The Acadiana Advocate 04-26-2026

TOPLEADERS JOHNSON, SCALISE

Shootingsparkschaos at D.C. dinner

BY COLLINBINKLEY, ALANNA DURKINRICHER and DAVIDBAUDER Associated Press

WASHINGTON PresidentDonald

Trump was uninjured and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday nightafteran

unspecified threat. There did not immediately appear to be anyinjuries,and one law-enforcement official said ashooter had opened fire.

Authorities said the incident occurred outside the ballroom where Trump and other guests were seated. The event wasscrappedand will be rescheduled “Wewill do this again,”said

Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Corespondents’ Association. Shortly afterward, staff began breaking down table settings and the presidential lectern. The Secret Service and other authorities swarmedthe banquet hall at theWashington Hilton as guestsducked under tables bythe hundreds. Audible gasps echoed through theballroom as guests re-

alizedsomething was happening. Hundreds of journalists got on phones to call in information.

“Out of theway,sir!” someone yelled. Othersyelledtoduck. From one corner,a“GodBless America” chant began as Trump was escorted offstage. He fell briefly —heapparently tripped and was helped up by Secret Service agents.

Alaw enforcement official confirmed there was ashooter.Alaw enforcementofficer wasshotin the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK, one law-enforcement officer told The Associated Press.

Some in thecrowd reported hearingwhattheybelievedtobefive

ä See DINNER, page 4A

An Acadiana connection to ‘forgottenhero’

Helicopter pilotwho stoppedMyLai massacre settledinLafayette area

BY JOANNA BROWN

Staff writer

Hugh Thompson, an Army helicopter pilot in Vietnam, is not from Lousiana. But he did spend the last several years of his life inLafayette, making his way down to Acadiana on awell-worn path —meet aCajunwoman, retire,settle down in bayou country.

Before that, the Stone Mountain,Georgia, nativelived anythingbut an ordinary life. On theground in one of the most destructive conflicts of themodern era, Thompson stepped into history when he and his crew stopped the MyLai Massacre of March 16, 1968 —kicking off astory that would one day converge in Lafayette, when the “forgottenhero” met an Acadianajournalist by the name of Trent Angers.

My Laiisinfamousfor beingthe largest documented mass killing of civilians by U.S. forces in the 20th century.Itoccurred during the war’sdeadliest year,marked by shock-wave events like the BattleofHu City,which saw United States andSouth Vietnamese troops fighting from house to house in an effort to retake acity of over 100,000people. TheU.S.would eventually win the battle —but thousands of civilians died, and the conflict’s brutalnature had been captured on film for theworld to see. Thompson arrivedinVietnam at the end of 1967 as aChief Warrant Officerwith the 23rd Infantry Division. In the middle of March, acouple of weeksafter the Battle of Hu City ended, his company wasdeployed for aseek-and-destroy missionagainst the Viet Cong 48th Battalion,thought to behid-

ä See ‘HERO’, page 8A

DANCE, DANCE

Festival InternationaldeLouisiane keepsthe crowds on theirfeet

ABOVE: Barrett Province andMelanie

Walker dance to musicbyLouisiana band

Boma Bango during Festival International de LouisianeinLafayette on Saturday

LEFT: MembersofVieux Farka Toure’s band, fromthe country of Mali, perform during Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette on Saturday. PHOTOSByPAULKIEU

ä See more photos from theFestival International de Louisiane. PAGE 1B

Chicago officer killed, another hurt in shooting

CHICAGO One Chicago police officer was killed and another critically injured after they were shot at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital Saturday morning by a man they brought in for treatment at the emergency room, according to police and hospital officials. The suspect was taken into custody Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said in a department-wide message to police, obtained by the Tribune, that an officer assigned to the Albany Park District was shot and killed while transporting the suspect inside the Lincoln Square hospital. Another officer was also shot and remains in critical condition Saturday afternoon, he wrote.

Snelling called the shooting “a devastating loss for our department and our city” and called on the department to support the fallen officer’s family

“This officer gave his life to protect his fellow Chicagoans, and we will never let our city forget his sacrifice,” he wrote. The message did not name either officer Endeavor Health, which operates the hospital, said the suspected gunman was taken to the emergency department around 9 a.m He fired shots at the officers about two hours later and escaped the building, at which point he was apprehended, officials said in a statement

They also said the man was wanded when he arrived at the hospital per “public safety weapon detection protocols,” and that he was escorted by law enforcement at all times No staff or patients were physically harmed during the shooting, the statement said.

U.S. strike on alleged drug boat kills 2

WASHINGTON The U.S. military said it launched another strike Friday on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people.

The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has persisted since early September and killed at least 183 people in total. Other strikes have taken place in the Caribbean Sea.

The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs

The attacks began as the U.S. built up its largest military presence in the region in generations and came months ahead of the raid in January that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. He was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty In the latest attack Friday, U.S. Southern Command repeated previous statements by saying it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It posted a video on X showing a boat floating in the water before an explosion left it in flames.

Australia, New Zealand, Turkey mark WWI battle

ISTANBUL Officials and visitors from Australia, New Zealand and Turkey gathered in northwest Turkey on Saturday to commemorate the 111th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli

The solemn ceremony began at 5:30 a.m. near a beach where the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or Anzacs, first landed at Gallipoli at dawn on April 25, 1915. The hourlong event included mournful hymns, prayers and the laying of wreaths by the participants, which included representatives from many countries around the world.

The Gallipoli campaign, part of a British-led effort to defeat the Ottoman Empire, ultimately failed, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides during the eight-month conflict It aimed to secure a naval route from the Mediterranean Sea to Istanbul through the Dardanelles, and knock the Ottomans out of the war

The battle helped forge Australia and New Zealand’s national identities as well as friendship with their former adversary, Turkey

Ceasefire talks with Iran stumble

Top Iranian diplomat leaves Pakistan and Trump says he told U.S. envoys not to go

BY MUNIR AHMED, SAMY MAGDY and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

ISLAMABAD The latest ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran appeared to fail Saturday before they began, as Tehran’s top diplomat left Pakistan and President Donald Trump soon afterward said he had told envoys not to travel to Islamabad.

The negotiations were meant to follow historic face-to-face talks earlier this month between the U.S., led by Vice President JD Vance, and Iran, led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. But Iranian officials have questioned how they can trust the U.S. after its forces started blockading Iranian ports in response to Iran’s war grip on the Strait of Hormuz waterway

“If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” Trump said on social media, adding: “Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” The White House on Friday said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be going to Islamabad.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Islamabad on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

“Shared Iran’s position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy,” Araghchi later said on social media.

Another ceasefire, between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, was shaken Saturday as each side fired at the other and Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.”

Trump this week announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran. It has paused most fighting, but the economic fallout is growing two months into the war as global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizer and other supplies are disrupted by the nearclosure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Both sides have continued to make military threats. Iran’s joint military command on Saturday warned that “if the U.S. continues its aggressive military actions, including naval blockades, banditry and piracy” it will face a “strong response.”

Even before Saturday’s developments, Iran’s foreign ministry said any talks would be indirect and that Pakistani officials would convey messages. In Pakistan, Araghchi met with Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about what he

called Iran’s red lines for negotiations.

Araghchi went on to Oman, a mediator in talks before the war and the country on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz. The foreign minister will visit Pakistan again on Sunday before visiting Russia, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Trump later told journalists that within 10 minutes of him canceling the envoys’ trip to Pakistan, Iran sent a “much better” proposal, with no details. He stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon.”

Contentious points in talks include Iran’s enriched uranium and the standoff on the Strait of Hormuz as well as concerns about Iran’s missile program and its support for armed proxies in the region

Tehran has noted that indirect talks with the U.S. last year and early this year over its nuclear program, the issue long at the center of tensions, ended with Iran being attacked by the U.S. and Israel, adding to its wariness.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, is nearly 50% higher than when the war began because of Iran’s grip on the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes in peacetime.

Iran attacked three ships this week, while the U.S. maintains a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small boats that could be placing mines.

Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his country was sending minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean to help remove Iranian mines from the strait once hostilities end.

Also Saturday Iran resumed commercial flights from Tehran’s international airport for the first time since the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb 28. Flights were scheduled to depart for Istanbul, Oman’s capital of Muscat and the Saudi city of Medina, according to state-run television.

Since the war began, authorities say at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,496 people in Lebanon, where new fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah broke out two days after the Iran war started.

Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy

But Israel struck southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least six people it aid were Hezbollah militants, and several rockets and drones were launched at Israel from Lebanon.

Additionally, 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 U.S. service members in the region and six members of the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon have been killed.

Ga. wildfires continue to threaten residents

More than 120 homes destroyed

By The Associated Press

NAHUNTA Ga Two wild-

fires in southeastern Georgia continued to threaten homes and lives on Saturday as officials warned that strong winds could spread the flames Brantley County Manager Joey Cason called it a “dynamic situation” in a video posted to social media and begged residents to “please evacuate” if ordered to do so.

“This fire is going to move rapidly once these winds get here later today,” he said.

The Highway 82 Fire has been burning since Monday and has destroyed at least 87 homes. Georgia

Gov Brian Kemp said Friday that is the most for a

single wildfire in the state’s history

The blaze was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground.

An infrared flight that detects heat was conducted overnight Friday, helping officials to better map the fire. A joint statement issued by multiple govern-

ment agencies said the fire’s perimeter was more than 14.8 square miles and it was only about 10% contained.

Meanwhile a second fire about 70 miles to the southwest in Clinch and Echols counties, near the Florida state line, has burned more than 46.9 square miles and destroyed at least 35 homes. Started by sparks from a welding operation,

Russia, Ukraine exchange attacks, killing and wounding dozens

BY ELISE MORTON and SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine Russian drone and missile strikes on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed at least five people and wounded 46, authorities said Saturday

The bodies of four people were found in the ruins of a house destroyed in overnight attacks, Dnipropetrovsk regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said.

“The Russians have been hitting Dnipro and other cities and communities practically all night,” Hanzha wrote on Telegram of the attacks, which caused fires to break out across Dnipro and partially destroyed several apartment buildings, businesses and a private house.

Another person was killed in a separate Rus-

sian attack on Dnipro Saturday afternoon, according to Hanzha, in the same residential area hit by the overnight strikes. He said that 46 people were wounded in total.

To the southwest, two people were wounded in overnight drone attacks on the Odesa region. Residential buildings, port infrastructure and cars were damaged in the south of the region, regional head Oleh Kiper said Saturday

In Russia, a woman was killed and a man was seriously wounded by a Ukrainian drone strike in the border region of Belgorod, local officials said.

Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-installed governor in Ukraine’s Luhansk region — of which Russia earlier this month said it had taken full control, a claim denied by Ukraine — said

Saturday that three people were killed in an overnight Ukrainian drone strike on a village. Ukraine did not comment on the attack, and the claim could not be independently verified by The Associated Press.

Following the overnight attacks, Romania’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that drone fragments were found in a residential area of the southeastern city of Galati, as well as on a farm some 18.5 miles from Galati, near the NATO member’s border with Ukraine. No casualties were reported.

Romania has confirmed drone fragments on its territory on multiple occasions.

The overnight attacks followed a prisoner swap Friday, in which Russia and Ukraine exchanged 193 service members.

that wildfire was also about 10% contained.

Firefighters have been battling more than 150 other wildfires in Georgia and Florida that have sent smoky haze into places far from the flames, triggering air quality warnings for some cities.

An unusually large number of wildfires are burning this spring across the Southeast.

Scientists say the threat of fire has been amplified by a combination of extreme

drought, gusty winds, climate change and dead trees still littering some forests after being toppled by Hurricane Helene in 2024. In northern Florida, Nassau County Sheriff’s Office volunteer firefighter James “Kevin” Crews died Thursday evening after he suffered an unspecified medical emergency while suppressing a brush fire. No fire deaths or injuries have been reported in Georgia.

theadvocate.newsbank.com

•Mon-Fri 8-5

Islamic militants, separatists claim attacks across Mali

BY MARK BANCHEREAU

Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal Islamic militants and separatists attacked several locations in Mali’s capital and other cities on Saturday in one of the largest coordinated attacks in the country in recent years.

The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bamako’s international airport and four other cities in central and northern Mali on its website Azallaq. It said the attacks were carried out jointly with the Azawad Liberation Front, a Tuareg-led separatist group. Mali has previously faced insurgencies fought by affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the north.

The Malian army said in a statement that “unidentified armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks” in Bamako and that soldiers were “engaged in eliminating the attackers ” It said in another statement later the situation was under control.

An Associated Press journalist in Bamako heard sustained heavy weapons and automatic rifle gunfire coming from Modibo Keïta International Airport, around 9 miles from the city center, and saw a helicopter over nearby neighborhoods. The airport is adjacent to an air base used by Mali’s air force.

A resident living near the airport also reported gunfire and three helicopters patrolling overhead.

The U.S. Embassy in Bamako issued a security alert citing reports of explosions and gunfire near Kati and the international airport, and urged U.S. citizens to shelter in place and avoid travel there.

A resident of Kati a town near Bamako that is home to Mali’s main military base, said he was woken by the sound of gunfire and explosions. Gen. Assimi Goita, the leader of Mali’s military

junta, resides in Kati. The residence of Mali’s defense minister, Sadio Camara, was heavily damaged by an explosion during the attack, a nearby shopkeeper told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Videos on social media showed militant convoys in trucks and motorcycles moving through Kati’s deserted streets, while residents looked on fearfully

Residents of Sevare and Mopti, two towns in central Mali, also reported attacks by gunmen. Other videos in the northern towns of Kidal and Gao showed gunfire exchanges in the streets, with dead bodies lying on the ground.

Insurgents entered Kidal, taking control of some neighborhoods and leading to exchanges of fire with the army a former mayor of the town told the AP by phone, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad movement, said in a post on Facebook that its forces had taken control of Kidal as well as some areas in Gao, another northeastern city The AP could not independently verify his claim. Kidal had long served as a stronghold of the separatist rebellion before being taken by Malian government forces and Russian mercenaries in 2023. Its capture marked a significant symbolic victory for the junta and its Russian allies. Azawad separatists have been fighting for years to create an independent state in northern Mali. A resident of Gao, the largest city in northern Mali, said gunfire and explosions started in the early hours of Saturday and could still be heard in the late morning.

BY HOLLY RAMER Associated Press

A former University of South Florida student has been charged with killing his roommate and the roommate’s girlfriend — two doctoral students from Bangladesh who disappeared earlier this month, authorities said Saturday Hisham Abugharbieh, 26, is facing two counts of premeditated murder in the first degree with a weapon in the deaths of Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, students at USF, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He made an initial court appearance Saturday in Tampa, where he was ordered held without bond. A hearing is set for April 28.

via email and phone to the public defender’s office in Hillsborough County.

Limon’s remains were found on the Howard Frankland bridge Friday morning, but Bristy is still missing, Hillsborough County Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said on Friday Abugharbieh, a nativeborn U.S. citizen, was initially taken into custody on Friday at his family’s home on preliminary charges that include unlawfully moving a dead body, failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, false imprisonment and battery Online court records do not list an attorney for him. Messages were sent

Officers encountered Abugharbieh as they responded to a report of domestic violence at his family’s home, just north of the campus, and were able to move his relatives to safety But then he barricaded himself inside and refused to come out. A SWAT team responded — along with a drone, a robot and crisis negotiators — before Abugharbieh came out with his hands up, apparently wearing nothing but a blue towel.

Limon and Bristy both 27, were considering getting married, a relative said. They disappeared from campus on

April 16. Limon was last seen at his home in an off-campus apartment complex where he lived with Abugharbieh. Bristy, who lived off campus, was last seen an hour later at a campus science building.

An autopsy is being done on the remains to determine the manner and cause of Limon’s death, and those results are expected Saturday morning, Maurer said Friday Abugharbieh had been a USF student but was not currently enrolled University records showed he had attended the school from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023, and had pursued a BS in Management, a university spokesperson said.

to eight shots fired. The banquet hall —where hundreds of prominent journalists, celebrities and national leaders were awaiting Trump’s remarks —was immediately evacuated. Members of the National Guard took up position inside the building as people were allowed to leave but not immediately re-enter Securityoutside was also extremely tight.

Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,Secretaryof State Marco Rubio and many other leaders of the Trump administration.

Gov.Jeff Landry and first lady Sharon Landry were also evacuated fromthe dinner, Landry said in astatement on social media.

“Unfortunately,the First Lady andIhad to be evacuated from the WhiteHouse Correspondents’ Dinner alongside the President and the entire cabinet,” Landry wrote on X. “This event is yet another reason that (Trump’s) ballroom should be built!” Outside thehotel, members of the National Guardand other authorities floodedthe area as helicopters circled overhead.

Generally,the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,and security hastypically beenfocused on the ballroom and rather than the hotel at large,with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself.In past years,that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests whounfurled banners or staged demonstrations.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro posted ashortvideo from the hotel after theincident, saying: “I have been taken out of the ballroom after the sound of the shots fired. The Secret Service is now in charge of this building, this hotel. I just spoke to Mayor Murial Bowser.She is on her way and (Police) Chief Jeffery Carroll is on his way.Hewillbe in charge as soon as he gets here.”

Eventwas abouttostart

Trump’sattendance at Saturday’sannual dinner in Washington for his first time as the president is putting his administration’soften-contentious relationship with the press on full public display

Trump arrived to an event where the leaders of anation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet —Triumph the Insult Comic Dog —inadinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socializing together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.

Trump was being watched closely at the event held by the organization of reporters who cover him and his administration. Past presidents who have attended have generally

zen in

Trump entered the subterranean banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strainsof“Hail to theChief” and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt withacheerful pointingof

spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment,adding some light roasts about individual journalists

The Republican president did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as aguest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, aDemocrat, made some jokesabout the NewYork real estatedeveloper.Trump also attended as aprivate citi-

LOUISIANAPOLITICS

‘Wehavethisgreat

level of trustbetween us’

WASHINGTON —U.S. House

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, made history in October 2023. They became the two top leaders of the House of Representatives, from the same state —afirst.

Scaliseand Johnson both graduated from LSU sixyears apart and had worked together for years, but over the past 26 months their relationship has been especially close —tothe point that sometimes when discussing politics andpolicy they finish each other’ssentences.

Mark Ballard

Johnson and Scalise sat down a few days ago in the Speaker’sOffice with Washington correspondent Mark Ballard

The conversation has been editedfor length and clarity.

JOHNSON: For much of this Congress, we’ve had aone-vote margin in our majority.We’ve been able to accomplisha record number of landmark pieces of legislation, over500 billsfiled, 100 executive orders codified,a record number of congressional review acts passed.

None of that really would have been possible if you had thetop two leaders who saw one another as rivals, which is what typically happens in this institution.

Because Steve and Ihave known one another for so long, we come from the same place. We understand how one another thinks, and we agree on everything. We have this great level of trust between us, no daylight between us.

SCALISE: Yeah, the factthat Mike and Ihave such adeep-rooted friendship and astrong level of trust has been critical in moving forward an agenda with areally tight majority when you need to getdown to the crunch-time decisions, becauseyou neverhave to worry about the motives.

Our jobs are different, too, because, you know,the speaker gets the big problem. So, you know, members have personality conflicts all the time, and they bring those to the speaker

My job is to manage all the committees and to set the floor schedule.

But as he’sdoing his job and I’m doing my job, we’re alsoinmeetings talking with different groups of members about policy items that we’re going to be bringing as parts of our agenda. Neither of us worry aboutwho’s making commitments thatcan’t be carriedthrough on, because we have astrong understanding of what each other’score philosophy is and alsowhatour requirementsare, what we need to deliver for the country

JOHNSON: Itell members all the time.I’m never going to askyou to violate acore principle, butyou are required, sometimes,togive up on your preferences.

Because you’re in alegislative body and you have 434 colleagues, you’re never going to get 100% of what you want, veryrarely.That’s justthe nature of the beast And some people are morereluctant to accept that realitythan others, put it that way.Sowehave to work through their problems and peccadillos.

When it comes to crunch time, because we’re able to go out— like Iknow that if Steve is in a room with asubgroup of members or acaucus or whatever,I know that he is saying anddoing what Iwould do in that scenario because we’re united in that cause. It just makes abig difference. The way that Congressisset up my appreciation of the history of the institution is that normally, you have the top two officers —in particular,the No. 2guy —has always kind of been waiting,and looking for an opportunitytoleap-

frog theguy in front of him.

And that’s just the nature of politics.

Theother thingthat we have in common that makes this work is that neither of us are concerned aboutwho gets the credit for something.

Yousee thelittle plaque on my desk over there? It’s areplica of what was on Reagan’sdesk. “There’snolimit towhat aman can doifhedoesn’t mindwho gets thecredit.”

SCALISE: Both of us came into politics under Ronald Reagan, andyou know that kind of Reaganconservatism still breathes through both of us.

JOHNSON: We’renot in competition at all between one another, andascrazy as it sounds, that’s an innovation in Washington.

BALLARD: What happened with FISA?

(TheHouse last week couldn’t reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. Some conservative Republicans wanted reforms, such as requiringwarrantsbefore the federalgovernment can spy on Americans suspected of cooperating with foreign governments, and refused to reauthorize. Unable to get enough votes, Johnson pushed through a10-day extension to allowtime for Republicans more time to hammerout thoseissues.)

JOHNSON: FISA is one of the most complicated pieces of legislation; every time it has to be reauthorized.

And thesummary is we have very different viewpoints at different corners of our conference on thecentral pieces of it. Forexample, awarrant requirement:Wehave ahandful of members who say,Iwill not vote for FISAunless it includes it.We have an equal number saying, I will not vote for it if it’sin.

And FISA, just the way it worked last week, is you had members comeinatthe last minutewith new ideas, different ideas.

We had theintelligence committee chair and thejudiciary chair tryingtoprocess all that and get it together

Andwejust ran outoftime.

SCALISE: We had 56reforms last time it was reauthorized, which were actually really good reforms andare working.

Andfrankly,those arethe reasons that the president supports it today,because the president

faced some of theabuses in the past,and that’swhy we reformed it last time.

BALLARD: On May 1, we hit 60 days (on the“militaryaction” in Iran, requiring Congress to determinewhether to continue the attacks.) What’sthe House going to do?

JOHNSON: We’ll see. We’reinthe middle of apretty heated conflict Hopefully,weall hope that it resolves quickly Idon’tthink there’sa prospect of boots on theground.

Ithink that it was awell-defined operation, and Ithink we met the objectives.

Now we’ve got to get theStrait of Hormuz reopened, obviously Andwe’re hopeful that ends well, so we won’tget out in front of that.

SCALISE: Andthere have been votes on the House floor,twice now,toforce the president to end militaryoperations in Iran.

Andwe’ve defeated them both times We’ve voted against it.And it’s amajority of the House has said, basically,wesupport thepresident because we are opposed to stopping him from further action.

BALLARD: Well, on that, there’s alot of criticism that theHouse does President Donald Trump’s bidding to thepoint that Congress is no longer acoequal branch of government,the way the Founding Fathersintended.

JOHNSON: Ithink thecriticism is patently absurd. And let me tell you why Look,the voters gave us amandateinthe 2024 election.

The president got arecord number of popular votes,and we got our highest popular vote total in history for HouseRepublicans We were delivered aunified government.And in unified government, when one party controls theWhiteHouse, Senate, and the House, obviously,itbehooves the leaders of those chambers in the legislative branch to work with thecommander-in-chief of the executive branch to movethe agenda along, the America First agenda. We all ran on it. We all said we madepromises we’d deliver on it. Andthe best way to deliver on that is as acohesive team.

Now,this does not mean that we have yielded any authority.You know,mybackground is in constitutional law.I’m ajealous guard-

ian of Article 1. There are lines that cannot be crossed.

Andwhen we get close to one of those lines, Ihave afrank conversation with thepresident. But I do that privately and not publicly because he’sthe president of my own party

The president and Iconfer constantly.Iadvise him all the time.

It is afrequent occasion where he’ll call with an idea and say ‘Mike, I’d like to do XYZ. Can we do that?’

‘Well, no, sir,that’snot possible for these reasons.’

Or ‘yes, sir,that’sanidea. We can work on that through our committee process.’

Or ‘no, that’snot something that Ithink is wise forthe country.’

Imean, these are constant conversations, but Idon’t, I’m not debating the president in public, and that’swhat some of the press corps on the Hill would love to see.

BALLARD: How did passing the OneBig Beautiful Bill Act, your biggest success, differfrom the FISAeffort?

SCALISE: Six months before the election, we weremeeting with thepresident, talking during the campaign, talking with him about, ‘Hey,ifwewin the House, Senate, and White House and get the trifecta, these are things we can do.’ We were already laying the groundwork forthat bill months before theelection.

It ended up being one bill.

Go watch November,December, January.There wasahealthy debateinWashington over whether to do two bills. Many in the White House were saying to do twobills.

JOHNSON: Or three or more.

SCALISE: President Trumphimself never really chimed in, but Iwas talking to the president on aregular basis, advocating strongly forone bill. The speaker was advocating strongly forone bill because there were reasons it would have been much harder to get thetax component done in asecond bill because that’swhat somewanted to do.

We would have never got the tax piece, meaning everybody in America’staxes would have gone up. No tax on overtime and tips, which everybody’sbenefiting from today,that would have never happened.

Mike can handle big pieces of it on his own.

Icould go handle big pieces on my own and put out fires, solve problems, bring coalitions to-

gether separately,and then put all those pieces together

And by the way, this guy,you want to talk about character traits.

He has the patience of Job to never lose his cool in settings where you see other people running around with their hair on fire and, you know,panicking, saying we’re not going to be able to get something done that we do get done.

It’s because Mike keeps a steady hand, listens to everybody respectfully,but ultimately gives asolid, direct vision, and then we all go carry it out.

JOHNSON: And about 60% of workers in Louisiana can benefit from either or both, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime. Imean, it’sreal, and we have along fact sheet of Louisiana, but then the stories reflect that we’re in the top five.

So, our state came out pretty well.

SCALISE: And alot of the jobs that are coming to Louisiana directly benefit.

So if you look at the billions that have come into our state in terms of investment, jobs, you know,the Meta facility,the Amazon facility, the Hyundai steel plant. Venture Global is almost a$20 billion facility right there.

Imean, those are major jobs, major investments in Louisiana. Alot of it —wedid immediate expensing, bonus depreciation, brought those (tax write-offs) up to 100% in the bill and made that permanent, so that brought certainty

Nobody has to worry about their taxes going up afew years from now because we made those permanent. They don’texpire in a fewyears.

If you look at what that’sdone in termsofbringing morejobs to America, and again, as the speaker pointed out, Louisiana’s benefited morethan moststates when you look at the rankings based on how that investment’s flowed through the country

JOHNSON: As representatives from Louisiana,ofcourse, he and Iare advocating constantly for ourstate andits ability to accommodate thatinvestment and the urgencyofthe people in the state to have those opportunities. We hope thatcontinues to payoff.

Email Mark Ballardat mballard@theadvocate.com.

ICEarrests drop nearly 12%after Minneapoliskillings

Decrease comes amid leadership shake-up

BY AARON KESSLER and TIM SULLIVAN Associated Press

At the peak of the crackdown, carloads of masked immigration officers were a common sight in the streets of Minneapolis,while thousandsofpeople were being arrested every week in Texas, Florida and California.

“Turn and burn,” top Border Patrol commander GregoryBovinocalled the strategy,with relentlessdisplays of force and teams of agents descendingonrestaurant kitchens, bus stops and Home Depot parking lots.

In December,arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents peaked at nearly 40,000 nationwide and were nearly as high the next month, according to data provided to UC Berkeley’sDeportation Data Project and analyzed by The Associated Press.

In late January,the killings in Minneapolis of two American citizens by immigration officers and growing concerns overthe government’sheavy-handed tactics led to ashake-upof top immigration officials

In the weeks that followed, ICE arrests acrossthe countrydropped on average by

nearly12%.

Polling has found the general public felt theimmigration enforcementoperation in Minnesota went too far, afactor that may have contributed to theabrupt firing of HomelandSecuritySecretary Kristi Noem in early March.

Bovino, who swaggered through raid scenes in tactical gear and was the public face of the Trump administration crackdown,was pushedaside following the killings in Minneapolis of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Border czar TomHoman was then sent to the Twin Citiestochart anew course forimmigration enforcement,and he announcedthe drawdown of immigration agents in thestate on Feb.4

An AP analysis of ICE arrest records show thedepartment averaged 7,369 weekly arrests nationwide in the five weeks after Homan’s drawdown announcement, the mostrecent period for whichdataisavailable, down from 8,347 per week in the previous five weeks. Those arrestnumbers were still higheronaverage than during much of the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, and were dramatically higher than during the Biden administration.

The numbers were not, however,uniform across the country ICE arrests rose significantly in Kentucky,Indiana, North Carolina and Florida

during those five weeks, in some cases hitting their highest weekly count since the startofTrump’ssecond term. In Kentucky alone, weekly arrests more than doubled, reaching 86 by early March.

Those increases were offset by steep drops in ahandful of large states, including Minnesotaand Texas.

The Trump administration insists it is targeting themostviciouscriminals living illegally in theU.S., and the president has referred to them as “the worst

of the worst.” In some cases thedescription is accurate, but thereality is complicated.

Many of the toughest criminals taken into ICE custody werealready in prison, but many others who were arrested have no criminal history.

Nationally,some 46% of thepeople ICE arrested in the five weeksbefore Feb. 4had no criminal charges or convictions, dropping to 41% in thefive weeksthat followed.

Yetthat’s still above the

35% weekly average forthe time since Trump returned to office. And in anumber of states, even after Feb. 4, the share of noncriminals being arrested wentup, not down.

Across the country,thousands of federal court filings offer an imperfect window into howthe Trumpadministration’sdeportation tactics remaininhigh gear,evenif activity has waned.

Like the 21-year-old Honduranman with no criminal record who has filed apetition forreleaseafterbeing arrested Feb. 22 in asubur-

ban San Diego traffic stop. Thefather of three U.S. citizen children —ages 5, 3 and 10 months —had been under ICE surveillance, the petition says, before officers in tactical gear pulledhim over Or the 33-year-old Venezuelan woman, awell-known SouthTexas doctor who worked in aregiondesignated as medically underserved, who wasarrested earlierthis month with her five-year-old daughter,aU.S. citizen, on her way to her husband’sasylum hearing. She was arrested, officials said, for overstayingher visa.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, aseniorfellowwiththe research and advocacy group the American Immigration Council, sayshesees signs of change in lowerarrest anddetention numbers but warns it’s too earlytoknow if thoseshiftsare permanent. “The Trump administration says: ‘We’re not slowing down,’ ‘Nothing has changed,’” in immigration enforcement, he said.“But it’svery clear that they have pulledback fromsome of the tactics of Operation Metro Surge,” the crackdown that swept Minneapolis. Kessler reported from Washington and Sullivan from Minneapolis. Associated Press reportersElliot Spagat in San Diego and Gisela Salomon in Miami contributed.

Mexico:U.S.federal agents whodiednot authorized to participateinoperation

By The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY Mexico’sgovernment said Saturdaythattwo U.S federalagents recently killed in a car crash in the country’s northern region were not authorizedtoparticipate in operations in Mexico.

The role of the two CIA agents who were returning from destroying aclandestinedrug lab in the northern Mexican stateofChihuahua remains unclear

Local government officials have said they were part of aconvoy whentheir cardroveoff aravine last weekendand thevehicle exploded.Two Mexican officersalso were killed.

TheAmericanskilled were from the CIA, The Associated Pressconfirmedearlier this weekwitha U.S. official andtwo other people familiar with thematter whospoke on

thecondition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters. TheCIA hasdeclined to comment. Astatement fromMexico’sMinistryofSecurity said oneU.S.agent entered Mexicoasavisitorwhile the other entered with adiplomatic passport. It also assertedthat Mexico’sgovernment was not awareofforeign agents operating or planning to participateinanoperation on its soil.

The ministry said it is reviewing the case with local authorities and the U.S. Embassy in Mexico.

“Mexican law is clear: it does not permit the participation of foreign agents in operations within the national territory,”the ministry said in astatement. It added: “The Government of Mexico reiterates its willingness to maintain aclose, serious, and respectful relationship with the Governmentofthe UnitedStates for the benefit of the security of both countries.”

Officials from both countries have offered contradictory accounts on the issue, with Mexican President ClaudiaSheinbaum admitting on Wednesday that federal forces were involvedafter Mexico’sgovernment said it had no knowledge of anyoperationor U.S. involvement.

ENCORE: CHICKEN FINGERS

inginQungNgãi Province in aseries of hamlets known as My Lai. CharlieCompany received aseries of orders to enter the village and destroy everything they saw.Flying over the siteafter the operation had commenced, Thompson and his crew were shocked by what they witnessed. They decided to do somethingaboutit, embarking on ajourney that would come full circle decades later,with achance meeting in the swamps of Louisiana.

Home in Lafayette

Hugh Thompson’sstory is aremarkableone in the history of warfare. “Hero” is a term used more often in novels than in history books, but it’s alabel that hascometo stick to Thompson’sactions at My Lai —even though it took 30 years for the Army to present him and his crew with the Soldier’sMedal which is the highest award forbrave conduct notinvolving direct contactwith the enemy

On March16, Thompson waspiloting ahelicopter above My Lai when he noticed something disturbing —aditch full of bodies that he recognized as noncombatants. After landing in the village, Thompson and hiscrew beganassisting injured and escaping civilians, eventually realizing that their fellow soldiers were responsible for the carnage around them.

