The Advocate 02-22-2025

‘Imagine

something new’

Superintendent LaMont Cole reflects on first 100 days, looks ahead to what comes next for East Baton Rouge Parish schools

LaMont Cole speaks at a luncheon marking his first 100 days leading the East Baton Rouge Parish school system.

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

LaMont Cole, a veteran educator and local politician, has faced some tough challenges in his first few months as superintendent of Baton Rouge’s biggest school district

In his first 100 days leading East Baton Rouge Parish public schools, Cole started bolstering school security to deter students from bringing guns to school, closed failing charter schools and selected his leadership team.

Going forward, his most pressing priority is tackling the contentious issue of closing and consolidating schools. Cole also has to contend with improving low-performing schools, budget reform, increasing employee pay, changing school start times and allowing transient

students to stay in their preferred schools.

“We have to imagine something new, we have to imagine something different, we have to have the courage to do something different,” he said. Cole spoke Friday at a luncheon to mark his first 100 days as superintendent in a wide-ranging talk entitled “Turning Vision Into Action.”

He spoke at the Water Campus, flanked by a panoramic view of the Mississippi River

The audience was filled with people who have known Cole throughout his 27-year career as an educator and two terms on the Metro Council.

Newly elected Mayor-President Sid Edwards, who until recently was the football coach at Istrouma High, said it is a “magical” time in Baton Rouge in terms of possibilities, and

said Cole is a big part of that.

“You have a superintendent here who is getting it done,” Edwards said.

The 51-year-old Cole grew up in Baton Rouge and graduated from Tara High, a public school within the district he now leads. He said his vision is for students to be exposed and ready for what is beyond their neighborhoods, then the world.

“They need to understand what it’s like to be on the Bluffs at Southern University at 4 o’clock, in Mumford Stadium and hear The Human Jukebox,” he said, ”and then speed down Scenic Highway to Nicholson and walk into Tiger Stadium just in time for them to say, ‘It’s Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.’”

To get there, though, the

ä See IMAGINE, page 5A

Lawsuit challenging La. execution methods reopened

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN and JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writers

A federal judge has reopened a long-running court case that could put Louisiana’s plans on hold to execute death row inmates Jessie Hoffman and Christopher Sepulvado next month.

U.S. District Judge Shelly D. Dick, the chief judge in Louisiana’s Middle District, agreed Friday to reopen a lawsuit initially filed in 2012 that challenged the state’s execution methods The decision came in response a request from attorneys for death row inmates who sought to urgently reopen the case — and who are ultimately seeking stays of execution for Sepulvado and Hoffman. When the suit was first filed, Hoffman and other death row inmates challenged the state’s execution methods as Louisiana sought to execute Sepulvado by lethal injection. The plaintiffs succeeded in delaying his and all other executions, in part because Louisiana could not obtain proper drugs for lethal injection then the state’s only approved execution method.

Dick, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, dismissed the case in 2022 after then-Attorney General Jeff Landry argued it was moot, since the state was unable to get the lethal injection drugs and was not executing anyone. Dick’s

ä See LAWSUIT, page 4A

Impact Charter School board

ousted by state

Audit accuses founder of financial mismanagement

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

Decried by school officials as a “takeover,” Louisiana education leaders on Friday tossed out the board of directors of troubled Impact Charter School in Baker

The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s decision was unanimous to oust the board’s seven directors. The move also likely means the eventual departure of the school’s founder Chakesha Scott.

See IMPACT, page 4A

Realignment makes it easier to exit at College Drive

BY ELLYN COUVILLION

Staff writer

The days of Baton Rouge drivers craning their necks and frantically cutting across several lanes of traffic to get off Interstate 10 at College Drive are almost over A permanent reconfiguration of how I-12 West merges with I-10 West just before the College Drive exit in Baton Rouge will go into effect at 5 a.m. Saturday, according to the state Department of Transportation and Development.

Westbound I-12 lanes will pass under the new I-10 westbound overpass and continue as the left lanes of I-10 West, transportation officials said.

“There will be no weaving to get to the Col lege Drive exit, and I-10 and I-12 will both have through lanes to continue west,” said Rodney Mallett, the state Transportation Department’s communications director

The highway realignment is part of the nearly completed, $52.3 million I-10/I-12 College Drive flyover project, which aims to allow drivers to more safely reach the Col lege Drive exit. And it makes a designated westbound exit ramp for College Drive tha is easily accessible from both interstates.

“It will be safer, and this new alignment, when completed, will help with (traffic) con gestion,” Mallett said.

Work on the project, which began in ear nest in April 2021, is expected to be completed by midyear When it is finished, there also will be a designated exit ramp for College Change to I-10/I-12 west merge ends need to weave

Staff graphic by DAN SWENSON

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

1 injured in Holocaust memorial attack in Berlin

BERLIN An assailant seriously injured a man in an attack at Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial on Friday police said, and German media reported that it was a stabbing. A man later was seen surrendering to officers, though police did not immediately confirm they had arrested a suspect.

There was no immediate indication of a motive for the attack, which comes two days before Germans vote in a national election on Sunday

About three hours after the attack, as police cars surrounded the vast grounds of the memorial, an Associated Press photographer witnessed a man claiming to be the culprit surrender to officers, but there was no immediate police confirmation of an arrest.

Police held the man face-down to the ground as they took him into custody

The attack took place about 6 p.m. at the memorial, a

of 2,700 gray concrete slabs near the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin. The victim was seriously injured and taken to a hospital, Berlin police said. German newspapers including Tagesspiegel said he was stabbed, citing police sources.

ICE official reassigned amid frustrations

WASHINGTON The top official in charge of carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportations agenda has been reassigned amid concerns that the deportation effort isn’t moving fast enough.

Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement Friday that Caleb Vitello, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was “no longer in an administrative role, but is instead overseeing all field and enforcement operations: finding, arresting, and deporting illegal aliens, which is a major priority of the President and Secretary (Kristi) Noem.”

The statement made no mention of why Vitello, a career ICE official with more than two decades on the job, was reassigned or who his replacement will be. But White House officials have expressed frustration with the pace of deportations of people in the country illegally

The decision comes a little over one month into the new administration, showing how important immigration and carrying out mass deportations are to the Trump administration.

ICE — specifically, its Enforcement and Removal Operations arm — is the key agency tasked with carrying out the Republican president’s pledge of mass deportations of people in the country illegally during his second term.

Chess grandmaster selling jeans for charity

NEW YORK Top-ranked chess player Magnus Carlsen is turning his controversial denim into some greens — for charity.

The Norwegian chess grandmaster announced this week that he is auctioning off the Italian luxury brand jeans that started a dress code dispute at December’s World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships Carlsen ultimately quit the New York competition after accepting a $200 fine while refusing to change his pants. While the tournament’s governing body agreed to loosen the dress code, Carlsen is parting with his infamous britches.

Chess fanatics and #JeansGate followers now have the chance to own Carlsen’s pair of size 32 regular fit Corneliani jeans. The auction is scheduled to end March 1 Listed as preowned but in “good” condition on eBay, the pants’ highest offer was $8,200 as of the morning of Feb. 21. Proceeds will go to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, a national youth-mentoring charity that carries out its mission through local chapters across 5,000 communities nationwide. According to BBBSA President and CEO Artis Stevens, they will be used to “bring mentorship to even more youth through chess clinics, community events, and more, equipping them with the skills and confidence to navigate life’s challenges.”

Hamas pledges to probe release of wrong body

BY AREEJ HAZBOUN Associated Press

JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed revenge Friday for what he described as a “cruel and malicious violation” of the ceasefire agreement after authorities determined that a body released by Hamas was not an Israeli mother of two small boys, as the militant group had promised.

The incident raised new doubts about the future of the fragile ceasefire deal, which has paused over 15 months of war but is nearing the end of its first phase.

In the short term, though, there were indications that the deal’s next step — the release of six living Israeli hostages on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners — would proceed as planned.

Hamas suggested in a statement Friday that a mix-up of remains might have occurred after Israel bombed the area where both the Israeli hostages and Palestinians were present The group said it would “conduct a thorough review.”

In other developments, U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he will not try to muscle through his plan for the United States to take over and rebuild the Gaza Strip into a tourist destination, displacing Palestinians. The plan was welcomed by Netanyahu but universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries.

Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it would go ahead with the release of the six Israeli hostages Saturday.

Hamas turned over four bodies Thursday as part of the ceasefire deal. They were supposed to have been those of

Shiri Bibas, her sons, Kfir and Ariel, and Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas that ignited the war Israeli authorities said they had positively identified the remains of the two boys and of Lifshitz. However, the fourth body was determined to be that of an unidentified woman from Gaza.

“We will work with determination to bring Shiri home together with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and malicious violation of the agreement,” Netanyahu said. “The sacred memory of Oded Lifshitz and Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be forever enshrined in the heart of the nation. May God avenge their blood. And so we will avenge.”

Hamas said it had “no interest in retaining any bodies,” adding that it had “demonstrated full compliance with the agreement” in recent days and remained “committed to all its terms.”

“We reject Netanyahu’s threats, which serve only to manipulate Israeli public opinion,” Hamas said, calling on mediators to ensure the continued implementation of the ceasefire. The group also called for the return of the unidentified remains.

Netanyahu’s vow for revenge was rejected by the aunt of the Bibas children, who said Israeli officials had failed to protect them on the day of the attack and then abandoned them in captivity

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, we did not receive an apology from you in this painful moment,” Ofri Bibas Levy said in a video statement released Friday by a group representing the families of hostages. “We are not seeking revenge right now We are asking for Shiri.”

U.S. envoy praises Zelenskyy after Trump censures him

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine President

Donald Trump’s envoy to Ukraine and Russia said on Friday that he had held “extensive and positive discussions” with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the three-year war with Russia and praised the Ukrainian leader as an “embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war.”

Retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg — who traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday and whose planned news conference with Zelenskyy on Thursday was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity — struck a positive tone after what he said on the social platform X was “a long and intense day” of talks with Ukraine’s senior leadership. His comments marked a departure from recent rebukes of Zelenskyy by Trump and other senior U.S. officials that appeared to indicate an abrupt deterioration of relations.

Trump called Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” and warned him that he’d “better move fast ” to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead.

The possibility that vital U.S military aid for Ukraine was in doubt darkened the mood in Kyiv as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russia’s bigger army on the battlefield. European governments, uneasy about being sidelined so far in talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials, have jumped to shore up Zelenskyy and at the same time avoid a breakdown in transatlantic relations.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, whose country has been a vocal supporter of neighboring Ukraine, said Zelenskyy phoned him on Friday Duda said he told Zelenskyy “to remain committed to the course of calm and constructive cooperation” with Trump.

“We consistently believe there is no other way to stop

the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States,” Duda said he also told Zelenskyy “I trust that goodwill and honesty form the foundation of the U.S. negotiation strategy,” Duda said on X. “I have no doubt that President Trump is guided by a deep sense of responsibility for global stability and peace.”

The European Union’s top defense official said Friday that the bloc plans to send a strong message of support to Ukraine next week with a new aid package to mark Monday’s third anniversary of the war EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said senior members of the bloc’s executive branch are weighing how, “in a very urgent way, to send a very strong message to Ukrainians and to the world that we are standing together with Ukraine.” European policy commissioners, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other top EU officials are traveling to Kyiv on Monday Russia has pressed on with its invasion even as talks with the U.S. take place, striking civilian targets almost daily On Friday, Russian forces dropped three powerful glide bombs on Kostiantynivka, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, killing one man and injuring two others, regional Gov Vadym Filashkin said. Another Russian glide bomb damaged homes and injured five people in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said. The public quarrel between Trump and Zelenskyy began after Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. With that, and a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump abruptly reversed the three-year U.S. policy of isolating Russia.

BY JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Condemned South Carolina inmate Brad Sigmon has chosen to die next month by a firing squad, a method of execution that has not been used in the U.S. in 15 years.

Sigmon is scheduled to die on March 7 On Friday, he became the first South Carolina inmate to choose the state’s new firing squad over lethal injection or the electric chair

Only three inmates in the U.S. have been executed by firing squad since 1976. All were in Utah, with the last one taking place in 2010 Sigmon, 67, will be strapped to a chair and have a hood placed over his head and a target placed over his heart in the death chamber Three volunteers will fire at him through a small opening about 15 feet away.

Lawyers for Sigmon asked to delay his execution date earlier this month because they wanted to learn if the prisoner in South Carolina’s previous execution, Marion Bowman, was given two doses of pentobarbital at his execution on Jan. 31 and look over his autopsy report

The justices rejected his delay and court records Friday have not indicated

if Sigmon’s lawyers have received Bowman’s autopsy report yet Sigmon didn’t pick the electric chair because it would “burn and cook him alive,” his attorney Gerald “Bo” King wrote in a statement.

“But the alternative is just as monstrous,” King said. “If he chose lethal injection, he risked the prolonged death suffered by all three of the men South Carolina has executed since September three men Brad knew and cared for — who remained alive, strapped to a gurney for more than twenty minutes.”

Sigmon said South Carolina keeping so much secret about how it conducts lethal injections led him to

decide on what he knows will be a violent death, his lawyer said.

“He does not wish to inflict that pain on his family, the witnesses, or the execution team. But given South Carolina’s unnecessary and unconscionable secrecy, Brad is choosing as best he can,” King said. Sigmon was convicted in the 2001 baseball bat killings of his ex-girlfriend’s parents at their home in Greenville County. They were in separate rooms, and Sigmon went back and forth as he beat them to death, investigators said. He then kidnapped his exgirlfriend at gunpoint, but she escaped from his car He shot at her as she ran but missed, according to prosecutors.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OHAD ZWIGENBERG

People gather at a vigil in Tel Aviv, Israel, hours after Hamas militants turned over four bodies to Israel, three of which have been identified by Israel as hostages Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz, while the fourth, they said, is that of an unknown person.

BY LEA SKENE and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge on Friday largely blocked sweeping executive orders from President Donald Trump that seek to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion

U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore granted a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from terminating or changing federal contracts they consider equity-related.

Abelson found that the orders likely carry constitutional violations, including against free-speech rights.

Trump signed an order his first day in office directing federal agencies to terminate all “equity-related” grants or contracts He signed a follow-up order requiring federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI.

The White House didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

The plaintiffs — including the city of Baltimore and higher education groups — sued the Trump administration earlier this month, arguing the executive orders are unconstitutional and a blatant overreach of presidential authority They also allege the directives have a chilling effect on free speech.

The Trump administration has argued that the president was targeting only DEI programs that violate federal civil rights laws. “What’s

happening is an overcorrection and pulling back on DEI statements,” attorney Aleshadye Getachew said during a nearly three-hour hearing Wednesday Abelson, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, agreed with the plaintiffs that the executive orders discourage businesses, organizations and public entities from openly supporting diversity, equity and inclusion.

“The harm arises from the issuance of it as a public, vague, threatening executive order,” he said during a hearing this week.

Abelson’s order does allow for the attorney general to investigate and prepare a report on DEI practices, but blocks enforcement.

Efforts to increase diversity have been under attack for years by Republicans who contend the measures threaten merit-based hiring, promotion and educational opportunities for white people. However, supporters say the programs help institutions meet the needs of increasingly diverse populations while addressing the lasting impacts of systemic racism.

Their purpose was to foster equitable environments in businesses and schools, especially for historically marginalized communities.

Although researchers say DEI initiatives date back to the 1960s, more were launched and expanded in 2020 during increased calls for racial justice.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued in their com-

plaint that Trump’s efforts to abruptly end such programs will cause widespread harm, not least because of the vague language in his executive orders.

“Ordinary citizens bear the brunt,” they wrote. “Plaintiffs and their members receive federal funds to support educators, academics, students, workers, and communities across the country As federal agencies make arbitrary decisions about whether grants are ‘equity-related,’ Plaintiffs are left in limbo.”

The plaintiffs include the city of Baltimore, which receives federal funds for public safety, housing, the environment, infrastructure and more, according to the complaint.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who won reelection last year, has championed efforts to increase opportunities for the city’s most vulnerable residents, including people of color. Scott became the subject of racist attacks online last year as some commenters labeled him a “DEI mayor,” and he recently coined the phrase “Definitely Earned It” to highlight the accomplishments of Black figures throughout history

In addition to the mayor and the Baltimore City Council, the plaintiffs include the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which represents restaurant workers across the country

Senate GOP approves budget framework

BY LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING and MATT BROWN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Republican senators pushed a $340 billion budget framework to passage early Friday, chugging through an all-night session and Democratic opposition in a step toward unleashing money the Trump administration says it needs for mass deportations and border security that top their agenda.

The hourslong “vote-arama” rambled along in a dreaded but crucial part of the budget process, as senators considered one amendment after another, largely from Democrats trying to halt it. But Republicans used their majority power to muscle the package to approval on a largely party-line vote, 52-48, with all Democrats and one GOP senator opposing it.

“What we’re doing today is jumpstarting a process that will allow the Republican Party to meet President Trump’s immigration agenda,” Senate Budget Committee chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said while opening the debate. Graham said President Donald Trump’s top immi-

gration czar, Tom Homan, told senators that the administration’s deportation operations are “out of money” and need more funding from Congress to detain and deport immigrants With little power in the minority to stop the onslaught, Democrats instead used the all-night debate to force GOP senators into potentially embarrassing votes — including the first one, on blocking tax breaks to billionaires. It was turned back on procedural grounds. So were many others.

“This is going to be a long, drawn-out fight,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York warned. Hours later, Schumer said it “was only the beginning” of what could become a months-long debate.

The package is what Republicans view as a down payment on Trump’s agenda, part of a broader effort that will eventually include legislation to extend some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and other priorities That’s being assembled by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, in a separate budget package that also seeks up to $2 trillion in reductions to health care and other programs. Trump has preferred what

he calls one “big, beautiful bill,” but the White House is open to the Senate’s strategy of working on the border package first, then turning to tax cuts later this year As voting began, the president signaled his go-ahead, posting a thank you to Senate Majority Leader John Thune “and the Republican Senate, for working so hard on funding the Trump Border Agenda.”

