SAVE up $ 33 to 2
SAVE
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up $ 98 to
3
LB
2
$ 00
When You Buy 2
PREVIOUSLY FROZEN
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast or Breast Tenders
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1
$ 66 LB
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6
2/$
10 - 13 OZ SELECTED
Taylor Farms Chopped Salad Kits
18 COUNT PACK
Frito Lay Multipack Chips
8
$ 99
10 COUNT SELECTED
Eggo Waffles
SAVE UP TO $379 (MUST BUY 2)
Prices good at all Lafayette, New Iberia and Youngsville stores April 8th - April 15th, 2026.
THE
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T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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M o n d ay, a p r i l 13, 2026
$2.00X
U.S. says it will blockade Iranian ports Ceasefire talks end without agreement BY MUNIR AHMED, JOSH BOAK, SAM METZ and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press
STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Andrew Tucker, a member of the Downtown Ambassador Program, clears leaves and other debris Wednesday at Parc de Lafayette.
THE
GLEAM TEAM
Ambassadors beautify downtown Lafayette for residents, tourists BY JOANNA BROWN
Staff writer
For the past year, a team of roving, blue-shirted ambassadors have been a visible presence in downtown Lafayette, picking up trash, bagging leaves and cleaning graffiti. The goal is to present clean, welcoming streets for downtown visitors and residents who descend on the neighborhood for its restaurants, shopping, nightlife and festivals. Festival International de
Louisiane is coming up in less than two weeks, and the Downtown Ambassador Program, operated by Block by Block and supported by the Downtown Development Authority and the Downtown Economic Development District, will be right there in the mix. The majority of cleanup for the fiveday event is managed with Festival volunteers, but the four-person ambassador team will split day and night shifts to support the crews and keep an eye on problem areas, according to Downtown
Lafayette CEO Kevin Blanchard. However, their role goes beyond cleanup and litter management, said ambassador team member Andrew Tucker. On March 8, Tucker was pulling weeds from sidewalk cracks in Parc de Lafayette, a tucked-away area popular with vendors and attendees looking for a place to sit and eat. “One of our main priorities is to go around and help people with finding
Times are tough for a private La. zoo After escapes, lawsuits and an arrest, preserve in East Feliciana is up for sale
Staff writer
Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
One of two otters looks out its winter enclosure after ä See ZOO, page 4A swimming at the Magnolia Wilds preserve in Ethel.
WEATHER HIGH 83 LOW 65 PAGE 10C
ä See BLOCKADE, page 4A
Bonnet Carre Spillway openings scrutinized BY MIKE SMITH
BY AIDAN McCAHILL On a Friday in January at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, as passengers filed off a flight from Costa Rica into a looming winter ice storm, deputies were waiting at the gate for a Louisiana zoo owner known for sloth selfies and otter swims. In his 30s, Gabe Ligon has spent much of his life traveling the world in the name of Ligon conservation — serving as board president of Kids Saving the Rainforest, a Costa Rica-based nonprofit that rescues
ä See DOWNTOWN, page 6A
ISLAMABAD — President Donald Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would swiftly begin a blockade of ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement. U.S. Central Command announced that it will blockade all Iranian ports beginning Monday at 9 a.m. CENTCOM said the blockade will be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations.” It said it would still allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Trump wants to weaken Iran’s key leverage in the war after demanding that it reopen the strait to all global traffic on the waterway that was responsible for 20% of global oil shipping before fighting began. Traffic in the strait has been limited even in the days since the ceasefire. Marine trackers say over 40 commercial ships have crossed since the start of the ceasefire. A U.S. blockade could further rattle global energy markets. Oil prices rose in early market trading on Sunday after the blockade announcement. The price of U.S. crude rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel,
It has protected the New Orleans area from Mississippi River flooding for nearly a century, but changing conditions, environmental damage and new scientific analysis are raising a thorny question: Is there a better way to operate the Bonnet Carre Spillway? Mississippi Gulf Coast communities hit hard by the influx of fresh water and pollution from recent spillway openings believe there is, and they presented new scientific evidence to make their case last week. But while there may be widespread agreement on the problem,
Classified .....................6A Living............................5C Nation-World ................2A Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Lottery ..........................4B Opinion ........................2B Commentary ................3B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
addressing it is no simple matter. Suggestions for how to alter the lower river’s flood control systems have drawn strong opposition in parts of Louisiana, and much of what is being envisioned would likely require Congress to change laws. Mississippi officials say the time has arrived to do so. More frequent spillway openings in recent years, including a recordsetting deluge of water in 2019, have killed off oyster reefs, fueled harmful algae blooms, badly hurt tourism and taken a toll on local revenue along the Mississippi coast. The two studies released last
ä See SPILLWAY, page 6A
101ST yEAR, NO. 287