KERN STUDIOS BUILDERS EXPANDING TO ADD ROOM FOR MARDI GRAS CONSTRUCTIONS
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
Kern Studios, the New Orleans float builder that’s now bringing Carnivalstyle parades to theme parks, rodeos and other locations around the world, needs more space.
The company designs and builds nearly 1,000 floats every year for more than a dozen local krewes and a growing number of out-of-state parades and projects. But with orders continuing to rise, President and CEO Barry Kern has been expanding from his headquarters near the Mississippi River, seeking out new locations across the city where artists and craftspeople can bring designs to life.
The company in late January purchased two lots in Algiers once home to the original Bacchus and Endymion float dens — and is planning to build two new float-building facilities on the site. When completed later this year, the new warehouses will enable Kern to build and store about 80 additional floats.
The company also recently purchased a warehouse in the 2200 block of Poydras Street, where it will store the oversized tractors that pull its ever-larger floats. And in 2023, it purchased new sites in New Orleans East and the Lower Garden District.
It also owns several facilities in Algiers and in Central City, where it builds floats on site for specific parades and su-
ABOVE: Barry Kern, CEO and president of Kern Studios and Mardi Gras World in New Orleans, checks on the alignment of a row of footballs on the side of a Tostitos-themed float on Feb 6 as he and his staff put the finishing touches on the Super Bowl parade floats. TOP: Steven Villano, a sculptor at Kern Studios, shapes Styrofoam into angel wings for a float on Jan. 2, 2024, at Mardi Gras World.
perkrewes. Kern said the need for more warehouse space is driven by the expansion of Mardi Gras locally and demand around the country for the Carnivalstyle floats, props and sculptures that
Kern Studios has helped popularize in recent decades.
“Mardi Gras continues to grow with more parades, more people, more
ä See ROOM, page 4A
Trump backs Musk as he roils federal workforce
BY CHRIS MEGERIAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Don-
ald Trump backed Elon Musk’s demand that federal employees explain their recent accomplishments by the end of Monday or risk getting fired, even as government agency officials were told that compliance with Musk’s edict was voluntary.
Federal appeals court halts case
Legal challenge to La. execution protocols could be reopened
BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
A federal appeals court in New Orleans has halted a judge’s decision to reopen a legal challenge to Louisiana’s execution protocols while it considers an opposition from Attorney General Liz Murrill. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a one-sentence order on Monday, issued an administrative stay of U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick’s ruling from last week. Dick ruled Friday in favor of attorneys for death row inmates who are seeking to fend off the first Louisiana execution since 2010. They had asked Dick, a nominee of former President Barack Obama, to revive a long-dormant federal lawsuit over the ways that Louisiana kills its condemned. When the suit was first filed in 2012, Louisiana only allowed executions by lethal injection. Dick dismissed the case in 2022 after then-Attorney General Jeff Landry argued it was moot, as the state was unable to get the lethal injection drugs and was not
Mississippi River on the rise
Precautions being put in place; opening spillway unlikely
BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer
“What he’s doing is saying, ‘Are you actually working?’ ” Trump said in the Oval Office during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“And then, if you don’t answer, like you’re sort of semi-fired or you’re fired, because a lot of
Confusion and anger over the situation spawned new litigation and added to turmoil within the federal workforce.
people aren’t answering because they don’t even exist.”
The Republican president said Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has found “hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud” as he suggested that federal paychecks are going to nonexistent employees. He did not present evidence for his claims.
But even as Trump and Musk pressed their case, the Office of Personnel Management informed agency leaders that their workforces were not required to respond by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters
Just after 7 p.m. — hours after OPM had directed agencies that
The Mississippi River has been on the rise, as tends to happen this time of year, but while relatively minor precautions are being put in place by the Army Corps of Engineers, an opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway seems unlikely so far The river has risen to over 11 feet at New Orleans’ Carrollton gauge, which translates roughly to 11 feet above sea level. Rising above 11 feet triggers what the Corps calls a phase 1 flood fight which means increased levee checks in coordination with local authorities and restrictions on certain work near them.
The Corps announced Monday it had entered phase 1, which is likely to last a couple of weeks or so.
Trump Musk
STAFF FILE PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER
BRIEFS
FROM WIRE REPORTS
Delta flight reports possible smoke
ATLANTA A Delta Air Lines flight returned to the Atlanta airport soon after taking off Monday when crew members reported a smoky haze inside the cockpit, according to federal officials.
Delta Flight 876 to Columbia, South Carolina, returned safely to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Monday morning “after the crew reported possible smoke in the flightdeck,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The FAA said it’s investigating the incident, which came after a Delta plane flipped over last week while crash landing in Toronto, injuring 21 people. And on Saturday, another Delta flight returned to Los Angeles after departing for Sydney Australia, when smoke was detected in the galley, according to the airline.
Trial to begin in Chicago shooting
WAUKEGAN, Ill The man accused of opening fire on a suburban Chicago Independence Day parade, killing seven people, is about to stand trial, nearly three years after the attack.
Jury selection started Monday after several delays. Part of the reason is the erratic behavior of the defendant.
Opening statements are expected next week.
Authorities said Robert Crimo III perched on a roof and shot at crowds assembled for a Fourth of July paradeindowntownHighland Park, a wealthy suburb 30 miles from Chicago.
Seven people were killed in the 2022 shooting, including both parents of a toddler Dozens more were wounded They ranged in age from their 80s down to an 8-year-old boy who was left partially paralyzed.
Illness kills over 50 in Congo
KINSHASA, Congo An unknown illness has killed over 50 people in northwestern Congo, according to doctors on the ground and the World Health Organization on Monday
The interval between the onset of symptoms and death has been 48 hours in the majority of cases, and “that’s what’s really worrying,” Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, said.
The outbreak began Jan. 21, and 419 cases have been recorded, including 53 deaths
According to WHO’s Africa office, the outbreak began in the town of Boloko after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms.
63 hostages still in Gaza after release
JERUSALEM Hamas freed six Israelis on Saturday in the last scheduled release of living hostages by the militant group under the current stage of a ceasefire agreement with Israel.
In all, a total of 33 Israelis are being freed during this stage — including eight who are dead Five Thai hostages have also been freed separately Sixtythree hostages, including the body of a soldier held since 2014, remain in Gaza.
The remains of four Israeli hostages have been returned in a transfer that was marred when Hamas handed over the wrong body for Shiri Bibas, an Israeli mother of two young boys abducted by militants After a tense standoff, her remains were returned and identified early Saturday
The final four sets of remains are expected to be returned in the coming days.
U.S. AT ODDS WITH EUROPEAN ALLIES
Trump refuses to blame Russia for Ukraine war in U.N. votes
BY EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS In a dramatic shift in transatlantic relations under President Donald Trump, the United States split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three U.N. resolutions Monday seeking an end to the three-year war
The growing divide follows Trump’s decision to open direct negotiations with Russia on ending the war, dismaying Ukraine and its European supporters by excluding them from the preliminary talks last week. In the U.N. General Assembly, the U.S. joined Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution that calls out Moscow’s aggression and demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.
The U.S. then abstained from voting on its own competing resolution after Europeans led by France, succeeded in amending it to make clear Russia was the aggressor The voting was taking place on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion and as Trump was hosting French President Emmanuel Macron in Washington. It was a major setback for the Trump administration in the 193-member world body, whose resolutions are not legally binding but are seen as a barometer of world opinion.
The U.S. then pushed for a vote on its original draft in the more powerful U.N. Security Council, where resolutions are legally binding and it has veto power along with Russia, China, Britain and France. The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five European countries abstaining – Britain, France, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia
The dueling resolutions also reflect the tensions that have emerged between the U.S. and Ukraine. In escalating rhetoric, Trump has called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator” for not holding elections during wartime, when much of Ukraine is under Russian occupation and many of its soldiers are on the frontlines
Trump also has falsely accused Kyiv of starting the war and warned
ASSOCIATED
Russia Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya addresses the United Nations Security Council on Monday at U.N. headquarters.
that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the conflict or risk not having a nation to lead. Zelenskyy responded by saying Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space.”
In a whirlwind of diplomacy Trump’s meeting with Macron will be followed by a visit on Thursday from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, key U.S. allies who were in lockstep with Washington on Ukraine just over a month ago. They now find themselves on opposite sides on the best pathway for the UN to call for an end to the war
The General Assembly first voted 93-18 with 65 abstentions to approve the Ukrainian resolution. The result showed some diminished support for Ukraine, because previous assembly votes saw more than 140 nations condemn Russia’s aggression, demand an immediate withdrawal, and reversal of its annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
The assembly then turned to the U.S.-drafted resolution, which acknowledges “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia,” but never mentions Moscow’s aggression.
In a surprise move, France proposed three amendments, backed by more than European countries, which add that the conflict was the result of a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation.” The amendments reaffirm the assembly’s commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty independence, unity and territorial integrity, and call for peace that respects the U.N. Charter
Russia also proposed an amendment calling for “root causes” of the conflict to be addressed.
All the amendments were approved and the resolution passed 93-8 with 73 abstentions, with Ukraine voting “yes,” the U.S. abstaining, and Russia voting “no.”
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mariana Betsa said her country is exercising its “inherent right to selfdefense” following Russia’s invasion, which violates the U.N. Charter’s requirement that countries respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations.
“As we mark three years of this devastation — Russia’s full invasion against Ukraine — we call on all nations to stand firm and to take the side of the Charter, the side of humanity and the side of just and lasting peace, peace through strength,” she said. Trump has often stated his commitment to bringing “peace through strength.”
U.S. deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea, meanwhile, said multiple previous U.N. resolutions condemning Russia and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops “have failed to stop the war,” which “has now dragged on for far too long and at far too terrible a cost to the people in Ukraine and Russia and beyond.”
“What we need is a resolution marking the commitment from all U.N. member states to bring a durable end to the war,” Shea said before the vote.
In the Security Council, Russia used its veto to prevent any changes to the U.S. resolution. Legally blinding but toothless, its only operative paragraph “Implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.”
Illegal prison guard strike stretches into week two in N.Y.
BY MICHAEL HILL, CEDAR ATTANASIO and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press
COXSACKIE, N.Y A wildcat strike by guards at New York’s prisons, now in its second week, is fueling fears over deteriorating conditions behind bars.
A 61-year-old inmate died over the weekend at one of the prisons where National Guard troops were deployed to replace corrections officers who walked off the job. Jonathon Grant, who was serving a 34- to 40-year sentence for rape and burglary was pronounced dead Saturday after being found unresponsive in his cell at the Auburn Correctional Facility, state officials said It wasn’t clear if the prison’s staffing situation was a factor in Grant’s death. State officials didn’t immediately release information about his health history A medical examiner will determine the cause of death, state prison system spokesperson Thomas Mailey said. The public defender’s office that provided legal counsel to Grant expressed concern that the walkout by guards had disrupted inmate medical care.
“Since the strike began, Legal Aid has received dozens of reports from incarcerated clients across New York
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL HILL
Correctional officers and their supporters demonstrate Monday in sight of Coxsackie Correctional Facility in the Hudson Valley in Coxsackie, N.y.
State about their inability to access critical medical care and essential prescriptions, including blood pressure medication and necessary insulin shots,” said The Legal Aid Society “This tragic incident highlights the dangers posed by the ongoing strike, as staff in over 40 prisons refuse to fulfill their duties.”
Guards at state prisons began walking out a week ago in a job action that was not approved by union officials, who acknowledge that it violates a state law barring strikes by most public employees.
New York Gov Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, deployed National Guard troops to prisons to maintain order A judge ordered the striking
officers back to work last week, but the workers didn’t budge.
Isaiah Waters, an inmate at Woodbourne Correctional Facility said in a phone interview that his cell block has been on lockdown for a week, with four National Guard officers assigned to his 57-person dorm, along with members of a correctional emergency response unit.
“The tension is building up. I’ve never seen it like this,” said Waters, who is 37 and has been incarcerated since he was 19. “There’s no programming, no religious services, you can’t send mail or get visitors. We’re not used to being around each other for this many hours day in and day out.”
Pope still critical but resumes some work
BY NICOLE WINFIELD and TRISHA THOMAS Associated Press
ROME Pope Francis remained in critical condition Monday but showed slight improvement in laboratory tests and resumed some work, the Vatican said, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began.
The Vatican’s evening bulletin was more upbeat than in recent days, as the 88-year-old Francis battles pneumonia in both lungs at Rome’s Gemelli hospital. It was issued shortly before the Vatican’s No. 2 led the faithful in a somber night-time recitation of the Rosary prayer in St. Peter’s Square that evoked the vigils when St. John Paul II was dying.
“For 2,000 years the Christian people have prayed for the pope when he was in danger or sick,” Cardinal Pietro Parolin told the rain-dappled piazza. Standing on the same stage where Francis usually presides, Parolin said ever since Francis had been hospitalized, a chorus of prayers for his recovery had swelled up from around the world.
“Starting this evening, we want to unite ourselves publicly to this prayer here, in his house,” Parolin said, praying that Francis “in this moment of illness and trial” would recover quickly
The Argentine pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been hospitalized since Feb. 14 and doctors have said his condition is touchand-go, given his age, fragility and pre-existing lung disease. But in Monday’s update, they said he hadn’t had any more respiratory crises since Saturday, and the supplemental oxygen he is using continued but with a slightly reduced oxygen flow and concentrations. The slight kidney insufficiency detected on Sunday was not causing alarm at the moment, doctors said, while saying his prognosis remained guarded.
Francis received the Eucharist Monday morning and resumed working in the afternoon.
“In the evening he called the parish priest of the Gaza parish to express his fatherly closeness,” the statement said.
Scientificstudies tell us that spinal discsare responsiblefor most of theaches andpains people suffer from.Discs actlikea cushionbetween our backbonesand allowfor aspaceateachlevel so thenervescan exit thespinalcolumn.
When thesediscs getinjured or wear out, they begintodegenerateand causepain. Bulgingand herniationsbegin to form,pressingonthe nerve rootscausing acuteand chronicpaininthe low back, leg, neck, andarms. Damageddiscs pressingonspinalnervescan also causenumbness, tingling,weakness,and balanceissues.
Ifyoufindyourselfdealingwiththesedebilitating symptoms,there’s hope throughnon-surgicalspinaldecompression-atreatment that mayoffer the relief you’ve been seeking
Non-surgical spinal decompression is a noninvasivebreakthroughtreatment that has beenproventoreversedischerniationsandrelieve nervepain. It createsavacuumeffectonthe disc, whichpulls thediscbackintoits normal position andbrings in afresh bloodsupplytopromote healing. This state-of-the-art technology is FDA clearedand is very successfulinrelieving pain in lowbackorneck pain sufferers, particularly when othertreatmentshave failed
It is safe andeffective withoutthe normal risks associated with invasive procedures such as injectionsorsurgery
At LeBlancSpine Center, Dr.Scott LeBlanc andDr. Dana LeBlancare ahusband andwife team that have helped thousandsofpatientsget outofpainwithSpinalDecompressiontherapy treatments overthe past 12 years.
Patients meet with thedoctors oneonone for
ScottLeBlanc,D.C. Dr. Dana LeBlanc,D.C.
an in-depth consultation andexam. Specialized x-rays aretaken to determinethe causeofpain andathorough analysis of thex-ray’s findings provides targeted treatmentplans that arecustomizedtoeachpatient
LeBlancSpine Center hasahighsuccess rate in relievingpainand healingdisc injuries without surgeryorinjections. Thedoctors trackthe progress of each patientwithperiodicre-examsand progress reports, to providelonglasting relief for patients.Not everyone is acandidate forspinal decompression,sothe personalized attentionthe doctorsgiveeachnew caseiswhatattributesto theirexceptionally high success rate at LeBlanc SpineCenter.
Forthe next 7days, we areofferingaFREE “Decompression Evaluation”
This limitedtimeoffer is absolutelyfreewithno obligation to buyanything.
What does this offerinclude?
Everything we normally do in ournew patient evaluations:
•Anin-depthconsultationabout your health andwellbeing wherewewilllisten…really listen …tothe detailsofyourcase.
•Acompleteneuromuscular examination
•Afullset of specialized X-rays (ifclinically necessary)
•Athorough analysis of your exam andX-ray findings
Youwillsit with thedoctorone on onetogoover your x-rays,and you’ll gettosee everything first hand
No charge at alland youdon’t need to buyanything. Butyou will find outifyou qualifyfor this revolutionarynew therapy.
Don’tmissout on this incredible opportunity-call us todayat225-763-9894and ouramazing staff will getyou scheduled!
IcametoLeBlancSpine Center because Ihad been sufferingwithextreme back pain andleg pain forseveral weeks. Ihad triedother treatments,massage, NSAIDs andTylenol,but Iwas stillinpain Ibegan Spinal Decompression treatments in April2024, andInow feel 100% improved! What Ilikemostabout my treatmentisthatitisnon-invasiveand it eliminated my pain.Mytreatment appointments arenot long,and the treatmentispain-free. Sincebeginning treatmentat LeBlancSpine Center,Iamnow able to do allofmyprevious activities andworkwithoutpain. Ialsohavemorerange of motion. Iwould highlyrecommend LeBlancSpine Center! Dr.JohnBarksdale (Dentist) hometown-Baton Rouge,LA
IcametoDr. LeBlancbecause Iwas having problems walking, crampsinmy legs andneckstiffness.I hadsuffered fortwo years, andhad previously triedprescriptionmedications,which didnot help. Sincebeginning Spinal Decompression,I am now80% improved! Ican nowwalk, dance, sweep, mopand sleepbetter! Iamenjoyinglesspainand more mobility Thestaff andphysicianstreat me like familyand arevery professional.Theyknoweachoftheir patient’sbyname -everyone is treatedspecial.I wouldrecommend LeBlanc SpineCenter, andIsay GO SEETHEM! They will meet with you, take x-rays,and discusswithyou your situation.
Sharon Gilbert
(Retired Administrative Assistant of Board of Elementary andSecondaryEducation (BESE)) Hometown -Baton Rouge,LA
Before comingtoLeBlanc SpineCenter, I suffered with tightnessinmylower back and numbness in my left foot forapproximately sevenmonths. Ihad beengiven prescription medicationand haddone physical therapy forabout threemonthstonoavail.Ibegan Spinal Decompression Therapytreatments on my lowerback. Sincebeginning treatment, Iamnow 80%improved! Inow have improved flexibilityofmotioninmylower back andhave less numbness in my left leg. Treatments have enabledmetodo most allnormaldailyactivities, excludingheavy lifting. Iwould highlyrecommend treatments andservicesatLeBlancSpine Center.Comfort andcareare of theutmostimportancetothe staff andtheyare very friendly andresponsivetoneeds.The doctorsare excellentatanswering anyand allofmyquestions.