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky cast the lone GOP vote against the framework.

What’s in the package

The Republican Senate package would allow up to $175 billion to be spent on border security, including money for mass deportation operations and building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, in addition to a $150 billion boost to the Pentagon and about $20 billion for the Coast Guard.

But there won’t be any money flowing just yet, as the process has several steps ahead. The budget resolution is simply a framework that sends instructions to the various Senate committees — Homeland Security, Armed Services, Judiciary to hammer out the details.

Judge allows USAID staffers to be pulled off job

BY ELLEN KNICKMEYER and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to pull thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers off the job in the United States and around the world.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols declined to keep in place his temporary block on the effort to remove all but a small fraction of USAID staffers from their posts, as part of an administration plan that would also give those abroad a 30-day deadline to move back to the U.S at government expense.

His ruling comes in a broad lawsuit filed by unions on behalf of workers, especially those at risk of being stranded abroad. The suit describes the Trump administration stalling needed medical evacuations for USAID staffers and spouses overseas, cutting some contractors off from emergency communications, and leaving staffers to flee political violence in Congo without support or funding.

The lawsuit more broadly challenges the constitutionality of the administration attacks on USAID, saying eliminating an agency would require congressional approval.

“At present, the agency is still standing,” Nichols wrote in his ruling. “And so the alleged injuries on which plaintiffs rely in seeking injunctive relief flow essentially from their members’ existing employment relationships with USAID.”

Nichols found that the unions’ challenge must be dealt with under federal employment laws rather than in district court.

President Donald Trump and the cost-cutting Department of Government Effi-

ciency tied to billionaire Elon Musk have moved swiftly to shutter USAID, asserting without evidence that its work is wasteful and out of line with the president’s agenda.

Multiple lawsuits from groups representing USAID workers and nonprofits and businesses are challenging the job cuts and the sudden shutdown of the agency overall, as well as a freeze on foreign assistance. Another court order has temporarily blocked the halt to funding.

Nichols said he had been “very concerned” about workers in high-risk areas left overseas without access to emergency communications. But has since been reassured by the Trump administration that they would still have access to two-way radios that allow 24/7 communications in emergencies, as well as a phone app with a “panic button.”

He said the government’s statements persuaded him “that the risk posed to USAID employees who are placed on administrative leave while stationed abroad — if there is any — is far more minimal than it initially appeared.”

Pregnant women worry The Trump administra-

tion has stalled medical evacuations for as many as 25 USAID staffers and spouses in the later stages of high-risk pregnancies overseas, according to testimony in lawsuits and a person familiar with the cases. The person was not authorized to speak publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity USAID “will undertake all measures as appropriate to ensure the safety and security of current employees,” deputy administrator Pete Marocco said in a court filing Thursday The administration says it is taking all required care of staffers as it terminates USAID programs and aims to recall thousands of workers and their families abroad.

The American women and their spouses, however, say they have been left in substandard medical care in posts in unstable countries, fearing for their lives.

“Everyone says I need to wait and see what happens” with Trump administration decisions, a USAID staffer, whose pregnancy is complicated by high blood pressure, said in a court filing from her posting in an undisclosed country in Africa.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S Agency for International Development, or USAID, Feb 7 in Washington.

Continued from page 1A

decision, however, allowed the plaintiffs to refile the case if circumstances changed.

“This case has always been about Louisiana’s execution protocol,” Dick wrote in her ruling Friday

“It is still about Louisiana’s execution protocol. And now that the protocol appears viable, there is an actionable case and controversy.”

After Landry became governor, he successfully pushed the Legislature last year to add nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution to the state’s list of approved execution methods. Last summer, plaintiffs in the federal case asked that the case be reopened, but Dick did not immediately issue a decision

The case took on new urgency last week after Landry announced the state was ready to execute death row inmates using nitrogen gas. State judges quickly signed death warrants for Sepulvado and Hoffman, scheduling their executions back-to-back for March 17 and March 18, respectively

A Rapides Parish judge signed a third execution warrant that he soon revoked, after the condemned man’s attorneys claimed he hadn’t exhausted his appeals.

Dick had signaled in a 2022 ruling that new execution methods would likely revive the case. She cited her past ruling in Friday’s decision.

“If Attorney General Landry is somehow successful in the future at accomplishing that which has yet to be accomplished by the legislature — an alternative means of

IMPACT

Continued from page 1A

Scott has run the 400plus student school, since it opened more than a decade ago north of Baton Rouge. Her management of the school, however was called into question by the Feb. 10 damning state investigative audit of the school‘s operations.

The 173-page state audit accused Scott of diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school and a related private foundation to pay for personal travel, a car lease, an in-ground swimming pool at her house and more.

The report also found evidence of a potential kickback scheme with a school contractor and questioned Scott’s decision to divert more than $1.5 million to Friends of Impact Charter School. That’s the name of a private philanthropic foundation that Scott also leads. It is supposed to support the 4815 Lavey Lane school financially, but auditors claim it never has.

After the critical audit report was released, an attorney for the Impact Charter School issued a 17-page written rebuttal, claiming the audit is “defamatory” and full of inaccuracies. Knowing the state’s audit was forthcoming, Scott had sued the state Feb. 7 trying to block state officials from releasing it publicly Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack said auditors carefully reviewed the school’s rebut-

execution in Louisiana, Plaintiffs and Defendants will have an entirely different execution protocol over which to litigate,” she wrote in 2022.

Cecelia Kappel, director of Loyola University’s Center for Social Justice, who is representing the plaintiffs, noted that Alabama remains the only state to have used nitrogen gas to put people to death, so far deploying it four times. She said the results have been “grotesque and horrifying.”

“We’ve been challenging the state’s methods of execution for almost 13 years,” she said Friday

“The state is rushing forward with executions at warp speed We still don’t know what the protocol will be to execute them.”

Hours after Dick reopened the case Landry and state Attorney General Liz Murrill slammed the decision. Murrill pledged to challenge it at the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“While I am not surprised by this ruling, I believe it is egregiously wrong as a matter of law,” Murrill said in a statement “Federal jurisdiction is not a Phoenix that can rise up through the ashes of a case.”

Landry posted on X that Dick’s ruling was “not shocking” and criticized her as a “liberal activist judge.” He accused her of waiting “until the eve of execution to rule on this defective motion.”

And Landry argued that Dick sided with the inmates over victims.

“I took an oath to uphold the laws of Louisiana, and I will continue to fight for Justice for the victims,” the governor said. “These criminals on death row committed some of the most cruel and heinous

tal, decided nothing needed to be revised in the audit and included the rebuttal in its entirety at the end of the state report. On Tuesday, ad hoc State District Judge J Michael McDonald ruled against the school on procedural grounds. The state’s audit of the Impact Charter School now is in the hands of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies for a potential criminal investigation.

Meanwhile, on Friday after state education board members removed the Impact Charter School board, the state board — BESE selected a slate of seven new directors for the charter school. The new Impact board of directors is expected to oust Scott and hire a new charter management organization to run the school.

State Education Superintendent Cade Brumley said he solicited names from various sources to serve on the charter school’s board and selected individuals from the greater Baton Rouge area whom “we believe hold the potential to provide strong governance.”

The new board members are Perry Daniel, Marguerite Mack, Mikki Matthews, Pheriche Perkins, Achilles Williams, Torrence Williams and Willie Williams Jr Brumley said charter boards have important financial, contractual and other duties to uphold.

“When any of these core responsibilities are not being met, it is incumbent on BESE as an authorizer to take action and unfortunately that’s why we are here to-

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Shelly D Dick, chief judge for the Middle District of Louisiana, has agreed to reopen a lawsuit filed in 2012 challenging the state’s execution methods.

crimes imaginable.”

Landry and Murrill have vowed to ensure death row inmates are executed, which they say will bring justice to victims’ families.

But the news about a new protocol and the upcoming execution dates also prompted the death row plaintiffs to file new court motions pushing for a speedy case reopening.

Though Landry’s office released a general summary of the execution protocols, state corrections officials this week denied a request from The Advocate | The TimesPicayune for the official execution protocols, claiming the records are not public. In doing so, Department of Corrections officials cited two state statutes. The first exempts from public release a wide swath of law enforcement, DOC and attorney general’s office records.

The second statute makes certain information about executions

day,” Brumley said.

Charter schools are public schools run privately via charters, or contracts.

Friday’s vote was a dramatic reversal of fortune.

Just six weeks ago, BESE agreed to renew Impact Charter School’s charter for six more years through 2031, largely on the strength of the school’s B academic letter grade.

Friday’s special meeting of the state education board was set Wednesday night. Impact school officials responded Thursday, urging parents to pack the Friday meeting. A handful of people showed up and only two, an Impact board member and an administrator, spoke.

In its letter to parents, Impact school leaders accused the state education board of an “unprecedented takeover attempt,” while taking a more forgiving approach to other charter schools faced with controversy “If (the state) is allowed to unjustly strip control from a high-performing school, it sets a dangerous precedent that no charter school is safe from political interference,” according to the letter

Eugene Collins, who has been an Impact board member only for two meetings, struck a conciliatory tone

Friday He described Impact as a “beacon of hope” for the children it serves and any problems it has can be solved by helping, rather than dismantling its current board of directors.

“Why dismantle the board of a school that is succeeding, while so many others are failing?” Collins said.

Ronnie Morris, president

confidential, including identifying information about “any person, business, organization, or other entity directly or indirectly involved in the execution of a death sentence.” That includes the identity of anyone who provides supplies used in the execution.

While such information always had some protection from release, the Legislature last year strengthened the confidentiality provisions when it passed a law prohibiting such records from being released through any court proceeding. That law has not yet been tested.

The protocol summary the state did release says that when the state carries out a death sentence, an inmate will have access to a spiritual adviser, and that designated relatives and members of the media will witness the execution.

It also says medical monitors will track the vital signs of the inmate being put to death. A mask will be fitted on the inmate, and “pure nitrogen gas will be administered to the inmate through the mask for a sufficient time period necessary to cause the death of the inmate.”

Louisiana has not executed anyone since 2010, when the state killed Gerald Bordelon at his request. But Hoffman and Sepulvado may be next.

Sepulvado was sentenced to death in 1993 after being convicted of murdering his 6-year-old stepson, Wesley Mercer District Attorney Charles Adams of the 42nd Judicial District requested Sepulvado’s death warrant, and Judge Amy Burford McCartney signed it on Feb. 11. She set Sepulvado’s execution date for March 17.

of BESE, the state educa-

tion board, said Impact’s board was beyond helping or fixing. He recounted three BESE public records requests for a range of documents from the school over the past two weeks that have been largely ignored.

Morris said the school “failed to meet generally accepted accounting standards of fiscal management” and has repeatedly failed to follow the state’s open meetings law

BESE has a “statutory obligation to students, educators

Sepulvado’s legal team argues Sepulvado has been recommended for palliative care and is already dying. The 81-year-old is the oldest person on death row Meanwhile, Judge Alan Zaunbrecher signed Hoffman’s death warrant, scheduling his execution date for March 18, the day after Sepulvado’s. Collin Sims, the district attorney for St. Tammany and Washington parishes, sought the death warrant.

Hoffman sits on death row for the 1996 execution-style killing of Mary “Molly” Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive. Prosecutors accused Hoffman of raping Elliott before killing her There are 57 people on death row Not all are eligible for death warrants because they have not yet exhausted their legal appeals a process that typically takes years.

Lately, advocates have sparred with Murrill over just who is currently eligible. Murrill has argued that a handful of prisoners have exhausted their appeals, and that some others no longer have valid post-conviction claims to argue.

Murrill argues that former New Orleans Police Department officer Antoinette Frank may be among them. But District Attorney Jason Williams’ office, citing the court record, say she has still legal cards yet to play

Frank was convicted and sentenced to die for the killing of two members of a VietnameseAmerican family during an armed robbery inside their restaurant in New Orleans East. A fellow officer, Ronald Williams II, also was gunned down. Frank’s co-defendant, Rogers Lacaze, was taken off death row and is now serving life.

and taxpayers of Louisiana to exercise budgetary and fiscal control over state and federal funds for education programs and services,” he said.

Impact Charter School is the operating business name of Education Explosion Inc., a nonprofit Scott founded in 2009 along with her husband, Eric Scott, who serves as the school’s principal.

The dissolution, or “reconstitution,” of the board of a charter school, is a new remedy the Louisiana Legislature added to state law last

year It stops short of canceling a charter, what’s known as “revocation.” BESE has rarely revoked a school’s charter over the nearly three decades that charter schools have operated in Louisiana. By contrast, reconstitution allows Impact Charter School to keep its recently renewed charter, albeit under the control of a new board of directors.

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

superintendent outlined a long to-do list

At the top of the list is school consolidations, what Cole is calling “alignment.”

He’s planning to have a School Board vote in April on those changes.

He launched a website Friday so people can follow the process and has scheduled an initial community meeting at 6 p.m March 12 at Magnolia Woods Elementary Cole is also creating a citizen advisory committee.

Student enrollment in East Baton Rouge Parish schools has shrunk from a high of nearly 70,000 students in the mid-1970s to less than 40,000 students now Many schools are well below capacity

“We have a footprint for 60,000 students, and currently we are serving 40,000,” Cole said. “We have enough seats available to overflow the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (the LSU basketball arena), and we don’t have the students to put in the seats.”

Cole has tapped Baton Rouge native Pamela Whitley to lead the consolidation effort. An electrical engineer, Whitley spent her career with the Federal Aviation Administration.

As part of that job, she helped lead what became a 25year effort to upgrade airports and related facilities so they could accommodate modern technology, in the process closing some buildings.

Cole has already closed three schools, two of them charter schools. He made clear Friday he intends to reduce the ranks of schools with letter grades of “D” and “F” and is taking a direct approach. He said he and Deputy Superintendent Adam Smith have been starting their days the past two weeks by mentoring young principals at four Baton Rouge high schools. He said the district can improve schools even as it reduces how many it operates.

“A student who sits in an underutilized facility with a noncertified teacher in an old decrepit building should have the opportunity to transition to a new facility with a certified teacher, perhaps two in the classroom at one time, and learn in an environment that is safe, that is clean and that they deserve,” Cole said.

Schools that are closed won’t become blighted properties, the superintendent promised. He plans to set a time limit on when vacant school properties must be dealt with.

“We have a footprint for 60,000 students, and currently we are serving 40,000. We have enough seats available to overflow the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (the LSU basketball arena), and we don’t have the students to put in the seats.”

LAMONT COLE, East Baton Rouge Parish schools superintendent

In deciding which schools need changes, he’s focused on the academic performance of the school the age of the school building and the degree to which the schools student enrollments are too low

“Those are not hard questions, but the answers are not going to make people happy,” Cole said.

Possible answers include upgrading the schools, consolidating with other schools and closure, he said. During his short tenure,

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Drive separate from interstate traffic and easily accessible from I-10 and I-12.

Also beginning Saturday will be a temporary, six- to eight-week closure of the I-12 westbound Essen Lane on-ramp due to road construction that is part of the flyover project.

During the closure, the right lane of I-12 West, approaching Essen, will be an exit-only lane for the I-10 eastbound exit ramp The remaining two I-12 westbound

“I know some of you are tired of driving by buildings that were once schools, that are old, that aren’t safe, that people are going into,” he said. Re tired Southern University education professor Lisa Delpit said she has been impressed with Cole since seeing how well he connected with students at Madison Prep, a charte r sc ho ol where Cole worked and where nieces and nephews of Delpit attended.

“He is a person who brings together a lot of different people, and they’re not many people who do that,” Delpit said.

East Baton Rouge School Board Vice President Mike Gaudet was initially unsure whether Cole had enough experience to be superintendent. The two, he said, have developed a good working relationship. He said Cole works hard to fill in the gaps of his knowledge.

“It’s not so much what you know it’s knowing what

you don’t know and I think (Cole) is very good at that,” Gaudet said.

Since taking the top job Aug. 1, Cole has had fires to help douse. He noted “recent security incidents,” including three students — two of them managing to evade new walk-through metal detectors arrested in the past months bringing guns to Woodlawn and Tara high schools.

“Our families should never fear their children being in our presence,” Cole said.

To improve school security, Cole got approval for the school district to buy new AI-powered weapons detectors to test on four high school campuses. The AI screeners are expected to be installed in March.

Cole said he also is working with Mayor-President Edwards to bring violence interventionists into the schools. He plans to visit schools with Metro Council member Cleve Dunn Jr to talk with students about “what we can do to make them feel safe.”

“We have to be honest about the challenges we face so we can fix them,” he said.

“And we cannot pretend that doing the same things over and over again are going to fix the challenges.”

Email Charles Lussier at clussier@theadvocate. com.

lanes will continue to the I10/I-12 merger Drivers can detour to Essen Lane south to the I-10 westbound on-ramp When the Essen Lane onramp reopens and the work is completed, there will be dedicated right lane College Drive exits from both I-10 and I-12 westbound, state transportation department officials said Transportation officials recognized the need for the College Drive flyover during the environmental assessment phase of the much larger, $1.1 billion I-10 widening project. The flyover was separat-

ed from the larger interstate widening work and put under different construction contracts, which allowed it to move forward faster

The I-10 widening will add a fourth lane to I-10 in each direction, from the Essen Lane exits on both I-10 and I-12, to the Lobdell exit in West Baton Rouge Parish.

Work began on the project in February 2023 and is expected to continue through 2029, state transportation officials said.

Email Ellyn Couvillion at ecouvillion@theadvocate. com.

East Baton Rouge Parish schools Superintendent LaMont Cole hugs Kate Norsworthy, the emcee, before giving a first 100 days address at a luncheon at the Water Campus on Friday.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Baton Rouge Weather

LSU passes free speech policy

Students concerned it’s vague, limits expression

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

LSU’s Board of Supervisors on Friday approved a new, five-page policy establishing rules for free speech on campus a change that comes amid two high-profile controversies over what professors should be allowed to say in class.

