Kayla Pellerin and her son, Kaydon, became big fans of the Iberia Parish Library after she had to withdraw him from school because of a rare gastrointestinal disease that he was diagnosed with two years ago.
of New Isle, roughly 40 miles farther inland “The first of next year, I have no idea what I’m going to do.”
Tamplet’s relocation from Isle de Jean Charles in lower Terrebonne Parish was part of a first-of-its-kind government effort to help dozens of families move to higher ground from Louisiana’s disappearing coastline Many of those families are members of the state-recognized Jean Charles Choctaw Nation
The state hoped it would serve as a model for future relocation efforts expected to become increasingly nec-
By 2026, when most New Isle residents will begin paying their own homeowners’ insurance, the state Office of Community Development estimates that the average policy there will be $4,078. Wallace ‘Johnny’ Tamplet’s is estimated to be around $4,500.
essary as storms intensify and sea levels rise. But residents are finding that their new homes come with costs they re not sure they can af-
ford, raising serious questions over the program’s long-term viability State officials who have overseen the voluntary pro-
After contracting pneumo nia in late 2023, which led to cascading health issues, he couldn’t afford his tax bill. His home was offered in a tax sale, and a Nebraskabased company bought a lien on the property last June.
If he can’t pay off the debt within three years, including fees and interest, he could lose his house. He owes around $4,000 in back taxes.
“If I can’t sell my truck, and I can’t bring my taxes up to date, at least for this year, the possibility is that next
Pope Francis in critical condition with early kidney failure
BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
ROME Pope Francis remains in critical condition and blood tests showed early kidney failure but he remains alert, responsive and attended Mass, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia and a complex lung infection.
In a late update, the Vatican said Francis hadn’t had any more respiratory crises since Saturday night but was still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen.
Some blood tests showed “initial, mild, kidney failure,” but doctors said it was under control.
“The complexity of the clinical picture, and the necessary wait for drug therapies to provide some feedback, dictate that the prognosis remains guarded,” Francis’ doctors concluded.
Prayers for Francis, meanwhile, poured in from around the world, from his native Argentina to the seat of Sunni Islam in Cairo to schoolchildren in Rome.
ä See POPE, page 4A
Pope Francis remains in critical condition and blood tests showed early kidney failure but he remains alert, responsive and attended Mass, the Vatican said, as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia and a complex lung infection.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
He did not enjoy reading But then an employee at the library helped him create his own book.
From then on, Kaydon slowly became an avid reader, Pellerin said. The employee took the information from the book he created and helped him
find similar books.
“He was going back for more, doing all the books,” Pellerin said. “Now he loves to read.”
Pellerin worries that the library her son has grown to love will one day close its doors. A tax renewal to keep Iberia Parish’s library system operational failed in April. It will go before voters again March 29.
The 4.5-mill library tax, which would generate $2.65 million yearly, failed in April with 53% voting against it.
Voters’ main complaint seemed to be the $6.3 million budget surplus the library had in 2024, said New Iberia
ä See LIBRARY, page 5A
BY ALYSE PFEIL | Staff writer
After Gov Jeff Landry earlier this month attempted to remove civil service protections for hundreds of engineers and attorneys across state government, a broader effort to give Louisiana elected officials greater control over more than 35,000 workers in the civil service system could be underway
Some argue a system that was originally designed to reward competency and merit over political connections is falling woefully short, instead keeping employees in their jobs regardless of their performance.
“We do not have a meritocracy, which is critical for providing a high level of service in an efficient and effective way,” said Sen. Jay Morris, RWest Monroe. “Civil servants work for the people of the state, and the people deserve a more efficient government.” Morris said he will likely bring back legislation that is
Congo’s leader wants to make unity government
KINSHASA, Congo Congo’s president says he is going to launch a unity government as violence spreads across the country’s east and pressure mounts over his handling of the crisis.
In some of his first statements since Rwandan-backed rebels captured major cities in eastern Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi told a meeting of the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition on Saturday not to be distracted by internal quarrels.
“I lost the battle and not the war I must reach out to everyone including the opposition. There will be a government of national unity,” said Tshisekedi. He didn’t give more details on what that would entail or when it would happen.
M23 rebels — the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control and influence in eastern Congo — have swept through the region seizing key cities, killing some 3,000 people. In a lightning three-week offensive, the M23 took control of eastern Congo’s main city Goma and seized the second largest city, Bukavu.
The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, over 1,000 miles away Rwanda has accused Congo of enlisting ethnic Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Sudan’s military breaks yearlong siege of city
CAIRO Sudan’s military on Sunday broke a more than yearlong siege on the crucial city of Obeid, restoring access to a strategic area in the south-central region and strengthening crucial supply routes in its nearly two years of war against a notorious paramilitary group, officials said.
The military also kicked the Rapid Support Forces from its last stronghold in the White Nile province in another setback to the notorious group, military spokesman Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah said in a statement. Sudan was plunged into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare across the country
The fighting, which wrecked the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western region of Darfur according to the United Nations and international rights groups.
Abdullah, the spokesperson, said military troops in the alSayyad axis managed to reopen the road to the city of Obeid and break the RSF siege on the city which serves as the provincial capital of North Kordofan province The city hosts a sprawling air base and the military’s 5th Infantry Division known as Haganah.
Japan’s emperor marks his 65th birthday
TOKYO Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, marking his 65th birthday Sunday, stressed the importance of telling the tragedy of World War II to younger generations, pledging to contribute to efforts to promote the understanding of history and the determination for peace as the world this year observes the 80th anniversary of the war’s end.
“As the memory of the war fades today, it is important that the tragic experiences and history are passed on to the generations who do not know the war,” Naruhito told a news conference in a prerecorded comments released Sunday
Those who went through the ordeals during and after the war grew have grown older and it is difficult for younger generations to hear their firsthand stories, Naruhito said.
Naruhito, accompanied by his wife, Empress Masako their daughter Princess Aiko and some of his younger brother’s family, waved from the palace balcony at the cheering well-wishers. Later Sunday he was to celebrate his birthday at a palace banquet.
Conservative opposition wins German election
Far-right party comes in 2nd with strongest post-WWII result
BY GEIR MOULSON Associated Press
BERLIN Germany’s conservative opposition leader Friedrich
Merz won a lackluster victory in a national election Sunday, while Alternative for Germany nearly doubled its support, the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II, projections showed.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded defeat for his center-left Social Democrats after what he called “a bitter election result.” Projections for ARD and ZDF public television showed his party finishing in third place with its worst postwar result in a national parliamentary election
Merz vowed to move quickly to put together a coalition government. But that’s likely to be a complicated task
The election took place seven months earlier than originally planned after Scholz’s unpopular coalition collapsed in November, three years into a term that was increasingly marred by infighting. There was widespread discontent and not much enthusiasm for any of the candidates.
The campaign was dominated by worries about the yearslong stagnation of Europe’s biggest economy and pressure to curb migration — something that caused friction after Merz pushed hard in recent weeks for a tougher
approach. It took place against a background of growing uncertainty over the future of Ukraine and Europe’s alliance with the United States.
Germany is the most populous country in the 27-nation European Union and a leading member of NATO. It has been Ukraine’s second-biggest weapons supplier, after the U.S. It will be central to shaping the continent’s response to the challenges of the coming years, including the Trump administration’s confrontational foreign and trade policy
The projections, based on exit polls and partial counting, put support for Merz’s Union bloc around 28.5% and the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany or AfD, about 20.5% — roughly double its
result from 2021.
They put support for Scholz’s Social Democrats at just over 16%, far lower than in the last election and below their previous all-time low of 20.5% from 2017. The environmentalist Greens, their remaining partners in the outgoing government, were on a little over 12%.
Out of three smaller parties, one — the hard-left Left Party strengthened its position, winning up to 9% of the vote after a remarkable comeback. Two other parties, the pro-business Free Democrats — who were the third party in the collapsed government — and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, hovered around the threshold of the 5% support needed to win seats.
Israel sends tanks into West Bank
Officials: Fleeing Palestinians can’t return
BY MAJDI MOHAMMED and TIA GOLDENBERG
Associated Press
JENIN, West Bank Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a “dangerous escalation,” after the defense minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot return.
Associated Press journalists saw several tanks move along unpaved tracks into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.
Israel is deepening its crackdown on the Palestinian territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks It launched the offensive in the northern West Bank on Jan. 21 — two days after the current ceasefire in Gaza took hold
— and has expanded it to nearby areas.
Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule. The deadly raids have caused destruction in urban areas.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism” in all refugee camps in the West Bank.
“We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he said.
Earlier, Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare for “an extended stay” in some of the West Bank’s urban refugee camps, from which he said about 40,000 Palestinians have fled, leaving them “emptied of residents.”
That figure was confirmed by the United Nations.
The camps are home to descendants of Palestinians who fled during wars with Israel decades ago. It was not clear how long
Palestinians would be prevented from returning.
Katz said Israeli troops would stay “for the coming year.” Netanyahu said they would stay “as long as needed.”
Tanks were last deployed in the West Bank in 2002, when Israel fought a deadly Palestinian uprising.
The Palestinian foreign ministry called the Israeli moves “a dangerous escalation of the situation in the West Bank,” and urged the international community in a statement to intervene in what it termed Israel’s illegal “aggression.”
Zelenskyy says progress made on reaching U.S. rare minerals deal
BY JUSTIN SPIKE and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine A contentious Trump administration proposal to give the U.S. $500 billion worth of profits from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv has been taken off the table, President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy said Sunday, indicating a more equitable deal is in the works.
Zelenskyy had earlier declined a U.S. draft agreement on exploitation of his country’s valuable minerals such as lithium used in the aerospace, defense and nuclear industries because it did
not contain security guarantees and came with the $500 billion price tag.
“The question of $500 billion is no longer there,” Zelenskyy told a news conference at a forum of government officials in Kyiv marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader said considering aid as a debt to be repaid would be a “Pandora’s box” that would set a precedent requiring Kyiv to reimburse all its backers
“We do not recognize the debt,” Zelenskyy said. “It will not be in the final format of the agreement.”
No further details were given on the state of negotiations. Ukraine has
insisted on security guarantees that it needs to deter any potential Russian aggression in the future.
Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he expects a deal this week allowing the U.S. to play a greater role in exploiting Ukraine’s mineral resources.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration’s minerals plan was to create a U.S.-Ukraine partnership, calling it a “win-win.”
“We make money if the Ukrainian people make money,” Bessent told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures program.”
Trump firing 2K USAID workers
Thousands of others being put on leave
BY ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Trump administration said Sunday that it is eliminating 2,000 positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development and placing all but a fraction of other staffers worldwide on leave. It comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas that came in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government’s plan.
“As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally,” according to the notices sent to USAID workers and viewed by The Associated Press.
At the same time, the agency said it is cutting the U.S.-based workforce by about 2,000 employees. The move escalates a monthlong administration assault on the agency that has closed its headquarters in Washington and shut down thousands of U.S. aid and development programs worldwide following an effort to freeze foreign assistance. President Donald Trump and his chief cost-cutter, Elon Musk, contend the aid and development work is wasteful and furthers a liberal agenda.
Citing a big concern for workers stationed overseas who have reported being cut off from government communications, the notices say that “USAID is committed to keeping its overseas personnel safe. Until they return home, personnel will retain access to Agency systems and to diplomatic and other resources.”
The administration said employees put on leave overseas are expected to receive “voluntary Agency-funded return travel” and other benefits.
Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party, gestures Sunday while addressing supporters at the party headquarters in Berlin after the German national election.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MAJDI MOHAMMED
Israeli tanks move Sunday into the Palestinian city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
Key agencies tell workers to ignore Musk email
DOGE demanding federal employees justify jobs
BY STEVE PEOPLES, ERIC TUCKER and AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press
WASHINGTON Key U.S. agencies, including the FBI, State Department and the Pentagon, have instructed their employees not to comply with cost-cutting chief Elon Musk’s latest demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week — or risk losing their job. The pushback from appointees of President Donald Trump marked a new level of chaos and confusion within the beleaguered federal workforce, just a month after Trump returned to the White House and quickly began fulfilling campaign promises to shrink the government. Administration officials scrambled throughout the weekend to interpret Musk’s unusual mandate, which apparently has Trump’s backing despite some lawmakers arguing it is illegal. Unions want the administration to rescind the request and
apologize to workers, and are threatening to sue.
Some officials are resisting. Others are encouraging their workers to comply At some agencies, there was conflicting guidance
One message on Sunday morning from the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., instructed its roughly 80,000 employees to comply. That was shortly after the acting general counsel, Sean Keveney, had instructed some not to.
“I’ll be candid with you.
Having put in over 70 hours of work last week advancing Administration’s priorities, I was personally insulted to receive the below email,” Keveney said in an email viewed by The Associated Press that acknowledged a broad sense of “uncertainty and stress” within the agency.
Keveney laid out security concerns and pointed out some of the work done by the agency’s employees may be protected by attorney-client privilege: “I have received no assurances that there are appropriate protections in place to safeguard responses to this email.”
Musk’s team sent an email to hundreds of thousands of federal employees on Saturday giving them roughly
48 hours to report five specific things they had accomplished last week. In a separate message on X, Musk said any employee who failed to respond by the deadline set in the email as 11:59 p.m.
EST Monday — would lose their job.
Democrats and even some Republicans were critical
of Musk’s ultimatum, which came just hours after Trump encouraged him on social media to “get more aggressive” in reducing the size of the government through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The day before, Musk celebrated his new position by waving a giant
Leaders of France, Britain head to D.C.
BY JILL LAWLESS and SYLVIE CORBET
Associated Press
LONDON The leaders of France and Britain are making tag-team visits to Washington this week as Europe attempts to persuade President Donald Trump not to abandon Ukraine in pursuit of a peace deal in the three-year-old war with Russia.
There is an element of good cop, bad cop in efforts by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to salvage American support for Kyiv Starmer, reluctant to openly confront Trump, speaks of being a bridge between Europe and the U.S. administration. Macron has more strongly criticized Trump’s recent statements that echo Russia’s narrative and American moves to negotiate with Moscow while sidelining Ukraine.
The two leaders spoke by phone on Sunday and said the U.K. and Europe must “show united leadership in support of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression,” Starmer’s office said. Both also stress that Ukraine’s voice and sovereignty must be at the center of any peace talks.
The French president warned Trump against appearing “weak in the face of President Putin.”
“It’s not you, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest,” said Macron, who is due at the White House on Monday, the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine Starmer is set to follow on Thursday
The trips come after Macron called a crisis meeting of European leaders in Paris last week to discuss the continent’s next steps — and after Trump on Friday claimed Macron and Starmer “haven’t done anything” over the past three years to end the war
The centrist French leader, known for his bold diplomatic moves, says he’ll seek to persuade Trump that American and European interests are the same, telling him: “If you let Russia take over Ukraine, it would be unstoppable.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron are traveling to the U.S. this week to persuade President Donald Trump not to abandon Ukraine.