Fast forward to 1997, whenTrent Angerspicked up Newsweek magazine and started reading about a little-known soldier who exhibited exceptional courage

“A little blurb showed up about this U.S. Army helicopter pilot who had stopped the My Lai massacre, and who was being jacked around by the Pentagon,” said Angers. “I read how he set his chopper down, orderedhis gunner to train his weapon on American soldiers who were committing awar crime by definition, and he filed acomplaint with his commanding officer that led to acease-fire. When I read that two-inchblurb, I thought, ‘This is the purest storyofheroism I’veever heardinmylife.’

“It said that he lived in Louisiana, and Ihad no idea where, but Isaid, ‘I’m gonna find this guy and buy him adrink and just shake his hand and thank him, on behalf of humanity.’

Angers would come to know Thompson and his story very well, including the twists and turns of what happened after March 16. After reporting the events at My Lai to his chain of command, Thompson endured years of scrutiny and backlash from officials who branded him a traitor for his testimony

It was later determined that faulty intelligence led to the view that Viet Cong soldiers werehiding in the village, which was populated with unarmed civilians that day.The orders, which included adirective from Lt. William Calley to round up villagers and kill them, were later deemed illegal by the U.S. Court of Military Appeals.Out of 26 soldiers charged, only one, Lt. Calley was convicted of murdering 22 villagers andgivena life sentence, which President Nixon commuted to three yearsunder house arrest

HughThompson

work for theLouisianaDepartment of Veterans Affairs in Lafayette. Thompsondied of cancer in 2006 at the age of 62, at the VeteransAffairs Medical Center in Pineville.

“He was adamantabout getting every soldier,every military retiree, 100% of what they were entitled to financially in terms of

PHOTO PROVIDED By TRENT ANGERS

Hugh Thompson, the Army pilotwho halted the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, found ahome in Louisiana.

Trent Angers became his biographer and traveledto Vietnam with Thompson, describing hisstoryinthe book ‘The Forgotten Hero of My Lai:The Hugh Thompson Story.

health care. He would fight for them. He hadthatreputation around Lafayette, like, ‘if youwant to get everything that’scoming to you, go see Hugh Thompson.’His office was right at the corner of Pinhook and Jefferson,” Angers said.

Angers began writing aboutThompson for Acadiana Profile magazine, which he published from 1975 to 2010. Eventually,Thompsonoffered Angers the contract to be his biographer, beginning arelationship that would see them travel together back to My Lai to meet with afew of the people that Thompson and his crew,Glenn Andreotta and Lawrence Colburn, were able to save back in 1968.

TravelingtoVietnam

In Marchof1998, Hugh Thompson, Larry Colburn, TrentAngersand Mike Wallace of CBS News traveled to Vietnamtohelpdedicate apeace park in honor of the victimsofthe My Lai massacre. Andreotta waskilled in action just weeks after the massacre, but Colburn andThompsonwere able to meet with survivors while a camera crew filmed asegment for “60Minutes.”

Angers covered the trip for Acadiana Profile,publishing photos that brought the story and region to life for Thompson’shomeaudience.

“I remember seeing Mike Wallace crying and getting offcamera because he was so emotional.I remember Hugh saying, ‘I didn’tdo anything thatany other sol-

dier should have done. We were doing ourjob.’” Angers’ book, whichhe released in 1999, is aheartrending way to experience what Thompson, Colburn andAndeotta saw,feltand did on the day of the massacre. Itswriting wasa life-changing experience forAngers, whodelved into research exposing the attempted government cover-up, and the decades of effortbyjournalists,officials, citizens and veterans to commend Thompson and his crew fortheir actions culminating in their being awarded the Soldier’sMedal on March 10, 1998.

“The Forgotten Hero of My Lai” wasonthe U.S. Army Chief of Staff’s professionalreading list,based on howithighlights the behavior and decision-making process of an ethical soldier.Angers wasnominated twice for the Nobel Prize in literature for his work on the book, which saw him dive into archivesthatexposedattemptsbyPresident Nixon and others to sweep the event under the rug. Angers said that he also faced some of the same blowback that Thompson did forshining alight on crimescommitted by American soldiers.

“I was shocked when I got some pushback from ahandful of people,” Angers said. “Some would say, ‘Well, Idon’tthink muchof aguy who turns his weapon on his ownpeople on the battlefield,’I said, ‘Well, Idon’t either,ingeneral.However, youhavetounderstand, our people weremurdering women and children.’” Angers said that Thompsonwould come to understandthatpeople hadcomplex feelings aboutwhathe did —but he never questionedwhetherhedid the right thing. “We’d go out andhavea beer andI’d interviewhim, and he’d say,‘Ithink that the majority of our people did serve honorably in Vietnam. But somedid not.’” Learn more about Hugh Thompson’sstory,and the life he built in Louisiana as aretired soldier,in“The ForgottenHeroofMyLai: The Hugh Thompson Story (Revised Edition)” by Trent Angers. The book is available forpurchase at AcadianHouse Publishing, and through majoronline booksellers.

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

My Lai had been deemed a“free fire zone,” whereeveryone present wasassumed to be an enemy combatant. Up to 504 civilians died at My Lai that day,around half of which Thompson describedas“not draftage whatsoever” —infants, children andthe elderly.The list of victims, including their name, age and sex, is publishedinthe bookAngers’ wrote after meeting Thompson, titled “TheForgottenHeroofMyLai:The Hugh Thompson Story.”

falling in love withawoman who turned out to be good friends with Angers’ sister

Said Angers: “It’sThanksgiving, I’matmyparents’ house, and Igoupstairs to takeanap after we eat. I’m in adead sleep when my son pops in andgoes ‘Pop,that guy from Vietnam is here.’ Then my wife comes in and says,‘Trent, get your butt out of bed, Hugh Thompson is here.’”

In atwist of fate, Angers andThompson’spaths collidednot long afterAngers readabout him in Newsweek. Thompson had closed hisArmycareeratFolk Pork, and decided tostay in theLafayette area after

The retired soldier was living in Broussard,making around of holiday visits throughLafayette. He had stayed in the area after retiring and going to workas ahelicopter pilot for PHI. Later, he would go on to

EDUCATION

Talkingto children aboutcommunity violence

Expertshelpengage in ‘psychological firstaid’

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

When parents ask if they should talk to their children aboutnatural disasters or acts of violence in their communities, Melissa Brymer almost always answers yes.

Children are likely to hear about suchevents through the news, social media or their peers, said Brymer,director of the UCLADuke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. It’simportant for children to know theycan come to adults for help processing incidents that are frightening and confusing.

After aShreveportman fatally shot eight children lastweek, including seven of his own, Brymer’steam immediately reached out to Louisiana officials and the state Department of Education to make sure schools were equipped to support students. On Thursday,atleast one person was killed and severalinjured during ashooting at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge.

Brymer and her team have long deployed resources in Louisiana. They train community members and state employees in “psychological first aid,” an approach for helping people in the immediate aftermath of adisaster that involves connecting survivors with resources and sharing coping strategies.

Aclinical psychologist who specializes in working withchildren and familieswho have been impacted by trauma, Brymer said violenceinacommunity can af-

Q&A WITH MELISSA BRyMER

impacted by massviolence includes startling easily after loud sounds; worrying about the safety of themselves or loved ones; sleep troubles; difficulties paying attention or focusing on tasks; having sights, sounds, people or other thingsremind them of the violence; feeling isolated, or numb, like friends and family don’tunderstand, or feeling distant from them; and being unable to get rid of thoughts, images or visions of themass violence event.

Kids that might not have been as closely connected to the event are going to be anxious right now, but withsupport from adultsin their lives we know they can heal. For thosemost impacted, there are specific trauma and grief treatments available.

What advice do you give parents about talking to children about violence in the community?

fect children even if they arenot directlyinvolved.Simply hearing about violentincidentscan cause children to feel scared or anxious andexperiencebehavior or sleeping issues. Research shows that nearly1in4 students across thecountry has been exposed to atraumatic event of somekind, which can impact their behavior andability to learn Brymer recently spoke about howparents and teachers can talk to children about violent incidents.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity

What does research tell us about the impactofcommunity violence on children?

Some ofthe ways children are

It’sreally important that adults check in with their kids on what they’ve heard and (ask) if they have any questions or concerns so they know parents are willing to have that conversation. Sometimes thingsare wrong on social media, or kids say things wrong, so sometimes we have to clarify what kids have heard.

Sometimes we use books to help kids relate. Youcan describe how characters are feeling and then check in with the child to see if they’re having any of these feelings. There may be anger,sadness, fear

How can teachers and other educators address gun violence with their students?

Sometimes it shows up in the classroom if their classmate has died. It’s important to acknowl-

WE’RE ASKING EXPERTS ACROSS THESTATEHOW TO TACKLE THEBIGGEST CHALLENGES FACINGLOUISIANA

edge that person isn’tthere and that we miss that person and maybe even highlight what that person brought to the classroom. Maybe they wereagood artist or they helped out alot.

For kids whomight be closer to theevent andmay know more details, we wanttohave moreprivateconversations.

Other kids that don’tknow these details don’tneed to hear it, but we want those kids closer to the event to get support. So that’s when we can use our counselors and nurses.

How should parents or primaryguardians approach these conversations?

Adultsneed to get our own support before we talk to our kids.

It’simportant forustocheck in and initiate the conversation. Often I’ve worked with kids who have said, “Nobody’stalked to me aboutit,” because everyone is waiting for the child to take the lead.

The children sometimes don’t want to upset their parents so they don’tsay anything. Sometimes we have to show kids that we’re ready and willing to have that conversation, and if kids aren’tready in the momentlet them know they can come back to you at any time.

We can also talk about things we can do when we get distressed or upset If your child is upset about what they heard, if they’re missing their friend, can we practice regulating ourbreath together as afamily? When we regulate our breath and calm our bodies down that can help kids feel more in control when something scary

happens.

Should these conversations vary depending on achild’sage?

Whenkids gettoadolescence they’re going to want to talk aboutwhathappened andthey might want to getinto policies aboutgun violenceordomestic violenceortalk about other timestheyhaveworried about their safety.Younger kids aren’t going to want to go into those details.

Followyourkid’sleadofwhat questions theyask. Sometimes theywanttotalkabout it for a couple minutesand then go off andplayand thencomeback

Sometimesyoungerkids might need shorterconversations.

Parents knowtheir children andwhere they’re at developmentally

Do youhaveany other guidance?

We suggest starting these conversations at atimeother than bedtime, so if the child has some emotionality they have timeto regulate their bodies before they go to sleep.

Maybe before dinner or after school.

Kids do better keeping the same routines, knowing when bedtime is, knowing there’sconsistency There can be alittle grace, but generally kids do better when they know what’spredictable —especially after something so unpredictable.

What mental health resources do you recommend foryoung people?

The national suicide and domestic crisis hotline is 988.

The National Center forChild Traumatic Stress has developed aguide fortalking to children about massviolence. See tinyurl. com/3fwpdkzw

Email Marie Fazio at mfazio @theadvcoate.com.

Supreme Court to hear cellphone tracking case

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON Okello Chatrie’s cellphone gave him away Chatrie made off with $195,000 from the bank he robbed in suburban Richmond, Virginia, and eluded the police until they turned to a powerful technological tool that erected a virtual fence and allowed them collect the location history of cellphone users near the crime scene. The geofence warrant police served on Google found that Chatrie’s cellphone was among a handful of devices in the vicinity of the bank around the time it was robbed. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches. It’s the latest high court case that forces the justices to wrestle with how a constitutional provision ratified in 1791 applies to technology the nation’s founders could not have contemplated in their wildest dreams

Chatrie’s appeal is one of two cases being argued Monday The other is an effort by Bayer to have the court block thousands of state lawsuits alleging the global agrochemical manufacturer failed to warn people that its popular Roundup weedkiller could cause cancer

Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches.

Geofence warrants turn the usual way of pursuing suspects on its head. Typically, police identify a suspect and then obtain a warrant to search a home or a phone.

With geofence warrants, police do not have a suspect, only a location where a crime took place. They work in reverse to identify people who were in the area.

Prosecutors credit the warrants with helping crack cold cases and other crimes where surveillance cameras did not reveal suspects’ faces or license plates.

Civil libertarians say that geofences amount to fishing expeditions that subject many innocent people to searches of private records merely because their cellphones happened to be

in the vicinity of a crime.

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the technique could “unleash a much broader wave of similar reverse searches,” law professors who study digital surveillance wrote the court.

Investigators used geofence warrants to identify supporters of President Donald Trump who attacked the Capitol in the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as in the search for the person who planted pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican party headquarters the night before.

Police also credit these warrants with helping identify suspects in killings in several states, including California, Georgia and North Carolina.

An academic group that

Hungary’s Viktor Orbán steps back after landslide election loss

Outgoing prime minister vows to rebuild country’s ‘national

BY JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press

side’

BUDAPEST, Hungary Outgo-

ing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will not take his seat in parliament following a landslide election loss this month, and will instead focus on rebuilding his nationalistpopulist political community, he announced Saturday in a video on social media.

Hungary’s April 12 election brought an end to Orbán’s 16 years in power when voters cast their ballots overwhelmingly for a

center-right challenger who promised to crack down on endemic corruption and restore Hungary’s democratic institutions that had been eroded under Orbán

That challenger, the Tisza party led by Hungary’s incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar, won a two-thirds majority in parliament that will allow it to undo many of Orbán’s policies.

Since the election the long-serving prime minister’s future role in Hungarian political life, and whether he will retain a role in government, has been uncertain

But in a video posted to Facebook, Orbán said his party’s caucus in parliament would be “radically transformed” following the election loss, and that he would not take his seat.

“Our task now is not in parliament,” Orbán said, but in the “reorganization” of his

political camp that he calls the “national side.”

“I have led our community for nearly four decades,” Orbán said. “This camp has always been the most united and cohesive political community in Hungary.”

Magyar has vowed to restore democratic institutions and the rule of law, which eroded under Orbán’s rule, and to hold accountable those who he says were responsible for overseeing and benefiting from widespread official corruption.

When the new parliament forms on May 9, it will be the first time since Hungary’s transition from state socialism in 1990 that Orbán has not held a seat among lawmakers.

In his statement, Orbán suggested he would remain the president of his Fidesz party after the party’s congress convenes in June to elect its leader

By The Associated Press

BOGOTÁ, Colombia An explosive device on a bus killed seven people Saturday in southwest Colombia as violence in that region escalates, authorities said.

Octavio Guzmán, the governor of Cauca, wrote on X that the device was activated while the bus was traveling along the Panamerican Highway in Cajibio, injuring more than 17 people. Gen. Hugo López, commander of Colombia’s Armed Forces, described the explosion in a news conference as a “terrorist act.”

He blamed the networks of a man known as “Iván Mordisco” — one of Colombia’s most wanted figures and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissident groups of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region and did not adhere to the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro decried the attack on X.

works to bridge gaps between the police and communities wrote that the court should avoid an all-ornothing approach in Chatrie’s case.

The Trump administration’s position would allow police to use geofence warrants and similar tools “with no judicial supervision or constitutional safeguards,” according to the Policing Project at the New York University School of Law Chatrie’s lawyers want the court to rule out any use of geofence warrants at all, impeding “legitimate law enforcement activities,” the group wrote.

In Chatrie’s case, the geofence warrant invigorated an investigation that had stalled. After determining that Chatrie was near the Call Federal Credit Union in Midlothian around the time it was robbed in May 2019,

police obtained a search warrant for his home. They found nearly $100,000 in cash, including bills wrapped in bands signed by the bank teller

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison. Chatrie’s lawyers argued on appeal that none of the evidence should have been used against him.

They challenged the warrant as a violation of his privacy because it allowed authorities to gather the location history of people near the bank without having any evidence they had anything to do with the robbery Prosecutors argued that Chatrie had no expectation of privacy because he voluntarily opted into Google’s location history

A federal judge agreed that the search violated Chatrie’s rights, but allowed the evidence to be used because

the officer who applied for the warrant reasonably believed he was acting properly

The federal appeals court in Richmond upheld the conviction in a fractured ruling. In a separate case, the federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled that geofence warrants “are general warrants categorically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.”

In the Supreme Court’s last case on digital-age searches, in 2018, the court divided 5-4 in favor of a defendant whose movements were tracked by authorities for nearly four months, without a warrant, through the review of cellphone tower data.

An issue in that case that also appears in Chatrie’s is whether the defendant had an expectation of privacy that would trigger Fourth Amendment protections.

Graduation seasonisbotha time of celebration andreflection—a moment to honorhow far someonehas come whilelooking aheadtonew horizons. As theexcitementsettles,manyseniors andtheir families beginaskinganimportant question—“What comesnext?”

LARC,anonprofitserving individualswith intellectual anddevelopmental disabilities,helps answer that question by providingsupport that fosterspersonalgrowth, socialconnection, and career development

“Whethersomeoneislookingfordayservices employment opportunities, residentialsupport, or assistance with dailyliving, LARC offersa rangeofprogramsdesignedtomeetindividuals wheretheyare,” said KaronDavis,Assistant to theExecutive Director

LARC offersacomprehensive continuumof care,including: Vocational Programs

•VocationalDay Program

•Supported Employment Program

•Community-Based Employment

Residential Services

CommunitySupportsand Services (CSS)

•Supervised IndependentLiving(SIL)

•PersonalCareAttendant (PCA)

At LARC,support is neverone-size-fits-all

Each individual receives aplantailoredtotheir goals, strengths, andinterests.Staff collaborate closelywiththe participants andtheir families to create serviceplans that fiteachperson’s lifestyle. As individualsgrowand theirgoals evolve,plans areadjustedtocreatenew opportunities andbuild independence step by step Vocational Programs

LARC’s Vocational DayProgram focuseson building life skills,encouraging social engagement,and promotingindependence. Atypical daymay includeactivitiessuchaslife-skills training,creativeexpression, lightvocational tasks,groupinteraction,andcommunityoutings Participants also develop communication, problem-solving, anddaily living skills in a supportive environmentwhere individualsfeel productive,connected,and valued

TheCommunity-based Employment Program helpsindividualsmaintainjobsinthecommunity by providingjob coaching,placement assistance, andongoing supportfor both employeesand employers. As participants gain confidence and skills, supportisgradually reducedtoencourage independence whileensuringlong-term success Throughthe supportofcommunity partners, thereare also anumberoffollow-alongjob opportunitiesoffered.For instance,Kevin Melancon,alongtimeparticipant of theprogram hasworkedfor Chick-fil-Afor over 20 years.

LARC’s SupportedEmploymentProgram consists of smallteams,known as mobile crews,who gain hands-on work experience in asupportivesetting.Togetherparticipants buildteamwork, responsibility,and jobskills whileearning income andcontributingtotheir community.

Keymobilecrewopportunities includethe Bead-N-Morestore,St.Anne’sKnightsofColumbusCafeteria,and maintainingthe groundsat LARC’sAcadianVillage—acollectionofrestored 19th-centuryAcadian homes. During thewinter

season,the villagetransformsintoNoelAcadien au Village, amonth-long Christmascelebration featuringentertainment, food,rides,andmorethan half amillion lights.In 2026,the eventwillcelebrateits50thanniversary. Allrevenue generatedat AcadianVillage directly supportsLARCprograms year-round

“AtLARC, we believe everyonehastheabilitytocontributeanddeserves theopportunitytoworkinameaningfulway.Our philosophy centersonempowerment,not limitation,” said Davis. “Wefocus on identifyingeach individual’s strengthsand matching them with opportunitieswhere they cansucceed.

Residential Services

LARC’s residentialservicesprovide safe, supportivehomeswhereindividualscanlivewith dignityand as much independence as possible Thereare four grouphomes in Lafayetteand six in theBaton Rouge/Bakerarea, each designed to feel like home.

Residentsreceive supportwithdaily routines suchascookingandpersonalcare,whilestaffalso encourageindependence andpersonalchoice. Residentsalsostayactiveinthe community, attendingeventslikebowling leagues, University of LouisianaatLafayette sporting events,local concerts, andevenwrestling matchesatthe Cajundome—acurrent favorite CommunitySupports& Services (CSS)

LARC’s CommunitySupports& Services are designed to help individualsremainintheir communities.Thesetwoprogramsworkalongside eachperson’ssupportsystemoffamilyandfriends. Supervised IndependentLiving(SIL) supports individualslivingintheir ownhomes by helping themdevelopandmaintainthesocial,community andadaptiveskillsneededforindependentliving. PersonalCareAttendant(PCA)servicesprovide supportwithinthe family home, promoting self-reliance, social interaction, andencouraging communityinvolvement AMeaningfulNextStep

Graduation is amomenttocelebrate accomplishments—but it’s also thebeginning of anew chapter.LARCisproud to supportindividuals as they pursue theirgoals andbuild fulfillinglives “Success at LARC is measured in meaningful individual ways,” said Davis. “Itmay be someone gettingtheir firstjob,learninganew life skill, gainingconfidence, or simply becoming more independent. We also measuresuccess through stability, qualityoflife, andlong-term progress Everystepforward matters. Families interested in LARC’s services can beginthe application processatany time,typicallythroughareferralfromtheLouisianaOffice forCitizenswithDevelopmental Disabilities (OCDD)orasupportcoordinator.Onceeligibility is established, LARC workswiththe individual andtheirfamilytodetermineappropriateservices anddevelopapersonalizedplanofcare.Thereare no enrollment deadlines, andservicesare offered basedonavailabilityand individual readiness. Formoreinformation on LARC’s programs and services,visit lafayettelarc.org.

Festival vendors serve up variety

Travelers can partake in Louisiana, international cuisine

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Food vendors at the 2026 Festival International de Louisiane are serving up a wide range of dishes, offering attendees flavors inspired by Spain, France, Africa and beyond.

Whether visitors are locals looking to branch out or travelers hoping to sample Louisiana cuisine, the festival’s food lineup

Victim believes attack was racially motivated

Sheriff’s Office has not confirmed a motive

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

A Lafayette Parish woman says she believes she was the victim of a racially motivated attack after being stabbed while working as a caregiver at a senior living community

The victim, identified as Kierra Larcart, said in an interview Thursday that she remains hospitalized in intensive care. Larcart said she believes the attack was racially motivated, alleging statements she said were made by the suspect after his arrest. Authorities have not publicly confirmed any motive or characterized the incident as a hate crime.

According to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred in the 400 block of North Domingue Avenue at approximately 8:30 a.m. Police said the victim was at the residence providing care when, for unknown reasons, the suspect armed himself with a kitchen knife and stabbed her Larcart disputed portions of that account, specifically saying she was not employed as the suspect’s caregiver

“I was not his caretaker,” she said. “I had no idea who this man was, so I’m not sure where that information is coming from.”

She said she had recently begun working with a client at Evangeline Village, a senior living complex, in April but had no prior interaction or relationship with the suspect.

“I didn’t hear anyone behind me I just remembered feeling a knife in my back,” Larcart said. “I don’t know why, and these claims stating I was his caregiver are not true.” Jarrod Degroat, 56, was arrested and booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on a charge of attempted second-degree murder Larcart said she was provided aid right after the attack by witness who heard her scream. Once police arrived, she was transported to a hospital. Currently Larcart said she is unable to walk and expects to begin physical therapy at some point.

“I just want to go home with my baby,” she said. “I currently can’t walk and still don’t know when I’ll be able to go home.” Sharon Harris, a resident of Evangeline Village, where the incident occurred, said she witnessed the aftermath of the attack and has been in contact with Larcart since.

“This young lady did not deserve this, and I may not be family but I have been checking on her every day since this happened,” Harris said. Harris said she believes the attack may have been racially motivated, citing statements she said were made by the suspect after his arrest.

Although the Lafayette Parish

offers both variety and generous portions. On Friday afternoon a range of vendors provided an opportunity to sample several dishes.

One of the first stops was Gravy, a recently opened plate lunch restaurant in downtown Lafayette.

The vendor featured items such as crawfish étouffée, crawfish poutine, beef debris, popcorn chicken and beignets. Among them, the sticky chicken stood out. The dish features pan-

seared chicken thighs simmered in a rich onion gravy with a slightly sweet, caramelized base, served over rice. Priced at $12, the portion is large enough to share with two. Gravy is at 107 E. Main St. and is owned by Lafayette chef Kris Allen, along with the group behind Pamplona Tapas Bar

Another festival favorite we tried was the Potato Tornado from Zeus, a spiral-cut potato fried to a crisp and served with a sauce simi-

lar to crawfish dip. At $8, it offers a crunchy savory option that’s easy to walk with between stages. For dessert, Patacón, located at Scène Francosphère CODOFIL, is serving a mini tres leches cake.

Priced at $6, the dessert is a lighter, sweet option for those looking to finish on a high note.

The Patacón booth also offers items such as ground beef empanadas, cheese tequeños, potatoes and cheese pastelitos, and its sig-

nature patacón.

For those looking for a new vendor at Festival International this year, Five Mile Eatery, a Lafayette restaurant known for healthy dining, is a part of the vendor list. Five Mile Eatery will be located at Amazon Music Pavilion de Cuisine. Alongside a diverse row of local favorites like Cafe Habana City, Destination India and Blu Basil Asian Fusion, many other vendors will be offering delicacies like boudin balls, crawfish bowls and beignet fries through Sunday

FOOD & FUN

Lafayette traveling nurse works through typhoon

Man takes on role of first responder in Guam

BY FAITH SCHOLL Contributing writer

Lafayette native Colin Duhon began working as a traveling nurse on the island of Guam at the Guam Regional Medical City hospital 10 months before Super Typhoon Sinlaku wreaked havoc on the island. Since the storm, work has been more challenging, said Duhon, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate. While the storm did not directly hit Guam, the damage when it passed earlier this month was widespread. At the hospital, now it’s about the storm’s aftermath.

“It really is not so much the event itself,” Duhon said. “It’s the following up after the aftermath that gets forgotten about and that people kind of move on. But, no, we’re not done here yet.”

The eye of the slow-moving storm passed just north of Guam but caused hundreds of power outages and left a fourth of the island without water

As the Guam Power Authority and Waterworks Authority have worked to restore power and water, Duhon said he stayed overnight in the hospital and worked nonstop since others could not make it in. He’s taken on a role of provider and first responder

At this point, he said, health care workers have been experiencing PTSD and burnout from the first wave of people from the storm, which caused more damage to the Northern Mariana

hurricane federal officials said. One U.S.-flagged cargo ship overturned during the storm, leaving one crewman dead and five others missing, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.

Duhon noted the situation was a familiar one, having experienced hurricanes while living in south Louisiana. The typhoon’s wind damage and debris from the north of the island were similar to what Hurricane Katrina did to New Orleans, uprooting trees and streetlights and damaging the roofs of buildings, he said. Yet unlike hurricanes, typhoons often move slower Sinlaki moved across the Northern Mariana Islands for two days, reports indicate.

Duhon, in one of his updates to Facebook during the storm,

See NURSE, page 2B

Mall videoappears to show armedsuspect

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer

Video recordings of the fatal Mall of Louisiana shooting on Thursday appear to show MarkelLee,17, holding asemiautomaticpistolduring the event, Baton Rouge police say Lee was arrested Fridayand chargedwith one count of firstdegree murder,five counts of attempted murder and one count of illegal use of aweapon.

According to an arrest warrant issued Friday,detectives sawLee on multiple surveillance videos frominside the mall near the food court where the mass shooting took place.

Investigators said oneangle “clearly showed thatthissubject was holding an object appearing to be asemi-automatic pistol in his right hand.”

In reviewing video from inside the mall and the exterior, detectivessaw Lee flee the scene and enter avehicle. License plate scanners were able to identify the car, and the vehicle’sregistration information gave investigatorsthe owner’s address.

After executing asearch warrant,detectivesshowed ascreenshot of thevideo, in which the suspect appeared to be holding agun, to his grandmother,who confirmed it was her grandson, Lee.

Martha Odom, a17-year-old high school student from Lafayette, was shot in the chest and later pronounced dead at Our Lady of the Lake hospital.

Five others were injured, including DonnieGuillory,43, who was in criticalcondition as of Friday evening.

Police said the shooting took

placeafter an argument between two groups.

It is still unclear howmany shooters were involved as well as howmanyweapons were used. Police saidthey found one gun at the scene.

Detectives wrote in Lee’sarrest warrant that video shows “two groups ofyoung black male subjects approach each other” in the food court.

“As theycrossed paths, other people in the food courtbegan running, as thoughresponding to shots being fired,” investigators said.

The arrestingdocument also notes other physical evidence

at the scene that could place Lee near where shots were fired and whereheappeared to be holding agun.

“Detectives located blood spatter andmultiple bullet strikes in the area wherethe subject was possibly pointing an object,” they wrote.

Morse said police are looking for an additional suspect andalso temporarily detained four persons of interest in the shooting. Though they were released, they could still face charges, he said.

“Theyweredefinitely involvedinsome way or theother,” Morse said Friday.“They

Typhoon Sinlaku caused widespread damagetoGuam and the NorthernMariana Islands.

NURSE

Continued from page1B

indicated how slowthe storm was moving and how he slept at the hospitalinstead of going home.

“Some people can’tmake it in to work,”heposted on Day 3ofthe storm. “Some people have poor situations to return to. So when they askedfor any additional

people willing to stay and help, Ifigured why not.

I’m already here and this response is already in process. So I’ll sleep afterthis 12-hour shift.”

The Red Cross and other agencies are providingrelieftothe U.S. territory into the island from across the globe.Recoverywilltakea long time,Duhon said.

Email AdamDaigle at adaigle@theadvocate com.

LOTTERY

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refused to answer questions. They lawyered up. We didn’t have anything else to be able to hold them.” Livingston Parish sheriff’s deputies arrestedasubject Thursday whotheysaidwas “possibly connected to” the shooting, but he wasbooked on gun and drug counts. He also faces acharge of violating a release agreement. Since then,police have given no information linking him to themall shooting.

Email PatrickSloan-Turner at patrick.sloan-turner@ theadvocate.com

VICTIM

Continuedfrom page 1B

Sheriff’sOffice has not confirmed that account or released anystatement

Southern wants to expand lawschool in Shreveport

Leaderssay plans in earlystages

BY HALEYMILLER Staff writer

Southern University aims to open alaw school in Shreveport to expand the reach of the Southern University Law Center according to aresolution approved by the BoardofSupervisors.

Areport presented to the board said there wasa strong regionalneed and workforce demand for legal professionalsinnorthwest Louisiana.

“Establishing alaw school in Shreveport strengthens ourmissiontoprovide accessand opportunity,while positioning the Southern University Systemtohave an even greater impact across the state,” Southern University Board of Supervisors chairTonyClayton said in anews release.

Southern leaderssaidthe newschool in Shreveport could build upon the work of the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge to attract students in north Louisiana,Texas andArkansas.

“Thisinitiative represents an important opportunity to extend the Law Center’s mission andimpact,” Southern University LawCenterChancellor Alvin Washington said in the release. “Weare committed to producing practice-ready graduates and increasingaccesstolegal educationfor students who aspire to serve their communities.”

The newlaw school is in the very early stages, according to the release. The resolution allowed Southern leaders to continue evaluatingthe project’sfeasibility, including aspects such as accreditation andprogramdevelopment.

Furtherdetails will be announced moving forward, according to the release.

indicating amotive, Harrissaid, “Hemade astatement to the police that he hates all Black women.” Larcart describedthe incident as traumatic and said it has raised concerns about her safety

“I’m not able to work, and because Iaminthe ICUIhave not been able to be with my daughter.I don’tknow where my life goes after this,” shesaid. The investigation remains ongoing.

THE GULF COAST

Surgeofgolfcarts meansmorerules

Complaints rise as cities clampdown

BY MARTHA SANCHEZ Staff writer

Every week, another wave of customers arrives to snatch up the golf carts

Janet Steele rents out from her business, Dauphin Island Rent and Roll.

“Welove it,” said Steele, who spends her days delivering rentals from her collection of eight black, blue, red and lime greenvehicles in Dauphin Island, Alabama. “We’re booking completely out.”

Her booming business is one small sign of agrowing way of life across the Gulf Coast. From Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, an armadaofgolf carts is arriving on local roads and forcing leaders to take new and sometimes controversial steps to regulate them.

The trend is transforming coastal towns. In some communities, drivers are decking out golf carts with Saints stickers and LSU flags. Hundreds of golf carts are packing Mardi Gras and Fourth of July parades. Families are using them to run errands and to go trickor-treating.

“If I’m going acouple of miles down to the marina, or acouple of miles to the Publix grocery store, it’saheck of alot easier and frankly more funtoget in your golf cart and just go,” said Mike Alexander,executive director of the Low Speed Vehicle Dealer Association, atrade group for golf cartretailers, who is basedinSarasota, Florida. “It’sagoodlifestyle.” But even as many tout their convenience, the surge

is also raisingnew safety questionsinbeach destinations that drawthousands of Louisiana visitors.

Achildwas hospitalized in March after agolf cart flipped over nearPensacola, Florida.Residentsacross theregion say they sometimes see golf cart drivers sipping beers, or passengers cradling unrestrained infants. On Dauphin Island, police instituted new safety checkpoints this month after aman accused of drivingunderthe influence in apickup truckallegedly rear-ended a golf cart and injured several passengers, including two children

“It was tragic,” Dauphin Island PoliceChief Mathew Emlich said Notjustfairways There was atime when

golf carts were confined to fairways and countryclubs andrarely ventured across busy roads.

But the trend is growing fastincoastal andSunbelt communities whereopenair vehicles can cruise yearround.

Tallying the exact growth of the local golf cart market is difficult, because registration rules vary by city.But industry leaders estimate there arenow close to two million golf carts andlowspeed vehicles around the country

The LowSpeed Vehicle Dealer Association is predicting the global golf cart market will becomea$12 billionindustry by 2030, up from about $8.5billion today.Dealers are outfittinggolf cartswithnew technology,including touch

screens, backup cameras and Bluetooth.