The university said the policy is

necessary to comply with a law the Louisiana Legislature passed last year requiring higher education institutions to establish policies protecting free expression. But some students raised concerns that the policy was vague and limited student and faculty freedom of speech

Student Zane Sutor-Benfield, 20, said the policy weakened First

Amendment protections, pointing to specific language changes in the policy “LSU prides itself on upholding of free expression and believes that a culture of intense inquiry and informed argument generates lasting ideas,” the university’s policy passed in 2018 stated.

The same sentence from the new policy says “LSU strives to ensure

the fullest degree of protection for the political views and freedom of association of its students, faculty, staff, and invited guests.”

Sutor-Benfield argued those types of changes “build together to weaken free speech.”

“The message is very clear

The message was bold, but they changed it subtly they changed it very subtly, to weaken the commitment to free speech,” he added.

Two other students spoke against the policy, while several more

ANYTHING THROWS

ABOVE: A roller skater races her way down River Road during the Krewe of Artemis parade on Friday.

could be heard protesting outside the administration building.

Before the board passed the change without opposition, member James Williams said the new language was due to state law

“Regardless of whatever opinions we might have, am I correct, the law has changed and we are changing Permanent Memorandum 79 so that we are in compliance with the law?” he asked.

Man’s lawyers say judge’s erroneous verdict amounted to acquittal

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

The Louisiana Supreme Court is set to resolve legal turmoil surrounding the case of a former Baton Rouge police officer who was convicted of soliciting sex from a Southern University student ing a late-night fic stop nearly years ago.

Baton Rouge Judge Eboni Johnson initially found ald Steele Jr guilty of misdemeanor feasance in office, then acquitted after she learned misdemeanor ant of the charg doesn’t exist in Loui siana law

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal re versed the judge’s acquittal and ruled Johnson Rose abused her discretion when she overturned her original verdict.

Steele, 38, has yet to be sentenced and remains a free man while the legal tug-of-war plays out in the courts. In asking Louisiana Supreme

ä See CASE, page 2B

Man arrested after shooting girlfriend

A man was arrested early Friday after allegedly shooting his girlfriend through the door of his apartment as she tried to enter unexpectedly, Baton Rouge Police said. Michael Taylor Jr., 29, told police he was asleep in bed at his 4040 Burbank Drive apartment around 1 a.m. Friday when his dog started barking and he heard noises from the front door Taylor grabbed a firearm, pointed it at the front door and fired several shots, striking his girlfriend through the door, police said in a statement. The woman suffered non-lifethreatening injuries. She lives in Texas, and Taylor said he did not know she was coming to the apartment that night.

BLOTTER staff reports

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Revelers cheer for the throws from the Mambo Mamas float as the Krewe of Artemis parade rolls through downtown Baton Rouge on Friday.

Attack memorial in N.O. moved

BY MARCO CARTOLANO Staff writer

An emotional memorial that sprung up on Bourbon Street after a tragic New Year’s Day ramming attack killed 14 and injured dozens more was moved by State Police early Friday to the Presbytère on Jackson Square. The tribute was spontaneously erected by mourners and artists to remember those plowed down by radicalized U.S Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who federal law enforcement officers say used his F-150 to carry out a premeditated terror attack.

POLICY

Continued from page 1B

LSU Deputy General Counsel Carlton

“Trey”

Jones stated that was true and referenced the comment made by Sutor-Ben-

field.

“We have a free exercise of free speech on campus,” he said. “There was a tweak in one of the sentences referenced by one of the public comments. I don’t see it as a significant one, it was a wordsmithing, but I didn’t see it as a policy change by any measure.”

Focus on tenure protections

Later in the meeting, LSU

Continued from page 1B

Court justices to review the case and toss out the conviction, Steele’s attorneys argue Johnson Rose’s erroneous verdict, finding the ex-officer guilty of a crime that didn’t exist, amounted to an “implicit acquittal.” They said the state’s continued attempts to prosecute him over the past year constitute double jeopardy and violate his Fifth Amendment protections under the U.S. Constitution.

“In reversing the decision of the trial court, the First Circuit Court of Appeal has misinterpreted the oldest and most sacred of our legal canons: that an individual cannot twice be held in jeopardy for the same offense,” defense attorney Jacob Longman contested in Oct. 28, 2024, court papers. “To demand that Mr. Steele again stand trial for an offense, which he has already been acquitted simply because of an intervening judicial error (defies) belief and erodes confidence in our legal system.”

But in a rebuttal, state prosecutors said the matter is not about double jeopardy Instead, they said the focus is correcting the presiding judge’s improper actions.

Marking the intersection of Bourbon and Canal streets, the memorial featured crosses and messages from people all over the world. It quickly became a symbol of the community’s response to the killing spree. Mayor LaToya Cantrell said city officials had been in touch with victims’ families before moving the installation before the first big parading weekend of Carnival, when large crowds were expected to descend on Bourbon Street and the French Quarter Several family members confirmed the city reached out to them before the me-

Council of Faculty Advisors

Chair Daniel Tirone gave a report in which he said tenure is vital to academic freedom.

“Universities and academic freedom are so important to democratic governance that it is a hallmark of authoritarian movements to target universities and professors,” he said. “Given its importance, higher education has developed a number of policies and principles to protect the academic freedom of the faculty, with tenure foremost among them.”

He added that tenure is “viewpoint neutral” and said that the right of tenure comes with responsibilities, including not forcing students to adopt one’s particu-

“Can a fact-finding judge enter a verdict based on the evidence presented at a bench trial and then change her mind later vacate her previously recorded verdict, and enter a ‘new’ verdict?’ ” prosecutors said in their Jan. 17 response. “The Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Circuits have squarely considered this issue and held that the answer to that question is a resounding ‘no.’” The Supreme Court’s review of Steele’s conviction brings full circle a case that helped land Johnson Rose in hot water last year Justices took the unusually drastic step of suspending the 19th Judicial District Court judge with pay and temporarily removing her from the bench Aug. 6 after several of her rulings came under scrutiny Bungling her verdict at the end of Steele’s March 2023 bench trial and changing the verdict from the bench three weeks later was one of the rulings investigators from the Louisiana Judiciary Commission cited in their findings that questioned Johnson Rose’s competency as a judge.

Steele’s charges stem from a traffic stop shortly before 2 a.m. June 23, 2021. Steele pulled over a 19-year-old Southern University student, as she drove out of her apartment complex near Burbank Drive. He accused the

morial was disassembled.

Heather Genusa, who survived the attack but lost her fiancé, Brandon Taylor, said the news was also shared in a private text group.

“I don’t feel like the memorial should be where the person died,” she said. “It would be more honorable to see it in a museum.”

Genusa doubts she’ll ever be able to visit Bourbon Street again, and busy streets trigger the trauma of that night. She also doesn’t want the memorial’s presence to take away from anyone going out to have fun on the popular tourist drag.

lar standpoint. Tirone also said strong university support for academic freedom and tenure can act as a “competitive advantage” for LSU.

President William F. Tate referenced the academic freedom comments when he spoke, saying he has supported tenure for years.

“You have to have people who can fight long-term and create the kind of evidentiary base, and we have to compete to get them,” he said.

Debate over free speech

During his comments, Tirone referenced a lawschool professor who was suspended after he used vulgar language to criticize Gov Jeff Landry and President Donald Trump. Professor

woman of drunken driving, but told her he wouldn’t ticket her because she was cute, according to the former officer’s police report. Prosecutors sought to prove Steele threatened to arrest the woman if she didn’t follow him to an abandoned warehouse in the 600 block of Chippewa Street. Once there, he groped the woman’s breasts, tried to kiss her against her will and asked to come to her apartment later that morning to have sex, prosecutors alleged.

After they parted ways, and while he was still on duty, Steele continued to send the woman sexually explicit text messages and even offered to give her money to get her hair and nails done, according to trial testimony Johnson Rose determined state prosecutors failed to prove Steele held the student against her will or tried to solicit her during the traffic stop.

After listening to two days of witness testimony, the judge on March 26, 2023, declared Steele not guilty of second-degree kidnapping. She thought Steele was guilty of malfeasance for not writing the student a traffic ticket. But the judge didn’t think it rose to the level of a felony, because she didn’t find the alleged victim’s testimony credible and didn’t think prosecutors with the East

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B

Taylor also accidentally shot his dog during the incident, police said. The animal survived.

Taylor was arrested on counts of attempted second-degree murder, cruelty to animals, illegal use of weapons, illegal possession of stolen firearms and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Suspect in Addis

homicide arrested

A man arrested following the killing of an 18-year-old whose body was found in a burned

Ken Levy was recorded saying “f*** the governor” and saying “I couldn’t believe that f***** won,” referring to Trump’s election.

Levy’s comments about Landry involved a previous controversy, in which Landry publicly called for an investigation into law school professor Nicholas Bryner for comments Bryner made about Trump.

Tirone said the incident “has led some commentators to question whether we need to reform or remove tenure altogether.”

“These arguments are misguided,” he said “We do not have a faculty run amok in the LSU system. The recent case, which has drawn so much attention and for which

Baton Rouge District Attorney’s office proved Steele sexually battered the woman, an underlying crime for the state’s amended indictment.

Johnson Rose declared him guilty of a lesser charge of misdemeanor malfeasance in office. After meeting with prosecutors and Steele’s attorneys and realizing no such statute exists, Johnson Rose admitted she made a mistake and acquitted Steele of the charge altogether on April 18, 2023.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal overturned that decision on Sept. 26, 2024, reinstating what it determined was Steele’s felony malfeasance in office conviction. The appellate court sent the case back to the 19th Judicial District for further action. Trial court proceedings have stalled, while both sides await the state Supreme Court’s determination.

Email Matt Bruce at matt.bruce@theadvocate. com.

sugar cane field in Addis now faces charges in an earlier fatal shooting, according to police.

Devontae T. Johnson, 23, was arrested in December and charged with principle to second-degree murder after Ja’Morius Mitchell’s body was found hidden in a burned sugar cane field in Addis.

Now, Johnson faces charges in a separate shooting in August at an apartment complex in Addis, according to the Addis Police Department. On the night of Aug. 4, officers responded to a double shooting in the 7000 block of Chad Drive after a man had allegedly entered an apartment and shot two occupants.

the investigation is still ongoing, is notable because it is so very rare.”

LSU suspended Levy and removed him from the classroom, saying it had received complaints from students that his comments were inappropriate and intimidating. Levy sued, arguing LSU violated his rights to free speech and due process. The university has argued Levy’s comments created a hostile classroom environment and were not protected by his academic tenure or the First

One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while another was taken to a hospital, police said. The suspect fled the scene on foot.

A release from the Addis Police Department said detectives followed leads, conducted interviews and worked with the ATF and Louisiana State Police Crime Lab to identify Johnson as a suspect. In the August shootings, Johnson has been charged with second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, home invasion and attempted armed robbery He remains held at the West Baton Rouge Detention Center

Amendment.

LSU President William F Tate said in court that he ordered Levy’s suspension and that he did not talk to Landry about it.

After a seesaw legal battle, an appeals court blocked Levy’s attempt to force LSU to return him to the classroom while his lawsuit plays out. The case is ongoing.

Email Christopher Cartwright at christopher cartwright@theadvocate. com.

eling with herfamily. Above all, she was atrue inspiration to allofher family and friends. Verna loved to cook chickenand dumplings and grilled cheesesfor her family and especially hergrandkids. Shewas acaregivertoall. Verna will be foreverloved and missed by everyone who had the opportunity to know her.

Verna is survived by her daughters, Cathy Cedotal (Jeff) and TanyaPalazzo (Mike); sons, JohnnieL.Andrews Jr. (Tessie)and Kenney Andrews; 13 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, 9great-greatgrandchildren; and dear life-long friend, Maynell Abbot.

Verna is preceded in death by her loving husband of 56 wonderful years, Johnnie Andrews Sr.; daughter, Sandra Honea; son, Steve Andrews; granddaughter, Christine Andrews; sons-in -law, RichardDunaway and Wayne Honea; daughter-in -law, Angie Andrews, as well as her parents and siblings.

Relativesand friends of the family are invited to attend the visitation at Gray's CreekBaptist Church, 21039 LA-16, Denham Springs, LA 70726 on Monday, February 24, 2025 from 9:00 a.m. until the Funeral Service at 12:00 p.m. BrotherCarl Sullivan will officiate with interment to follow in Felder Cemetery.

Pallbearers will include Cody Cedotal, Brad Andrews, Daniel Jessup, Nathan Biggerstaff, Bubba Stewart, and Rhett Gayle. Condolencesand other information may be found at www.thompsoncares.com.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Brandon G. Thompson Funeral Home.

It is with profound sadness that the Garner family announces thepassing of Scott after amerciless fight withlung cancer. Scott was diagnosed with cancer in August 2024 and, having pre-existing conditions, made for ahard fight.Weonly had him for 64 years but we cherish every day we had with him.

Scott was born in Alexandria butlived in the Jackson-Clinton area for many years until moving to Baton Rouge forhealth reasons in 2018.

Scott worked as amaster mechanic for Gulf States Utilities until their merger with Entergy. His co-workers called him "Pinky" for the glow he got welding. Afterthat, he certified in and maintained instrumentation and calibration processes forseveral local companies. He eventually certified as an electrician withthe United States Postal Service which he retired from in 2020.

Scott met BrendaBrittin 1980. It was love at first sight for bothofthem. They married on February 20, 1982, and raised the best three sons anyone could ask for together.

sight for bothofthem. They married on February 20, 1982, and raised the best three sons anyone could ask for together. Shaun, Timothy, and Daniel were always abig help to theirparents. Brenda passed away in August 2022. They had been married for 40 years.

"My father didn't tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it."Clarence B. Kelland Scott had agenerous heart and was always ready to help. Many people have expressed how knowing him helped them to become who they are today. He was acharacter who went his own way butwas greatly loved by those who knew him well. You either got him or you did not, and it was pointless to try to change him. He was one sharp redhead to be dealt with but extremely kind to those who needed it. He is survived by his mother, Lorraine S. Garner; his sister, Kimberly Garner; and his sons, Shaun, Timothy, and Daniel Garner, and ahost of extended family. "Death is not extinguishing thelight, it is only putting out the lamp because dawn has come." Tagore ScottGarner was dearly loved and he will be dearly missed. Services are at Seale Funeral Home in Denham Springs on Saturday, February 22, 2025, from 911 a.m. witha service to follow.

April21, 1998 –February22, 2024 “For as long as their memoryendures, they remain alivewithin our hearts.”

Myrtle Myrtle Bergeron Blanchard, 86, born and raised in Paulina, LA and aresident of Napoleonville, LA passed away on Monday, February 17 at Summerhouse Ashton Manor in Luling, LA. She was aretired teacherand coach at Assumption High School. Amemorial visitation will be held on Monday, February 24, 2025 at St Anne Catholic Church in Napoleonville, LA from 9:00am until aMass of Christian Burial at 11:00am. Burial will follow in St Philomena Cemetery, Labadieville,LA. She is survived by her children and theirspouses, Angelle and CliffRobert, Brian and Claire Blanchard, and Celeste andRoger Adams; as wellasher grandchildren Ryne Robert, Rebecca Smith (Stef), Riley Robert (Madison), Charles Blanchard and Elise Blanchard. She is also survived by her sister, Linda BNelson. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Dave Blanchard; parents, Walterand Myrtle Bergeron; and brothers, WalterBergeron, Jr., Arthur Bergeron, and Mark Bergeron. The family wouldlike to thank the staff of Summerhouse Ashton Manor and Hospice Specialists of Louisiana for theircare of Myrtle Online condolencescan be given at www.landrysfu neralhome.com Landry's Funeral Home, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

Garner, Scott Keith

Blanchard,

FDA: Ozempic, Wegovy

shortages resolved

Shortages of Ozempic and Wegovy that have been in place for more than two years have been resolved, as supplies of the popular diabetes and obesity treatments continue to improve, federal regulators said Friday

The drugmaker Novo Nordisk can meet current and future demand in the U.S., according to the Food and Drug Administration

But patients may still see some supply disruptions as the medications move from the manufacturer to distributors and then to pharmacies.

The injectable drugs have been in shortage since 2022.

Compounding pharmacies and other entities that have been allowed to make and distribute offbrand copies of the drugs during the shortage will have to wind down production in the next few months, according to the FDA.

In December, the agency said the same thing when it declared that shortages had ended for Eli Lilly and Co.’s Zepbound and Mounjaro. Zepbound is approved to treat obesity and Mounjaro is approved for diabetes. They use the same active ingredient, tirzepatide. Sales have soared for the drugs in recent years. But the shortages and challenges with insurance coverage have made it difficult for many patients to get the drugs.

Ford recalls Explorers, Aviators over seat belts

Ford is recalling about 240,000 Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs due to a problem with seat belt anchors that were improperly secured.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a loose seat belt or seat belt buckle may not properly restrain an occupant during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.

Ford said it is not aware of any reports of accident or injury related to the defective seat belt assemblies.

The Explorers and Aviators in question are model years 2020 and 2021. The recall includes about 216,000 Explorers and 24,000 Aviators.

Owners of the vehicles in question are expected to be notified by Ford in late March and will be instructed to take their vehicles into a Ford or Lincoln dealer for inspection. If the anchor bolts are found to be improperly secured, the components will be replaced for free.

Tesla recalling more than 375,000 vehicles

Tesla is recalling more than 375,000 vehicles due to a power steering issue.

The recall is for certain 2023 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles operating software before 2023.38.4, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The printed circuit board for the electronic power steering assist may become overstressed, causing a loss of power steering assist when the vehicle reaches a stop and then accelerates again, according to the agency

The loss of power could required more effort to control the car by drivers, particularly at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash. Tesla isn’t aware of any crashes, injuries, or deaths related to the condition.

Stocks tumble amid concerns

Companies, consumers worry about Trump’s policies hitting economy

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S stocks fell sharply Friday after reports showed that worries among consumers and businesses about President Donald Trump’s policies may be hitting the U.S. economy

The S&P 500 posted its worst day in two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also tumbled.

