvaCafe, 5207 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge
When I’m craving some-
thing satisfying and refreshing, the bao buns from Ava Cafe call me like asiren song. WhenI’m feeling indecisive about what to eat, these little clouds ofair really do the trick.
The appetizer offers the option of grilled pork, grilled chicken, grilled shrimporlemongrasstofu avocado —all prepared with spicymayonnaise, wasabi cream, pickled carrots/daikon and cilantro. Ichosethe grilled pork ($8.95),which Ipaired withgarlic butter edamame($7.95)
—Lauren Cheramie, features coordinator
Dear Harriette: Yesterday, Iwent to Target to do some shopping. Ipaid thecashier in cash, and instead of giving me $2 in change, shegave me $200. Iusually don’tcheck my change, especially when it’s supposed to be such a smallamount, so Ididn’t realizeuntil Iwas already back home that Iwas given the wrong change back. Idon’tlive veryfar from Target, so it wouldn’t be that much of ahassle to give themoney back; however,since Target is a billion-dollar company,is
it even worth it? Icould really use the money to help with groceriesthis month, andI knowtheyaren’tgoing to miss $200. Part of me feels like this might be ablessing during atight financialtime,but anotherpartofmefeels guilty,especially knowing thatthe cashiercould potentially getintrouble for the mistake. Idon’t want someone else to suffer over an honest error,but I also feel like returning the money won’tmakeadent in acorporationthatlarge. Am Ioverthinking this? Is it my responsibility to go back andcorrect the mistake, or is this just one of those situations where Iquietly move on? —Return theMoney
DearReturnThe Money?: Let your conscience be your guide As much as youmay need extra money,don’t take whatisn’tyours. You areright thatthe cashier who inadvertently gave youthe wrong change is probably being docked as youread this. For that worker —who likely makes minimum wage $200 is alot of money.Go back to the store.Speak to amanager andexplain the situation. Offerthe money back.
Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/oAndrewsMcMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St.,Kansas City,MO 64106.
Harriette
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) What you gain through interacting with people who share your interests will help you save time and money reaching your objective. Don't sell yourself short.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) A low profile will keep you out of harm's way. Spend more time on your personal needs, learning and preparing for something you want to pursue. Embrace selfimprovement projects.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Helping others is admirable, but paying for others' shortcomings is not. Choose your words carefully and offer suggestions, but when push comes to shove, do what's best for you.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Whether you frequent a new destination, try something new or set goals, it will result in self-improvement. Don't let someone's negativity stand between you and what your heart wants.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) It's what you accomplish that counts. Use your brain instead of your brawn if you want to achieve what you set out to do. Refuse to let your emotions lead you astray.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Listen to what others have to say, and you'll gain insight into whether you want to participate. Check the facts; someone you encounter will offer misleading information.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Take a moment to digest information and to figure out your options. Don't mix money and
emotions. If you can't afford something on your own, you'd best take a pass.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Mixed emotions will confuse you when dealing with relationships. Listen carefully before you reveal information that may incriminate you. Protect your interests, your reputation and essential relationships.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Overspending or trying to buy favors will backfire. It's how you respond to people that will help you maintain a good reputation. Use common sense.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) If you want to make the most of your day, adopt a healthy lifestyle or start a homeimprovement project. Make money management, diet and exercise your goals.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Avoid confrontations. Keep your opinions to yourself until further notice. Pour your time and energy into self-improvement projects, social events that offer positive affirmations, and romance.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Assess your current direction and consider what you would rather be doing with your time and skills. Innovative ideas will lead to high returns.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
TODAy'S CLUE: E EQUALS G
CeLebrItY CIpher
For better or For WorSe
peAnUtS zItS
FrAnK And erneSt
SALLY Forth
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
SherMAn’S LAGoon
dooneSbUrY
bIG nAte
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THewiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
Bridge
BY PHILLIP ALDER
Joseph-Marie de Maistre, aFrench writer, lawyer and diplomat who died in 1821, said, “It is one of man’s curious idiosyncrasies to create difficulties for the pleasure of resolvingthem.”
At thebridge table,wecreatedeals, either by hand or with acomputer program, and then enjoy trying to solve them.Most can be handled correctly if our analysisisaccurate. But occasionallyalayoutwillarisethatrequiresdoing something so abnormalthat it is easy to overlook.