“Now theywant all these bells andwhistles like you find in cars,” said Brett Ladner,who works at QualityCustom Carts in Bay St. Louis. “It’s becomea little fancier.”

Cities confront surge

Some cities are expanding access: This month, Gulf Shores, Alabama, beganallowing licensed teenagers to drive golf carts. Ocean Springs, Mississippi, recently added afew dozen miniatureparking spotsfor golf cartsand other small vehicles.

The swarm is alsocreating new challenges for cities seeking to balance leisure with safety Leaders in Gulfport, Mississippi, have created new

rulesinrecentyearsthat require inspections and restrict where golf carts can travel.The move followed frequent complaints about reckless teenage drivers.

In Diamondhead, Mississippi, leaders distinguished traditionalgolfcarts, which reach speedsupto 20 mph, fromlow-speed vehicles, which go faster.The city is requiring all lowspeed vehicles to include windshields,seatbelts and blinkers by this fall, when violators will start receiving tickets.

“We’re trying to encourage people to follow the rules,” DiamondheadMayor Anna Liesesaid. “Ifyou choose to ignore the rules and you get caught, it’ll be expensive.”

Many die-hard golf cart drivers argue the vehicles

are ablessing for communities: Their plodding pace forces speeders to slow down, and they take up less space in busy parking lots. Manygolf carts and low-speed vehicles are also electric.

The fans acknowledge that some rules are necessary.But they say the jumble of lawsbetween cities can create confusion and frustrate drivers. For instance, some communities allow golf carts on roads where carsdrive up to 35 mph. Other cities limit them to streets with 25 mph speed limits.

Someresidents also worry that the risk of accidents could rise as the region’s population grows and traffic increases.

There aresigns that abalance between acceptance and regulation is emerging.

Jason DuCre,alieutenant at the Gulfport Police Department, said officers are receiving far fewer complaints this year since the city began increasing enforcement.

Steelesaidcruising around her small beach community is usually easy because speed limits are low. Most full-time residentsown their owngolf carts.

She still faces challenges, though. Golf cart prices are rising so muchalong the AlabamacoastthatSteele can only afford newvehicles fromdealersinTexas and Louisiana. Prices there areabout $1,000 lowerfor the carts, which typically sell for over $10,000. Buther calendarkeeps filling with new reservations. She expects this summertobesobusy that she took akey step to prepare for the rush. She bought threemore golf carts.

OPINION

OUR VIEWS

In adifficult week, La.leaned on law enforcement

Amidday mass shooting at theMall of Louisiana in BatonRouge, athwarted attack planned againstafestival in New Orleansand adomesticviolencetragedy in Shreveport —all show just how much we relyonlaw enforcement officers to respond when our communitiesare threatened day after day In the mall shooting, tworival groups opened fire Thursday in afood court gunfight caught on surveillance cameras. When it wasover, five people were injured,and Martha Odom, a 17-year-old Lafayette student,was dead. She and severalofthose in thelineoffire were young people who were justout enjoying time with friends when shots rangout.We pray for the injured and mourn theloss of life.

Reports of an active shooter circulatedasofficials from the Baton Rouge Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office moved quickly to secure the scene. Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse vowed to find those responsible and bringthem to justice. But the violence shatteredthe sense that there is any place immune from the epidemic of gun violence plaguingour society

Meanwhile, an attack in New Orleansallegedlyplanned by aNorth Carolinaman who threatened to commit amass shootingata festivalwas averted after amulti-state investigation involving the FBI, the LouisianaState Police andothers. Officials announcedWednesday they had asuspect in custody inFlorida.With Jazz Fest set to start the next day,the city was already seeing enhanced security It was family members whoalerted law enforcement that Christopher Gillum, 45, aformer policeofficer, had made threatsagainst Black people and seemed to wanttoharm himself. On April 21, avehicleregistered to Gillum was spottedbyalicenseplate reader in Okaloosa County,Florida, and he was later arrested. Though the technology makes some uneasy, it’s hard to deny that this is an example of theeffectiveness of cameras used in policing. We so often have to lamentmissed signs or lapses in our defenses,sowemustpraise when behind-the-scenes police work pays offinabig way. And let’s not forget, theweek startedwith a domestic violence tragedyinShreveport that left eight childrendead. In that case,officers wereable to track the suspect to two homes and locate him before he could endangerothers. The Shreveport Police Departmentand other first responders were left to process the grisly scene even as more homicides in thefollowing days added to their load.

Over the past week in Louisiana, we sawlaw enforcementgrapple with some of the mostdifficultsituationsimaginable.Ifwehaven’tsaid it lately, they deserve our thanks.

But police alone will not be enough to prevent thesesorts of things from happening.Wemust work together to stand against violence.All of us must remain caring,compassionateand vigilant.

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.

Pushingbackagainst creeping secrecyinhighered

Sometimes, theLegislaturegets it right.

That’swhat happened Thursday when aHousecommittee batted back abill thatwould have increased secrecy in the search for executivesatpublic universities in the state State Sen. Mark Abraham’s proposal would have created new exemptions in public records law for materials related to searches for top jobs,including presidents, chancellors, deans and coaches.

the bill’sopponents—which include good government and media organizations —and rework it.

Abraham, aLake Charles Republican said he was worriedthe statewould struggle to attract qualitycandidates if it couldn’toffer them confidentiality in the search. The bill passed out of the Senate withonly two no votes. But after he spoke with this newspaper’sSam Karlin and beforethe bill was debated in the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs, Abrahamamended his bill to makeit slightly less troubling. Instead of keeping all applicants’ information secret,the new version would have required universities to releasethe names of at leastthree finalists for the job. That was an improvement, but it wasn’tenough. Committee members even suggested Abrahamconvene with

The committee’smove is worth celebrating. Louisiana’s public universities are, you know,public. They are directly supported by taxdollarspaid by Louisiana residents. Secrecy is not just contrary to their mission, it’s contrary to their identity Thursday’smove wasn’tthe first timethe specter of increased secrecyhas raised its head, and it won’tbethe last.

Higher education leaders in this state have long sought to shield their actions from public scrutiny —remember the LSU presidential searchthat ended with thehiring of F. King Alexanderin 2013? Media organizations had to sue to getthe namesoffinalists in that case. More recently,LSU handed over the entireprocesstoselect afirm to develop itsnew arena to the Tiger Athletic Foundation, which, as aprivate entity, is not subject to public records laws. That process ended with the public knowing only two of the more than 19 firms thatexpressedaninterest. And the founder and then-CEO of the selected firm, OakView Group, was later indicted on acharge of bid-rigging in Texas (he was eventually pardoned by President Donald Trump).

When big decisions about public entities move behind closed doors, people become understandably cynical. Abraham’sisn’tthe only bill trying to ramp up secrecy around public university expenditures. Another one would exempt from public records the amount of public dollars paid to college athletes through revenue sharing, another bad idea that should be kicked into the sun. Unfortunately,that bill has passed the House and is headed to the Senate. It’strue that higher education is an increasingly competitive realm. Hiring good leaders is important. And sometimes that talent would prefer that process proceed wholly in secret. Abraham’sbill, which could comeback with new amendments, would have served that end, without question. But it wouldn’thave served Louisiana’staxpayers. If acandidate is truly interested, they shouldn’tbescared of public accountability.Props to the legislators on the committeefor recognizing that.

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

Election season presents slew of challenges

the record.

Elections always spur aflurry of opinion.

We have readers who will write supporting their preferred candidate or cause. And candidates who want to write letters to reach their voters. With theupcoming party primaries on May 16, we have published manyletters from readers about the candidates. In general, we allow letters that express apreference for acandidate or that point out acandidate’sflaws. We draw theline, however,atletters that specifically urge avote for candidateX.Werecognize that can be afine line. After all, if aletter is praising one candidate and criticizing another,isn’t that trying to sway avote? Perhaps. We prefer to let readers have their say as long as they don’tgointoblatant electioneering. We have also gotten lettersfrom candidates seeking to get their message out tovoters. Ourpolicy is to prohibit lettersfrom candidates in contested races for office after the

qualifying period. We have run letters from presumed candidates before the qualifying period,even if they have stated they will run. Often incumbents in office write letterstoreach their constituents. Andwebelieve it is important for readers to hear those messages. Butonce they have qualified to run forreelection, we consider their letters as part of their campaign. Why is it important to have some rules around lettersduring election season? First of all, we don’twant to overstate our importance, but letters could create the impression that there is alot of support for acandidate when it’sjust acoordinated campaign.

We only can only publish the letters we get, so there couldbeopposing views that are popularbut just not represented. Secondly,wedon’twant letterstospread misinformation at atime when people are voting. We do check letters for accuracy,but if we miss something in aperiod when people are voting, there is little timetocorrect

That’swhy once early voting starts, we do not run letters about candidates. Early voting in this election begins May 2. Turning to our letters inbox forApril 16-23, we continue to receive ahigh volumeofletters during the legislative session. This week, we counted 72 letters from readers and 10 of those had to do with bills being considered in the Legislature. Of those 10, eight letters were about the effort to consolidate courts in New Orleans. Outside of the legislative session, we received five letters about the warinIran and two letters about the closed primary system

Speaking of that, we will continue to publish letters about the process of voting throughout the election period. We would love to hear from you about your experiences when you vote in the May 16 primary.Let us know what worked and what didn’t.

Email Arnessa Garrett at arnessa.garrett@theadvocate.com

COMMENTARY

Senate candidates should go positive,and local

In the home stretch of theRepublican primary for U.S.Senate, all three major candidates can and should do better at focusing more on what’s important at home in Louisiana. They also should “close the deal” in convincing voters that their conservative philosophies can serve, and have served, those local concerns. Consider,for example, an agreeable exchange at an April21 hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions between chairman Bill Cassidy, the incumbent in Louisiana’srace, and Health& Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr Cassidy was pressing Kennedy to make sure his bureaucracy finishes the last part of the technical approval process for how Louisiana will use federal money for Medicaid health services. The rules were changed in last year’sso-called “Big Beautiful Bill” in ways that could reduce federal payments, but Cassidy successfully inserted a28-word sectioninthe bill that essentially

“grandfathers in” some existing arrangements. Result: Louisiana avoids losing hundreds of millions of dollars for several years running as the state transitions to thenew rules.

is odd.

Quin Hillyer

Most of Louisiana’s transition plans have been approved bythe feds, but one remains. Kennedy told Cassidythe senator could “call me at anytime to make sure it’shappening.”

On one hand, this involves a lot of complicated policy wonkery.Onthe other hand, thebasic fact is simple enough for one sentence: Cassidy,byusing his knowledge andhis chairmanship, is saving Louisiana—its patients, its medical personnel andits related businesses and jobs —vast amounts of money

Yetwehaven’tseen asingle word aboutthis from Cassidy’s reelection campaign. This is strange. The adagethat “all politics is local” may overstate thecase, butitremains true that much ofpolitics must remain local to beeffective. Acampaign where candidates fail to tout their own home-state accomplishments

Yetasmycolleague Stephanie Grace opined last week, the three major candidates are spending far too much time portraying the others as supposedly “liberal,” and by extension not enough toutingtheir own bona fides as conservatives and as servants of their own home state.

It’snot just Cassidy failing to boast about his crucial Medicaid provision, nor about how his legislative and medical expertise on multiple fronts is helping Louisianawhile giving the Trump administration conservative blueprints for nationwide reform.Itis his challenger,Rep. Julia Letlow, saying almost nothing about her work on what invariably is described as “the powerful Appropriations Committee.”

Rarely do House membersas junior as Letlow get slotsonthat prestigious committee, but she impressed enough people to garner that position and surely must have used it to benefit Louisiana (or,asa conservative, to save federal tax dollars overall).Well, if so, let’shear specifics about it, and about how it shows she has theright stuff to represent Loui-

sianans in the Senate. Likewise, as Letlow has amuch shorter political resumethan her opponents, can she show conservative accomplishments from her career in Louisiana academia? Did she perhaps boost civic education or moreclassical education at her colleges? Didshe work to promotevocational education in ways that the Republicans’ bluecollar constituency would appreciate? We don’tknow,because her campaign and her bare-bones website don’teven feature an “issues” page. Yetthat’sthe sort of substance that could help counter Cassidy’sattacks.

The third major GOPcandidate, statetreasurer John Fleming, has less money forthe airwaves, but his website does morethan the other two candidates to emphasize aconservative record that would appeal to Republican primaryvoters. Even there, though, morespecifics could drive his point home about how his record showsconservative successes forLouisiana and the nation. For example, he brags abouthaving co-founded thevery conservative House Freedom Caucus when he was in

Congress, but what did the group actually accomplish?

Likewise, how has Fleming’s work as state treasurer saved Louisiana taxpayer money or shownhow he can “deliver” for Louisiana as senator?

This matters. Granted, it’strue that inspirational “big picture” messages or,conversely,major attacks on opponents, can be effective scene-setters in tough campaigns. Yetdecades of political observation impels the conclusion that the closer Election Daycomes, the morevoters care about how their vote will directly affect them and their immediate communities.

For aRepublican contest, the candidate whocan best meld these twoarguments together —the home-state focus and the conservative effectiveness —can finish surprisingly strongly in the primary and carry momentum into an expected runoffcampaign.

All three candidates could have positive stories to tell. Now’sthe timetotell them.

Email Quin Hillyer at quin hillyer@theadvocate.com

Don’tdismiss idea of Landrieu runningfor president

Mitch Landrieu may runfor president in 2028. Or,hemay not.

After CNN publisheda story saying he was testing the waters, the former New Orleans mayor said he isn’tputting together acampaign at this point, but acknowledged thatheis“thinking about it.” Just the possibility was enough to get local tongues wagging. And as you’d expect, there were strong opinions on the“go for it” side, andalso in the “you’ve gottobe kiddingme” corner

knowshow to build bridgeswith moderates andconservatives, as any successful Democrat in ared state must. Remember, Louisianans elected him statewide notall that long ago, even if the era when that was possible feels like ancienthistory today

Afew words to those in the latter camp: Don’tlet familiarity blind youtowhat Landrieu, 65, brings to the national conversation.

Stephanie Grace

For one thing, he’sanexceptionally skilled communicator.He turned the dry-sounding “budgeting for outcomes” meetings he held while mayor into riveting viewing: Landrieu listened to each person’squestion, wrote it downonapad and then ended by addressing each questioner personally with both empathy and specifics.

And though people around here were mostly worn out by thetime the last of the Confederate monuments came down, his stirring final speech was aviral sensation

It would be easy to say he was preaching to the Democratic choir back then, but Landrieu also

His resume is long and impressive in scope. He spent 16 years in the Legislature, where he was aleader of abipartisan reformcoalition; six years leading tourism, culture andrecreationaslieutenant governor;and twoterms as the mayor whopickedupthe pieces after Hurricane Katrina and guided the city notback to what it was but forwardtoward what it would become next. In the Biden White House, he handled the implementation of the administration’shuge infrastructure bill. And there’sone more thingthat makeshim apotential playerin thewide-open fightfor theDemocratic nomination: He’sbeen studying the landscape, andhas a theory of the case that resonates in the current context.

These days, Landrieu is co-chair of Democratic SuperPAC called American Bridge. Hisparticular pieceofthe political puzzle is trying to understand why Democrats “got our asses kicked across the board” with self-described

working-class voters, andwhat might make them give the party another look

In focusgroups andpollingof the same people over time, he said in an interview, these people described themselves as notmiddle class —“they have alittleextra” —and notpoor people whotake “handouts.”

“Wedon’t have anything. We can’t breathe, we can’t make ends meet,” Landrieu said he’d hear This is whysomanyofthose folks gravitated to DonaldTrump, even if they might wellhave supported Barack Obama or

Joe Biden, Landrieu said; it was because Trump said he’d lower costs, cutinflation, stay out of foreign wars. He listened as some who wanted to give Trump the benefit of the doubt decided, “Man, this feels nasty.”

“People are going: ‘Weare out of balance. We have lost our common sense. We are tired of hating our brothers and sisters at the dinner table andour aunts and our uncles at Thanksgiving. We don’tlike that,’” he said.

Landrieu recognizes that Democrats have abad rap with alot of

these folks. “They think we’re weak. They think we’re woke. They think we’re ineffective,” he acknowledged. So how does he propose to counter that?

“Well, what you do is you win,” he said, “This was the opinion they had about us 15 months ago. But since that time, we’ve been winning (elections). And when you start winning, people start thinking you’re strong.” He also thinks Democrats need to be careful how they handle cultural issues.

“They would say to us, ‘Listen, we’re not homophobic or against immigrants. We’re not against trans kids. But quit talking about that every day.Just talk about cost. That’swhat we care about,’” he said.

“And by the way,they feel like all of us have violated the promise that we have made. Icall it the covenant, where, in America, if you get up every day and you work your ass off, you’re going to have ajob and be paid enough money and give your kids abetter future than you have. And they feel like they can’tdothat anymore.”

“They’re not caring about whether it’sDemocrat or Republican,’”hesaid. “They want that to change.”

Email Stephanie Graceat

Shreveport is whywecan’t stay silent when facedwithred flags

What happened in Shreveport aweekago was shocking to nearlyeveryone. Hardly anyone but the most evil, cold-blooded among us can hear about the killing of childrenand not wince. Many of us didmorethan that. If we didn’tcry,tearswelled up in oureyes, as they did mine.I shook with chills. Ihad aquickseries of tremors. Waking up Sundaymorning to the news that one, two, three, four,five,six,seven, EIGHT children had beenkilled by asingle perpetrator was something we weren’t prepared for as we startedour days. As night became daybreak and regular churchgoers like me prepared to go to our houses ofworship, Ibet Shaneiqua Pugh and Christina Snow were praying, praying that the Lord would spare them and their children from aman they onceloved. Shamar Elkins shot Pugh, his wife;Snow and eight children that morning. Seven of them were his own. An eighth child was their cousin, his nephew.Shaneiqua Pugh, Snowand athird woman, KeoshaPugh, were still in thehospital as ofThursday night. Elkins’ profile is developing as Shreveport police continue to investigate one of ournation’sworst filicides. Based on lawenforcement reportsand

Will Sutton

journalists’ digging, Elkins may not have had along rap sheet with regular reports of domestic abuseand domestic violence, but there weresigns that something was off. Elkins was marriedtoPugh and hadchildren withher.Hehad arelationship with Snow and had three children with her.Heshot all 10, and he injured asister-in-law and another child. These children won’tsee another day:

n Sariahh Snow,11

n Mar’Kaydon Pugh, 10

n Layla Pugh, 7 n Kayla Pugh, 6 n KhedarrionSnow,6

n Shayla Elkins, 5 n Braylon Snow,5

n Jayla Elkins,3 It was the deadliest mass shooting in the nationinmore thantwo years. It was the largest mass casualty since the Bourbon Street incident on Jan. 1, 2025, an event that took thelives of 14 people.

The French Quarter New Year’s Day mass shooting made international news after Shamsud Din-Jabbar,42, drove arented Ford pickup truck along the world-famous street. In only15seconds,onasingle street, he killed 14 people.

It’s unclear how much timepassed as Elkins shot and killed victim after victim in Shreveport,but it was about 80 minutes or less.

In neither of thesecases was the killer arrested, charged and convicted. In each case, the perpetrator died as the incident ended.

It’s frustrating to watch situations like these,suggesting thatsomeone,somewhere, should’ve seen redflags that might lead to something sinister

There is no guarantee red flags will prevent harm. But that’snoreasontoignore them. That’slike you telling adoctorabout ongoing chestand arm pain and shortness of breath, and the doctor suggesting that you drink some water and take anap rather thancheck to seewhether aheart attack might be in theoffing.

Istrongly support theworkofdomestic violence counselors, social workers and organizations to prevent physical and verbal abuse and to interrupt these behaviors before theyare passedontofuture generations. These health professionals and volunteersregularly look for redflags. I’m glad theydo.

Remember Gwen Cox Salley? She’sthe reason Louisiana has alaw allowing judges to sethigher bail conditions for those arrestedondomestic violence charges. Her estranged husband shot and killed herin

amurder-suicide in 2014 near Shreveport after he had been released from jail, only days after she sought aprotective order against him.

In this instance, there were red flags, signals and warnings that aman behind bars was so intent on causing harm that he killed GwenSalley the first chance he had. Red flags mean nothing if we don’tacknowledge them when we see them andsay something. That starts with us. We allget angry,disappointed, frustrated and upset for avariety of reasons, not the least of whichare feelings of being unappreciated, disrespected and unloved.

There’snoone person, no one group responsible for catching the red flags that caused GwenSalley’sdeath, the deaths of Din-Jabbar’svictims and the deaths of Elkins’svictims.

Each of us, individually,isresponsible for our own self-control, regulating our emotions and seeking help if and when we know something is off.

We’re also responsible for speaking up whenwesee red flags.

Think about and remember Sariahh, Mar’Kaydon, Layla, Kayla,Khedarrion, Shayla, Braylon and Jayla.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate. com.

SPORTS

Saints lean offense in draft, trade for defender

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

When the New Orleans Saints entered the offseason, general manager Mickey Loomis determined the team had more needs on offense than defense.

This year’s draft reflected that idea The Saints completed their second class under coach Kellen Moore, focusing on speed, size and versatility to boost an offensive unit that ranked 28th in points per game just a year ago. In total, the Saints made eight selections, with five of those coming on offense.

To put it another way: The Saints drafted as many wide receivers (three) as they did defenders.

“We knew we needed to add in that area, and hopefully we have,” Loomis said In addition to trying to upgrade the weapons around quarterback Tyler Shough ahead of his second season, the Saints also spent Saturday attempting to bolster their defensive line. New Orleans acquired edge rusher Tyree Wilson — the seventh overall pick in 2023 — from the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for a fifth-round pick (No. 150). As part of that deal, the Saints received a seventh-round pick, which they used to draft Iowa cornerback TJ Hall.

See SAINTS, page 4C

Precipitous fall lands Nussmeier with Chiefs

Quarterback was last of seven LSU picks

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

There are draft-day surprises and then there’s what happened to Garrett Nussmeier Nussmeier, the LSU quarterback who widely was expected to be selected in the second or third round of the 2026 NFL Draft, fell past the third round of picks on Friday and then the fourth, fifth and sixth on Saturday He wasn’t chosen until the Kansas City Chiefs decided to scoop him up with the 249th overall choice — the 33rd pick of the seventh round. Nine quarterbacks and six LSU players were selected ahead of Nussmeier Four of those former Tigers heard their names called Saturday: tight end Bauer Sharp, wide receiver Barion Brown, linebacker Harold Perkins and Nussmeier. Sharp, Brown and Perkins all went in the sixth round. Sharp was the No. 185 overall selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Brown went five picks later to the New Orleans Saints; and Perkins was the second-tolast pick of the round, going No. 215 overall

ä See LSU, page 4C

ON THE RUN

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Late arrivers to the annual UL

Red-White spring game missed the most electrifying play Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium.

Redshirt freshman running back JJ Garner broke loose on a 70-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game to give the White team the lead for good in a 24-14 win.

“When I saw the opening, I just hit it,” Garner said.

UL coach Michael Desormeaux was only half amused.

“That can’t happen,” Desormeaux said of the defense’s role on the play

The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder ended the day with six carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns to pace the White team’s 202-yard rushing performance.

Desormeaux has been raving about Garner’s potential throughout the spring. After losing Bill Davis and Zylan Perry to the transfer portal

in the offseason, a young back will need to emerge to support redshirt sophomore Steven Blanco.

“It’s pretty big,” Garner said about gaining some early momentum.

“The hard work that I put in — got to

be special every day at practice and every day on the field.”

Desormeaux said Garner has to continue to progress on aspects such as a full knowledge of the playbook and blocking.

“I’ve been saying for a while that JJ is the most talented guy in the room,” he said. “We’ve got to cut out those critical errors but the ability is there. He’s hard to get on the ground.”

Two drives later, the White offense got a 20-yard touchdown run from quarterback Daniel Beale for a 14-0 cushion.

On the next drive, Sam Altmann connected with Rahji Dennis for 20 yards, then Ja’Norian Norris for 25 more to end a 12-play, 67-yard drive in 5:23 with a 49-yard field goal by Tony Sterner for a 17-0 lead. Altmann was 5-of-10 passing for 64 yards and rushed for 27 yards on six tries. Beale was 4-of-6 passing for 35

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Trouble

Niners complete UL LB Dugger’s dreams

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Back in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Jaden Dugger saw the overflowing crowd of 300,000-plus fans downtown where the NFL draft was taking place.

The former UL linebacker didn’t take part in any of the crazed activity, though. He was too focused on his own affairs

It’s a good thing because Dugger got the phone call he was hoping for when the San Francisco 49ers contacted him Saturday afternoon after making him the 14th pick in the fifth round at No. 154 overall.

“I couldn’t believe it at first,” Dugger said. “I know sometimes once it gets towards the end of the draft, teams call you and tell you they want you after the draft But I then I saw the area code pop up and just answered it. It was so crazy I couldn’t believe it.” Dugger was especially surprised by the team that chose him. Based on the conversations he and his agent had during the pre-draft process, he was thinking his destination could be the Jets Packers or Falcons.

“I did have a Zoom meeting with them (Niners), but it was over a month ago, and I haven’t talked to them since,” Dugger said.

Regardless of the team, Saturday’s phone call was proof positive his master plan worked Two years ago, a safety from Georgetown decided to enter the transfer portal and signed with UL with the idea of getting drafted one day In his first season, he was moved to outside linebacker. The results were modest with 37 tackles, four stops behind the line and one sack Then last year, the UL coaches moved Dugger to inside linebacker and he flourished as the team’s leading tackler with 125 tackles, four sacks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.

“A lot of people didn’t see the vision, but this is what I had planned when I came,” Dugger said. “So

UL linebacker Jaden Dugger, shown here during the Cajuns’ Pro Day on March 25, is expected to be drafted this weekend.

“I couldn’t believe it at first. I know sometimes once it gets towards the end of the draft, teams call you and tell you they want you after the draft. But I then I saw the area code pop up and just answered it. It was so crazy I couldn’t believe it.”

JADEN DUGGER former UL linebacker

yes, I’m very happy the way it all played out.”

At 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds with a huge wingspan, Dugger is capable of playing multiple positions. The 49ers envision him as a Will linebacker

“I’m going to be comfortable there,” he said. “I’m very comfortable in space, so I’ll be comfortable there. But really, I’m good at any linebacker spot.”

The change Dugger is really excited about is getting to experience a different side of the country Coming to Louisiana for the first time was “a lot of fun,” but now he’s headed to the west coast for the first time in his life.

“I’m happy to see more of the world,” he said. “Getting out of Pittsburgh was great, so just even

see more of the world. Going to the west coast is going to be a whole different lifestyle, so I was excited to see it.”

Dugger plans to report to San Francisco on May 7 to start his NFL career

“I can’t wait,” he said.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Teurlings breezes to sweep of Leesville

BY MIKE COPPAGE

Contributing writer

Brooks Badeaux believes in staying in the present.

The Teurlings Catholic baseball coach preaches winning the next pitch, a formula that brought the Rebels back-to-back state titles.

The third-seeded Rebels took the first step toward defending their crown with a sweep of No. 14 Leesville in a Division II select regional series Friday and Saturday.

“We won two (championships) in a row but that’s over,” Badeaux said after the Rebels downed Leesville 16-1 in Game 2 on Saturday at home. “We have to win the next pitch of the next game. (No 6 seed) Loranger is a good team, just like we are We have to show up.” The Rebels (23-12) needed only seven innings total to win both games against the Wampus Cats (11-17) Evan Vincent threw a no-hitter in a 15-0 win in Game 1, which was shortened to three innings. Kade Schambough carried a shutout into the fourth and final inning of Game 2.

“Kade was very efficient like he has been all year,” Badeaux said. “He had a no-hitter going until the last guy got a hit. Whenever we play seven innings and give up one hit, that’s pretty efficient.”

Three of the first four hitters walked for Teurlings. Will Power walked three times and scored twice. Kaden Chavis, a junior LSU-Eunice commitment who gives Badeaux another left-handed bat behind Power at the top of the lineup, was 2 for 2 with three runs scored. “What I’m most proud of is we

LSU softball team falls to Mississippi State LSU’s hopes of evening its SEC softball series against Mississippi State got off to a good start when Sierra Daniel hit a one-out home run in the first inning.

But things turned sour for the Tigers (32-16, 9-11 SEC) as the Bulldogs answered with five in the bottom of the first in a 5-2 victory on Saturday in Starkville, Mississippi. LSU, which lost Friday’s series opener 5-3, can salvage a game in the series when the teams meet again at 11 a.m. Sunday The Bulldogs (32-16, 8-12) started their half of the first with a pair of singles off Cece Celura (6-5) before Paige Ernstes hit a three-run homer for a 3-1 lead. After an LSU fielding error, Xiane Romero hit a two-run shot to right to make it 5-1. That was more than enough for Bulldogs pitcher Peja Gold (15-9), who went the distance and struck out 11.

Packers receiver Reed signs $50.25M extension

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed has signed a three-year contract extension with $50.25 million in new money and $20 million guaranteed.

Reed would have been entering the final year of his rookie deal this season if he hadn’t agreed to an extension.

The 2023 second-round pick from Michigan State has caught 138 passes for 1,857 yards and 15 touchdowns while also rushing for 310 yards and three more scores over his first three seasons He played just seven games last season because of a shoulder injury and had 19 receptions for 207 yards and one touchdown plus three carries for 28 yards.

After getting hurt Sept. 11, Reed underwent surgeries on his shoulder and foot later that month, and he didn’t play again until Dec. 7.

Rockets coach: Durant’s status unclear for Game 4

Houston coach Ime Udoka said Saturday that injured star Kevin Durant was doing better but his status for Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night was still unclear with the Rockets facing elimination.

Durant missed Game 3 with a sprained left ankle Friday, when the Rockets blew a six-point lead with less than 30 seconds to go in regulation of an eventual 112-108 overtime loss to fall to 0-3 in the first-round series. Durant, 37, missed the opener of the series because of a bruised right knee. He returned for Game 2, scoring 23 points in 41 minutes of the 101-94 loss, during which he injured his ankle late in the game.

Reds slugger Suárez put on IL with oblique strain

Teurlings Catholic’s

played unselfish baseball,” said Badeaux, who emptied the bench outside of Schambough in Game 2 and got a nice defensive play from Will Fontenot, the backup for Power at shortstop. “A lot of times in situations like this, in-

nings can get away from you. I thought we attacked it with a nice focus of having one pitch and one at-bat at a time.” In Game 2, Mason Gonzales went 3 for 3 with a double and two RBIs. Vincent, who drove in

a run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, increased the lead to 8-0 with a three-run triple in the second.

“I felt good with my boys behind my back,” said Schambough, who drove in three runs in Game 1. “We played real good defense.”

Karter Deculus had five RBIs in Game 1 which saw Hudson Clavelle go 2 for 2 and outfielder Jackson Breaux collect two RBIs. Brennan Storms scored two runs and drove in another in Game 2.

Oliver Dean was the catcher for Vincent and Schambough’s gems.

On Saturday, the Rebels donned special jerseys with “85” stenciled on the front, in honor of the first state title team at the school.

“These guys will go out and compete,” Badeaux said. “This is Teurlings baseball. It started in 1985 That’s why we wore these jerseys. They respect the tradition that this school has established since then.

“A bunch of coaches have come in and laid the groundwork, and these guys carry the same standard that those guys put into place.”

Loranger (20-8), which eliminated No. 11 Archbishop Hannan, is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012. The Wolves are led by Texas signee Hayes Holton, the state’s hardest throwing pitcher according to Prep Baseball Report.

“We’ve got some good arms, too,” Schambough said. “I think we can compete if everybody plays like they can. We just have to win every pitch, like coach said.”

The Cincinnati Reds placed designated hitter Eugenio Suárez on the 10-day injured list on Saturday, retroactive to April 23, with a mild left oblique strain.

Suárez was scratched from the lineup for Friday night’s series opener with the Detroit Tigers. Nathaniel Lowe replaced Suárez as DH and homered twice in the game including a two-run, walkoff homer in the Reds’ 9-8 win. Suárez, who signed a one-year $15 million contract with the Reds in February, is batting .231 with three homers, three doubles and 11 RBIs in 25 games. Suárez spent eight seasons in Cincinnati before being traded to Seattle in 2022. In related moves on Saturday, the Reds optioned right-hander Kyle Nicolas and recalled righthander Jose Franco from Triple-A.

Illness forces Swiatek to withdraw from tourney

MADRID Iga Swiatek withdrew from the Madrid Open because of an unspecified illness while playing her round-of-32 match against American Ann Li on Saturday Li got the walkover win when the fourth-ranked Swiatek withdrew with Li winning 7-6 (4), 2-6, 3-0. Swiatek, the 2024 Madrid champion, required a medical timeout while down 2-0 in the deciding set. She returned to the court but called it quits after Li held serve. The Polish star beat Daria Snigur in straight sets in her secondround opener on Thursday Li, who is ranked No. 34, recorded a second career win over a top10 opponent She will face Leylah Fernandez in the round of 16 of the Madrid Open.

‘Hungry’ Erath sweeps Pine to reach quarterfinals

BY MIKE COPPAGE

Contributing writer

With the baseball season on the line, the Erath Bobcats are a different animal.

Fifth-seeded Erath swept No. 12 Pine in a Division III nonselect regional playoff series on Thursday and Friday by scores of 8-2 and 6-0.

The Bobcats will advance to the quarterfinals, where they’ll play the winner of No. 4 South Beauregard/No. 13 Port Barre series, which was decided Saturday

“Our guys are hungry,” Erath coach Jeremy Picard said “They want to continue to play It’s playoff time. There is a different sense of urgency in our dugout.”