Starmer, a cautious center-left politician, has avoided directly contradicting Trump or criticizing his actions.
The U.K. joined the U.S. in refusing to sign a joint declaration at an artificial Intelligence summit hosted by Macron in Paris this month in what was seen as an attempt to curry favor with Washington.
But the prime minister has reaf-
firmed Britain’s support for Ukraine, rejecting Trump’s assertion that Zelenskyy is a “dictator” and the president’s suggestion that Kyiv started the war, which erupted when Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24, 2022.
Starmer spoke to Zelenskyy on Saturday expressing “the U.K.’s ironclad support for Ukraine and commitment to securing a just and enduring peace.”
He said he would stress “safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty” when he speaks to Trump in Washington.
Some historians say the idea that Britain can be a transatlantic bridge is built on shaky foundations.
“The ‘special relationship’ has always been more important from the British end,” said Oxford University history professor Margaret MacMillan. “When it comes right down to it, great powers
tend to do what suits them.”
She said the bottom line for Macron and Starmer “is they want the U.S. to stay involved in Europe. Whether they can achieve that is another matter.”
Macron and Starmer will say in Washington that Ukraine must be at the table for negotiations on its future. They hope to get U.S support for an emerging plan to have Europe deploy troops in a “reassurance force” to help guarantee Ukraine’s future security Starmer has stressed that the plan will only work if there is a U.S. “backstop,” likely in the form of American air power, to deter Russia from attacking again.
Trump may well be skeptical. He has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the U.S. provides security to European countries that don’t pull their weight.
Both Macron and Starmer appear ready to answer Trump’s call to boost defense spending France spends just over 2% of its gross domestic product on the military, and Macron said last week that Europeans “must increase our war effort.”
Britain spends 2.3% of gross domestic product on defense, and Starmer has said that will rise to 2.5%. He may put a date for reaching that target during his Washington trip.
Jamie Shea, a retired senior NATO official, said Starmer should try to appeal to Trump’s keen sense of his place in history
“The main argument Starmer can put will be to say, ‘Mr President this is going to be your peace agreement. You did it and for better or worse you will be associated with it forever And do you want to risk a failure?’” Shea said.
Trade — and an effort to avoid U.S.imposed tariffs will also be on the agenda for both Macron and Starmer
Trump has ordered reciprocal import taxes on America’s trading partners, slapped 10% tariffs on China; effectively raised U.S taxes on foreign steel and aluminum; and threatened, then delayed for 30 days, 25% taxes on goods from Canada and Mexico.
chain saw during an appearance at a conservative conference.
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, was among the members of Trump’s own party who had concerns. Utah has 33,000 federal employees.
“If I could say one thing to Elon Musk, it’s like, please put a dose of compassion in this,” Curtis said. “These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages
It’s a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., questioned the legal basis the Trump administration would have for dismissing tens of thousands of workers for refusing to heed Musk’s latest demand, though the email did not include the threat about workers losing their jobs.
For Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., there was no doubt: “The actions he’s taking are illegal, and we need to shut down this illegal operation.”
Trump mocked the affected workers in a meme he posted Sunday on his social media network The post featured a cartoon character writing a list of accomplishments from the previous week led by, “Cried about Trump,” “Cried about Elon,” “Made it into the office for once,” and “Read
some emails.”
Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, an outspoken Trump ally, instructed bureau employees to ignore Musk’s request, at least for now
“The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures,” Patel wrote in an email confirmed by the AP “When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses.”
Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, sent his staff a message Sunday that may cause more confusion. Martin noted that he responded to Musk’s order “Let me clarify: We will comply with this OPM request whether by replying or deciding not to reply,” Martin wrote in the email obtained by the AP referring to the Office of Personnel Management.
“Please make a goodfaith effort to reply and list your activities (or not, as you prefer), and I will, as I mentioned, have your back regarding any confusion,” Martin continued. “We can do this.”
Hegseth defends Trump’s firing of Pentagon leaders
By The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists President Donald Trump ’s abrupt firing of the nation’s senior military officer amid a wave of dismissals at the Pentagon wasn’t unusual, brushing aside outcry that the new administration is openly seeking to inject politics into the military He also suggested more firings could come. “Nothing about this is unprecedented,” Hegseth told “Fox News Sunday” about Air Force Gen CQ Brown Jr being removed Friday night as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “The president deserves to pick
his key national security advisory team.” Hegseth said “there are lots of presidents who made changes” citing former commanders in chief, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, George H.W Bush and Barack Obama. Obama, Hegseth said, “fired or dismissed hundreds” of military officials. Months into his first term, Obama removed Army Gen. David McKiernan from being commander of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. However, Trump, while running for his second term, vowed to eradicate “woke” ideologies from the military and to swiftly dismiss many top leaders.
By The Associated Press
YORK, Pa. — Workers at a Pennsylvania hospital who were injured during a shooting that left the gunman and a police officer dead were reported “medically stable” Sunday as the hospital remained closed to visitors, according to the hospital.
Investigators were still piecing together what happened a day after a man armed with a pistol and carrying zip ties headed straight to the intensive care unit at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York and took staff members hostage before he was killed by police in a shootout that also left an officer dead. A doctor, a nurse, a custodian and two other police officers were shot and wounded in the attack at the central Pennsylvania hospital on Saturday, authorities said. A fourth hospital staffer was injured in a fall. UPMC officials said injured staff members were “progressing in their
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA
Elon Musk arrives to speak Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md.
RELOCATION
year, someone could take my house by paying the taxes,” said Tamplet. “Then where am I going to be?”
‘Probably struggling’
Tamplet, who is not a tribe member, is among 37 households who have moved to New Isle since the program began in 2016. Built with a $48 million federal grant, it was part of a landmark pilot program to help a community relocate due to natural hazards exacerbated by climate change.
Of the $48 million, just under $1.4 million remained as of October
Like much of coastal Louisiana, many lived on the island in homes their families had owned for generations, often paying nothing in property taxes thanks to state law exempting the first $75,000 in home value.
Tamplet also did not carry flood or home insurance; when something broke or was damaged in a storm, he and his neighbors fixed it themselves.
His new home is valued at more than $300,000 far above the roughly $55,000 value of his old house. The state built it and granted it to Tamplet for no cost. He’ll own it outright if he lives in it for five years. Others are facing similar difficulties. As the June deadline to pay property taxes approached last year, five households in New Isle were delinquent on their payments, according to parish tax records.
Utilities are also more expensive than they were on the island, Tamplet and his neighbors said.
“I’m not going to lie, most people are probably struggling right now,” said Erica Billiot, 42, who lives next door to Tamplet. “We’re struggling and we have two incomes. If we put aside all of our extra activities, we probably could afford it. But then we wouldn’t have a life.” Other costs will only grow in the coming years. Insurance bills loom large, as is the case for many Louisianans.
By 2026, when most New Isle residents will begin paying their own homeowners’ insurance, the state Office of Community Development estimates that the average policy there will be $4,078. Tamplet’s is estimated to be around $4,500.
“If it comes down to us making a choice about whether we’re going to eat or pay for insurance, I’m gonna eat,” said Chris Brunet, 59, sitting on the porch of his New Isle home. “I told them that from the get-go.” Next door, his neighbor’s home was already missing some of its wood paneling. It had been sheared off last year during Hurricane Francine, Brunet said. It was a poignant reminder that, while New Isle isn’t eroding like Isle de Jean Charles, its homes aren’t necessarily out of harm’s way
A new player Isle de Jean Charles was
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
New Isle is a relatively new subdivision made up of households of people who moved from Isle de Jean Charles in lower Terrebonne Parish. It’s the first-of-its-kind government effort to help people move to higher ground from Louisiana’s disappearing coastline. As of Tuesday, about 37 of these households are mostly made up of members of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation.
a haven for its residents before it lost much of its land to the combined effects of erosion, subsidence exacerbated by the digging of canals for oil and gas development, and climate changedriven sea level rise.
In the 1950s, it stretched over 35 square miles, surrounded by marsh and coastal prairie. It now makes up less than a single square mile.
When the relocation effort kicked off in 2016 through a Barack Obama-era grant program, it garnered national attention. The New York Times called Isle de Jean Charles residents the U.S.’s first “climate refugees.”
The project plan emphasized that it was a community relocation effort — that the goal was to move residents together The more people moved from the island to New Isle the better
All but three households have now left the island, according to Deme Naquin, chief of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation. Most relocated to New Isle.
By that standard, the state’s Office of Community Development, which led the project, considers the effort a success. They’re also aware that the relocation effort could fall apart if residents can’t afford their homes.
“We knew they were going to need assistance for some period of time,” said Pat Forbes, a former OCD executive director who spearheaded the project “If it was going to be sustainable, they would have to take on those costs themselves at some point.”
He emphasized that it was a pilot project, whose goal was to learn how to help people relocate effectively In Louisiana, around a fifth of all homes statewide — about 330,000 — are at risk of chronic flooding by 2045, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Nationally, homes that house 4.7 million people — equivalent to the entire population of Louisiana — will likely flood repeatedly by the end of the century
“This was a project where we learned some best practices and some things that need improvement,” Forbes said.
Gina Campo, OCD’s current executive director, stressed that helping the most vulnerable would re-
quire “creative solutions,” which are being implemented at New Isle.
“Disaster recovery is no longer just fixing up someone’s house and moving on,” she said.
There are, however, limitations on federal housing funds under fair housing law For example, the agency has said that it can’t help residents pay property taxes.
Now the state is seeking to transfer the last $1.4 million to a semi-governmental nonprofit regional organization called the South Central Planning and Development Commission (SCPDC) It would be freer to use the funds to help residents with costs, according to the organization’s CEO Kevin Belanger
To give those funds to the nonprofit, OCD needs federal approval, which it formally requested late last year SCPDC plans to use the funds to develop additional affordable housing at New Isle, in addition to helping current residents with their costs of living.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has not yet approved the request, according to Campo The federal agency did not respond to a request for comment. And last week, The New York Times reported that the Trump administration plans to drastically reduce staff at the HUD office tasked with approving that request.
Belanger said his organization is committed to helping residents stay in their new homes. He will be looking for ways to generate new revenue at New Isle that could help offset costs like insurance and taxes.
“Their whole mission was to use this as a pilot, to show the world what best management practices could be used to relocate people who are inundated by climate change,” Belanger said “The success of this is making sure that their way of life is still preserved while also giving them tools to be able to succeed in an area where they haven’t lived before.”
Some ideas for helping with residents’ bills have fallen through. There was, at one point, a proposal to build a solar farm, but funds ran dry before it could be built. If HUD approves, Belanger’s organization will
also be responsible for maintaining the New Isle homeowner’s association and enforcing its regulations, which include basic maintenance. If houses aren’t maintained, the HOA can perform repairs and bill the homeowner
“We don’t want it to be a hellhole,” Belanger said.
He stressed that New Isle residents hadn’t been part of an HOA before and would need guidance from SCPDC to get it off the ground.
“Look, I know the concern and I’ve heard it: that they want to be in control of their own destiny,” Belanger said. “The only way they can do that is to show us they have the wherewithal to do that, by involving themselves in the HOA.”
Model program?
Even before the affordability concerns, the relocation effort had hit snags. In the view of the Jean Charles Choctaw Nation, the project was initially envisioned as a means to reunite their tribe.
The state said that it could not legally forbid people who were not tribe members from living in New Isle, and emphasized that not everyone who lived on Isle de Jean Charles was a tribal member
The tribe’s concerns echoed in formal public comments on the proposal to give the project to SCPDC. To the tribe’s chief, Deme Naquin, the project has been an ordeal that he wouldn’t wish on any other community
“Tribal leaders knew affordability and sustainability were key factors” in the project’s success, he said. He added that the state had not come up with “a sound solution for long-term affordability.”
Tamplet feels that the state didn’t adequately take into account concerns he aired at public meetings about future affordability.
“What happens when we have to move half a million people out of south Miami because of the flooding?” Tamplet wonders. “What is it going to cost? $1.3 million per family unit? That’s a lot of money.”
In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan admitted what church leaders in Rome weren’t saying publicly: that the Catholic faithful were united “at the bedside of a dying father.”
“As our Holy Father Pope Francis is in very, very fragile health, and probably close to death,” Dolan said in his homily from the pulpit of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, though he later told reporters he hoped and prayed that Francis would “bounce back.”
Doctors have said Francis’ condition is touch-andgo, given his age, fragility and preexisting lung disease. His condition has revived speculation about what might happen if he becomes unconscious or otherwise incapacitated and whether he might resign.
Francis was supposed to celebrate Mass on Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Basilica and ordain deacons as part of the Vatican’s yearlong Holy Year commemoration.
The organizer of the Holy Year Archbishop Rino Fisichella, celebrated the Mass in his place and offered a special prayer for Francis from the altar before delivering the homily the pope had prepared.
“Even though he is in a hospital bed, we feel Pope Francis close to us. We feel him present among us,” Fisichella told the hundreds of white-robed deacons.
A pre-written message that had been prepared for Francis to read Sunday, but he did not deliver, said he was “confidently continuing my hospitalization at the Gemelli Hospital, carrying on with the necessary treatment; and rest is also part of the therapy!” The message asked for prayers for him — as he always asks — and noted the upcoming anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “a painful and shameful occasion for the whole of humanity.”
Meanwhile in Francis’ native Argentina, Catholics prayed for the pope at the Buenos Aires cathedral and the city’s iconic obelisk was lit up “Francis, the city prays for you.”
In Cairo, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the seat of Sunni learning who forged a close bond with Francis, wished him well.
“I pray to Allah to grant my dear brother, Pope Francis, a swift recovery and to bless him with good health and well-being so that he may continue his journey in serving humanity,” Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb wrote in a Facebook post.
The American Jewish Committee also offered prayers. “We stand together with our Catholic brothers and sisters during this challenging time,” the group wrote on X. And schoolchildren from around Rome deluged the Gemelli hospital with getwell cards, while Italian bishops led rosary prayers and celebrated special Masses across Italy Doctors have warned that the main threat facing Francis is sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia. To date there has been no reference to any onset of sepsis in the medical updates provided by the Vatican, including on Sunday On Saturday, Francis developed a low platelet count, which remained low but stable Sunday Platelets are cell-like fragments that circulate in the blood that help form blood clots to stop bleeding or help wounds heal. Low platelet counts can be caused by a number of things, including side effects from medicines or infections. Francis also developed anemia and, during blood transfusions Saturday was given hematin, a treatment designed to increase the level of hemoglobin in his blood, which in turn helps the blood carry more oxygen. Doctors reported Sunday that the therapy had been beneficial.
give the Legislature sweeping authority to remove civil service protections for government workers.