Cover the West andSouth hands. West leadsthehearteightagainstfourspades. After East takes dummy’s 10 withhis queen, what shouldhedonext? If West had opened oneheart,North would have overcalled one no-trump. Butinthe balancing position (a pass by North would have ended the auction), one no-trump would have shown only 11-15points.Then,afterSouthadvanced with one spade, indicating 0-8 points, North’s raise to two spades promised 17-19 points.
Easthasthreedefensivetricks:hisaces andtheheartqueen.Iftheheartkingwill automatically score later, East can cash thoseacesandexitwithadiamond.Here, though, thatdoes not work East shouldrealize that West has leda singletonorhighfromadoubleton.(West would have led low from atripleton becausehehad not supported hearts.)
Then,ifEast makes the weird-looking lead of aheartattricktwo, he will defeat the contract. Here, South wins in the dummyandplaysatrump,butEasttakes the trick, cashes the diamond ace,and gives West aheart ruff for downone.
Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON
Previous answers:
word game
InsTRucTIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed
ToDAY’s WoRD GEnuInELY: JEN-yu-wen-lee: Truly; certifiably.
Average mark20words
Time limit 40 minutes
Can you find 30 or morewords in GENUINELY?
YEsTERDAY’s WoRD —scALLoPs
to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin.” James4:17 Hereisa very sobering thought. G.E. Dean
wuzzles
loCKhorNs
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles
hidato
mallard fillmore
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Sudoku
Sudoku is anumberplacing puzzlebased on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers.The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe empty squaressothateach row, column and3x3 box contains thesame numberonlyonce.
Multi-Sudoku
Each puzzleconsists of twoormoreSudoku gridsoverlapping each otherinvarious configurations.The gridsmay be ClassicSudoku or amix of differentSudoku variants.The object is to solveall gridsaccordingtotheir variantrules.Notethat overlapping areas comply with therules of more than one grid.
TheCryptoquipisa substitutioncipherinwhich one letterstands foranother. If you thinkthatX equals O, it will equalO throughout the puzzle. Single letters,shortwords andwords usinganapostrophe give you cluestolocatingvowels. Solutionisbytrial anderror.
BM KF AM RA TE UB W AM R
JX IR WF KP RF HQ K PK XR IA J
AD JA RI AM WJ PR WQ U
BRQ H, MK YR UT DD EA
DF RQ WY X.
Today’sCryptoquipClue:Aequals T
HD LH QY DB TH OY SO
SFF NQ BL FQ SW Z HO DZ Q
WB OC QO H QO WQ KDB LQ .
Today’sCryptoquipClue: Pequals I
Today’sCryptoquipClue: Dequals T
NP M, ML QZ GQ V SG QG MN
MW EQ W RD NT QB CW R.
Today’sCryptoquipClue: Mequals T
TG VJ LC XL EY VJ HL GG OK : “K LC OZ KD MU JX U. ” DV LR SP DA AP CR IL DK KN DL RK JL UJ VV JJ C AJ KJ SP IZ ,P LV RK LD U
QM DG ZK JG SX OM IG ZL M
DM JN YG NM KS XUC EM TM IO XG QZ KV JH
Today’sCryptoquipClue: Qequals F
LQ JF ZQ PC NR CD KP LL KR PI UP CR. TL QC ML NOQ HP ZO MS DD SC HM LQ ON SD IQ VW XQ RD PX I MP VE QB QG
ZB AQ CQ L, D ZQ KQ SL WZ AS KT LE H D N QKK. PU XP PD VY BN BD PU SR SZ OX PU YP SN XB BW OD DA RU XO Y, XZ TS P’ R DA TS ZX AW .V UX PX RX T NDKK DZ PY AA W.
Today’sCryptoquipClue: Requals S
CROSSWORD
THOMAS JOSEPH
fight
in ahurry
“You bet!”
DOWN 1Wheel part
2Start of acount 3Everything 4Spotsfor shingles 5Rational 6Border 7Downhill course
8They’re found among needles 9Little laborer
Golf peg 16 Less than tactful
Howled 18 “Rollinginthe Deep” singer
Rocket parts
Scoundrel
Locations
Burn with water
Skillet
Lead ore
To thetime that
Overlook
“The King andI”heroine
Pop’swife 38 Chopping tool
Make achoice
Maiden name indicator
Make mistakes
Point&Solve
In this crosswordpuzzlevariety,the cluesappear in thediagram itself. Simply enter theanswers in thedirections indicated by thearrows.