The losses accelerated through the day following several weaker-

than-expected reports on the economy One suggested U.S. business activity is close to stalling, with growth slowing to a 17-month low The preliminary report from S&P Global said activity unexpectedly shrank for U.S. services businesses, and many in the survey reported slumping optimism because of worries about Washington.

“Companies report widespread concerns about the impact of federal government policies, ranging from spending cuts to tariffs and geopolitical developments,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Sales are reportedly being hit by the uncertainty caused by the changing political landscape, and prices are rising amid tariff-related price hikes from suppliers.”

A separate report said U.S. consumers are also preparing for higher inflation, in part because of potential tariffs that could raise prices for all kinds of imports.

They’re broadly expecting prices to be 4.3% higher 12 months from now, which is a big jump from their forecast of 3.3% inflation last month, according to a survey by the University of Michigan. That fits with preliminary data in the survey earlier this month.

Among U.S. households, though, a divide is evident underneath the surface. Expectations for inflation are rising for political independents and Democrats, while falling slightly for Republicans.

To be sure, the U.S. stock market is still up for the young year so far and is not far from its all-time high set earlier this week. Virtually no

one on Wall Street is forecasting a recession any time soon. But Friday’s reports raise concerns about what’s been a remarkably resilient economy, and the losses on Wall Street were widespread.

Stocks of the smallest companies, whose profits can be more closely tied to the strength of the U.S. economy than big multinational rivals, fell more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 index of small stocks posted a market-leading plunge. Within the big companies of the S&P 500 index, 3 out of every 4 stocks fell Everything from Big Tech stocks that have been bid up amid the artificial-intelligence frenzy to airlines to metals companies dropped. Nvidia sank 4.1%. United Airlines lost 6.4%, and Newmont Mining fell 5.7%.

January home sales fall

High mortgage rates, prices freeze out would-be buyers

BY ALEX VEIGA Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in January as rising mortgage rates and prices put off many wouldbe homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market. Sales fell 4.9% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday Sales rose 2% compared with January last year marking the fourth straight annual increase. The latest home sales, however, fell short of the 4.11 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 19th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 4.8% in January from a year earlier to $396,900.

“Mortgage rates have refused to budge for several months despite multiple rounds of short-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist “When combined with elevated home prices, housing affordability remains

a major challenge.”

The U.S housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemicera lows Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage briefly fell to a 2-year low last September but has been mostly hovering around 7% this year, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. That’s more than double the 2.65% record low the average rate hit a little over four years ago.

While mortgage rates have been easing in recent weeks, the decline hasn’t been enough to change the affordability equation for

many prospective home shoppers. Home loan applications fell 5.5% last week from the previous week to the lowest level since the start of the year according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have kept many prospective home shoppers on the sidelines, especially first-time buyers who don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase. They accounted for 28% of all homes sold last month, matching the share in January 2024, but down from 31% in December The annual share of first-time buyers fell last year to a record-low 24%. It’s been 40% historically

Soft drink companies differ on diversity programs

and groups that promote business growth, he said.

en and LGBTQ+ people.

BY DEE-ANN DURBIN Associated Press

PepsiCo confirmed Friday that it’s ending some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, even as rival Coca-Cola voiced support for its own inclusion efforts.

In a memo sent to employees, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said the company will no longer set goals for minority representation in its managerial roles or supplier base The company will also align its sponsorships to events

Laguarta wrote that inclusion remains important to PepsiCo, whose brands include Gatorade, Lay’s potato chips, Doritos, Mountain Dew as well as Pepsi The Purchase, New York-based company’s chief diversity officer will transition to a broader role focused on employee engagement, leadership development and ensuring an inclusive culture, he said.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last month, U.S government agencies, companies and schools have rushed to reevaluate policies and programs they adopted with the goal of reducing discrimination against members of minority groups, wom-

Trump ended DEI programs within the federal government and has warned schools to end DEI programs or risk losing federal money PepsiCo’s rollback came as CocaCola reaffirmed support for its DEI efforts.

In its annual report, Atlantabased Coke warned that its business could be negatively affected if it is unable to attract employees that reflect its broad range of customers.

“Failure to maintain a corporate culture that fosters innovation, collaboration and inclusion could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business and our future success,” the company said.

Coca-Cola has set a goal of having

women in 50% of its senior leadership roles by 2030. Coke has also said that it wants race and ethnicity representation that reflects national census data at all levels of the company in the U.S. Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist who targets corporate DEI programs, applauded PepsiCo’s actions on Friday In a post on X, Starbuck said Coca-Cola “should be very nervous about continuing with their woke policies.”

PepsiCo joins a long list of companies that have reigned in diversity equity and inclusion programs in the wake of Trump’s election victory and before that, a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions.

ASSOCIATE PRESS FILE PHOTO By NAM y. HUH

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell 4.9% in January as rising mortgage rates and prices put off many would-be homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market.

OPINION

Fighting over cost, size of government

For the first time since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, the size, scope and operations of government have become hot topics. Those who support Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency,” or DOGE, and those who detest it, have moved these issues long seen as tedious and boring — onto the front burners of a scorching public debate.

The fight over the size and cost of government is something America has needed for decades, but to best serve the public interest, both sides need to put country above politics So far, that’s not happening Like everything else, it’s become part of a partisan death match. Government reform, when done, must be done right — within the law and in logical sequence. The goal must be competent, honest management of taxpayer dollars

President Donald Trump and Musk have made the first moves. They now need to level with the American people that after the cuts are made, efficiency and accountability will require painstaking reorganization and management oversight. If they keep moving too fast and loose — disrupting operations, firing people indiscriminately and then rehiring some of them the benefits for taxpayers won’t stick. It could kill the opportunity to really make government smaller and better

Recently, a friend mused to me that Musk, by putting too many spinning tops on the table at one time, risks losing what Trump wants most: control. When one top spins off the table, others will follow, and then what? More court battles and chaos?

Don’t forget that most of DOGE’s proposed cuts still have to get through Congress Will the congressional appropriations process reflect the administration’s costcutting agenda? What happens when senators and representatives start begging to save funding for their states and districts?

What’s the path forward?

President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Al Gore tried tackling sluggish bureaucracy in their day but with limited success. There wasn’t enough public pressure to counter vested interests that were standing guard over the status quo. Their fellow Democrats were afraid of offending public employee unions, and Republicans were afraid of cutting programs that constituents and contributors wanted.

One of the few members of Congress who actually did something about balancing the budget and cutting wasteful spending was Republican former U.S. Rep. Bob Livingston of Louisiana, who chaired the House Appropriations Committee in the 1990s.

As the party of activist government, why haven’t Democrats done more to make government work better? Why can’t they identify bureaucracies that need eliminating, reorganizing or modernizing? When actual boondoggles are uncovered, and the numbers check out, why can’t Democrats join DOGE in doing away with them?

And as the party of less government, why didn’t other Republicans make government operations a bigger part of their agenda? Why didn’t they go into each department and look under the hood? They’re now rubber-stamping DOGE’s efforts without questioning what will work and what won’t. Their job should be to discipline the process, not let it get out of hand.

A pox on both their houses.

The Trump administration erred in abruptly firing 18 inspectors general. Presidents can lawfully fire inspectors if they provide Congress a 30-day notice and explain the reasons for doing so, but the administration didn’t follow that procedure. Trump could have saved a lot of trouble, and prevented legal wrangles, by simply doing so. It would also have given the DOGE process more legitimacy.

Inspectors general, by the way investigate and audit federal agencies, and hunt for waste, fraud and abuse. The administration should not have fired any of them — much less all of them — without examining the job each was doing These watchdogs can provide much-needed independent, nonpartisan monitoring of federal spending. The good ones should have been empowered to do more, not thrown out.

When cutting jobs, remember that bath water isn’t worth saving, but babies are.

The big question: What will each federal department look like after DOGE is finished? Will they be streamlined and efficient, smaller and more innovative? Or, will they be crippled and dysfunctional?

Let’s face it: Plenty of agencies should be abolished and plenty of programs, designed to pursue ideological agendas, are bound to be eliminated when party control switches But a poorly managed agency that has an essential function needs to be fixed, not ravaged. Rubble without results isn’t the answer.

Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana. He publishes LunchtimePolitics.com, a nationwide newsletter on polls and public opinion

to confirm RFK Jr.

As a concerned constituent, I contacted our two U.S. senators, John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy more than once to express my deep concerns about Robert F. Kenndy Jr and his dangerous ideas.

My letter said that as a child in the early 1950s, I was very aware and concerned about polio. Who had not seen pictures of humans encased in iron lungs or wearing leg braces? I recently read that the last person living his entire life in this contraption had died. After the polio vaccine, I never gave polio a thought. Twice I had measles. I have never been so sick since. It is highly contagious and dangerous, especially to the unborn, also very preventable. As a science teacher I learned that my students had never heard of measles, mumps or chickenpox. Why? Because they had vaccines against these diseases. My sister had chickenpox as a child. Unfortunately, later in life

she developed shingles. She now has PHN and is in constant pain for which almost nothing can be done. If she’d had a vaccine I was vaccinated against COVID and never got it, but it killed many in my community I believe in science and vaccines. They are lifesaving and safe Kennedy has no medical background and has a history of being anti-vaccine. I begged my senators not to confirm RFK Jr for the good of all, Republicans and Democrats. My pleas were ignored. Cassidy, a doctor knows better but voted against our best interests because of politics. As for John Kennedy, he says “call someone who cares,” because obviously he does not. These people do not respond to my calls or emails. Surely, we can find two elected officials who will represent the people and not just advance their political careers.

NADINE CART Church Point

Why won’t Congress do its job?

I feel compelled to urgently report a missing entity Congress, as an integral part of the United States government, is apparently MIA. There are senators and representatives occupying positions and drawing salaries in Washington, but I can find no independent actions being performed. They have

evidently been replaced by puppets controlled by some force outside the constraints of the Constitution. What has happened? Why aren’t they insisting on their position as the third co-equal branch of government? Do we have any hope? PAUL MAJOR Livonia

I’m tired of people misrepresenting what President Donald Trump is doing in regard to immigrants. He is getting rid of the murderers, rapists and criminals in general who have broken the law We should want them gone anyway

We don’t put up with American citizens breaking the law, so why should we put up with them doing it?

A lot of our citizens would be alive today if they weren’t in the country in the first place. We still have plenty of decent im-

migrants who can contribute to our workforce, so why so upset about getting rid of the bad ones?

The Democrats are always twisting the facts to make them look like they haven’t created this mess in the first place. We wouldn’t be in this mess if they would have kept the border closed. A lot of people would still have their loved ones, and we wouldn’t have spent a fortune of our tax dollars on their upkeep.

GUYANN

MAXWELL Baton Rouge

We need cuts to pork barrel projects more than agencies

President Elon Musk and Vice President Donald Trump have promised to “rein in out-of-control federal spending and reshape a lazy workforce.”

The nonprofit Citizens Against Government Waste has published a collection of pork barrel spending every year since 1991. The book features lawmakers from both sides who the authors say are responsible for spending earmarks known as “Community Project Funding,” which direct federal dollars to specific pet projects in members’ home states and districts. The group found 8,222 earmarks in the past fiscal year which cost $22.7 billion.

My question is what will President Musk and Vice President Trump do about these pork-barrel perks while looking senators and representatives in the eye and cutting their pet projects to save federal dollars as they state that this is their promise to the American people?

ELWYN BOCZ Lutcher

Our president’s behaviors are immoral and wicked. In his “Make America Great Again” plan: Faith takes a back seat to fear Truth takes a back seat to propaganda. Plans take a back seat to slogans. He peddles blame as his political currency We Americans have fallen victim to fear, ignorance and greed. I am disappointed. Where is courage? Where is character? Where are the adults? What have we become?

The Statue of Liberty hangs her head in shame. Our children are watching.

SUSAN TATJE New Orleans

Ron Faucheux

SPORTS

ACE IN MAKING

Tigers’ lefty proving Johnson right in narrow win over Omaha

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

Kade Anderson arrived at LSU somewhat under the radar

Tommy John surgery as a junior forced the left-handed pitcher to sit out his senior year of high school. But before he even reached campus, let alone returned from his injury, LSU coach Jay Johnson knew he’d be a weekend starter.

“Whether that’s this year or next year, I don’t know,” Johnson said in January 2024.

It turns out he knew what he was talking about.

Anderson, now the Tigers’ No. 1 starter, has had a hot start to this year In the sophomore’s second start on Friday against Omaha, he tossed 51/3 innings, struck out eight batters and surrendered only three hits. The Mavericks were unable to get a man in scoring position until the sixth inning

His outing was the driving force behind LSU’s 4-2 series-opening victory at Alex Box Stadium.

“For five innings, there hadn’t been much better pitching on that mound

ever,” Johnson said. “And think about what I just said.”

Only two runners reached base through the first five innings against Anderson. He didn’t run into any trouble until the sixth, when a pair of walks and a one-out single drove in Omaha’s first run. Anderson surrendered another single to load the bases before he was replaced by Dallas Baptist transfer and right-hander Connor Benge. The first batter he faced hit a sacrifice fly that scored a second run, cutting LSU’s lead in half.

Despite his dominance through five innings, Anderson wasn’t happy with his outing. He said that his inability to locate his fastball is why he ran into trouble in the sixth.

“I feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement, honestly,” he said. “As a starter, you’re trying to go into the seventh, eighth inning.”

LSU still missing definitive point

Matchups likely will dictate main ballhandler each game

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Not even three weeks ago, Last-Tear Poa was stuck outside coach Kim Mulkey’s rotation. Now she’s starting at point guard at least for the time being.

With a 79-63 win over Georgia in the rearview mirror and only three regular-season games left to play, the LSU women’s basketball team has picked up 26 victories and cemented itself as a national title contender, yet it still hasn’t quite settled one important question: Can either Poa or Shayeann DayWilson become the No. 7 Tigers’ clear-cut lead ballhandler?

“It’s what I have,” Mulkey said. “Neither has really established herself or separated herself, so it will, I’m sure, vary the rest of the year.” Though Poa started the game against the Bulldogs on Thursday Day-Wilson wound up playing 13 more minutes. The inverse

ä LSU at Kentucky 3 P.M. SUNDAy,

was true in LSU’s previous contest, a loss to No. 2 Texas. Day-Wilson started that game but ultimately took a backseat to Poa, who ended up logging 26 minutes — the most action she’s seen against a Southeastern Conference opponent this season.

That spike in playing time was noticeable. Poa had played only 10 minutes across LSU’s previous six games combined. She was “unavailable” to play on Jan. 26 against Texas A&M, according to an SEC Network broadcast, and suspended for the Tigers’ Jan. 30 win over Oklahoma Mulkey said, because she violated a team rule.

That night, Mikaylah Williams sealed an LSU win with a late 3-pointer, and Mulkey said Day-Wilson was “our point guard.”

The senior transfer had tied season-highs in points (nine) and assists (nine) against the No. 16 Sooners while grabbing four rebounds and draining an important shot from beyond the arc late in the fourth quarter

ä See LSU, page 3C

JOHNSON

Chio continues dominant stretch for LSU gym

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

LSU gymnastics was another beyond-her-years performance from freshman Kailin Chio. Chio won her fourth straight all-around title, all against Southeastern Conference competition, as well as tying for first on vault and uneven bars as the No. 3-ranked Tigers beat No. 9

Saints coach Moore hires

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

Before his Super Bowl run with the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore spent a forgettable 2023 season with the Los Angeles Chargers under then-head coach Brandon Staley The Chargers fired Staley after a brutal loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023, then passed over Moore as his replacement to hire Jim Harbaugh instead. Though their first partnership didn’t pan out, it didn’t prevent them from joining forces again, this time with Moore sitting in the head coach’s seat. According to a league source, Moore is hiring Staley to be his defensive coordinator with the 2025 New Orleans Saints. The hiring is the first Moore has made on the defensive side of the ball, and it comes at a crucial time with the NFL scouting combine set to begin next week. After running some variation of Dennis Allen’s scheme for the previous 10 seasons, Staley may very well want to stock his defense with a different kind of player than the ones the Saints coveted under Allen. With Staley now in the fold, New Orleans likely will fill out its defensive coaching staff quickly Of the

PHOTOS By PATRICK DENNIS

LSU starting pitcher Kade Anderson throws a pitch in the fifth inning against Omaha on Friday at Alex Box Stadium. LSU won 4-2.

AT

LSU coach Jay Johnson talks to his players during a break in the second inning against Omaha on Friday at Alex Box Stadium.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU gymnast Kailin Chio finishes the vault during a meet against Oklahoma on Feb 14. Chio won her fourth straight all-around title in a meet against Kentucky on Friday.

5

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9 p.m.

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11 a.m.

St. at Ball St. ESPNU

1:30 p.m. Iowa St. at Baylor FOX

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

3 p.m. HBCUL: Robinson vs. Gaither NFLN MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY

5 p.m. Penn St. at Michigan St. BTN

7:30 p.m. Notre Dame at Wisconsin BTN

WOMEN’S COLLEGE LACROSSE

11 a.m Stanford at Virginia ACCN

4 Nations Face-Off shatters expectations

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP hockey writer

Canada won the 4 Nations FaceOff by beating the United States for the championship in an overtime thriller capped off by Connor McDavid’s memorable goal that will be on highlight reels for decades to come. In the grand scheme of things, the NHL, its players and the sport of hockey all came out as winners

The 4 Nations was a one-off tournament with no past and no future, a trimmed-down version of a World Cup of Hockey staged because the best players in the world waited so long for something of its kind. With tens of millions watching across North America it exceeded all expectations, with play on the ice better resembling a Stanley Cup Final or the Olympics than the All-Star Weekend festivities it replaced.

“It was much more popular than even we would have imagined — it was getting so much attention from our whole continent,” 4 Nations MVP Nathan MacKinnon said. “The 4 Nations caught on fire I’m sure everyone didn’t really know what to expect. Obviously questions about it being an All-Star Game, things like that. Obviously people didn’t really know the players’ mindsets coming in, and rightfully so. You never really know.