That power currently rests with the State Civil Service Commission, the body that sets policy for the state workforce and adjudicates employment disputes Morris’ plan fell short of passage by just two votes of the 70 total needed in the state House.
While the debate over civil service rules isn’t unique to Louisiana, some argue that loosening protections for government employees is a particularly troubling idea in a state where politics operate in the ever-present shadow of Huey Long, who infamously drew funding for his political campaigns from state workers.
“It’s a very dangerous notion, here, to be talking about eliminating civil service,” said Jay Dardenne, a Republican who served over three decades in varying roles in state government, including most recently as commissioner of administration during John Bel Edwards’ two terms as governor. “That would just simply restore a system of patronage for governors and elected officials to hire people who they want to hire.”
“I think the protection that is afforded in the Louisiana Constitution for civil servants is one of the most important reforms that Louisiana has ever
LIBRARY
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resident Robert Richard, who voted Richard plans again next tem is bloated, the tax burden residents reflect the revenue neede operate.
He said support a millage was and two of brary’s branch locat
“As a taxpayer it was wrong,” horribly wrong little small need of so much this money library.”
If the vote time, the system would only have enough funds to operate for 18 to 24 months unless it made dramatic changes, library officials said. If it shuts down, Iberia would join St. Landry as the only parishes in Louisiana without a parishwide library system.
enacted,” he said. What is civil service?
The civil service systems at both the federal level and in Louisiana date back to the end of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, as the nation moved away from the “spoils system” one of political patronage, in which winners of elections rewarded supporters with government jobs and other perks.
The name is a nod at the phrase, “To the victor go the spoils.”
Civil service protections were initially instituted in Louisiana in state statute, until they were eliminated during Earl Long’s administration. Louisiana then codified protections in its constitution, first in 1952 and again in 1973.
“The whole idea is to have career public employees who can work from administration to administration and not be allowed to, or have to, work on political campaigns,” said Daniel Sullivan, who served as executive vice president of the Louisiana Civil Service League for over 50 years.
Under the system set out in the constitution, two sets of state government workers exist: classified and unclassified employees.
Classified employees those meant to be shielded from political pressure can only be disciplined or fired for cause with proper documentation and after a chance to respond or take corrective action. They’re also barred from supporting political candidates
Parish Library Director Marjorie Hills
The library spends around $2.5 million a year to operate its seven branches. In terms of the surplus, she said, it has after making like upgradinstalling new units and genntenance of facilities. spending judiciously, so our now pretty par with hould be,” said she the vote because of and lack of behalf of the was one of ax renewals day, but the nly one that was 14% with 5,827 casting a ballot, according to election results. This time around, the Friends of the Library has advertised across the parish The League of Women Voters also held a rally recently in support of it.
or parties.
Unclassified employees are considered at-will and can be hired or fired at any time, and they face no restrictions on political activity
The constitution specifically delineates which positions are unclassified. Among them: elected officials, agency heads, city attorneys, members of government boards or commissions, and some government staffers
Agencies can also request that Civil Service Commission to grant additional unclassified positions on a temporary basis.
State civil service does not have jurisdiction over the state’s roughly 30,000 unclassified employees, the majority of whom work in higher education or health care.
Under civil service rules, classified jobs must meet certain pay and qualification requirements. Unclassified jobs are not necessarily subject to pay or hiring or firing requirements, much like the private workforce.
‘Slows down government’
Sen. Patrick McMath, RCovington, a vocal supporter of Morris’ effort to overhaul Louisiana’s civil service system, acknowledged that the influence of politics originally catalyzed the creation of the current system But he argued that we no longer live in the era of the 1930s and 1940s, and workers today can address workplace discrimination claims in the civil court system.
“There’s no reason why we
need this extra layer of protection,” he said. “It slows down the government.”
McMath said a primary driver of complaints he receives as a legislator are “civil service-based.”
“Whether it’s a contract or plans sitting on DOTD’s desk up in Baton Rouge or somebody spending three hours at the Office of Motor Vehicles, we clearly have a government that is not working as efficiently and effectively as it can for its citizens,” he said.
And civil service reform that prioritizes “meritocracy over tenure” like private business — offers a path toward remedying the problem, he said.
“We are often blamed for inefficient government,” Morris said. “The Legislature should have the authority to implement the people’s will. The current system stymies the Legislature from taking action.”
In addition to allowing lawmakers to remove government jobs from the classified service, the proposal Morris put forward last year would have changed the constitution to give the governor greater control over the makeup of the State Civil Service Commission by reducing the length of commissioners’ terms and loosening restrictions on nominees.
Is civil service the problem?
But not everyone agrees that civil service protections are a problem.
Dardenne, the former commissioner of administration, ran the agency that acts as the administrative and op-
erational arm for all of state government and regularly interfaces with other departments. Before that, he served as lieutenant governor and secretary of state and spent 15 years as a state senator State employees in recent years have been characterized as being lazy or incompetent, Dardenne said, but his experience with the vast majority of workers “has been just the opposite.”
Dardenne said his time in state government afforded him many interactions with the Civil Service Commission and with state employees and disciplinary procedures.
He contended that appropriate mechanisms exist for cases where employees should face discipline or termination.
“But it does require some work,” he said. “It requires managers to manage.”
He added: “As long as managers adequately document problems, attempts to correct the problems, notices given to employees about what they need to do to improve, then in those events, the disciplinary process allows for people to be disciplined or to be terminated.”
What’s in place?
State Civil Service Director Byron P. Decoteau Jr explained that under the constitution, classified employees are afforded due process before disciplinary action can be taken.
For permanent employees, this entails notifying an employee of any action to be taken, providing a reasonable opportunity to respond,
and streaming services and implemented genealogy technology and homework assistance programs.
be the only interaction they have with people throughout the week.
ency and accessibility to residents, he said.
considering any response from the employee, and then making a decision as to discipline.
“We do acknowledge that some agencies find this a bit of a pain point,” Decoteau said.
He added that State Civil Service has been working to streamline documentation to make it easier for agencies to show cause for discipline and to hold trainings to help supervisors with difficult conversations and with documenting performance issues.
“It takes time as a supervisor, as a manager, to manage your employees,” Decoteau said.
Management that’s not handled properly, effectively and timely can be a contributor to government inefficiency, Decoteau said. However, the civil service system as a whole, he said, was designed to ensure a continuity of government services and institutional knowledge even as administrations change a contributor to government efficiency
Decoteau also noted that civil service doesn’t merely exist to manage discipline. Instead, he said it’s a “comprehensive human resources program” that works with agencies to manage workforce development, assist with recruitment and retention, and develop pay plans.
“We are here first and foremost for our taxpayers, our citizens, and then secondly for our agencies,” Decoteau said.
Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com.
The 2024 and 2025 renewal proposal was decreased to 4.5 mills.
Parish Council member Lady Brown, who represents the Jeanerette area, said she supports the library tax and was disappointed when it was voted down last year In areas like Jeanerette, which often have limited resources, she said libraries are essential.
If the tax fails again, she said she will continue to work with the library to come up with a plan that better suits residents.
“I can speak for our parish library system,” she said. “I think they’re very progressive and they’re moving forward in establishing programming and other activities that all individuals can benefit from in the community.”
The last day to register to vote in person or by mail is Wednesday Early voting begins March 15.
The library tax
The proposed tax renewal will be in line with the actual operating budget, said Iberia
Many residents may not be aware of what library offers, Hills said. When she joined as director about a year and a half ago, one of the first things she did was ask residents what they wanted out of their library It has since expanded children and adult programming, added new databases
The library also partners with organizations throughout the year to hold events for the public In 2024, more than 13,000 people attended programs hosted by the library library officials said, and that led to foot traffic increasing more than 85% from 2023 to 2024 and about 830 new library cards issued in 2024.
The library offers a familyfriendly space that fosters community, she added. Many of the same people attend programs and use the time to catch up with one another For some residents, it may
“People begin to care about each other,” Hills said. “This is a place of community.”
In Loreauville, which welcomed its library branch in 2021, Mayor Brad Clifton is supporting the tax. Yet he said the library can make improvements.
The location, he said, could use more foot traffic.
A 3D printer and upgraded computers with coding and modeling programs could increase that. The library board, which schedules meetings during the day, can improve its transpar-
“A lot of argument that I hear is that these brickand-mortar buildings are a waste,” Clifton said. “But there are opportunities for kids to go and utilize these computers. When you get into the rural communities, we won’t see big Mac-type computers that can do all the things these computers can do.”
Moving forward
The library system has operated on a reduced millage for at least 10 years. Before its latest renewal, residents paid a 6-mill tax toward the library
Pellerin remains a strong supporter of the library but said the negative attention the library has received could result in another failed vote. Many residents, she said, are feeling the burden of a tough economy
“Everybody’s being taxed to no end,” she said. “And out of 10 (people), you’ve got one person saying they want (the library) to stay and the rest are saying that they’re struggling to live. It would truly suck. I hope it passes, but it failed last time.”
Email Stephen Marcantel at stephen.marcantel@ theadvocate.com.
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Christopher Sepulvado was convicted of 1992 murder
BY JOHN SIMERMAN and MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writers
Christopher Sepulvado, the 81-year-old death row prisoner who was scheduled to be executed on March 17 as Louisiana is set to resume executions after 15 years, is dead.
Sepulvado died overnight at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, according to both his attorneys and state officials. He’d remained on death row for more than 30 years His attorneys said doctors had recommended Sepulvado for hos-
Woman, 78, fights to keep her home
Police say nephew forged her name on financial documents
BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer
Building her home from the ground up with savings and paychecks received over the years as a Lafayette educator, Helen Williams did not anticipate that more than 30 years later she’d be receiving letters stating her home is in foreclosure.
Williams, a 78-year-old Opelousas woman, was the victim of what officials say was elder abuse. Her nephew, Gregory T. Red, 62, was arrested in July on charges of exploitation of a person with infirmities, mortgage fraud, credit card fraud and theft over $500,000.
Williams said her nephew had been helping her with her finances and she later discovered he had forged her name on various financial documents and credit cards including mortgage loans.
Since then, she has received numerous letters from her mortgage loan company Despite Red’s arrest and other financial institutions dismissing the fraudulent debts, Williams said CarVal Investors, through Mill City Mortgage and Fay Servicing, is still aggressively pursuing foreclosure on her home.
“Its really sad because she didn’t know any of this was going on and it blew up right in front of her Simply because she needed assistance and was taken advantage of,” said Eva Pickens, a friend of the family
According to the Louisiana Department of Health, financial exploitation is one of the most common forms of abuse of older adults, but it is among the least commonly reported.
Pickens said Williams now has a restraining order on Red, adding that Williams is a victim twice once by Red, and now by collectors.
“This is very hard on me to have to go through this at my age. I don’t understand how CarVal.com and Mill City Mortgage can get away with taking my home,” said Williams. “I did not borrow any money on my home — this was pure fraud — yet Mill City and CarVal can just get away with giving someone money for my home and expecting me to pay them for money I did not receive.” CarVal and Mill City declined to comment.
“This is not just a personal crisis; it is part of the growing epidemic of elder financial abuse, leaving seniors across our state vulnerable
pice care days before DeSoto Parish District Attorney Charles Adams secured a judge’s signature this month on an execution warrant.
Sepulvado was the oldest of the 57 people on death row in Louisiana. He was convicted in the 1992 murder of his 6-year-old stepson, Wesley Allen Mercer
In a statement his attorneys described a steep decline in Sepulvado’s health and cognition, from COPD to gangrene in a leg that sent him to a New Orleans hospital for an operation last week to amputate it. They say that, instead of receiving hospice care, Sepulvado was
returned to Angola to face execution, likely by nitrogen gas in a first for Louisiana.
Shawn Nolan, an attorney for Sepulvado, said in a statement that his death was a “sad comment” on the death penalty in Louisiana.
“The idea that the State was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric,” he said.
Gov. Jeff Landry described Sepulvado’s spending more than 30 years on death row — and never being executed as a miscarriage of justice.
“Mr Sepulvado killed his son 33
years ago in 1992. He was able to live to a ripe old age because of the failure of the justice system,” Landry said in a statement. “He can no longer escape his judgment day.”
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections released a statement Sunday morning confirming the death. They said he died of “natural causes” due to his preexisting conditions. They declined to comment when asked about the amputation.
Derek Ellis, deputy corrections secretary, declined to confirm whether the state planned to use nitrogen gas to put Sepulvado to death. Ellis also declined to answer that question about the execution of another inmate, Jessie Hoffman,
of St. Tammany Parish, scheduled for March 18.
A letter that Hoffman received from the state with his death warrant said his method of execution will be nitrogen gas.
Sepulvado’s case stretches back more than 30 years, shortly after he married Mercer’s mother Court documents say Sepulvado beat the 6-year-old boy with the handle of a screwdriver and that the little boy’s body was immersed in scalding water
Medical examinations showed that 58% of the boy’s body was covered in second-degree burns while his scalp separated from his skull due to hemorrhaging and bleeding.
Lawtell man faces more counts in death
BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
Counts have been upgraded against a man accused in the disappearance and death of St. Landry Parish wom-
an Irving Cisneros Arguelles, 24, of Lawtell, now faces one count of firstdegree murder and obstruction of justice on top of an initial simple arson count according to the St Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office. Deputies arrested Arguelles on Tuesday after he was found walking alongside La. 10 near the burned remains of a vehicle belonging to the missing woman, Jorlany Osario Benitez.
Authorizes discovered Benitez’s body in the woods along La. 10 not far from the vehicle; she had been reported missing Monday Arguelles
initially led deputies to Eunice City Lake, where they conducted diving search operations.
Benitez and Arguelles are cousins and both are immigrants lacking permanent legal status, according to a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine Benitez’s cause of death.
Arguelles is being held at the St. Landry Parish Jail before being handed over U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Anyone with additional information about this crime is encouraged to call the Sheriff’s Office at (337) 948-6516
Tipsters may also call Crime Stoppers at (337) 948-TIPS, download the P3 app on a mobile device, or dial **TIPS on your mobile phone to tip. All calls are anonymous and tipsters can earn a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.
BIG & LOUD
ABOVE: Dr. Patrick Welch, King of Troubadours, and Isabella Blanchard, Queen of the Court, make their entrance Saturday at the Order of Troubadours Mardi Gras pageant in the Frem Boustany Ballroom of the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette. LEFT: The court includes Royal Maid Audrey Matt and Duke Dr. Christopher Matt.