In Friday’s Game 2, juniors Carter Champagne and Kolin Rodriguez combined on the shutout. Champagne struck out five over five innings and didn’t allow a hit until a single in the third. He was relieved by Rodriguez with no outs and the bases loaded in the fifth

“I had my stuff,” Champagne said. “I pounded the zone early I got into some trouble late. My guy (Rodriguez) came in and saved the day I couldn’t have done it without him.” Rodriguez, who has been brilliant out of the bullpen, escaped the bases-loaded jam by striking out the Raiders’ three-hole hitter looking on a 3-2 count and then inducing a double play

“I trust my pitches and trust my defense,” said Rodriguez, who allowed no hits and walked one. “Anytime I need my defense, they’re there.”

Champagne recorded a hit in his first three at-bats. Courtesy runner Ian LeBlanc scored the first two

runs after entering the game for Champagne.

“That’s his job,” Picard said of LeBlanc, a sophomore. “That’s his role. He accepts his role and did a good job.”

Leadoff hitter Landon Lemaire’s three-run homer in the sixth scored Koah Copell and Talen Landry, who each had two hits. Landry had a double, while Cade Francis added a solo homer in the seventh.

“Seniors who have been in the moment,” Picard said of Lemaire, Francis and Jack Landry, who hit a homer over the tree line in left field in Game 1.

“They have the experience and are relaxed in a playoff atmosphere.”

Landen DeRouen got the win in Game 1 and hit a sacrifice fly in Game 2. Jack Landry had two hits

in both games and drove in LeBlanc with the first run in Game 2.

“The bye week always scares me,” Picard said “It’s a week and a half off. We prepared, came out (Thursday) and were a little slow, but the guys took advantage of what needed to be done and got us a couple of wins to move on.”

The Bobcats played Port Barre and South Beauregard, last year’s semifinal opponent, in the regular season and lost both games by a combined three runs. At that time, however, DeRouen wasn’t able to pitch.

“What we want is Landen with the ball,” Picard said. “The guys understand the goal in mind. The mission is to get back where we were last year (the state tournament in Sulphur).” Pine finished 16-14.

Cougars complete Lafayette High sweep

BY NICK FONTENOT Contributing writer

Both coaches agreed the emotional weight of St. Thomas More’s narrow win over Lafayette High carried over into Friday’s Game 2 of their Division I select baseball series. The fourth-seeded Cougars edged No. 13 Mighty Lions 2-1 on Thursday and then rolled to a 12-1 run-rule victory on Friday to sweep the series at the Cougars’ diamond.

“Anytime you’re dealing with a game like that, you have to be ready to go the next day,” STM coach Justin Robichaux said. “You never really know how it’s going to go, and I’m proud of the way we responded.”

STM starter Jackson Watts allowed one run on four hits while striking out five in five innings. The Cougars also capitalized on Lafayette mistakes and delivered timely hitting, including a two-run home run from Hudson Lejeune in the third inning.

Watts said he entered Friday mindful of the emotional toll from Thursday’s win. After Brennan LeBlanc’s two-out double in the first inning drove in two runs, Watts said he felt the tone set quickly

“Starting the game like that is big,” Watts said. “Having run support before I even throw a pitch lets me relax and just fill up the zone. It boosts my confidence and it never felt like we weren’t going to win.”

Lafayette cycled through five pitchers Friday, but none were able to slow the Cougars’ lineup. Lions coach Sam Taulli said

SCOREBOARD

St. Thomas More

Dartez takes a cut against Lafayette High on Friday at St. Thomas More. The Cougars won 12-1 in five innings to advance to the Division I select quarterfinals.

Thursday’s result forced some adjustments, but acknowledged the difficulty of bouncing back from Thursday’s loss.

“Whoever lost the first game was going to feel a little deflation today,” Taulli said. “Our backs were against the wall. They had more bullets than we did at the end. We’re developing pitching and building this program. I think we’re getting there; we’re starting to see progress.”

As STM prepares to host No. 5 Rummel in the quarterfinals, Robichaux said he believes the Cougars are peaking.

“We’re playing good defense, we’ve got a bunch of arms we can throw and our offense has been solid all year,” Robichaux said. “We saw all of that in this series and we’re excited to be hosting Rummel.”

28: Atlanta at New York, 7 p.m. x-Thursday, April 30: New York at Atlanta, TBA x-Saturday, May 2: Atlanta at New York, TBA Orlando 2, Detroit 1 Sunday, April 19: Orlando 112, Detroit 101 Wednesday, April 22: Detroit 98, Orlando 83 Saturday, April 25: Orlando 113, Detroit 105 Monday, April 27: Detroit at Orlando, 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 29: Orlando at Detroit, TBA x-Friday, May 1: Detroit at Orlando, TBA x-Sunday, May 3: Orlando at Detroit, TBA Boston 2, Philadelphia 1

Sunday, April 19: Boston 123, Philadelphia 91

Tuesday, April 21: Philadelphia 111, Boston

97 Friday, April 24: Boston 108, Philadelphia 100

Sunday, April 26: Boston at Philadelphia, 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 28: Philadelphia at Boston, 6 p.m.

x-Thursday, April 30: Boston at Philadelphia, TBA x-Saturday, May 2: Philadelphia at Boston, TBA Cleveland 2, Toronto 1 Saturday, April 18: Cleveland 126, Toronto 113 Monday, April 20: Cleveland 115, Toronto 105 Thursday, April 23: Toronto 126, Cleveland 104 Sunday, April 26: Cleveland at Toronto, noon

Wednesday, April 29: Toronto at Cleveland, TBA x-Friday, May 1: Cleveland at Toronto, TBA

x-Sunday, May 3: Toronto at Cleveland, TBA Western Conference

L.A. Lakers 3, Houston 0 Saturday, April 18: L.A. Lakers 107, Houston 98 Tuesday, April 21: L.A. Lakers 101, Houston 94 Friday, April 24: L.A. Lakers 112, Houston 108, OT Sunday, April 26: L.A. Lakers at Houston, 8:30 p.m.

x-Wednesday, April 29: Houston at L.A. Lakers, TBA x-Friday, May 1: L.A. Lakers at Houston, TBA x-Sunday, May 3: Houston at L.A. Lakers, TBA Minnesota 2, Denver 1 Saturday, April 18: Denver 116, Minnesota 105 Monday, April 20: Minnesota

p.m. Washington (Griffin 3-0) at Chicago White Sox (Burke 1-2), 1:10 p.m. Seattle (Hancock 2-1) at St. Louis (McGreevy 1-2), 1:15 p.m. Miami (Meyer 1-0) at San Francisco (Roupp 4-1), 3:05 p.m. San Diego (King 3-1) at Arizona (Nelson 1-2), 3:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Imanaga 2-1) at L.A. Dodgers (Wrobleski 3-0), 3:10 p.m. Colorado (Quintana 0-2) at N.Y. Mets (Senga 0-3), 3:40 p.m., 2nd game Monday’s Games St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 5:40 p.m. Chicago Cubs at San Diego, 8:40 p.m. Miami at L.A. Dodgers, 9:10 p.m. College softball State scores, schedule Friday’s games Southeastern 10, UIW 0 Nicholls 6, Northwestern State 0 Mississippi State 5, LSU 3 Southern 3, Prairie View 1 UL 3, Marshall 2 Saturday’s games Southern 4, Prairie View 3 Northwestern State 5, Nicholls3 UIW 8, Southeastern 7 Mississippi State 5, LSU 2 UL 5, Marshall 3 Sunday’s games LSU at Mississippi State,

SUN BELT

Continued from page 1C White

Alyson Habetz said of Noble “In my opinion, some of their best hitters were still off balance. They were still getting fooled and getting mishits. When that’s the case, you just don’t want to change up the mojo.”

The victory secured a series win over the league leaders, improving UL to 27-23 overall and 10-10 in Sun Belt play Marshall fell to 35-14 and 15-5. The Cajuns will go for the sweep at noon Sunday

The series win also put UL on the brink of clinching a Sun Belt Tournament spot. One more UL win or one more Coastal Carolina loss in the final four games will secure the spot.

UL

Continued from page 1C

yards to go along with four carries for 12 yards and a score.

Starting quarterback Lunch Winfield wasn’t running in the scrimmage and settled for 5-of-10 passing for 43 yards with one TD and one interception.

“You’d like to have the interception back,” Desormeaux said of Winfield. “He just underthrows it a little bit, but I thought it was a pretty good (read).

“He’s limited a little bit when we can’t run him, because that’s a big part of his game. The focus has been on getting better in the pocket and he’s done that.”

Redshirt freshman Coleman Carter was 5-of-5 passing for 41 yards and ran it seven times for 8 yards with 15 yards lost in sacks.

“The quarterback play in the first scrimmage was not very good,” Desormeaux said. “It was a lot better in the second scrimmage, and today was really pretty good.”

LSU

Continued from page 1C

to the Atlanta Falcons

Overall, LSU had seven players selected in the draft. Cornerback Mansoor Delane was the lone Tiger picked in the first round on Thursday, going to the Kansas City Chiefs with the No. 6 overall pick. Two LSU players were taken in the third round on Friday, when the Indianapolis Colts took safety AJ Haulcy with the No. 78 overall pick, and the Chicago Bears drafted wide receiver Zavion Thomas 11 picks later

Entering the 2025 season, Nussmeier was considered one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft class and a potential firstround pick But a mysterious torso injury hampered his play as the Tigers limped their way to a 7-6 campaign. The NFL Network revealed on Monday that Nussmeier’s abdominal pain resulted from a cyst on the quarterback’s spine. The discomfort it caused, he said, started during the second day of the preseason and lingered for the rest of the year

Nussmeier said he still wasn’t 100% by the time he spoke with reporters in January at the Senior Bowl. He also noted that the injury affected his mechanics and that he needed to retrain them “from the ground up.”

Carter had completions of 15 yards to Jaydon Johnson, 6 to Brock Chappell and 7 to Darrell Smith to set up his 16-yard TD run for the Red team’s first score with 25 seconds left in the first half to cut the deficit to 17-7.

The Red squad’s other touchdown came late in the game on a 49-yard pass to redshirt freshman Trenton Chaney from Winfield to set up a 21-yard TD catch and run by Smith.

“I just feel more comfortable in the playbook,” Chaney said. “I don’t have to go out there thinking what I have to do. I just play full speed now.”

Chaney finished with 74 yards on five catches, while fellow redshirt freshman Russell Babineaux had four grabs for 25 yards.

On the defensive side, the White team’s only field goal drive began with an interception at the 2 by safety Kody Jackson.

“The defensive line, they were making a play on the quarterback,” Jackson said “He threw it up and the linebackers did their job underneath, so that gave me a chance to go make the play on the ball.”

Other standouts on defense were

In his first season as a starter in 2024, Nussmeier threw for more than 4,000 yards with 29touchdowns before his numbers cratered during an injury-plagued final season with the Tigers. He averaged 6.7 yards per pass attempt and had only 12 touchdown passes.

Nussmeier wasn’t the only Tiger who had to wait to hear his name called Saturday LSU did not have any players selected in the fourth or fifth rounds, and it wasn’t until the Buccaneers selected Sharp with the 185th overall pick in the sixth round that an LSU player finally came off the board.

Sharp had 24 catches for 252 yards in his only season at LSU, finishing sixth on the team in receptions and receiving yards.

According to Pro Football Focus, he racked up 145 yards after the catch, and his average depth of target was 4.9 yards.

Sharp transferred to LSU last offseason after spending a year at Oklahoma. He had 42 catches for 324 yards for the Sooners after having played the previous three seasons at Southeastern Louisiana.

Brown was the next Tiger off the board five picks later going 190th overall to the Saints. He had 53 catches for 532 yards this past season, his first and only in the purple and gold.

He led the team in both categories despite catching only one touchdown pass. According to Pro

safety Collin Jacob with a White team-high four tackles, while Hayden Darbonne led the Red team with five stops, including two behind the line.

Sacks were recorded by end Chase Edwards, linebacker Ethan Veal, cornerback Kevin Malone and linebacker AJ Spencer Defensive lineman Maxie Baudoin had a big pressure to force a turnover on downs on a fourthdown incompletion at the 26.

There were some negatives that were weighing heavy on Desormeaux’s mind after the game.

“We had a third and 8 where we complete a great ball in the pocket and we’re not lined up right,” Desormeaux said. “We had a hands to the face (penalty) where we stopped them for a first down. We gave them another first down after stopping them with a personal foul.

“Situational football is how you win. We’ve got to eliminate those things, but overall, it was pretty good.”

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

Football Focus, he also had 263 yards after the catch and picked up 25 first downs. Brown transferred to LSU from Kentucky last offseason. In three years with the Wildcats, he had 122 catches for 1,528 yards and 11 touchdowns. His career-high in receiving yards came as a freshman, when he had 628 yards and averaged 12.6 yards per reception.

After Brown and Sharp were drafted early in the sixth, Perkins landed with the Falcons Perkins spent all four years of his collegiate career with the Tigers. He burst onto the scene as a freshman edge rusher in 2022, then bounced around to different positions across the last three seasons he spent in Baton Rouge.

Coach Brian Kelly and his staff tried twice to play the 6-foot-1, 222-pound Perkins at inside linebacker, in part because that’s the position they thought he’d play in the NFL. But he wound up spending most of his time at Star LSU’s hybrid linebacker-safety role. From that spot of the defense, he used his speed to drop into coverage, make tackles around the line of scrimmage and occasionally pressure opposing quarterbacks.

Perkins’ slide into the sixth round was a mild surprise.

Nussmeier’s fall was more of a stunner He had to wait much longer than anyone thought he would to land his first NFL gig.

“That’s just pitchers just bowing up,” Habetz said of Noble and Hoover “They’ve caught the brunt of a lot of it. They’ve been walking people and giving up a lot of runs, and our offense could never catch up.

“For them to say, ‘All right, we’re going to do this right now,’ it’s a decision. Then you go out there and stay within yourself and do what you do.”

In throwing 118 pitches, Noble allowed three runs (two earned), five hits, walked six and struck out four

“Just spinning the ball,” Noble said. “Sometimes we try too hard to put the ball there, trying to put the ball inside. So really just spinning it and not worrying about

Continued from page 1C

To begin the third day of the draft, the Saints made two selections in the fourth round just four picks apart. They selected Auburn guard Jeremiah Wright (No. 132) and North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance (No. 136). Lance’s selection, in particular, fed into the notion the Saints were seeking to get faster The FCS product ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the scouting combine. At the college level, he had production to match He was the first wideout in North Dakota State history to record multiple 1,000-yard seasons, and he had a school-record 17-touchdown campaign in 2024. Lance was one of three wideouts taken by the Saints, though the third — LSU receiver Barion Brown likely will be used more as a kick returner Brown returned six touchdowns in college, and the Saints have lacked a true threat at that position since trading Rashid Shaheed last season. As for Wilson, Loomis said they had long liked the 25-year-old edge rusher and are hoping to replicate the success they found by previously signing Chase Young, another high-end prospect who hadn’t exactly delivered on massive expectations after entering the NFL.

But compared to Young, the 2020 defensive rookie of the year, Wilson has less production through his first three seasons. He has only 12 sacks in 50 games, only seven of which were starts.

“More than anything, (defensive coordinator) Brandon (Staley) has a vision for him fitting into our defense,” said Loomis, who indicated that the Saints would not pick up Wilson’s fifthyear option ahead of the league’s May deadline. “It adds to a group we like already.”

The trade was completed a day

where it’s going — just not letting the game get too big and not thinking about too much at one time.” UL scored three runs in the second and two more in the third off of Marshall starter Maddie Veal. The catalyst in both innings was Madyson Manning.

“In her first at-bat when they’re getting her to swing at that rise ball and then threw a changeup and she was able to get a hit,” Habetz said “that’s maturity in an at-bat. She figured it out and found a way to get a hit when it mattered.”

In the second, Manning followed Cecilia Vasquez’s single with an RBI double to spark the three-run rally

Lily Knox followed with a single before Kennedy Marceaux’s RBI single and Brook Otto’s basesloaded hit by pitch got the third run home.

In the third, Vasquez walked, and Manning’s single was followed by a throwing error to get a run home. Knox then delivered a run-scoring double for the five-run cushion.

“Just staying within myself honestly,” Manning said. “I didn’t want to do too much. I was trying to stay on top of it, but she threw me a change-uplow Butreally,justtrying to do whatever I can for the team.”

For the second straight game, UL outhit Marshall. This time it was 8-5.

“Today was senior day, so we’re all excited for the seniors,” Manning said. “Coming off yesterday obviously we have a lot of confidence coming into this game. We just came out in the first couple of innings and gave it to them.”

after a report indicated the Saints were showing “strong interest” in acquiring New York Giants edge Kayvon Thibodeaux. But the deal for Wilson likely quiets that speculation as Wilson will join a pass-rushing rotation that includes Young, Carl Granderson and Chris Rumph. The Saints were consistently mentioned in trade rumors throughout the draft, but Loomis was emphatic the team did not actively pursue trading up from the eighth overall pick. He said the team received calls from teams above them who were interested in trading down, but that the cost for the Saints to move up was too high.

“I never made one call to move up from 8 that was completely untrue,” Loomis said.

Instead, the Saints did not trade up in the draft for the second straight year They stood pat, taking chances on developmental prospects such as Wright and fifth-round safety Lorenzo Styles, the brother of incoming Washington Commanders rookie linebacker Sonny Styles. Styles, like Brown, could be a returner for the Saints. He had a 100yard kickoff return touchdown at Ohio State. But if he develops, he also could fill an important role for the defense. Styles started last season as a nickel corner, and the Saints have a vacancy in the slot after the free agency departure of Alontae Taylor

Loomis seemed more than satisfied with New Orleans’ haul. He told reporters that he was satisfied with the feedback on firstround receiver Jordyn Tyson’s lengthy medical history Loomis praised Tyson for being “fast, twitchy (and) tough,” noting he was able to make difficult catches that often resulted in first downs and touchdowns.

“He’s just the whole package, really,” Loomis said. “And look, if you’re going to be a top-10 pick in our league, you better have the whole package.”

PROVIDED PHOTO

Russell Cormier sings Belton Richard’spopularChristmas song ‘Tout monveux pour Christmas,chère, c’esttoi’ with Sheryl Cormier beside him on Dec. 7, 2019, at the Liberty Theater in Eunice.

ACajun musicqueen is missing herking

Sheryl and RussellCormier, of Carencro, gave new meaning to aproverb attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt: “Behind every great man, there’sa great woman.” The Cormiers flipped the script with Sheryl in the spotlightas the Queen of Cajun Music, with Russell offering strong support. Their greatness changed on April 8when Russell died after along illness.The Cormiersweremarried 62 years, which included Sheryl’s36years as the first femaleprofessional Cajun accordionist. Born in 1945 in Grand Coteau, Sheryl was 7years old when her father issued his commandment —leave his accordion alone. The bandstand was no place for awoman But Sheryl didn’tlisten. By her teen years, she was playing accordion in agroup with her parents. She eventually became ahairstylistfor 15 years, but the accordion kept calling. In 1990, Sheryl quit the beauty shop to startthe Cajun Sounds band, which included Russell and son, Russell Jr , as the drummer.Through the years,the band recorded 45 songs, which brought tours as far as Canada and Europe. Winner of numerous awards, Sheryl was inducted into the Cajun Music Hall of Fame in 1997. Throughout Sheryl’sreign as Cajun music’squeen, Russell worked as acarpenter and bulldozer operator. He was also by Sheryl’sside as avocalist, soundman and the band’svan driver.Heenjoyed singing stardom on two French waltzes, “Mon Coeur at Mon Amour (My Heart and My Love)”and “La Bouteille (The Bottle).” With lyrics of abrokenhearted “couillon,” or fool, who turns to whiskey for comfort, “The Bottle” remains adancehall favorite and one of the most covered Cajun hits Russell left the bandstand after stomach and lung cancer,as well as astroke, landed him in anursing home. He died alittle more than three weeks afterhis longtime queen turned 81. Tributes to Russellhavefilled social media, jam sessions and Cajun radio shows. Fiddler Gina Forsyth, who played with Sheryl’sall-femaleCajun band, summed up the feelings of many “I would listen to him sing with such soulfulness,inthe van, on the way from the gig,” Forsyth wrote on Facebook.“I told him Ithought he should sing more. He washesitant at first, but I’m so glad he finally did. And man, he could sing!” Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.

‘HEART LIKE AN EAGLE’

Afterc ardand BarryGuid oveterans

BY JOANNABRO Staff writer

FestivalInterna were the first song fromLou Zachary Richard “Heart Like TheBalladofBarry joint project by Richa ette veteranBarry Gu quadriplegic and longt and advocate forvet Thepairmet in phy 15 years ago— Richa astroke, and Guidry cidentthat left himu chair.Richardsaid they “odd couple” joined cumstances —and un drive to push forward.

“He’s aremarkably positive person foreverythinghe’sbeen through, and we bonded,” said Richard. “Barry spendsalmost all of his life taking careoffellow veterans, and it was quite an educationfor me to appreciate all of thestrugglesthatthese menand women go through.”

Southern’s vineyard currently includes 18 hybrid varieties and 35 muscadine varieties ofgrapes.

Thesongisanemotional tribute to the veteran experience, loosely based on Guidry’slife. Following the opening ceremonies for Festival International de Louisiane on Thursday,Richardand his band debuted the ballad he co-wrote with Guidry,with lines like, “Heputs on his cap, goes to workand rolls his

the door,and sets out find asoul in need of Richard, “wehad the idea of ong that would be atribcommitment.” Guidry .S. Armymajor who aceslikeDesertStorm Kosovo, and he suplikeWounded WarHeaLafayette-based orat helpsveterans with th. Proceeds from the edonatedtoWounded according to Guidry ly happytobepart Richard, who is resa Louisiana French singer-songwriter,aswell as a novelist andpoet. “Itwas alabor of love. This community kind of fliesunderthe radar. We knowthat we have military veterans in the community, butwedon’t always knowthe extent of the challenges they face. Barry was able to open my eyes to that. And just to see

PHOTO Lafayette veteran Barry Guidry helped co-write ‘HeartLikean Eagle’ withZacharyRichard in supportofWounded WarHeroes in Lafayette. ä See BALLAD, page 4D

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer

“I hope oneday we are theones to changeit, to makeitwine country for theSouth.”

JOSHUAREASON, Southern University Agricultural Researchand Extension Center enologist

Wisdom of theDaughters holdsannualfundraiser

Spring is the time of year for new beginnings, new life and giving back. That sense of hope and charity is busting out all over Acadiana, with fundraisers for worthy causes taking place across the area.

Kris Wartelle

The Wisdom of theDaughters held theirannual wine tasting and auction for local Catholic charities andeducational scholarships. The beautifulevent washeld on April 11 at the St. John Cathedral Hall. The event included an educational tutorial on wine and food pairing, along with adrawing for fabulous gift baskets.

One of the highlights hadtobethe trivia competition involving challenging questions about the saints and past popes. We were seated at atable with someexperts on the subject, the Rev Chester Arceneaux among them. Our team did not win, which shows just how tough (and fair) thecompetition was.

Francis Kelly, theRev Chester Arceneaux and Anthony Domingue

Every year,adedicated committee of ladies work tirelesslytofulfilltheir mission of unity and charity.Committee members Cecile Mouton, Claudia Lyles, JeannieKreamer, Marilyn Domingue, Brigid Guillory, Lauren Bourgeois, Becky Rutherford,Karen Hardy and Debra Billeaud,make up thegroup of ladies whodeserve much thanks fortheir hard work. Thank you ladies, and congratulations on another successful year

TODAYINHISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Sunday,April 26, the116thday of 2026. There are 249 days left in the year Todayinhistory:

On April 26, 1986, in the worst nuclear disaster in history,anexplosion and fire at theChernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive falloutto begin spewing into the atmosphere.Dozensofpeople werekilled in the immediate aftermath of thedisaster, while the long-term death toll from radiationpoisoning is believedtonumberinthe thousands.

Also on this date:

In 1607, English colonists went ashore at present-day Cape Henry,Virginia, on an expeditiontoestablish the first permanent English settlementinthe Western Hemisphere

In 1865, John Wilkes Booth, theassassin of President Abraham Lincoln, was surrounded byfederal troops near Port Royal, Virginia, andkilled.

In 1913, Mary Phagan, a13-year-old workerata Georgiapencilfactory, was strangled; Leo Frank, the factory superintendent, was convicted of her murderand sentenced to death. (Frank’sdeath sentence wascommuted,but he waslynched by an antisemitic mobin1915.)

In 1937, during the SpanishCivil War, Germanaircraftbombedthe Basquevillage of Guernica,killing hundreds and devastating the village (the bombing would inspire Pablo Picasso’smural “Guernica”).

In 1964, the African nationsofTanganyika and Zanzibarmergedtoform what is nowknown as Tanzania.

In 1977, the legendary nightclubStudio 54 had its opening night in New York

In 1994, voting began in South Africa’s firstall-race elections, which resultedinvictory forthe African National Congress and the inaugurationof NelsonMandela as president.

In 2000, Vermont Gov.Howard Dean signed the nation’s first bill allowing same-sex couplestoformcivil unions

In 2012, former Liberian President CharlesTaylor became the first head of statesince World WarIItobe convicted by an international war crimes courtashe was found guilty of aiding andabettingwar crimes and crimes against humanity,including murder, rape, and theuse of child soldiers.(Taylor wassentenced to50 years in prison.)

In 2018, comedian Bill Cosbywas convictedofdrugging and molesting Temple UniversityemployeeAndrea Constand at Cosby’ssuburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004. (Cosby was latersentencedtothree to 10 yearsinprison, but Pennsylvania’shighest courtthrew out the conviction and released him fromprisoninJune 2021, ruling that the prosecutor in thecasewas bound by hispredecessor’s agreementnot to charge Cosby.)

Today’sbirthdays: Actor-comedian Carol Burnett is 93. Composer-producer Giorgio Moroderis86. Olympic swimming gold medalist DonnadeVaronais79. Actor Giancarlo Espositois68. Actor JoanChenis65. Actor Jet Li is 63. Actor-comedian Kevin Jamesis61. Former U.S. Poet Laureate NatashaTretheweyis60. ActorMarianne Jean-Baptiste is 59. First lady Melania Trumpis 56. Singer Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins (TLC) is 56. Country musician Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts) is 55. ActorTom Welling is 49. Actor Pablo Schreiber is 48.Actor Jordana Brewster is 46. Actor Channing Tatum is 46. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is 34.

‘Love’

doesn’thavetomean‘LOVE Love’

Dear Miss Manners: When writing letterstofriends —and Iamofthe generation that treats emails like letters —Iamoften unsure whether to end the letter with “Love” or “Best.”

When my mother was teaching me how to write letters, she said it should always end with “Love, Name” unless it was a business letter,inwhich case it should end with “Sincerely, Name.”

who break in with the chipper “Hi!”

Andyour banker might be startled at “Yours truly,” thinking you had declared yourselftruly his, and what was he supposed to do about that?

As time has gone on, Ihave noticed that unless someone is avery close friend, they usually endletters with “Best” (still saving “Sincerely” for business).SoIdothe same. Has ending letters with “Love” become too presumptuous, cloying or well, icky? Is there apoint at which someoneprogresses from “Best” to “Love,” perhaps as they progress from liking to loving?

Idon’treally LOVE that many people. Obviously if someone begins using “Love” withme, Iwill follow suit, but being thefirst to do so makes me uncomfortable.

GentleReader: Andnow even “Dear,” as asalutation, is considered emotionally compromising, at least by those

Ah,yes. Conventions are now analyzed fortheir literal meanings. But time was when it would not seem odd to write aletter such as: EsteemedSir, Youare acad not fit forcivilized society.Beware. Iwill seek myrevenge. Your humble andobedient servant, Name Andyoung ladies whoaddressed one another with “Love” werenot assumed tobenurturing wild passions. Even Miss Manners finds herself succumbing to such scrutiny.When she sees the sign-off “Best,” she can’t help thinking, “Best what? Wishes? Regards? Bestyou can do?”

So you should probably confine “Love” tothose whounderstand it as an expression of warm friendship, and take it down to “Affectionately” or “Fondly yours” to those whodon’t.

“Sincerely yours” will do forthe rest.You are sincere, are you not?

Dear Miss Manners: I’ve participated

in alocal book club at my library for afew months. I’ve decided to leave the club due to the constant flow of personal experiences that are, at best, tangentially related to the book. Do Ineed to tell the host, or can I just stop attending? Should Itell the host that Ifound the personal comments to be excessive? The rest of the group does not seem to mind the personal comments, as manyattendees contribute to the format.

Gentle Reader: Rather than saying that members should be discussing literature, not their personal lives, could you just say that the club was not the right fit foryou?

Miss Manners doubts that you need to say either —only that you find you can no longer attend. But please do not criticize the other members. They are enjoying the club the way it is, and relating books to personal experiences is not an intellectual crime. Nor is having abook club that is more social than studious, although it does not suit you. Perhaps the librarian can steer you to amore academically oriented club.

Send questions to Miss Manners to her email, dearmissmanners@ gmail.com.

Dear Heloise: Moredriversnotice cars that only have one working headlight.Years ago, fixing aheadlight meant buying abulb, unscrewing it, andreplacing it in minutes. Today,many vehicles requirethe removal of panels or bumper parts to access thebulb.Several friends recently complained about high repair costs. A mechanic explained that new assemblies aremore complex, and labor can take 1-2 hours. So, if aheadlight burns out, check theowner’smanual first. Some cars allow for simple bulb changes,which saves money If not, always request arepair estimate to avoid surprises. —ConnieButler, in Blair,Nebraska Preventing freezerwaste

Dear Heloise: Buying large packages of meat can savemoney,but dividing

everything into freezer portions can taketime and energy

Instead of doing it all at once, try spreading thetask outover several days

When Ireturn from shopping, I look at the“useby” or “freeze by” dates on the packages and write them on my household calendar

Then, aday or two before these dates arrive, Itake afew minutes to break larger packages into smaller portionsfor the freezer.Ikeepone package out for immediate meals and wrap the rest tightly in freezer bags

This method prevents the rush of trying to portion out everything at once and helps to ensure that nothing spoils before it gets frozen. Planning like this also keepsthe freezer organized andhelps rotate food so that older items getused first. —Dawn, via email Tensionrod forstorage

Dear Heloise: The space undermy

sink usedtofeel like acluttered mess until Iaddedasimple tension rod. Iplaced aspring-loaded rod acrossthe cabinetand hung spray bottlesbytheir triggers, lifting them offthe base andinstantly creating more usable space. Now Ican seeeverything at a glanceand no longerneed to dig around forsupplies.

Keeping bottles upright also helps prevent leaksand spills thatused to happenfar toooften. After one toomanyspills, we clearly needed abettersystem. The open space underneathnow holds small bins for sponges, brushes, and extra cleaning items.

Sincethe rodadjusts easily,itfits most cabinets without tools or apermanent installation. This quickfix hasturneda cramped area into an organized, easy-to-maintain space thatworks everyday —Kevin, in Omaha, Nebraska

Send ahint to heloise@heloise.com

TRAVEL

Alleyesonthe skyatMonroe’sair show

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Since its inception in 2022, Monroe’sannual Red White &Blue Airshowhas evolved from aweekend of localentertainment to atravel destination.

“Weget people from all over the country forthisevent,” saidJohn McJunkins, director of development for the Chennault Aviation &Military Museum, which hosts the event. “As far as we’ve been able to tell, it is oneofthe largest and most economically impactful events that happens in northeast Louisiana.”

This year’sshow willtakeplace fromMay 1-3 at theMonroe Regional Airport, 5400 Operations Road, Monroe.

This year’stheme is acelebration of America’s250th anniversary,which willbehighlighted by drone shows on Fridayand Saturday nights. The show will feature an intricate drone light display staged by Dallas-basedAriel Illuminations, whichfuses technologyand artistry to create immersiveexperiences through its large-scale drone productions

Intricate, animated, patriotic images will fill Monroe’snight sky.

“Since we’re specifically celebrating America’s250th anniversary,the drone show willhave a patriotic theme,” McJunkinssaid. “And so we’re doing acouple of other things to highlight that.” Onesuch eventwillfeatureparatrooper reenactments.

“We’ll have paratrooperreenactors drop out of World WarII planes,” McJunkins said. “They’ll be using World WarIIgear on one day, andthey’ll be usingVietnam era gear on another day.Itwill be afull reenactment on bothdays.” Also in the lineup are flightsbya Canadian RCAF Aurora CP-140; a

TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER

By ChristopherElliott

Meanwhile, static plane displays will be exhibited on the airfield, includingthe DreamBig Entertainment LLC F/A-18 Hornet “Topgun” Experience, where visitors can sit in the cockpit of the same type of fighterjets usedinthe 2022 film, “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Though the show offers aweekend of entertainment for lovers of everything aerial, it alsohas another purpose.

Show Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City ButBarksdale is amilitary base, andtheir airshowismoreofa campaign as amilitary tribute, McJunkins said. Monroe’sair show raises money forthe museum and continues to honor local veterans.

throughexpansive collectionsof artifacts and compelling stories.

The museum also is home to the Louisiana Aviation Hall of Fame and the ChennaultAviation Park featuring staticdisplays of historical aircraft. Those coming to the air show will also have achance to visit the museum before the gates open forthe show

The show will start between aboutanhourafter gatesopenat 3p.m. Friday and Saturday.Gates open at 11 a.m. Sunday Though acts are listed, they aren’tattached to aspecific schedule.

“Wecan’tlist the schedules, because alot of the acts aren’tfinalized until muchcloser to the air show,” McJunkins said. “Also, schedule dependsonavailability and various conditions.”