Oneletterstands foranother. In this sample,Aisusedfor threeL’s, Xfor thetwo O’s, etc. Singleletters,apostrophes, andlengthand formationofwords areall hints. Thecode letters aredifferent for each puzzle.
LY DOD KO DG JW FL MG
RT HL KE DH GJ DB KJ RK ED
KW GJ ZL YD OG KX LG
LO VL Y; JG LZ GT JZ KW W
LY DM KF ,K JX JG L
HL KOL TJ Z. —I VX XY K
Sudoku
Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzlebased on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers.The object is to place thenumbers 1to 9inthe emptysquaressothateach row, column and3x3 box contains thesamenumberonlyonce
VN SF QS RF YA OHS OXO
UQNF DY KL YC YF RO O;
FQ OP OUNP LY VF QS R
VN SFQ SR FY RO OU QNF
DY KA OHS OX O. —R NS CF
NKJ KR FSC O CBJ ’N HT BB C. VQ NB J XY NG IY RY JV FJ CI BR YJ V.
OC BJ ’N GF RQ DB TQ RQ T. —I QB HOZ EF VI YF
Find thelistedwords in thediagram.Theyrun in alldirections -forward,backward,up, downand diagonally.Every puzzlehas one unlistedclue.
Challenger
Fill each square with anumber, 1-9. Horizontal squares shouldadd to thetotalsonthe right,vertical squaresshould addtothe totals on thebottomand diagonalsquaresshould addtothe totalinthe upperand lowerright
CLUE LIST
Badminton
Frontenis
Jaialai
Lacrosse
Matkot
Paddleball
Pickleball
Qianball
Racketlon
Racquetball
Racquets
Squash
StickÈ
Tennis
Xare
CLUE LIST
Bermuda
Climbing
Cocktail
Egyptian
Green
Pearl
Pickled
Purple
Red
Sea
Spanish
Spring
Sweet
Welsh
Wild
Each Wuzzles is awordriddlewhich createsa disguisedword, phrase, name,place, saying, etc.
ForExample,NOON GOOD =GOODAFTERNOON
Unscramble thesetwelveletterstrings to form each into an ordinary word (ex. HAGNECbecomesCHANGE).Prepare to useonly ONE word fromany marked ( ♥ )letterstringaseach unscrambles into more than one word (ex. ♥ RATHEbecomesHATER or EARTHorHEART). Fiteach string’sword either acrossordown to knot alltwelvestrings together. 1
Find thelistedwords in thediagram.Theyrun in alldirections -forward,backward,up, downand diagonally.Every puzzlehas one unlistedclue.
CLUE LIST
Bit
Dab
Granule
Iota
Mite Molecule Pittance
Puny Sample Scintilla Shaving
Shred Sliver Smidgen Whit
CROSSWORD
cattle breed
CLUE LIST
Aaron Fonda
Ford
Hyde
James Kissinger Mancini
Miller
Morgan
Steinway
TheVII
TheVIII
Thomas Waxman
Winkler
Felt
Laced with profanity
Printunits
Source of cents
Sudoku
Sudoku is anumberplacing puzzlebased on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers.The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe empty squaressothateach row, column and3x3 box contains thesame numberonlyonce.
Multi-Sudoku
Each puzzleconsists of twoormoreSudoku gridsoverlapping each otherinvarious configurations.The gridsmay be ClassicSudoku or amix of differentSudoku variants.The object is to solveall gridsaccordingtotheir variantrules.Notethat overlapping areas comply with therules of more than one grid
CROSSWORD
THOMAS JOSEPH
ACROSS
1Captivated
5Unexpected problem
9Forbidden 10 Doughnut’s shape 12 Before,inBrest
Concede
Bridge goof
Hubbub
Hydrocarbon suffix
Kitchendevice
Stationworker
Effortless
Bandedrock
Minimalchange
Core groups
Ketchikanresident
Peyton’sbrother
Crater part
Requests
Shark’shome
Gray-brown
Nanny’smate
Frequently
Gaze
DOWN
1Deep chasm
2Humbled
3Minnow’s home
4Pledge drivereward
5Hackneyed
6Silent assent
7Spanish fleet
8Tour leaders
9Circusstar 11 Yarn
15 Llamas’cousins 19 Call for 21 “Memory” musical
Summershirt 25 Chocolateimitation 26 Draw out 27 To wit 29 Prove false 30 Impatient groom,e.g.