Babysitter indicted in St. Landry Parish death
BLOTTER Advocate staff reports
A St. Landry Parish grand jury indicted a babysitter in the death of a 13-month-old child last year The grand jury charged Sarah Sonnier with a count of negligent homicide. The child died in late October just two hours after being dropped off at Sonnier’s home in Opelousas. According to Sheriff’s Office investigators, they found the child unresponsive after being left unattended in a car seat. First responders performed CPR, but the child did not regain consciousness.
Cyberstalking suspect arrested by SWAT team
A man accused of cyberstalking was arrested Friday by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office. Deputies with the Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team arrived at the home of 39-year-old Edosa Ogbebor to serve an arrest warrant, authorities said. Ogbebor refused to surrender, resulting in SWAT team members entering his home by force and making a peaceful arrest, Staff Sgt. Chris Cormier said. “We attempted negotiations, and after that failed, our SWAT team made a forced entry and made a peaceful arrest,” he said. Authorities say Ogbebor is
PHOTOS By LEE BALL
Libraries haven’t changed, except now they must fight misinformation
Greg Ardoin’s letter on Jan. 29 begs for a fact-based response. He claims that “several years ago,” the role of the public library began to change. This couldn’t be further from the truth. For decades, libraries have been vibrant community hubs that not only serve as repositories for books and other materials but also provide a diverse range of educational programming to community members. Further, libraries serve as important intermediaries in partnership with other community organizations; for example, being sites to serve free meals to children when schools aren’t in session This is true not only of our library system but of libraries all across the country He also made the dubious claim that “recently” one of the libraries in Lafayette installed EV charging stations with library funds One, the EV chargers were installed at the same time as the West Regional Library was constructed, all the way back in 2019. Two, the charging stations were donated by Tesla, and not paid for with library funds.
Perhaps if Dr Ardoin, who is on the board of trustees at John Paul the Great Academy a school founded by the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation’s president Kevin Roberts, spent less time spreading false information about our award-winning public library system, it would return to being a noncontroversial place. Unfortunately, there is a small contingent in this parish, including Ardoin, who seem hellbent on keeping this controversy alive and demonizing hard-working librarians and community members who simply want to ensure the library is a welcoming place for everyone.
I’m confident Ardoin, as a medical professional, understands the importance of accuracy and objectivity If he has further questions about the amazing roles of libraries in our community, perhaps he should consult the nearest library branch for authoritative information instead of writing an unsubstantiated piece.
MELANIE
BREVIS Lafayette
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’s city of residence.The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com.
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YOUR VIEWS
We are weaker if we don’t embrace all who are willing to defend U.S.
At my law firm, we only hire the best and the brightest. The students who were at the top of their class, good writers and easy to work with. We treat them as valuable members of the team, because they are. And because if we don’t, they’ll leave to our detriment.
Twenty-five years ago, I served as an officer aboard the destroyer with the greatest percentage of women crewmembers in the U.S. Navy. I served with sailors who were Black, Brown, Jewish, Muslim, gay, trans and foreign nationals — people who were risking their lives serving in our military even though they were not yet citizens On Sept. 11, 2001, my warship and crew were in the Persian Gulf on one of the darkest days in our nation’s history And for 55 days thereafter we sat off the coast of Pakistan and
put ordnance downrange into Afghanistan. Lethal. Every single one of us. In 250 years, this nation has never had enough White Anglo-Saxon Protestant straight men to win a war Forced to rely on that small portion of our population, we’d quickly learn what it’s like to live with the boot of a foreign nation on our neck. Combat ineffective.
If we want to remain the greatest nation in the history of history, it will take continuing to welcome every capable volunteer, handing them a rifle and putting them on the wall. And for those willing to serve, it is the very least we can do to make sure they feel included as valuable members of the team. As Americans.
RAYMOND WAID New Orleans
Demonization of brave USAID workers disgraceful
Most of my 29 years in the U.S. Army were spent as a foreign area officer
During my time as an Army FAO, I was privileged to serve in U.S. embassies in Jordan (twice), Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq. In each of these dangerous locations, I proudly served alongside members of USAID who played an absolutely critical role in advancing our national interests.
The “soft” touch of USAID was the perfect companion to harder, more blunt, forms of military and intelligence assistance we provided to our friends and allies. By helping to mitigate poverty, improving health conditions and generally making the lives of very poor people livable, USAID reduced the potential for instability, strife and chaos. War is the handmaiden of poverty, disease and pestilence.
RFK Jr. will usher in a new era in
The confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services marks a pivotal moment for our nation’s health care system. His leadership, alongside the grassroots energy behind the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, offers a historic opportunity to address the root causes of chronic disease and restore trust in our public health institutions.
For decades, our health care system has been burdened by preventable chronic diseases conditions fueled by poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyles and environmental toxins. Chronic diseases now account for nearly 90% of health care costs, yet the system remains reactive, prioritizing expensive treatments over prevention.
The outsized influence of the food and pharmaceutical industries in federal agencies is directly responsible for the proliferation of ultra-processed foods and an overreliance on medications. This has created a cycle in which unhealthy products drive disease and costly treatments sustain it, a “sickcare” model that prioritizes profits over prevention. For far too long, Big Pharma has deployed anti-competitive practices that
I am not Catholic. Nevertheless, I take exception with views concerning Pope Francis expressed by Rich Lowry in his column published Jan. 31. The column strikes me as an attempt to diminish the pope and his role as a voice of moral authority and cast him as just another partisan player in U.S. politics. It also casts a shadow over the church as just another “failed” institution to be disregarded. Saul of Tarsus was dispatched to Damascus with his high priest’s OK to arrest Christians and bring them to Jerusalem for punishment Saul was known to be filled with a zeal to
health care
drive up drug prices — leaving Americans paying more and feeling worse.
Kennedy’s commitment to transparency and reform will break this cycle by promoting independent oversight and evidencebased policies. The path ahead is not merely about reforming institutions but empowering individuals with the tools they need to live healthier lives.
Louisiana knows firsthand the devastating impact of chronic disease, but we are also uniquely positioned to help fix the problem. We should all thank Sens. Cassidy and Kennedy for their historic vote to advance Kennedy’s confirmation.
As we prepare for the state legislative session, I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Louisiana Senate Health & Welfare committee to do our part at the state level to advance the Make America Healthy Again mandate. This moment is bigger than politics; it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restore trust in our institutions and build a healthier future for our children and grandchildren.
PATRICK MCMATH state senator for District 11 Covington
stop the early Christian movement by imprisoning its followers to stop them from spreading their beliefs. While on the road a blinding light from heaven hit Saul. The light came with a divine voice saying “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul was blinded for three days. After regaining his sight, Saul underwent a conversion and began preaching as a servant of Christ. Saul became known as Paul. Perhaps Pope Francis has been “blinded by the light.” It appears to me that Rich Lowry has not.
PRESTON HOLTON New Orleans
Significantly the brave Americans of USAID I served next to were exposed to the same types of dangers as myself and other members of the embassy staff. We often had bodyguards, traveled in armored cars, and, if we were lucky enough to be in a place where we could have our family with us, watched our children board bullet- and bomb-proof school buses together A few years before I arrived in Jordan, Laurence Foley, the supervisory executive officer of USAID/ Jordan, was assassinated by two alQaida hitmen as he exited his house. Despite these dangers and modest pay, the members of USAID, many of whom were former military, always did their best and served our country with dignity Now, these honorable Americans are being described by hatchet man Elon Musk as “evil,” a “nest of vipers” and a “criminal organization” while being unceremoniously shown the door How we allocate and administer foreign aid is a legitimate question, but I find the denigration of these Americans appalling and disgusting.
COL. AARON MERRILL, retired New Orleans
Dear Lord, help us all. As a longstanding financial contributor meager though my contributions may be, and a 10-year volunteer in the community kitchen at Second Harvest food bank, all I can say is, what now?
Those of us who serve are stymied as to why such foolishness would ever have been considered. What gain did the archdiocese foresee by firing the amazing staff at such a worthwhile organization? Did they think that donations would continue to flow as donors ponder whether or not their contributions are being used to feed the hungry or being used for other far, far less noble causes?
Shame on all who had any part in this fiasco. Reinstate the board members, take your licking and find other methods to solve your problems. Shame, shame, shame.
DARLENE GUICHARD LaPlace
FILE PHOTO
Sailors aboard the USS Mahan stand on the ship’s bow, waiting to tie the ship to the wharf, while machine guns are mounted nearby — a standard security posture. The guided-missile destroyer arrived in New Orleans in 2014.
COMMENTARY
MARDI GRAS LOGISTICS
Getting to and from parades is an art form around here. It’s anticipated and planned out year after year like a beloved family tradition.The real pros take great pride in knowing how to manage the chaos without a dreaded parking ticket or worse getting TOWED!
So, what’s going on in this cartoon? you tell me Be witty, funny, crazy, absurd or snarky — just try to keep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries.
The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and run on Lundi Gras, March 3, in our print editions and online. In addition, the winner will receive a signed print of the cartoon along with a cool winner’s T-shirt!
Some honorable mentions will also be listed.
To enter, email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com.
DON’T FORGET! All entries must include your name, home address and phone number
Cell numbers are best.
The deadline for all entries is midnight, Feb 27.
Good luck, folks! —Walt
President Donald Trump has ordered the Treasury Department to stop minting pennies to save money
It costs almost 4 cents to make one and as the president seeks to reduce federal spending, the penny is a good, if largely symbolic, target. The nickel is even more expensive. It costs nearly 14 cents to make. One doesn’t have to have studied Economics 101 to understand this is a complete waste of money and part of the inefficiency and overspending Trump is trying to expunge from government
The U.S. Mint began full-time production of the penny in 1792. Then, the coins were the size of today’s half-dollar and called “large cents.” The penny also became embedded in popular culture and its value endured until modern times. Older people will remember penny candy and slogans like “a penny for your thoughts” and “penny wise and pound foolish.” Songs about the penny inspired “Pennies from Heaven” and a road made famous by The Beatles, “Penny Lane.”
As for “a penny for your thoughts,” back then, thoughts and a penny were worth more than they are today
Just look at the misspending being revealed by DOGE and you’ll be shocked at the waste. Though he never actually said it, Benjamin Franklin is often credited with “coining” the phrase “a penny saved is a penny earned.” He did, however, write in his “Poor Richard’s Almanac” (1737): “A penny saved is two pence clear.” The 1768 version of the Almanac revised the saying: “A penny saved is a penny got.” Other coinage attracted slogans of their own, including “nickel and dime you to death,” “not a dime’s worth of difference” and two bits (a quarter). There are dozens of slang words for money Like the penny many of these words (and coins) were created decades, even centuries ago, and have now outlived their usefulness. How many of us get frustrated fumbling for coins while we are paying for groceries or other retail shops while we hold up the line and frustrate those behind us? Even that experience is increasingly becoming old school. The best solution would be to stop
minting all coins. We are quickly transitioning to a cashless society Why not go all the way? If an item costs under 50 cents (including tax) round it off to the dollar below The same for anything costing more than 50 cents. Round it off to the higher dollar
A store near me has a machine that turns coins into a paper receipt that I can then use to apply to merchandise I wish to purchase. It’s fun to watch and hear the device swallow the coins and see the screen light up like a slot machine in Las Vegas as it counts the money As entertainment it provides a few seconds of diversion. It could serve as a transition to cashless purchasing Increasing numbers of us are using debit and crypto-currency cards to buy things. Collectors can gobble up the various existing coins and save for future generations. The savings that would come from abolishing coinage would be significant, along with avoiding the inconvenience of counting out change. It just makes sense (or cents).
Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@ tribpub.com.
President Donald Trump’s current assault on the basic structure of democracy represents a far more serious threat than the occupation of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Four years ago, an angry mob, egged on by an aggrieved president who refused to admit defeat, tried to block the counting of electoral votes. That mob failed because stalwart defenders of the Constitution, led by Vice President Mike Pence, defied Trump and upheld the law That was one day one moment, when the constitutional order was in jeopardy But when that threat was extinguished and Trump’s defeat was confirmed, the crisis ended. The present period is very different: Trump is not a defeated candidate but a victorious one, and he’s bent on retribution and revenge. His minions aren’t just breaking into one government building; in effect, they are storming dozens of buildings at once. And they aren’t just waving flags and shouting slogans. They’re firing employees, freezing operations and even shuttering some agencies completely
The peril that was averted four years ago has now arrived. Every day, the dangers to democracy are deepening. “We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis right now,” Erwin Chemerinsky, the law school dean at the University of California, Berkeley told The New York Times. “There have been so many unconstitutional and illegal actions in the first 18 days of the Trump presidency We never have seen anything like this.”
“A number of the new administration’s executive orders and other executive actions are in clear violation of laws enacted by Congress,” added Kate Shaw a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “The administration’s early moves also seem designed to demonstrate maximum contempt for core constitutional values — the separation of powers, the freedom of speech, equal justice under law.”
That separation of powers is at the heart of the American system, but the guardrails that might restrain Trump’s rampage have been severely weakened. His primary point man, Elon Musk, has never been elected or approved by the Senate. Both Trump and Musk own powerful social media platforms that enable them to speak, unfiltered and unhinged, directly to their supporters. And by using executive orders instead of legislation, they have kneecapped the Congress, ostensibly a coequal branch of government. That leaves the federal courts as the last line of defense, and on one day alone this week, five different judges issued restraining orders against five different administration initiatives. All represent a blatant attempt to evade and even eradicate the normal processes of democratic government.
“It has become ever more apparent that, to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals,” wrote District Judge John C. Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee in Seattle, when he blocked Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship. “The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain.”
Trump’s palpable contempt for the law could lead to a major confrontation if he decides to defy any of those court orders, which he is fully capable of doing. Throughout his entire career Trump has denounced judges and prosecutors who try to hold him accountable for his actions, and he’s at it again. About one negative ruling, he fulminated: “No judge should, frankly, be allowed to make that kind of a decision. It’s a disgrace.” Musk called for the impeachment of a jurist who ruled against the administration, and Vice President JD Vance said, “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
But they are allowed to curb executives who misuse that power That’s the whole point of the constitutional principle that not even a president is above the law “It is exceptionally myopic, hypocritical and dangerous,” Georgetown University law professor Stephen Vladeck said of the calls by Trump officials to defy court orders. “In our system, the way you object to a legal ruling you find objectionable is to appeal.” National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru noted on CNN that Republicans have a “long history” of favoring powerful executives. “What is different now,” he warned, “is the level of aggressiveness from Trump, and the level of recklessness. They are spoiling for this fight. They are pushing the limits, in order to see how far they can go.”
On Jan. 6, Trump challenged those boundaries and was thwarted by his own vice president. Today his power is far greater, and so is the threat he poses. For now, only dedicated federal judges stand in his way
Email Steven Roberts at stevecokie@gmail.com.