One of those conditions is weather.Ifconditions are safe, the show will go on.

The show will not be exactly the same each daybut will include someofthe sameacts, including “Twilight Shows” featuring lit planes after the sun sets.

Generaladmissiontickets are $15-$30 and are good for one day

Three day combo tickets are $42$560 and coverall three days. Single day VIPand preferred tickets also are available and include extra perks.

Titan Aerobatic plane;aghostwriter; aBeech 18, the flagship plans in Matt Younkin’sair show fleets; and performances by aerobatics pilots Mike “Spanky” Gallaway and John Scherff;pilot Dan Fordiceand his P-51D Mustang; aerobatics by the Jet Waco, 1929 Taperwing Waco biplane; Shannon Elliot and his World WarIIAT-6; the NextGen EaglesAerobatics Team; and Ben Ausbrooks and hisSteen Sky Bolt.

“The Chennault Museum runs the air show,but really it’sthe opposite—the air show sponsors the museum,” McJunkins said. “It’s fully hostedand run by the museum staff and volunteers related to themuseum, but it’s our primary fundraiser.So, agood chunk of our budget everyyear comes from this event, and that’sone thing we try to express on our social media, because oftentimes, we get aquestion of ‘Whydoyou guys charge for theair show?’”

The questionarises because no admissionfees are charged for the annual Defenders of Liberty Air

The Chennault Aviation &Military Museum, 701 Kansas Lane, Monroe, will be open from 9a.m. to 4p.m. on Fridayand Saturday during the airshowweekend. Admissionisfree to this institution named for Gen. Claire Chennault, who commanded the Flying Tigers squadron during World WarII.

Chennault wasborn in Texas but grew up in Louisiana and attended LSU.

The nonprofit museum opened in 2000 in the last remaining classroomsofthe Selman Field Navigation School —the largest navigation school in the United States during WorldWar II.Itnot only tells Chennault’sstory but commemorates veterans and soldiers from World WarItoIraqi Freedom

Tickets forparking are $20 fora single dayor$50 forall threedays. For both air show and parking tickets, visit redwhiteandblueairshow com.

Forvisitorsoptingtospend more timeinthe area, the Monroe-West Monroe Visitors and Convention Bureau offersa listofplaces to visit and stay,along with places to visit, including the DuckCommander Museum,the BlackBayou National Lake Wildlife Refuge and theBiedenharn Museum & Gardens at itswebsite, monroewestmonroe.org.

For moreshowinformation,visit redwhiteandblueairshow.com, and for the mostup-to-date information on any changesinthe show, visit the Red White &Blue Airshow’sFacebook page at facebook. com/redwhiteandblueairshow

Airbnb chargedfor anonexistent rental in California

The lesson for other travelers?

Christopher Elliott

Ibooked an apartment through Airbnb in Beverly Hills, making an initial payment of $1,236.There wasjust one problem: The address listed for the property didn’texist.Soon after,without my consent,Airbnb charged my cardanother $7,080 Airbnb then canceled my reservation and closed my account, even though Inever requested either action.When I called Airbnb,ittold me it couldn’tverify my account. EverytimeIspoke with arepresentative, Iwas given anew case number and told the issue would be resolved in afew business days. Instead, the cases were closed without resolution.

Idisputed the charges with Barclays, my credit card company. It reversed the $7,080 chargebut refused to returnthe $1,236,

saying Ihad voluntarily provided my card number to Airbnb,soitwasn’tfraud.

I’dprefer not to takethis to court.Can you help me getmy$1,236 back? —William Marell,West Palm Beach, Fla.

This one is atangle of Airbnb’s weakest points: fake listings, arbitrary account closures and a customer service system that can leave guests stranded.

Let’sstartwith thelisting.

Airbnb requireshosts to provide accurate information and handles payments through itsplatform, acting as the host’slimited collection agent. In theory,once you’ve paid, your only responsibility is to show up. When ahost misrepresents or cancels, Airbnb is supposed to step in with an immediate refund.

In your case, the property never existed.That alone should have triggered afull refund. Butthere was asecond failure: Airbnb then added what appeared to be arandom $7,080 charge for arental that didn’t exist. For reasons that aren’tentirely clear,Airbnb then flagged your account. Youfell into atrap many travelers knowtoo well: Airbnb assignscase numbers, then closes them automatically after aset time. If your account is later deactivated,Airbnb’scustomer service often refuses to discussthe case becausethe account is closed. Youdid the rightthing by documenting everything andfiling a credit card dispute. The problem is that Barclayssaw your $1,236 as avoluntary transaction, which

technically it was, even though you never got whatyou paid for That’satough —but not unusual —response from abank. Barclay’scould have done abetter job of investigating your initial complaint. Ithink abrief, polite email to one of the Airbnb executive contacts Ilistonmyconsumer advocacy site Elliott.org might have helped move things along. Behindthe scenes, Airbnb was willing to refund you if you withdrew your chargeback. That’s common practice. Companies don’tlike issuing refunds while adispute is pending. But it looks like you never received that message, and with your account shut down, there wasnoway for you to follow up with Airbnb.

Check vacation rental listings carefully before booking. Verify the address independently,and if something feels off, walk away Keep detailed records of your communication, and don’tgive up if the company tries to arbitrarily close your case. Persistence, backed by documentation, is often whatgets aresult.

After Icontacted Airbnb, it reinstated your account and processed the refund. You’ve now confirmed that the $1,236 has been returned.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy,anonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him on his site.

HowsandwichesslicedintotoboggantimeinGermany

BY CAROL POOLEY

Contributing writer

Human Condition

As Ioverheard afriendrecounting her cherished memories of visiting beautiful, impressive and ornately decorated cathedrals in Germany,Ireflected on my own precious memories of that country Ilived in Heidelberg and then Mannheim from the agesof5to 7. Isuppose my age accounts for why my recollections are abit different. Iguess you’d call them ageappropriate. Iremember some of the cathedrals vaguely,but what stands out to me is encapsulated in aphoto with my three siblings. As kids, during the snowy winter months, we lived playing in the snow,building snowmen in the yard and making our snow angels. But the dearestmemory is the Christmas whenmysiblings and Iwere gifted with atoboggan from either Santa Claus or St. Nicholas; it doesn’treally matter In Mannheim, we lived in

PROVIDED PHOTO

Fromleft,David, Mikie, Carol and Sue Pooley(Dille) takeinaday on their toboggan,a fondmemoryoftheir timeliving in Germany

Army-base housing and nearby was agreat hill or slope where all of us Army brat kids would spend

VINEYARD

Continued frompage1D

to four months to grow until it’s timetoharvest Southern UniversityAgricultural Research and Extension Center is growing wine grapes in Baton Rouge —inthe kind of heat and humiditymost people would assume grapes would hate. Yetthese rows of vines are producing fruit, fueling researchand supporting an ambitious goal:helpingbuild aLouisiana wineindustry

People who work in the vineyard often use the same word: beautiful.

But beauty extends far beyond the surface.The Louisianaacreagemay notlooklike Napa Valley,but maintaining the vineyard is its own kind of achievement.

“It’sabeautiful thing,”said enologist Joshua Reason, of growing grapes in Louisiana. Last year,the program launched its own wine label, the 801 Collection. Officials are now working through permits and certifications needed to sell to the public, aprocess expected to take alittle more than ayear The programisnow expanding the vineyardtoinclude seven more acres and awinery building Southern’sAgCenter established thevineyard on campus in 2020 to enhance the sustainability and profitability of grape and wine production in Louisiana. Faculty,staff and students use the vineyard for research, plant management, outreach, educationand workforce training

The vineyard is part of the university’sviticulture and enology researchprogram viticulture being thestudy of growing grapes and enology being theart of winemaking. The vineyard currently includes 18 hybridvarieties and35 muscadine varieties.

Most of the grapes are wine grapes, but there arealso table grapes, or grapes grown for eating

Hybrids are grapes that are crossbred with two different species (typically European vines with American vines), while muscadines are native North American grapes. Hybrid grapesare bred to better withstand conditions in specific regions, includingheat,humidity and disease pressure.

“I know muscadine wine, peoplelike it,but we want to promote more of thehybrids because it makes very beautiful wine,” said Devaiah Kambiranda, aplant and soil science professor with the university’s AgCenter who started the vineyard program. In thethickofthe Louisiana summers, Kambiranda and his teamare in the vineyard almost every day harvesting the hybrid grapes in mid-July andthe muscadine grapes in mid-to-late August.

BALLAD

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our days sledding. The trek up was well worth it forthe thrill of theride down. This joy was cut short one sad, unfortunate day when what I thought was my best-kept secret was exposed. Let me add, Ihave always been a“picky” eater.Asa child, the lunch break in the middle of playing outside during the day was something Idreaded.

As so often happened while playing outdoors on snow days, my mittens becamesoaking wet All that was necessary wasa quick run into the house fordry ones and back out again to play As Icreptthrough the living room,Isaw my mom and dad peering over the expandable kitchen table, which could be slid open when that extra leaf was needed. Nextthing Iremember was their faces and eyes staring at me.

Did Ireally say,“Ithink it was Mikie”?

All my well-hidden, or so I

thought, old sandwiches with small bites eaten were discovered. Wasitthe smell that finally revealed my secret stash of lunchtimerejects? Mikie became my accomplice and, thus, never squealed on me until that fateful day Idon’tthink Mikie got in trouble because somehow my guilt must have been exposed. To be truthful, my only regret wasnot being able to change my wetmittens and go back to sliding downhill on that wonderful toboggan. —Pooley lives in Donaldsonville.

Advocate readers maysubmit stories of about 500 words to TheHuman Condition at features@theadvocate.com or The Advocate, Features, 10705 Rieger Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. There is no payment, and stories will be edited.Authors shouldinclude theircityof residence.

Aboutsix to eight students help in the vineyard each semester —many of them plant andsoilscience majors who assistwith samplecollection, weed management and other agronomicwork. While students work on research forthe vineyard, they do not participatein the wine-making process.

He says the yield depends on the plant. Last year,Southern’s hybrids produced between 25 and35poundsper vine andthe muscadines produced between 40 and 50 pounds.

Hybridsare picked by individual clusters using pruners, Kambiranda explained, whereasmuscadine grapes are stripped with atarp on the ground, transferred to bins and brought to thebuilding. The fruitiswashed, crushedand preparedfor fermentation.

Local sommelier ScottHiggins explained thatLouisiana would struggle to grow highquality international grapes because of the weather.These grapesrelyona diurnaltemperature range, when the high and low temperatures of the dayare far apart.

“A place like Napa getsto110 degrees during the day,but at nightit’s55,”Higgins said.“The grapeshanglonger,developing sugars during the day.Atnight, it cools off and stops the process.” Ahigh diurnal temperature range helps achieve abalanced sugar-to-acidity ratiowiththe grapes,Higgins said.

SouthernUniversity AgCenter enologist Joshua Reason uses tweezers on aseedling cluster before it flowers in aprocess called emasculation.

In Louisiana, the international varieties would have to be picked early becauseofthe climate and wouldn’tget enough “hang time.” That helps explain why hybrid and muscadine grapesperform better here: they are better adapted to Louisiana conditions. Through abreeding technique known as emasculation,growers can create cultivars with traits such as diseaseresistance or improved fruit quality

Thestudents with Southern’s programmonitor fordifferent diseases, working on research on newly released and existing Pierce’s disease-tolerant grape

cultivars. Kambiranda says the bacterial diseasedisruptsthe water movement of the plant, stunting itsgrowth.

The emasculation process removes themale reproductive parts of aflower before it matures, preventing self-pollination, Kambiranda explained. First,one must separate the male and femaleparts of the flower,bag the stigma (a crucial part of thefemalereproductiveorgan of aflower) and then takethe pollen from adesirable plant to dust on thefemale cluster— which is thenbagged so it doesn’t pollinate withother grapes.

Kambiranda says theyusually get 400-600 seeds out of the process, but only one-third germinate. This year,theyare increasing their output with 1,000 seeds.

“The grapes have to be tolerant to all the fungal diseases that are very prevalent in this region, and it has to produce good fruit, right? Ultimately fruit is what makes the juice. It has to overcomeall of this. Once in awhile,ithas to be tolerant to winter and frost, too,” Kambiranda said. “It’sachallenge, but we can grow —that’sthe message.”

Kambiranda andhis team collaborate with vineyards and farmers across Louisiana to share data.

“Ultimately,weare working forthe farmers,”hesaid. “Without farmers, we are not here.” Reason, apast student at Southern, has worked in the field since 2020. He hopes that Louisianacan pull itsweightin the wine world one day,attracting tourists to visit because of the quality

“I hope one day we are the ones to change it,” Reason said, “to make it wine country for the South.”

Beyond Mardi Gras, south Louisiana is better known for sugar cane, soybeans and sweltering summers. Even so,the vines keep growing.

Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.

the devotion that he givestohis community —he’savery special person.” Thepairwrote thelyricstogether,and Guidry said it wasan education forhim to delve into songwriter with amaster

“I remember him strumming along, and we were humming some words, and as he started singing it,Igot choked up,”said Guidry.“It became very personal to me. It’sloosely based on me, but it’sreally about the struggles that all veteransdeal with that no one really sees,but we continue on and try to make the best of what we have.” Guidry saidthat asong felt like theright vehicle for spreading awareness aboutWoundedWar Heroes, sincemusic is centralto theveteran experience.

rock songs that take youback to some of your combat missions, or songs that make you cry when you comehome. Ithink music is oneofthe greatest things in the worldthatcan soothe anybody’s soul.”

“I’dnever writtenasong, and Ican’t sing anote, but Ilove music,” he said. “There are so manysongs out therethat bring you back —from thesehard

Zachary Richard is scheduled to play “Heart Like an Eagle” at theNew Orleans Jazz &Heritage Festival on Sunday followed by a performance at the Threadhead 20th Anniversary Celebration at Deutsche Haus in NewOrleans on April 28. Richard will then debutthe singleatthe Crowley Grand Opera House on May 30 before leaving to tourinCanada andFrance.

Email Joanna Brownatjoanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

AT THE TABLE

Origins of German chocolate cake not what you think

Round or rectangular, it’s all in the name of this family-pleaser

BY DEBRA BROUSSARD TAGHEHCHIAN Contributing writer

When my family had a reunion coming up I asked my son and daughter, who now live out of state, “Are you coming to the family reunion?”

“I’m not sure What are they cooking?” is always the question asked Quite honestly if the food is good it is worth the trip. This is especially true here in southwest Louisiana, where we are known for our delicious dishes.

“Well, this year we are having jambalaya, black-eyed peas and cabbage salad The jambalaya will be cooked outside in a large cast-iron pot. Johnny is making the black-eyed peas, and John is also going to make cracklings and fried sweet potatoes,” I answer

And just like magic, that was enough to get the two of them to make the drive.

Of course, this wasn’t all the food served. Everyone brought something to contribute I made a homemade potato salad and a German chocolate cake. Others brought homemade desserts like Cajun teacakes, fruit cobblers, brownies and fruit salad. Lack of food choices is never an issue.

I had a birthday a few days ago, and every year

I make a German chocolate cake for myself. This year, I decided to share it at the reunion.

I made up the recipe for the frosting several years ago when I found grated coconut with heavy syrup in a can. The coconut is finely shredded, and the syrup ratio is perfect for this recipe. I add a few more ingredients, cook it and then spread it onto the cake.

A little clarification about the name German chocolate cake. Many people think that the cake was originally made in the country of Germany. Not so. It is named after Baker’s German’s Sweet Chocolate, a brand of sweet chocolate created by an American named Samuel German

This cake with the coconut and pecan icing is from a recipe first found and published in Dallas in the 1950s.

Typically, a two-layer round cake, I decided to make my cake one layer this year and cut it into squares for easy serving I really like the single layer because the ratio of cake to icing is perfect The cake layer and spread of icing make for a not-too-sweet bite.

Give this version a try Maybe you will hear what I heard people asking at our family reunion — “Who made the German chocolate cake? It is so good.”

German Chocolate Cake

German Chocolate Cake Makes 1 (13-inch-by-9-inch) cake or 1 (2-layer 8-inch) round cake; Recipe is by Debra Broussard Taghehchian 1 box of German chocolate cake mix plus ingredients listed on box to make the cake (eggs, oil, water, etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Grease and parchment paper line the bottom of your cake pan(s) and set aside.

3. Prepare the German chocolate cake mix according to box directions.

4. Pour cake mix into the pan(s) and bake according to box directions.

5. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool for 5 minutes on cooling racks. Remove cake(s) from pan(s) and allow to cool completely 6. In a 3-quart saucepan, add 1 can of grated coconut in syr-

7. Heat over medium-high heat until hot and bubbling.

8. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 1-2 tablespoons water, and stir to dilute the cornstarch.

9. Add cornstarch mixture to hot mixture and stir

10. Cook until mixture thickens and remove from heat.

11. Spread hot mixture onto cooled cake. If you are making a two-layer cake, spread half of the mixture on one layer, top with the second layer of cake and then spread the remaining mixture on top. If you are making a 13-inch-by-9-inch cake, spread the mixture onto the cooled cake, making an even layer

TO TH∑∑ IPLEDGE

BY JANRISHER Staff writer

In 1986, Trisha Addicks drove three hours from her hometown in North Carolina to the University of Georgia for sorority recruitment. She had afriend, agray and peachcomforter —and was armed with the confidence of naivety

On bid day,while girls up and down the hall tore open envelopes and screamed with joy,Addicks opened hers to find it empty

She did not get in. No bid. No mistake. Nothing.

PNM, arrives on campus, she is assigned asecret score based on recommendation letters, an intro video,asocial media presence and connectionsmade before rush even begins.

The PNM is never told what that score is. Shecan only maintain it or subtract from it once the process starts. The sororities decide in privatewho comes back for the next round.The PNMfinds outthrough an app

Sorority recruitmenthas alwaysbeen competitive, but it hasbecomemore so

Robert Penn Warren’s daughter extendshis legacy

“Decades later and Ican still feel the trauma of that rejection,” she writes in her new book, “The Rush Bible: Secrets to Crush Sorority Recruitment and Find Your Forever Greek Home,” out May 12 from Simon &Schuster

“And make no mistake, it was trauma.”

She went back the following year.She pledged Chi Omega. And she never forgot what that empty envelope felt like.

What followedwas one of those careers that only makes sense when told backward. Addicks began helping friends’ daughters navigaterush —informally at first, then with growing seriousness as the calls kept coming.

“I think the biggest thing that surprises peopleisthat I’m not bubbly and Southern —and I’m not astereotypical sorority girl or aging sorority girl,” Addicks said.

That said, in 2017, she turned her rush know-how into abusiness: It’sAll Greek to Me, anational rush consultancy.She has await list, ateam of coaches and clients from the SEC to the IvyLeague. Shewas featured in the 2023 HBO Max documentary “Bama Rush.” Her story is now in feature film development with Elizabeth Banks and Brownstone Productions.

“The Rush Bible” is Addicks’ attempt to reach the young women she can’t.

“I get at least 10 calls and DMs aday,” she said. “People desperate to know what Iknow.”

And Addicks knows alot Her insight has agrowing audience. Over the past decade, LSU Panhellenic has seen steady growth in recruitment registration —increasing from 1,237 in 2015 to 1,609 in 2025, its highest total to date.

In her book, Addicks explains that beforeeach potential new member,or

Addicks writes that,in 2009, roughly 1,400 young women registered forrecruitment at theUniversity of Alabama. By 2023, that number had climbed to about2,600 —competing for roughly the same number of bids.

Thedynamic plays beyond the SEC. It goesout coast to coast, at engineering schools, small liberal arts colleges and universities where Greek life was barely afootnote 20 years ago.

As of late 2025, TikTok’s #RushTokhad millions of postsyielding up to 5billion views

The wholespectacle is more visible than ever, which has created adomino effect. More people want in. The competition is fiercer still.

“It has made the stakes higher,”Addicks said,“because more people want to be apartofit.”

Thebook is organized as a complete playbook:months of preparation before arriv-

ing on campus, adetailed guide to each of the four rounds of rush and frank instruction on how to absorb acut —inthe 15 minutes between being dropped from one house and having to walk into the next one smiling.

She shares detailed explanations behind her “rules of engagement” for PNMs looking to make the best impression during thevarious parties at sorority houses:

n Listen.

n Be positive.

n Avoid the six B’s: Ballots, Bible. Boys. Booze. Bucks. Brands

n Avoid one-word answers.

n Don’tfidget

n Askquestions.

Addicks says thebook’s goal is not only to demystify the process of rush itself, but it’salso about figuring out how to confidently present oneself.

Addicks knows what it means when asorority shows aPNM the basement during ahouse tourinstead of the best bedroom. She knew thecode words amajor SEC chapter once used to signal which girls they

AND

FOREVER

GREEK HOME’

Available May12but canbepre-ordered.

wanted. She has helped a senior at an Ivy League university —someone most consultants wouldn’ttouch —get abid.

Butfor all its insider intelligence, “The Rush Bible” keeps returning to an argument that has nothing to do with Greek life.

“Confidently presenting yourself, knowing what you want and how to get it —those are skills that will carry you through job interviews, internship interviews, just life in general,” Addicks said. “I really want people to know that any young woman can get these skills —and it’s not just women going through rush.”

Oneofher favorite client stories involves ayoung woman who worked through the book’sself-reflection exercises and decided she didn’twant to rush at all. Her family had not expected that decision —Greek life was part of their identity.The young woman told her family she was choosing theater instead. Her mother called Addicks.

“She said, ‘The thing that makes me the happiest about this is that my daughter had theconfidence to tell us this,’”Addicks recalled “That was one of the biggest wins I’ve ever had.”

It is, perhaps, astrange measure of success for arush consultant tohelp someone opt out. ButAddicks has spent 40 years helping young women arrive —atrush, at work, at life —asthemselves.

Addicks learned that lesson thehard way,inadorm hallway in Athens, Georgia, holding an empty envelope while everyone around her celebrated.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

With the publication of “All the King’sMen” in 1946, Robert Penn Warren wrote himself indelibly into Louisiana’sliterary history.Warren’snovel about a populist governor corrupted by ambition wasinspired by Huey Long, wholoomed large in Louisiana when Warren began teaching at LSU. He later left the state and enjoyed alongcareer as awriter and teacher,dividing his time between his home in Connecticut and asummer place in Vermont. Warren died at 84 in 1989. “All the King’sMen” is getting a renewed profile this year as the Louisiana Inspired Book Club’s summer reading selection. Warren was also acelebrated poet, which is worth remembering as Americans close out April’sobservance of National Poetry Month. His legacy helped shape the vision of his daughter,Rosanna Warren, who’sa successful poet, too.

Last year,Rosanna Warren published abeautiful essay in The American Scholar recounting her childhood years in ahousehold that brimmed with books and manuscripts. Rosanna’smother,Eleanor Clark, wasalso awriter,so the clatter of composition from twocorners of the house wasadaily affair Rosanna fondly recalled how her father“battered away at his stately typewriter,moored like atugboat on his desk; you could hear the clackety-clack of the keys, the bell’smetallic squawk each time he reached the end of aline, the thunk as he slammed the lever to return the carriage and attack the next line.”

Rosanna, like her parents, has agift forvivid imagery,a talent that informs “Hindsight,” her latest book of poems.

What I’ve always loved about her father’spoems is the way they’re grounded in the grit and gristle of everyday existence, even as they glimmer with spiritual insight. One of my favorite Robert Penn Warren poemsis“Audubon: AVision,” in which he imagines the famous bird artist foraging the woods forspecimens: “Alone, he played his flute in the forest.”

What Warren seemstosay,without spelling it out, is that we’re all alone at times, drawing on the magic of music, language and art forconsolation. The poemsthat Rosanna Warren offers readers in “Hindsight” have asly wayoftelescoping from the commonplace to the cosmic, too. In one poem,“Naturally,” she even finds inspiration in aWalmart parking lot, where she’sshopping very early to avoid others during the pandemic.

“Wefiddle our masks on over our mammalian noses,” she writes, “weglove our hairless simian fingers and palms.”

It’s apoem about the oddity of social distancing, but also, quite possibly,about the general strangeness of life as ahuman being.

The world has sometimes seemed even stranger since those disorienting days of a global contagion, which is whythe poemsof “Hindsight” continue to resonate. In alovely poem called “Papier Mâché,” Warren watches a 5-year-old shred grim newspaper headlines for acraftproject.

“He’ll makesomething whole of all this havoc,” she writes. These poemsmake something whole from the havoc, too, atonic forwhat ails us.

Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com

catedat705 West Univer‐sity Avenue,Lafayette LA.Bidsreceivedafter theabove specified time foropening shallnot be considered andshall be returned unopened to thesender. Biddersare encouraged to join the bidopening in-personor mayjointhe bidopening virtuallyvia Zoom using thefollowing link: https://us02web.zoom us/j/87438154051? pwd=4BwIjsCneaM43FM 29lWfbObaFGK2V5.1

DEADLINEFOR QUSTIONS OR EXCEPTIONS: All question or exceptions regardingthisproject must be submittedno laterthannoon 12:00p.m. (CST)onWednesday May6,2026. Anyques‐tionsand/orexceptions pertaining to this project, ifi i d bid

ALEXANDER, CHARLOTTE WALKER ALEXANDER, YVETTE MARIE

ALFRED, ODYSSEY NIKOLE ALVAREZRIVERA,

BREANNA MARIE

ANGOVE, MICHAEL PATRICK

ARCENEAUX, BRANDI NICOLE

ARNOLD, JONATHAN ANDREW ATKINS, VANITAGRAYCE

AUZENNE, KYLIE JANAE

BABINEAUX, MANDI MCGEE

BABINEAUX, EMMA ELIZABETH BALLENTINE, TIONNA CHYANN

BAROUSSE, CHARLES WESLEY

BARRON, MICHAEL LEE

BATISTE, DASHANTAMARKAYLA

BAUMAN, PATRICIA RUTH

BAYLOR, SEAN ROSS

BEAN,ORIONA RENEA

BENOIT,JAI TIMOTHY

BERNARD, CHASE EVANS

BEST,KATIE MICHELLE

BIAGAS, ELIZABETH

BONIN, AMBER RENEE

BORDELON, JUDE M

BORDELON, PRACILLA C

BOURQUE, STEPHEN M

BROUSSARD, GAGEBEAUSOLEIL

BROUSSARD, MILTON L

BROUSSARD, KESHIA NICOLE

BROUSSARD, DEASIA CELESTE

BROUSSARD, ADAM FRANCIS

BROUSSARD, ARMAND J BROUSSARD, SHEILA C BROWN, JOSEPHINE MARIE

BROWN, MALIJAH MARIE

BROWN, DESIREE NICOLE

BRYANT,TREY DANTEE

BRYANT,BRADFORD SCOTT

BURROW,DEBRA G

BUSTAMANTES, ANASTACIO LUGO

BUTEAU, PATSY SMITH

CALLAIS, KRISTIESOILEAU

CAMPBELL, OLINE MARIEROMERO

CATROU, ANNE RPREJEAN CAVALIER, COURTNEY LYN CELESTINE, CLARA L CHAMPAGNE, LAYNI ANNE CHAUVIN, HARRIET P CLARK, JAYALEXANDER CLARK, DYLAN OCTA COMEAUX, JESSICA MARIELINTON CORKIN, BRAD CLAYTON

CORMIER, BRITNEY LAUREN

CORMIER, GLENDA B CREDEUR, MICHAEL DAVID

CROCHET,REBA W CROWL, JAMES CLIFTON

DARVILLE, COREY D DAUDEY,SETH ROBERTDANIEL DAVIS, SEAN EDWARD DEAN, MARK ANTHONY

DEFORREST,JILL DARTEZ

DENDY,MOLLIE K DESFORGES, JEREMY ALLAN

DESPANIE, MAKAYLA LASHAY

DIEUJUSTE, ARABELLA

DUCOTE, RACHAEL A DUHON, LESHIA A DUPLANTIS, SHERIE DISOTELL DUPUIS, DAWN ONCALE

EDMOND, DAVID JAMES JOSEPH

ESTRIDGE, SABRYNA RENEE

EVANS, MARISSA ALLISON

FARRAR, FRITZ DONOVAN

FARRISH, JOHN LEE

FICKLE, TAMMY LEE

FONTENOT,TIFFANIE DUHON

FOULCARD, SHAENA ANDRE

FRANCIS, ARTESIA RENEE

FRANCIS, BRIANNA PAIGE

FRANKLIN, DOROTHY MYERS

GABRIEL, LISAANN GALLIEN, TENESHA LYNN

p g p j specificationsand bid documentsmustbesent in writingvia emailto DabneDover @dabne‐dover@lafayettela.gov. Allexceptionsand ques‐tionsaffecting thepro‐ject,specificationsorbid documents, shallbead‐dressedinthe form of an addendum andwillbe sent to allbidders on record.Noverbalcorre‐spondencewillbebind‐ing.

SCOPEOFSERVICES: The rehabilitation of deterio‐ratedwastewatercollec‐tion mainsand laterals usingthe cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) processto correctstructuralde‐fectsand to reduce in‐flow/infiltration.All work to be completedwithin 180 Calendar Days from theNoticetoProceed In accordance with LouisianaRS38:2212. vendorsmay submit theirbid electronically at thewebsite listed above.