Given that a generation of players from McDavid and MacKinnon to Americans Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel never got a chance to represent their countries in socalled best-on-best play as professionals, it was clear in their minds they were taking it seriously

For many fans, it took seeing the opening game — Sidney Crosby’s no-look pass to MacKinnon for a goal 56 seconds in and the frantic pace at which Canada and Sweden were skating up and down the rink — to believe this was going to be worth watching.

Then people watched.

ESPN said the game had 9.3 million viewers in the U.S higher than any NHL game on its networks and the second-most watched over the past decade.

Sportsnet reported 10.7 million people across Canada watched Thursday night — over a quarter of the country’s population — after the six round-robin games averaged 4.6 million viewers in North

America and 10.1 million tuned in to the first U.S.-Canada game.

In a series of social media posts, former NFL player J.J. Watt raved, “It’s just incredible how much of a home run 4 Nations has been for the NHL and hockey in general” and said friends who had never watched the sport before were reaching out asking about plans to watch and what to eat during it.

“Definition of growing the game,” Watt said. “Much, much respect for how much effort, energy and passion (players) poured into this tournament That’s what’s made it so special The best in the world going all-out for pure pride.”

The next chance they will get is a year away at the 2026 Olympics in

Milan, the return of the players to that stage after the NHL skipped in 2018 and pulled out at the eleventh hour in 2022 because of pandemicrelated scheduling problems.

Commissioner Gary Bettman billed the 4 Nations featuring the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland as an appetizer for Milan.

The level of play — and the result set the stage perfectly for the Americans to again challenge Canadian hockey superiority, with the Swedes, Finns, Czechs, Slovaks, Germans and maybe even the Russians also in the mix for Olympic gold.

“I’ll always remember this feeling when it’s next year,” U.S. winger Brady Tkachuk said after losing 3-2 in the final. “Everything happens for a reason and I think this year, this moment can really motivate us going into next year.”

For now, Canada remains unbeaten over the past 15 years in tournaments with the NHL’s top talent involved, extending its winning streak to four, with a title at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and gold medals at the 2014 and 2010 Olympics before this.

In the leadup to the final, Canada coach Jon Cooper said anyone expecting it to be more like an AllStar Game “was sorely, sorely mistaken.” It was, in fact, a collection of All-Stars, but the final product was anything but.

Even before Canada’s players and coaches got their gold medals and trophy it was clear the event put together over the past yearplus attracted new fans to the NHL and the sport of hockey better than anyone could have anticipated.

Legacy Bowl a homecoming for Landry grad

BY SPENCER URQUHART

Staff writer

New Orleans native Travis Martin has an opportunity to showcase his skills in front of NFL scouts after receiving no scholarship offers out of high school.

Martin will be on the national stage at the HBCU Legacy Bowl on Saturday, which marks a return home for the L.B. Landry graduate with the 3 p.m. game at Yulman Stadium. A 2020 Landry graduate, Martin attended Division II Langston University in Oklahoma and played football all four years

An all-star game for HBCU standouts, the Legacy Bowl is in its fourth year and offers an opportunity for players such as Martin to get NFL exposure. Practices have taken place during the week at Yulman and the Saints’ practice facility in Metairie.

“It feels good to be back in my home city,” Martin said “It’s actually my first time being in the Saints’ facility I came here to showcase to these coaches what I can do.”

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

elsewhere yet.

Staley who spent last season in an assistant head coach role with the San Francisco 49ers, was once considered one of the NFL’s premier young defensive coaches.

The 42-year-old got his NFL start under then-Chicago Bears

Martin was a freshman at Bonnabel before transferring to Landry

He had to sit out his sophomore season but returned his junior year at defensive end and earned all-state honorable mention as a senior. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Martin switched positions in college to cornerback, tallying 69 tackles, five tackles for loss, 10 interceptions and 23 passes defended during his four years at Langston.

“I didn’t have any offers coming out of high school,” Martin said. “I didn’t cry, I didn’t fold, I didn’t complain. I stuck with the program and just kept pushing. (Langston) is the team that took a chance on me. I’ve just been loyal to them from the start and been there all four years.”

Martin is the lone player from Langston in this year’s Legacy Bowl. He credits his experience at defensive end in high school for helping him play cornerback in college

defensive coordinator Vic Fangio in 2017. He spent three seasons with Fangio, two in Chicago and one in Denver, before taking over as the Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator in 2020.

The Rams finished that 2020 season ranked No. 1 in both scoring and total defense, fueling Staley’s rapid ascent as a head coaching candidate. The Chargers hired him in 2021.

Staley couldn’t replicate that

“My strengths at cornerback actually come from playing defensive end,” Martin said. “Me being physical in the trenches got to me being overly physical at cornerback, but that just comes from me playing defensive end and transitioning. It was a learning experience.”

Martin will play for Team Robinson on Saturday, which is named for legendary Grambling head coach Eddie Robinson. The team is coached by Alabama A&M coach Sam Shade and Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor

“I think with (Martin) being a local guy you can see the passion,” Shade said. “The energy to be able to come back home and compete in a college all-star game the magnitude of this one.”

Other Team Robinson players with Louisiana ties include Grambling quarterback Myles Crawley and Southern long snapper Brax-

success with the Chargers, who never finished better than 20th in scoring or total defense during his time there.

He comes to New Orleans after working under some of the brightest minds in football, including Kyle Shanahan last year in San Francisco, Sean McVay in Los Angeles, and Fangio in Chicago and Denver But it took Staley a while to ascend the coaching ladder

Michigan extends contract of basketball coach May

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan has agreed to a multiyear contract extension for Dusty May who this season became the first basketball coach in school history to win his first 13 home games.

The school announced the move on Friday two hours before tipping off against rival Michigan State. May, a Bob Knight protege, made it clear he is happy with the 12thranked Wolverines and had no interest in being the next coach at Indiana. Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson is stepping down after the season.

In May’s debut season, Michigan has won 20 games for the first time in four years.

The Wolverines were leading the Big Ten entering their first of two scheduled games against the 14thranked Spartans.

Nebraska cancels 2026-27 football series vs. Tennessee

LINCOLN,Neb Nebraska canceled two nonconference games against Tennessee as part of a plan to recoup lost revenue from reduced seating capacity during major renovations of Memorial Stadium in 2027, athletic director Troy Dannen announced Friday The Cornhuskers and Volunteers had been scheduled to meet in Lincoln on Sept. 12, 2026, and in Knoxville on Sept. 11, 2027. Nebraska replaced Tennessee on its schedule with home games against Bowling Green in 2026 and Miami in 2027. The Huskers also scheduled an additional matchup with Northern Iowa in 2027. All previous meetings between Nebraska and Tennessee came in bowls, most recently in the 2016 Music City Bowl.

Jaguars hire their new GM Gladstone from Rams JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Los Angeles Rams executive James Gladstone as their general manager Friday, reuniting him with new coach Liam Coen.

Gladstone held the position of director of scouting strategy in L.A. since 2019, working alongside Rams general manager Les Snead during the draft process. He’s been with the Rams since 2016 and was viewed as a key member of the scouting department. Coen and Gladstone spent four years together with the Rams (2018-20, 2022), watching and learning from Snead and coach Sean McVay In Jacksonville, Gladstone will join a group of firsttimers trying to revive a franchise that has lost 18 of its last 23 games.

New York Yankees drop ban on beards after 49 years

ton Blackwell.

“(Myles) Crawley has had a good week,” Shade said “Really all the quarterbacks we feel good about. Crawley is the bigger guy, so we feel like there are some throws he’ll be able to make sometimes that other guys might not be able to make.”

The Legacy Bowl matchup between Team Robinson and Team Gaither will be broadcast by the NFL Network.

“For some of these guys, it might be the last football game they play,” Shade said. “We want them to have a great experience and leave it all out there on the field. There’s been a lot of NFL talent evaluators, scouts and different people, so they’ve definitely been on the stage.”

“The experience has been lovely,” Martin said. “I’ve gotten to connect with multiple guys on the team, and I’ve talked to a lot of championship coaches. When my opportunity is called, just answer Show the coaches why there are people at HBCUs that will play at the next level.”

Staley, a former college quarterback at Dayton, spent 10 years coaching at mostly lowerlevel college football programs — including stops with Division III schools John Carroll and St. Thomas, and Hutchinson junior college — before he caught his NFL break, coaching linebackers for Fangio’s 2017 Bears team. Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

TAMPA. Fla. — The New York Yankees dropped their ban on beards Friday, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner, in a move aimed to improve player recruitment as the team tries to win its first World Series title since 2009.

Current owner Hal Steinbrenner, son of The Boss, announced the change Friday before the team’s spring training opener He called the ban “outdated” and “somewhat unreasonable.”

George Steinbrenner announced the facial policy during spring training in 1976, mandating no long hair or beards — mustaches were allowed Players complied but some pushed boundaries by going unshaven or letting hair fall over their collars.

Andreeva upsets Rybakina to reach the Dubai final

DUBAI United Arab Emirates Teenager Mirra Andreeva became the youngest player to reach the Dubai Championships final after beating Elena Rybakina 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Friday The 17-year-old Andreeva trailed 3-1 in the third set before winning the last five games to reach her second tour final. She won in Iasi, Romania, last July Andreeva is the youngest player in the top 100, and her run this week has put to meet Clara Tauson in the Dubai final. Clara Tauson, the Dane who knocked out world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, beat Karolina Muchova 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in the other

AP PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA

Fans of Canada celebrate during the first period of a 4 Nations Face-Off game against Finland on Monday in Boston.

Southern men won’t look past Grambling

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

All season long, Southern men’s basketball coach Kevin Johnson has stressed the importance of focusing only on the next game on the schedule.

That should be no problem

Saturday

The Jaguars will play Southwestern Athletic Conference rival Grambling for the second time this season, a game that always brings out passion in fans, players and coaches. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m at Grambling’s Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center

“Grambling has won three of their last four, so I know we’re going to get their best shot,” Southern coach Kevin Johnson said. “I don’t really pay too much attention to the race. It’s just that they’re the next team, so our focus is on what we have to do to beat the next team.”

With five conference games remaining, Southern (17-9, 12-1 SWAC) needs two wins to clinch at least a tie for the regular-season championship. The Jaguars lead Florida A&M and Jackson State by two games, and they have won two straight since an 82-81 loss at Alabama State.

Grambling (9-17, 6-7) won or shared the SWAC title the previous two seasons but is currently in seventh place in the standings. The Tigers need to finish in the top six to avoid playing a first-round game at the SWAC Tourna-

ä Southern at Grambling. 4:30 P.M. SATURDAy

ment. Southern defeated Grambling 67-60 at the F.G Clark Activity Center on Jan. 18, but it was a typical, grueling rivalry game. Mikale Stevenson hit a 3-pointer for Grambling to tie the game 60-60 with 13 seconds left to set the stage for a big finish. Michael Jacobs of Southern was fouled on a drive to the basket with less than one second to play, which touched off emphatic protests from the Grambling bench. Tigers coach Donte Jackson received two tech-

nical fouls and had to leave the sideline. Stevenson also picked up a technical, and Southern made 7 of 8 free throws to win.

Prior to last Saturday’s 6657 win over Texas Southern, the Jaguars had no players averaging in double figures. Jacobs scored 20 points against the Tigers to improve to 10.3 points per game, an illustration of one of Southern’s strong points.

“We’ve had nine different leading scorers this year,” Johnson said. “One of the things that I appreciate about this group of guys is that we’ve had several guys ready when the opportunity presents itself.”

Mulkey expects Morrow back against Kentucky

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Aneesah Morrow missed a game for the first time in her collegiate career on Thursday when the LSU women’s basketball team beat Georgia 79-63.

Coach Kim Mulkey said that Morrow has no structural damage in her left foot. She’s battling a little soreness left from a contusion she suffered Sunday in the No. 7 Tigers’ road loss to No. 2 Texas. LSU does not expect her to miss more time.

“She got stepped on in the Texas game,” Mulkey said, “if you guys remember, and she took herself out and put herself back in. It was just a contusion, and it’s just sore. What better time to rest than tonight because the last three (games) are tough as nails.” Without Morrow, LSU’s scoring was more evenly distributed than it usually is Thursday Five contributors

scored in double figures including Jersey Wolfenbarger, the 6-foot-5 forward who Mulkey moved into the starting lineup in place of Morrow. She finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds after hitting 8 of 12 free throws.

Starter Sa’Myah Smith also scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to post her fourth double-double of the season.

LSU converted only 38% of its shots through three quarters, but its production at the free-throw line (15 of 22) and on the offensive glass (19 rebounds) helped it begin the fourth quarter with a double-digit lead, then glide to a 16-point win

“God works in mysterious ways,” Mulkey said. We’re fixing to play a team that’s just as tall as (Smith and Wolfenbarger), and so maybe them playing tonight will give them that confidence when we play against Kentucky because Kentucky has really tall players.”

putting on us.”

But Day-Wilson has since missed 15 of the last 16 shots she’s taken, scored only four total points and turned the ball over as many times (nine) as she’s assisted an LSU bucket Over the Tigers’ last five games, she’s ceded playing time to both Mjracle Sheppard — the sophomore defensive ace who earned nearly 30 minutes in back-toback games against Missouri and No. 15 Tennessee — and Poa the veteran who reappeared inside Mulkey’s guard rotation in a top-five showdown with the Longhorns.

“I felt like Poa had a better understanding of that atmosphere, that big stage,” Mulkey said. “She played in the national championship game for us, and all I needed her to do in that game was get us in an offense with the kind of pressure that Texas was

The job description changed for LSU’s game against Georgia. The Tigers, Mulkey said, needed to wall off the paint, preventing the Bulldogs from dribble penetrating and creating open looks around the rim. Georgia scored 36 of its 63 points in the lane but earned only eight trips to the free-throw line.

“Defensively (Day-Wilson) could possibly keep them out of the paint a little better than Poa,” Mulkey said, “even though Poa will take charges.”

Poa has been making those defensive plays since Alexis Morris defended the point of attack and orchestrated the LSU offense all the way through the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Once she exhausted her eligibility the Tigers tossed the keys to Hailey Van Lith, who transferred to LSU in part because she wanted to play point guard. But Van Lith reentered

Is NIT a realistic destination for LSU?

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Why is LSU men’s basketball still worth watching?

That’s a fair question for fans to ask.

The hope of this regular season leading to an NCAA Tournament appearance is practically a fantasy as the Tigers prepare to face No. 2 Florida at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at 5 p.m. Saturday

Improbable is the nicest way to describe LSU’s chance of reaching the Big Dance, which it last reached during the 2021-22 season.

LSU (14-12, 3-10 SEC) is 15th in the Southeastern Conference standings, and ESPN’s Bracketology projects 12 teams from the conference to make the NCAA Tournament as of Friday. The record for the most teams to make the tournament from one conference is 11, which was done by the Big East in 2011.

The simplest way for the Tigers to make the tournament is to miraculously win the SEC Tournament.

The more likely but also unrealistic way for coach Matt McMahon’s team to go dancing is by getting an at-large bid. To have a decent argument to be chosen by the selection committee, LSU must win at least three of its remaining five regular-season games its lowest-ranked opponent left is No 21 Mississippi State — and reach at least the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament

Stacking that many wins may be a tough ask especially because the Tigers have the strongest remaining strength of schedule, according to ESPN.

That leads to the most realistic path toward postseason play with the National Invitation Tournament.

LSU made the NIT last year as an automatic qualifier as it was one of the top two SEC teams in the NET to miss the NCAA Tournament. LSU fell 84-77 to North Texas in the first round.

The Tigers have a chance to earn an automatic bid again this season, even with a new selection process.

New NIT selection rules

This season, there will be exempt bids for 16 teams in the 32-team NIT The SEC and the Atlantic Coast Conference each will have two teams given automatic bids. The other 12 exempt bids will be given to one team in each of the best 12 conferences that is decided by KenPom rating. All exempt bids will be rewarded to the teams with the highest KNIT score from each conference. The KNIT is the average score from seven ranking systems: ESPN Basketball Power Index (BPI), Kevin Pauga Index (KPI), NET, KenPom, Strength of Record (SOR), Torvik ranking and Wins Above Bubble (WAB) ranking.

Regular-season conference champions who aren’t chosen for the NCAA Tournament can get an exempt bid to the NIT if they have an average score of at least 125 across the ranking systems. The rest of the field are atlarge teams decided by the NIT’s selection committee comprised of former coaches, athletic directors and a commissioner LSU’s NIT path

If12SECteamsmaketheNCAATournament, LSU must have no worse than the second-best KNIT score among the bottom four conference teams to automatically make the NIT The Tigers are in better spirits after winning their last two games, beating South Carolina (10-16, 0-13) and Oklahoma (16-10, 3-10). Overtaking the Sooners will take a measure of hoping they continue trending down as they are in the midst of a fivegame losing streak. If the Tigers don’t end the year better than Oklahoma, they can still make the NIT if they have a solid resume for an at-large bid or the SEC ends up getting 13 NCAA bids. An NIT appearance wasn’t LSU’s original goal. If it comes to fruition, it won’t be an accomplishment the program will want to brag about, either But LSU has a chance to play more basketball, which is always good for the growth of players on the current roster It also can supply momentum entering the 2025-26 season

Morrow a senior on pace to finish her career with the third-most rebounds in NCAA Division I history, suited up for all 66 contests DePaul played across her first two years, then appeared in each of the first 64 games LSU played over the last two seasons.

This year Morrow is averaging 18.1 points on 49% shooting and 14.4 rebounds per game a career high and the top mark in the country She has posted 24 double-doubles, seven more than any other Division I player

“Could she have played?” Mulkey said about Thursday night. “Sure, but for Aneesah Morrow to do what she’s got to do, not just these next three games, but then you go to the SEC Tournament, potentially could play three in a row if you make it to the championship there.