Cal Thomas
Steve Roberts
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
Denham Springs students develop app
Residents will
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
As the carbon capture and sequestration industry grows in south Louisiana, a group of Denham is developing way infor Called High dent the ing sors matio idea in the ing Air has billion duc Parish. used es, but is seen as a potential manufacturing fuel with zero carbon capture dioxi pro gas and ly Maurepas. others over dioxide damage. the technology en they to students technologies coding va
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Sepulvado admitted at trial that he beat his stepson with a screwdriver, but said the boy accidentally fell into the tub. Mercer’s mother, Yvonne Mercer Sepulvado, was also convicted of manslaughter in the case.
Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement Sunday that Christopher Sepulvado should have been executed long before his death by natural causes.
“Justice should have been delivered long ago for the heinous act of brutally beating then scalding to a defenseless six year old boy,” she said. “The State failed to deliver it in his lifetime but Christopher Sepulvado now faces ultimate judgment before God in the hereafter.”
functional for demonstration
March and fully ready by April. He said the students are also looking at the “sustainability” of the app and how to keep it running for years to come.
Adalyn Farrell, Sharks secretary said the students want to help people potentially feel less concerned about the carbon capture process.
its Gulf Coast Carbon Center, after reading one of her papers. The state geologist has since been providing support and information to the students.
“I think it’s an amazing cutting-edge project,” Romanak said “It has the potential to be used as a real thing worldwide.”
Christopher Sepulvado turned around his life in prison, his attorneys wrote in a 2023 clemency petition. They said he had a spiritual awakening at Angola, showed deep remorse for his actions and that he spent much of his time leading other inmates in prayer and seeking out educational opportunities.
Other inmates shared stories of how Christopher Sepulvado had given them comfort and hope.
“There’s not a lot of inforon carbon capture to this extent,” Farrell said. “We wanted to give the people living on the lake a sense of ownership and security.”
In December, the students reached out to Katherine Romanak, a researcher at the University of Texas and
The Sharks were the state winner for the national Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition. The school won a $12,000 technology prize package and advanced to the next national round of the competition for the group’s work on the carbon capture project.
Judge denies request for new trial
Slidell pastor was convicted of child cruelty in 2024
BY WILLIE SWETT
Staff writer
A state judge denied a request for a new trial by Slidell pastor and former “Su Raymond nea R felony involving school ed previous Long, a “whee at him mony including mond, of found demons importantly whether stood was sion,” Lakeside in cused mouths shut for talking in class and placing his hand over another student’s until the child “went limp,” according to witness testimony at his trial last September After that six-day trial, a jury in Covington found Raymond guilty of four felony child cruelty charges Raymond has maintained his
innocence and said he was a victim of “cancel culture.”
Raymond subsequently hired a new lawyer, Jane Hogan, who specializes in post-trial criminal defense, and requested a post-verdict acquittal. Keller denied that request in November. On Thursday Raymond argued from the witness stand that some of the witnesses
ecutive Committee and the Republican State Central Committee.
When Sims ran for district attorney Sims declined to participate in a forum hosted by the Republican Parish Executive Committee as long as Raymond, whom he was prosecuting at the time, refused to recuse himself from the group’s decision about opportunity
The defense said they plan to appeal Keller’s decision. A sentencing date has been set for March.
In addition to being a pastor, Raymond appeared on the reality TV show, “Survivor,” in the 2002 season, which was set in Thailand. He was the first contestant to be voted off.
Christopher Sepulvado’s attorneys also said he grew up in extreme poverty, started drinking alcohol as a child to cope and developed mental health problems. They argued that he had evidence of untreated head injuries that was not presented to the jury in his case.
Christopher Sepulvado’s death leaves one man with
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and without protection,” said Pickens. Red was released on $100,000 bail from the St. Landry Parish Jail on Aug. 16. His next court date is scheduled for April 29.
A GoFundMe was created to help Williams fight the mortgage companies and cover legal battles.
“Elder financial abuse is a silent crisis that leaves
an execution date after Landry’s recent announcement that the state was ready after 15 years to resume killing and developed a protocol for using nitrogen gas. State lawmakers approved nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method last year along with electrocution, which the state previously outlawed. The state had initially scheduled Christopher Sepulvado’s death back-to-back with Hoffman’s. The state has denied a public records request mes-Picayune release the new nitrogen gas protocol, which is expected to be similar to one for Alabama, itrogen gas in executions so far The March 18 execution date remains for Hoffman under a warrant signed by Judge Alan Zaunbrecher, of the 22nd Judicial District Court, at the request of District Attorney Collin Sims. Hoffman was sentenced to death for the 1996 execution-style killing of Mary “Molly” Elliott. Hoffman was accused of raping Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive, in a remote area of St. Tammany Parish before killing her Hoffman’s case, however, may be held up by a federal judge’s recent decision to reopen a long-running lawsuit that challenged the state’s execution methods. U.S District Judge Shelly Dick of Louisiana’s Middle District agreed Friday to reopen the case after two executions had been scheduled.
The Department of Public Safety and Corrections has said members of the media and significant family members of Hoffman will be allowed to witness the execution.
too many seniors vulnerable and without recourse. Ms. Helen’s case speaks for thousands of others who suffer in silence,” wrote Felix Jones, organizer of the GoFundMe. “We urge lawmakers, financial institutions, and the public to take a stand against these predatory practices and protect our elderly from being victimized further.”
Email Ja’kori Madison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.
Raymond has had public squabbles with Sims before. Raymond is was well-known in St. Tammany and Baton Rouge political circles and has been an elected member of the Republican Parish Ex-
which owner Vincent Starwood opened bought last summer and has since worked to put back into commerce. Abody contour shop and a laundromat will openinthe development,which wasthe former Hanger Prosthetics& Orthotics. It already houses asmall grocerystore,called Starwood Marketplace, and a beauty salon/barbershop.
“Everywhere
“physical about
sion, and was surprised to learn he hadn’t testified. But it was Wolfe’s testimony that Keller ultimately invoked in determining that Raymond knew it was his choice to make.
with our customers in the public, and we are just excited to get back up and run-
PROVIDED PHOTO
Denham Springs High School Sharks members Khadija Henni, left, and Adalyn Farrell work
Second-half surge propels LSU past Kentucky
Williams, Johnson lift Tigers to overcome 16-point deficit at halftime
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
The LSU women’s basketball team faced its largest halftime deficit of the season on Sunday in a road game against Kentucky.
Then Mikaylah Williams spearheaded a second-half surge that propelled the No. 7 Tigers to a come-from-behind 65-58 win. Down the stretch of the fourth quarter,
Williams hit two important shots to put LSU ahead 62-58 with 50 seconds left in the game.
The first one was a strong, driving finish over a 6-foot-7 defender, and the second was an open 3-pointer, a shot she calmly drained from the left wing against a late close out Williams scored 15 of her 24 points in the second half, helping the Tigers (27-2, 12-2 SEC) avoid what could’ve easily become their third loss of the season.
“You saw today,” coach Kim Mulkey said, “how much we rely on (Williams) and how good she is.”
Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks and point guard Georgia Amoore have a history with LSU. In 2023, they led Virginia Tech to a Final Four clash against the Tigers, who
erased a 12-point second-half deficit in that game to advance to the national championship for the first time in program history Brooks and Amoore are now at a different school, and they’ve already led the No. 14 Wildcats to their first 20-win season since 2019-2020. They entered their Sunday game against LSU with hopes of finishing the regular season as one of the top four teams in the Southeastern Conference, the ones that receive a double bye in the conference tournament.
Now, Kentucky will have to keep trying to earn that advantage — all because it couldn’t hang on to a 16-point second-quarter lead
BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer
If Kellen Moore needs to take a breath, it’ll have to wait.
In February alone, the New Orleans Saints’ newest coach won the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, took a new job and moved to New Orleans, returned to Philadelphia for a parade, and filled out the majority of his staff — including recent hires offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley Next up: The NFL Scouting Combine.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the biggest questions facing the Saints entering the event
Will a trade market emerge for Carr?
If the Saints want to move on from Derek Carr this offseason, the most palatable option would be to trade the quarterback since that would provide the largest salary cap relief ($11 million).
But for that to happen Carr would have to waive his no-trade clause and the Saints would have to determine whether there’d be an actual market available. The combine is a perfect place to put out feelers.
The framework for trades can begin there, such as when the Washington Commanders and Indianapolis Colts started talks over an eventual Carson Wentz deal in 2022.
At last year’s combine, other teams reportedly left the event with the impression that the Saints would be open to dealing Marshon Lattimore.
A trade ultimately didn’t happen that offseason, but New Orleans then shipped the cornerback in November to the Commanders.
How will Saints’ new staff impact scouting?
This was a topic last year when the Saints changed offensive schemes upon hiring Klint Kubiak, but it becomes even more relevant this time around upon hiring Moore and Staley
Staley’s arrival is arguably even more interesting because the coordinator might cause the Saints to finally change their long-standing
LSU’s Hernandez steps up, offense slows down
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
LSU baseball’s second weekend back at Alex Box Stadium wasn’t as seamless as its first.
The Tigers won Friday’s series opener against Omaha 4-2 but suffered their first defeat of the year in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Saturday 5-4, before bouncing back in Game 2 with a 12-1 victory Here are five takeaways from LSU’s three games in two days.
Luis Hernandez’s big weekend
Even if it wasn’t a stellar weekend for LSU’s offense, it was a good week for Luis Hernandez, the senior Indiana State transfer, behind the plate and in the batter’s box. Hernandez was 4 for 8 with three doubles in two starts, driving the ball on mul-
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tiple occasions after having just one hit against Purdue Fort Wayne. Defensively, he caught a runner stealing on Friday and Saturday and has surrendered just one passed ball this season.
“I thought he had a good weekend,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “That was a definite positive because we know he’s a good hitter, and he kind of reversed spots with a few guys from last weekend to this weekend in terms of the quality of the at bats.” Hernandez has started four of LSU’s seven games, sharing the load with freshman Cade Arrambide who has made three starts. But after his big weekend at the plate and solid defensive play perhaps even more playing time is in store for the veteran.
Examining the pitching staff
LSU surrendered six more runs and had nine fewer strikeouts this weekend than in its opening series. But those numbers only tell part of the story
The Tigers only allowed runs in just three innings against Omaha. Their starters — sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson, UC San Diego transfer and right-hander Anthony Eyanson and redshirt sophomore Chase Shores combined to give up just two earned runs in 161/3 innings.
“I would say we’re all pretty different, but I think us three being so close with one another just really helps us,” Eyanson said.
The bullpen had its first rocky outing in the seventh inning of Game 1 of the doubleheader, surrendering five runs after
UL football returns to familiar face for its GM
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
It’s a job title most sports fans associate with professional sports.
In this new era of college athletics, though, it’s just as important — maybe more. An old familiar face returned to UL with a new job title when Reed Stringer was announced as the general manager of the Ragin’ Cajuns football program.
“Pretty much anything that happens off the field, I’ll be helping with,” Stringer said. Stringer spent the past seven seasons at Southern Miss, most recently in this same role. Before that, he was a recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at UL under coach Mark Hudspeth from 2011-17.
After the 2024 season and a coaching change in Hattiesburg, Stringer and UL coach Michael Desormeaux began discussing the details of the position and he didn’t hesitate when offered the job.
“I was extremely excited, because two of my kids were born here, and we really enjoyed our time here,” Stringer said. “Des is one of my closest, best friends as is (director of operations) Troy (Wingerter) and (associate head coach) Jorge (Munoz). There’s just a lot of familiar faces and familiar places that made it make sense for us to come back.”
Desormeaux worked closely with Stringer in Hudspeth’s final two seasons.
“Reed played an instrumental role in the success of Ragin’ Cajuns football during his first stop here,” Desormeaux said. “Reed has always had a big picture view of the needs of our program from roster management, to recruiting philosophy and everyday operations.”
While the recruiting scene isn’t new to Stringer at all. It’s rapidly changing in the world of college football, so the duties of the old-school recruiting coordinator have multiplied, creating the need for a general manager
“Recruiting has expanded so much,” Stringer said. “There are no so many different pieces that there needs to be one person overseeing all of it to make sure that everything is working properly together
“Yes, people have individual jobs, but there has to be somebody who has their hands in all of it to make sure they all complement each other.”
Just like a general manager in the pro ranks, Stringer said the center of it is “overall roster management. — That’s acquiring new players; that’s keeping the players we have and doing the portal. I am over all the recruiting department.”
In no way does that mean Stringer and
FILE PHOTO
Reed Stringer left, pictured here talking UL recruiting on national signing day in 2016 with former analyst Gerald Broussard, has returned to UL as general manager of the football program.
AP PHOTO By STEPHEN SPILLMAN
LSU guard Mikaylah Williams scored 15 of her 24 points in the second half against Kentucky on Sunday.
Campbell wins first PGA Tour title
The Associated Press
VALLARTA,Mexico — Brian Campbell
cashed in on a huge break Sunday when his tee shot in a playoff bounced out of the trees and back into play, leading to a birdie on the second extra hole to win the Mexico Open over Aldrich Potgieter Campbell, who closed with a 1-under 70 at Vidanta Vallarta, won for the first time since he turned pro a decade ago and the timing could not have been better The victory sends him to the Masters, The Players Championship and the PGA Championship, along with five of the $20 million signature events left on the PGA Tour schedule.
“To be in this position is just so unreal,” the 31-year-old Campbell said after calmly holing a birdie putt just inside 4 feet on the 18th green for the win. “I can’t believe it, really.”
Good golf wasn’t enough. Campbell needed the break of a lifetime. Campbell and Potgieter, who shot 71, each made birdie on the 18th in regulation and began the playoff with a par Returning to
the par-5 closing hole for the third time — a big advantage for the 20-year-old South African with his power Campbell hit low, hard fade toward the out-of-bounds stakes.
But it crashed into the trees and popped back out into the rough.
He still was 94 yards behind Potgieter, but at least he had a shot.
He hit fairway metal to 68 yards short, and hit a lob wedge that checked up just short of the hole.
“You’ve got to get those breaks sometimes,” Campbell said. “Unfortunately I hit a really bad tee shot there, caught the tree, was able to keep it in play and get ourselves in a good position to get a wedge and keep the pressure on.
“I was just so happy that I was able to kind of stay in it to the end.”
Potgieter twice hit the 18th fairway in the playoff and had a 6-iron for his second shot, and both times he made par The first time was a hard draw over the green. On the second playoff hole, he was posing over a shot on a perfect line until it came up a foot short and into a bunker
He blasted out some 6 feet by
and missed the birdie putt to the left, setting up Campbell for a moment that once seemed so far away He was winless in 186 starts on the Korn Ferry and PGA Tour combined, earning $1,487,830 His payoff Sunday was $1,260,000.