Bidderswishing to sub‐mittheir bidelectroni‐callymust firstberegis‐teredwithinLCG Vendor Access at thewebsite listed above. Theregis‐trationprocess cantake some time;therefore LCGrecommendsregis‐tering days in advanceof thetimethatbidsare due. It is thesolerespon‐sibility of thebidderto ensure theirbid is deliv‐ered (whether electroni‐callyvia Vendor Access, in person,orvia mail) to thePurchasingDivision priortothe scheduled date andtimeofthe bid opening. Vendorsmay requestthe bidpackage electronically from DabneDover at dabne‐dover@lafayettela.gov Contractorswishing to submit theirbid electron‐ically must firstberegis‐teredonlinewith Lafayette Consolidated Government as apoten‐tial supplieratthe web‐site listedabove

questedtoprovide the same documentsasbid‐ders submitting through themailassoon as avail‐able.Onlya bidbond, certified checkor cashier’scheck shallbe submittedasthe bidse‐curity.Electronic copies of both thefront

GAUTHIER, DANIELJOSEPH

GAUTREAU, MARY ELIZABETH

GIBSON,VINCENT D GOODSON,CAROLINE ALEXIS

GRANGER, KATHYDAIGLE

GRANIERI,CARL C GRAYSON,BAILEY MCKENZIE

GREGORY, JAMES

GRIFFIN, LAMARKUS QUINTAZS

GRIFFIN, AHJANAE TANARYADASHYNE

GRIFFITH,COLE ROLDON

GROUVILLIA, IANMICHELE

GUIDRY,CAYLIE M

GUIDRY,PEGGY S GUIDRY,MICHAEL JULES

GUILBEAU, CECILIA GABRIELLE

GUILBEAU, RONALD JOSEPH HAMMERSKY,CHRISTOPHER PAUL

HARRELL, RONALD A

HARRIS, TAVARIOUSJARVON

HARRIS, DONRIKA MARIE

HARRIS, YON SCORTES

IMANI

HARRIS, JOYCE

HARRISON,MARSHAWNA SHANTAE

HENTON,DOROTHYD

HILLIS,ZACHARY EARL

HILLMAN, EVERETT MICHAEL

HOFFPAUIR,BENJAMIN DAVID

HOLLIER, ROBERTC

HOLLIER, AMELIE ANNE

HOLLOWAY,REGINALD FITZGERALD

HOOTON,CYNTHIA FRANCES JOHNSON

HOWARD, JADE ALEXANDRA

HUMPHREY,LORRAINE ANNA

HUTCHISON, LILYCLAIRE

IZEVBIZUA, JOSEPH OSADEBAWEN JOHNSON,DAVID C JOHNSON,PATRICK E

JONES, MATILDA KARNES, GERALD NEAL

KAUPU,JASLYNNNORINE

KEMPFER, LISA A KENNEDY,MICAHISAIAH KING, KATHARINE LEIGH

KING, AINSLEY BREAUX

KRAYESKY,DAVID M

LACOUR, PARKER NELSON

LAFLEUR, BRIDGET ANNE

LAGRANGE,JILL M

LANCLOS, GLENN M

LANDRY, MARIAMIRE

LANDRY, DREW DEJEAN

LANDRY, DONALD L

LANDRY, BLAKE E

LANE, KIRSTIN PAIGE

LANGE, RHONDA

LAVERN, EVELYN H

LAWRENCE, CARLETTE SAVOY

LAWSON, JAVONE

LAZARE, JEANETTE MARIE

LE, ANTHONY HOANG

LEBLANC, DEREK JAMES

LEBLANC, ROBINTERESA

LEBRON,ANNE MARIE

LECOMPTE, LYNSIE CATHERINE

LEDEE, DAVIDC

LEGE, ANTHONY JOSEPH

LEMOINE,BURNELL FRANCIS

LEVERT, CLAIRERENEE

LEWIS, CRAIGA

LOBELLO, JULIA MARGARET

LOFTIS, LYLIE RAE

LYLES, JAMES ANTHONY

MAI, TRINH THI

MANLY, DANAD

MANUEL, QUINTON ANTHONY

MARANTO, SAMUELMARC

MARCEL, LACEY SCOTT

MARSHALL, ALLISON SCHILHAB

MARTIN, PAMELA S

MARTINEZ, FIDENCIOANTONIO

MAYERS, GAGE MICHAEL

MCBAIN, KATIEMARIE

MCKINNEY,ELIZABETH P

MEAUX, LORI ANN

MECHE, RENACELESTE

MENARD, HUDSON COLE

ELIZABETH

MENARD, MADELYN

MERRIFIELD, JOHN BRADLEY

MERTINS,SARAH

MILLER, SHARON Z MILLER, RICHARD JAMES

priortothe deadline forsubmission of bids.Withdrawalof bids thereafter shallbe allowedonlypursuantto LA R.S. 38§2214.C. Other‐wise,nobiddermay withdraw hisbid forat leastforty-five (45) days after thetimescheduled forthe bidopening of bids.Eachbid shallbe submittedonlyonthe bidformprovidedwithin thespecifications. The successful bidder will be required to executeper‐formance andlabor and material paymentbonds in thefullamount of the contract as more fully definedinthe biddocu‐ments. Bids will be evaluatedby thePurchaser basedon thelowestresponsible andresponsivebid sub‐mitted which is also in compliance with thebid documents.The Lafayette Consolidated Government reserves the righttorejectany andall bids forjustcause in ac‐cordance with LA R.S. 38§2214.B. Contractorsorcontract‐ing firmssubmittingbids in theamount of $50,000.00 or more shall certifythattheyare li‐censed contractors under Chapter24ofTitle 37 of theLouisiana Re‐visedStatutesof1950 andshowtheir license numberonthe front of thesealedenvelopein which theirbid is en‐closed.Contractors shall be licensed forthe clas‐sification of “MUNICIPAL

licensing maybeobtainedfrom theLouisiana StateLi‐censingBoard forCon‐tractors,Baton Rouge, Louisiana. If theproject is asbestos or hazardouswaste,con‐tractors submitting bids in theamount of $1.00 or more shallbeproperlyli‐censed

MILLER, KAYTLYNN ARIEL MILLER, CORAL LEEANNE MOLBERT, LIONEL J MONROE, ROBERTALDEN MOORE, TIMOTHY JESSE MOURET,KADYN LAWRENCE MOUTON, HAELYNN AKYRAH MUGNO, DOLORES THERESA MYERS, JASON KEITH NEELY, ANGELA VACCARELLA NEVEU,PHOENICIA MISHELE OGE’, MARY ORTADETORTOZA, ZULAYALICIA ORTIZTREJO, MARIA D OUBRE, JEREMY BYRON PAN, KEVIN ZHU PARKS, JAMES ROBERT PELLERIN,TYLERSCOTT PERRODIN,STEPHEN K PRESS, LORI RANKIN, CURRIE WILLIAM RED, ARNOLD JOSH REDD, JOSHUA JOHN REED, RICHARDALAN REESE, JANICE REID, TANNERALEXANDER RHYMES, JACOB JAMES RICHARD, PATTY LYNN ROBERTSON, LASHONDANICOLA ROBIN,RENEE NICHOLE ROBIN,SKYLER WHITNEY ROBLES, MARSHALL SCOTT RODRIGUEZ, LAWRENCE J ROMERO, DWIGHTJ ROY,MARLIN JOSEPH ROYER, DAVID SCOTT RUTLEDGE, DWIGHTL SALLIER, MARCUS LYNN SALOMON, MARYPOIRIER SAM, KERRY SAM, GENEVAANN SAM, MARTHALINE P SAVELL, MILES JOSEPH SAVOY,PRENELLA A SCHEXNAYDER, KATHERINE FAYE SCHEXNAYDER, NOAH JOACHIUM SCHOMAKER, LAUREN BETH SCHRADER, JOSEPH L SCOTT,RANCE JOSEPH SEGURA, YOVANY J SHIVERS,SAMUELJOSEPH SINGLETON, BETTY JOYCE SLAGLE,ALEXANDER FORREST SMITH, ELIZABETH LEIGH SMITH, HAYDEN MATTHEW SOILEAU, PAMELAMARIE SONNIER, CARLJAMES SPERANDEO, MICHAELPATRICK SPREAFICO, HELENR STANSBURY, SHEILAPATRICE STAPLES, SANDRA HICKMAN STJULIEN, RANDAL PAUL SUAREZCASTRILLON, DORIS MERCEDES TAUZIN, MARK THERIOT,SHERYLPREJEAN THERIOT,MAX ROY THERIOT,ALEXJOSEPH THOMAS, BRENNAN MURPHY THOMAS, TYLER JOSEPH TIMMER, LANCE ALAN TOLIVER, MARTHA ANN TRAHAN, RIKKI LYNN BERCHILD TRAHAN, CHASE JARRETT TRAN, HANNAH NHIEN TURNER, TRESA LEVETTE TURNER, ELLA FRANCES VANBEEK, RICHARDA VICTOR, CHRISTINA M VOLLMAN, OLIVIA KATHERINE WARREN,RONNIE WASHINGTON, JASMINE JANEA WASHINGTON, CHAD EVERETT WASHINGTON, JOHN K WEBER, MONICACAROLINA WHITE, SHAMEKIA WILLIAMS, BILLY PAUL WILLIS, TAMMY S WYATT, BRIAN YUNKER, PAVLINA JOY

No bidder maywithdraw hisbid foratleast fortyfive (45) days afterthe time scheduledfor the openingofbids. Each bid shallbesubmitted only on thebid form provided with thespecifications. Bids will be evaluatedby thePurchaser basedon thelowestresponsible andresponsivebid sub‐mitted whichisalsoin compliance with thebid documents. The Lafayette Consolidated Government reserves the righttorejectany andall bids forjustcause in ac‐cordance with LA R.S. 38§2214.B. TheLafayette Consoli‐datedGovernment strongly encourages the participationofDBEs (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise)inall con‐tracts or procurements letbythe Lafayette Con‐solidatedGovernment forgoodsand services andlabor andmaterial. To that end, allcontrac‐tors andsuppliers are encouraged to utilize DBEs business enter‐prises in thepurchaseor sub-contractingofmate‐rials, supplies, services andlabor andmaterialin whichdisadvantaged business areavailable Assistance in identifying said businessesmay be obtained by calling2918410. PURCHASING DIVISION Lafayette Consolidated Government PUBLISHDATES:4/22/26, 4/26/26 DPR# 1006331 184565-APR22-26-2T $100.40

p sibility of the bidder to ensuretheir bidisdeliv‐ered(whether

JOHNSON

TASTE TESTERS TEST

Food incubators around Louisianahelp elevatelocal entrepreneurs

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Over thepastdecade, global companies have spent morethan $90 billion in Louisianabuilding new liquefied natural gas export facilities and petrochemical plants —investments that have been largely driven by the state’scheap, abundant natural gas At the same time, job growth in Louisiana hasremainedflat andthe state’spopulation hasdeclined by 52,000 people. That disconnect is thesubject of anew report from aNew Orleansbasednonprofit researchorganization, TheData Center,thatlooks into therelationship betweenthe explosive capital investment in the state in recent years and thecontinuation of adecadeslong, outmigration trend.

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

or

on

About adozenbottles filled withhot honey sit side by side in achamber at LSUKnapp Hall. The chamber looks much like arefrigerator but hasaninverserole —itcan heat up and change lighting settings inside to test howfood products last in storage. Shelflife studies are just part of what food incubators like LSU’s Food Innovation Institute, or FOODii,offer for their tenants —entrepreneurs seeking totake their concepts to grocery store shelves.

andformer interim director of FOODii, said the accessible testing is part of what makes incubators avaluable part of the food ecosystem in Louisiana. “It’s aboutthe technologies, theinnovation that youreally need to put into food so those industries can go to thenext level and compete nationally and maybe internationally,” Adhikari said.

IDEAS INNOVATION &

Ashelf-life study at acommercial labcan costabout $15,000 to $20,000, depending on factorslike product type andthe durationofthe test.At FOODii? The study costs about $1,000 to $1,200 Achyut Adhikari, associatedirector of LSUSchool of Nutrition and Food Science

The state’sbold flavors and rich culture behind them have long captivated the palates of those beyond Louisiana, giving rise to entrepreneurs whowanttosharethe state’sculinary offerings. Food incubator programs nurture small business owners as they preparetoenter themarket, and the programsare amping up theirefforts around the region to reduce the industry’s high entrycosts andregulatory hurdles.

ä See INCUBATORS, page 2E

The report, which covers the years between2015and 2023, before Gov. Jeff Landry took office, comes as his administration has pursued an aggressive economicdevelopment strategythat haslandedsome of the largest capital projects in state history,including Meta’s$27 million artificial intelligence data center in north Louisiana andHyundai’s planned $5.8 billion steel mill in Ascension Parish. Butwith all the activity,the report questions whether the new wave of projects, which state officials say will total $100 billion in additional capital expenditures,willaddress longstanding problems.

“Nobody is reckoning with the fact that what has happened over thepast decade did not create jobs,” said AlisonPlyer,chief demographeratThe Data Center. “Instead,

they’re doubling down.” Susan Bourgeois, Landry’stop economic development official, said the administration has not shied away from the realities of the state’sstagnant growth and population loss. On the contrary,she said the mega projects her agency has successfully courted are part of abroader strategy.The administration is trying to leverage the state’straditional strengths in energy andrefining to attract new sectors, like logistics and lifesciences, with better paying jobs.

“Weknowabout thepopulation loss andthe continued slowing of GDP,” said Bourgeois, secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. “That is whyweare doing so much to change all that.”

Changing habits forparents amassing unsustainablecollege debt

For years, familieshave agonized over the rising cost of adegree, yet many have felt they had no choice but to take out whatever loans were necessary to sendtheir children to college. That financial desperation has led to historic debt levels among parents. The federalParent Plusloan program has allowed parents to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, including tuition, housing and food. As of the first quarter of the federalfiscalyear, which endedDec. 31, the total outstanding balance for Parent Plusloans was $114.9 billion, accordingto data from the Departmentof Education’sFederal Student Aid portfolio

The growth of Parent Plus loans over the past 10 years reveals a sobering trend for American families: the total balance has surged by $43.8 billion. Interestingly enough, the number of parents borrowing has not jumped at the same rate. In 2016,there were 3.4 million recipients for this type of loan. Today,there are 3.6 million. This means that while thenumber of families using Parent Plusloans grew by only about 6%, the total amount they borrowed grew by more than 61%.

This data highlights that parents have been borrowing significantly larger sums to cover the rising cost of college. The sticker price for elite schools is mind-blowing. For instance, George Washington

INDUSTRIAL

Continued from page1E

Sobering statistics

The Data Center report combined avariety of economic indicators that paint ableak picture of Louisiana’sfinancial well-being.

The study notes that while jobgrowth in the U.S. overall increased more than 10% between 2015 and 2023, employment in Louisiana grew just under0.2% during that time. Median household income in the state remainedflat at around $61,000, while the cost of living jumped19% between2018 to 2022 alone.

The report attributes much of the job loss in thoseyears to thefracking boom in theearly 2010s that caused oil prices to fall, gutting Louisiana’soffshore industry

Between 2014 and 2024, the number of oil and gas extraction jobs in the state was cut nearly in half —from 50,000 to 27,000.

The abundance of cheap natural gas helped fuel themajor investments in LNG and petrochemical refining that followed. But the report says that those projects have diminishing returns because they increasingly rely on automation, which means fewer jobs. At the same time, skyrocketing insurance premiums have outpaced the national average, causing realestate values to fall.In2015, Louisiana’s property values ranked 26th among the 50 states. By 2024, they were third from the bottom, behind Mississippi and West Virginia

The report also highlighted an array of health and environmental data that shows thestate has some of the highest ratesof air and water pollution in the country with the sickest population and the worst outcomes —key quality-of-life indicators that impact where families choosetolive.

“Weneed to develop clusters thatbuild on our strength,like water management, or that take awhole different tack because large corporations are increasingly going to replace workers with automation,” Plyer said “Weshould be very critical in our approach.”

Making adifference?

Since taking office, Landry has said he wants to pursuea variety of industry sectorsto grow the state’seconomy.Inhis first year,hestarted by making the state what he argued wasmore business friendly, by enacting apackage of bills that eliminated the corporate franchise tax and established a flat corporate income taxrate among other things. His administration has also created new incentives to attract mega projects like Meta to the state, discreetly rewriting a bill about rural broadband, for instance, into asales taxexemption on digital equipment —something Meta madea condition of coming to Louisiana Bourgeois has said such tax

eliminates certainincome-driven repayment optionsfor newParent Plus loans, effectively requiring highermonthly payments.

Michelle Singletary

University announced last month that for the 2026-27 academicyear, tuition for undergraduate students will rise to $72,000. For incoming freshmen, thebase rate forhousing and dining will be over $18,000. Thinkabout that. Just oneyear of college at this elite school costs nearly $100,000. Now,manyfamilies don’tpay the listed tuition price. The cost of attendance is often offsetbyfinancialaid,including scholarships, grantsand work study.But when there is ashortfall,it’scovered by loans taken out by students, their parents or even grandparents.

A2025 survey bySallie Mae found that parents cover nearly half ofcollege costs using acombination of income, savings and borrowing.

With new federalcapsonParent Plus loans, which limit borrowing to $20,000 per year or $65,000 total, this year’s May 1decision daywill bedifferent. There’s now ahard ceilingonfederal funds for parents whowant to rely on federal funds rather than more expensive private education loans. Additionally,the One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law last summer,

breaks arejustified and are a needed part ofeconomic development, arguing that “you have to spend moneytomake money.”

The administration hasalso unveileda neweconomic development strategic plan focused on prioritysectors that it sees as primed for growth, including energy and process industries,logistics,aerospace and defense,agribusiness, professionalservices, lifesciences andtech.

The plan calls for anew incentiveprogram for businesses that offer jobs with wages above theregional benchmarks, creationofa dedicated fund for site development, an increased focus on rural areas and small businesses, and more support for regional economic development organizations.

It also says Louisiana should seek to have thehighest wage growthamong Southern peer states and achieve population growthand migrationinto all regions.

Bourgeoissaidher agency is making adifference.

“From aproject perspective, we continue to bring opportunity,” shesaid. “From anarrative perspective,wehave to tell thestory that we aremaking gainsinthings like education andpublicsafety.Reversing the perceptionisthe only way we reversethe outmigration.” Multipronged approach

In NewOrleans,a report from the Brookings Institution andThe Data Center issued in the fall found thatwhilesmall businesses andentrepreneurs thrived afterHurricane Katrina, they arestruggling today andneed sustained investment if they are to continue to survive

Small businesses, the report notes, are key to athriving economyand growing population.

That report’spolicy recommendations includedestablishingapermanent business recovery and resilience fund, expanding and incentivizing commercial real estateownership, revisingland use policies to get more vacant buildings back into commerce and promoting community wealth building.

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno’sadministration has also emphasizedseveralof those initiativesaspart of her approach to economic development.

Robert Travis Scott, who headed the Public Affairs Research Council for adecade in the 2010s and has followed growth in other southern states, said asuccessful economic development strategy hastofire on multiple cylinders at once.

“The whole game is to diversify and regionalizeand try keepand attract theright talent forwhat we need,” he said. “It isn’tjust amatter of what the taxsituation is butofbuilding livable, walkable communities where peoplewanttolive.”

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.

My questionis, if the era of extraordinary federal borrowing for parents is ending, will parents shift more of thecollege cost burdenonto their children?

Should parents shoulderthe primary cost of college?

Ithink so

My husband andIfirmly believedwehad thefinancialobligation to payfor ourthreechildren’s education.Here’sthe mainreason: How would they be able to save enough as childrentopay forit themselves?

And for those who argue that your child will have “some skinin the game” if they pay, that’snot the measure of whether they will appreciate theeducation.Think of it as your scholarship to your kid, the same as if they hadwon money from an organization. Youcan set requirements for your continued support, as manyscholarships do.

Over the years, we managed our children’sexpectationsfor thecollege experiencetheycould have basedonwhatwecould afford.We preparedour childrenfor several alternativesifweweren’t able to save enough to avoidtaking out loans. Here’swhatwetoldthem andhow we handledthe college decision process.

Thevetopower

The decision of where they

INCUBATORS

Continuedfrom page1E

Unlike other business incubators that provide office space, funding and mentorship to budding entrepreneurs, food incubators must also make sizableinvestments in kitchen equipment,food safety testing and production facilities. Inflation, rising fuel costsand fertilizer prices have made growing, producing, distributing andbuying food much more expensive Food manufacturing employs about20,000 in the state, andthe industry’sgross domestic product in Louisiana,groupedtogetherwith beverages and tobacco products, was valued at $3.2 billion in 2024, according to data fromthe Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Outside of FOODii, SouthernUniversity Shreveport runs afood incubator geared toward caterers, chefs andmobile food businesses, anda newprogram andfacilityfor food manufacturers is coming to Jefferson Parish.There’salsoaplethora of commercial kitchens and commissary kitchens. The resources for food entrepreneurs around the state showa growing interest and demand in the business, Adhikari said

“It covers the whole circle of the food economy,” he said JosephFrancis, founderofPranam Superfoods, aFOODiitenant,said his antioxidant nutrition barstarted at theincubator in 2018. Francis, an LSU professor anddirector of the school’s Center for Comparative Oncology,researches antioxidantsand their health benefits.

When he first started, he handmade twobars at atime,but with assistance from FOODii, he was able to increase production to 2,000 bars. Pranam bars are available at 30 stores, including Whole Foods, Maxwell’sMarket, Calvin’sBocage Marketand online at Walmart.

In the past seven years, Francis hasaveragedabout $60,000 in annual sales andislookingfor afacility to increaseproductionofthe bars. As a FOODiitenant,hesaid he wasable to scalethe business,conduct ashelflifestudy on his productand receive agluten-freecertification

“For anybody whoisstarting out, it’sanexcellent place to be,” Francis said.

FOODii expansion

For more than adecade, FOODii has run food testing, training and production facilities for small businesseslooking to getonto grocery store shelves. Housedunderthe LSU AgCenter,FOODiistarted as afood business incubator in 2013, but staff realized thatthe greatest value that theprogram offeredtenantswas the university’stechnological expertise, creating an identity as an innovation institute

Its incubation services arestill offered, with about 45 tenants under FOODii, and anew 13,800-squarefoot facility is on theway for the program thatwill increase its capabilities.

The$5millionrenovation of its warehousejust outside the South Gatesofcampuswillallow forequipment to determine if products meet U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture regulations, in addition to Food and DrugAdministration compliance testingthat theprogram already conducts. Mostfood products fall

could go was not theirs alone, especially since we had the money they needed to pay forcollege. This should also hold true for families whohave no choice but to takeout loans.

Why wouldyou leave such a large financial decision entirely in thehands of ateenager?

My husband and Itold our children they could apply to any school, butweweren’ttaking on debt.Wehad saved enough for them to get through local colleges without loans. They all decided that they didn’twant to graduate with debt, and they didn’t.

If themath doesn’twork, or if therequired debt exceeds the new federal caps, or will force you to take out expensive private loans, be prepared to say “no” to an unaffordable college choice.

Use your veto power

Lovingyour child meansprotectingthem from excessive borrowing and perhaps jeopardizing your retirementwith adebt load that you cannot carry

Thetwo-yearadvantage

Starting at acommunity college was always an option forour children. We didn’tbadmouth that choice.

Consider the savings: The average full-time student attending a community college in their own community pays $3,890 in annual tuition and fees, according to data from theEducation DataInitiative.

Your child can knock out core requirements —basic English, math andscience courses —at afractionofthe cost while living at home,saving on room and board. Oncetheyfinish their degreeatcommunity college, they can transfertoafour-year university.Whentheyreceive their diploma, it won’thave an asterisk on it. It will look exactly like the ones held by students who spent four years paying substantially more for their education. Community college isn’ta backup plan. It’salways been a smart money move Thebrand-nametrap

Aprestigious public or private institutionwith ahefty price tagdoes notguarantee greater employment opportunities or crucialjob connections.

Yes, there arecertain companiesorhiring managers who exclusively recruit from elite colleges. However, thatalone is nota good reason to take on unmanageable student loans.

Look around your own workplace. You’ll likely find colleagueswho graduated from awide variety of institutions, including community colleges, state schoolsand Ivy League institutions. Yetyou are all working in the same place.

EmailMichelle Singletary at michelle.singletary@washpost. com.

AmoghAmbardekar,who is taking the helmatLSU’sFood Innovation Institute, stands near the larger bottling machine at the food incubator building on the edgeofcampus. ‘FOODiiisaliaison between everybody,’ Ambardekar said. ‘Atthe end of the day, thisisgoing to helpthe wholestate.’

under FDA regulations, but meat, poultry and egg products fall under USDA rules.

The facility will include ademo kitchen for training andprogramming for communityhealth education and aconveniencestore for studentsand the community to purchase tenants’ products. It’sexpected to be complete by the end of the year

Tenants can also tap into the university faculty’sresearch expertise in areas like nutrition.

“Theyare there to make business,” Adhikari said. “Here, we’re astate university.Weare here to serve Louisiana citizens.”

Amogh Ambardekar is taking over the helm of FOODii after working in innovation and commercialization for Burger King. He started his role at the beginning of this month and sees FOODii as the connector between all components of the food business, from growers to entrepreneurs to regulators.

Some interests for food innovators thatare top of mind include natural food colors and adding protein and fibertotheir products, he said. Testingout these additions to food productsatFOODii helps lessen the risk for businesses before they enter the market.

“FOODii is aliaison between everybody,” Ambardekar said. “At the endofthe day,this is going to help the whole state.”

‘Weneedall handsondeck’ Monique Armand, the executive director of the MilamStreet Kitchen Incubator andCommunity Kitchen at Southern in Shreveport, said the incubator wasborn out of aneed to provide space for local food entrepreneurs to pilot their ideas while investing in the Allendale, LedbetterHeightsand West Edge neighborhoods, which have experienced “food apartheid.” MS KICK was part of aU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhoodsplanning grant forShreveport andishoused under Southern’s Community andWorkforce Development department. The incubatorhas a24-hour access kitchen with space for tenants to host dine-in customers and events. Armand said the surrounding community benefits from new culinary experiences fromtenants. There arefive tenantsslatedfor gradua-

tion, two who have moved into their own brick-and-mortars and two are connecting with other partners for further growth.

The incubator also runs acommunity garden and workforce development initiative in partnership with other community organizations.

“Weneed all hands on deck,” Armand said of MS KICK’smission. ‘A regional asset’

An $8.7 millionfood and beverage incubator is on the way in Jefferson Parish, the first of its kind in the area sinceNorco-based Edible Enterprises shuttereddue to damage fromHurricane Ida. The greater New Orleans area has given birth to food products like Zatarain’sand Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Magic Seasoning Blends, andthe incubator aimstopush entrepreneurs through the high barriers of entry to the industry

Running food incubators is acapital-heavytask, and most resources forthoselookingtobreak into the food industry,like commercial kitchens, are moregeared toward food truck or catering businesses, said Jerry Bologna, CEO of the JeffersonParish Economic Development Commission. Thatleaves agap in the market for food manufacturing resources.

“Webelieve thenextthatthe next Zatarain’sand thenextPaulPrudhomme is sitting out there, and they maybeintheir kitchen,” Bologna said. “They maybeworking for someone else at this time,trying to get their idea off the ground, and we really want to facilitate those entrepreneurs, to continue that culinary tradition that we’re known for.” He hopesthe incubatorwill promote the “cluster” of food manufacturers in the parish as amust-go spot for like entrepreneurs. It’ll focus on startups thatare looking to move intowholesale or commercial production.

The incubator is expected to open in 2028. JEDCO expects to be able to house “several dozen” tenants and has received much interest from local entrepreneurs, Bologna said, though formal applications have not launched yet.

“While this is in Jefferson and JEDCO is behind this incubator,it’s aregional asset, and nothing tells the story of our culture like ourfood,” Bologna said.

TALKING BUSINESS

ASK THE EXPERTS

Nonprofit promoting resilience, addressing affordability

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

When William Stoudt was in elementary school in the late 1990s

the Junior League of New Orleans helped launch Christmas in October, a program modeled after the national Christmas in April that enabled older and disabled people to stay in their homes by making critical repairs to the structures. Over the years, the local organization grew, went out on its own as a 501(c)3 and changed its name to Rebuilding Together New Orleans. Along the way, its mission evolved to focus on helping anyone in need make their homes stronger, safer and better able to withstand catastrophic storms and floods.

Rebuilding Together New Orleans has helped thousands of local residents over the past two decades fix and replace their roofs, weatherize the exteriors of their homes and upgrade their heating and AC equipment, among other things. In 2025 alone, the organization, which is funded by philanthropy and powered mostly by volunteers, fixed up nearly 260 homes in the Greater New Orleans region, about 25% of those on its waiting list

In August, in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the organization with help from the United Way, opened the Resiliency Center, a co-working space on St. Claude Avenue in the Bywater that brings together nearly a dozen nonprofits under one roof, all focused on aspects of creating stronger, safer communities.

In this week’s Talking Business, Stoudt, now the Rebuilding Together New Orleans executive director, explains why the mission of these organizations should be at the top of the mind for business leaders across the state Interview has been edited for length and clarity

There are so many needs that your organization addresses. What is the root of the problem? I think it’s affordability The in-

Q&A WITH WILLIAM STOUDT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, REBUILDING TOGETHER NEW ORLEANS

surance crisis is still very much a conversation — not just for the homeowners that we serve, but pretty much everyone. We’ve all gotten used to what the new normal is It’s like we’re in that pot, and the heat’s been turned up on the frog and no one realizes it

Just because premiums didn’t go up 23% again last year doesn’t mean that the prices are sustainable. And as a result of this, our area is losing population. People are leaving. So how does this play into what Rebuilding Together does?

If we’re losing population, then we’re losing tax bases. And we’re losing people who work here and support our businesses. We’re los-

ing schools. And the more people we lose, the harder it is to insure those of us who are left because the pool is smaller

So, we have to find a way to get out of the tailspin. And part of that is making homes more affordable and not just building them the same way but making them safer and stronger

Specifically, how do y’all do that?

We’re not going to just put lipstick on these houses. We are not just going to patch roofs, because they’re going to fail in the next storm. So, we are replacing them with fortified roofs or at least roofs that are built to fortified standards.

We have put more than 500 of these stronger roofs on houses

since Ida. That means 500 fewer people displaced by a disaster next time around, 500 people who are able to get back to work sooner, which enables other people also to get back to work.

What kind of demand exists for your services?

We have more than 1,000 people on our waiting list. Of those, about 400 need roofs. How do you fund this? How do you make the numbers work?

The numbers don’t really work at this point, but we have a lot of federal and city funding that we layer with local and private philanthropy The big box stores, local oil and gas companies, utility companies. It takes a village of companies that are doing the right thing. We leverage as many different revenue streams as possible.

What is your budget at Rebuilding? We have an annual operating

budget of $6.2 million, about $4.5 million of which goes to construction costs alone. We spend 91 cents of every dollar on construction.

Tell me about the Resiliency Center, this new space you share with 10 other nonprofits, and how it came about?

So, the concept was, while so many people were talking about Katrina 20 years later we as an organization, and other partners, wanted it to be about the next 20 years. What is it that we need to do to make sure that our community continues to thrive? We didn’t want it to be a looking back. We wanted the Resiliency Center to be about looking forward.

Resilience is one of those words that a lot of us have come to resent. I think in New Orleans, it’s sort of a triggering word. But we still opened it as the Resiliency Center because we want it to be about reclaiming the narrative around resilience, and not a forced opportunity, not something that we have to do. We want everyone to have the opportunity to be resilient, whether it’s financially or physically or in the way they get to work every day

Why should business leaders and those who live in prosperity care about the work you and your fellow organizations in the Resiliency Center are doing?

I mean if we don’t have people that can afford to live here, then we don’t

is

New

of the people that live here. The architecture is beautiful, but what makes New Orleans special is the people and if we don’t have a place that people can afford to live and live safely with dignity, then we have nothing.

Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@theadvocate. com.

AROUND THE REGION

Robotaxis navigate bumpy road to operation in N.O.

Waymo has been testing on city streets for 6 months

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

Nearly six months after announcing it was expanding to New Orleans, autonomous ride-hailing company Waymo has yet to debut driverless vehicles on Crescent City streets.

Though the white SUVs topped with spinning sensors and covered in cameras and radars have been spotted in New Orleans neighborhoods in recent months, company “specialists” are still behind the wheel and Waymo isn’t yet cleared to start picking up passengers.

“We need to hit the benchmarks set by our safety framework first and foremost,” said Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher “Every city is different. The driving task is generally the same from place to place, but every city also has its own quirks.”

There’s no timeline for when the service will begin.

Before its fleet can start ferrying people around town, Waymo needs to clear several hurdles. The company needs to ensure its fleet can safely navigate Crescent City’s unique streetscape, complete with its notoriously unreliable traffic signals, wheel-engulfing potholes and erratic fellow road users.

Waymo also needs to obtain a certification from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, which a spokesperson for the state agency says it has yet to request

Potentially further complicating Waymo’s plans to operate in New Orleans, the City Council is considering mandating that it obtain a city-issued permit — known as a certificate of public necessity and convenience — like those required for taxis, pedicabs and horsedrawn carriages.

“We’re not taking a position as far as whether or not Waymo can

operate,” said at-large council member JP Morrell.

“What we’re looking at locally is drafting language that would include them like any other forhire vehicle situation,” said Morrell, who has not drafted an ordinance yet.

“It’s important to make sure the playing field is level whether there’s an automated driver or a real driver.”

announced the test run was a success and it planned to expand its service to New Orleans.

The testing in Louisiana follows a year of rapid expansion across

“Every city is different. The driving task is generally the same from place to place, but every city also has its own quirks.”

The Waymo spokesperson said testing has gone as expected so far.

“Frankly, the only thing that could delay it is something like this proposal,” Teicher said.

Robotaxi rollout

The company first sent its cars to New Orleans in February 2025 as part of its “road trip” program, where a small number of cars scout out a city’s roads to evaluate how well its system can adapt to a new locale.

In November, Waymo officials

ETHAN TEICHER,Waymo spokesperson

the southeast for the Mountain View, California-based company

At the start of last year, its service was only available in three metro areas, all in California or Arizona.

Since March 2025, it has expanded to add Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, Texas; Miami and Orlando, Florida; and Atlanta. Earlier this month, it began allowing the public to summon its cars in Nashville, Tennessee.

Pothole mapping Alongside its recent expansion

into the Southeast, Waymo announced a new partnership with the navigation app and fellow Alphabet subsidiary Waze intended to provide pothole detection data to cities and other transportation authorities.

Initially launched in five cities, the pothole pilot program is a byproduct of an existing practice.

“If you’re going to drive over a pothole, you want that rider experience to be smooth and comfortable, and so we’ve always collected data on potholes to improve the behavior of the Waymo Driver,” Teicher said, referring to the company’s autonomous driving software.

“And as we were collecting that data, we were also simultaneously hearing from cities that thought, ‘Hey, if you’re collecting this data, it would be really helpful to have it.’”

Under the new partnership, Waymo is supplying its pothole location data through Waze for Cities, a free

A Waymo vehicle travels up Chartres Street in the French Quarter. Though the white SUVs topped with spinning sensors and covered in cameras and radars have been spotted in New Orleans neighborhoods in recent months, company ‘specialists’ are still behind the wheel and the autonomous ridehailing company isn’t yet cleared to start picking up passengers.

ernment entities including New Orleans and the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority Mayor Helena Moreno has set an ambitious goal of filling 1,500 potholes per week. In the first quarter of 2026, her administration has filled 10,000 of them, she said Wednesday at a news conference marking her 100th day in office.

The city has a backlog of more than 2,800 pending pothole repair requests in its 311 system, with the average request remaining open for 724 days.

“I would argue that we already have an extensive pothole database,” Morrell said.

Teicher said Waymo will need to operate in New Orleans for a while before it can activate its pothole partnership and share their locations to Waze users and city officials.

Email Jonah Meadows at jonah. meadows@theadvocate.com.

Beyond isn’taplace —it’samindset. Andit’sabeliefthathas poweredusfor over80years We areJones Walker LLP,a firmdrivenbyanentrepreneurial spirit,adeepsenseofcommunity,and afierce determination to deliverexceptional serviceand valuefor our clients.

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Thecomplexityhereisourcredential. Engineers,shipbuilders,technicians,and founderswhooperateinourconditions developexpertisethattravels.

Researchersandfounderssolving problemsattheedgeofwhat’spossible arehardatworkinLouisianarightnow. Tomorrow’sautonomousvesselsare beingbuiltinourshipyards.Microchips criticaltonationalsecurityarebeing packagedinRuston.Thenextgeneration ofenergytechnologyisbeingrealized acrossthestate

Andthemomentumofourworkis growing.Foreverypublicdollarinvested inLouisianastartups,tenprivatedollars followed

Theworkhappeningherenowwilldefine industries,secureinfrastructure,and powereconomiesforgenerations.

Home Bank saw slight first-quarter incomedrop

Lafayette-based Home Bancorp Inc., the parent company ofHome Bank, generated$11.4 million of net income during the first quarter,down $51,000 from the previous quarter

Per share earnings remainedat $1.46per diluted commonshare, bank officials announced

Loans totaled $2.7 billion as of March 31, down $15.9 million from Dec. 31. Total deposits reached $3 billion, up $54 million fromDec. 31.

Theaverage loan yieldwas 6.41% by March 31, down 3basis points from thepreviousquarter, bank officials reported. Thedrop was due to rate cuts from theFederal Reserve in mid-December,bank officials noted, which impacted the full quarter

Ahighlight of the quarter was Home Bank opening afull-service location in the Houston suburb of Tomball, Texas, in March, President andCEO John W. Bordelon said.

“Weare pleased with our financial results for the first quarter,” Bordelon said. “Whileloan production remained down during the quarter,deposit growth increased and reduced our loan todeposit ratio to 90%. Financial metricsremained strong.”

KOKWings opensin

former Hootersspace

KOK Wings &Things opened its second location on Saturdayand will have agrand opening next month.