Robert Kimbro Certified Public Accountant Hometown- NewOrleans,LA
floats,” Kern said. “If you look at the way the NFL recently embraced New Orleans and our culture during Super Bowl, you can see that it’s not just local. It’s nationwide.”
and his
nual Universal Studios Mardi Gras Parade, which runs nightly from early February to late March, the Houston Rodeo parade and parades at various Six Flags theme parks
“We’ll have 230 floats on the street at the same time this weekend, between Iris, Tucks, Endymion and Bacchus,” Barry Kern said.
“Then Orpheus on Monday, Zulu on Tuesday and on Wednesday we’re off to Mexico City to meet up with the floats for their parade at Six Flags.”
The company, which has
original Bacchus and Endymion floats in dens that stood on the site until Hurricane Katrina, when they were damaged and, later, torn down.
Kern Studios sold the property to a developer, who tried unsuccessfully to build condos. It later changed hands again but remained vacant for nearly two decades. In January, Kern purchased the lots from a local nonprofit for an undisclosed price.
The company plans to break ground later this year on the two 40,000-foot
cials have declined to release to the public
warehouses that will stand next to each other They will hold about 40 floats each and should be in use by Mardi Gras 2026, Barry Kern said.
The warehouses are the latest addition to the company’s growing real estate portfolio. In late 2023, it purchased the former A-toZ Paper Co. warehouse on Tchoupitoulas Street and converted it to a facility that doubles as a float-building facility and a new Mardi Gras World Annex, which it uses to host tours and parties.
In May 2023, the company
purchased a 20-acre site near Michoud Boulevard in New Orleans East, renovating two warehouses on the site and building a third. Altogether, the 250,000 square feet of space hold more than 200 floats.
“We also have properties in Orlando, Houston, Philadelphia, Spain and the Philippines,” Barry Kern said.
“We are doing events in theme parks in Asia. We’re growing around the world.”
Email Stephanie Riegel at stephanie.riegel@ theadvocate.com.
executing anyone Dick’s decision, however, allowed the plaintiffs to refile the case if circumstances changed.
Landry became governor last year and helped engineer an expansion of execution methods to include electrocution and nitrogen gas.
Landry recently announced that the state was ready to resume executions with a new protocol for lethal gas, which corrections offi-
Continued from page 1A
“The increased patrols help ensure our ability to respond quickly to any problem areas that may develop along the levee system because of the elevated water levels,” the Corps said in a statement.
Judges have signed execution warrants for three death row prisoners so far. A judge revoked the first one, and a second death row prisoner with an execution date, 81-year-old Christopher Sepulvado, died over the weekend.
That leaves a March 18 date for an execution by nitrogen gas for Jessie Hoffman of New Orleans Hoffman was 18 when he raped and then killed a woman named Mary “Molly” Elliott on a remote dock in St. Tammany Parish. Hoffman is
A spillway opening can be triggered to keep river flow below 1.25 million cubic feet per second, which the Corps says tends to correlate to 17 feet on the Carrollton gauge. National Weather Service forecasts show the river rising to 12.3 feet at Carrollton from the current 11.3 feet by March 4 before gradually falling, though those estimates can change significantly Bonnet Carre, located in St. Charles Parish, connects the river to Lake Pontchartrain through a floodway and bays that are opened when needed. It was built as part of construction of the vast levee system along the river following the great flood of 1927, which severely inundated Louisiana communities. It has been opened 15 times since then, including twice in 2019 due to heavy rains that year in the Ohio and Mississippi river valleys. The river rises in the late winter and spring due to seasonal rains and snow melt flowing down from the Midwest. But while the spillway provides protection, it is not without controversy The heavy influx of fresh water through Lake Pontchartrain, the Rigolets and eventually into the Gulf can badly damage shrimp and oyster species In 2019, the lengthy spillway openings totaling 123 days resulted in federal fisheries disaster declarations. In Louisiana, oyster mortality on public reefs ranged as high as 100% in some areas. Mississippi saw 96.9% oyster mortality across all
now 46, having spent most of his life on death row Collin Sims, the district attorney in St. Tammany and Washington parishes, requested the warrant.
Murrill argues that Dick got it wrong when she reopened the challenge to the state’s execution methods, because there were no “extraordinary circumstances” to justify it
Murrill also argued that Dick’s ruling sets a bad precedent for other challenges to the constitutionality of Louisiana laws in the district She called it “extraordinarily important to Loui-
sizes and nearly 100% mortality of market-size oysters on the major public reefs in the western Mississippi Sound.
The Corps is looking at options for managing the river’s spillways as part of a larger, five-year study on the lower Mississippi. Included in that study is the Morganza Spillway on the river’s west bank.
The precautions announced Monday include patrolling levees twice weekly until levels drop below 11 feet at Carrollton Certain work, such as transport of heavy loads over levees or subsurface work within 1,500 feet of them, will be prohibited during that time, though waivers are considered on a case by case basis.
Email Mike Smith at msmith@theadvocate. com. His work is supported with a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, administered by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
siana” to overturn Dick’s ruling “before it becomes a playbook for resurrecting long-dead cases simply because there was a legislative change in law.”
“I’m grateful that the 5th Circuit has swiftly intervened and blocked this order,” Murrill said Monday Cecelia Kappel, of the Loyola Center for Social Justice, representing Hoffman and other death row prisoners, wrote in a response that Murrill’s argument was “disingenuous and callous.”
“The state is trying to make Jessie Hoffman a test case of a brand-new method
of execution without any judicial review,” Kappel said in a phone interview
“The attorney general’s filing is just part of what I see as a plan to execute under cover of darkness without any court looking at it.”
The panel of appeals court judges included Catharina Haynes, a nominee of former President George W. Bush; and two nominees of President Donald Trump, James Ho and Andrew Oldham.
Dick’s ruling came in response to a request that advocates first made last summer, after the law went into effect allowing a menu of ex-
ecution options to help jumpstart Louisiana’s execution chamber
“This case has always been about Louisiana’s execution protocol,” Dick wrote “It is still about Louisiana’s execution protocol. And now that the protocol appears viable, there is an actionable case and controversy.”
There are 56 people on death row Not all are eligible for death warrants because they have not yet exhausted their legal appeals, a process that typically takes years. As of Monday, Hoffman was the only death row prisoner with an execution date.
Fitz Kern, left,
brother, Patrick, peel the
Steven Villano, a sculptor at Kern Studios, shapes Styrofoam into angel wings for a
oat on Jan. 2, 2024, at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans.
Syrians express hope, skepticism as dialogue conference starts
BY GHAITH ALSAYED and OMAR ALBAM Associated Press
DAMASCUS A long-awaited national dialogue conference intended to help chart Syria’s political future after the fall of former President Bashar Assad kicked off Monday in Damascus.
The conference had been one of the chief pledges by the country’s new rulers, former rebels who took power in a military offensive but have since promised an inclusive political transition. Its results will be closely watched by both Syrians and the international community, including countries still weighing whether to lift sanctions imposed during Assad’s authoritarian rule
The main session will be Tuesday with participants holding workshops to discuss transitional justice, the structure of a new constitution, reforming and building institutions, personal freedoms, the role of civil society and the country’s economy
The outcome of the nation-
WORKFORCE
Continued from page 1A
responses were optional — Musk again threatened federal workers in a post on X, his social media platform He wrote: “Subject to the discretion of the President, they will be given another chance. Failure to respond a second time will result in termination.”
The conflicting directives led to a proliferation of varying advice for federal employees, depending on where they work. Some were told to answer the request for five things that they did last week, others were informed it was optional, and others were directed not to answer at all
Attorneys representing unions, businesses, veterans and conservation organizations filed an updated lawsuit in federal court in California on Monday, arguing Musk had violated the law by threatening mass firings.
The lawsuit, spearheaded by the State Democracy Defenders Fund, called it “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”
Anna Kelly, a White House deputy press secretary, criticized the litigation by saying “in the time it took these employees on taxpayer-funded salaries to file a frivolous lawsuit, they could have briefly recapped their accomplishments to their managers, as is common in the private sector 100 times over.” Musk is leading Trump’s efforts to overhaul and downsize the federal government. They’ve urged employees to resign, directed agencies to lay off probationary workers and halted work at some agencies altogether There has been pushback in protests around Washington and from within the government. The Office of Spe-
al dialogue will be nonbinding recommendations to the country’s new leaders. Plans for the conference — which had been promised by the country’s new authorities in the immediate aftermath of Assad’s fall in a lightning rebel offensive in December — had been in flux up until the last minute.
The date of the conference was announced on Sunday, one day before it was to start.
Two days before that announcement, Hassan alDaghim, spokesperson for the committee organizing the national dialogue, had said the date of the conference had not been set and the timing was “up for discussion by the citizens.” He said the number of participants had not been determined yet and might range from 400 to 1,000.
On Monday officials said 600 people had been invited. Al-Daghim called the conference a “historic event.”
“It’s something wonderful in itself for the Syrians to be able to speak their opinion without being afraid and without repression by secu-
rity forces” as was the case under Assad’s rule, he said.
Conference participant Iman Shahoud, a judge from Hama, said she considers the conference “the day of true victory, because you can see in front of you all the sects and components of the Syrian people are present, women and men.”
“This is a day that the Syrian people have been waiting for a long time,” she said.
Three months after the fall of Assad, Dalia Dalati, a public employee who was originally from Aleppo and displaced during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war, said the economic and security situation remain tenuous and divisions are emerging among people, adding that she sees the country’s new rulers as only focused on “trying to build its external relations, with the Gulf, with America, with Europe.”
“Why should we care about the national conference when the most important things, security and safety, unfortunately, remain absent?” Dalati said.
the White House in Washington.
cial Counsel, a watchdog for the federal workforce, said Monday that the firing of several probationary workers may be illegal. Trump is trying to fire the office’s leader, Hampton Dellinger, in a case that has reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dellinger asked the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board to stop layoffs of six employees, but suggested that many more workers should also be protected from losing their jobs.
There are also signs Musk is testing the limits of his influence. Some administration officials — including some of Trump’s most strident allies, such as FBI Director Kash Patel
— have told employees not to respond to the email requesting five things they did, citing privacy or security concerns and noting that agencies have their own processes for evaluating employees
“When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now please pause any responses,” Patel wrote in an email.
It has been the most significant public divergence between the billionaire entrepreneur and Senate-approved Cabinet leaders who have otherwise been enthu-
siastic about fulfilling Musk’s objectives.
Trump dismissed the idea there was any kind of split involving his most powerful adviser
“They don’t mean that in any way combatively with Elon,” he said, adding that “everyone thought it was a pretty ingenious idea.”
The Office of Personnel Management, which functions as a human resources agency for the federal government, declined to comment Monday while Musk continued to threaten layoffs.
“Those who do not take this email seriously will soon be furthering their career elsewhere,” he posted on X.
The latest turbulence began over the weekend, when Trump posted on his social media website, “ELON IS DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE.”
Musk followed by saying “all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” and he claimed “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” The directive echoed how he has managed his own companies.
The OPM sent out its own
Orthodox Archbishop Elia Tohme, one of the invitees, said it was “too early to judge” whether the conference was a meaningful chance for citizen input in the new order
“We need to see the outcomes of the conference before judging its results,” he said. He added that he wants to see a “mechanism to follow up on the implementation of the recommendations” made after the
request afterward.
“Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager,” the message said. However, it said nothing about the potential for employees being fired for noncompliance.
There was swift resistance from several key U.S. agencies led by the president’s loyalists — including the State Department, Homeland Security and the Pentagon — which instructed their employees over the weekend not to respond. Lawmakers in both major political parties said Musk’s mandate may be illegal.
Justice Department employees were told in an email Monday morning that they don’t need to respond to the request “due to the confidential and sensitive nature of the Department’s work.”
dialogue sessions, “so that it’s not just a conference where we met and talked.”
After Assad was toppled, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, the main former rebel group now in control of Syria, set up an interim administration comprising mainly members of its “salvation government” that had ruled in northwestern Syria.
They said at the time that a new government would be formed through an inclusive
But employees in the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington were instructed to respond “in general terms,” leaving out case-specific or otherwise sensitive information. In an email viewed by The Associated Press, attorneys were provided with guidance about how to respond about the number of court hearings they attended, defendants they charged, cases they resolved or other tasks.
Education Department workers were directed to comply on Monday morning. “The email is legitimate and employees should respond,” wrote Rachel Oglesby, chief of staff at the department She added that “frontline supervisors will evaluate responses and non-responses.”
Thousands of government employees have been forced out of the federal workforce
process by March. In January, former HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa was named Syria’s interim president after a meeting of most of the country’s former rebel factions. The groups agreed to dissolve the country’s constitution, the former national army, security service and official political parties. The armed groups present at the meetings also agreed to dissolve themselves and for their members to be absorbed into the new national army and security forces. Notably absent was the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which holds sway in northeastern Syria and which has not been invited to participate in the national dialogue. The committee said Sunday that it had held more than 30 meetings across Syria’s provinces in which some 4,000 people participated in the runup to the conference “to ensure the representation of various components of Syrian society,” state-run news agency SANA reported.
— either by being fired or through a “deferred resignation offer — during the first month of Trump’s second term. There’s no official figure available for the total firings or layoffs, but the AP has tallied hundreds of thousands of workers who are being affected. Many work outside Washington. It’s not clear how many Louisiana-based federal employee have been fired. But employees at several federal agencies who live or work in the state have said they lost their job in recent days.
Associated Press writers
Steve Peoples in New York, Eric Tucker, Amanda Seitz, Byron Tau, Ellen Knickmeyer, Matthew Perrone, Alanna Durkin Richer and Tara Copp in Washington and Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas, contributed to this report.
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON
President Donald Trump right, listens as Elon Musk speaks on Feb 11 in the Oval Office at
Citgo agrees to pay $160K over 200 alleged violations
BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer
Citgo Petroleum Corp. has agreed to a $160,000 fine in a proposed settlement with state regulators to end more than 200 alleged violations from air emissions and other issues at its Lake Charles-area oil refinery between 2017 to 2021.
The alleged violations at the 2,000-acre complex along the Calcasieu River include an accidental but preventable leak of 662 pounds of the human carcinogenic benzene in August 2018 and a September 2018 crude oil leak triggered by corrosion in a storage tank’s floating roof, state settlement and compliance documents say Though contained in a diked-off area around the tank, the oil spill emitted hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic volatile organic compounds evaporating from the exposed oil, compliance documents say The proposed fine from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality is only the latest from state and federal regulators over air and water quality failures in recent years that have already cost millions of dollars in fines for the economically important complex south of Interstate 10 in Sulphur and Westlake.
Under a U.S. Department of Justice settlement in 2021, the company agreed to pay $19.7 million for a 2006 spill of millions of gallons of waste oil and industrial wastewater into the Calcasieu River and its broader estuary during a heavy four-day rain event.
The latest settlement was made public in late January, remains in a required 45-day public comment period and still needs approval from the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.
If the deal is approved, under the standard terms of such agreements, Citgo would admit to none of the exceedances and other potential violations that it self-reported to DEQ, but they could be considered in future permitting and enforcement actions.
Citgo flagship refinery
With more than 1,000 direct workers, the 463,000-barrel-perday oil refinery is a top 10 employer and property taxpayer in Calcasieu
Citgo
of 662 pounds of the
in August 2018 and a September 2018 crude oil leak triggered by corrosion in a storage tank’s floating roof, state settlement and compliance documents say
Parish Making gasoline, jet fuel, butane and many other products, the refinery is the nation’s seventhlargest. It is tied into a vast pipeline network and has access to the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump recently unilaterally renamed the Gulf of America through an executive order
The refinery is the flagship for Citgo, an arm of the Venezuelan state oil company worth billions of dollars that is poised this year to be sold in a debt auction overseen by a federal judge in Delaware, according to RBN Energy LLC.
DEQ officials did not return a request for comment on Friday
In the settlement document, they say the deal was reached to avoid the cost of litigation and was determined based on the agency’s standard rubric for fines.
Confirming the settlement, Citgo representatives said the company operates “in a way that is protective of people and the environment.”
“Citgo is committed to continuous improvement in our environmental and safety performance. We regularly review and improve
our processes and procedures and maintain equipment to ensure compliance with environmental standards,” the representative said.
Some environmentalists who track southwest Louisiana industries argued the fine amounts to a “slap on the wrist” for blatant and numerous violations by a big company that receives state property tax and other breaks.
“The evidence is clear that they knowingly violated the law, failed to follow up, and is indicative of a culture that does not place the community the environment or even their own workers as a priority, and instead places profits above all,” said James Hiatt, a former Citgo employee turned climate activist. “And the regulators allow it.”
In the DEQ settlement, dozens of the alleged breakdowns involved operational failures that allegedly violated the terms of the Citgo refinery’s air permits or other internal guidelines, or missed deadlines to make repairs to avoid leaks, the 2021 compliance document says. Sometimes heavy rain or power losses not tied to Citgo caused the breakdowns In other cases, em-
Grammy winner Roberta Flack, singer of ‘Killing Me Softy,’ dies at 88
BY HILLEL ITALIE
Flack
NEW YORK Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning singer and pianist whose intimate vocal and musical style made her one of the top recordings artists of the 1970s and an influential performer long after, died Monday. She was 88. She died at home surrounded by her family, publicist Elaine Schock said in a statement. Flack announced in 2022 she had ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and could no longer sing. Little known before her early 30s, Flack became an overnight star after Clint Eastwood used “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” as the soundtrack for one of cinema’s more memorable and explicit love scenes, between the actor and Donna Mills in his 1971 film “Play Misty for Me.” The hushed, hymn-like ballad, with Flack’s graceful soprano afloat on a bed of soft strings and piano, topped the Billboard pop chart in 1972 and received a Grammy for record of the year “The record label wanted to have it re-recorded with a faster tempo, but he said he wanted it exactly as it was,” Flack told The Associated Press in 2018. “With the song as a theme song for his movie, it gained a lot of popularity and then took off.” In 1973, she matched both achievements with “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” becoming the first artist to win consecutive Grammys for best record.
A classically trained pianist so gifted she received a full scholarship at age 15 to Howard, the historically Black university, Flack was discovered in the late 1960s by jazz musician Les McCann, who later wrote that “her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I’ve ever known.” Flack was versatile enough to summon the up-tempo gospel passion of Aretha Franklin, but she favored a more measured and reflective approach, as if curating a song word by word. For Flack’s many admirers, she was a sophisticated and bold new presence in the music world and in the social and civil rights movements of the time, her friends including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Angela Davis, whom Flack visited in prison while Davis faced charges — for which she was acquitted for murder and kidnapping. Flack sang at the funeral of Jackie Robinson major league baseball’s first Black player, and was among the many guest performers on the feminist children’s entertainment project created by Marlo Thomas, “Free to Be You and Me.” Overall, she won five Grammys (three for “Killing Me Softly”), was nominated eight other times and was given a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2020 with John Legend and Ariana Grande among those praising her “I love that connection to other artists because we understand music, we live music, it’s our language,” Flack told songwriteruniverse.com in 2020. “Through music we understand what we are thinking and feeling. No matter what challenge life presents, I am at home with my piano, on a stage, with my band, in the studio, listening to music I can find my way when I hear music.” In 2022, Beyoncé placed Flack, Franklin and Diana Ross among others in a special pantheon of heroines name-checked in the Grammy-nominated “Queens Remix” of “Break My Soul.” Flack was briefly married
to Stephen Novosel, an interracial relationship that led to tension with each of their families, and earlier had a son, the singer and keyboardist Bernard Wright. For years, she lived in Manhattan’s Dakota apartment building, on the same floor as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who became a close friend and provided liner notes for a Flack album of Beatles covers, “Let It Be Roberta.” She also devoted extensive time to the Roberta Flack School of Music, based in New York and attended mostly by students between ages 6 to 14.