“She’s got a tough body, but just rest it Just let the bruise get better.”

the transfer portal after an uneven 2023-24 season and enrolled at TCU, where she’s now scoring more points, shooting at a higher percentage and assisting on more shots than she did in her lone year with the Tigers.

LSU hoped it could find a better fit for its system this season with either Poa or one of the transfers it signed to replace Van Lith.

But with only three games separating the Tigers from the postseason, Mulkey said she still hasn’t found a clear answer at point guard.

Instead she’ll likely let the matchup dictate which ballhandler gets more run moving forward, like she has in each of LSU’s previous two contests.

“It’s just the gut feeling you go with,” Mulkey said. “I’m confident in both of them. I don’t like a two-quarterback system, but guess what? We’re 26-2. You just keep plugging away You’re a possession or two away from being undefeated.”

Southern women to visit Grambling looking for sweep

BY CHARLES SALZER

Contributing writer

After turning in its most complete performance of the season in last Saturday’s 86-45 win over Prairie View, the immediate goal for the Southern women’s basketball team is to be consistent as it tries to stay on a roll.

The big picture is that Southern (13-13, 11-2) controls its destiny in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with five games left to play The Jaguars are tied for second place with Jackson State and is onehalf game behind Texas Southern, but they own the tiebreaker over both.

“We were solid on both ends of the court. I thought we executed well,” Southern coach Carlos Funchess said of the Prairie View win. “Our defensive rotations were tight and offensively we shared the ball (24 assists) Hopefully we’ll play well and continue to peak.”

Southern will finish up its regular season with a pair of home games, but will have to navigate through three tough road games before reaching that point.

The first of those road contests comes up Saturday when Southern travels to Grambling. The Tigers (11-13, 8-5) are fifth in the

ä Southern at Grambling. 2 P.M. SATURDAy

SWAC and will need a lot of help to defend the regular season title it won last season. Southern defeated Grambling 59-53 in Baton Rouge on Jan 18 and will be looking for a regular-season sweep after coming up short both times last year Saturday’s game will tip off at 2 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center “Of course with Grambling, you can throw out the records,” Funchess said. “They’re going to be ready to go (on Saturday). We were up by 14 here, but they cut it down to six points and that’s how it ended I’m expecting another hard-fought battle.” The Jaguars have won four straight since a 59-55 overtime loss to Alcorn State on Feb. 1, and defense has been the key The Jaguars lead the Southwestern Athletic Conference allowing just 59.6 points per game, and they held their opponents to a 43-point average during the win streak One of the key players during the run has been freshman Jocelyn Tate, who averaged 8.8 points and 5.3 rebounds Tate was 5 for 5 from the field and scored 15 points against Prairie View

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Southern guard Michael Jacobs finishes a layup against Prairie View in the first half last Saturday at the F.G. Clark Activity Center

THE VARSITY ZONE

Familiar foe awaits Catholic in Div. I final

Bears playing St. Paul’s for fourth time in a final

BY WILLIAM WEATHERS Contributing writer

Catholic High waged a memorable state championship battle last year with Jesuit that turned forgettable in the blink of an eye.

For 103 minutes the teams went toe-to-toe in a scoreless matchup before the Blue Jays converted a long free kick into a header that found the back of the net, sending the Bears slumping to the turf at Southeastern Louisiana University’s Strawberry Stadium.

Nearly a year later 363 days to be exact — fourth-seeded Catholic (16-3-3) has made its way back to the Division I state championship for the 11th time, setting its sights on a sixth state title against 11-time champion No. 6 St. Paul’s (21-5-3) at 5 p.m. Saturday

“When we lost last year, the juniors seemed as affected as the seniors,” Catholic soccer coach

Jonathan Brunet said “It’s so hard to get back. It’s just tough to get back.”

Catholic’s overcame a bumpy 2-1-3 start to forge another long run in the postseason.

The Bears won three times in a mid-December tournament at Dunham, but it was the team’s showing at Teurlings Catholic’s EIL Showcase with wins over St Louis (6-0) and Byrd (3-1) that provided clarity on the team’s direction.

Catholic claimed the district 4-I championship with a 1-0 victory at Baton Rouge High on Jan. 25 for the program’s 33rd district title.

“We went through the tournament at Teurlings where we had some really good games, and that kind of kick-started us into pretty good form right now,” Brunet said.

“The Baton Rouge High game was a good win for us. They were

PREP REPORT

a very good team. To win big games builds confidence.”

Catholic’s riding an eight-game win streak, which includes outscoring its playoff opponents 172. The Bears reached the state championship with a 3-1 upset of top-seeded Denham Springs

Striker Mac Couhig is the team’s leading goal scorer with 33 followed by Ben Jewett (eight) and Cooper Allen (seven). Luca Boneno tops the team in assists (11) with Couhig adding eight and Caden Bland seven.

The Bears meet St Paul’s in a final for the fourth time. Catholic won the 2022 crown with a 2-0 victory over the Wolves.

“Their track record speaks for itself,” Brunet said of St. Paul. “I’m not surprised that they’re there. No one should be. It’s always an extremely difficult game. We know that’s going to be the case.”

68, Broadmoor 59 Covenant Christian 52, Central Catholic 35 District 8-2A tournament Dunham 70, Northeast 22 Halftime: Dunham 46, Northeast 12 Leaders: DUNHAM: Olivier 18, Washington 12, Haven 12; NORTHEAST: Guerin 6 Ascension Catholic 69, Riverside 52 Ascension Catholic13181325-69 Riverside 11171311-52

SCORING: ASCENSION CATHOLIC: K. Schexnayder 21, C. Elzy 21, J. Breaux 8, T. Simon 5, J Julian 5, V. Blanchard 4, C. Leboeuf 3, J. Barber 2; RIVERSIDE: J. Brumfield 18, T. Albert 13, K. Woodland 12, C. Evans 7, N. Phillip 2 3-POINT GOALS: Ascension Catholic 4 (Schexnayder 2, Leboeuf, Julian); Riverside 6 (Brumfield 2, Woodland 2, Evans, Albert)

RECORDS: Ascension Catholic 21-8; Riverside 8-16 Denham Springs 75, St. Amant 54

St. Amant 10 19 14 11-54 Denham Springs 23 20 16 16-75

SCORING: ST. AMANT: DJ Schomberg 15, Kalen Leblanc 14, Demarcus Patterson 9, Kaven Taylor 6, Brock Lalande 6, Chase Schomberg 4; DENHAM SPRINGS: Jermaine O’Conner 19, DeSean Galmond 17, J.K O’Conner 15, Trae Dorsey 8 Larry Guerin 4, DeJean Golmond 2, Chris Pourciau 2 McKinley 70, St. Michael 40 St. Michael 10 13 16 1 -40 McKinley 18 20 21 11 -70

SCORING: ST. MICHAEL: OJ Levingston 15, Sean Brown 12, Brian Gale 6, Josh Bertrand 5, Khy Harvey 2; MCKINLEY: Jamond Jacobs 16, Evan Mouzon 13, Craig Lovelady 13, Jaydin Williams 11, Kaleb Brown 6, Jaydon Porter 4, Joshua Turner 3, Chris Fields 2, John Emery 2 3-POINT GOALS: ST. MICHAEL 5 (Brown 2, Gales 2, Levingston); MCKINLEY 9 (Williams 3, Brown 2, Porter, Turner, Mouzon, Jacobs)

RECORDS: St. Michael 22-10, 5-3 District 6-4A; McKinley 20-7, 8-0

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

The McKinley boys basketball team had the District 6-4A title wrapped up before it took the floor Friday night against St. Michael, but any lack of urgency the Panthers might have had never materialized.

Showing off consistent outside shooting, McKinley took control early and coasted to a 70-40 win over the visiting Warriors.

The win was the 10th straight for McKinley (20-7, 8-0), which was No. 8 in this week’s Division II select power ratings. Playoff pairings will be released on Tuesday and No. 14 St. Michael (22-10, 5-3) will also be in the mix.

McKinley coach Devin Clark was pleased to have a stress-free performance from his team in its final regular-season game.

“The last few years there’s always been a two or three-way tie in our district,” he said. “This time it was just us We’re the undefeated district champs and it’s a wonderful feeling.”

Against St. Michael, McKinley was ready for the Warriors to sag in on the Panthers big men

The outside shots were open, and McKinley made 9 of 14 attempts from 3-point range, all in the first three quarters.

“We thought they would try to

neutralize our inside presence,” Clark said.

“We still wanted to have the ball go inside and come back out, and it bought us a little time. We were prepared for what they tried to do initially.”

Jamond Jacobs scored seven of his game-high 16 points in the first quarter Jaydin Williams made two 3-pointers, and McKinley moved out to an 18-10 lead after one quarter Williams made three 3-pointers on his way to 11 points. Also hitting double figures were Evan Mouzon and Craig Lovelady with 13 points apiece.

The Panthers outscored St. Michael 13-3 in the first four minutes of the second quarter and stretched their lead to as many as 21 points before halftime.

St. Michael needed back-to-back 3-pointers from OJ Levingston and Sean Brown in the final minute to pull within 38-23 at halftime. Levingston led the Warriors with 15 points and Brown scored 12.

St. Michael coach Drew Hart said his team was looking to get back on track after a loss to Brusly on Tuesday

“We’ve hit a bad spot in our season, and that’s not good at this time of year,” he said. “We’re not executing the way we’re supposed to be, and we’re not getting any easy shots.”

Scotlandville 51, Central 45, OT Central 8 9 10 13 5 -45

Scotlandville 16 10 5 9 11 -51

SCORING: CENTRAL: Ked Franklin 14, Jace Conrad 11, Jaylen Thomas 8, Collin Verrett 4, Keith Womack 3, Max Kingal 3 Markell Sampson 2; SCOTLANDVILLE: Jayden Simmons 16, Aaron Marshal 15, Joe Tate 7, Bray Parker 4, Tyler Sanford 4 Kenneth Jones 3, JK Whitfield 2. 3-POINT GOALS: Central 4 (Franklin 3, Kingal); Scotlandville 7 (Simmons 4, Marshall 2, Tate)

RECORDS: Central 22-4; Scotlandville 18-11

JUNIOR VARSITY: Scotlandville 43, Central 34 Saturday’s games

Opelousas at Livonia Salmen at St. Amant

Baseball Catholic High 9, Thibodaux 2 Boys tennis

Dunham 3, Central 2

Singles Michael Carmom, Central def. Adam Nesheiwat, Dunham 6-1, 6-1

Xander Youngblood, Central def. Cooper Eenigenburg, Dunham 6-4, 6-2

Doubles Milo Johnston-George Harrod, Dunham def. Beau Penton-Brock Rispone, Central 6-0, 6-1

Chris Olivier-Wait Harrod, Dunham def. Hayden Rizzutto-Brody McDaniels, Central 6-0, 6-0 Lucian Pham-Bennett Lasseigne, Dunham def. Denyn Armstead-Haydon Johnson, Central 6-0, 6-0

Girls tennis

Dunham 5, Central 0

Singles Bella Dupont, Dunham def. J Kaira Clairborne, Central 6-2, 6-1

Campbell Banks, Dunham def. Kaitlyn Isaac 6-4, 6-4

Doubles Adora Dinh-Josephine Johnston, Dunham won by forfeit Elizabeth Ortiz-Claire Nesheiwat, Dunham def. Haleigh

Bordelon-Renaya Higgins 6-0 6-1

Lilly Grace Rolling-Bailey Adams, Dunham def. Katherine Roman-Autumn Warner 6-2, 6-1

BY WILLIAM WEATHERS

Contributing writer

To capture the significance of Denham Springs’ basketball season, you have to go back to before the players on this current team were born.

The Yellow Jackets were a force on the Class 5A scene during the career of McDonald’s All-American Tasmin Mitchell, a program that was a regular in the state tournament.

Fast forward more than two decades and this year’s Denham Springs team has drawn similar reviews to that era. The Yellow Jackets put the finishing touches on their regular season Friday with a 75-54 victory over St. Amant to lock up the District 5-5A runner-up spot.

Denham Springs (27-3, 5-1 in 5-5A) won its last four games and is expected to hang onto its No. 3 power rating in the Division I nonselect bracket, thus earning a first-round bye in next week’s state playoffs.

“To be mentioned with Taz is special. He’s a great guy,” Denham Springs coach Kevin Caballero said of Mitchell, currently an LSU basketball assistant coach. “We’ve had a great year We ended season two and we’re fixing to start season three.”

Denham Springs shot 57% (31 of 55) for the game and guard Jermaine O’Conner led three players in double figures with 11 of his 19 points in the first half. De’Sean Golmond added 17 and J.K. O’Conner 15.

The Yellow Jackets, who led by 19 points (32-13) midway through the second quarter, turned a 43-29 halftime lead into a 59-38 advantage with 56 seconds to go in the third quarter on Golmond’s basket following a turnover St. Amant (17-12, 3-3), which will

“To be mentioned with Taz (Tasmin Mitchel) is special. He’s a great guy We’ve had a great year We ended season two and we’re fixing to start season three.”

KEVIN CABALLERO, Denham Springs coach

travel in the first round of the playoffs, enjoyed its best moments of game by putting together a 9-2 run that bridged the end of the third quarter with the beginning of the fourth.

The Gators, who shot 35.4% (17 of 48), made four of five shots in that stretch with Brock Lalande completing a three-point play with 44.1 seconds showing in the third quarter DJ Schomberg scored six of his team-high 15, including a pair of putbacks, to draw his team to within 63-51 with 4:17 remaining.

“I’m proud of our effort,” St. Amant coach Travis Uzee. “We kept playing hard, but we have to finish around the rim against a team like that. You have to slow down their transition and we didn’t do a great job of that.”

Denham Springs answered with a 12-1 spurt over the next 21/2 minutes with J.K. O’Conner and reserve Larry Guerin fueling the run with four points each. Jeremy Williams, who had nine points, closed the run with a layup in transition to make it 73-52 with 1:28 left. Denham Springs closed with an 11-0 run over the last 21/2 minutes of the first quarter to lead 23-10. Golmond was the catalyst in the final minute with a 3-pointer from the wing and drove through the lane, capped by JK O’Conner’s 15-footer with three seconds to play

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Catholic’s Mac Couhig dribbles the ball against Baton Rouge High in the second half on Jan. 25. Cohig leads the Bears with 33 goals this season.

Unbeaten LSU softball rolls to dozen wins

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

LSU right fielder McKenzie Redoutey caught some bad breaks as a hitter in the first weekend, but she has been making up for it since.

Redoutey knocked in five runs with three hits to help the No 6 Tigers take their first two games of the LSU Invitational, 10-1 over Penn State and 9-3 against Southern Mississippi on Friday at Tiger Park.

The Tigers (12-0) also got good pitching from Sydney Berzon, Emilee Casanova and Jayden Heavener Berzon threw a five-inning complete game in the opener, and Heavener made her first relief appearance to finish up for Casanova against Southern Miss, striking out five of the seven batters she faced.

Redoutey hit a two-run double in the first inning of the opener and clubbed her first homer in the first inning of the nightcap. She added a run-scoring double later against Southern Miss to raise her average to .393.

“I am seeing the ball really well,” Redoutey said. “My confidence is definitely coming from my teammates. The whole lineup is putting on a show Danieca (Coffey) leading off is staying locked in. When she gets hits, it gives me confidence that I can do the same thing

“Last year I struggled with runners on base. This fall and spring we worked on it. The home run felt awesome. I squared it up pretty well.”

One of three returning starters in the LSU lineup, Redoutey had two hits and one RBI in 12 at-bats the first weekend. She has gone 11-for-21 since with 10 RBIs. Maci Bergeron and Tori Edwards also had run-scoring singles for the Tigers.

Heavener entered the game when Southern Miss (4-8) scored a run on a base hit by Mikaila Fox to cut LSU’s lead to 5-3 in the fifth inning. Heavener struck out Claire Ginder, who represented the tying run, on a 3-2 count to end the inning. She retired all seven batters she ended up facing. “I felt confident. Our team going out had enough energy,” Heavener said. “Pitching in relief was no big deal. I was warming up in the bullpen every inning, trying to stay warm. It wasn’t anything shocking. I was ready to go out when she needed me.”

Casanova pitched well but was nicked for a pair of unearned runs in the fourth She struck out four, walked two and allowed eight hits.

LSU cruised through the first game with help from the Nittany Lions (4-8), who committed four errors to either allow runs to score or extend innings. Berzon allowed five hits, struck out five and walked one to improve to 5-0.

The Tigers staked Berzon to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Redoutey’s two-run double charged the rally, and Jadyn Laneaux capped it with a sacrifice fly. The first six Tigers reached base, and the first run scored on a throwing error by Penn State center fielder Natalie Lieto.

“There were a lot of good things,”

LSU coach Beth Torina said.

“Hopefully we’re still learning in a lot of ways, too. I wouldn’t say it was the best day we’ve played all year, but it was good enough to score 19 runs and do a lot of cool things.”

LSU collected seven hits and

Talent, maybe a surprise on tap for LHSAA indoor track meet

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

There is always the chance for surprises at the LHSAA Indoor Track & Field meet set for Saturday at LSU’s Carl Maddox Fieldhouse. Perhaps no one knows that better than Glen Oaks coach Johnny Duncan. A year ago, the Panthers stunned the Division II competition by edging Lake Charles College Prep to win the boys team title. From there Glen Oaks went on to win the Class 3A outdoor title.

“Excitement that’s what track & field is all about,” Duncan said.

“Some people have forgot about us. We’ve graduated some top people, but I am just as confident this year as I was last year.”

Field events begin at 10 a.m. with running events to follow at 2 p.m for the meet that features Division I (Class 5A-4A) and Division II (3A and below competitors.

Once again, the meet is set to be a mix of outstanding individual performances that help frame the competition to claim four team titles.

A year ago, Scotlandville swept Division I boys/girls titles for the

Continued from page 1C

Podium Challenge at the Raising Cane’s River Center First vault is at 6:30 p.m. LSU finishes its SEC schedule at home March 7 against Georgia and March 14 at Auburn. LSU coach Jay Clark was upset with the judging Friday, saying his Tigers should have scored a “197.6 or 197.7, minimum,” but not with his team’s effort.