Temptress 33 West of music 37 Ump’scall
39 High peak
Find thelistedwords in thediagram.Theyrun in alldirections -forward,backward,up, down anddiagonally.Every puzzlehas one unlistedclue.
Challenger
Fill each square with anumber, 1-9. Horizontal squares shouldadd to thetotalsonthe right,verticalsquaresshould addtothe totals on thebottomand diagonalsquaresshould addtothe totalinthe upperand lowerright.
CLUE LIST
Barracks
Billet
Bivouac
Bunker
Camps
Cantonment
Castle
Citadel
Compound
Encampment
Fort
Garrison
Hut
Tents
USO
CLUE LIST
Air
Ball-peen
Claw Drop
Mike
Piano
Pneumatic
Sledge
Steam
Tack
Trip
Underthe
Upholstery
Water
Yellow
Point&Solve
In this crosswordpuzzlevariety,the cluesappear in thediagram itself. Simply enter theanswers in thedirections indicated by thearrows
CROSSWORD THOMAS JOSEPH
ACROSS
1Angelhair, forexample
6Bellhop’srewards
10 PopstarJohn
11 Take as one’s own
13 Snoozed
14 Composer Erik
15 “Mazel —!”
16 Many atime
18 Egglayer
19 Johnny Depp role
22 Auctionsignal
23 Lotioningredient
24 Stone worker
27 Forgofrugality
28 Margarine
29 Look upon
30 Johnny Depp role
35 —Dhabi
36 Skillet
37 Memorabletime
38 Heartpart
40 Venice sight
42 Onlinemessages
43 Fill with joy
44 Asia’s —Sea
45 Storeevents
DOWN
1Nuisances
2Permit
3Canyon of comics
4Spinning toy
5JusticeScalia
6Delicious
7Lupino of films
8Driving hazard
9Watched secretly
12 Lookedafter
17 Nourished
20 Downloadable read
21 Become narrower
24 Californiadesert
25 CrimsonTide’shome
26 Worldly
27 Medium sessions
29 Sauna site
31 Period of time
32 Of thekidneys
33 Make aspeech
34 Cardiff’sland
39 By wayof
41 In thestyle of
Each Wuzzles is awordriddlewhich createsa disguisedword, phrase, name,place, saying, etc.
ForExample,NOON GOOD =GOODAFTERNOON
Unscramble thesetwelveletterstrings to form each into an ordinary word (ex. HAGNECbecomesCHANGE).Prepare to useonly ONE word fromany marked ( ♥ )letterstringaseach unscrambles into more than one word (ex. ♥ RATHEbecomesHATER or EARTHorHEART). Fiteach string’sword either acrossordown to knot alltwelvestrings together. 1
Each Wuzzles is awordriddlewhich createsa disguisedword, phrase, name,place, saying,etc.
CROSSWORD
sisters
“AFish Called—”
1Downwardarc
2Music’sAbdul
3Door sign
4Bustle
5Roof supports
6Grill waste
7SaltLakeCity player
8Crystal buyer, perhaps 9New Jersey city 10 Guile 14 Mosaic piece 19 “Fargo” director
Possumofthe comics
Clean with asponge
Bittersalad green
Stifflyawkward
He worksathome
Presents
Site of abiblical tower
2
Sudoku 1
Sudoku 2
Multi-Sudoku 1
Multi-Sudoku 1
PremierCrossword
WHEN THAT GUYWITHASPRAINEDANKLEDEPARTS TO STARTHIS DAILYWALK,HEMAY GO OUT ONALIMP.
AFTERIACCIDENTALLYATELOTSOFFOOD COLORING, IT FELTAS THOUGH IDYEDALITTLE INSIDE
ITRIED TO FINDANAPPLEORPEACH IN THE CONVENIENCE STORE. HOWEVER,THE SEARCH WAS FRUITLESS.