Roberta Cleopatra Flack, the daughter of musicians, was born in Black Mountain, North Carolina, and raised in Arlington, Virginia. After graduating from Howard, she taught music in D.C.area junior high schools for several years in her 20s, while performing after hours in clubs.
She sometimes backed other singers, but her own shows at Washington’s renowned Mr Henry’s attracted such celebrity patrons as Burt Bacharach, Ramsey Lewis and Johnny Mathis. The club’s owner, Henry Yaffe, converted an apartment directly above into a private studio, the Roberta Flack Room.
“I wanted to be successful, a serious all-round musician,” Flack told The Telegraph in 2015. “I listened to a lot of Aretha, the Drifters, trying to do some of that myself, playing, teaching.”
Flack was signed to Atlantic Records and her debut album, “First Take,” a blend of gospel, soul, flamenco and jazz, came out in 1969. One track was the love song by the English folk artist Ewan MacColl: “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” written in 1957 for his future wife, singer Peggy Seeger Flack not only knew of the ballad, but used it while working with a glee club during her years as
ployees didn’t do standard emissions monitoring, it says.
The alleged operational breakdowns sometimes undermined the effectiveness of scrubbers and protective flares or otherwise allowed elevated levels of toxic and other air pollutants to escape, DEQ papers allege.
Other emissions contribute to harmful ground-level ozone or create tiny particulates that can cause respiratory problems and asthma with long-term exposure, compliance papers allege.
Among the emissions are nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrochloric acid, benzene and a class of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds that can be tied to hydrocarbons and, in some instances, are carcinogenic.
Public concern
Often, the failures at Citgo went unnoticed by the broader public but occasionally drew attention.
On July 23, 2017, residents reported a foul stench from the refinery due to a release that included hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide,
carbon disulfide and carbonyl sulfide. Of those four chemicals, all but sulfur dioxide has a strong rotten egg smell. Sulfur dioxide has a more pungent smell, like a burnt match, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Citgo officials blamed the incident on the loss of its high-pressure boilers, which immediately triggered protective flaring that released many of the air pollutants. Company officials told DEQ the emissions were lighter than air and dissipated in the atmosphere. No evacuations, injuries or off-site impacts were reported at the time, Citgo officials reported.
In other cases, Citgo failed to report alleged failures in a timely fashion. For two weeks, the refinery did not disclose the Aug. 22, 2018, benzene leak, which happened during the transfer of the chemical to a barge, regulators allege.
State and federal law requires initial reporting of that large of a benzene leak within 24 hours and for follow-up reports in the days and weeks afterward. Federal regulators closely watch benzene emissions from refineries.
In the big crude oil leak, Citgo crews began emptying Tank 41 on Sept. 27, 2018, after they spotted its floating roof listing to one side.
On the morning of Sept. 28, 2018, however, the floating roof sank inside the tank. About four hours later, a leak from the bottom of the tank was found, DEQ officials said in compliance documents.
The entire episode went on for 23 hours and an estimated 1,337 barrels of crude oil leaked out, which would roughly fill a little more than three 15-by-30-foot backyard swimming pools about 5 feet deep.
About 407,520 pounds of volatile organic compounds also evaporated from the failed tank roof and from leaked oil sitting in the dikedoff area around the tank.
Included in those emissions were an estimated 2,600 pounds of benzene and nearly 2,120 pounds of ethylbenzene, which causes eye and throat irritation in short-term exposures and is a suspected carcinogen with long-term exposure. David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@theadvocate.com.
PROVIDED PHOTO By GOOGLE EARTH
Remote federal workers return to offices
BY SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press
Federal employees across the country many of whom have worked from home since the COVID-19 pandemic, were back at agency offices Monday under President Donald Trump’s returnto-office mandate.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency scouring government agencies for suspected waste, delivered a warning Monday to workers on his platform X.
“Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave,” Musk wrote.
Lee Zeldin, Trump’s new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said Monday on X, formerly Twitter, “Full-time, COVIDera remote work is DONE under @POTUS leadership.”
In a video he posted, Zeldin said average attendance at EPA headquarters on Mondays and Fridays last year was less than 9% of employees.
“Our spacious, beautiful EPA headquarters spans two city blocks in D.C. across five buildings,” Zeldin said. “But our hallways have been too vacant, desks empty and cubicles filled with unoccupied chairs.”
It appears at least some federal agencies are not prepared for all remote workers to return to the office.
In an email to U.S Department of Education Federal Student Aid employees on Friday obtained by The Associated Press, agency officials noted that some regional offices in Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco were not ready for workers to return. The message also noted that employees who live more than 50 miles from regional offices in some major cities would not be required to return to the office Monday
“We should treat it like the first day of school — plan a little time in your calendar to get oriented, find your way around, and figure out how to connect in the conference rooms, etc.,” the email said. “There will, no doubt, be some who get lost or are late to class or have to scramble to find a seat because of a snafu.”
The email also noted that while some workers would begin reporting to offices Monday others would begin relocating back to offices in phases through April and beyond. Mike Galletly, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 4016, said the information technology workers he represents at the U.S. Department of Agriculture across the country have been struggling to comply with the back-to-office mandate.
“For my bargaining unit members, it’s been a whole lot of work scrambling to find hardware for people, monitors, docking stations,” Galletly said. “You have an office that up until this month normally seated four people. Now they have to seat eight people.”
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is directing its remote employees to return to offices, even if they were hired into a remote role.
Federal workers with the department received the formal notice Monday in an email that was sent to employees who work more than 50 miles from a regional office. It says they will need to report to an office by April 28. The federal government employed more than 3 million people as of November
That accounted for nearly 1.9% of the nation’s entire civilian workforce, according to the Pew Research Center
FBI’s new deputy director criticized agency on podcast
BY ALI SWENSON Associated Press
NEW YORK The popular right-wing
podcaster Dan Bongino has built a career of unleashing sometimes inflammatory rants against the media, Democrats and the federal government.
Now, the 50-year-old former New York police officer and U.S. Secret Service agent will return to the government he has so often criticized as President Donald Trump’s selection for deputy FBI director He said Monday he’ll soon leave his daily show to take on the new role.
Bongino, who will serve under FBI Director Kash Patel, does not have any experience at the premier federal law enforcement agency Nonetheless, he has strong opinions about how it should be run.
Strong Patel supporter
Even before Trump nominated Patel for FBI director Bongino was one of his loudest advocates, arguing on his podcast that Patel was the only potential candidate who could “go in there and clean that mess up.”
“Kash knows where the bodies are buried,” Bongino told his listeners in November “And he’s got shovels, man. He’s ready to rock and roll. That’s why they’re so terrified.”
Like Patel, Bongino says the FBI needs to expose political weaponization within the agency and move agents out of the nation’s capital to chase criminals elsewhere in the country In January, Bongino urged his millions of listeners — whom he refers to as his “Bongino Army” to call their senators on Patel’s behalf.
“We don’t get this guy in at the FBI, you’re never going to get any answers at all,” the podcaster said.
FBI criticism
In Bongino’s words, Patel’s predecessor Christopher Wray was “incompetent,” “awful” and “potentially corrupt.” Andrew McCabe, the former acting director of the FBI who was a key figure in the bureau’s Trump-Russia investigation, is an “absolute buffoon.” And former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann, who served on special counsel Robert Mueller’s
Conservative commentator Dan Bongino was selected by President Donald Trump for deputy director of the FBI, an agency Bongino has lambasted on his show.
team during Trump’s first term, is an “absolute tool bag.”
The podcaster isn’t shy about bashing past FBI leadership, sometimes crudely He views them as having compromised the agency’s morals to unfairly target conservatives.
Bongino has also extended some harsh words toward the current FBI ranks. Earlier this month, after Trump’s border czar Tom Homan accused the FBI of leaking information about planned immigration raids, Bongino called the supposed leakers “stupid” and said they would be caught and go to jail.
“Do you know how hard it was for me in my last line of work how hard it was for me to listen to these stupid Obama speeches about big government?” Bongino said of his time as a Secret Service agent under President Barack Obama. “But I always took my job as serious as a freaking stroke. Because I swore to do a job, not to be a politician.”
Sweeping changes
Bongino said in December the Republican trifecta in the U.S. government is fleeting and that’s one reason why he wants FBI reform to happen quickly, within the next two years. What changes would he like to see? For one, he wants agents fired if they were involved in investigations into Trump. “If you swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States as an FBI
DeSantis talks up wife as next Fla. governor, eschewing Trump pick
BY KATE PAYNE Associated Press/Report for America
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As Flor-
ida Gov Ron DeSantis approaches the end of his second term in office, he’s talking up one potential heir to succeed him in 2026: his wife, Casey DeSantis And he’s taking a shot at President Donald Trump‘s pick to be the next governor Questioned by reporters in Tampa on Monday, DeSantis touted his wife as a staunch conservative who would build on his legacy and argued that the state’s first lady could pull in even more voters than he did.
DeSantis won a dominant reelection victory in 2022 with a nearly 20-point margin.
“She’s somebody that has, I think, the intestinal fortitude and the dedication to conservative principles,” DeSantis said of his wife.
“Anything we’ve accomplished, she’d be able to take to the next level.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, is touting wife Casey DeSantis as his successor as governor
The comments came days after the president threw his support behind U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican who has been a prominent surrogate for Trump on the campaign trail and cable news.
“We’ve achieved victories in Florida,” DeSantis said Monday “A guy like Byron, he just hasn’t been a part of any of the victories that we’ve had here over the left over these last years.”
Judge rejects immediately restoring access to White House for AP
BY MATT SEDENSKY AP national writer
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday refused to immediately order the White House to restore The Associated Press’ access to presidential events, saying the news organization had not demonstrated it had suffered any irreparable harm. But he urged the Trump administration to reconsider its two-week-old ban, saying that case law “is uniformly unhelpful to the White House.”
U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden’s decision was only for the moment, how-
ever He told attorneys for the Trump administration and the AP that the issue required more exploration before ruling.
McFadden said the AP had not proven harm requiring an immediate restraining order But he cautioned the White House that the law wasn’t on its side in barring AP over continuing to refer to the Gulf of Mexico, not simply the “Gulf of America” as Trump decreed in an executive order
“It seems pretty clearly viewpoint discrimination,” McFadden told Brian Hudak, a government attorney
agent and engaged in a tyrannical investigation against Donald Trump with partisan intent and not the Constitution in mind, you do not deserve your job,” he said on his podcast earlier this month
The Justice Department has already demanded a list from the FBI of the thousands of agents who participated in investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S Capitol, a move some within the bureau see as a possible precursor to mass firings.
Bongino also has argued the FBI has placed too much focus on domestic intelligence-gathering and as a result dropped the ball on serious criminals and overseas threats. He has suggested federal law enforcement wasted time investigating Jan. 6 rioters and anti-abortion activists.
“These are threats to the United States?” he said on a podcast in December “Grandma is in the gulag for a trespassing charge on Jan. 6.”
He has also criticized the Department of Justice and former Attorney General Merrick Garland for directing the FBI to respond to harassment and threats directed toward school boards and educators.
“We are going to make the FBI great again, because if we don’t have an FBI breaking up counterterror plots trying to kill us and they’re worried about Moms for Liberty and pro-lifers, then we got a problem, folks,” Bongino said on his podcast earlier this month, referring to the conservative parental rights group
Personal connection
Bongino frequently laments how he doesn’t feel he can trust the FBI and says the agency has lost its credibility
“Whatever the FBI says these days, I tend to believe the opposite,” he said in January after Wray said in an interview that the agency wasn’t tracking any specific or credible threats to Trump’s inauguration.
But the new deputy director’s interest in reforming the FBI may hold more personal significance than some realize. In March, Bongino said an FBI representative used to visit his high school when he was a teenager
“All I wanted to be was an FBI agent. That is it, man. I, like, adored these guys, man,” he said. “What happened to this agency?”
Source: Patel sworn in to lead ATF also
BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press
WASHINGTON New FBI Direc-
tor Kash Patel was sworn in Monday as acting chief of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, taking the helm of two separate and sprawling Justice Department agencies, according to a person familiar with the matter Patel was sworn in at ATF headquarters just days after he became director of the FBI, said the person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter
It’s not immediately clear if President Donald Trump intends to nominate Patel for the ATF post or what the administration’s plans are for the agency that has long been the target of Republicans. Officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Patel will now oversee the bureau of roughly 5,500 employees that’s responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws around firearms, explosives and arson. Among other things, it’s in charge of licensing federal firearms dealers, tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations. Democrats raised alarm at Patel’s nomination for FBI director over his lack of management experience compared to past directors and because of a vast catalog of incendiary past statements, which include calling investigators who scrutinized Trump “government gangsters.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
HUGE MARDIGRAS SALE
OVERSTOCKSALE SAVE UP TO 50%OFF
Your hearing is an integral part of your overall health andwellbeing. Studiesshow that untreated hearing loss has been linkedtomanyhealthissues, including cognitive decline and dementia.1
We arehosting aSpecial Event during the month of April! During this event, we will be offeringthese FREE services:
February!
•FREE HearingTests
•FREE Video Otoscope Exam: Hearing loss or just earwax?
•FREE Clean &Check on currenthearing aids
•FREE Baseline Audiogram Assessment
•FREE Familiar Voice Test
•FREE Demo of Audibel’s latest hearing technology!
AreYou or Anyone YouKnow Experiencing the Following?
1. Asking people to speak up or repeat themselves?
2. Turning theTVuploud tounderstandwhat is being said?
3. Ringingornoisesinyour ears?
Simply call one of our offices belowtoschedule your FREE hearing test.
Appointments areavailable on afirst-come, first-served basis andthereis NO COSTfor these services.
FEBRUARY2025
2550 BelleChasse Hwy., Ste. 225 504-264-6854
4. Hearing but not understandingcertain words? NEW ORLEANS 3525 Prytania St., Ste. 309 504-708-4693 METAIRIE 4141 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Ste. 105 504-273-7456
SLIDELL 3026 GauseBlvd., Ste. E 985-718-3589
209 W. Judge PerezDr. 504-684-8864
292 South Hollywood Rd., Ste. D 985-746-1043 LAPLACE 429 W. AirlineHwy.Ste. J 985-240-4052
BOGALUSA 2801 S. ColumbiaSt. 985-545-3733 MANDEVILLE 215 St Ann, Suite5 985-796-2041
531 GreenSt. 985-271-8805
Jan Risher
LARGE
LOUISIANA AT
Believing in something bigger
When Carolin Purser invited me to attend the 30th Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning, an annual New Orleans gathering of literacy experts and educators, my reaction was, “This should be interesting.” The three-day event, presented by the Louisiana-based Center for Literacy and Learning, took place at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside on Feb. 12-14. More than 3,000 people attended. I was there for the first day and listened to several standing-room-only presentations alongside educators hanging on every word of the latest thinking on how to teach students to read more proficiently
The point of the gathering is near and dear to my heart. My mom was an elementary reading teacher for 40 years, and I grew up listening to her talk about literacy research. She created a home and countless classrooms that fostered a love of reading. Should you meet one of thousands of her former students, long grown, most will recall which book Mrs. Risher read to their class. Titles such as “Johnny Tremain,” “Old Yeller” and “Where the Red Fern Grows” were favorites. My mom was famous for crying in the sad parts, a technique not mentioned in the Plain Talk sessions I attended.
On the day I was there, attendees had the chance to hear a keynote address and 42 breakout sessions. Presentations covered a broad range of topics. I attended several, including:
n “Design of Explicit Instruction: High Leverage Practices that Promote Learning” with Anita Archer, whom Purser described to me as “world-renowned.” I shared some of her techniques with my daughter a 23-year-old first-year teacher
n “Pressing the Reset Button on Spelling” with Lyn Stone, from whom I learned tidbits on new ways to think about spelling.
n “Robust Vocabulary Instruction: Learning Words Inside and Out” with Nancy Frey I appreciated her different techniques for vocabulary acquisition that I had never considered.
Attendees rushed into hotel ballrooms to grab a seat for these presentations like they were going to a Taylor Swift concert. Stone’s spelling presentation included points like:
n “Fluent reading and writing is one of the chief goals of primary education Phonics can only cover so much.”
n “Good spellers use mnemonics of all kinds to build schemas about the writing system. Teaching practice needs to include these.”
As a relatively good speller, I couldn’t agree more. However, I was not a great speller growing up mnemonics have helped save me time and again through the years. A college professor named Dr MaryAnn Dazey at Mississippi State helped me realize mnemonics’ value Dazey would say things like:
n “There is a ‘rat’ in ‘separate.’”
n “A ‘cess’ pool is ‘necessary.’”
I’ve picked up others on my own:
n “Cemetery” is spelled with three e’s. A lady may scream “e-ee” as she walks past the cemetery
n “Complement” adds something to make it enough. “Compliment” puts you in the limelight.
n I associate the word parallel with the number 121. There is one R, two Ls and then one more L. Person after person I met at the convention sang the praises of Louisiana educators using data-backed research to raise literacy rates significantly In January, on an assessment known as the “nation’s report card,” data was released that show
NOLA.COM | Tuesday, February 25, 2025 1bN
Money flows into council races
Some have big war chests, others seek to make up difference
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
A few incumbent New Orleans
politicians are entering a pivotal City Council election with big war chests while less experienced politicos are grinding away to make up the difference. Of over a dozen confirmed or rumored candidates for the coun-
cil, campaign finance reports filed last week show a Louisiana state senator and representative boasting large campaign accounts at the end of last year A few first-time candidates raised tens of thousands of dollars, too, as they prepared to make pitches to voters ahead of the October primary contest.
The finance reports — the first slate of campaign data filed this
election cycle — offer an early glimpse at interests shaping the election. The outcomes will dictate relationships between a fresh slate of council members and a new mayor on the heels of the current council’s rocky relationship with outgoing Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who is term limited. Political analysts say the election cycle will pick up steam in the
CIRCLE OF LIFE
weeks ahead.
“It’s still early,” said Ed Chervenak, a political scientist and pollster at the University of New Orleans.
“People aren’t really thinking about politics until after Mardi Gras.”