“I told them their goals were to improve their road performance, not the score, and they did that,” Clark said. “And to win the meet and they did that. We accomplished what we needed to accomplish.”

LSU replaced senior Aleah Finnegan, an all-arounder in every previous meet this season, with Bryant on uneven bars. The fifth-year senior anchored the Tigers’ bars lineup, her first time competing in that event since injuring her elbow on vault in December during the Gymnastics 101 exhibition meet.

Bryant scored a 9.85, while Chio, Ashley Cowan and freshman Lexi Zeiss tied UK’s Delaynee Rodriguez for first with 9.875s. After one rotation, the Tigers led 49.325-49.175.

“When (Bryant) did intrasquad on Wednesday I knew we needed to get her out there” on bars, Clark said. “We don’t have a lot left, and we need to get her in rhythm.” Clark said Bryant felt good physically after the meet. Bryant didn’t claim any individual titles to

second year in a row. Catholic High (boys) and St. Joseph’s Academy (girls) were runners-up.

Lafayette High, St. Joseph’s, Zachary, Warren Easton and Scotlandville are among the teams in the girls mix. Catholic, Scotlandville, Ruston and Jesuit. Glen Oaks, LCCP and Parkview Baptist are again expected to lead the Division II boys field, while Parkview, Madison Prep and reigning champion St. Louis Catholic are the Division II girls teams to watch.

“I think we know that it’s all the usual suspects,” Catholic coach Sean Brady said. “It’s like any other championship meet all the boys have to show up and hit on or close to their best on this one day You can’t have any mishaps.

I see a scenario where it would come down to the last event the 4x400 (yard) relay.”

Scotlandville’s Allen Whitaker adds, “I think the boys race will be tight. I am very confident in what our boys can do. Our coaches have them ready.”

A watch list

Several local competitors are among the top competitors in the nation Tennessee signee Kiristen

Meet scores 1. #3 LSU 197.200 (Vault — 49.200, Bars — 49.325, Beam — 49.350, Floor — 49.325) 2. #9 Kentucky 197.075 (Vault — 49.175, Bars — 49.150, Beam — 49.325, Floor — 49.425) Individual (includes first place and all LSU competitors) All-around — 1. Kailin Chio, LSU, 39.575; 2. Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 39.500; 3. Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Kentucky, 39.425; 4. Delaynee Rodriguez, Kentucky, 39.300. Vault — T1. Kailin Chio, LSU, Isabella Magnelli, Kentucky 9.925; T3. Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 9.90; 5. Aleah Finnegan, LSU, 9.85; T7 Kaliya Lincoln, LSU, 9.80; T9. KJ Johnson, Amari Drayton LSU, 9.725. Bars T1. Lexi Zeiss, Ashley Cowan, Kailin Chio, LSU 9.875, Delaynee Rodriguez Kentucky, 9.875; T5. Konnor McClain, Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 9.85; 9. Alexis Jeffrey LSU, 9.825. Beam 1. Isabella Magnelli, Kentucky, 9.95; Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.925; T4. Aleah Finnegan LSU 9.90; T6. Sierra Ballard, Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 9.85; 8. Konnor McClain, LSU, 9.825; 10. Kylie Coen, LSU, 9.775. Floor — 1. Creslyn Brose, Kentucky, 9.95; 3. Haleigh Bryant, LSU, 9.90; T4. Kaliya Lincoln, Amari Drayton, LSU, 9.875; T7. Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.85; T9. Sierra Ballard, LSU 9.825; T11. Aleah Finnegan, LSU, 9.775. Attendance: 6,098

add to her career total of 97 wins, but she finished second to Chio in the all-around, 39.575-39.500. Chio’s total included a 9.925 on vault to share first place with UK’s Isabella Magnelli. Chio also had a 9.925 to finish second on beam behind Magnelli (9.95) and a 9.85 on floor UK’s Creslyn

Brose won floor with a 9.95. The LSU freshman from Henderson, Nevada, now has 14 individual titles this season: four all-around, four vault, three bars, two beam and one floor

“She might not be as explosive on floor as (LSU freshman) Kaliya Lincoln,” Clark said, “but her gymnastics is so clean. Her level of consistency is uncanny.”

LSU led from the opening rotation, posting a 49.325 on bars

Mcgirt of East Ascension set a fieldhouse record with a shot put throw of 49 feet, 71/4 inches last month.

South Carolina signee Tristen Harris of West Feliciana has multiple long jumps beyond 19 feet and also holds fieldhouse records and holds a composite outdoor record. Harris is a favorite in the 60 meters.

Another Division I competitor to watch is Scotlandville jumps specialist Ferzell Shepard, who leads the triple jump at 49-3 and ranks in top three in three in the long jump.

Parkview’s Aiden Monistere is entered in all three distance events the 800 meters, 1,600 and 3,200. Monistere has national rankings in other alternate distances like the 1,500 meters. The Parkview sister duo of Lucy and Molly Cramer have claimed multiple indoor wins against top Division I runners If the Eagles can unseat St. Louis, it would give Parkview girls soccer and track titles in a span of three days. Several girls compete on both teams.

Email Robin Fambrough at rfambrough@theadvocate.com

while UK got a 49.175 on vault. The Tigers then got a 49.200 on vault (they came into the meet ranked No. 1 in that event), having to count one of two 9.725s from KJ Johnson and Amari Drayton. Still, halfway through the meet LSU extended its lead slightly to 98.525-98.325.

Clark said Johnson reaggravated her sprained ankle on vault, which may hamper his plans to put her back in on floor against George Washington.

The Tigers moved over to floor for the third rotation, matching Kentucky’s beam score with a 49.325 that allowed LSU to maintain its two-10ths lead going to the final rotation. LSU kept Finnegan in the floor rotation, though the 2024 NCAA floor champion stepped out of bounds for the fourth straight meet and got a 9.775 with a onetenth deduction. Bryant got a 9.90 in the anchor spot LSU’s only score above 9.875 in the event, helping the Tigers maintain their twotenths lead (147.850-147.650) going to the final rotation.

While Kentucky finished with a strong 49.425 on floor, getting a winning 9.95 from Creslyn Brose, the Tigers did enough on beam to hold on for the win. Chio got a 9.925 in the second spot, covering a 9.775 from Kylie Coen to finish second behind Magnelli. Finnegan anchored with a 9.90 to clinch the meet for LSU, nailing her trademark triple backflip early in the performance.

“I’m proud of our team for the guts they showed at the end when it was so close,” Clark said.

seven walks against Penn State. Coffey was on base in all four of her plate appearances with two hits and two walks while knocking in a run. Avery Hodge had a run-scoring single, Jalia Lassiter a sacrifice fly and Edwards a basesloaded walk as LSU scored five times in the third inning. The other runs came in on an error and a wild pitch.

TIGERS

Continued from page 1C

After Benge escaped the sixth, freshman right-hander Mavrick Rizy threw a scoreless seventh. Omaha (1-4) made him work — he threw 20 pitches but Rizy’s sinking fastball got him a strikeout and two weak groundouts to the left side.

“He’s really difficult to deal with and hit,” Johnson said of Rizy “We’ll see about tomorrow, but we’ve got him out in a spot where we should be able to use him tomorrow, too.”

LSU (5-0) failed to stretch out its lead in the seventh, forcing freshman right-hander Casan Evans to hold onto the Tigers’ two-run lead in the eighth and ninth He struck out three batters without allowing a hit in the eighth before recording two more punch-outs in the ninth to earn his first career save. In four total innings, Evans has nine strikeouts and no hits allowed.

The LSU bullpen has not surrendered an earned run this season.

The relievers have given up one extra-base hit and two walks.

“The talent is easy to see. Anybody could walk in and look at the radar gun and look at the secondary pitches and go like, ‘Wow, like, this guy is special,’ “ Johnson said about LSU’s freshman pitchers.

“But I know them as people, have known them for a long time. And they’re ready, they’re ready for those spots.”

LSU built its 4-0 lead in short spurts. The Tigers scored a pair of runs in the second on a run-scoring single from sophomore Jake Brown and a groundball double play hit by Indiana State transfer Luis Hernandez that scored senior Michael Braswell.

Hernandez hit a double that scored Brown in the fourth. Sophomore Steven Milam then poked a sacrifice fly to shallow right field to drive in a run in the fifth.

“At the end of the day, it just goes back to the strike zone,” Brown said, “and it’s just getting a pitch that you can drive and taking what you can’t. We knew a guy like today is going to throw a lot of offspeed (pitches) whenever there’s runners on base to try to induce a double play

“So it’s just really pushing him up in the zone trying to get something you can hit hard. And if you can’t do it, just don’t swing.”

LSU’s struggles at the plate came to light in the final three innings stranding the bases loaded in the seventh and leaving a runner on third in the eighth.

The Tigers finished the day with seven hits, but six of them came from Hernandez, Brown and freshman Derek Curiel. Hitters one through seven in the lineup, besides Curiel, went a combined 1-for-15.

LSU was just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position as a team.

“There were just a couple of atbats where I think we got a little bit out of our plan,” Brown said, “where we were maybe chasing a little bit, weak contact.

“Turn the scoreboard off, like it’s not a 4-2 game. It’s you are at-bat.

Berzon allowed only one runner past second base. The Nittany Lions got their only run on consecutive doubles by Maddie Gordon and Haylie Brunson in the fourth inning. Berzon allowed a leadoff single in the fifth but struck out the next three batters to end the game via the mercy rule.

in

of a

Friday

WHO: Omaha (1-4) at LSU (5-0) WHEN: Noon and 5 p.m. Saturday WHERE: Alex Box Stadium ONLINE: SEC Network+ RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (New Orleans); KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette) RANKINGS: LSU is No. 3 by D1Baseball; Omaha is not ranked PROBABLE STARTERS: Game 1: LSU — RHPAnthony Eyanson (1-0,1.80 ERA); Omaha — RHP Ben Weber (0-1,12.00) Game 2: LSU — RHP Chase Shores (10,1.80); Omaha — CJ Hood (1-0,9.00) WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Eyanson and Shores each allowed just one run in five innings in their first starts. Eyanson allowed just one extra-base hit while Shores surrendered just one hit after the first inning Omaha’s starters combined to walk six batters in five innings last weekend against Tulane. Koki Riley

And when you can focus on that, that’ll make us a lot better.”

Johnson believes the offense started pressing and getting out of its plan once Omaha cut the LSU lead to two.

“They haven’t been pushed,” Johnson said of his batters. “They pushed each other pretty good, but fall scrimmages against each other when you do it over and over and over again has value, but it’s not the same as (tonight).

“I think we were really close to being really good today, and then it just kind of got away from us.”

LSU returns to Alex Box Stadium for a doubleheader against Omaha on Saturday First pitch for the first game is set for noon while the second game is on track to start at 5 p.m. Both games will be available to stream on SEC Network+.

Email Koki Riley at Koki.Riley@theadvocate.com.

ON DECK

PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS LSU’s Derek Curiel celebrates his stand-up double

the second inning

game against Omaha on

at Alex Box Stadium.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU designated player Maddox McKee rounds second base against Penn State in the second inning on Friday at Tiger Park.

“Every generation is different. But in a way, they’re all the same too.”

Terry Robinson

NANCy LOVEJOy, Baton Rouge real estate agent

Former LSU basketball player

finds calling

Poor grades helped save Don Green. Long before he found tremendous success as a basketball coach or answered his call to ministry, Green was an LSU basketball player and student struggling with his grades and spiritual growth.

The transformative moment in his life came one day in his apartment in 1980 when he received a letter from LSU.

FAITH MATTERS Green

“I opened up my grades, and I said, ‘This is ridiculous,’” Green recalled.

“I knew I needed some guidance. I needed some help — not only in my academic life but in my spiritual life. All that was emanating from the fact that I was spiritually dead.” Green, 65, said he realized an immediate change was in order.

“I’m not talking about just circumstance, but my entire life,” said Green, the basketball coach at Istrouma High School and the pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. “I needed someone to come and help me because I didn’t realize I was struggling but I was.”

The Monroe native saw himself as a “good devil” who was baptized in a Christian home but still lost. He and his siblings were engaged in church activities, but Green says he just went because he had to.

At LSU, Green had met some Christian friends and was experiencing growth in his faith. However, the day he received those disappointing grades challenged Green to see himself for who he was. His life changed without leaving his apartment.

“That night I walked in my closet, fell to my knees and just asked the Lord to come into my heart and be my personal savior,” he said. “That’s what he did and I’ve been trying to live that way every since.”

The heart change eventually manifested in Green’s academic, professional and spiritual life.

In the classroom, he graduated from LSU with a degree in criminal justice/law enforcement administration. He furthered his education by earning a master’s degree in administrative supervision from Southern University followed by a doctorate in educational leadership from Southeastern Louisiana.

As a basketball coach, Green has amassed six state championships and 25 playoff appearances, most at Parkview Baptist School. Green has been a district Coach of the Year five times and state Coach of the Year four times. Green joined Istrouma in 2023 after coaching at Baton Rouge Community College.

Green has long had hoops dreams, but it was never his dream to be a pastor

“Although I’ve never been a pastor, I’ve always considered my players my church. I’ve been able to guide them and help them and them helping me,” he said.

For seven years, Green has found it rewarding to focus on teaching Sunday school at Mount Zion First Baptist Church. That is until his pastor, the Rev René Brown, asked Green to assist Mount

WHAT MAKES A HOME?

Explore the generational differences in interior design

BY MARGARET DELANEY Staff writer

Interior design is ripe for nostalgia. Most people can recall how a familiar setting once looked — such as the exact layout of grandma’s living room or the arrangement of posters in a childhood bedroom and doing so makes people feel connected to what once was In fact, this collective penchant for the past can also hold on to aesthetics that weren’t experienced firsthand, like the pattern play of the Victorian era or the bright and vibrant colors of the 1970s.

Everything old can indeed be new again, particularly within the confines of a home.

As tastes evolve, it’s no wonder that certain design choices eventually label a time and place.

Nancy Lovejoy, a Realtor in Baton Rouge, and her daughter, Emily an artist and professional photographer in New Orleans, have similar styles, but different interpretations of those styles have changed over time.

Nancy Lovejoy just got a new couch herself, and is starting to realize that now, all of the other furniture in her space needs to be replaced to match.

Antiques and pops of character make for a unique space and add a personal touch to the home, a trend being adopted by many in the younger generations.

The beginnings

“Eventually it will come together,” she said. “The needs just start to grow.”

Carole Sexton’s ‘Washington and the Marquis on Horseback’ is featured in Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s exhibit ‘The Biggest Celebrity of His Time,’ commemorating the Marquis de Lafayette.

The baby boomers encapsulate those born between 1946 to 1964, an era that shifted the concepts of mass production away from World War II toward civilian life. Department stores with flashy

showrooms made these furniture sets desirable, but that’s not the only thing this generation may be known for.

“My parents still even have their original bedroom set that they purchased the year they got married, in 1980,” she said.

BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer

Groupies are groupies, no matter the era. And the Marquis de Lafayette had his share of giddy fans when he embarked on his own Taylor Swift-style “Eras” tour of the United States between 1824 and 1825.

More accurately, he called it his Farewell Tour marking his final visit to the U.S. When com-

paring followings in the 19th and 21st centuries, Swift has nothing on Lafayette when it comes to popularity Fans flocked from everywhere People flocked from everywhere to see the French war hero as he traipsed through

PROVIDED PHOTO

Despite the generational love of open concepts and millennial neutral pallets, traditional home styles of separate kitchens and living spaces with unique characteristics are coming back to the interior design space.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Cleaning a dirty pan with stuck-on food

Dear Heloise: I occasionally have scorched food stuck in the bottom of a pan. Instead of trying to scrub away this brown stuck-on food, I put a little water mixed with dishwasher detergent in the pan. I then simmer this mix on a cooktop for a short time. It usually takes little effort to remove and is good as new — Polly Hardin, Russellville,Arkansas Online ads

known

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: When I see pop-up ads on Facebook for an item of interest, I look for it on Amazon or another trustworthy retailer Often the item is less expensive and includes free shipping It’s much safer to do business with a safe, secure seller than an un-

Anointing of the Sick at St. Joseph

Connecticut

Protect your purse Dear Heloise: I don’t think I’ve seen this tip before: I’ve started folding up a plastic grocery bag as small as I possibly can, and I put it in my purse before sporting events. Then when I get to my seat, I

Send

RELIGION BRIEFS FROM STAFF REPORTS

St. Joseph Cathedral, 401 Main St., will offer the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick on Sunday following the 10:30 a.m. Mass. This sacrament provides strength and grace to those who are ill, facing surgery or in need of divine assistance.

The service will also include a blessing with the holy relics of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, a priest known for his ministry to the sick. For more information, contact (225) 387-5928 or office@cathedralbr.org.

60th anniversary of the Selma March

Wesley United Methodist Church, 544 Government St., Baton Rouge, will observe the 60th anniversary commemoration of the Selma to Montgomery March at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 9. All are welcome to be part of this historic observance.

‘Tend Your Soul’ Lenten Morning of Reflection

St. Joseph Catholic Church, 2250 Cecilia Senior High School Highway Breaux Bridge, will hold a Lenten Morning of Reflection from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 8. The public is invited to reflect on what should grow and what should

be pruned from our lives to draw closer to Jesus this Lenten season. The morning will include music, prayer and community sharing. Breakfast, refreshments and materials will be provided. The cost is $30 per person. All are welcome.

GriefShare Spring Session at First Baptist

First Baptist Church, 529 Convention St., will host a 13-week GriefShare program beginning Wednesday, March 12, offering hope and healing for those grieving the loss of a loved one. Meetings will be held from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesdays. Free parking is available at the church lot on Sixth and Convention streets. The only cost is $20 for the workbook; and an optional lunch will be available after meetings. For more information, call (225) 343-0397 or John Westbrook at (225) 768-8863, or visit griefshare.org.