Potgieter started the final round with a one-shot lead, fell behind with two bogeys to end the front nine, caught up to Campbell with a superb up-and-down on the par5 14th. They each made one bogey coming in and finished at 20-under 264.
Potgieter, who led the field in driving distance, failed to capitalize on the par-5 closing hole after hitting the fairway each time.
“Hopefully, my time will come soon,” said Potgieter who won the 2022 British Amateur at age 17 and last year became the youngest to win on the Korn Ferry Tour
“Pressure is a big thing,” he said. “You can’t beat it. You just have to learn and adjust to it the next time.”
Isaiah Salinda finished with a bogey-free 65 to finish alone in third. Aaron Rai, at No. 29 in the world the highest-ranked player
in the field, briefly shared the lead with an approach to 20 inches for eagle on the par-5 sixth. He was 1 over the rest of the way for a 67 and tied for fourth with Ben Griffin (67).
Campbell said it was grit that helped him win, and that goes back further than Sunday He played his college golf at Illinois and was the low amateur in the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay He earned a PGA Tour card in 2017 and missed the cut 13 times in 20 starts. One of those was the Zurich Classic, where he received a penalty for slow play in a peculiar ruling because it also involved his partner, Miguel Angel Carballo. And then it was back to the minor leagues for the next seven years until he was runner-up three times and finished No. 8 on the Korn Ferry Tour to get another crack at the PGA Tour
The victory gives him a two-exemption through 2027 and gives him a busy March and April with the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, the Masters and the RBC Heritage all on his schedule.
UL track teams primed for SBC indoor meet
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
There have been some encouraging results for the UL men’s and women’s track and field teams so fare.
Starting Monday at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championship at the Birmingham Crossplex in Alabama, coach Tommy Badon hopes to parlay those performances into some hardware.
The competition on the men’s side is expected to be stiff.
“I think it’s going to be a dogfight,” Badon said. “We all have a chance to win, all four of us.”
On the women’s side, things don’t appear as clear
“It’s pretty wide open,” Badon said. “There’s probably five teams on that side that have a chance — Southern Miss, Arkansas State and then you throw in Coastal and the two Georgia schools and us plus Texas State is always tough.
“So the women’s side is always tough. There’s no prohibitive favorites on the women’s side. The points are going to be pretty
spread out.”
Making things tougher to gauge is the indoor season isn’t the same competition as the outdoor
One, UL’s only competed in three meets because of a lack of indoor facilities in the region.
“Some tracks are significantly faster than others,” Badon said.
“Some of the programs in those areas are running on tracks that are designed to be faster
“We get into conference and generally they come back to us because it’s all on equal footing. It’s more of a competition between people.”
The other factor has been the cold weather lately
“We for sure aren’t football guys who play in minus-10 degree weather,” Badon said “We’ve been indoors this week for sure.
Rest is best before conference.
We would have liked to be able to get outside and enjoy some outdoor training, but we’re OK. We can get done what we need to get done, especially this time of the year.”
Secondly, indoor meets don’t
have all of the same events.
“We generally on the women’s side have been way better outdoors, because it’s two different sports,” Badon said. “Everybody thinks track is track, but it really isn’t. Outdoors, we throw the javelin, we throw the discus, we throw the hammer, we run the 400 hurdles and we run the 4x100. Those five events, we’re really good at and you don’t have those indoors.”
For example, UL’s scored 54 points in three of those five events in last year’s outdoor championship. The hot performers of late have been Alexandra Johnson, who set a school record with a time of 2 minutes 10.06 seconds in the 800, Ella Segura with the second best 3,000-meter time of 9:53 and Isabella Russell close behind at 9:56.61. On the men’s side, freshman Lawson Jacob broke Henry Brooks’ 1992 record in the 400 with a time of 46.46. Other men shining lately are Joe Patterson in the 800 (1:48.44) and Kobe Mandez in the 60-meter dash (7.97).
LSU earns silver medal at SEC meet in Georgia
The LSU swimming and diving team closed the SEC championships in impressive fashion Saturday with a silver medal on the boards, two new A cuts, four school records, and a diver of the meet honor inside the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Georgia. After six complete days, the LSU women and men finished in seventh place with 609 and 579 points, respectively 15 Tigers scored points for LSU leading to the final tally Carson Paul finished with a silver medal on the platform. Paul earned a score of 468.15, which ranks second in program history In the pool, LSU swimmers accomplished two new A cuts in the 100-free and the women’s 400-yard free relay
Sainz takes over as F1 drivers’ union director
MONACO Spanish driver Carlos Sainz has become a director at Formula One’s Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, which acts as a union for the grid’s stars.
The 30-year-old Williams driver will take the position vacated by Sebastian Vettel.
“I am passionate about my sport and think we drivers have a responsibility to do all we can to work with the stakeholders to forward the sport in many aspects,” Sainz said in a post on the GPDA’s Instagram account.
Last year, the GPDA challenged Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s leadership of the FIA by urging the Emirati to treat them like adults after Max Verstappen was ordered to perform community service for swearing in a press conference.
Shiffrin gets historic 100th World Cup race win
SESTRIERE, Italy Mikaela Shiffrin is 100% the best in skiing’s World Cup history book.
Shiffrin’s record-extending 100th career World Cup race win Sunday fulfilled a quest put on hold by a serious crash in November
Back to racing in her favored slalom event, Shiffrin kept and added to her first-run lead to finish 0.61 seconds ahead of Zrinka Ljutic. Shiffrin’s U.S. teammate Paula Moltzan was third, 0.64 back.
The 29-year-old Shiffrin also tied an all-time World Cup record for men and women, as her 155th career top-3 finish on the podium matched Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.
“A lot of things had to go right in my direction for this to happen,” a tearful Shiffrin said minutes after the race.
Ovechkin nets 3, now 13 goals shy of NHL record
WASHINGTON Alex Ovechkin fired a perfect wrist shot past Calvin Pickard for his first goal of the game, scored from his office on the power play for his second and sailed a shot into an empty net from his own zone to complete the hat trick.
Scoring three goals in the Washington Capitals’ 7-3 rout of the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday put Ovechkin 13 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record of 894. Even after missing 16 games earlier this season because of a broken leg, the 39-year-old is on pace to pass Gretzky this spring.
“On the men’s side, we’ve been third three years in a row, and we definitely feel like we need to make that jump into the championship level — first or second,” Badon said.
“On the women’s side, we feel like we’ll have a very successful meet if we’re in the top three and banging on the door to win That’s where we’re at. We want to be on the upper echelon of the conference men and women, and I think our athletes have the same attitude.”
To do so, it will require the standouts achieving their potential, but also a few overachievers.
“Then we have some kids who are right on the border,” Badon added. “RJ Wilson in the weight throws who’s been hurt and threw for the first time last week and he’s seeded ninth. Then we have a shot putter who is a sophomore and is seeded ninth. Both of them have a chance to score.
“We do need some guys to step up and perform to where they’re kind of gearing to in practice and the three meets we’ve had so far.”
If there are more games like the one against the Oilers, it’s a matter of when, not if, Ovechkin reaches 895 and beyond.
Kruyswijk claims first European Tour title
NAIROBI, Kenya Jacques Kruyswijk held on to win the Kenya Open on Sunday and lift his first European Tour title. The South African shot a 4-under 67 at Nairobi’s Muthaiga golf course to finish 18 under for the tournament and two strokes clear of second-place John Parry (68). The 32-year-old Kruyswijk completed the weekend bogey free and carded four birdies in the final round.
Having started the day one shot ahead, Kruyswijk was overtaken by Parry within five holes, but back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 saw him regain the lead.
“I’m happy that I can keep the trophy on African soil and obviously bring it back to South
rica,” Kruyswijk said.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FERNANDO LLANO
Brian Campbell, of the United States, holds the championship trophy after the final round of the Mexico Open golf tournament on Sunday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Florida capitalized on LSU’s four-guard lineup
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
Two Florida 3-pointers ricocheted off the rim and both were retrieved by the offense.
The second offensive rebound was retrieved by 7-foot-1, 255-pound Micah Handlogten, who was unimpeded by LSU’s 6-foot-9 forward Daimion Collins and 6-5 guard Dji Bailey
While sandwiched by two LSU defenders, the backup center located his 6-9 open teammate Thomas Haugh who caught the pass and dunked it with two hands, giving Florida a 63-56 lead with 6:23 left in the game.
The Tigers’ inability to overcome No. 2 Florida’s size and physicality is ultimately why they lost 79-65 Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Double-digit losses are not what LSU (14-13, 3-11 SEC) wants late in the regular season as it aims to make the National Invitation Tournament.
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Desormeaux are working separately
“We met every day, or almost every day,” Stringer said “We’re constantly talking about players or watching tape. Recruiting is something we talk about daily.”
Coming from another Sun Belt program, Stringer appreciates the direction Desormeaux’s taken with UL’s program.
“That’s one thing I like so much about what coach Des has envisioned here and has already done here,” Stringer said. It’s really what we were trying to get to at Southern Miss, but we took over a bad situation and just didn’t have time to get it done. We want to recruit young players, then we want to develop them and then we want to keep them and develop them.
“With the new one-year transfer, you can have a new roster every year, and that’s not what we want to do.”
But when it doesn’t play out that way, Stringer will be in charge of helping UL’s staff quickly find a solution.
“We’ll start gathering information for possible transfers early in the season next year,” Stringer said. “That’s what you have to do If we have an older player leave and we have a need, we’ve got
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hitting two batters and allowing a walk and two hits, including a three-run home run.
But in the other 92/3 innings, the bullpen had just one unearned run and one hit while striking out 13.
A leadoff conundrum
LSU had a different leadoff hitter in each game of this weekend’s series.
Auburn transfer Chris Stanfield led off Friday’s game, as he had in the first four games, before Utah Valley transfer Daniel Dickinson held the role in Game 1 of the doubleheader and junior college transfer Tanner Reaves hit first in Game 2. The results between the three were a mixed bag. Stanfield went 0-for-4 before getting relegated to the bench for Game 1 of the doubleheader Dickinson had a double and walked twice while Reaves didn’t have a hit but also walked twice and scored both times.
LSU never settled in on a leadoff hitter last year until the postseason when senior Michael Braswell reclaimed the spot after having it on opening day That could be the case again this year unless Johnson anoints Dickinson. The second baseman has been one of LSU’s better hitters to start this year, making him a worthy candidate even beyond his strong cameo on Saturday The question for Johnson is whether he believes LSU is better off having Dickinson provide protection behind junior Jared Jones or have him lead off. Why the pop ups
For 11 innings this weekend, LSU’s offense had trouble finding hits, let alone scoring runs. From the sixth inning of Friday’s game to the eighth inning of Game 1 Saturday, the Tigers went
Florida (24-3, 11-3) didn’t live up to its high standards on offense. It scored under 80 points for the sixth time, shooting 44% from the field and 32% from the 3-point line against LSU. The Gators’ threeplayer backcourt averages about 45 points combined per game. LSU limited the trio to 27 points.
The Gators found another way to win. They relied on their frontcourt to get second-chance opportunities and scored on first looks near the hoop. Florida’s two starting big men combined for 35 points on 15-of 23-shooting and 23 rebounds, 12 of them on offense.
Florida’s dominance was assisted by LSU starting and primarily playing a four-guard lineup for the third straight game. With four players under 6-5 playing together, it left them vulnerable in the paint.
The reason LSU coach Matt McMahon played the four-guard look is because it has proven to be the best option for the team, which had won its two previous games.
to have a list of guys who aren’t even in the portal yet to know so if they do get in the portal, we’re already ahead of the game of who we could possibly go after.”
Coming from Southern Miss, which beat UL in two of the past three seasons, Stringer knows firsthand how good the UL-Southern Miss rivalry will be moving forward.
“You could just feel it,” he said.
“It was just a natural rivalry
When we had that first game in 2022, you could tell right then it was going to be a rivalry It had been one in baseball. It’s just going to keep heating up, especially now with coach (Charles) Huff at Southern Miss and that game last year with Marshall coming here and beating us in the championship game.
“It’s a good rivalry it’s healthy and something our fans can get behind.”
Mississippi has always been a major recruiting source for the Cajuns. In addition to coaching at Southern Miss, Stringer was an assistant coach and later recruiting coordinator during his seven years at Mississippi State.
A lot has changed in the recruiting world, and Stringer is determined to help UL’s program prosper during the volatility
“It’s like a big puzzle that’s always moving,” he said. “You’ve got to be paying attention to it and always be aware of what’s going on.”
scoreless, had only three hits and struck out 10 times. They were hitless through the first 72/3 innings of the first game Saturday “I thought (the offense) had pretty good mojo coming into the season, to be honest with you. Like (our pitchers) that aren’t giving up anything, like, we were taking pretty quality of bats off of them (during the preseason),”
Johnson said. “And we lost that for a good, whatever you want to call it, like 10 or 11 inning stretch of (this) series.”
There was one sequence during the first game of the doubleheader where LSU flew out or popped out in seven consecutive at bats.
Johnson attributed those particular struggles to an undisciplined approach
“We got out of getting in position to hit, getting in position to see the ball,” Johnson said, “and seeing the right part of the ball, attacking the right part of the ball. You know expanding the zone too much.”
Defense continues to shine
LSU’s pitching staff has allowed its defense to fly under the radar to begin this season. But through seven games, the Tigers have committed just one error from a non-pitcher Their lone blemish came on a catcher’s interference call charged to Hernandez on opening day
The 88 strikeouts from the pitching staff through seven games has gone a long way toward minimizing potential mistakes in the field But Omaha put the ball in play more often than Purdue Fort Wayne did, and the Tigers still made the routine play
“I played with (Milam) and (Braswell) every game last year. So obviously we have great chemistry on the infield, and Danny’s a terrific guy over there in second base,” Jones said. “So we just are always communicating, always talking, and there’s just a lot of confidence on the infield.”
Email Koki Riley at Koki Riley@theadvocate.com.
During LSU’s seven-game losing streak, the two-forward lineup had severe scoring droughts because of a drop-off in shooting and decision-making. It also didn’t improve LSU’s rebounding that much. Having a fourth guard like Vyctorius Miller or Mike Williams instead of the non-shooting forward Corey Chest forces opponents to pay more attention to a shooting threat.
The chance of a fourth good shooter being open pulls defenders farther from the hoop and creates easy angles for drives and cuts This strategy becomes even more worthwhile when the influx of speed with the guards is disruptive on defense, forcing ill-advised decisions.
That is exactly how LSU went on a 22-2 run in the final seven minutes of the first half to take a 37-31 halftime lead.
The Tigers could not sustain that. Florida adjusted its game plan and emphasized imposing its will in the paint in the second half.