Like in the mayor’s race, those vying for the council’s two at-large seats compete for votes from all of New Orleans’ residents. In contrast, the five district-level seats are elected by geographic subsets
Report details rising cost of child care
BY JONI HESS Staff writer
After living in Germany for a year, Helene Schmehl and her husband, Matthew, were shocked to discover how expensive child care had gotten in New Orleans
The couple has been searching for a day care spot for their 10-month-old daughter for the past three months, and has yet to find an option that fits in their $500 a month budget. It’s been a discouraging process, and they can’t help comparing it to the child care system they left behind, where residents receive
tuition assistance, regardless of income
“We’ve kind of abandoned all hope of being able to get a spot in a reasonable amount of time at a traditional day care,” Schmehl said. The Schmehls join a majority of Louisiana families with kids under age 5 who are struggling to afford child care on top of mounting costs for housing, insurance, utilities and groceries, according to a statewide survey released last week by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children.
In 2024, parents reported that child care costs had nearly dou-
bled and that waitlists for publicly funded seats remained static.
“The thing we’re continually struck by is that child care is the single highest expense for most families across income ranges,” said CEO Libbie Sonnier
The institute, a New Orleansbased research organization supported by grants and private donations, launched its first annual survey in 2020 to analyze the effects of COVID-19 on child care programs and working parents. In its most recent report, more than 3,400 respondents across Louisiana reported spending an
average of $633 a month for day care for a single child last year, compared with $364 in 2023. Fifty-two percent said they did not receive any form of local, state or federal child care subsidies. In 2022, the average monthly cost was $348.
“That is a jump,” Sonnier said. Rising operational costs for child care centers, caused by inflation and other factors like rising insurance premiums, contribute to the tuition burden placed on families, according to the latest report.
BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer
BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
Hula hoops are handed to paradegoers as the Mystic Krewe of Music rolls on the West Bank of
Parish on Monday
St. Charles barriers to stay up through Mardi Gras
BY JULIA GUILBEAU Staff writer
Drivers expecting a clear St. Charles Avenue after the weekend Mardi Gras parades were met with a surprise slalom of orangeand-white obstacles Monday morning.
Since Friday, more than 400 barriers have lined the lake side of the Uptown parade route from the Pontchartrain Expressway to Napoleon Avenue. They are part of the city’s enhanced security plan for Mardi Gras in the wake of the New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street. The “vehicle mitigation system” was laid out Fri-
MONEY
Continued from page 1B
of the city’s registered voters
Following state Rep. Delisha Boyd’s decision to run for council Vice President Helena Moreno’s current at-large seat, a flurry of interested candidates began to float themselves for that position mostly established New Orleans political names Moreno is running for mayor They include Rep. Matt Willard, Boyd’s colleague and chair of the House Democratic Caucus; Sen. Jimmy Harris, whose powerful position in the Senate has offered New Orleans a pipeline of state funds; and Sen. Joe Bouie an educator and former at-large candidate.
Campaign finance reports show Harris has by far the biggest war chest at $284,000. Harris has said he is considering the race and plans to reach a decision around Mardi Gras Willard reported having the second-largest haul of those considering the at-large contest with about $91,000 onhand at the end of 2024. His campaign account spent about $32,000 on various items that appeared to boost his political profile, including travel to the Democratic National Convention, donations to other campaigns and event sponsorship fees.
In his first comments about the at-large contest, Willard said in a text message Monday that he is “considering the race.” Boyd raised $12,600 and finished the year with that amount on-hand, according to her ethics report. Bouie raised $9,000 and had $22,000 on-hand.
JP Morrell, the current council president and the other at-large member, has so far drawn no challengers for his seat, which he can hold for another four year term. He took in $58,500 during 2024 and finished the period with just over $60,000 on-hand.
District A
Aside from the at-large races, the race for District A — which encompasses portions of Mid-City, Lakeview, Hollygrove, Carrollton and Uptown has emerged as the most active at this early stage Council
day the night of the city’s first float parades of the season, and authorities say they’ll be in place through Fat Tuesday — even while parades aren’t passing and the other side of St. Charles is open New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said the “serpentine course” is designed to slow traffic but still allow vehicles to pass through “That will slow anybody down who thinks they’re going to use a vehicle as a weapon,” Kirkpatrick said during a Mardi Gras safety news conference last week. Still, the chief acknowledged the new barrier sys-
member Joe Giarrusso holds that seat, and is term limited.
Candidate Holly Friedman, Giarrusso’s former constituent services director and campaign manager has the most available cash with $62,000 raised and $42,000 on hand at the end of last year, records show She now works in District Attorney Jason Williams’ office.
Candidate Aimee McCarron, Giarrusso’s budget and policy director, raised $35,800 and finished 2024 with $18,572.49 on-hand.
Bob Murrell, progressive activist and software developer who has run in the district before, raised $3,299 and had $2,408 available at the year’s end.
Other seats
District E council member Oliver Thomas, a veteran politico, is mulling a run for mayor and has begun hiring consultants.
Running to replace him is political newcomer and Lower 9th Ward native Danyelle Christmas, though she did not file a campaign finance report last week.
State Rep. Jason Hughes, who has said he is considering the District E contest, raised $24,100 and had $64,489 onhand at the end of last year, according to his campaign finance report. He did not respond to a message Monday inquiring about whether he would run.
District B Council member Lesli Harris has drawn no challengers, and reported having just shy of $21,000 in her campaign account at the end of 2024. She did not report raising any money last year though she invited supporters to a fundraiser on Sept. 25, 2024. A representative of Harris’ campaign said Monday that she was in communication with the state ethics board about amending the report.
Council member Freddie King, the District C incumbent, raised $32,000, spent $32,000 and finished 2024 with $62,628 on-hand, according to his ethics filing. He has drawn at least one challenger: Jackson Kimbrell, an Army veteran and LSU grad who raised $4,850.
Email James Finn at jfinn@theadvocate.com
tem would impact residents who live near St. Charles. Traffic as of Monday afternoon on St. Charles was steady as vehicles traveled through the slalom, dodging the rows of barriers. Others took off to nearby streets, including Prytania Street, which saw heavier traffic than usual.
And in true New Orleans fashion, locals took to social media to crack a few jokes about the new security measures, with some likening it to a video game.
Traffic headed Uptown is only expected to get worse in the coming days as New Orleans prepares for its biggest weekend of Carnival season.
With a maze of security barriers lining the
side of St. Charles Avenue, a streetcar heads Uptown on Sunday. The normally packed parade route was quiet after rainy weather forced the day’s scheduled Mardi Gras parades, including Femme Fatale, Carrollton and King Arthur, to be rescheduled
RISHER
Continued from page 1B
Louisiana’s fourth graders leading the nation in reading growth. Louisiana’s fourth graders jumped 26 spots in the national rankings, landing at 16th place. Being up close and personal with educators refreshed my memory of their commitment to students — and the many teachers who poured into me. I also considered that so many people come to New Orleans to take deep dives into so many other topics — Plain Talk is just one of thousands
SUSPECT
Continued from page 1B
detainer had been issued in the manslaughter case to ensure he would remain behind bars, said Derek Ellis, deputy secretary for the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, in an emailed statement.
“DOC had no detainer from any other agency to hold Bingham in custody once he completed serving his required incarceration time on Jan 25,” Ellis wrote.
Bingham is accused in a 2022 double shooting at the abandoned naval base in the 4000 block of Dauphine Street. He allegedly
of meetings each year in Louisiana.
According to Brandee Barrett, marketing manager with neworleans.com, last year, the New Orleans convention team booked more than 1,000 meetings for 2025 — not including meetings booked directly with hotels. In 2024, they booked more than 1.4 million room nights for 2025 and into future years as far out as 2040. The economic impact of the meetings industry exceeds $2 billion of direct spending within metropolitan New Orleans annually I looked at the list of upcoming conferences/trade shows. There’s one called
shot and killed 34-year-old Kelly Bennett at 8:16 p.m. on April 30, 2022. That homicide was one in a spate of shootings and fires at the blighted Bywater base, which was closed in 2005 and handed over to the city in 2016. As various development projects stalled over the year, the Brutalist structure deteriorated and violence ticked up. In July 2022, as gun violence surged citywide, New Orleans police cleared at least 50 homeless people from the 25-acre campus that neighbors said had become a crime den. Since then, the former naval base has won $20 million of federal funds for an affordable housing project slated to
World of Wood. Others include Premium Cigar Association, Satchmo Summerfest, World Languages Expo and so many more. Plain Talk reminded me of the quiet, persistent work those who believe in something bigger than themselves do daily Driving home, I thought about how small each of us is in the grand scheme, but also how mighty Every convention, every conversation, every shared idea, plays a role in something larger And isn’t that, at its heart, what literacy is all about? The power to share, to connect, to understand and to keep learning.
start this year Bingham failed to appear at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court hearings on Jan. 27, Feb. 13 and Feb. 19, though his lawyer said Bingham had expressed an intent to surrender “I can confidently say Mr Bingham has exhibited the behaviors of a man who rests upon his presumption of innocence in this matter and intends to fight to prove that presumption correct,” said attorney Michael Kennedy Bingham “voluntarily” appeared at a Friday morning hearing in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court and was booked into Orleans Justice Center where he remained jailed Monday on $750,000 bail.
Last year, Louisiana was ranked as the 10th most expensive state for grocery costs, according to a Household Pulse Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. While inflation has fluctuated since the pandemic, reaching its lowest point in three years in 2024 across industries, food costs have continued to rise.
According to federal guidelines, families can spend, at most, 7% of their income on child care and still be able to afford other essentials. In 2024, the federal poverty level for a family of four was $31,200. If a family of four in Louisiana spends $15,000 a year on child care, that is nearly half their income.
An essential need
Despite a variety of local, state and federal funding to assist eligible low- to moderate-income families, early childhood education advocates say it isn’t enough to support the demand in Louisiana.
The federally funded Child Care Assistance Program, for example, has a lengthy waitlist of about 5,000 eligible kids, putting it out of reach for those that need help right away
More than 70% of those surveyed reported needing reliable child care arrangements for at least 30 hours a week to maintain employment or attend school. Without it, parents are often forced to rely on family, neighbors and other forms of care that could come with their own set of issues such as lack of consistency or limited learning opportunities.
At the time of the survey, parents reported taking off five days or more in the previous three months because of a lack of child care.
“I think parents consistently want to engage in the workforce, and for many they have to in order to sustain their families,” said the institute’s Research and Policy Director Mattilyn Karst Batson. “But child care continues to still be a cost that makes it really difficult.”
More investment
Survey authors say the findings illustrate a need for long-term investment in early childhood education, including new funding streams for the state’s Early Childhood Education Fund. That fund, established by the Legislature in 2017, aims to increase local fundraising and investment efforts by matching funds raised by businesses, organizations or city governments.
In New Orleans, a groundbreaking 20-year property tax millage passed by voters now supports more than 1,000 early childhood education seats each year for low-income families. But officials say it will require additional facilities and staffing to fully support the expansion.
TRIAL
Continued from page 1B
team that got us to this point,” said Suzi Guerin, Friloux’s godmother and partner of her mother, Jamie Reavis. Every’s mental competency has been in question since 2019. He was treated and reexamined many times, leading to sometimes contradictory findings from physicians. Some noted that he required psychotic medications while others found that he was malingering and faking his symptoms, court records said.
But on Monday, Judge Lee Faulkner of the 24th Judicial District Court, ruled Every was mentally competent enough to assist his attorneys at trial following a three-day hearing, court records
said.
Every is the last of four defendants accused in the June 29, 2016, holdup that occurred at the Raising Cane’s at 3344 Williams Blvd.
The other three co-defendants, Gregory Donald Jr., 27, Mark Crocklen Jr., 33, and Ariana Runner, 31, have pleaded guilty in the case.
Kenner police detectives allege Every, a former Raising Cane’s employee, was the mastermind of the robbery He and Donald ambushed another employee who was taking out the trash about 1 a.m police said.
Armed with a knife and box cutter, Every forced Friloux, the shift manager to open the locked back door and hand over money from the store’s safe, police said.
Despite already having the cash in hand, investigators allege Every
repeatedly stabbed the already injured Friloux in her neck, head and chest before fleeing.
Gregory and Crocklen, the getaway driver, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter two counts of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, false imprisonment while armed with a weapon, intimidating or injuring a witness and obstruction of justice.
Gregory was sentenced to 89 years in prison, while Crocklen was sentenced to 40 years, court records said.
Runner pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery and obstruction of justice. She has not yet been sentenced and remains free on home incarceration, court records said.
Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@ theadvocate.com.
Sonnier said the state Chamber of Commerce and elected officials can play a role in incentivizing businesses to invest in child care or contribute to costs for their employees, which would help maintain a reliable workforce. The School Readiness Tax Credit, for example, allows businesses to donate up to $5,000 a year to local child care networks money that can directly benefit child care centers.
“Part of the solution involves getting our Louisiana employers to recognize the benefits of child care,” she said.
Email Joni Hess at joni. hess@theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD
Uptown
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAN RISHER
Attendees crowd into a ballroom recently at the Hilton New Orleans Riverwalk during the Plain Talk About Literacy and Learning conference. The conference, organized by the Center for Literacy and Learning, is in its 30th iteration and ran from Feb 12-14.
Brian Henry, Gloria Dugas, Ernest
LaCoste,
Pomfrey, Randy
E Jefferson
Garden of Memories
LaCoste, Brian Dugas, Ernest
New Orleans
DW Rhodes
Pomfrey, Randy
West Bank
Davis Mortuary
Henry, Gloria
Obituaries
Ernest Joseph Dugas, age 84, was called to his heavenly reward sur‐rounded by loved ones on Thursday, February 20, 2025. Ernie was raised in Ponchatoula Louisiana and graduated from Poncha‐toula High School in 1959. He retired from the LA Wildlife and Fisheries oys‐ter survey section after 33 years. Ernie is survived by his loving and devoted wife of over 56 years, Joan Everett Dugas, his loving daughter Michelle Dugas Pomes (Scott), son Paul Everett Dugas (Mary) his adored grandchildren Katie Marie Pomes, Patrick Everett Pomes, Beau Everett Dugas, Bailey Dugas, and Emma Dugas; Siblings Alfred Dugas, Marie Ernest Mary Alice Costanza and numerous godchildren nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his parents Louis and Alice Dugas, siblings Noah Paul Louis, Albert Inez, Denise, Doris, Ann and Cecile Ernie was a parishioner of St Christo‐pher the Martyr Catholic church where he served as an extraordinary minister of the Holy Communion, an Usher, and member of the Mission Rosary Makers. He was awarded the Order of St Louis medal by the Archdiocese of New Or‐leans and Knights of Columbus Family of the month for his service and dedication to the parish. Ernie was a loving and de‐voted husband, father fa‐ther-in-law, Pop, Parran, Uncle and friend to many He was a joyful, faith filled man who was willing to help anyone he could any time he could. He will be dearly missed. Relatives and friends are invited to join us at St. Christopher the Martyr Catholic Church 3900 Derbigny St Metairie, LA 70001 on Wednesday, February 26, 2025. Visitation will begin at 12:00 PM followed by a Mass at 1:30 PM Interment will follow at Garden of Memories Cemetery 4900 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA 70001. In lieu of flowers masses are preferred
Everett Dugas, Bailey Dugas, and Emma Dugas; Siblings Alfred Dugas, Marie Ernest Mary Alice Costanza and numerous godchildren nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his parents Louis and Alice Dugas, siblings Noah Paul Louis, Albert Inez, Denise, Doris, Ann and Cecile Ernie was a parishioner of St. Christo‐pher the Martyr Catholic church where he served as an extraordinary minister of the Holy Communion, an Usher, and member of the Mission Rosary Makers He was awarded the Order of St Louis medal by the Archdiocese of New Or‐leans and Knights of Columbus Family of the month for his service and dedication to the parish. Ernie was a loving and de‐voted husband, father fa‐ther-in-law, Pop, Parran, Uncle and friend to many He was a joyful, faith filled man who was willing to help anyone he could any time he could. He will be dearly missed. Relatives and friends are invited to join us at St. Christopher the Martyr Catholic Church 3900 Derbigny St Metairie, LA 70001 on Wednesday February 26, 2025. Visitation will begin at 12:00 PM followed by a Mass at 1:30 PM Interment will follow at Garden of Memories Cemetery 4900 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA 70001. In lieu of flowers masses are preferred
where she was a member of the senior ministry, help ministry, and Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway. Beloved mother of Carolyn Clark, Charles Henry, Gwendolyn Simeon Linda Jefferson, Barbara Jackson, Cathy Henry, Daryll Henry, Lashawn Henry, and the late John Henry. Daughter of the late Benjamin Forbes Sr and Viola Celes‐tine Forbes. Sister of LaVetta Forbes, Pearl Forbes Chaeffers and the late Joyce Forbes, and Ben‐jamin Forbes Jr Mother in law of Ivory Clark, Diane Henry, Whitney Simeon III, Yolanda Henry, Nicholas Jefferson, III, Laura Henry and Marshall Jackson, also survived by 18 grandchil‐dren, and a host of great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins other relatives, and friends Rela‐tives and friends of the family, also pastors, offi‐cers and members of Greater St Mary Baptist Church and all neighbor‐ing churches are invited to attend the Celebration of Life at Greater St Mary Baptist Church, 1533 Ho‐race St. New Orleans, LA on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at 10:00 a.m Pastor Curtis Carroll Host PastorBishop James Nelson Brown officiating Visita‐tion will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the above-named church Interment: Mc‐Donoghville CemeteryGretna, LA Arrangements by Davis Mortuary Service 230 Monroe St Gretna, LA To view and sign the guest‐book please go to davis‐mortuaryservice.com. Face Masks Are Recommended.