Freeman Baptist hosts Old Fashion Day & Potluck

Freeman Baptist Church, 4628 La 955 West, Ethel, invites the community to Old Fashion Day & Potluck at 8:30 a.m Sunday Guest pastor will be the Rev Jermanique Mitchell of Nazareth Baptist Church. Visitors are encouraged to wear old school clothes and share in old school food.

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, Feb. 22, the 53rd day of 2025. There are 312 days left in the year Today in history

On Feb. 22, 1980, the “Miracle on Ice” took place at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, as the United States Olympic hockey team upset the Soviet Union, 4-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal two days later with a 4-2 victory over Finland.)

On this date: In 1732, the first president of the United States, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County in the Virginia Colony

In 1959, the inaugural Daytona 500 race was held; although Johnny Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, the victory was later awarded to Lee Petty. In 1967, more than 25,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction

City, aimed at smashing a Vietcong stronghold near the Cambodian border

In 1997, scientists in Scotland announced they had successfully cloned an adult mammal for the first time, a sheep they named “Dolly.”

In 2021, the number of U.S. deaths from COVID-19 topped 500,000, according to Johns Hopkins University Today’s birthdays: Actor Paul Dooley is 97. Actor James Hong is 96. Actor Julie Walters is 75. Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving is 75. Golf Hall of Famer Amy Alcott is 69. Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 66. Golf Hall of Famer Vijay Singh is 62. Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine is 60. Actor-comedian Rachel Dratch is 59. Actor Paul Lieberstein (TV: “The Office) is 58. Actor Jeri Ryan is 57. Actor Thomas Jane is 56. Actor-singer Lea Salonga is 54. Tennis Hall of Famer Michael Chang is 53.

LAFAYETTE

Continued from page 1D

painting, “Waiting for a Glimpse.”

The piece is one of 34 works by members of the Associated Women in the Arts celebrating the bicentennial of Lafayette’s Louisiana tour stop in Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s exhibit, “The Biggest Celebrity of His Time: General Lafayette and the 200th Anniversary of His Voyage to Louisiana.”

The show runs through March 15, which would have been exactly a month before the marquis’ Baton Rouge visit on April 15.

This historic date alone gave the Old Capitol’s curator, Lauren Davis, an idea. She knew New Orleans’ Cabildo would be opening its own exhibit, “Bienvenne a General Lafayette,” in April.

A different kind of exhibit

“I knew their exhibit would have a lot of artifacts, so I started thinking about something different for our exhibit,” Davis said. “I thought about the Associated Women in the Arts. They’ve exhibited here through the years, so I started talking to them about a themed exhibit.”

Two years ago, the idea for the exhibit started as Louisianans interpreting Lafayette’s life, Farewell Tour and legacy through their artwork.

“They were free to choose what they wanted to paint about Lafayette,” Davis said.

So, McCollister painted groupies. That’s not what she calls the two women standing on the Mississippi River bank in her painting, but they are Lafayette fans.

“There was great excitement and anticipation as the news spread that General Lafayette would be traveling up the Mississippi River from New Orleans,” McCollister writes in her exhibition label “Somewhere along the way these women sneaked out of the house, unescorted, to see if they could catch a glimpse of the General.”

McCollister isn’t saying that this random moment in history actually happened, but considering Lafayette’s huge celebrity status, she can’t help speculating. The marquis not only was a war hero, he also was good-looking.

This unique storytelling makes Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s Lafayette tribute different from others.

About the marquis

Lafayette’s full name was MarieJoseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette. He was a war hero in

‘THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY OF HIS TIME’

Through March 15 at Louisiana’s Old State Capitol, 100 North Blvd. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m Saturday.Admission is free. Visit louisianaoldstatecapitol.org

two countries, first as a volunteer for Gen George Washington’s Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, where he commanded troops as a general in the 1781 siege of Yorktown — the war’s final major battle that secured American independence.

After that, he returned to his homeland, where he became a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789, then the July Revolution of 1830.

In between the two French wars, the general was given rock star status in America, not only as a war hero but as the last living commander from the American Revolution Auguste Lessaveur, Lafayette’s personal secretary, a writer and French diplomat, documented when Lafayette made an impromptu visit in Baton Rouge in her book Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825: Journal of a Voyage to the United States.”

The author pinpoints one location that specifically hosted Lafayette — the garrison at the Britishturned-Spanish fort on what is now the Louisiana State Capitol grounds — where the marquis was greeted by “a numerous assemblage of elegantly dressed and beautiful ladies, who surrounded the general and offered him refreshments and flowers.”

Along with the general’s fans, the artists in the current exhibit depict the sidewinder paddle wheel boat, the Natchez, which transported the general along the Mississippi River. Artist Frances Durham’s painting expounds on Lafayette’s trip in her painting, “Lafayette’s View at Dawn.”

“Lafayette’s party had a rough night in the Gulf of Mexico due to storms as they approached Louisiana,” Durham writes of her scene depicting the Mississippi River, banks filled with trees. “But at the break of dawn, they saw the mouth of the Mississippi River.”

Fans at Magnolia Mound

The depiction is followed by Donna Kilbourne’s painting, “Approaching Magnolia Mound,” re-creating the general’s arrival in the Baton Rouge. Though the Natchez did not dock at Magnolia Mound, Kilbourne imagines the plantation’s family cheering him

Tonni McCollister’s ‘Waiting for a Glimpse’ is featured in Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s exhibit commemorating the Marquis de Lafayette.

on along the way “At the time of Lafayette’s visit to Louisiana, Magnolia Mound in Baton Rouge was the residents of Armand Duplantier and his family,” Kilbourne writes. “Monsieur Duplantier accompanied Marquis de Lafayette to America and served as his aide-de-camp during the revolution.

“Duplantier acted as one of Lafayette’s agents in Louisiana to secure land that was gifted to him. He was also a member of Lafayette’s welcoming party and a passenger on tour riverboat, the Natchez. As the party moved up the Mississippi and passed Magnolia Mound, the family may have gathered to greet them.” Tessier house legend

Artists haven’t slighted Baton Rouge’s Tessier house, which, according to some accounts, Lafayette not only visited but delivered a speech from its balcony The Baton Rouge Bicentennial Commission detailed such a story in a 1976 booklet written by Evelyn Thom.

The house is located at 342 Lafayette St., catercorner to the Hilton Baton Rouge Baton Rouge Capitol Center

Artists also tackled such other subjects as Lafayette’s association with Marie Antoinette, his close friendship with George Washington and the American Foxhound breed that resulted from his gift of French hounds to Washington. An unsung hero

Finally, there’s Becky Olivera’s painting, “Adrienne Noailles de LaFayette.”

“Becky’s painting is really one of the most fascinating, because she looks at Lafayette’s wife, who is really an unsung hero,” said Monica Wood, president of the Associated Women in the Arts. “With this, I think we tell a well-rounded story in this show.”

STAFF PHOTOS By ROBIN MILLER

Donna Kilbourne’s ‘Approaching Magnolia Mound’ is featured in Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s exhibit ‘The Biggest Celebrity of His Time,’ commemorating the Marquis de Lafayette.

Dear Miss Manners: I am the president of a social club that organizes activities for the LGBTQ community and allies. Our club is part of a regional association of similar social clubs that are not geared toward the LGBTQ community Several times a year, the regional association has a social event for all of the regional clubs. Generally members of our club are warmly welcomed and enjoy participating in these events At the last regional event, a prominent member of a different club informed me that, although he “loved” the individual members of our club, he would not be attending any of our club functions because the Bible condemns

MATTERS

Continued from page 1D

Pleasant, which was without a pastor

“He asked me, ‘What do your next three weeks look like?’” recalled Green, who continues to serve as an associate minister and Sunday school teacher at Mount Zion.

Green led Mount Pleasant for three weeks. That extended into a nine-month stint as interim pastor as the church continued its search. Green was encour-

INTERIOR

Continued from page 1D

These sets were usually made of a dark-stained wood that had heavy hardware and flourished millwork, which were sturdy enough to last through their kids’ childhoods.

“It was a time of knickknacks and Thomas Kinkade paintings,” she added. Department stores with flashy showrooms made these furniture sets desirable, but that’s not the only thing this generation may be known for Welcoming spaces

As baby boomers were listening to the Beatles, Generation X those born between 1965 and 1980 — were jamming to new rock and grunge. Although their music was born from rebellion, most in this generation chose their at-home style to center around family. Nancy Lovejoy noted that Generation X pulled from a range of styles in their homes, but those in Baton Rouge generally looked for the same things: open concepts and Master bedrooms on the first floor

The introduction of large windows, open concepts and spaces that felt more invit-

homosexuality as a sin, and his attendance would be tantamount to condoning sinful behavior I’m not sure why he felt compelled to share that view with me. I certainly didn’t solicit it. At the end of the conversation, he asked if he could give me a hug goodbye to show that there were no hard feelings. Flabbergasted, and not wanting to cause a scene, I did hug him.

The next day, I received an email from him stating that he hoped he hadn’t offended me and he looked forward to seeing me at the next regional event. That event is scheduled for a few weeks from now I have no interest in engaging with this person. Do you have advice on how to

aged to consider the position full time, but he expressed fulfillment in coaching and various other activities.

“I was very content with helping them, very content with giving them that guidance or insight that they may need during the search. It was never my intent to become a pastor not just there but a pastor anywhere,” he said. “I kind of struggled back and forth on becoming the pastor, but the Lord opened my eyes. He found revelation in one of his guiding scriptures from Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of

ing for friends and families.

Turning gray on ‘gray Color is (still) officially “out” for millennials, according to recent data from Google Trends, which revealed that searches for the phrases “millennial gray” and “millennial grey” spiked +5,000% in May and that “millennial grey house” is a top trending related search in the United States.

Despite the promotion of colorful, eye-catching aesthetics like dopamine decor and maximalism on social media, the reality is that people are still clinging to their beloved neutral In fact, Sherwin-Williams confirmed that, in 2023, Agreeable Gray SW 7029 was their second best-selling interior shade, and three other gray hues took up spots in the top 20, making for a fairly significant chunk of the most popular colors.

However, the Lovejoys disagree with the overarching trends for millennials.

According to the Realtor, “millennial gray” was mostly a contractor’s decision that made building, designing and selling houses easier She said it wasn’t intended to be an aesthetic.

Emily Lovejoy, who is an artist by trade, rejects the “less is more” or monochromatic lifestyle adopted by

courteously avoid having to interact with him, especially if he approaches me for a conversation?

Gentle reader: Since this man has already forgiven himself for the unpleasant interaction and any offense it caused, Miss Manners sees no need for you to indulge his prejudices for even a minute longer

She suggests that you develop a keen interest in every other person at the event — or even the refreshments, if necessary whenever you see him approach. But be prepared to step back from any approaching hugs.

Dear Miss Manners: My landlady is a kind and thoughtful woman. She goes out of her way to ensure the comfort and livelihood of my roommate and me, even going so far as to bring us a big plate of turkey every year on Thanksgiv-

God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

“The Lord showed me there was something out there he wanted me to do. So I really had no choice in the matter once he made it clear to me,” said Green, who years ago did biblical training and teaching at Bethany Bible College.

He also got the blessing of his wife.

The church at 1743 Convention St. elected Green, and he was installed in August.

“It’s been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” Green said. “The ability

many millennial homeowners.

Rather, she likes unique and singular pieces in the home, with contrasting colors and statement pieces like cowboy-boot-shaped pillows.

Think vintage and curated pieces.

Although Emily Lovejoy still has a coffee table in her home that Nancy Lovejoy bought 25 years ago, she has added her own flair for design with the addition of intricate Ikea chairs from the 1990s.

Emily Lovejoy also made a bold, rather new-generational, decision to not have any TVs in her home.

“She just consumes media

ing and Christmas. However, while I am always — always — effusively grateful and do my best to show her the same considerations, I have never sent a thank-you note. I was simply never taught, and am saddened to think I missed out on so many wonderful opportunities to do so. I want to start writing thankyou notes as a practice. Is there any decorous way to acknowledge my failure to do so over the past few years and to express my regret? Or would that simply be self-indulgence, detracting from my message of gratitude?

Gentle reader: It is not too late to begin the habit — nor is your current situation as bad as you may think. Having thanked your generous landlady in person and reciprocated where possible, writing a

that led to another.”

to lead people in a manner that’s eternal is an opportunity you don’t get very often. To have that with this particular congregation is a highlight to everything I’ve ever done my life so far.”

Green expressed that Mount Pleasant has shown strong support as has his pastor, Brown, who also serves as the president of the Fourth District Missionary Baptist Association.

Of Brown, Green said, “He was very, very supportive then and even so much more supportive now God led him to send me over me over there and one thing

and the news differently than my generation,” Nany Lovejoy “Sitting at the TV and catching up on the day is part of my routine.”

Emily Lovejoy notes that this generation ushered in experimentation.

“Millennials are harder to categorize,” she said. “But if I had to, I would say ‘casual elegance’ as represented by a ‘coastal California’ look, which was very popular for a long time.”

Because of the rise of the internet, the millennial style is harder to pin down. Many ideas for aesthetics and styles (midcentury modern, maximalist, minimalist, shabby chic and much more)

letter is not strictly necessary

But far be it from Miss Manners to deter you from self-improvement, nor from what is apparently much-needed letter-writing practice. Berating oneself or laying out excuses is not, as you say, a gracious way to start a letter of thanks. Rather, you should address the accumulated kindness your landlady has shown. For your efforts, next year you may find yourself rewarded with some mashed potatoes to go with those plates of turkey

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@ gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Green recognizes valuable similarities between guiding a basketball team and nurturing a congregation.

“There’s so many ways to affect people’s lives and how I can be affected by them,” Green said. “These kids have made me a better coach, a better father, a better man. It’s a beautiful relationship. The ones you can affect positively, they will remember you until the day they die. My hope and my prayer is that they would take what they’ve learned in basketball and apply it to their everyday lives.”

are accessible on Pinterest, Instagram and other platforms. People often share design tips, techniques and inspiration.

Generation Z rejects norms Closed kitchen spaces?

Expressive color? No top sheets?

Known for their laidback attitude toward social norms and effortlessness on the internet, those born between 1997 and the early 2010s define the Gen Z population.

And while their tastes are still coming into focus, Emily Lovejoy says that if they do have a style, it’s making sure that it doesn’t look quite like what came before.

Green takes a comparable approach to his pastoral experience.

“It’s in the same vein almost as far as coaching,” he said. “It’s in a different manner that you apply it, but the principles are still the same. You love your players. You love your congregation. Be very transparent before them and or be real. But at the same time, provide a level of expertise they may not have been aware of used to.”

Contact Terry Robinson at terryrobinson622@gmail. com.

It’s only natural that millions of people who make up a generation would create more than one recurring theme in their sense of style, which can be remembered or forgotten over time.

“Every generation is different,” Nancy Lovejoy said. “But in a way, they’re all the same too.”

That’s the thing about design: It’s always changing and likely rooted in something else.

“Everyone is different,” Nancy Lovejoy said. “Emily thinks our styles are totally different, but there are plenty of younger people with my style and lots of older people with eclectic style.”

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Channel emotional energy into your daily routine. Engage in physical activity that lets you blow off steam and directs positive vibes into your life. Decline any offer that doesn't suit your budget.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Use your energy wisely. An active and well-planned agenda will help you avoid frustration. Lookforopportunitiestospendtimewith someone you want to know better.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Timing is everything. Refrain from letting anyone dictate how or where you utilize your energy. Trying to cram too much into one day will lead to uncertainty

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) You are best to document what transpires. Someone will try to rewrite history if you offer an assessment that needs to be more precise. Offering something efficient and within budget will help you gain acceptance.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Focus on what's essential and learn to say no to those taking advantage of your kindness and generosity. It's OK to help others, but help yourself first. Say no to drama and yes to using your energy to thrive

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Generosity is honorable, but before offering your time, money or expertise, consider if someone's exploiting you. How you communicate your expectations will make a difference.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Emotions will be scattered, causing problems with relationships and domestic matters. Push

dramaasideanddealwiththerealissues. Set boundaries and say no to tempting nuances. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct 23) Apply pressure when necessary, but do so in a manner that appeals to the people you want to be involvedinyourplans.Takingshorttrips and getting together with old friends will help turn any negatives you face into positives.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Don't drag your feet when you can accomplish so much Get out, network, socialize and charm your way into the hearts of those you want to be around. You will discover plenty through conversation

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Stop, look, listen and evaluate situations before you agree to something ambiguous. Refuse to let your emotions step in and lead you astray

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Live up to your promises and have no regrets. Following a path that encourages prudence and worthwhile achievements will make you feel good about life, what you contribute and your prospects.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Be the one to lead the way Set a good example and be clear about your expectations. Use your skills, knowledge and insight to your benefit and to convince others to stand by you.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

ToDAy's cLuE: G EQuALs P

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe peAnUtS

FrAnK And erneSt SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

Puzzle Answer

By PHILLIP ALDER

Carl Jung said, “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”

At the bridge table, though, the opposite applies. If you worry only about your 13 cards, your partner will be dreaming of getting a new “third opponent.”

This deal requires vision. How should South play in six hearts after West leads the diamond jack?

North’sJacobytwo-no-trumpresponse showed four-plus hearts and game-forcing values.

South starts with 11 top tricks: two spades, six hearts, two diamonds and one club. Probably his immediate reaction is to hope that the club finesse is working. Then he might think about eliminating diamonds and spades before trying to duck a club to West for an endplay.

However, declarer can do better. He should win the first trick with his diamond king, draw two rounds of trumps, play three rounds of spades (ruffing the last in his hand), return to dummy with a diamond, and call for the last spade.

Here, when East discards, South throws a club. West takes the trick but is endplayed. If he leads a club, it is into declarer’sace-queen.Orifhedoessomething else, South ruffs in the dummy and sluffs his club queen. If though, East follows to the fourth spade, declarer ruffs, crosses to dummy with a trump, and ducks a club, hoping West will win the trick. But if East takes it and leads another club, South is

thought “But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.