FAMOUS NOVELABOUTAMAN WHOWAS VERY CAPABLEOFUSING POINTY ETCHING TOOLS: “STYLUSMARNER.”
WHEN THOSEGUYS TILLING THESOILBECAMEPLUMB TUCKERED OUT,THEYDECIDED TO TAKEAPLOWER NAP.
5
Scramblers 1Scramblers2
Scramblers 3
JosephCrossword
THAT TOWELCLOTH IS IN PATHETICALLYPOOR SHAPE, AND IT’S ORDINARY. WHATASAD COMMONTERRY
1 THEREARE ONLYTWO MISTAKESONE CANMAKEALONG THEROAD TO TRUTH; NOT GOINGALLTHE WAY,AND NOT STARTING. —BUDDHA
3 DON’TBROOD. GETONWITHLIVINGAND LOVING. YOU DON’THAVEFOREVER.—LEO BUSCAGLIA 2 FAITHISTOBELIEVE WHATYOU DO NOT SEE; THE REWARD OF THIS FAITHISTOSEE WHATYOU BELIEVE. —SAINTAUGUSTINE
2
Sleuth 1 Word Sleuth 2
Wuzzles 1
Wuzzles 2
JosephCrossword
Page 12
Sudoku 1
Sudoku 2
Multi-Sudoku 1
Multi-Sudoku 1
Page 13
PremierCrossword
TRIVIA WITH ALOUISIANA FLAVOR
AT THE Live Library
Grooves on Goodwood
Main Library at Goodwood Friday,March 13,6:30-8:30 p.m.
As partofour One Book One Community series focus on poetry andcommunity connection,the Library proudlypresents Tarriona “Tank” Ball,lyrical and spoken word artist,tothe Main Library at Goodwood on Friday,March 13, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tank is partofthe New Orleans-based musical group Tank and the Bangas,who have released studio albums, Thinktank, Green Balloon,and RedBalloon,as well as receiving anomination for Best New Artist at the 2020 Grammy Awards and winning their first Grammy in 2024 in theBest Spoken Word Poetry Album categorywith their 2024 album, TheHeart,the Mind, the Soul.This program is free to thepublic.
CelticConcert
ACeltic Concert
Experience Friday,March 13 –Tuesday,March 17
Madam Dulcimer (Amanda Roberts) and Lady Chops(Elizabeth Vidos) arebringing lively music to EBRPL in March! Enjoy this Celtic concertcelebrating St.Patrick’s Day withmusicoriginating from the countries of Ireland, Scotland, andWales! See below for opportunities to attend:
•Friday,March 13 at 4p.m. -South Branch
• Saturday, March14at2p.m. -Carver Branch
•Monday,March 16 at 3p.m. -Greenwell Springs Road Regional Branch
•Monday,March 16 at 6p.m. -Jones Creek Regional Branch
• Tuesday,March 17 at 10 a.m. -Zachary Branch
•Tuesday,March 17 at 4p.m. -Bluebonnet Regional Branch
RedStick Rhythms Launch Party (Round 2)
Main Library at Goodwood
Sunday,March 15, 2p.m.
Civic Orchestra Spring Concert
Main Library at Goodwood
Saturday,March 21, 3p.m.
Come celebrateour second round of talented RedStick Rhythms musicians. TheLibrary supports local artistsall year by streaming their albums on our database, redstickrhythms.org. This is your chance to meet them in person at the Main Library at Goodwood on Sunday, March 15 at 2p.m. Join us for live music on the plaza stage,food trucks, vendors, and activitiesfor children. Youwill havethe chance to meetcurators, musicians,localradio station hosts,and music supporters of all stripes.
Please join the Civic OrchestraofBaton Rouge for its Spring Concert at the Main Library at Goodwood on Saturday,March 21 at 3p.m.
EBRPL’s OneBook
One Community turns the page with
By Amanda McElfresh I amcelfresh@theadvocate.com
For 20 years, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library hasinvitedresidents to read together through its One Book One Community program. This year, the initiative is chartingnew territorywith its first-ever poetry selection: YouAre Here: Poetry in the Natural World, edited by the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón.