and wife Christine LaCoste, (grandchildren) Brian La‐Coste Jr, Brittany, and Brooke LaCoste Ashley Vil‐lafuerte. Followed by six siblings: Joyce Ware and husband William, Late Warren LaCoste Jr. and wife Kay Karl LaCoste and wife Tammy, Lee LaCoste and wife Kathy Gary La‐Coste and wife Lynn, Linda Lutz and husband Don, fol‐lowed by numerous nephews, nieces and friends. Brian LaCoste served as a veteran of the Navy Seabee’s since 1966 and served two tours in Vietnam and served a tour in the South Pole, Antarc‐tica He was a welder and pipe fitter by trade and re‐tired from the Local 30 Pipe fitters Brian LaCoste was very loving and always reached out to his family friends, and neighbors. He was faithful in his walk and relationship with his Lord and Savior in Jesus Christ. A Celebration of Life Ser‐vice will be held on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 for 12:00 pm at Gar‐den of Memories Funeral Home, 4900 Airline Drive, Metairie LA 70001. Visita‐tion begins at 10:00 am. In‐terment will take place at Garden of Memories Ceme‐tery
Gloria Forbes Henry en‐tered eternal rest at her residence on Friday, Febru‐ary 14, 2025, at the age of 94. She was a native and resident of New Orleans, LA Gloria was a graduate of L B Landry High School Class of 1948, Class Saluta‐torian. She was a retried accounting clerk with the World Trade Center. Gloria was a member of Greater St Mary Baptist Church where she was a member of the senior ministry, help ministry, and Thanksgiving Basket Giveaway. Beloved mother of Carolyn Clark, Charles Henry, Gwendolyn Simeon, Linda Jefferson Barbara Jackson, Cathy Henry, Daryll Henry, Lashawn Henry, and the late John Henry. Daughter of the late Benjamin Forbes, Sr and Viola Celes‐tine Forbes. Sister of LaVetta Forbes, Pearl Forbes Chaeffers and the late Joyce Forbes, and Ben‐jamin Forbes, Jr Mother in law of Ivory Clark Diane y y, au Ja 8 grandchil‐st of great nieces, ph sins, other s, and friends Rela‐and friends of the also pastors, offi‐and members of r St Mary Baptist , and all neighbor‐urches are invited to the Celebration of t Greater St Mary Church, 1533 Ho‐New Orleans, LA on esday February 26, t 10:00 a.m Pastor Carroll Host PastorJames Nelson officiating Visita‐ill begin at 8:30 a.m. he above-named
Brian LaCoste was pro‐ceeded in death by his wife Betty Bouvier LaCoste and daughter Dawn Marie La‐Coste, parents: Warren Joseph Sr. and Leah Clare Kleinpeter LaCoste Left behind to cherish his mem‐ories: Brian Keith LaCoste and wife Christine LaCoste, (grandchildren) Brian La‐Coste Jr Brittany, and Brooke LaCoste, Ashley Vil‐lafuerte. Followed by six siblings: Joyce Ware and husband William, Late Warren LaCoste Jr. and wife Kay Karl LaCoste and wife Tammy, Lee LaCoste and wife Kathy, Gary La‐Coste and wife Lynn, Linda Lutz and husband Don, fol‐lowed by numerous nephews, nieces and friends. Brian LaCoste served as a veteran of the Navy Seabee’s since 1966 and served two tours in Vietnam and served a tour
Delgado Community College and Southern University of New Orleans Randy worked at Stage Right Productions and multiple other produc‐tion companies, where he took pride in building stage sets for major events for locals to enjoy Growing up, Randy was a lover of martial arts and taught younger family members his favorite moves. He was an enthusiast of reggae music and the New Orleans Saints Randy loved his daughter, Shanika, and en‐joyed sharing stories about her. After surviving a major stroke in 2011, Randy was left with deficits that lim‐ited his ability to speak and move as he once had. However, that didn’t stop him from attending his New Orleans favorites such as second lines Super Sun‐days, festivals, and pa‐rades during the Mardi Gras season Randy was an amazing person a kind soul, and loved to laugh! Those left to cherish his memory include his mother Ella Pomfrey (Arthur), his only child Shanika Hall, two sisters, Anita Watkins and Rhonda Pomfrey, 3 brothers, Regi‐nald Roderick and Rayshawn Pomfrey (Peatrice) A God daughter, Christy Kisack and good friend, William Bell He is also survived by a host of uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, cousins and many other relatives and friends. Randy is preceded in death by his father Arthur Pomfrey (Ella) and his sister Theresa Cooper Relatives and friends of the family, and all those who knew and loved Randy, are invited to attend a Funeral Service at Franklin Avenue Ba tist Church Th
tired from the Local 30 Pipe fitters Brian LaCos very loving and a reached out to his f friends, and neighb was faithful in his wa relationship with h and Savior in Jesus A Celebration of Li vice will be hel Wednesday Februa 2025 for 12:00 pm den of Memories Home, 4900 Airline Metairie LA 70001. tion begins at 10:00 a terment will take p Garden of Memories tery
Randy Garland Pomfrey, age 57, passed away on Sunday, February 16, 2025 at Capitol House Nursing Home in Baton Rouge LA Randy attended both Abramson Senior High School and John McDo‐nough High School gradu‐ating from the latter. He also attended Delgado Community College and Southern University of New Orleans Randy worked at Stage Right Productions and multiple other produc‐tion companies, where he took pride in building stage sets for major events for locals to enjoy Growing up, Randy was a lover of martial arts and taught younger family members his favorite moves. He was an enthusiast of reggae music and the New Orleans Saints Randy loved his daughter, Shanika, and en‐joyed sharing stories about her. After surviving a major stroke in 2011, Randy was left with deficits that lim‐ited his ability to speak and move as he once had. However, that didn’t stop him from attending his New Orleans favorites such as second lines Super Sun‐days, festivals, and pa‐rades during the Mardi eason Randy was an ng person, a kind and loved to laugh! left to cherish his ory include his er Ella Pomfrey hur), his only child a Hall, two sisters, Watkins and Rhonda ey, 3 brothers, Regi‐Roderick, and hawn Pomfrey ice) A God daughter, y Kisack and good , William Bell. He is urvived by a host of , aunts, nieces, ews, cousins and other relatives and s. Randy is preceded eath by his father Pomfrey (Ella) and ster Theresa Cooper ves and friends of the and all those who and loved Randy, are to attend a Funeral ce at Franklin Avenue st Church on Thurs‐ebruary 27th, 2025 at , with viewing at 9 terment will be pri‐Arrangements by hodes Funeral Home, Washington Ave visit www rhodesf com to sign the on‐uestbook
Dugas, Ernest Joseph
Pomfrey, Randy Garland
LaCoste, Brian
Henry, Gloria Forbes
SUBSCRIBE
Be a good neighbor, not a selfish
Chad, at parades
Parade routes are not only public property, they’re communal spaces where the magic of the Carnival season happens — not just the joy of catching coveted throws, but also the delightful lagniappe of sharing the fun with friends and strangers alike.
Increasingly in recent years, however, selfish revelers have tried to make these spaces their own, furnishing decked-out encampments with tarps, elaborate tents and even living room furniture, a trend that too often changes the vibe from “we” to “me.”
We applauded new rules passed by the New Orleans City Council last year to crack down on the so-called “Krewe of Chad,” a nickname inspired by a particularly obnoxious spraypainted claim of neutral ground territory some years ago. And we also understand that this year, things are different.
Following the Jan. 1 terror attack on Bourbon Street and the elevation of Carnival to SEAR 1 status, a heightened special event security designation that requires extensive federal support and coordination, the council acknowledged this season’s altered reality by giving the New Orleans Police Department discretion over whether and how to enforce the new law
We know that law enforcement agencies across the state are working hard to make sure that everyone has a safe and happy Carnival. They prepare for months, trying to anticipate potential problems.
But we also know that in many areas, they’re strapped as well as they try to keep an eye out for unforeseen threats.
So here’s a thought for those heading out to parade routes in New Orleans and all over the state during the peak week of celebrations: What if everyone decided to follow the rules anyway, not because they could get cited but because it’s the neighborly thing to do?
There’s even a cheat sheet for what that would entail, which New Orleans officials are posting in prominent spots all along the parade route. They explain that portable toilets not provided by the city are banned. So are “enclosures of any kind” such as tents, canopies, shelters, screens, awnings, ropes, spray paint open flames, generators, upholstered furniture, scaffolding and platforms. The signs also spell out rules for ladders, which must be no taller than 6 feet, free-standing rather than fastened together and positioned at least 6 feet back from the curb.
These signs are meant to clear up any confusion over what’s allowed if a dispute arises among parade-goers, or if law enforcement officials see fit to use their discretion to enforce the rules.
They also offer a list of common-sense guidelines for peaceful coexistence rules for parade route etiquette, if you will — which we wholly endorse.
If Emily Post had ever experienced the wonders of Carnival in Louisiana, we think she would endorse them too.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE
WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR
GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title 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.
Fight
to charge N.Y. doctor for abortion misses point
This letter is in response to the article on the indictment of a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills and the arrest of the mother for administering them to her pregnant teenage daughter I agree that the law must be followed. However, I take issue with the absence of charges and an indictment against the male sperm donor Who impregnated a teenage girl? We all know that women and girls cannot biologically self-impregnate. This is the glaring hole in today’s abortion laws: The sperm donors are never prosecuted for the abortion of the children they conceive.
Rapists and pedophiles are getting away with soul murder They are getting away with conceiving children and then abandoning them. They are not held responsible for their conceived children being aborted.
Our politicians’ pat response is, “We castrate them.” I have no problem with castration.
Ask any rancher, and they will tell you what to do with a stallion, bull or ram that is wreaking havoc and causing harm — you castrate them. Our politicians’ declaration, “We castrate them,” is a bluff. They are hucksters selling tickets to a carnival show it’s all smoke and mirrors. The castration law in Louisiana and other red states requires rapists and sexual deviants to volunteer for castration it is not and never has been a mandatory sentence I would suggest handing the scalpel to a woman who has been raped or to a father whose child has been sodomized that would get results. It is women, children and medical professionals who are targeted with criminal charges and prison sentences. Abortion laws, as they are today, excuse, deny and ignore the part sperm donors (men) play in this tragedy FOLWELL DUNBAR New Orleans
With N.O. schools succeeding, city should not fail them
New Orleans’ students and their teachers and school leaders have accomplished what many thought to be impossible. For the first time in decades, there is not a single failing school in New Orleans.
Our students have closed the pandemic achievement gap and have set a national example of academic success in an urban school district.
New Orleans public schools helped drive exemplary statewide achievement gains and came within one point of being designated a B-rated district.
TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE
While we celebrate that achievement and progress, we recognize that there is much more to do before we can achieve our goal of having an excellent school for every New Orleans student.
This makes the failure of our city’s leadership to follow through on their agreement to provide promised and necessary funding to
our schools wrong and simply unacceptable. These funds are not a gift. This is money owed to our schools but improperly kept by the city The city simply agreed to return funds to our schools that are rightfully theirs, funds that are essential to supporting our students’ continued progress. How can this be?
The city agreed to return these funds, helping to fill a budgetary gap threatening the financial stability of our schools. Then, they changed their mind.
I call on all of our city’s leaders to immediately comply with the agreement they made and to return these funds to our schools. Our students, and their teachers and school leaders, have worked too hard and come too far
Our city’s leaders must not fail them.
STEPHEN W. HALES, M.D New Orleans
What is lost among the overarching vaccination debate is a subtle question about what lives we value relative to others. I hope it isn’t controversial to view vaccines as a form of preventative medicine. Much like exercise and a healthy diet act as barriers to disease, vaccines are proactive measures to fortify our body While the typical conversation surrounds the right of autonomy, the importance of community and trust (or skepticism) toward medicine, an underlying question often goes ignored: Even if vaccines had some relationship to autism, so what? Is the perceived risk of autism comparatively worse than permanent paralysis? Should I not go to the gym because of the possibility I drop a weight on my foot? That an event occurs and gives me PTSD?
Using immutable human traits to instill fear has been an unfortunately common tool in American human history, and it should always be met with scrutiny This includes the anti-vaccination’s conclusion that autism is more of a risk to society than the flu, hepatitis B, mumps, measles, Rubella, cervical cancer, tetanus, cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, COVID-19 and the list goes on.
Until Saints identify the problem, team will struggle
Amen to Arthur Lecompte for his letter regarding Saints general manager Mickey Loomis being responsible for the team’s failures. I totally agree and have been thinking and saying the very same thoughts that he so perfectly expressed.
I’ve also noticed that former Saints who go on to other teams are now getting to prove their value as essential, productive team members. They’re doing so much better since they left the Saints. It takes more than just good coaching. We need the good players, too. I really hope that eventually, wisdom will prevail and the Saints will at least be competitive.
KATHY VERRET Hammond
JACOB BLAIS
Metairie
Central Louisiana faces wins and losses but still optimistic
Chances are, you haven’t been to Campti.
Located about 11 miles north of Natchitoches, Campti is barely a dot on the map. There’s little reason to go, unless you happen to be one of the scores of employees at the Red River containerboard mill there, which for decades has been a major economic driver in central and northwestern Louisiana. The mill produces about 800,000 tons of containerboard per year That will end this spring. International Paper announced earlier this month that it would close the Campti mill by the end of April The closure is part of a larger corporate move — three other IP facilities around the country are also closing.
The news sent state and local officials scrambling, both to help serve the laidoff workers and to mitigate the millions of dollars in tax revenue the mill generates for local law enforcement, municipalities and schools. Gov Jeff Landry will hold a roundtable Tuesday to gameplan ways to boost the local economy in light of the closure.
The Campti mill closure shouldn’t come as a surprise. Paper mills around the state and indeed around the country — have been aging out of existence for years. Nevertheless, the loss of the mill will be a hard hit, especially for central Louisiana. It’s a story residents there have heard before: Large, wood-driven industry closes down due to corporate realignment or market changes, dealing an economic blow to a largely rural area. Outside of the region, few will likely take notice. For those of us on the Interstate 10/12 corridor, central Louisiana is mostly an afterthought. It’s a place you drive through to get somewhere else
The best thing about it, it is said, is that the 75-mile-per-hour speed limit on Interstate 49 helps you spend less time there.
In the past several months, if people in south Louisiana talked about Central Louisiana at all it was likely about Pineville’s libidinous former mayor North Louisiana, which will also feel the Campti closure, suffers many of the
same endemic problems. At least the northern parishes have an east-west interstate, Interstate 20, that is so welltraveled that Ruston, of all places, is getting the state’s first Buc-ee’s. In recent years, though, central Louisiana has been on the cusp of a comeback. Alternative energy has led the way The biggest sign of hope is the planned $2 billion redevelopment of a shuttered International Paper mill site in Pineville.
After the mill shut down in 2009, the site sat vacant for more than a decade. When I visited in 2023, there were derelict warehouses on the site and old rail cars sitting on overgrown track around the 1,300-acre campus.
The company behind the redevelopment of the site — SunGas Renewables wants to build a green methanol plant there to supply ship fuel. Construction could start later this year
Not far way, in LaSalle Parish, Drax Biomass has been making wood energy pellets that it sells in Europe to help plants there generate electricity since 2017. Outside of timber products, other alternative energy industries have set up shop the state’s middle. Syrah Technologies, an Australian company, makes components for electric vehicles in Vidalia, and Canada-based Ucore Rare Earth Metals is putting a processing facility at England Air Park in Alexandria. Recently, local officials have begun actively attempting to lure data centers,
like the one planned for Richland Parish in north Louisiana. Their pitch is simple: land is cheap, there’s access to I-49, and storms are less of a threat than they are in the southern part of the state. It’s easy to look at these possibilities and see the potential of central Louisiana’s economic engine to rev again. But it’s not all smooth road ahead. Local economic development officials desperately want an east-west interstate. They’ve spent years pitching Interstate 14, the so-called “Forts and Ports” interstate, that would stretch from Texas to Georgia and run right through the state’s central belt. Those plans, if they ever come to fruition, are still decades away Another bump in the road may come from Washington. Recent actions by the Trump administration, specifically with regard to clean energy industries and international trade, could impact deeply red central Louisiana’s new companies even further Lafe Jones, the chief operating officer of Louisiana Central, told me that he’s optimistic that there will be no hiccups, but “everybody’s in a waitand-see mode” to see how it all shakes out. Nevertheless, real optimism has been rare in central Louisiana. It’s nice to see it. Heck, one day we might even stop in Campti.
Faimon A. Roberts III can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.
Policies of European elites end in tears
If you follow these things closely, you may have seen a clip of the chairman of the Munich Security Conference breaking down in tears, unable to speak any further while reflecting on Vice President JD Vance’s speech there. This breakdown is remarkable because the chairman, Christoph Heusgen, is not a minor apparatchik but a sophisticated and knowledgeable official who was former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s national security adviser from 2005 to 2017 He had a front-row seat to Merkel’s epochal decisions to shut down nuclear plants in 2011, admit 1 million Muslim male “refugees” in 2015, and hold defense spending far below the 2% level sought by the second Obama and first Trump administrations His previous appearance on social media came when, as head of Germany’s United Nations delegation in 2018, he led his colleagues in laughing derisively at President Donald Trump’s criticism of Germany’s reliance on Russian natural gas. Heusgen’s tears were apt Merkel’s policies, hailed by European elites at the time, now “lie in ruins,” writes the Economist.
in the Pentagon, argues in his 2021 book “The Strategy of Denial,” the United States produces more than a fifth of the world economic product, Europe almost the same proportion, and Asia, including China and India, upward toward half.
And, as Vance noted recently, while America and China produce innovative technology, Europe, the fount of creativity from the 17th century to the early 20th century, now smothers it in overregulation. Europe’s criminal prosecutions of speech, including accurate reports of migrants’ criminal attacks and even of politically incorrect abortion statements made by citizens in their own houses, are repugnant to traditional American mores. And while Eastern Europe has increased defense spending in response to Russia’s threats, the large nations of Western Europe have been lagging.
Trump administration foreign policy seems to be following Colby’s blueprint His strategy seems to be to leave Europe to cabin in its hostile regional hegemonic power, Russia, and to leave Israel (with Abraham Accord bolstering) to deal with its hostile regional hegemon, Iran
such as drones and hypersonic flights, may leave our relatively small number of very sophisticated and expensive aircraft carriers and fighter planes vulnerable to attack.
The central task of American foreign policy this argument goes, should be to build our defense capabilities and increase our forward posture to make it clear to China’s leaders that they have no chance to seize Taiwan. This should build on previous steps to cooperate with regional allies, particularly Japan, India and Australia. The amount of death and destruction that would be caused by any war in that region is unthinkable or it would be if we did not have the history of the warfare between Japan and China from 1937 to 1945 to consult.
In the meantime, as in even the best years of the American-led trans-Atlantic partnership, there are some ugly things that need to be done. The failure of Ukraine’s offensive in 2023 and America’s unwillingness and Europe’s inability to send their own military forces or larger and more effective weapons to Ukraine in 2023 and 2024 have reduced the alternatives to continued violent war and morally unsatisfying peace.
Will the MAGA base ever figure out they’ve been played?
Farm country provided Trump with some of his most fervent support. Farmers are now being tossed aside by Trump policies, none of which he seems interested in dialing back. A trade war would be disastrous. Farm products are a major U.S. export. Last year, the U.S. exported more than $30 billion in farm products to Mexico, $29 billion to Canada and $25 billion to China. When a country slaps big tariffs on products from another country that country can be expected to hit back with its own punishing tariffs. Trump’s insults also add focus to the revenge: Offended nations are targeting products coming from Trump country American farmers rightly worry that a trade war would incentivize other countries to find more reliable suppliers of corn, wheat and whatever else they grow. As a soybean grower in Iowa told the Financial Times, “Farmers understand that trading relationships go up on a stairway, where you work hard to build them up, but go down on an elevator — very, very fast.”
Trump’s mania for tariffs was no secret during the campaign, nor were his deportation plans that are going to ravage rural workforces. What were U.S. farmers thinking when they voted for Trump? That he really loved them?