The popular restaurantopened in the former Hooters location at 3221Ambassador Caffery Parkway as part of asoft opening, according to asocial media post over the weekend. KOK announced in July it would take over the space KOK, which offers chicken wings, loaded fries and other bar food items, will have its grand opening May 9.

KOK will notoffer bar service until the grand opening.

KOK dates back to 2016 when cofoundersCorey McCoy, Avery Bell, Jared Johnson and Tre’Jan Vinson began serving plates out of their Clinton Street home. Theyopened the University Avenue locationin 2018 and have restaurants in Baton Rouge and New Iberia.

BUILDINGPERMITS

Issued April 15-21

Commercial alterations

SALON: 4654 JohnstonSt., description, newlocation for Dawn Nails;applicant, My Trang Nguyen; contractor, Larry Dinh; $30,000.

OFFICE: 145 Arnould Blvd., description, office for Lafayette West ACTS Physical Therapy in former BoulevardNutrition space; applicant,Sarah Ward-Lewis; contractor, Corco Construction; $197,000

RESIDENTIAL: 204Connie Circle,description, none listed; applicant,Frick Architecture; contractor, Glendon Normand Construction Co.; $60,000.

RESIDENTIAL: 206Connie Circle,description, none listed; applicant,Frick Architecture; contractor, Glendon Normand Construction Co.; $60,000.

RESIDENTIAL: 304Connie Circle,description, none listed; applicant,Frick Architecture; contractor, Glendon Normand Construction Co.; $60,000.

RESIDENTIAL: 402Adelma St., description, none listed; applicant,Frick Architecture; contractor, Glendon Normand Construction Co.; $60,000.

RESIDENTIAL: 403Adelma St., description, none listed; applicant,Frick Architecture; contractor, Glendon Normand Construction Co.; $60,000.

RESIDENTIAL: 407Adelma

St., description, none listed; applicant,Frick Architecture; contractor, Glendon Normand Construction Co.; $60,000.

Commercial

demolition

OTHER: 300 Hopkins St description, none listed for Acadian Ambulance property;applicant and contractor, Iberia Aggregates &Construction Materials; $28,000.

Newresidential

104 MARBLEHEAD AVE.: Unit 410, LevelConstruction &Development, $206,125.

104 MARBLEHEAD AVE.: Unit 412, LevelConstruction &Development,

$165,875.

104 MARBLEHEAD AVE.:

Unit 400, LevelConstruction&Development, $204,875.

104 MARBLEHEAD AVE.: Unit 408, LevelConstruction&Development, $165,875.

104 MARBLEHEAD AVE.: Unit 327, LevelConstruction&Development, $173,750.

207 E. SPRING ST.: CastleRow Construction, $138,250.

404 LA 1252, CARENCRO: self-contracting, $779,750.

541 LANGLINAIS ROAD, YOUNGSVILLE: Hubert Hulin Construction Services,$514,375.

101 OTTER ST.: Platinum Homes, $391,250.

106 BELLE HELENE COURT: AshleyHuynh, $478,750.

306 E. EDITH ROAD: Andries Builders, $399,125.

319 CATHOLIQUEROAD, CARENCRO: Milton HebertConstruction, $641,125.

243 CONRAD ST.: Reliance Real EstateGroup, $0

500 CORMIER ROAD, CARENCRO: Manuel Builders, $187,500.

117 TOPRIDGE ROAD,DUSON: DR Horton,$353,750.

113 TOPRIDGE ROAD,DUSON: DR Horton,$313,125.

210 EAGLE HEIGHTS DRIVE, DUSON: DR Horton, $271,500.

319 FERN GROVEDRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: Blue Wing Builders, $418,350.

813 GUILLOT ROAD, YOUNGSVILLE: Gulf Coast Home Builders, $335,101.

201 SABALBEND DRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: Acadiana Dream Home,$750,000.

425 N. LARRIVIERE ROAD, YOUNGSVILLE: Jeff Wood Construction, $1,050,000.

103 GREEN CYPRESS LANE, YOUNGSVILLE: AnzaCommercial Construction, $385,000.

304 CLIFFSIDE DRIVE, YOUNGSVILLE: MarKey Builders, $475,000.

207 APPLEBYWAY, YOUNGSVILLE: DSLD, $163,200.

121 BAILEY LANE, YOUNGSVILLE: DSLD $121,740.

210 SPRING MEADOWS DRIVE, BROUSSARD: AM Design, $331,320

Fool’sTake: Apromising transformation

vestments, homeimprovement receipts, and receipts and warranties formajor appliances.

Respected and established Canadian company Brookfield Corp. (NYSE: BN) is undergoing amajor transition, aiming to operate more like Berkshire Hathaway andBerkshire’s “clone” Markel —insurance businesses with a unique focus on investing, funded in part by the premiums they collect. This approach has been highly successful for both of thelatter companies.

Brookfield’sgoal is to grow distributable earnings by 20% or moreper year over the next five years. That’satall order,and one that investors should watch closely.IfBrookfield succeeds, it will likely beat the market.

The company focuses on investing in five categories: infrastructure, renewable power,real estate, private equity and credit. These are all areas that it believes will be important for global growth for years to come. Andasithas apresence in over 50 countries worldwide, its foundation for growth is strong.

Brookfield has multiple growth drivers, including its rapidly expanding wealth solutions division, itsleading global asset managementbusiness, andits strong portfolio of operating companies. Brookfield is also interested in taking advantage of global megatrends, including artificial intelligence infrastructure, giving it a long growth runway. (TheMotley Fool owns shares of and recommends Brookfield Corp. Notethat there are some similarly named companies, so specify correctly if you buy.)

Fool’sSchool: How long to keep documents

Many,ifnot most, of us accumulate a lot of financial documents. It’s often best to use ashredder when you’re disposing of them, but certain kinds of documents should be kept for certain periods. Here are some categories and examples, from theFederal Trade Commission and elsewhere:

Keep forever: Birth anddeath certificates; adoption records; marriage licenses and divorce decrees; Social Security cards; current passports, citizenship or residency documentation; military records; retirementplan information (including pensions and annuities);legal documents such as wills, health care proxies and powers of attorney; and importanthealth records.

Keep while you own them: Titles to vehicles, homeownership documents, mortgage or loan documents, rental agreements and leases, insurance policies, brokerage statementswith your cost bases forin-

Keep foratleast three years: Income tax returns, formost people. Self-employed folks and those at risk of being accused of filing fraudulent returns, along with those whoclaim losses from bad debts or worthless securities, are among the people whoshould hang on to tax returns longer.(Youcan get the skinny at irs.gov.) Along with your returns, keep supporting documents such as W-2forms, 1099 forms, canceled checks and receipts for claimed purchases. Three years is also a good guideline forpaperwork tied to the sale of aformer home. Keep forone year: Pay stubs, bank statements, credit-card statements, utility bills and undisputed hospital or medical bills. (The FTC notes that if you can access any of these online, you can get rid of the paper copies.)

Most other documents can be shredded (or cut up). These include ATMreceipts, offers of credit or insurance, credit reports and expired warranties, as wellas expired driver’slicenses, other formsof identification and credit cards. Basically, you don’twant to toss into the trash any document with identifying or financial information on it, lest it fall into the wrong hands.

My Dumbest Investment:

Youonly live once

My most regrettable investing move wasputting all oursavingsinto growth stocks in 2021.Why? YOLO youonly live once. —N.L., online In 2021, the S&P 500 index of 500 of America’sbiggest companies gained nearly 29%, so manyinvestors were seeing great growth from their shares. The story was different in 2022, when the market pulled back by 18%. Youmay have also noticed that growth stocks tend to fall harder than other types in market downturns.

In 2022, forexample, shares of Apple dropped by nearly 27%, and Amazon.com

to January 2026, the S&P 500 gained nearly 83%, averaging annual growth of 12.8%. Since we can’tknow what the market will do from year to year,it’sbest to only invest in the market or in strong individual stocks with dollars we won’tneed foratleast five if not 10 years —and to hang on through downturns.

Do you have asmart or regrettable investmentmove Share it withusat tmfshare@fool.com.

Economists saystrongdollarinLa. is notgoodnews

BY JONAH MEADOWS Staff writer

In much of Louisiana, a dollar goes further than al-

Top10Metros:Real Valueof$100

Four Louisiana metros in nation’s top 10 RANK METRO AREA

REAL VALUE OF $100(2024)

Working

NewLouisiana InternationalTerminal

MakesBig Impact, andBig Progress

Thenew LouisianaInternational Terminal is theonly newdeepwater port under development in America,and it is astrategicimperativefor theregion:

•New Orleanswas foundedas aportcity over 300years ago,which means aworld-classcontainer terminal isn’t anew idea; it’s theoriginalone

•Increasingly, moderncargo ships cannot fit under theCrescent City Connection since thebridgeclearanceisfixed, andshipshavegotten larger(16,000 TEUversus9,000 TEU)

•Working portsand strong communitiesgohandinhand, andSt. Bernard hasthe same opportunity- Now, we have thenumbers that show it:

Last week, GreaterNew Orleans, Inc. formally released an economic analysis of theproject, which showswhatthe Louisiana InternationalTerminal (LIT) will mean forSt. Bernard, thehostparish of thenew port:

•LIT will generate$33 million in newannual tax revenue at full buildout, a 58%increaseoverSt. Bernard’sentirecurrent taxbase of $57million

•LIT will addover4,300jobs to acurrent parish workforceof11,868 representing a37% increase in jobs forthe community

•The revenue will flowdirectly to theservices St. Bernard residents depend on most:the school district gets $5 million peryear, law enforcement gets $5.1 million,the firedistrict gets $2.5million, and drainage andleveesget nearly$1million each year

Theprojections areconservativeand independently verified.Three separate methodologies- LSU/Lewis Terrell&Associates,RAL Forensics,and GNO, Inc.’s IMPLANmodeling -wereused to develop theforecast, along with benchmarking of existing port facilities.

Furthermore, LouisianaInternational Terminal continuestomakeprogress. Recently,the privatepartnersbehindLIT announcedtheyhad formally incorporated as Louisiana International Terminal HoldingsLLC,marking a major milestoneinthe project’sdevelopment:

•Ports America is oneofthe partners.Theyare thelargest terminal operator in theUnited States

•Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) is thesecondpartner.TIL is part of theglobal MSC Group,the largestshipper in theworld

•PortNOLAretains responsibilityfor designing andconstructing the facility,while thenew LLCwill manage operations

HowtoImprove Your Organization’sRiskProfile

Your risk profile pinpoints the threats that matter most revealing potential exposures and helping youprioritize improvementstoyour riskmanagementand insurance programs.Strengthening your risk profile boosts your market competitivenessand helps youstandout to insurers.

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LOUISIANA

Just six months after her lung cancer diagnosis,

a New Orleans native, has created a foundation to help people get preventative scans for those who can’t afford them appeared on national talk shows about the importance of lung cancer screenings and wrote a book about her health journey and what women can do about their likelihood of getting lung cancer

LIFE-SAVING SCAN

N.O. native releases book on lung cancer health journey

BY MARGARET DELANEY

Staff writer

Shira Kupperman Boehler called herself an avid runner A kale enthusiast. She abides by all routine scans: annual Pap smears, colonoscopies, skin checks. In September, Boehler’s husband, Adam, a health enthusiast in his own right, scheduled a whole-body MRI for her in New York City. She did not want to go. “I just get so claustrophobic,” she said. “But he was insistent, and he eventually got his way. Her MRI noted an abnormality in the right lung measuring approximately 3.8 cm. The finding was described in the report as “minor, ” “nonurgent” and “typically harmless.” She left with the impression that nothing was urgent or alarming Boehler, originally from New Orleans but living in Nashville now mentioned the finding to her friend, Dr Kim Lori Sander, a pulmonary radiologist at Vanderbilt University, who suggested a more sensitive test. The additional test revealed that the spot in Boehler’s lung had grown — to 4.1 cm in just a month After her initial CT-scan results, Boehler, at 43, had

See BOOK, page 2X

After her diagnosis of Stage 1 lung cancer, Shira Kupperman Boehler had part of her lung removed.

La. expert discusses pelvic floor therapy

Therapist explains role of treatment

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

Most people will do almost anything to avoid talking about what happens below the waist. Blair Dathu has built an 18-year career on getting them to open up anyway

Dathu, a board-certified pelvic floor therapist and physical therapist, knows the region of the body she treats can make people uncomfortable.

Dathu, who has been working in South Louisiana for 18 years — the majority spent specializing in the pelvic floor muscle — spends her days helping patients navigate a wide range of pelvic floor issues ranging from trouble using the bathroom to organ prolapse.

“Our society puts a lot of taboo on discussing all things pelvis,” Dathu said. “A lot of my patients feel like they’re sort of suffering in silence or they’re the only human on earth experiencing the problems that they are because we’ve just put so much shame around our pelvises.”

Pelvic floor physical therapy can help those who are experiencing pelvic floor issues. Dathu, who currently sees patients in Houma at Ochsner Therapy and Wellness, answers frequently asked questions about pelvic floor therapy

What is the pelvic floor?

Dathu describes the pelvis as a close neighborhood with a variety of organs including the bladder, rectum and, for women, the uterus. There are three layers of muscles at the bottom of the pelvis. These muscles are called the pelvic floor, and they are used for many everyday activities: holding up the spine and internal organs, help with pooping, peeing and sexual function and, for women, being pregnant and giving birth.

When is it time for the therapy?

Because the pelvic floor has so many different roles, there are many reasons someone might need pelvic floor physical therapy

Dathu says these might include: n Urinary or fecal incontinence, n Constipation, n Pelvic organ prolapses, n Tailbone pain, n Anal-rectal pain, n Pain with intercourse, n Pain during vaginal exams, n Sacroiliac joint pain, n Endometriosis.

Because other medical concerns can cause symptoms similar to those caused by pelvic floor issues, patients are often screened for other health concerns before being referred to pelvic floor physical therapy

See THERAPY, page 2X

Behavioral Health Day coming to Baton Rouge

BY MARGARET DELANEY

Staff writer

Rally at the Baton Rouge Capi-

tol at A.Z. Gus Young Park, North Third Street, from 9 a.m. to noon on April 27 with Louisiana Mental Health Association and the Foundation for Suicide Prevention — Louisiana Chapter Wear white for behavioral health. Lunch and a vendor event to follow the rally Register for the event at the Louisiana Mental Health Association’s website

Ochsner Health CenterDenham Springs reopens

After a woman backed her car into Ochsner’s Denham Springs health center, at 30819 La. 16, the facility is now back open and accepting patients again. There were

no injuries associated with the accident, but Ochsner temporarily closed the center “to minimize disruptions for patients.”

Clinics help address high blood pressure, study says

A new study from Tulane University researchers found that a team-based program in community health clinics helped low-income patients reduce their blood pressure more than standard care alone. The study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was carried out in 36 federally qualified health centers in Louisiana and Mississippi, nonprofit centers providing primary care to many patients with limited incomes and limited access to care.

The multifaceted, team-based

program gave patients more support than they would usually receive, including clinic teams that followed an evidence-based plan to treat high blood pressure and help patients stay on their medications.

recognizes the hospital’s health care team members’ commitment to best practices in infant safe sleep, “ensuring the highest standards of care for its youngest patients.”

pating? Contact lead researcher Dovile Vilda at dvilda@tulane.edu.

Groups team for free mobile dental clinics

Continued from page 1X

a more precise CT scan, a lung biopsy, a pulmonary test, a PET scan and lung surgery all in one week.

By October, Boehler was back at home, building the strength to run again in her home in Nashville. But, she left the experience with a new sense of purpose: share her story and tell anyone she could about the possibility of getting lung cancer as a healthy, nonsmoker In just six months, Boehler has created a foundation to help people get preventative scans for those who can’t afford the out-of-pocket costs for lung cancer screenings; met with insurance companies and government officials about changing the guidelines required to receive insurance-covered lung cancer screenings; appeared on CNN, Fox News and the Today Show; spoke at the Kennedy Center with Dr Mehmet Oz; and wrote a book about her health journey and what women can do about their likelihood of getting lung cancer, releasing on April 28.

Lung cancer in ‘never-smokers’

Boehler’s case is not as rare as most people assume.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In the United States alone, it will claim over 125,000 lives in 2026. While the total number of lung cancer cases is decreasing, the proportion of cases in never-smokers is rising.

Boehler’s father, a Tulane graduate and pulmonologist, taught her from a very young age the dangers of smoking. For her entire life, she has avoided both smoking and secondhand smoke.

Even so, the first question many people ask her when she tells them her lung cancer diagnosis, is if she had been a smoker

“It’s a little insulting,” Boehler said. “We don’t place blame on any other types of cancer And I’m not a smoker anyway.”

Recent data from Northwestern University shows 10% to 20% of lung cancers in the U.S. occur in people who have never smoked. For comparison, in the early 1990s, never-smokers made up only 8% of the lung cancer population.

The transition could be related to the fact that there are less smokers overall in the United States or due to an increase in other environmental exposures (for instance, radon or pollution) leading to lung cancer

“If you have lungs,” Boehler said. “You can get lung cancer.”

The cancer biology often differs for never-smokers. Never-smokers are more likely to develop adenocarcinoma, the subtype Boehler had. Despite the increase in neversmoker diagnosis, screening

THERAPY

Continued from page 1X

Although a referral is not required in Louisiana to see a physical therapist often patients are guided to Dathu’s practice after consultation with a primary care physician, gastroenterologist and gynecologists.

The appointment

At a patient’s first appointment, Dathu shares information about the pelvic floor muscles before asking patients questions about any pain they may be experienc-

After 18 months, patients in clinics using the team-based program saw their systolic blood pressure drop by an average of 15.5 points, compared with 9.1 points in clinics providing enhanced usual care. Patients in the team-based program also showed more adherence to hypertension treatment.

Manning Family Children’s earns certification

Manning Family Children’s achieved certification as a Gold Level Cribs for Kids National Safe Sleep Hospital. This certification

guidelines in the United States remain largely tethered to smoking history The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual low-dose CT screening for adults aged 50 to 80 with a significant active or prior smoking history — at least a pack a day for 20 years.

That policy, implemented in 2013, is grounded in evidence: the 2011 National Lung Screening Trial demonstrated a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality with low dose CT scans compared with chest x-ray However participants in this study were heavy smokers and between 55 and 74 years of age.

Because Boehler’s tumor was caught at Stage I, her prognosis was fundamentally different from that of patients diagnosed with later stages. She underwent surgical resection, removing the affected portion of her right lung.

“My lymph nodes were clear There was no evidence of metastasis,” she said.

When Stage I non-small cell lung cancer is detected early and completely resected, five-year survival often exceeds 70% and may approach 90% in some patients.

This stands in stark contrast to advanced stages, where treatment shifts to systemic therapy, and survival declines substantially

The sharp change in prognosis across stages underscores the power of early detection before symptoms ever appear like persistent coughing, coughing up blood, wheezing or shortness of breath.

Telling her story to thousands In 2019, the Boehler family moved away from New Orleans. Boehler went kicking and screaming Before she left, she was introduced to a one-line a day journal that documented a single sentence from every day for five years. She started the journal in Janu-

ing, as well as their bladder, bowel and sexual function. Then, it is time for a physical exam. This may include an external examination of the pelvis during which the provider lightly touches the region to determine if a patient feels pain or tenderness. This may be followed by an internal examination of the vaginal or rectal canal to determine whether there is any pain, tenderness or restrictions.

If a patient is uncomfortable in any way, Dathu slows the pace and works with them on other alternatives to pursue physical therapy, like exercises. “It’s often really uncomfortable

Call out for research participants at Tulane

Researchers from the Mary Amelia Center for Women’s Health Equity at Tulane University are looking for participants in a study on family planning and pregnancy among women in same-sex relationships. Tulane’s study aims to better understand family-building experiences among sexual minority women in the U.S. South. Participants will be invited to take part in a 60-minute interview and will receive a $50 gift card for their time Interested in partici-

Ochsner LSU Health and Southern University Shreveport are teaming up to bring free dental care to the community through a monthly mobile dental clinic — offering cleanings, fluoride treatments, and consultations for all ages.

The clinic runs every first Thursday at the Peggy Prescott Community Health Center, at 3810 Jewella Ave.

Health Notes is an occasional listing of health happenings around Louisiana. Have something you’d like to share? Contact us at margaret. delaney@theadvocate.com.

ary 2020.

“I just thought if I could write one positive thing each day, I could get over missing New Orleans and being home,” Boehler said.

She didn’t know that a global pandemic and four more family moves were on the horizon. When she was diagnosed with lung cancer, she kept the journal alive. Her entry on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025: “I have lung cancer.”

“What else was there to say?” Boehler said.

She used this journal throughout her journey and recovery and used her single-sentences to help her write her medical memoir

The book “One Scan Saved My Life: How One Woman’s Story Will Change the Way We Detect Lung Cancer”, takes readers on a personally detailed and medically precise trek of Boehler living life with lung cancer. All proceeds from the book will benefit her nonprofit, Cancer Doesn’t Care.

“The idea was to tell my story

for patients to answer some of my questions,” Dathu said. “But I remind them that I do this every day

I ask patients about bowel movements, pain during sexual activity.”

From there, Dathu works with her patients to create a unique care plan that enhances their quality of life.

Success looks different for every patient: Some will measure success by their ability to better control their bladder or bowels, others by their ability to have painfree intercourse.

“My goal is to get my patients to a place where they no longer need me,” Dathu said. Sessions are typically 45 minutes

through a couple hundred pages versus having to call everyone in the phone book,” Boehler said. Boehler is three months cancer free. She is back to her pre-lung cancer life 6-mile runs and all — with her husband and their four children, ages 8 to 14. She still misses New Orleans and comes home to visit family —

to an hour once a week. Depending on the patient’s condition and compliance to Dathu’s at home checklist, six to eight appointments should be enough to address pelvic floor issues.

What exercises are used?

Pelvic floor physical therapy might draw to mind pelvic muscle strengthening exercises such as kegels, or biofeedback, which uses computers to assess the body while a patient performs exercises.

While Dathu notes that kegels and biofeedback are components of pelvic floor physical therapy, it’s not a catchall answer for pain. Kegels can actually make pelvic floor

and for Mardi Gras celebrations, of course. She remains grateful for her husband’s persistence about getting a whole-body MRI. She believes it saved her life.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.

conditions worse in certain cases. Pelvic floor physical therapy also considers the mind-body connection a large part of addressing the tightness, tension or weakness in the muscle. Stress can be a significant component to causing, or worsening, a pelvic floor condition.

“If you think about your pelvic floor pain, you’re going to be stressed about it and, as a result, have more tension in the pelvic floor muscle,” Dathu said. “Calming the mind and distressing can go a long way.”

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@theadvocate. com.

Eat Fit LiveFit

Alifebydesign: Terrance Osborneonart, balanceand becoming

Usually,thiscolumnisaboutfood healthandhabits.Butwell-being isn’tlimitedtowhat’sonourplate orhowwemoveourbodies.It’salso abouthowwethink,howwerespond tolifeandtheenvironmentswecreate aroundourselves.

Throughour“InspiringStories”series, wehighlightindividualswhoselives reflectdifferentexpressionsofwellness. Thisweek,NewOrleansartistTerrance Osborneoffersaperspectiverootedin creativity,intentionandadeepsense ofpresence.

TerranceOsborne’sworkisinstantly recognizable:boldcolor,movementand astyledeeplyrootedinLouisiana.Justas strikingistheenergybehindit:asenseof easeandclaritythatcarriesthroughboth theworkandthepersoncreatingit.

Thisstoryislessaboutwhereheisnow andmoreabouthowhechosetogethere.

TerrancegrewupinNewOrleans, surroundedbycreativity,butwithoutclear examplesofthelifehewouldeventually build.Hisstepfatherwasabusive,andthe modelsaroundhim—ofbothcareerand manhood—wereinconsistentatbest

“Ididn’thaveanexampleofhowtobea father,”hesaid.“ButIunderstoodthathurt peoplehurtpeople.Andmaybethatwas hisstory,butitwasn’tgoingtobemine.”

Asakid,artwassomethingothers respondedtoearlyon.“Myfirsthustlewas kidsbringingmetheirjeans,”hesaid.“They wantedBartSimpsonorMickeyMouse drawnonthem.I’ddoitwithpermanent marker—ten,twentydollars.”

Thoseearlypieceslikelydidn’tmake itthroughthewash.Buttheyshowed himthatwhathecreatedhadvalue. Everythingbegantoshiftwhenhemet artistRichardThomas.

“Iworkedinhisgallery,”Terrance said.“Hehadstudentscomein,and

he’dteachus.Idon’tknowhowhedid it—teachingallday,thenworking withusatnight—buthedid.Hegave memyfirstpaintbrushandcanvasand said,‘I’mgoingtoshowyouhowto paint.Whenyousellthisone,buyyour ownsupplies.’”

“Asakid,youeitherthinkyouknow everything,oryoumakeyourself smaller,”hesaid.“Iwasmakingmyself smaller,untilImetRichard.Hewas loving,compassionate,generous.He showedmewhatthatcouldlooklike.”

“IlovedthatIcouldhaveanidea,put itonasurfaceandsomeonecouldsay, ‘That’sbeautiful,’”hesaid.“Itmademe feellikemyideashadvalue.”

Encouragedbyteacherswho recognizedhistalent,Terranceattended theNewOrleansCenterforCreativeArts (NOCCA),thenstudiedfineartsatXavier UniversityofLouisiana.

Still,becomingafull-timeartistdidn’t feellikeagiven.Thatshiftcameafter HurricaneKatrina,whenhesteppedaway fromteachingandcommittedfullytohis work—supportedbyhiswife,Stephanie, whomhedescribesashisbusinesspartner, bestfriendand“thepersonwhobrought structureintomylife.”

WhenIsatdownwithTerrancefor ourpodcastinterview,Iwasn’tsure wheretostart.

“It’salwaysgood,”hesaid.“Ifyoudon’t knowwheretostart,thepossibilities

BY THENUMBERS

areendless.Thenaturalwayistodo whatmovesyou—gowiththeenergy.” Thatperspectivecarriesdirectlyinto howheworks.

“Mymeditationisactionmeditation, hesaid.“I’mcompletelyabsorbedinthe painting.IforgetthatI’minvolvedin anythingelse.”

Hedescribesreachingwhathecalls, “thegap.”Hesaid,“Youstopthinking,and whenyourealizeit,you’realreadyoutofit.

MollyKimball,RD,CSSD,isaregistereddietitian withOchsnerHealthandfounderofOchsner’sEatFit nonprofitinitiative.Formorewellnesscontent,tuneinto Molly’spodcast,FUELEDWellness+Nutrition,andfollow @MollykimballRDand@EatFitOchsneronsocialmedia. Emailnutrition@ochsner.orgtoconnectwithMollyor scheduleaconsultwithherteam.

DATA SHOWSLA. CHILDREN NOT‘FLOURISHING’ AS MUCH AS THOSEINOTHER STATES

In 2024, just under two-thirds of Louisiana children were classified as “flourishing,” the fifth-lowest ranking in the country, according to data gathered by the U.S. Department of Health andHumanServices.

“Flourishing”isameasure of how well children are thriving within their family andcommunity. It represents socialization, curiosity,resilience andself-regulation. Flourishingin children is associated with higher levels of school engagement, and attributes of flourishing have been linked to areduced likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors and developing mood disorders.

Although the national averagefor “flourishing”children leveled out at 66.7% in the 2023-2024 school year compared to the 66.4%in2022-23, thetrend for“flourishing”children has been in rapid decline since 2016 when the averagewas 92.8%.

Manyfactors can influence whether or not achild is flourishing, including parental capacity (such as the health of parents,their ability to cope with stress and anysubstance use)and family dynamics(such as parent-child relationshipsand family activities). Promoting flourishing at home supportschildhood development and increases the

likelihood of well-being and success in adulthood.

According to America’sHealth Rankings analysis,the prevalence of children whomeet thecriteria for flourishing is higher among:

nGirls compared with boys.

nAsian children compared with Black children.

nChildren with aparent or guardian whograduated fromcollege compared with thosewhose parents or guardians have lowerlevels of educational attainment.

nChildren without special health careneeds comparedwith children with special healthcareneeds.

These states had thelowest percentageof“flourishing” children, in ascending order:

nOregon with 62%;

nUtah with 62.3%;

nMaine and SouthDakotawith 62.9%;

nLouisiana with 63.5%;

nArkansas with 63.6%;

nNewHampshire with 63.9%;

nNevada with 64.2%;

nMichigan with 64.3%;

nOklahoma with 64.6%

nIndiana with 64.7%;

nIdaho, Minnesota,West Virginia andWyoming with 65%.

Thesestates had the highest

Butthemoreyougetthere,themorethat spaceopensup.”

Thesameworkthatbringspressure anddeadlinesisalsowhatbringshiminto thatstate.Outsidethestudio,hisroutines supportthatbalance.

“I’veeatenprettywellmostofmyadult life,”hesaid.“I’vegotallthesepictureson myphoneofthesaladsStephaniemakes. They’recolorful,they’rebeautiful—they looklikemypaintings.”

Hisapproachtomovementshiftswith hisschedule—sometimesstructured workouts,othertimessimplygetting outside,walkingtheneighborhoodwith hiswife.

Duringmoreintenseworkperiods,his focusnarrows.“ImakesureI’mhydrated,” hesaid.“Idon’teatalotwhenI’mworking. Itslowsmedown.”

Sleep,hesays,hasbecomeessential.“In mytwenties,Icouldstayupallnightand itdidn’tmatter.Now,sleepiseverything. Itaffectsmymood,andmymoodaffects mywork.”

Hisversionofaperfectdayissimple: goodsleep,morninglightinthestudio, musicplayingandtheworkinfrontofhim. “Whenyou’recreatingfromagoodplace, youfeelit,”hesaid.“That’swhatit’sabout.” ForOsborne,thatfeelingisn’t accidental.It’ssomethinghe’sbuilt choicebychoice—intobothhislife andhiswork.Andintheheartoffestival season,hisworkbecomespartofthat sharedexperience—meetingpeople exactlywhereheintended:inaplacethat feelsgood

ForadeeperlookatTerranceOsborne’s perspectiveoncreativity,balance andintentionalliving,listentothefull interviewontheFUELEDWellness+ Nutritionpodcast—availablenow whereveryougetyourpodcasts.

Percentage of children ages 6monthsto5years whoshowaffection,resilience, interest andcuriosity in learning,aswellassmile andlaugh alot;and children ages 6to17who show self-regulation, interest andcuriosity in learning,aswell as work to finish tasks. ‘Flourishing’childreninAmerica

Source:U.S.Department

percent of “flourishing” children, in descending order:

nNebraska with 70.1%;

nNewJerseyand Texas with 69.7%;

nTennesseewith 69.3%;

nIllinois with 69.2%;

nMaryland with 68.4%;

nSouth Carolina with 68.1%;

TheLouisiana Health section is focusedonproviding in-depth, personal accounts of health in the state.This sectionlooks at medical innovations, health discoveries,

nHawaii with 67.9%;

nNorthCarolina with 67.7%;

nOhio with 67.6%;

nMassachusetts with 67.5%;

nDelaware with 67.4%;

nGeorgia with 67.3%;

nNewMexico, Pennsylvania and Washington with 67%.

FestivalInternationalisaboutconnection,communityandcelebration,longdaysinLouisianaheatand dancingalittlelongerthanyouplanned.That’swhyOchsnerLafayetteGeneralisbackasOfficialMedical ProviderofFestivalInternationalwithhydrationstations,firstaidandexpertcare.Becausecaringfor ourcommunitymeansmeetingyouwhereyouare.EveninthemiddleofJeffersonStreet.We’renot justhereforyourcheckups.We’rehereforyourencores,too

FULL STORY

Documentarian uses visual,social mediatoteach Louisianahistory

BY JOYHOLDEN Staffwriter

When Elroy “E.J.” Johnson IV started teaching historyinBaton Rouge, hisstudents told himitwas aboringsubject. He persisted anyway,trying to figure out how to teach storiesofthe pastby using modern techniques.

ADallasnative,Johnsonwas ateacher at Prescott Middle School from 2012 to 2014 as aTeach forAmerica corpsmember.Hesoon discovered that he would have to use innovation toengagehis young students.

ButJohnson says his time teaching in Baton Rouge laid the foundation for what he does today as adocumentarian and projectmanager for theproject manager for the National Alliance of Melanin Disabled Advocates.

“I don’tthink,without thattime, I’dbe doing things I’m doing now,” he said. During the pandemic,Johnson started making content on Instagram and TikTokabout Black American historyin

Louisianaand Texas. He posted avideo on TikTok in 2020about Laurel Valley Plantation andwas surprised by the amount of attention it got.

He started filming himself as he traveled and researchedthe plantations that his ancestors had livedand worked on in Louisiana,several in Natchitoches Parish.

“I wasshowcasingthem, talking about historical figures and things that Iknew alot of people havenot seen,” he said.

“People often drive by real deep stories that show the groundwork of how Louisiana is today.”

As @thedirector_ej, Johnsoncurrently has 50,000 followers on Instagram and 88,000 followers on TikTok,with posts that have commenters from around the country.Hesays that his goal is to reach people far from Louisianawho have ancestral ties to the state so they can learn about their roots.

“For alongtime, history books were not giving the full story.I think alot of kids being able tosee their family story, their family culture, theirfamily regions is making them more interested,” he said.

Johnson’svideos include information on historical places like Saint Simon Missionary Church in Natchitoches, slave cabins on theMagnolia Mound plantation in Baton Rouge and midwives and healersinSt. Landry Parishatthe Rural African American Museum in Opelousas. One video explains plantation commissaries and scrip money,while others highlight small rural towns throughout Louisiana.Johnson often interviews Black elders, sharing his platform with the faces and voices of wisdom.

