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T h u r s d ay, M a r c h 19, 2026
FAMILY TIES
Mandeville triplets reunite at UL to share college life
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2026 LEGISLATURE
Bill calls for livestream of family court Proposal follows intense scrutiny of proceedings
BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Triplets Caroline, from left, Steven and Brooke Spalitta are together again at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Caroline and Brooke are distance runners for the track team and Steven plays baseball. BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
Former high school friends and teammates reunite in college all the time, especially in the transfer portal era. Triplets, however, are a different story. University of Louisiana at Lafayette senior distance runners Caroline and Brooke Spalitta and junior designated hitter Steven Spalitta are making the most of it. The sisters chose the Ragin’ Cajuns out of Fontainebleau High in Mandeville, but their brother spent two seasons at Mississippi State. When he entered the transfer portal after the 2025 season, there was no doubt where he wanted to be. “Out of high school, I either wanted to go here or Mississippi State, so it was both really,” Steven said. “It just so happened the baseball program and the coaches I liked the most also happened to be the school my sisters go to. “It was just a great situation and it really worked out for the best.” Steven went to the all-boys St. Paul’s High in Covington in high school, before going to Fontaineb-
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Steven and Jennifer Spalitta and their triplet infants Steven, left, Brooke and Caroline.
leau for his senior season. So the trio had gone to different schools before. But while they didn’t constantly bug him about it, the sisters were elated when their brother decided to join them in Lafayette. “I never thought it would actually be possible,” Brooke said. “It just all kind of fell into place overnight. We were like, ‘Wow, like this is really coming true.’ To me, it was unreal. It was hard to process at first. It was something you would always dream
of, but never actually thought would happen.” The sisters visited Steven in Starkville a few times, but not often. And no one is happier than the trio’s parents — Steven and Jennifer. “We’re so blessed to have them at the same school,” Jennifer Spalitta said. “It was a little hectic trying to see them all doing their different sports when Steven was at Mississippi State.” Naturally, the siblings are going to school, practicing and competing on a regular basis, so they don’t see each other daily. There’s less need for the sisters to visit their parents in Mandeville than in previous years. “I feel like we see them (parents) more often,” Brooke said. “We’re together as a family a lot more often because it’s just two hours away. They come in for Steven’s games on the weekend. Even after the games, if we go out to eat or something, we’re together a lot more than we used to be.” For the sisters, it’s been UL from the start. They played softball and soccer
ä See FAMILY, page 5A
A group of Louisiana lawmakers wants to force the state’s only dedicated family court to livestream its hearings, in what would mark a first for a lower court in the state. Since last year, Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, has called for more transparency from the East Baton Rouge Parish Family Court, which handles divorce and custody cases in the state’s most populous parish. Edmonston helped engineer a study of the downtown Baton Rouge court by a retired judge, in response to complaints from a host of embittered parents. She argues that the court is corrupt. Her name sits atop HB278, which would require the family court to livestream its proceedings for remote public access, which would be a first for the state. Public cameras are currently barred in Louisiana trial courts. Other listed authors include state Reps. Kellee Dickerson, Peter Egan, Kimberly Coates, Jerome Zeringue and Dixon McMakin, and Sens. Regina Barrow and Valarie Hodges. The bill follows intense scrutiny around the East
ä See COURT, page 5A
Legislation would release more dying inmates BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
In Louisiana, sick inmates with less than 60 days to live are eligible for a special release program, but they sometimes die before their requests make it through the administrative process. A proposal in the state Legislature aims to alleviate that problem and give more inmates the chance to spend their final days outside prison by expanding program eligibility to people with less than 120 days to live. The proposal could face pushback in a state that has recently focused on toughening its crime laws. But House Bill 399 by state Rep. Jerome Zeringue, R-Houma, is backed by a coalition of criminal justice advocates, religious leaders and
ä See INMATES, page 5A
Franklin shipbuilder expanding operations in Louisiana Saronic leasing office space, adding employees in N.O. BY RICH COLLINS
Staff writer
Saronic Technologies, the venture capital-backed builder of autonomous vessels that set up operations last year in south Louisiana, announced Wednesday it is opening an office in Place St. Charles that will bring up to 75 employees to New Orleans’ Central Business District.
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The move comes roughly a year after the Austin, Texas-based company, which has raised more than $800 million from Silicon Valley venture capitalists, purchased a shipyard in Franklin, where it plans to manufacture “drone boats” for military and commercial clients. In December, it announced a $300 million expansion that would support 1,500 jobs. Now, it is setting up shop in downtown New Orleans, taking nearly 15,000 square feet in the 53-story high-rise at 201 St. Charles Ave. The office will house hardware engineers, naval architects, marine engineers and experts in system
testing to support the design and development of the “Marauder,” a 180-foot autonomous ship produced in Franklin. Saronic employees already have been working in the building for several weeks. “Louisiana has been at the center of American shipbuilding for generations, and New Orleans gives us direct access to the people and technical skills that make that possible,” said Dino Mavrookas, co-founder and CEO of Saronic, in a statement. “This facility builds on our growing investment in the state and strengthens the
PROVIDED RENDERING
Austin, Texas-based defense technology startup Saronic plans to manufacture the Marauder, an autonomous surface vessel, at a shipyard ä See SHIPBUILDER, page 5A in Franklin.
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