Trump is working on a plan to take away added funding from the Internal Revenue Service and use it for securing the southern border — as if the U.S. can’t afford two important government functions at the same time If anything, weakening the IRS’s ability to collect taxes owed would deprive government of the money that could be used to defend the border
Eroding the IRS’s ability to enforce the tax laws is a gift to rich tax cheats. They have all sorts of tricks to hide income. The working stiffs do not. Their taxes get taken right out of their paychecks. Medicaid buys health care for Americans who typically make less than $50,000. These low earners gave most of their votes to Trump. Republicans are now circling Medicaid as a fat target for spending cuts.
Their Project 2025 blueprint clearly states, “The dramatic increase in Medicaid expenditures is due in large part to the ACA (Obamacare), which mandates that states must expand their Medicaid eligibility standards.”
During the campaign, Trump insisted he was “not running to terminate” the Affordable Care Act. But that wouldn’t preclude stripping it of so many benefits and slashing so many beneficiaries that a walking corpse would be all that’s left. And Trump will call it Obamacare. Trump has named the mastermind behind Project 2025, Russell Vought, his budget director In addition to Medicaid, Vought has it in for Head Start, veterans benefits and medical research.
Republicans vow not to touch a hair on Medicare, which covers the elderly, but that too is not entirely off the table. “In essence, our deficit problem is a Medicare and Medicaid problem,” Project 2025 laments. It calls these programs “runaway entitlements.”
The Department of Health and Human Services is home to both Medicare and Medicaid. How do you all feel about the crackpot Bobby Kennedy Jr being put in charge?
Don’t expect Republicans in Washington to publicly oppose Trump, even at the expense of their voters’ health care. But some are quietly worried.
Vance’s speeches in Munich and earlier in Paris criticized Europe generally and Germany in particular for stifling technological innovation, for suppressing speech, especially opposition to mass migration, and for spending well below NATO targets on defense. The European elites have had things their way and have led their societies on a path to decline.
Today we live in a world quite different economically from the one the builders of the trans-Atlantic alliance brought into being in the three postwar decades. As Elbridge Colby, Trump administration nominee for the No. 3 post
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE
That’s caused some Republicans, especially Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to voice doubts about his nomination.
But the strong negative reaction to the loss of 7,000 Americans in Iraq and 2,500 in Afghanistan made the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations averse to sending any U.S. military forces into Ukraine, where casualties could be much higher, or against Iran after perceived failure in Iraq.
Moreover, Colby argues, the U.S. no longer has the defense capability of waging two or even one and a half wars simultaneously, and the development of relatively cheap defensive weapons,
You can lament, as I do, Vance’s cold indifference when, in February 2022, he said he doesn’t “really care what happens to Ukraine,” as well as Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine “started it.”
You can look back at former President Barack Obama and former U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron’s failure, when Russia seized Crimea in 2014, to act on America and Britain’s guarantee to Ukraine in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
But given where things are now, do you have a better course in mind?
Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.
“If you cut Medicaid, you’re, like, pissing off the people who put you in office — who Trump resonates with, right?” one House Republican (who did not share his name) told The Wall Street Journal. But It’s pretty naive to think that Trump cares about the people who put him in office. All he wanted was their votes. He got them. Now scoot.
Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.
Faimon Roberts
Michael Barone
Froma Harrop STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
The former International Paper facility is located in Pineville, in Rapides Parish.
New Orleans Forecast
SPORTS
Little big man
Alvarado’s rebounding, passion have oversized effect on Pelicans
Guys who are Jose Alvarado’s size aren’t supposed to grab nine rebounds in an NBA game, which is what the Pelicans guard did Sunday night. They aren’t supposed to snag seven rebounds in a game, either, which is what the 6-foot Alvarado did the game before that.
But if there is one thing we should have learned by now about Alvarado is that you probably shouldn’t tell him what he shouldn’t be able to do. Chances are, he’s going to prove you wrong, just like he’s done since arriving in the NBA back in 2021 as an undrafted rookie.
Alvarado put his stamp all over Sunday’s 114-96 come-from-behind victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the Smoothie King Center
He finished with 12 points, nine boards and nine assists while committing just one turnover And that’s not counting the plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet, like the time he slid across the floor diving for a loose ball.
“Jose ignited the whole team with his energy, his spirit,” Pelicans coach Willie Greens said.
The only person who touched the court with more energy than Alvarado on Sunday was the toddler who won the baby crawl race at halftime. He won the race in about 21 seconds, which is about how fast Alvarado helped flip the switch to help the Pelicans rally from a 17-point first-half deficit.
The nine rebounds eclipsed his career-high of eight The only players who grabbed more rebounds than him Sunday were guys who stand at least 8 inches taller than him. Teammates Yves Missi (6-foot-11) and Kelly Olynyk (7 feet) recorded 15 re-
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
bounds each, a season-high for both.
San Antonio’s Bismack Biyombo (6-8) had 10 rebounds.
Alvarado had the same amount of rebounds as Zion Williamson.
“Jose was the vocal leader, and his energy really shifted the course of the game,” Williamson said. “His energy is very infectious because it seems like he’s all over the court.”
Usually, he is.
“If that (rebounding) is something I need to do to elevate us to win, that’s what I’m going to do,” Alvarado said.
“I’m confident in my game. I know this game better I feel like I’m getting better, just to improve every year, every game. If that’s a jump in rebounds, points, assists, whatever, that’s what I’m trying to focus on.”
Rebounding, of course, is easier when teams are missing as many shots as the Spurs did Sunday They shot just 32 of 97 from the floor and made 15 of 51 3-point attempts.
“We just had to box out and get stops,” Alvarado said. “If we play fast and get stops, that’s’ when we win the best. That’s what we are locked in on.”
Alvarado didn’t have as blunt of an answer on the keys to his rebounding as the one former Pelicans guard Josh Hart gave me a few years back. Hart, considered one of the best rebounding guards in the NBA, recorded a double-double in his Pelicans’ debut against the Toronto Rap-
ä See PELICANS, page 5C
In the first half, the Tigers shot only 9 of 28 from the field and coughed up 10 turnovers. Aneesah Morrow missed 8 of 11 looks, and Flau’jae Johnson attempted only one field goal. Kentucky, thanks in large part to an impressive start from star point guard Georgia Amoore, drained five 3-pointers and pulled 11 offensive rebounds. Then something flipped in the third
BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
The LSU men’s basketball team is firmly 15th in the Southeastern Conference with a handful of regular-season games left.
Coach Matt McMahon didn’t sugarcoat the toll losing has had on his players, especially after an 11-2 nonconference start.
“It really tests your character and tests your resilience and your mindset to come in every day and stay focused on getting better,” McMahon said.
Despite the extended losing spells and its most recent 14-point loss to now No. 3 Florida, LSU (14-13, 3-11 SEC) remains dedicated to winning and hopes to accomplish that against No. 5 Tennessee (22-5, 9-5) at 8 p.m Tuesday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center
At Monday’s media availability, McMahon was asked what his team’s goals are as things stand and whether the National Invitation Tournament has been discussed since participating in the NCAA Tournament is a long shot. McMahon said player development is taking center stage, especially with five underclassmen in the rotation.
“We really just approach every game as a one-game season and stay focused on getting our team better,” he said.
“It’s easy to be discouraged. You’re not winning the number of games you would like. So putting a lot of time (and) investment into our players, keep them focused on getting better and improving and finding ways to compete in these games.”
The third-year coach referenced his team’s 22-2 run in the final seven minutes of the first half against Florida as a stretch of play that shows what the Tigers are capable of.
“How do we make it more
BY JIM KLEINPETER
Contributing writer
The LSU softball team got a small taste of adversity over the weekend while taking all four games in the LSU Invitational. That’s a good thing because there is likely going to be a lot more later this week.
The No. 6 Tigers (14-0) rallied from behind to beat Southern Mississippi 12-5 and Nicholls State 12-2. Next up is No. 4 UCLA in the Judi Garman Classic, which also has other teams that offer a step up in competitive class.
“It’s not friendly Tiger Park where we control the schedule and the warmups,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “A little adversity and a little bit of being uncomfortable is good for us.
lifted LSU to another close win Sunday This time, she spearheaded a second-half surge that the Tigers used to erase
a 16-point first-half deficit and pick up a 65-58 victory “I wouldn’t say I’m just
win.
On the defensive end, LSU asked Day-Wilson to pick up Amoore full court and deny her the ball once she gave it up. On offense, it ran more of its offense through Williams, the Bossier City native who either scored or assisted on nine of the Tigers’ 15 second-half field goals.
Those adjustments forced Kentucky to lose its rhythm,
“There is no easy road when you are trying to win the SEC or get to the World Series. All those things come with difficult challenges. It’s OK to be a little uncomfortable and have to figure out what’s in front of them.” The LSU lineup was productive with 35 runs and 44 hits over the weekend while the pitching was a little off. The defense overall was better Torina was particularly pleased with the hitters’ approach and preparation, and they seem to be taking to the team’s more aggressive style. The Tigers slugged three homers, including the first of the season by McKenzie Redoutey and Danieca Coffey, and stole 11 bases in four games.
“(Playing from behind) was really good for us,” said first baseman Tori Edwards, who hit her second grand slam and drove in five runs against Nicholls. “We haven’t been in that situation a lot
SCHEINUK
STAFF PHOTOS By SCOTT THRELKELD
Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado dives for a loose ball against San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson at the Smoothie King Center on Sunday.
Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado is fouled by San Antonio Spurs center Bismack Biyombo during a game at the Smoothie King Center on Sunday
Rod Walker
Texas forward Madison Booker right, drives to the basket against South Carolina forward Sania Feagin, left, and guard Bree Hall on Feb 9 in Austin, Texas.
Texas third No. 1 in three weeks
Longhorns
BY DOUG FEINBERG
AP basketball writer
Mets starting pitcher to miss start of season
PORT ST LUCIE,Fla.— New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea is expected to begin the season on the injured list because of a right oblique strain.
Manaea said Monday that he had been dealing with the issue since getting to spring training. He says it never got worse but never improved. The left-hander was the Mets’ top starter last season and then got a $75 million, three-year contract. He had an MRI over the weekend and won’t throw for two to three weeks.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Manaea wouldn’t throw again until he was free of symptoms.
Mendoza also said infielder Nick Madrigal fractured his non-throwing shoulder in a spring training game Sunday
Panthers say they will not re-sign LB Thompson
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers are moving on from longtime linebacker Shaq Thompson.
The Panthers informed Thompson, who is an unrestricted free agent, that they will not be resigning him.
Thompson is expected to pursue other options in free agency The 30-year-old has been with the Panthers for a decade, but has been limited to just six games over the past two seasons because of injuries. He was the team’s first-round pick in 2014 and ranks fourth in team history with 752 tackles, behind only Thomas Davis, Luke Kuechly and Mike Minter Thompson appeared in 123 games in his 10 seasons with Carolina.
1976. It has never happened with five schools.
Ins and outs
Texas is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll for the first time in 21 years and the third team to hold the top spot in the past three weeks. The Longhorns moved atop the poll Monday after previous No 1 Notre Dame lost in double overtime to North Carolina State. UCLA had been No. 1 the 12 prior weeks to the Irish.
“I’m so happy for my kids, they’ve earned where they are today,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said in a phone interview hours before his team faced Georgia late Monday
It is only the fifth time since 2001 that three schools have been No. 1 in a three-week span Add in South Carolina being No. 1 to start the season and there have been four teams atop the rankings this season, just the sixth time that has happened since the poll began in
“There’s so much parity in the game right now,” Schaefer said.
Texas, which last held the top spot in the poll on Feb. 16, 2004, received 19 first-place votes from a 31-member national media panel. The Longhorns have spent 48 weeks atop the poll dating to their first appearance at No. 1 in 1980.
“So much respect and admiration for coach (Jody) Conradt and the tradition of our program and I certainly understand the standard we hope we can live up to,” Schaefer said.
Notre Dame fell to third after its 19-game winning streak was snapped while UCLA moved up a spot to second The Bruins, who edged Iowa 67-65 on two late free throws Sunday, garnered 11 top votes. USC was fourth receiving one first-place ballot. UConn was fifth.
South Carolina, LSU and North Carolina were next.
North Carolina State jumped up four places to ninth after its big win over Notre Dame. TCU was 10th.
Florida State and Louisville reentered the rankings this week at No. 24 and 25. The Seminoles beat Pittsburgh and then-No. 20 Georgia Tech The Cardinals knocked off then-No. 11 Duke before losing to North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets and Illinois both fell out of the Top 25.
Conference breakdown
The Southeastern Conference has seven ranked teams. The ACC has six while the Big Ten and Big 12 each have five. The Big East has two.
Games of the week
No. 4 USC at No. 2 UCLA, Saturday The Big Ten regular-season title will be on the line when the two Los Angeles teams play. USC won the first meeting, handing the Bruins their lone loss of the season.
No. 22 Creighton at No. 5 UConn, Thursday First place in the Big East will be on the line when the Bluejays visit the Huskies.
No. 8 North Carolina at No. 16 Duke, Thursday The two ACC rivals will play for the second time
this season with a potential doublebye into the quarterfinals of the conference tournament at stake. No. 10 TCU at No. 17 Baylor, Sunday First place in the Big 12 Conference could be at stake as the Horned Frogs visit the Bears.
Unidentified team wants to do away with tush push INDIANAPOLIS — One NFL team is proposing an end to the tush push play the Philadelphia Eagles have used so successfully at the goal line and in short-yardage situations, including during their victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59. According to NFL Network and the Washington Post, league executive Troy Vincent said Monday that a team submitted a proposal to ban the play, a modified quarterback sneak where two teammates behind Jalen Hurts push him forward to help him try to gain the yardage necessary for a first down or touchdown. Vincent didn’t identify the team. NFL owners could vote on the proposal when they meet next month in Florida.
Guardians owner Dolan dies Sunday at age of 94
CLEVELAND — Lawrence J. Dolan, owner of Cleveland’s major league baseball team since 2000, has died at age 94.
The Cleveland Guardians put out a statement Monday saying Dolan died Sunday night of natural causes.
Dolan, a Cleveland native, purchased the team from Richard Jacobs in 2000 for $320 million. The Dolan family is the longest-tenured owners in franchise history
BY DAVE SKRETTA AP basketball writer
Auburn remained atop the AP Top 25 for the seventh straight week on Monday, while preseason No. 1 Kansas dropped out of the men’s basketball poll for the first time in nearly four years, ending the Jayhawks’ ranked run at 80 consecutive weeks. The Tigers earned all 60 votes from the national media panel after beating Arkansas and Georgia last week. They were followed by Duke and Florida which traded places in the poll, with Houston and Tennessee rounding out the top five. Houston has the nation’s longest active streak in the Top 25 at 102 weeks.
The Jayhawks were dropped this week after a 74-67 loss at Utah and a 91-57 blowout loss at BYU, the biggest margin of defeat in school history for a ranked Kansas team against an unranked opponent. BYU entered the poll at No. 25 this week.
The Jayhawks’ were dropped this week after a 74-67 loss at Utah and a 91-57 blowout loss at BYU, the biggest margin of defeat in school history for a ranked Kansas team against an unranked opponent. BYU entered the poll at No. 25 this week. Kansas took out its frustration on Oklahoma State on Saturday, rolling to a 96-64 victory in
Allen Fieldhouse.
“We’re 1-0,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said afterward. “That’s what we’re talking about. And everybody’s stat sheet in what they’re averaging this year is exactly what happened today And we’re not even gonna talk about the other stuff right now.”
Alabama fell two spots to No. 6 this week and was followed by St. John’s and Michigan State, which jumped six spots after back-toback ranked wins over Purdue and Michigan. Iowa State and Texas Tech rounded out the top 10.
Kansas dropped out along with Ole Miss, which had been ranked the last 13 weeks and 15 of the past 16. That made room for Saint Mary’s, which beat Portland and Gonzaga to enter at No. 23, and BYU, which followed its win over the Jayhawks by beating thenNo. 19 Arizona 96-95 on Saturday thanks to two free throws by Richie Saunders with 3.2 seconds left.
It was the first time the Cougars had beaten ranked teams in consecutive games since 1988.
“My message to our group is, you know, whatever the next challenge in front of us, we’re trying to attack it, whether that’s practice, whether that’s shoot-around, whether that’s a game,” first-year BYU coach Kevin Young said. “I know that sounds cliche but that’s really been the recipe for us, to
not look any further than what we have to do at that moment.”
Rising and falling
Louisville joined Michigan State in making the biggest jump in this week’s poll, climbing six spots to No. 19. The Cardinals beat Florida State in their only game last week for their fifth consecutive win, and they head into this week tied with No. 13 Clemson for second in the ACC behind the secondranked Blue Devils.
Purdue fell seven spots to No. 20 after losses to Michigan State and Indiana, but the Boilermakers held onto a spot in the Top 25 for the 55th consecutive week. That is now the third-longest active streak behind Houston and Tennessee (76 weeks).
Preseason Top 25 checkup
Kansas isn’t the only team ranked highly in the preseason poll to drop out all together this season.
Two-time reigning national champion UConn was No. 3 with 11 first-place votes in October but did not appear on any ballots this week. Gonzaga was sixth, Baylor eighth and North Carolina ninth in the preseason poll — and all are unranked. In all, more than half of the teams in the preseason poll 13 of them — failed to crack this week’s Top 25. Conference watch The SEC continued its dominance with three of the top five and eight total in the Top 25 this week. The Big 12 had three in the top 10 and five ranked teams, while the Big Ten also had five teams in the poll.
The franchise was known as the Cleveland Indians before changing its name to the Guardians after the 2021 season. Over the past 24 seasons, Cleveland has won seven American League Central Division titles, made nine postseason appearances and advanced to the 2016 World Series before losing to the Chicago Cubs.
Florida’s Condon expected to return to action Tuesday GAINESVILLE, Fla. Florida forward Alex Condon, who missed the last three games because of a sprained right ankle, is expected to return at Georgia on Tuesday Condon turned his ankle in the first 30 seconds of a win at Mississippi State on Feb. 11 and has been sidelined since. He leads the
ranked Gators with 7.8
a game and ranks fourth on the team in
averaging 10.6 points. He’s one of four Florida players joining forward Sam Alexis and guards Walter Clayton Jr and Alijah Martin — who have missed time during
PHOTO By ERIC GAy
Tulane ready to try its luck on road
BY GUERRY SMITH
Contributing writer
After a historic doubleheader demolition of Loyola Marymount on Saturday, the Tulane baseball team will find out whether or not it can maintain that level of play on the road. The Green Wave’s game at Nicholls on Tuesday (6:30 p.m., ESPN+) is the first of five away from home in the next seven days, preceding a weekend series at Pepperdine and a contest at Long Beach State next Monday
“Good teams win on the road, and we’re going to find out what type of team we are on the road,” said senior third baseman Gavin Schulz, who is hitting .391 with an on-base percentage of .563 through seven games. “We are going to find out how bad we want to win on the road. Road games mean a lot for RPI.”