Thecollection features 50 previously unpublished poems from some of the nation’smost celebrated contemporary writers.Each poem reflects on the author’s relationship to aspecific landscape,from national parkstocity sidewalks, offering adeeply personaland diverse look at the meanings of nature andcommunity
Brandon Reilly,headofadult programming at EBRPL, said the selection aligns with the library’s broader focuson belonging and mutual support
“We’recontinuing to concentrateon some themes we’ve emphasized in our programming over the last few years, includingwhatitmeans to be in a community and whatitmeans to support others in yourcommunity,” Reilly said.
Limón, who servedanunprecedented two-partterm as U.S. Poet Laureate from 2022to2025, introduces the anthology with afresh perspective on howboth poetry and the planet have evolved. The book challenges traditional ideas of nature poetry,illuminating how literal andliterary landscapes areshifting in profoundways
“The book is filled with tons of different perspectives and different voicesthat
lookatwhatitmeans to be in community with others,”Reilly said. “Some takesare a little edgy.Some arevery expansive.That diversity is whatdrewustothis book.We think thereissomethinginitfor everyone. ”
In recent weeks, EBRPL has hosted wellattended poetry workshops and writing classes, encouragingpeople to think creatively and without fear of judgment. Residents arealso invited to contribute to acommunity Poetry Anthology,with submissions open through March 15. Writers areasked to reflect on the prompt: “Whatwould youwrite in response to the landscapearound you?”
Entries must focus on nature, use familyfriendly language and fit on ahalf-sheet of paper. Participants can also share their work onlineusing the hashtag #YouAreHerePoetry.
One BookOne Community will also featureseveral majorevents at the EBRPL Main Library thatwill bring the program to life. On March 13, Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank andthe Bangaswill perform afusion of jazz andspokenword. On March28, the library will host “WeAre Here:A Gathering of Poets,”featuring live music, free food,
interactive typewriter stations and a preview of the community anthology. A book discussionisscheduled for April 13 at noon.
“When we’replanning OneBook One Community,weliketotakea layered approach and consider theimpact the program can haveonlifelong literacy and learning,” Reilly said. “Wework to chooseselections and create events whereeveryone of allagescan feel safe and involved. We want people to feel comfortable discussingthe work. We’ve found thatwhen youdothat, you geta more layeredresponse.
AdaLimón 24th US. Poet Laureate
Copies of YouAre Hereare available for checkout at locations throughout the EBRPL System and on Libby,the library app.
Forafulllist of One Book One Community events, visit www.ebrpl.co/onebook or scanthis QR Code:
TheEast BatonRouge Parish Libraryhas prepared anew,stand-alone, dedicated 10-year millagecontinuation proposal designed to securestable funding for operations,programs,technology, and restorethe Pay-As-You-Go Capital Improvements Plan. This plan respondsdirectly to communityfeedback and helps ensurethe Librarycan continue to serve residents withexcellencefor years to come
•NEW,REPLACEMENTTax is aCONTINUATION of the previous Millage thatexpired in 2025
• DEDICATED Tax with ALL funds remaining withthe Library •SIMPLE, STRAIGHTFORWARD,STAND-ALONE Tax
• LOWERTax Rate of 9.5mills is proposed, includingallowing fortwo rollbacksover10years
• 10-YEARTax secures stable fundingtooperateand plan forthe future, including the full implementation of the 2025 updatedPay-As-You-Go Capital Improvements Plan
•Proposed Millage Rate of 9.5mills is based on fresh data andsupportedbyfacts
The Library’s new millage propositioncomes to thevoters on the June 27, 2026 ballot as a stand-alone, 10-year,dedicatedtax
•Summary is available at ebrpl.com/millage
• FAQs areavailable at ebrpl.com/millage
•Pay-As-You-Go Capital Improvements Plan is available at ebrpl.com/millage
December 16, 2025
LibraryBoardapproved anew,Stand-alone,dedicated Millage Proposition February11, 2026 Proposition waspublicly heardand approved by the MetroCouncil
Contactthe LibrarytoHelp‘Writethe Next Chapter’ KatrinaStokes,ExecutiveLibraryDirector|kstokes@ebrpl.com Lori Juge,Assistant LibraryDirector|ljuge@ebrpl.com Mary Stein,Assistant LibraryDirector| mstein@ebrpl.com