He also uses his own family’spictures as the foundation for lessons.

Aconnectiontothe ancestors

After his stint in Baton Rouge, Johnson moved to Texasin2014 to teach history,but he returnedtosouth Louisiana in 2022. With relatives in Natchitoches, hismove back to Louisiana felt natural.

“In many ways, beingabletocome teach in thestate that my grandmother did not go to high school in was kind of a full circle moment,” Johnson said.

While Johnsonreturned to Louisiana to work in marketing and media, he wanted to foster his love of storytelling that he found through making social mediavideos.Onthe weekends,hetook his camera out to document the culture around him.

“It was also away of me gettingto understand Louisiana more intimately being the place my ancestors have been for many generations,” he said.

Johnson collaborateswith Alex

Johnson wrote and directed ashort about jazz musicianJelly Roll Morton.

Trapps-Chabala,agenealogist and historian, to research documents and records forvideos on social media.The twowork together often on historical narratives. Trapps-Chabalasays that he goes to Johnsonifhedoesn’tknow something, and vice versa. They met about 15 years ago and wereinstrumental in organizing an informal online community, sharing Louisiana Black history

Trapps-Chabala, originally from California,has strong roots in theSouth. He moved to New Orleans for his genealogywork with NorfolkState University’s Sold Down River Project.

He notesthat Johnson is on amission to “get the facts straight,” especially so that peoplewho aredisplaced from theSouth can connect to thehistory and culture of thearea. Trapps-Chabala says that Louisiana hasanabundance of writtenrecords thattraditional genealogy relies on, but historians have to use a sharp eye tointerrogate what’swritten. “EJhas shown me that everything that’sonpaper isn’t always the truth, but at least we have adocument to build off of,” Trapps-Chabala said. “Wecan createanarrative that’s honest, looking at it fromall theangles, andexpress it in away that actually matters to people.”

He praisedJohnson’s abilitytobuild

ä See STORY, page 2Y

JanRisher

The thwack of home

Around 9p.m., the family up-

stairs makes its nightly trek from the front of the house to the back.

Except, there is no family upstairs.

We live in aone-story house.

My husband and Ihave been living in arental house forseven months while our real homeisbeing rebuilt after afire destroyed it in August. Like every other place I’ve ever lived, the rental homebreathes and makes the occasional creak or sigh.

But in this case, this house has an abundance of other sounds.

These days, my husband and I look at each other sometimes and don’teven have to say,“Didyou hear that?”

We have theorized on what all the noises could be longer than we spent on our taxes. Sometimes, we are certain of the aforementioned family upstairs. We’ve named the imaginary lot the McAlisters.

My husband is convinced that the noise sounds like afamily on a schedule. Like at somepoint they say,“Time to put the kids to bed,” and they all go scurrying down the path they take every evening. Seven months in, the McAlisters remain the best explanation forwhatever is going on in the invisible, imaginary apartment upstairs, but we are certain that this is not how things are supposed to work.

Houses speak alanguage we learn eventually —but seven months is usually long enough to at least know the alphabet.

That said, this rental isn’ttalking.

Other houses have been more forthcoming.

The house sound Iremember mostvividly is from my childhood home. The house had an attic string in the hallway with a two-inch, smooth oblong wooden pull on its end. Iremember looking at that wooden pull when it wasimpossible to reach. Iremember jumping anyway.I don’t remember the first timeI actually hit it, but doing so gave amostsatisfying thwack.

After that, Ijumped up and hit the wooden pull every single timeI wentdown that hallway Remarkably,myparents never minded —or, at least, never said so. The house is still there. Iwonder if it still has that attic pull and if any other child appreciated it like Idid.

The summer before my junior year in high school, my family moved away from the house and townthat built me to another small town 50 miles away,when my father becamethe high school principal in Magee, Mississippi. The school provided ahouse forthe principal. The house had amost unusual feature —the school district had built abrand new full-size track in what had previously been the house’sbackyard. My bedroom wasinthe back of the house. With abackdoor nearby,I had easy access to the track, which was the talk of the town. The track was the perfect place to meet people the summer we moved there. By people, Imainly mean boys. From my bedroom,I could hear voices and footsteps from the track in what wasbasically my backyard. That summer,I learned the difference between the sound of aCorvette engine and aTransAm engine. Without even looking out the

INSPIREDDISCUSSIONS

CovingtonHeadStart veteranretires

Educator helped preschoolers in programfor 50 years

BY LAURA ALLEN Contributing writer

At only 8a.m., the small Head Start classroom in Covington was already alive with the laughing and crying of 3and 5-year-old children.As the young students finished up abreakfast of biscuits, sausage patties and orange slices, they each dashed off to their favorite learning centers to cram in some playtime before circling up as aclass.

Amid the chaos, Johnnie Rushing —known to students, parents and faculty alike as Mr.Johnnie —took thetimetotalktoeachstudent.

“I like how Jayden is peeling hisorange over his plate,” Rushingpraised one child during breakfast.

“I like the way you’re cleaning up. Good job!” he complimentedanotherstudent later on.

Rushing, 73, is ateaching assistant at Covington Head Start and has been with the school readiness program for over 50 years. His impact on the lives of students and others in his community has been lasting, but after five decades in the classroom, Rushing has decided to say goodbye at the end of this school year

“I pretty much like what I do and Idid,” Rushing said, “but you got to know when it’stime.”

Rushing graduated from

STORY

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PROVIDED PHOTOS

Johnnie Rushing,assistant teacher atCovington Head Start

GramblingState University in 1975 with adegree in social science. At the time, he planned on getting ajob in social work, but the Covington area offered little in that field. Needing ajob,Rushing eventually appliedtoCovington HeadStart

“When Idid get the position, Isaid, ‘Well, I’ll work here probablythree or four years, thentry to move on,’” Rushing said.

But the longer he worked with the students —watching as they broke outoftheir shells and began to excel academically and socially —the more he grew to love it.

“I kindofgot hooked,” he said Head Start is apreschool program forchildren ages 3to5years old—Early Head Starttakes childrenas young as 6weeks old—that was designed to servelow-incomefamilies. The federally fundedprogramwas established in 1965bythe Office of EconomicOpportunity under President LyndonB Johnson. Just 10 years after

anarrative that is accessible to all levels of education and classes across racial barriers. Heisable to tell hard and uncomfortable historiesinaway that results in empowerment.

Educationmeets media

Using photographyand documentary film to tell astory is Johnson’sforte. In 2024, he was selected as amember of the Emerging Voices Cohort by the New Orleans Film Society,aninitiativededicated to supporting rising documentary filmmakers.

From 2019 to 2021, Johnson directed and produced the following documentaries and shorts: “The Oak Cliff Documentary,” “Building the Bridge,” “A Food Justice Story,” “From the Block” and two videos on Black women’shealth. His next project is adocumentary short about JellyRoll Morton, the Louisiana jazz legend. He reached outtoLafayettenative and LSU alumna Carly LeDay for help on the production side.

“EJ mixes the history of things as

Johnson announced Head Start,Rushing joined the team in Covington.

At 22 years old, Rushing startedhis career at Head Start as abus driverand assistant teacher.After 13 years, he was promoted to a teaching position, which he held for four years, before returning to his previous position for another decade.

Then,Rushing took afulltimeteachingassistant role, which he has worked as ever since.

Marcela Spivey,the center manager assistant at Covington Head Start, summedup Rushing’simportance to the school: “Mr.JohnnieisCHS, and CHS is Mr.Johnnie.”

Every day follows thesame schedule,and mostactivities aremarked by asong to help the children stay engaged and on task.

After breakfast, the students gather on the alphabet rug for circle time. The main teacherand Rushing sing the “Wish YouWell” song with the children for the students who areabsent that day

Before recess, Rushing leads the children in a circle around the alphabet rug, singing atransitional song before going outside “Walking around the letters, theletters,the letters. We walkaround the letters so we can go outside”—sung to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush.”

Andafter playtime, Rushing sings “The Cleanup Song” just as loudly as the children, picking up blocks andreshelving picture books alongside his students

No matter what it is the childrenare doing, Rushing is there to lend ahelping hand,say aword of encour-

well as thecreative side of video,” LeDaysaid. “Theimpactispretty educational, not just visual.”

LeDay,founder and owner of Chateaux Rouge Cinema in Baton Rouge, said the two started filming the short in January.They are currently on post productionand workingout amarketing campaign. They hope to show thefilm in theNew Orleans African American Museum during Juneteenth

Fortheirnext project, Johnson and LeDay want tobring life and action to old portraits. The project is in its beginning stages, but the goalistorecreateportraits of the blackAmericanSouth. Theyplan to have actorsact outthe portraits and include background information

“Louisiana is aplace with alot of Black history,culture and traditionsthatare well known, but alot of timesthe people behind it,the stories behind theculture —how it gottowhere it is —isless known,” Johnson said. “So to highlight the stories of the enslaved and Black communitiesacrossLouisiana is really importanttomeand helps lay the foundation for whywe know Louisiana culture to be so iconic.”

agement or offer up alisteningear,and the students are always excited to seehim.

Onestudent marveled at thefact that he and Rushing were bothwearing black tennis shoes,telling everyone about the pair’s (almost) matching outfits. Another child launchedhimself at theassistant teacher after getting dropped off, nearly knocking Rushing down with his enthusiastic hug.

Rushing’skindness toward thestudentsdoes not go unnoticed, and many of his coworkers admire him for his patience and work ethic.

Jarvia Robinson, Rushing’sco-worker of 13 years, said, “He is the most caring, kind, gentle, considerate, God-fearing, loving, hardworking,dependable,reli-

able person Iknow.”

Marilyn Young, asubstitute teacher at Covington Head Start, has known Rushing for45years, having met him when he was her oldest daughter’sbus driver. Rushingalsotaught Young’sson fortwo years, andshe credits Rushing for helping the boy overcomesomeofthe challenges that camewith his epilepsy

Evensome of Rushing’s former students remember him decades later

Theassistantteacher described howhecould be goingabout his day,grabbing aquick cup of coffee or running any number of errands, when adults will recognize him as their first bus driver or Head Start teacher

“It’srewarding just to hear

that even at 4years old, children can remember the good things that happen,” Rushing said.

May 2026 marks the end of Rushing’scareer at Covington Head Start. What was supposed to be atemporary position right out of college turned into alifetime of educating futuregenerations in their earliest years, but Rushing does not regret the path that life unexpectedly led him down.

“Mygrandfather always saytome, ‘ifyou get ajob that youreallylike, you never work aday in your life,’”Rushing said. “That’s what he always told me, so Iguess Irealizedthat maybe that was my calling, working with young kids.”

RISHER

Continuedfrom page1y

window,Icould recognize who was out there. Often,the sounds inspired me to go on unplanned little runs.

The school stopped giving principals aplace to live long ago. The house is gone. The track has fallen into disrepair

Our homes since have had their share of sounds too, sounds we stopped hearing after living there for as long as we did —an icemaker that startled guests, squeaky sliding glass doorswith their own distinctive screech, acreaky garage door and a double-hinged kitchen door with aparticular swoosh.

Thenthere was the house that burned.

It had old-fashioned circular air vents.Whenthe air conditioner was running full blast, the vent in the dining room emitted adistracting, high-pitched whistling sound. But on asummer night in south Louisiana, I’ll take that whistle over hot any day

These days, we are rebuilding that home on its original foot-

print. Thewhistling vent is gone now,alongwith everyother sound that housemade over its 81 years—mostofthem before we ever arrived. Usually I’m able to imagine things that don’texistyet. Ican seeastory on apage or picture

adress beforethe fabric is cut —the drape of it, the finished hem.But the new version of our real houseand the sounds it will make is something my brain just can’thold. Maybe I’m too much in the present to feel it yet.

Traffickingsurvivors findrest, artand apathforward

First-of-its-kind refuge helps healing process

BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer

On asunny spring afternoon at the Eden Emergency Center in New Orleans, a 24-hour facility forhuman traffickingsurvivors, abedroom awaited anewcomer. There was ahandwritten welcome card and gift basket placedatop afreshly made canopy bed.

The faint scent of candle waxpermeated acraft room, where sewing machines stood ready.Down the hall, asmall art group worked with paint, pastels, pencils and watercolors.

Peer support staff member and artist Kellie, who described her role as “like a house mom,” facilitated the art session

“One of my favorite things we have done is the hands,” said Kellie, asurvivor who chose to be identified by her firstname only for safety purposes. “In one hand, you have what was in your past and what you want to let go of. In the other hand is what you want to hold on to.” In her piece, Kellie depicted letting go of her shame, guilt and pain, while holding on to hersenseof safety,self-worth, compassion and love.

Sometimes, clients are asked to draw things they find beautiful —once,someone drew avape, Kellie said with achuckle. Housing director Ashlie Bissell has alsoasked newcomersto draw their worlds as they appear in that moment.

“That world looks different when they first comein versus whenthey’re ayear or two (in),” Bissell said.“A lot of times, it looks alittle bit lighter.…alittle less

chaotic.”

The Eden Emergency Center,a10-bed facility in an undisclosed,tree-lined location,was thefirstofits kindinthe nation to partnerand be locatedonsite of ahospital system when it opened in 2023.Itis the newest site operated by Eden Centers for Hope and Healing, which launched its first recoveryhomein2011 and asecond in 2022.

Together, the centers offerwraparound services andsafe transitional housingfor adultsurvivorsof human trafficking.

Founded by KaraVan de Carrand Katherine Green, the first Eden Housebuilt on amodel used by the MagdaleneSerenity House in Nashville. Thatmodel offerssurvivors asafe place to heal and rest while receiving services includingtrauma and addiction therapy,medical and dentalreferrals, legal aid, job

readiness, financial literacy and parenting classes, at no cost, among other forms of support

At EdenCenters, the emergencycenter is often the first stop for survivors. Overthe course of a90-day program, the goal is to help them feel stable and safe after getting out of atrafficking situation that may causeanxietyand PTSD.

“Theyjustneed somewhere to rest, and to sleep, and to gain theirgrounding,” said chief executive officer Jennifer Best. “Number one, (they) processwhatjust happenedto them, and then two, ‘How do Imove forward?’ That’s wherewecame up withour emergency center.”

Survivors can attend therapeuticgroup classes, but arenot requiredto, and everyone gets their own privateroom— apoint of difference between Eden Emergency Center and a

traditional shelter

“Thatcan really help them rest, being able to shut the door and be here alone, and know that no one’scoming in,” said Stephanie Wilkins, chief clinical officer

After the 90-day program, survivors may move into a two-yearresidentialprogramatone of two eightperson homes, if space is available. From there, they mayenter the Rapid Rehousing program,which providesongoing casemanagement and tieredrental assistance for housing of their choice.

Forthe first three months, Eden Centers pays 100% of the rent. Thatamount decreases by 25% every three months, so that after ayear, survivors are prepared to pay theirrent in full. Currently,participantsare in school to becomesocial workers and paramedics, andothers have gone to work at nonprofitsand re-

covery centers.

“Wereally wanted our goal to be to build thatfoundationsothat they would be self-sufficient at theend of it,”Bissellsaid.

Fifty families are currently housed in the Rapid Rehousing program, and Eden Center will soon open alocationinCharlotte, NorthCarolina

“The morethat people know about us,the more the word gets out, and they’re able to get services, which is great,” Best said. “But now we’rerunning out of room.”

About 70% of people who cometoEden Centers requesting services are turned away duetoalack of capacity, according to Best. TheCenters have run at full capacity since 2023, but TheEden Centers is

campaigning to increase its capacity to more than 100 beds

Each bed representsthe potentialfor an altered life trajectory

“I didn’twant to leave. I made friends here Iwill probably have forlife,” Kellie said of her timeliving at theEden Emergency Center.“Ileft here in March, and by that time I felt alot better, andmylife hasgottenprogressively better.”

Now,asastaff member, she gets to witness and facilitate that healing process. “Being able to walk alongside people is special to me …Isee survivors come in hereeveryday,” Kellie said. “AndthenIsee people who come out on the other side,and it is beautiful.

With thousands of Shellmen and womenacross thestate,we areworking everyday to reduce emissions, while increasing efficiencyinour operations

Our tomorrowdepends on whatwedotoday.Together, we arepowering progress forabrighterfuture. Louisiana is where we live and we’reproud to call it home.

FAITH & VALUES

English choirs seek to protect tradition

BY DANICA KIRKA Associated Press

LONDON On a gray afternoon in the days before Easter, a dozen or so schoolchildren straggled into a side building at Rochester Cathedral and began their transformation.

Off went the jackets and backpacks, on came burgundy cassocks and white surplices. Then they trooped into the cathedral, opened their mouths and sang as one. The youthful gaggle had become a choir, giving voice to a tradition of choral music in the Church of England that has survived largely unchanged for almost 500 years.

“I think for me, it’s one of the sounds of our country,” said Adrian Bawtree, the choir’s music director “All of our cathedrals are beautiful, sacred spaces where you can come and just sit and be and you can be immersed, bathed, nourished, sent out back into the world transformed by an experience in 30 minutes.”

The epitome of that tradition is Choral Evensong, an evening service of hymns, psalms and prayers laid out by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant archbishop of the Church of England, in 1549. The service is performed by the choir, with the congregation participating simply by listening.

But that tradition is under threat as the demands of modern life, declining church attendance and tight funding make it harder to find and train the next generation of choristers.

Enthusiasts are trying to reverse that, launching a campaign for the government to recognize English choral services as an important part of Britain’s culture under a U.N. program that seeks to protect “intangible cultural heritage,” as well as historic buildings and natural wonders.

Strengthen identity

The U.K. government is seeking nominations for a nationwide inventory of cultural traditions from Morris dancing to the craft of building dry stone walls — that should be preserved Protecting such traditions is crucial to strengthen community identity and bolster the U.K. economy as heritage tourism generates billions of pounds in annual spending, the government says. While many people have been introduced to English choral services through the angelic voices of the choristers in flowing robes and Elizabethan ruffs who sing

The power of music

Looking for Louisiana faith

Staff report

Every week, Louisiana ministers stand before their congregations with something to say The newspaper wants to give them a wider pulpit. We’re inviting ministers from across the state — every faith tradition, every denomination, every corner of Louisiana — to contribute first-person columns on faith for occasional publication in the Louisiana Inspired section. The topics are wide open, as long as they’re rooted in faith. Write about what your congregation is wrestling with Write about a text that has haunted you for years, or a moment of grace you witnessed last Tuesday

Write about doubt, community or why ancient traditions still matter in a complicated world. Write about what faith looks like in a flood zone, in a small town, in a hospital room. Write about something your tradition gets wrong about itself — or right. Write about why you do this work.

What we’re looking for:

n First-person voice. These are your words, your perspective and your faith The column should sound like you. We are not looking for an AI version of you.

at royal weddings and carol services, choirs perform every day in much more humble settings.

And many are struggling, according to the Cathedral Music Trust, which was founded in 1956 to stem the decline of church music after World War II. Last year it gave 500,000 pounds ($661,000) to 28 cathedrals and churches around the country

It can be a lot. Rochester for example, spends about 250,000 pounds ($330,000) a year on music, a substantial outlay for a provincial cathedral but less than some.

The trust hopes recognition of the English choral tradition will bring attention and muchneeded funding to choirs, which it says are an important training ground for the musicians of tomorrow, both religious and secular “Whilst it happens every day, it is actually quite fragile,” trust CEO Jonathan Mayes said “It takes an awful lot of work and it takes a lot of funding to actually make it happen and that doesn’t come without effort.”

Protestant Reformation

Preserving Evensong is im-

portant historically because the service was instrumental in the development and spread of the modern English language, said Diarmaid MacCulloch, an expert on Christianity and an emeritus professor at the University of Oxford.

The service is based on the Book of Common Prayer, compiled by Cranmer to make English the language of the Church of England after it broke away from the Latin-dominated Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.

The idea was to create services everyone could be part of.

“It is very much a drama, and it is a drama which has been performed by the people of England from 1549 through to the present day,” MacCulloch said. “It’s far more a vehicle of public consciousness performance than any play of Shakespeare.”

And while a growing number of choirs including Rochester now take girls as well as boys, in other respects it hasn’t changed much since then.

“The service would be really quite recognizable to Queen Elizabeth I as much as Queen Elizabeth II,” MacCulloch said. “And that’s quite remarkable.”

Bawtree, the music director at Rochester Cathedral, is one of those working to preserve the tradition as he oversees the youngest singers, aged 9-13, known as choristers, as well as a youth choir for older children. All are backed by professional adult singers.

Bawtree said he was captured by church music the first time he heard an organ play and a choir sing when he was about 9 years old. Now he wants people to know that services like Evensong make it possible for anyone to turn up and listen to beautiful choral music, regardless of their beliefs.

“When I heard it, it was like big octopus arms came and grabbed me and said, ‘You’ve got to be part of this.’ So I think I am trying to speak to that 9-year-old child and saying actually this is something that could speak to most people, if not everyone.

“And because I had that experience, I would like to share that with future generations and be passionate about that,” he said. “We talk in the world of mindfulness and the power of music to transform lives This is an extraordinary arena where that can happen.”

n Informative and accessible. Write for a general audience, not just your congregation. Assume your reader is curious but not an insider

n Grounded and specific. The best columns make a large idea small — one story, one moment, one question at the center n Between 550 and 750 words. No shorter, no longer n Original and unpublished. Columns should not have appeared elsewhere in print or online.

n Digital submissions only A few practical notes: Submission does not guarantee publication. Columns will be edited for length and clarity. Content that is primarily promotional — columns about a church event, fundraiser or building campaign — is not a fit. Direct attacks on other faith traditions are not a fit Honest, searching, personal writing about faith in Louisiana life absolutely is. To submit, email the following to Jan Risher at jan.risher@theadvocate.com: n Your completed column (550–750 words)

n A headshot

n A bio of no more than 100 words

n The name and address of your church or place of worship

n The best contact phone number for the minister (not to be published) Louisiana has always had a lot to say about faith. We’re listening.

Minnesota prisoners turn time into tattoos with a purpose

BY RACHEL HUTTON

The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

Editor’s note: This story is created by Rachel Hutton for The Minnesota Star Tribune. Louisiana Inspired features solutions journalism stories that provide tangible evidence that positive change is happening in other places and in our own communities solutions that can be adopted around the world.

Daniel Gonzales pressed a tattoo needle into Israel Ray Gaitan’s bare back, where a Mayan calendar spanned Gaitan’s shoulder blades. Gonzales had already logged 30 hours tattooing the elaborate design in honor of Gaitan’s mother Gonzales wasn’t sure how Gaitan sat through the ordeal: Tattoos in the spinal area hurt a lot. “Don’t let pain get you down and keep moving forward,” Gaitan said of the strategy that has guided him through 33 years of incarceration. This tattoo parlor resembles any other licensed by the state of Minnesota except for its location: Stillwater prison. Both Gaitan and Gonzales are convicted murderers serving time there.

Stillwater’s two-year-old tattoo apprentice program is one of the first in U.S. prisons. The program offers a new rehabilitation option alongside the typical barbering and construction trades.

The idea behind it is twofold: Teach inmates job skills and reduce the spread of hepatitis C, which can be transmitted by unsanctioned, ad hoc tattooing in the cells.

Each year, the state Department of Corrections typically spends nearly $1 million on hepatitis C medications, prison administrators say Training prisoners to do

safe tattooing can reduce that expense, along with the cost to society when former inmates relapse into criminal behavior. Roughly half of released state prisoners return to prison within 5 years, and stable employment has been shown to reduce reoffending.

“This gives me a sense of purpose,” said Gonzales, who was licensed through the program a year ago and has 16 years left on his sentence “We’re all going to be out there one day.”

Tattooing in the cells

Incarcerated for the past decade, Gonzales learned to tattoo in the cells a practice he described as “tattooing from scratch, using damn near anything that you can get your hands on.”

He said inmates make their own tattoo guns from everyday objects, such as the barrel of a pen, the motor from a beard trimmer or a sharpened guitar string. Ink is made from soot.

Gonzales said infections are mostly warded off by wishful thinking, but he said he knew someone who once contracted an antibioticresistant staph infection.

Prisoners seek tattoos to differentiate and express themselves in an environment with little autonomy, Gonzales said. Everyone wears the same plain, Corrections Department-approved clothing in blue white or gray.

“When you come into prison, you’re really stripped of your identity,” Gonzales said. “Getting tattooed is a bold statement to say, ‘I’m an individual, I’m a person.’ ”

The apprentice program

Justin Jimenez, a tattoo artist who has owned Electric Blue Tattoo Co. in Forest Lake since 2019, was hired by Stillwater to mentor and train

prisoners in the program.

So far, four apprentices have graduated from the program After two were recently released, two newcomers filled their spots. Jimenez teaches the apprentices about the history of tattoo styles and blood-borne pathogens, and demonstrates tattooing by raffling off free ink for prison staff.

The apprentices refine their drawing skills on paper before learning to use tattoo machines on fake skin. Then they practice on themselves and each other before offering their services to other prisoners.

The apprentices have already inked a few hundred clients, who must be discipline-free for six months, pay $25 a session and have their design approved.

Some images, such as those with anything gang-related, nudity or vulgarity, are forbidden. Jimenez said the designs that program clients receive aren’t the crude inkings typical of prison tattoos.

The entire tattoo industry has become more professionalized, Jimenez said, as body ink has gone mainstream and shed its rough-andtumble stigma.

“It’s not all skulls and barbed wire anymore,” he said. “We’re doing tons of really fine art.”

Prisoners have requested teapots, butterflies, flowers and hearts, as well as tributes to family members. Many of the tattoos have sentimental value, said Marina Fuhrman, a Corrections Department manager who works with the program. Prisoners can also have old tattoos covered. One, for example, had a tiger’s face inked over a swastika Fuhrman said the tattoo parlor has improved the prisoner-staff dynamic. “This shop created its own culture, which gives people a sense of humanity and normalcy,” she said.

Added Jimenez: “It presented a common ground. Art is something that everyone from all walks of life can enjoy.”

Reducing disease, giving hope

While some have balked at the tattoo program’s $130,000 annual budget, which includes Jimenez’s salary, the initiative can combat the spread of an expensive disease The Corrections Department typically treats close to 100 cases of hepatitis C each year at a cost of $12,000 to $51,000 per inmate.

Though the number of hepatitis C patients has declined since the tattoo program launched, it’s uncertain how much it has contributed to the improvement; the Corrections Department doesn’t track cases acquired in prison.

But Fuhrman said violations for tattooing in Stillwater’s cells have plummeted since the parlor opened, dropping from as many as eight to 10 infractions a month to hardly any

She said the prison plans to continue the tattoo program until the facility’s planned closure in 2029. It will then be transitioned to another facility and possibly expanded. Stillwater tattoo artist Courtney Ocegueda, who is serving time for murder, said the program has given him hope of finding stability as he anticipates his release in 2033.

He said many Stillwater prisoners are trying to leave their former ways behind “being reckless and acting the fool” — and transform their lives for the better

“We’re trying to take advantage of what’s being given to us, so people can see we’re not just throwaways,” he said “We all got somebody that cares about us, and we’re trying to do better for them and for us.”

On the outside

Chris Calvillo, owner of No Joke Tattoo Studios in White Bear Lake, was imprisoned at Stillwater in the early 2000s. He said that if the prison had offered the apprenticeship program then, he likely would have taken the path to his dream job a lot sooner, instead of returning to crime and incarceration.

Calvillo employs several tattoo artists who were once in prison. Among them is Corey Schuck, who was licensed at Stillwater and joined No Joke after transitioning to work release last fall.

Schuck was convicted of felony assault, and the contours of his crime resemble those of other tattoo-program participants: after being provoked or angered, quickly retaliating with a weapon.

Those impulsive, violent acts are a striking contrast to tattooing, a process Schuck described as painstaking, almost meditative.

“I don’t think about my problems,” he said “I just think about pulling this line straight or shading this shade.”

Schuck said the patience he cultivated while in prison and learning tattooing improved his ability to keep his emotions in check

“I’ve been calmer about things,” he said. “My reaction isn’t to quick-spit anger, like it used to be.” Calvillo calls tattooing “a form of teaching patience within yourself.” He said he believes Schuck and other felons he employs aren’t inclined to return to their former criminal behavior now that they’ve made something of themselves and have so much at stake.

“It gives you a sense of pride, of being somebody,” Calvillo said of a career as a tattoo artist. “Those were decisions made when you didn’t have all that.”

SUNDAY, April 26, 2026

directions: Make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row Add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value All the words are in the Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

word game

instructions: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

todAY's Word — octoPuses: OK-tuhpuh-sez: Cephalopod mollusks with eight muscular arms.

Average mark 31 words Time limit 60 minutes Can you find 51 or more words in OCTOPUSES?

ken ken

instructions: 1 -Each rowand each column must contain thenumbers 1through4 (easy) or 1through6 (challenging) without repeating 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes, called cages, must combine using thegiven operation (inany order)toproduce the target numbersinthe top-left corners. 3 -Freebies: Fillinthe single-boxcages withthe numberinthe top-left corner

instructions: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 gridwith several given numbers. The object is to placethe numbers 1to 9in theempty squares so that each row,each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. The difficultylevel of the Conceptis Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday

directions: Complete thegridso that numbers 1–132 connect horizontally, vertically or diagonally

wuzzLes

The correct play

Today’s deal is from a team match. Both tables reached three notrump after identical auctions and both West players led the 10 of diamonds, low from dummy, low from East, and declarer won the queen. What next? Both declarers realized that they did not have the entries to set up the club suit and both focused on setting up heart tricks. At one table, South led a heart to the ace and then led the jack of hearts. East won with the king and led a club to dummy’s ace. South led a low heart from dummy, hoping for a 3-3 split, but West took his nine, cashed the queen, and led a diamond to East’s ace. East led the jack of spades to lock declarer in dummy and waited for his spade trick to defeat the contract.

At the other table, South realized that any play in hearts would work if the suit split 3-3, so he focused on possible 4-2 splits. He could only handle a 4-2 split if one opponent had a doubleton honor, so he led a heart to the ace and then a low heart. East took his king and led a club, but South con-

tinued with the jack of hearts to set up the rest of the suit. He now had three spades, four hearts, and a trick in each minor to make his contract. Note that South’s play in the heart suit would work just as well if the suit split 3-3.

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

super Quiz

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Put your energy into discovery and getting things done. Don’t let emotional manipulation mess with your mind or your plans. Set your ideas in motion, and don’t look back.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Refuse to let your emotions get in your way Expect someone to play mind games with you or try to interfere with your plans. Own your intentions and execute your plans accordingly.

Tannah Hirsch welcomes readers’ responses sent in care of this newspaper or to Tribune Content Agency inc., 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, Ny 14207. E-mail responses may be sent to gorenbridge@ aol.com. © 2026 Tribune Content Agency

CANCER (June 21-July 22) It’s time to regenerate, not time to ramp things up. Spend your time with your besties or put some relaxation time on your schedule. Whatever you find comfort in doing, start the process LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Press forward with enthusiasm, and you’ll drum up support. Keep your eyes and ears open, and you’ll gather interesting tidbits from people associated with something of interest. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Learn from your experiences. Watch how others respond to something, and it will indicate what you should do next. Use emotional energy to hone a physical skill.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) All eyes are on you. Do your best to sparkle and to charm your way forward An interesting connection you make will change how you move forward and present your attributes.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) You’ve got plenty going for you, so stick to the script and stay on point regarding what you want. Keep your facts straight.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stick close to home, relax and enjoy the people you love. Refuse to let outsiders interfere in your personal life. Spruce up your looks.

Take this Super Quiz to a Ph.D. Score 1 point for each correct answer on the Freshman Level, 2 points on the graduate Level and 3 points on the Ph.D. Level.

SUBJECT: AMERICANA

(Example: This magazine was the premier photo journal from the 1930s through the 1960s.

Answer: LIFE.)

FRESHMAN LEVEL 1. This canine star rescued her owners from weekly predicaments from 1954 to 1973.

Answer________

2. What actor was known simply as “Bogie”?

Answer________

3. In the military, what is the meaning of AWOL?

Answer________ 4. Who was known as “Satchmo”?

Answer________ 5. This 1936 self-help book was written by Dale Carnegie.

Answer________

GRADUATE LEVEL

What were

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Problems will arise if you confront a personal situation. You’re best off focusing on something that doesn’t involve outside influences. A physical activity that challenges you will help you find peace.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Review your finances and set a tight budget. A residential or lifestyle change will help you lower your overhead and offer an incentive to address physical adjustments you want to make.

PISCES (Feb 20-March 20) Attend social events or make plans with

someone who brings out the best in you. A good laugh will help you put things in perspective and give you hope for a brighter future.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Excess is the enemy Indulgent behavior, overspending and exaggeration will all lead to trouble. Focus on your well-being and achieving peace of mind and happiness.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact.

© 2026 by NEA, inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

1. Lassie. 2. HumphreyBogart. 3. Absent without leave. 4.Louis Armstrong. 5. "How to WinFriends and Influence People." 6. Bonnie andClyde. 7. Lace. 8. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 9. Desi Arnaz. 10. Blondie. 11. Route 66. 12. SupremeCourt of theUnited States. 13. The use of federalmilitary personnel to enforce domestic law.14. PeteRose. 15.Johnson.

SCORING: 24 to 30 points —congratulations, doctor; 18 to 23 points—honorsgraduate; 13 to 17 points —you’replenty smart, but no grind; 5to12points —you really shouldhit the booksharder;1point to 4points —enroll in remedial courses immediately; 0points who reads thequestions to you?

Saturday's Cryptoquote: Springworkisgoing on with joyful enthusiasm.— John Muir