Efficient interior scoring helped Florida’s defense get organized and take away LSU’s fast offense.
The turning point came when Florida forced back-to-back liveball turnovers. This resulted in Alijah Martin turning a layup into a three-point play and making a 3-pointer Those six points gave Florida a 10-point lead that it never allowed to get back to single digits for the remaining 4 minutes, 18 seconds.
LSU’s seven turnovers were the second-lowest this season. However Florida capitalized on every small mistakes, getting 12 points off of LSU’s six second-half turnovers. That coupled with 11 second-chance points in the second half was too much for the Tigers to overcome.
The only major adjustment McMahon had left was to return to the two-forward look to mitigate Florida’s physical advantage. He chose not to play freshman Robert Miller — who had career-
highs with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Florida — together with either Corey Chest (who played 10 minutes) or Daimion Collins (who played 15 minutes) for a significant amount of time.
This was what McMahon said when asked why he didn’t.
“It wasn’t a very effective lineup for us tonight, even though the minutes weren’t many,” McMahon said. “So there’s certainly trade-offs. It’s a very fair question Offensively for us, our better opportunity from a ball security, assist-to-turnover and a three-point shooting standpoint and spacing, (was) the four-guard attack. But we got to figure out ways to rebound the ball better, protect our paint better if that’s the case.”
Striking the appropriate balance in lineups while your leading scorer Cam Carter had his worst shooting game of the season — seven points on 3 of 13 from the field — was too difficult a problem for LSU to solve.
Cajuns climb back to .500 with road win over Southern Miss
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
The UL men’s basketball team continues to impress
When the Ragin’ Cajuns were soundly defeated by Troy last week, coach Derrick Zimmerman’s team slipped to three games under .500 in Sun Belt play
After Saturday’s 62-60 road victory over Southern Miss, the Cajuns are now 8-8 in league play and in a three-way tie for seventh place.
“I’ll take it,” Zimmerman said.
“We’ve been through a lot as a team and we found a way to get it done tonight.
“With them having senior night tonight and a lot of activities going on, you knew they were going to come out playing hard.”
It was only the eighth time a UL team has won in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 31 tries in the all-time series Southern Miss (10-19, 5-11) also became the fourth conference team to lose the rematch with the Cajuns after beating UL in the first meeting.
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against LSU.
The Tigers erased that deficit by moving the ball on offense, pressuring Wildcat ballhandlers in the backcourt and adjusting how it defended Amoore away from the action. In the third quarter, they hit more field goals than they did in the first and second quarters combined, riding a reenergized offense to their first lead of the game, which grew to a seven-point advantage before the start of the fourth.
Johnson scored 9 of her 13 points in the third and finished her day with 13 rebounds. Williams added 8 of her 24 in the quarter, to pair with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Morrow finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-20 shooting, and Shayeann Day-Wilson — back in the starting lineup af-
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philosophy of searching for bigbodied, freakish athletes along the defensive line. Will Staley be open to smaller, speedier pass rushers in a way that former coach Dennis Allen was not? And if so, how does that alter, if at all, how the Saints conduct their combine interviews?
How truly deep is this defensive class? The Saints have pressing needs everywhere, including along the defensive line. But there’s good news on that front — pardon the pun. By all accounts, this is a loaded class for defensive linemen. And the Saints will get a chance to further dive in when they meet with the prospects and watch them work out.
The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said in a conference call last week that this defensive tackle class is as deep as he could remember, adding later there was also “no shortage” of edge rushers Names to watch include Michigan’s Mason Graham, Georgia’s Jalon Walker and Marshall’s Mike Green.
Thursday’s win over Troy came with only five Cajuns scoring and only four with more than a bucket.
It was the opposite way in this win with Mostapha El Moutaouakkil being the only double-figure scorer with 10 points.
“It’s called a team,” Zimmerman said. “Mo didn’t have his best offensive game that he’s been having, but teams have obviously been keying on him to try to take him out of his game.”
Instead, nine Cajuns had more than a basket in this game. Kentrell Garnett had nine points and three rebounds, followed by Christian Wright with eight points, two rebounds and four steals.
Kyran Ratliff also chipped in eight and three boards, followed by Chancellor White with seven.
“Ijustfeltweneededalittleenergy andpushandIfeltlikewegotitfrom Chancellor White, Kyran Ratliff and Brandon Hardy,” Zimmerman said. “Those guys came in and played really well for us tonight.”
London Fields added five points,
ter she entered LSU’s Thursday win over Georgia off the bench — scored 8 points and assisted 3 buckets on offense while defending Amoore for most of Kentucky’s possessions at the other end. Amoore shot only 6 of 22 from the field and 3 of 15 from 3-point range. She tallied 12 points and 4 assists in the first half, then added only 4 points and 2 assists in the second.
Clara Strack, the Wildcats’ secondleading scorer, finished with only 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
“That’s the only thing we changed,” Mulkey said, “from an X’s and O’s point of view I just said, ‘Pick them up full court,’ and we were able to cut into the lead early in the third quarter and then that just gave us a little momentum to keep going.”
In the first half, LSU shot only 32% from the field and committed 10 turnovers. Johnson took only one field goal, and Morrow converted only three of the 11 she
Will the quarterbacks build buzz? Last year’s quarterback class was a special group and that might dampen the excitement for this year’s crop.
Draft analysts have spoken highly of Cam Ward and Shadeur Sanders the consensus top two signal-callers for this draft — but have also said they’d likely rate behind the 2024 class that included Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Bo Nix and Michael Penix. Jeremiah said he’d have Ward graded between Nix and Penix and Sanders behind Penix. The combine is an opportunity for Ward, Sanders and the others available to build their case. But this draft has interesting ripple effects for the Saints. If the Tennessee Titans, for instance, pass on taking a quarterback at the No. 1 spot, would they perhaps want to pursue a Carr trade? The New York Giants are also rumored to be interested in trading for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford instead of drafting a quarterback at No. 3. Would the Giants be interested in Carr if they miss out on Stafford?
The Saints, of course, will also be linked to quarterbacks if they move on from Carr But they could
including a huge 3-pointer for a 4645 lead with 8:22 left. Hardy drained a 3-pointer for a 61-55 lead with 1:45 left.
“Brandon hit a big shot right here,” Zimmerman said. “I’m happy for Brandon because he’s originally from this area, but they moved over to Louisiana when he was younger He has a 601 area code on his phone.”
The game was a seesaw battle throughout. UL’s biggest lead was six points with the Cajuns leading for 18:31.
The Eagles’ largest lead was three and Southern Miss led for 16:01 of the game.
While UL shined at the freethrow line in beating Troy on Thursday the Cajuns against Southern Miss, goingt 7 of 15 for only 47%.
UL kept its turnovers to 11 while Southern Miss had 17 turnovers.
The other big area for the Cajuns was behind the arc with nine 3-pointers compared to only three for the Eagles.
attempted. Kentucky (21-5, 10-4) pulled 11 rebounds off the offensive glass and drained four 3-pointers in the second quarter to build a 38-26 lead by halftime. LSU then outscored the Wildcats 23-6 in the third quarter In the fourth, the Wildcats retook the lead, but LSU moved back in front, and Williams sealed the win with the pair of crucial buckets she hit down the stretch.
“That’s what great players do,” Mulkey said “You got to move fast in this game and forget the last miss. People need to start talking about her in the same breath that they talk about (Johnson) and Morrow because those are our three that really have done this all year.” LSU clinched a double bye in the SEC Tournament because it picked up a win on Sunday, the 750th victory of Mulkey’s career It also tied its program record for regular-season wins in the SEC era (since 1982).
be very well out of the Ward-Sanders range as they hold the ninth pick. Even in a down year it would be surprising to see either of those quarterbacks drop that far Are running backs back? In Sean Payton’s first draft, the Saints used the second overall pick on USC running back Reggie Bush. In Kellen Moore’s first draft, the Saints will use the ninth overall pick on Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty?
Alright, that would still be super surprising given the Saints have greater needs across the roster and that running backs are rarely picked in the top 10 these days. But the NFL scouting combine may very well highlight how a running back resurgence could be in store.
The NFL saw it this last season when free-agent signings of Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry made a huge impact for the Eagles and the Baltimore Ravens. And this year’s draft includes a potential superstar in Jeanty and two other possible first rounders in North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton and TreVeyon Henderson.
Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com
‘The Little Red Hen’ by Elizabeth Orton Jones and illustrated in gouache by by J.P Miller is copyrighted 1954 by Random House. This original illustration is featured in the LSU Museum of Art’s exhibit, ‘Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 years of Golden Books.’
PROVIDED PHOTOS By LSU MUSEUM OF ART
LIVING
Colors are bold, the world is happy and all adults become kids in LSU’s ‘Golden Book’ exhibit
‘Tootle’ by Gertrude Crampton, illustrated by Tibor Gergely is featured in ‘Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 years of Golden Books,’ opening Feb 27 at the LSU Museum of Art.The painting is an original gouache illustration, copyright 1945 Random House.
Aurelius Battaglia’s original gouache illustration for Jack Bechdolt’s Little Golden Book, ‘Little Boy With A Big Horn,’ copyright 1950 Random House, is featured in the exhibit
BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer
When the weekend ends and Monday rolls around, sometimes the last thing anyone wants to do is cook dinner — or lunch, for that matter. In Baton Rouge, there are several restaurants that close shop on Monday to recover from the weekend shifts, but there is also a plethora of those ready to greet guests that day Below are 40 res-
BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer
Michelle Schulte remembers how every Little Golden Book included a complete list of the series’ titles on its back cover Sometimes the list appeared inside the cover, but it didn’t matter to her as long as it was there.
“I always turned to the list and checked off all the Little Golden Books I had read,” said Schulte, the LSU Museum of Art’s curator
That was in her childhood, when each title represented a piece of magic bound in gold foil. Now this same magic fills the gallery as Schulte decides what to hang where during the installation of the museum’s latest exhibit, “Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 Years of Golden Books.”
Generational impact
The show opens on Thursday and features 60 original illustrations from the little cardboard-covered children’s books with which millions of Americans grew up reading. This isn’t an exaggeration — generations of Americans not only grew up with these books but passed them down to their children and grandchildren. With this in mind, Schulte tried to design a show that would appeal to both children and adults.
ä See EXHIBIT, page 6C
and illustrated by Richard Scarry in gouache and watercolor and copyrighted 1963 by Random House is featured in the exhibit.
‘GOLDEN LEGACY: ORIGINAL ART FROM 80 YEARS OF GOLDEN BOOKS’
Through May 25 at the LSU Museum of Art in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St. l Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Tuesday through Wednesday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. l Admission is $5 for ages 13 and older and free for ages 12 and younger, university students with ID and veterans and their families with military ID l Call (225) 578-3000 or visit lsumoa.org
The “Shoutlet” is a new revolutionary suppression device/ pillow that allows the person to scream, yell or even cry into the pillow without disturbing others.
It is not uncommon for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease to shout, yell or vocalize during various stages of the condition. Pain, hunger restlessness, anxiety, loneliness, depression or even external factors could be some of the underlying causes that trigger such behavioral challenges. Often, the yelling may just come from an unmet need to communicate something to others. Further, yelling can be a self-soothing and/or coping mechanism for the affected individual.
taurants in Baton Rouge that are open on Mondays; hours vary If we missed one, let us know by emailing lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com with the name and address. n Bao Vietnamese Cuisine, 8342 Perkins Road n Barracuda Taco Stand, 2504 Government St. n Bay Leaf Indian Cuisine, 5160 S Sherwood Forest Blvd.
In helping the person with Alzheimer’s disease to remain calm and to halt the shouting, albeit sometimes temporarily, it is helpful to establish a structured, daily routine, provide meaningful activities, create a calming environment, and above all, offer reassurance to the individual. Agitation and aggression can be triggers to yelling and screaming, and taking a step back and demonstrating calmness can assist in calming and reassuring the affected individual. It is helpful to stop and slow down and truly listen to the individual, even if it does not make sense. Try not to correct or admonish as this will only “fuel the fire” and perhaps accelerate the yelling and screaming. Redirecting and validating the feelings of the individual can calm him down, giving time for the caregiver to understand the reasons behind the yelling behaviors. Fostering respectful dialogue and entering the affected individual’s reality during yelling episodes promotes a muchneeded connection between the caregiver and the affected individual and gives that individual the dignity he deserves. Using these practices may be effective in diverting or pausing the screaming behaviors. Another alternative, and something tangible to try is the new device/pillow, called the “Shoutlet,” which provides a safe, convenient and effective way to convert negative emotions and promote inner balance. According to the company’s website, the benefits of using the “Shoutlet” include: a reduction of acute stress levels, improvement of sleep quality, promotion of relaxation, comfort and support, assistance in gaining mental and emotional clarity, and improved heart and lung strength.
Screaming into a pillow has always been a way to express and release strong emotions like anger or frustration without disturbing others. The “Shoutlet” is lightweight and handy and it is not as large as a regular bed pillow, for instance. It is compact and measures 8.5” (l) x 6” (w) x 3” (depth), weighs about 6 ounces,
‘I Am A Bunny’ by Ole Risom
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Is there a link between prediabetes, pancreatic cancer?
Dear Doctors: I just learned I have prediabetes. I also learned that a lot of people with pancreatic cancer have trouble with blood sugar control. A connection between prediabetes and pancreatic cancer is really scary, and I would like to know more.
Dear Reader: While cancer of the pancreas is the 10th most common cancer, it is the third most common cause of cancer deaths. This is because noticeable symptoms of this cancer often appear only once the disease is quite advanced, when it has spread to other areas of the body Diabetes, by contrast, has become so common and widespread that it is considered to be a national epidemic It is estimated that at least 40 million people over the age of 18 are living with
By The Associated Press
Today is Monday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2025. There are 310 days left in the year Today in history
On Feb. 24, 1868, the U.S House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson by a vote of 126-47 following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate by a single vote.
On this date:
In 1803, in its landmark Marbury v. Madison decision, the U.S. Supreme Court established judicial review of the constitutionality of laws and statutes.
EXHIBIT
Continued from page 5C
Adults will become kids again as they walk through these imaginary landscapes from their childhoods. That’s the effect it’s had on Schulte, as well as the museum staff.
Childhood connections
Schulte walks through the gallery, stopping by authorillustrator Elizabeth Orton Jones’ illustrations for “Little Red Riding Hood.” These conjure special memories.
“We lived in Germany when I was a child, and I remember noticing how Little Red Riding Hood wore the same kind of German wear that I wore over there,” Schulte said. “I remember telling my mom, ‘Look, she’s wearing the same thing I’m wearing.’ There’s just something very European about the illustrations in that book, and I related to it as a child.”
She also shares her love of another favorite, “The Poky Little Puppy,” the 12th of the original Little Golden Books published in 1942.
“I think ‘The Poky Little Puppy’ is everyone’s favorite,” Schulte said. “It still ranks as the most popular Little Golden Book today, and it’s amazing just how strong its staying power is. The illustrations are still the same, and the story is still the same, and everyone still loves it.”
Celebrating 80 years
The exhibit was organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature in Abilene, Texas, and as mentioned in its title, celebrates Little Golden Books’ 80th anniversary Technically the series is 83 now. The show began traveling in 2022, exactly 80 years from the books’ first publishing date of 1942.
Joining “The Poky Little Puppy” in the original round of 12 titles were “Three Little Kittens,” “Bedtime Stories,” “Mother Goose,” “Prayers for Children,” “The Little Red Hen,” “Nursery Songs,” “The Alphabet from A to Z,” “The Golden Book of Fairy Tales,” “Baby’s Book of Objects,” “The Animals of Farmer Jones” and “This Little Piggy and Other Counting Rhymes.”
The launch year also marked the United States’ first full year of involvement in World War II. While war raged in Europe, Little Golden Books were wielding
Dr. Elizabeth Ko Dr Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS
diabetes in the United States. That’s close to 15% of adults. Another 100 million people in the U.S. share your diagnosis of prediabetes. Also known as impaired glucose tolerance, it is a condition in which chronically elevated blood sugar levels are approaching the diabetes benchmark. All of this makes the possible correlation between poor blood glucose and pancreatic cancer that you are
TODAY IN HISTORY
In 1942, the SS Struma, a charter ship carrying nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees died. In 1988, in a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $200,000 award that the Rev Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt. In 1991, the United States began ground operations in the Gulf War by entering Iraqi-held Kuwait. In 2008, Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro presi-
magic at home.
Affordable high quality
The books also represent a significant milestone in publishing history, marking the first time high-quality illustrated books were made available to millions of youngsters and their parents at affordable prices.
The idea to produce colorful, durable and affordable children’s books was developed by Georges Duplaix, who headed the Artists and Writers Guild, Inc., a division of Western Publishing. Books for kids were selling for $2 and $3 at the time, which would translate to about $38 and $58 today
Duplaix teamed up with some fellow artists and writers on the project while Western Publishing and Simon & Schuster produced the books in a joint publishing venture.
Each Golden Book consisted of 42 pages with 28 printed in two colors and 14 in four colors. They were bound with staples with spines wrapped in the books’ signature gold foil They sold for 25 cents each Moms could afford them
“I remember my mother reading a Little Golden Book to me as a child, because that’s what they could afford,” Schulte said. “She didn’t have very many books, and the books she did have were generally Little Golden Books or books that she shared amongst her siblings. Then I started picking out my own. Now my son loves Little Golden Books.”
She grabs a book from a table filled with Golden Book titles provided by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature to complement the exhibit.
“This is my son’s favorite,” she said, flipping through the pages of ‘The Monster at the End of This,’ starring ‘Sesame Street’s’ garbage can character Grover As Golden Books went on, they stuck with stories and illustrations either based on classics or things that came out of their own publishing company.”
Eventually, Golden Books started to partner with corporations like Disney Hanna Barbera and the Sesame Warehouse. This move, Schulte said, gave the company staying power with the rise of television.
The one about Taylor Swift
How relevant are the Little Golden Books today? The answer can be found downstairs in the LSU Museum Store.
asking about quite concerning. The pancreas is a spongy, glandular organ about 6 to 8 inches long. Shaped like a sideways comma, it sits deep within the abdomen, surrounded by the liver, stomach, small intestine and spleen. The two main jobs of the pancreas are to aid in digestion and help with blood sugar regulation. It does the latter by producing insulin, the hormone essential to moving glucose from the blood into the cells. It is here that a possible link between diabetes and pancreatic cancer comes into play When blood sugar levels rise, the beta cells of the pancreas send out insulin. If blood sugar is chronically high, as in diabetes, the pancreas is forced into overdrive. The data show that up to 80% of people who are diagnosed with
dent, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel. In 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions. Today’s birthdays: Actor Dominic Chianese is 94. Nike cofounder Phil Knight is 87. Actor Barry Bostwick is 80. Actor Edward James Olmos is 78. Musician George Thorogood is 75. Baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray is 69. Actor Billy Zane is 59. Boxing Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr is 48. Tennis Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt is 44. Actor Daniel Kaluuya is 36.
“Our best-selling Golden Book is the one about Taylor Swift,” museum manager LeAnn Russo said.
The book, simply titled “Taylor Swift,” features an illustration of the megastar making heart hands on the cover The shop is selling it alongside classic Little Golden Book titles and such newer editions as “Elvis Presley.”
The shop also offers Golden Book-themed memorabilia, including T-shirts and totes, and has designated a comfy rug-covered corner as a reading station for kids.
Artists escaped war
While the illustrations upstairs are nothing less than wonder-filled worlds, the lives of some of their artists were quite the opposite.
“It was wartime, and a lot of these artists had to escape Europe,” Schulte said.
“They came to the United States, and while they were artists in their own right in their countries, they had to evacuate for their own reasons because of the war.”
The danger they faced doesn’t appear in their illustrations. They found success through the Little Golden Book series with some artists even moving on to work for Disney Gustaf Tenggren was among the Golden Bookturned-Disney set. He isn’t a household name, but his depiction of the Seven Dwarves in Disney’s 1937 animated classic “Snow White” will live forever in film history and moviegoers’ hearts.
Meanwhile, his paintings of “The Poky Little Puppy” are still touching children’s hearts.
Poky Puppy is here
The exhibition features an illustration from “The Poky Little Puppy” showing the pup with his friends thinking about digging an escape tunnel beneath a picket fence. They hesitate beneath a sign announcing, “No desserts ever unless puppies never dig holes under this fence again!”
This prompts the question: Can puppies read? And if they can, would the threat of withholding desserts really discourage them from digging that hole?
In their world, a Little Golden Book world, the color is bold, every story is happy and all adults become kids again.
Email Robin Miller at romiller@theadvocate. com.
pancreatic cancer have either recently developed Type 2 diabetes or have prediabetes. There is also evidence that long-term diabetes is a risk factor for this type of cancer Whether or not this indicates a direct connection between the two diseases is not yet clear
One idea that is being explored is that a new diagnosis of diabetes, also known as new-onset diabetes, may be a symptom of pancreatic cancer Another potential explanation is that the presence of the cancer itself may have an adverse effect on mechanisms involved in blood glucose control. Even without a direct connection to pancreatic cancer, the chronically high blood sugar you have been diagnosed with should be addressed. Data collected by the American Diabetes Associa-
tion show that 70% of people living with prediabetes eventually go on to develop Type 2 diabetes. Chronic prediabetes is also associated with early forms of kidney disease, damage to the retina, neuropathy and an increased risk of certain types of vascular disease. The good news is that with proper diet, regular exercise and reaching a healthful weight, prediabetes can be reversed. Please be sure to follow the treatment plan that your doctor has provided.
Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla. edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o UCLA Health Sciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.
Help! My dinner guests just aren’t nosy enough!
Dear Miss Manners: I love
scrapbooking and physical photo albums, and I have several proudly displayed on a shelf in my living room. We love to entertain, and while guests usually see the albums on the shelf, they rarely ask about them and almost never pull them down to look through!
through it?
The albums contain photos of family and friends through the years, and I’d love to share them. I don’t want to commit the faux pas of forcing photo albums on others, but would it be OK for me to strategically place one on my coffee table, to subtly encourage folks to look
Gentle reader: This is the lower-tech version of passing around your telephone, or, before that, showing home movies of your children’s birthday parties and family vacations. Usually, people only tolerate this in hopes of showing their own pictures.
But while Miss Manners believes you should let this notion go, she will do her duty to help you. Sure, leave an album or two on the coffee table. But it is not as though your living room is a waiting room, where people will grab anything, even old medical journals, to read.
What you can do is tell an amusing story about one of your friends or relatives, and then ask, “Would you like to see a picture?” Your guests can hardly say no. When you open the album to the person mentioned, you can then hand it to your guest, who may or may not look more into it. Just please promise that you will take the album back as soon as they try to return it.
Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners. com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
Cleaning spider residue off dock
Dear Heloise: I live in a waterfront home on a lake, and I have a large dock on the water During the summer, we get hundreds of spiders on the ceiling and walls of the structure. Where there are spiders, there’s poop and black spots that are difficult to remove. But no more! I mix 1⁄3 cup of ammonia and 2⁄3 cup of water in a spray bottle. As soon as the spray hits the poop, it dissolves. Then I just spray it again with a hose, and it’s clean as ever!
as an auto detailer when I was teenager I’ve always paid attention to products on the market to make detailing easier and make my car look even more beautiful.
Same goes for the rascals who are pooping on my boat! Thank you for all your great advice over the years. — Susan on Lake Anna, in Orange,Virginia Ceramic wax cleaner
Dear Heloise: Having worked
DEVICE
Continued from page 5C
is made of canvas and vegan suede, has a hypoallergenic foam core, and is
RESTAURANTS
Continued from page 5C
n Beausoleil Coastal Cuisine,7731JeffersonHighway
n Bin 77, 10111 Perkins Rowe
n BLDG 5, 2805 Kalurah St.
n BRQ Seafood and Barbecue, 10423 Jefferson Highway
n Cecelia Creole Bistro, 421 N. Third St.
n Chai-Thai Loa, 8733 Jefferson Highway
n Chow Yum, 2363 Hollydale Ave.
n Cocha, 445 N. Sixth St.
n Counter Culture, 7711 Perkins Road
n DiGiulio Brothers Italian Cafe, 2903 Perkins Road
n Eliza Restaurant, 7970 Jefferson Highway
n Elsie’s Plate and Pie,
I read a letter in your column where a reader contacted a company about using a ceramic cleaner that was intended for cooktops, but the company advised against using it on dishware and other items. For the past three or four years, I’ve been using a newer product that is a ceramic wax for your vehicle and leads to a nice waterrepellent finish that shines like crazy While I wouldn’t use it on dishes, I have used it on everything in my house and all of my sinks. Stain-
machine washable. The pillow sells for $30. For more information about the “Shoutlet” pillow, visit www.theshoutlet.com.
less steel appliances, countertops, my glass range top, and even my fiberglass stall shower and molded bathtub. A word of caution: Never use it on any floors, or you’ll be skating around like Dorothy Hamill! But it even works on windows without leaving streaks. There really are endless uses for this product. It is extremely easy to apply and does not leave any white residue like other stovetop cleaners and waxes. It also helps not to have 10 different types of cleaners in your cupboards. I enjoy your column very much and have far too many tips to share, but this is one of my favorites. — Robert L.B., in Vermont Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.
Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of “What My Grandchildren
3145 Government St.
n French Market Bistro, 16645 Highland Road
n Jed’s Local, 672 Jefferson Highway
n Jubans Restaurant and Bar, 3739 Perkins Road
n LouisianaLagniappeRestaurant, 9990 Perkins Road
n Mansurs on the Boulevard, 5720 Corporate Blvd.
n Mason’s Grill, 13556 Jefferson Highway
n Okki Tokki, 549 Main St.
n Olive or Twist, 7248 Per-
kins Road
n Our Mom’s Restaurant and Bar, 250 W. Lee Drive
n Overpass Merchant, 2904 Perkins Road
n Parrain’s Seafood Restaurant, 3225 Perkins Road
n Pedro’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, 7655 Andrea Drive
n Phil’s Oyster Bar, 4335 Perkins Road
n Rouj Creole, 7601 Bluebonnet Blvd.
Taught Me About Alzheimer’s Disease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.
n Roux 61 Seafood and Grill, 8322 Bluebonnet Blvd
n Sammy’s Grill, 8635 Highland Road
n SoLou, 2112 Perkins Road
n Spoke and Hub, 5412 Government St.
n Sushi Yama, 7731 Perkins Road
n Tallulah Crafted Food and Wine Bar, 7000 Bluebonnet Blvd.
n The Cove Hawaiian Grill, 9618 Jefferson Highway
n The Smiling Dog, 4215 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd.
n Umami Japanese Bistro, 3930 Burbank Drive
n Willie’s Restaurant, 11260 Coursey Blvd.
n Zippy’s, 3155 Perkins Road.
Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
Hints from Heloise
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Keep your life simple and moderate by using reason and sticking to a budget you can handle. Put more muscle behind what you want to achieve, embrace challenges that offer stability and take care of your needs.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) An open discussion will help ward off misunderstandings. Speak from the heart, offer alternatives and be willing to compromise. Be the force behind positive decisions and outcomes.
tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Put your time and energy into getting ahead at home and at work. Refuse to let anger slow you down or hold you back. Choose progress over discord, and you'll surpass your expectations.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Set boundaries and limit your spending, intake and promises. A reasonable pace and wellthought-out plans will help you bypass temptation. Put your effort where it will do you some good. Learn something new.
CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Put your energy into something worthwhile Upgrade your skills, qualifications and anything that will help you get ahead. However, say no to conflict or spontaneous spending.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Pay attention, and you'll be privy to information that can help you advance. Short-term offers should be looked at with skepticism. Put your energy where it brings the highest returns.
VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Time is on your side. Plan and execute your actions with precision. Set the stage for a better future, and network with those who can introduce you to the right people.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Set aside time for the people and pastimes you enjoy. Refuse to let anger cost you. Do what works best for you and allow others the same privilege. Learn from experience.
SCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Set your sights on what you want to achieve, and get started. Incorporate positive change into your life, establish what you want and proceed to get things done.
SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Keep track of your spending, investments and livelihood. Someone will interfere if you aren't astute and constantly tracking what's changing around you.
CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) A change to your surroundings will be uplifting. Make your space more affordable, efficient and comfortable. Discipline, hard work and finishing what you start will pay off handsomely.
AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Updating your mindset, appearance or skills will help you stay ahead of any competition If you snooze, you'll lose; don't lose sight of your goal. Choose self-improvement over criticizing others.
zodIAC Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
toDAy'S CLuE: Z EQuALS F
CeLebrItY CIpher
better or For WorSe
SALLY Forth
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
SherMAn’S LAGoon
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.
Saturday’s Puzzle Answer
THe wiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge
Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, wrote, “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!” In bridge, we think left and right when considering our opponents. We think low and high when deciding which card to lead from a given holding (or whether to play low or high when following suit). This week, let’s look at the single most important rule for defenders: When you lead from length, if you lead a low card, you guarantee an honor in that suit; without an honor, lead an unnecessarily high card. (There is one clear exception to that rule, which we will look at later this week.)
Today’s deal provides a good example. What should West lead against three notrump?
The auction is simple and quantitative.
West should lead the spade eight, the high card denying an honor in the suit. Then how should East defend?