It is very early, but Tulane (6-1) exhibited high-end potential while winning 14-4 and 10-0 on Saturday The last time the Wave took both ends of a doubleheader by 10 or more runs was 1986 against Saint Louis.
Plus, scoring 32 runs in a sweep of Omaha on opening weekend gained some heft when the Mavericks beat Nicholls 5-2 last Tuesday, then went to Baton Rouge and held second-ranked LSU to four runs in each of the first two games of a series The Mavericks won the second one 5-4 while nohitting the Tigers through seven innings.
Nicholls (5-3) is coming off of two consecutive Southland Conference Tournament championships
SOFTBALL
Continued from page 1C
but lost former coach Mike Silva and six players to Arkansas State in the offseason. The Colonels were picked fifth in a preseason poll of Southland coaches and sports information directors.
Pepperdine, the 1992 College World Series champion, went 15-38 last season and was outscored 63-12 in its first seven games this year before beating San Diego State in 10 innings on Monday
Long Beach was tabbed to tie for eighth in the 11-team Big West in its preseason coaches poll.
The key is not relaxing as Tulane tries to pile up as many wins as possible against a light nonconference schedule.
“We always talk about if you want to host a regional, you win on the road,” Tulane coach Jay Uhlman said. “The carrot’s out there for them to prove they are a good team.”
Message received
Uhlman made it clear lackadaisical play would not be accepted Friday when he benched freshman right fielder Tanner Chun and freshman center fielder Jason Wachs after the third inning
Chun dropped a fly ball and failed to pick up another one cleanly after it ricocheted off the wall, allowing Devan Ornelas to round the bases in a four-run inning for Loyola Marymount.
Wachs did not run full out for a blooper that landed in front of him in the first inning — right before a three-run homer — and did not communicate with Chun on the ball that caromed off the wall.
Chun started Saturday’s opener
Saints add two more assistant coaches
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
The new coaching staff for the New Orleans Saints is starting to fill out. A week after hiring former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as their defensive coordinator former Eagles assistant coach Doug Nussmeier as offensive coordinator, the Saints added two more assistants on Monday
The Saints are hiring former University of Texas defensive passing game coordinator Terry Joseph as their defensive backs coach, according to a league source. They are also hiring Kyle Wilber to work as their assistant special teams coach, according to a league source, bringing aboard a young coach with a decade of playing experience.
The 51-year-old Joseph is a New Orleans native whose name should be recognizable around these parts — his cousins, Vance and Mickey Joseph, are also high-level coaches in their own right.
This will mark Terry Joseph’s first NFL coaching job. He’s been coaching in the college ranks since 2006, when he took a graduate assistant job at LSU. His most recent stop was at Texas, which is where he’d been since the start of the 2021 season as the defensive passing game
coordinator His unit is coming off an impressive 2024 season, ranking No. 7 nationally in passing yards allowed per game (173.8) and tied for first in interceptions (22).
Joseph has played a part in developing some premier defensive backs. Texas corner Jahdae Barron won the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive back, last year while playing under Joseph While he was at Notre Dame, Joseph also recruited and developed Kyle Hamilton, who would go on to become a first-round draft pick and an All-Pro with the Baltimore Ravens.
The 35-year-old Wilber spent most of his playing career with the Dallas Cowboys, where he was a teammate of new Saints head coach Kellen Moore. He was a core special-teamer for much of his career, logging at least 70% of his team’s specialteams snaps seven times with the Cowboys and Raiders.
Wilber’s playing career ended after the 2021 season, and he quickly found work in coaching, catching on as a special teams quality control assistant with the Green Bay Packers in 2023. He will work under Phil Galiano, whom the Saints promoted to special teams coordinator last week after longtime coordinator Darren Rizzi accepted a job with the Denver Broncos.
COLLEGE BASEBALL NOTEBOOK
LSU coach gives ‘major hat tip’ to Omaha after upset
BY ERIC OLSON AP sportswriter
and had two RBIs with a home run in the first four innings. Wachs returned in right field for the nightcap and doubled in Tulane’s first run and scored two times. He also made a nice, hustling catching in the ninth inning after moving to center field.
“I complimented them for responding,” Uhlman said. “There were so many good performances.”
No coach, no problem
Uhlman was ejected in the first inning of Saturday’s doubleheader opener by third-base umpire Ryan Broussard in a beef that started Friday when Broussard was behind the plate.
If anything, his absence galvanized the Wave as it rebounded from a 12-4 series-opening loss.
“Jay’s fiery, and that’s why we play so hard for him and love him so much,” Schulz said. “We know he’s going to fight for us and we’re going to fight for him.”
Lagniappe
J.D Rodriguez (0-0, 7.36 ERA), who struggled in two weekend starts for the Wave, will start against Nicholls in what Uhlman labeled a bullpen game. The Colonels played at LSU on Monday night and had not announced a starter Uhlman said Dominic Pieto, who left Saturday’s first game in the middle of an at-bat after retiring the three batters he faced, will miss at least 6-8 weeks with a posterior elbow issue. It is not a UCL problem. Nineteen of the 20 listed pitchers on the Tulane roster have pitched at least once. The exception is senior Logan Hurd.
It was just one game in February, but it will be one players for the Omaha Mavericks will remember for a lifetime. In the biggest upset of the season so far, Omaha’s Ben Weber, Luke Gainer and Oliver Mabee held an LSU team ranked as high as No. 2 in the polls hitless into the eighth inning and the Mavs hung on for a 5-4 win Saturday in Baton Rouge. The Mavs (2-5) of the Summit League haven’t posted a winning record since 2019. LSU was by far the highest ranked opponent they’ve knocked off since they became a fullfledged Division I program in 2016.
“It was a big moment for our program even though it’s a regular-season game,” coach Evan Porter said Monday “I think we’re 12-13 years (since transitioning) into Division I, and we didn’t have a stadium until four years ago. Before that we were playing at a city park and maybe not all the students on campus knew we had a baseball program.”
The victory was especially meaningful for Porter and pitching coach Michael Bradshaw Porter grew up in Omaha, was a two-time Division II All-America shorstop for the Mavs and still holds the program record for games played (239 from 200509). Bradshaw pitched at Nevada when LSU coach Jay Johnson led the Wolf Pack and he was an assistant under Johnson at Arizona.
“Omaha did a good job, man,” Johnson said. “Major hat tip to how they pitched.”
The Mavs’ biggest highlight before Saturday came in 2019 when they won the Summit League and played in an NCAA regional at No. 1 national seed UCLA. They led 1-0 in the fifth inning before losing 5-1. Porter said the ever-changing college sports model could mean fewer upsets of elite programs by low mid-major teams like his going forward. Revenue sharing with players and thirdparty name, image and likeness opportunities will create even greater competitive disparity between programs like LSU and
Omaha.
The Mavs fund the current maximum of 11.7 scholarships and they have an NIL collective that provides as many opportunities as other similarly situated programs, but it’s miniscule compared with what’s available to players in the SEC.
“Our guys get pumped when we get postgame scraps from the event that was happening at the ballpark,” Porter said.
In the polls
Texas A&M (5-1) remained No. 1 in the D1Baseball.com and Baseball America polls after winning two of three last week.
D1 Baseball had LSU (6-1) at No. 2 and Tennessee (7-0) at No. 3. Baseball America had those two teams flip-flopped.
Lefty goes 10 innings
Rhode Island left-hander Trystan Levesque turned in the nation’s longest outing in nearly three years, pitching 10 shutout innings and striking out nine in the Rams’ 1-0 loss at Oregon on Saturday
The graduate student threw 119 pitches, scattered three hits and walked two. He retired 17 straight batters between the second and seventh innings. Connor Johnston came on for the 11th, and Oregon scored an unearned run for the walk-off win.
A swing better than Ohtani’s? Stanford freshman sensation Rintaro Sasaki, who was 7 for 18 with two doubles and eight RBIs against Cal State Fullerton in his first four games, cooled off in weekend games against Washington. Japan’s all-time high school leader in home runs went hitless in the first two games and was 2 for 10 with three walks and four strikeouts over three games. The teams were to play again Monday Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has known Sasaki since Sasaki’s father, Hiroshi, coached him in high school. In an ESPN feature last week, the interviewer told Sasaki that Ohtani told him that Sasaki has the better swing. Sasaki broke into laughter and said, “No, absolutely not.”
The Nicholls State vs. LSU baseball game ended before press time. Visit nola.com for a full report.
have to do that in the SEC. We’re going to see some great competition and our west coast Tiger fans.”
STAFF PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD
Tulane outfielder Gavin Schulz hits a single against South Florida in the second inning at Turchin Stadium on April 13. He is hitting .391 so far this season for the Green Wave
THE VARSITY ZONE
Youthful Chapelle girls fall to Captain Shreve
BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer
Kaylee Dublin helped Chapelle
win 20 basketball games for the third year in a row
The senior also totaled more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocked shots over five seasons. “She’s just someone that tries to do whatever you ask,” Chapelle coach Mike Krajcer said. “That’s all you can ask as a coach. Someone who will give everything they have. And she did, five years’ worth.”
On Monday Dublin played the final game of her high school career No. 11 Captain Shreve traveled on the road and defeated No. 6 Chapelle 47-33. Captain Shreve (25-8) won with a full-court manto-man pressure defense that caused many of the 27 turnovers for Chapelle (22-7).
It was a frustrating end to the season But not one that tarnished what the team achieved over the past several months
“This was our third back-to-
back year having a 20-win season,” Dublin said. “I’ve been here
five years now and watching this team grow, we have two young freshmen and watching them grow from being scared eighth graders to dominant freshmen on the court, it just really means a lot that we could all come together and play like we did this year.”
Dublin scored eight points with nine rebounds and two blocked shots against Captain Shreve
Among the freshmen, guard Molly Avrard and forward Hailey Ford each scored 10 points. Avrard made a 3-pointer that cut the lead down to 10 points in the fourth quarter.
“We had our moments where we felt like we were turning the page and getting on a run,” Krajcer said, “but they went down and scored right away and shut that down.”
Captain Shreve freshman Joslyn Martin had 16 points and 11 rebounds. She made all eight of her free throw attempts in the fourth quarter Chapelle led 8-4 but scored only one basket in the second quarter
Captain Shreve led by double figures for much of the second half. Chapelle played hard to the end. Krajcer put Chapelle’s three seniors on the court together with less than 30 seconds to play Addy Stein and Raegan LaCoste were the other two seniors.
The coach then had Dublin come off the floor for an ovation and a hug.
“They’re my kids, you know what I’m saying?” Krajcer said.
“Five years, you really watch them grow up. She deserved that moment. I had my seniors in together, and then she deserved that moment.”
Dublin, also a track and field standout who finished third at the 5A state meet last year, appreciated the moment.
“Just knowing that he was there for me for five years,” she said. “I wanted to do everything I could to keep him happy and do everything I could for the team too. He was a big role model for me.”
Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com
Eighth grader Brown sparks De La Salle girls hoops win
BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer
De La Salle didn’t show rust after a bye week as the No. 5 seed in the Division III select girls basketball playoff bracket in a regional-round matchup against No. 12 St. Thomas Aquinas.
A 16-point first quarter gave De La Salle an early lead, but St. Thomas Aquinas pulled within six points after three quarters. De La Salle held off a comeback attempt with a 15-point fourth quarter to come away with a 49-39 victory Monday at De La Salle.
Eighth grader Ya’Myri Brown was a consistent source of scoring for a young De La Salle team and had a team-high six points in the fourth quarter
“I’m very proud,” De La Salle coach Mike Mosely said “They fought, they did what we’ve been working on, and they wouldn’t gave up. They gave everything they had. I’ve got a young group, but they really fought tonight.” Brown finished with a gamehigh 18 points and was the only De La Salle player to score in double figures. De La Salle led by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter after a Brown basket and a 3-pointer from sophomore Tamia Cole, who finished with seven points.
“(Brown) gave all she had,” Mosley said “This girl never stops. She works, and you saw the result. She’s a track star and is so fast, so she can bring everybody
downcourt, and she’s strong. She’s not going to be denied.”
Junior Jaeden Brown was among De La Salle’s top rebounders and contributed six points.
Senior Rae’l Simons came off the bench and scored eight points.
St. Thomas Aquinas saw Kaitlynn Barton hit a long 3-pointer as time expired in the second quarter and led her team with 16 points
“We kind of let (St. Thomas Aquinas) get a little bit of momentum after that halftime 3,” Jaeden Brown said. “We had to come back being more aggressive passing the ball and really running our sets. There was really good communication between our guards
Brother Martin snatches last playo
BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer
Brother Martin basketball coach
Chris Biehl said he thought his team might have blown its chance at reaching the playoffs when Holy Cross beat the Crusaders at the buzzer last month.
But five victories in the final six games were enough to earn the last possible seed in the LHSAA Division I select playoffs. No. 24 Brother Martin (13-17), which moved ahead of three other schools on the final day of the season, will open the playoffs with a rematch against No. 9 Holy Cross (24-5) in a first-round game set for 6 p.m. Friday
“Now you go into the playoffs with a group of kids that are starting to believe,” Biehl said.
The LHSAA released playoff brackets Monday with Shaw (Division II select) and Crescent City (D-IV select) as New Orleans area schools holding No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets.
But the suspense of the day came for the schools at the bottom end of the seedings.
“We knew going into (the last game Friday) that we needed a handful of teams to lose to even have a remote shot,” Biehl said.
“But the only thing we tried to focus on was to make sure we beat East Jefferson.”
Brother Martin won that game, 60-35, as seniors Hale Hankins and Chase Chesser scored 20 and 15 points, respectively, and junior Jax Wilklow chipped in 12.
That win, combined with losses by St. Paul’s (against Holy Cross), Warren Easton (against Sophie B Wright) and Acadiana (against Carencro), let Brother Martin slip into the playoffs with a power rating of 30.87 points, an amount that was five-hundredths of a point ahead of St. Paul’s.
Because Biehl was unsure about his team’s playoff fate after the game Friday, he told players to arrive at school Monday with their practice jerseys. He told them they would receive an email midway through the day to say if they would practice or hold an end-ofseason meeting.
Now with a game to play Brother Martin must prepare to face Holy Cross for a third time this season Holy Cross won the first two meetings, 60-51 on Jan. 10 and 30-29 on Jan. 31.
“Going over to their place, they’re going to be hungry,” Biehl said. “We know they’re one of the best teams in New Orleans. We’re going to have to bring our ‘A’ game. We do feel like we gave one away (in the last meeting) To give up a layup with two seconds to go is a coach’s worst nightmare.”
Brother Martin has played with several newcomers on the varsity roster, at one point losing 13 times in a span of 17 games.
“We’re playing now with a freshman and most nights two sophomores,” Biehl said. “They’ve gone from being what would be a kid on the freshman team and a couple JV kids, they really matured with game experience.
“As a coach, I’m really pleased with where we stand and where we are.”
Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com
and the post.” Next up for De La Salle is a quarterfinals road test against No. 4 Dunham, who defeated No. 13 GEO Next Generation 63-29 in the regional round. The De La Salle-Dunham winner will face either No. 1 Lafayette Christian or No. 8 Calvary Baptist in the semifinals.
A semifinals appearance would be the first for De La Salle girls basketball team. “I’m looking forward to (the quarterfinals),” Mosley said. “I know (Dunham) is a quality club. We’ll prepare so that we’re ready when we see them. Let’s hope we can do something we haven’t done in De La Salle history.”
STAFF PHOTO By JOHN MCCUSKER
Kaylee Dublin shoots over Captain Shreve’s Shiloh Brokenberry on Monday night in Metairie. Captain Shreve defeated Chapelle 47-33.
Doncic ready to play against old team
BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. Just over three weeks after the trade that stunned the sports world, Luka Doncic and his Los Angeles Lakers will host the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.
Doncic’s new teammates and coaches all believe he’ll be ready and eager for this quick showdown with the team that abruptly shipped him out of the city where he earned five All-NBA selections, where he led last season’s squad to the NBA Finals after winning the scoring title — and where he expected to spend the rest of his career “I think he’ll be fine,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Every day that he’s been with us, it’s becoming just a little bit more normal I’ve been there The first time you play your old team, particularly this close in time duration, it’s going to be weird. But he’ll be able to handle it.”
Major life events have been coming at Doncic awfully quickly in February, so the speed at which this monumental matchup arrived on the Lakers’ schedule is just another challenge for the Slovenian superstar Aside from the upheaval of the trade, Doncic is also still working his way back into top shape after missing 6 1/2 weeks with a strained calf.
Doncic declined to speak to reporters Monday after the Lakers’ practice, which he ended by making a half-court shot following a 3-point shooting drill with Dorian Finney-Smith, his former teammate in Dallas. Both veterans ended up with the Lakers this season in separate trades
“I think he’s going to be excited, but everybody in the locker room is excited,” Finney-Smith said.
“We’ve got his back. It’s going to be a hard-fought game. I know
(Mavs coach Jason) Kidd is going to have them ready to come in here and compete, so we’ve just got to match their intensity.”
This matchup unfortunately
won’t feature both headlining players in the blockbuster trade.
Anthony Davis, the big man who teamed up with LeBron James to lead the Lakers to the 2020 championship, is out at least two more weeks with a groin injury sustained in his first game with the Mavs.
Davis, who is on the road with his
guard Cam
tries to control the ball as Denzel Aberdeen defends for Florida in the first half Saturday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center The Gators won the game 79-65.
LSU MEN
Continued from page 1C
sustainable?” McMahon said.
“There was (good) basketball being played on both ends of the floor How do we sustain that level of play for longer periods of time? Really, that’s where the focus has to continue to be.” Tennessee is the next foe LSU will use to chart its progress. Finding reliable ways to score will be especially crucial against a team with the best defense in the country The Vols are first in both adjusted defensive efficiency and defensive effective field goal percentage, and third in both block rate and defensive 3-point efficiency, according to KenPom as of Monday McMahon called Tennessee guards Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack a couple of the best defenders in the country, and center Felix Okpara a “phenomenal” rim protector Efficient offense isn’t going to be an easy task against Tennessee. LSU can’t afford for leading scorer Cam Carter to struggle like he did in the last game against Florida when he had seven points and shot 23.1% from the field.
McMahon said LSU will have to be mindful of Tennessee’s screening, which he described as one of the best in the country Those picks
LSU
at the PMAC.
free up top shooter Chaz Lanier, who is averaging 18 points per game. “When you watch (Lanier’s) film, he doesn’t need much time or space to get a shot off, so a really quick release,” McMahon said. Lanier’s 94 total 3-pointers are the most by an SEC player He is also ninth in conference play in 3-point percentage (37.1%), a spot ahead of Carter (36.7%). Beating Tennessee will require
one of Tigers’ best offensive efforts. They’ll need strong jump shooting from their four-guard lineup they likely will use for the fourth consecutive game. No matter the challenge, the prevailing mindset McMahon has is for LSU players to get better and have that eventually translate into wins.
Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy brown@theadvocate.com
the Lakers visit Dallas. Doncic, who turns 26 on Friday, has played in only four games for the Lakers since getting healthy enough to return to the court. But he took a major step toward full strength with a stellar performance at Denver last Saturday night.
He put up 32 points with four 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals in the Lakers’ 123-100 blowout win over the Nuggets, who had been a brutal matchup for Los Angeles in recent seasons.
“When he made the first 3, I was like, ‘OK, he’s on it tonight,’” Lakers forward Rui Hachimura said with a grin. “I don’t know how much he’s 100% healthy, but he’s started to get back to his rhythm, so I’m happy for him.”
After Doncic’s first two games with the Lakers were played on a minutes restriction, he struggled in his third appearance, going 5 for 18 and hitting just one 3-pointer on nine attempts in the Lakers’ embarrassing loss to Charlotte. The NBA’s hot-take factories chugged into production on concerns about Doncic’s game.
The Lakers said they weren’t worried in the slightest — and after Doncic took one game off in Portland to manage his injury recovery, he delivered in Denver
new team, is beloved in Los Angeles as Doncic is in Dallas. He is likely to feel that passion from the Lakers’ sellout crowd and so is Max Christie, the Lakers’ former second-round pick who blossomed into a starter this season before the trade to the Mavs.
A full on-court reunion will have to wait until at least April 9, when
LSU WOMEN
Continued from page 1C
which, in turn, allowed LSU to find more shots within its preferred up-tempo style of offense. Williams took the keys of that attack and drove the Tigers through a much more productive second half. In transition, her knack for converting difficult shots helped LSU take advantage of the misses it forced at the other end. In the half court, her mid-range shooting allowed the Tigers to unlock their offense, and her passing allowed them to thwart the zone defense the Wildcats tried unsuccessfully to deploy once they started to lose control in the third quarter
“She’s a load,” Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said.
“She’s a great player She missed 11 shots, but she made the ones she needed to make.”
Among those buckets were the two that Williams found inside the final two minutes of the fourth quarter
Mulkey gave her a choice before she scored the first one.
Williams could run a dribble handoff at either the left elbow, where Sa’Myah Smith was stationed or to the right, where Morrow was waiting. She chose left and grabbed the ball from Smith, then took two long strides to the rim, using her right elbow to create space for the fadeaway runner she banked in against a 6-foot7 defender
Kentucky scored on its ensuing trip down the floor
Then Williams countered with a 3-pointer, but not before maneuvering around a screen on the left wing and knifing a bounce pass to Johnson, who had timed a smart baseline cut into the lane. The Kentucky defense collapsed onto her so she tossed a pass back out to Williams, who was all alone
PELICANS
Continued from page 1C
tors back in the 2019-20 season opener
His answer that night on his rebounding success: “Just go get the f****** ball,” Hart said.
Alvarado says the key for him is just “tracking the ball.”
“Getting a feel for it,” he said.
He knows missed 3-pointers typically mean long rebounds.
He’s able to get his hands on those and initiate the break.
The Pelicans ended up with 19 fast-break points in the second half after not having any in the first half. That’s a credit
“I knew it was going to come,” Finney-Smith said “Luka, I shoot with him all the time, so I knew there was nothing wrong with his shot. He just hadn’t played for a while. He ain’t played since Christmas, and guys want him to come back and be 30, 10 and 10, but it takes time for him. I’m just happy he’s finding his rhythm.”
near the top of the key
That possession — like many others before it — started and ended in the hands of Williams.
“Probably in the last month,” Mulkey said, “I have kept it in her hands a little more at the point when I would get frustrated with our point guard play She can play all positions on the floor at her size.” Williams has guided the LSU offense down the stretch of close wins over Stanford, Oklahoma and Kentucky The free-throw line jumper she hit against the Cardinal forced overtime, and the top-of-theykey 3-pointer she orchestrated iced the Jan. 30 win over the No. 13 Sooners now one of five wins the Tigers have picked up this season over ranked teams.
In losses to No. 6 South Carolina and No. 1 Texas, Williams shot only 33% from the field and converted only two of 12 attempts from beyond the arc But the sophomore has averaged 17.7 points, 4.1 rebound and 3.4 assists per game since Southeastern Conference play began while shooting 47% from the field and 39% from beyond the arc.
Last year, Williams averaged only 12.1 ppg on 43% shooting against SEC opponents. Now she’s one of five league players who shoot multiple 3-pointers per game and average at least 15 ppg with at least a 45% field goal percentage and a 35% 3-point percentage. And Mulkey is putting the offense in her hands down the stretch of close games and watching her guide LSU to wins.
“That’s what great players do,” Mulkey said.
Email Reed Darcey at reed.darcey@theadvocate. com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate. com/lsunewsletter
to Alvarado, who plays every minute as if the Pelicans record is 43-14 instead of 14-43.
“Our season is our season,” Alvarado said. “We don’t love how it’s going. We don’t like how it is. But you’ve got to build good habits and keep getting better every day.”
Spoken like the true leader
he’s become.
“He’s not afraid,” Green said.
“He’s going to step on the floor and give you everything he has.”
He may have been the smallest player on the court Sunday But he was also arguably the best.
Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate.com.
PHOTO By PATRICK DENNIS
LSU
Carter
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
head coach Matt McMahon coaches against South Carolina on Feb 18
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By WILLIAM LIANG
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic reacts after making a shot against the Charlotte Hornets on Feb 19 in Los Angeles.
Exhibit celebrates Lafayette’s 1824 tour stop in La.
BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer
Groupies are groupies, no matter the era. And the Marquis de Lafayette had his share of giddy fans when he embarked on his own Taylor Swift-style “Eras” tour of the United States between 1824 and 1825.
More accurately, he called it his Farewell Tour, marking his final visit to the U.S. When comparing followings in the 19th and 21st centuries, Swift has nothing on Lafayette when it comes to popularity Fans flocked from everywhere People flocked from everywhere to see the French war hero as he traipsed through the country’s 24 states, and Tonni McCollister probably best depicts the citizenry’s mood in her painting, “Waiting for a Glimpse.”
The piece is one of 34 works by members of the Associated Women in the Arts celebrating the bicentennial of Lafayette’s Louisiana tour stop in Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s exhibit, “The Biggest Celebrity of His Time: General Lafayette and the 200th Anniversary of His Voyage to Louisiana.” The show runs through March 15, which would have been exactly a month before the marquis’ Baton Rouge visit on April 15. This historic date alone gave the Old Capitol’s curator, Lauren Davis, an idea. She knew New Orleans’ Cabildo would be opening its own exhibit, “Bienvenne a General Lafayette,” in April.
the Marquis de Lafayette.
A different kind of exhibit
“I knew their exhibit would have a lot of artifacts, so I started thinking about something different for our exhibit,” Davis said. “I thought about the Associated Women in the Arts. They’ve exhibited here through the years, so I started talking to them about a themed exhibit.”
Two years ago, the idea for the exhibit started as Louisianans interpreting Lafayette’s life, Farewell Tour and legacy through their artwork.
“They were free to choose what they wanted to paint about Lafayette,” Davis said.
So, McCollister painted groupies. That’s not what she calls the two women standing on the Mississippi River bank in her painting, but they are Lafayette fans.
“There was great excitement and anticipation as the news spread that General Lafayette would be traveling up the Mississippi River from New Orleans,” McCollister writes in her exhibition label. “Somewhere along the way, these women sneaked out of the house, unescorted, to see if they could catch ä See LAFAYETTE, page 2D
For former Louisiana Treasurer John Schroder,
riding
in every parade is a longtime goal
KEEP ROLLING
BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer
By John Schroder’s count, since 1984 he’s ridden or marched in 131 parades presented by 56 organizations across Louisiana.
Most have been Carnival parades: the Mardi Paws dog parade in Covington; the Tchefuncte boat parade; the all-women Krewe of Muses, in which he appeared among the coed Dead Rock Stars dance troupe.
Schroder was all set to be a substitute rider for one of the members of the Rex organization last year, but the opportunity didn’t pan out. So he put the Mardi Gras morning procession back on his bucket list. He’s determined he’ll roll with the King of Carnival someday
That’s part of the overall goal Schroder set for himself. As he explained, “At one point, I decided, ‘You know what, I’m going to ride in every parade.’”
Five days, five parades?
Such a quest can get pretty crazy Schroder was born on Feb. 8, and in 2005, Mardi Gras fell on his 44th birthday To celebrate, he rode in five Carnival parades on five consecutive days. Starting the Friday night before
Fat Tuesday, he was tossing beads from a float in the Original Orpheus parade in Mandeville Afterward, his wife Ellie sped him across the Causeway, so he could be ready to climb onto a glittering Endymion float on Saturday afternoon. Then he made his way Uptown to take his spot on a Bacchus float on Sunday Roughly 24 hours later, Schroder was back on the route atop a New Orleans Orpheus parade float on Lundi Gras. And finally, at 3:30 a.m on Mardi Gras morning, with just
a few hours of sleep under his belt, he was getting ready to ride in Zulu. By Ash Wednesday, Shroder said he was exhausted from standing on lurching floats, but the experience was fantastic.
He said he called his father, who was suffering with terminal cancer, as his Zulu float was surrounded by “people as far as you could see,” he said.
Childhood memories linger in pages
‘The Little Red Hen’ by Elizabeth Orton Jones and illustrated in gouache by J.P Miller is copyrighted 1954 by Random House.
BY ROBIN MILLER Staff writer
PROVIDED PHOTO FROM JOHN SCHRODER
John Schroder, seen here while preparing to ride in the Endymion parade, hopes to eventually ride in every major Mardi Gras parade in the region.
STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
The Krewe of Orpheus parades in New Orleans for Lundi Gras in 2024.
STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MILLER
Carole Sexton’s ‘Marquis de Lafayette as a young Man’ is featured in Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s exhibit ‘The Biggest Celebrity of His Time,’ commemorating
Scrim ‘Has His Day’ at Elves of Oberon Mardi Gras ball
On Monday the Elves of Oberon celebrated their 131st year at their ball at the Orpheum Theater under the title, “Every Dog Has His Day” The tableau focused on an individual who has captured the hearts of so many, an individual who has been shot at, chased and had to fight for his freedom. He’s the city’s most beloved canine: Scrim. The tableau found Scrim still on the run, traveling not just across New Orleans but all over Louisiana. The ever-resourceful Puck befriended Scrim and learned why he has been running all this time. Puck stopped Scrim’s running by delivering him to the place he’s been searching for all these months, leaving both Scrim and Puck happy. Reigning as queen of the ball was Miss Sarah Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Brian Christopher Fitzpatrick. The maids in the court were Misses Carolyn Taylor Bienvenu, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Paul Albert Bienvenu IV; Marguerite Lisette Breaux, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Ralph Gerard Breaux;
Elizabeth Gale Brooks, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Philip Schoen Brooks Jr.; Annabelle Baldwin Brown, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Lawrence Baldwin Brown; Carolyn Grace Burton, daughter of Mrs Alan Frank Burton and the late Mr. Burton; Charlotte Anne Galloway, daughter of Mr and Mrs. William Rudolph Galloway; Katie Paige Gardes, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Derek Dylan Gardes; Madison Elizabeth Hales, daughter of Mr and Mrs Stephen Benjamin Hales; and Celia Shane Hardin, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Jeffery Simms Hardin. Also in the court were Misses Emma Claire Mor-
ton, daughter of Mr and Mrs. John Flood Morton IV; Victoria Livaudais Nieset, daughter of Mr and Mrs. James Robert Nieset, Jr.;
Julia McLain Pilant, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Andrew Denny Austin Pilant; Eleanor McCall Plauché, daughter of Mr Walter
Clearing up Medicare confusion
Dear Heloise: I totally agree that no one should give their Medicare card number to anyone over the phone who calls them and asks for it The scam is due to the fact that a lot of people, like me, have recently received new Medicare cards with new numbers. This is because Medicare was concerned that somewhere, someway, the old cards were compromised in a data breach. I asked Medicare how and where this happened, but they would not share this information with me. So, yes, people are getting new Medicare cards with new numbers, but do not share the new numbers with someone who phones you and requests the number. Regards — Mike Gleason,via email
Lowering grocery bills
of hydrogen peroxide and dish soap Just dab a tiny bit of soap on the stain, then squirt hydrogen peroxide on it Rub this in with an old toothbrush, and the stain will disappear before your eyes. This works well on other stains, too, but is always effective with blood Kind regards! — Adriana Kuhn, via email
A sneaky surprise
Hints from Heloise
Dear Heloise: I don’t grab a basket, not even a handheld one, if I am going to buy just milk, coffee and asparagus (to accompany chicken for dinner). This way I can carry the few items I need and can’t add in any impulse purchases, like biscotti or an enticing new creamer It also helps me maintain a healthy weight. Mama Vanhorn, via email
Miracle blood stain remover
Dear Heloise: I’m writing in response to a question asked in a recent column about removing blood stains. I have a miracle blood stain remover: a mixture
By The Associated Press
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 25, the 56th day of 2025. There are 309 days left in the year
Today in history
On Feb. 25, 1964, Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) became world heavyweight boxing champion for the first time as he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami Beach.
On this date:
In 1870, Republican Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi was sworn in as U.S. senator, becoming the first African American member of either house of Congress.
In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving Congress the power to levy and collect income taxes, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Philander Chase Knox.
In 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in the wake of a tainted election; opposition leader Corazon Aquino — the first woman to lead the country assumed the presidency
In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, 28 American soldiers were killed when an Iraqi Scud missile hit a U.S barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
In 1994, American-born Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire with an automatic rifle inside
Dear Heloise: After seeing the letter about eggs in imported goods, I just had to write Years ago, when I owned a drapery manufacturing company, we had a real surprise one day As we began to work on an order of imported fabric much to my dismay and the screams of my employees, a snake crawled out of the roll of fabric. All I know about the snake is that he wasn’t from the United States. This story is true and good for a laugh now and then. — Evelyn Brown, Little Rock,Arkansas
Nontoxic weed killer
Dear Heloise: Some years ago, I found out a way to make a nontoxic weed killer In a bucket, combine 2 cups of Epsom salt, ¼ cup of dishwashing liquid, and a gallon of white vinegar After mixing it, I always leave it to sit overnight so that the Epsom salt dissolves (as it can take a while). Works like a charm! — Schrowie,A Devoted Reader
Send a hint to heloise@heloise. com.
the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, killing 29 Muslims before he was beaten to death by worshippers In 1997, a jury in Media, Pennsylvania, convicted chemical fortune heir John E du Pont of third-degree murder, deciding he was mentally ill when he shot and killed world-class wrestler David Schultz. (Du Pont died in prison in December 2010 while serving a 13- to 30-year sentence; he was 72.) In 2020, U.S health officials warned that the coronavirus was certain to spread more widely in the U.S.; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to be prepared. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, speaking in India, said the virus was “very well under control” in the United States.
Today’s birthdays: Former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael is 90. Actor Tom Courtenay is 88. TV journalist Bob Schieffer is 88. Film director Neil Jordan is 75. Rock musician-actor John Doe (X) is 72. Comedian Carrot Top is 60. Actor Tea Leoni is 59.
Actor Sean Astin is 54. Singer Daniel Powter is 54. Comedian-
actor Chelsea Handler is 50.
Actor Rashida Jones is 49. Actor Jameela Jamil is 39. Golfer Hideki Matsuyama is 33.
Evan Plauché and Ms. Lisa Breeden Plauché; Ella Smith Schneidau, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Marc Hall Schneidau; Laura Elise Vickery, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Eugene Benton Vickery III; Margo Irene Gilthorpe Weese, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Stuart Chaffe Bicknell
SCHRODER
Continued from page 1D
A familiar name If the name John Schroder rings a bell, it’s because when he wasn’t riding in parades — he was serving as a Louisiana state representative from St. Tammany Parish from 2008 to 2017, and Louisiana state treasurer from 2017 to 2024. Schroder ran for governor unsuccessfully in the last election. Schroder 63, arrived at his love of Mardi Gras naturally As a kid, his dad worked at the Star Chrysler dealership on the Canal Street parade route. It was a throw-mesomething bonanza for his five siblings and all their friends.
“It was very normal,” Schroder said, for his mother to take the family to the lot “to catch two, three, four parades on a weekend.”
His mom, he said, was especially devoted to the celebration. Her “whole side of the family were Mardi Gras fiends,” he said. Just as soon as the Christmas tree came down, the purple, green and gold decorations went up, he said. Police, politics, business
Schroder put himself through college painting houses, he said, then joined the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, and eventually became a Criminal Investigation Division special agent. Owing to that experience, when he entered
LAFAYETTE
Continued from page 1D
a glimpse of the General.”
McCollister isn’t saying that this random moment in history actually happened, but considering Lafayette’s huge celebrity status, she can’t help speculating. The marquis not only was a war hero, he also was good-looking. This unique storytelling makes Louisiana’s Old State Capitol’s Lafayette tribute different from others.
About the marquis
Lafayette’s full name was MarieJoseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette. He was a war hero in two countries, first as a volunteer for Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, where he commanded troops as a general in the 1781 siege of Yorktown — the war’s final major battle that secured American independence.
After that, he returned to his homeland, where he became a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789, then the July Revolution of 1830.
In between the two French wars, the general was given rock star status in America, not only as a war hero but as the last living commander from the American Revolution.
Auguste Lessaveur, Lafayette’s personal secretary, a writer and French diplomat, documented when Lafayette made an impromptu visit in Baton Rouge in her book “Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825: Journal of a Voyage to the United States.” The author pinpoints one location that specifically hosted Lafayette — the garrison at the British-
Weese; and Caroline Burke Zvonek, daughter of Mr and Mrs. John Joseph Zvonek. Pages to their majesties were Masters Nicholas Jude Fleming Jr., son of Mr and Mrs. Fleming; Thomas Cutting Mead, son of Mr and Mrs. Jason Anthony Mead; and Bayne Hopkins and John McEnery Robertson III, sons of Mr and Mrs. Robertson Jr
civilian life Schroder became an undercover narcotics detective in Ascension Parish, where he disguised himself as, what else, a house painter
Between his careers as a detective and a politician, he became a successful businessman, investing in northshore real estate.
At age 30, Schroder rode in his first Carnival parade — the bygone Corps de Napoleon parade in Metairie with his mom. “I just remember how excited she was,” he said, “sorting the beads, laying it all out on the float.”
Pretty soon, he was just as excited as she was Schroder signed up to ride in the Centurions parade in Metairie, then the Original Orpheus parade in Covington, then Thoth — where he was a float lieutenant for 12 years — then Endymion, where he’s still a float leader In addition, he dabbled in as many other krewes as would have him.
“I started getting big into it,” Schroder understated.
He’d drive a tractor
Schroder said he isn’t picky He doesn’t need to be a float rider to participate. A time or two, he’s been a chauffeur for a grand marshal. Heck, Schroder said he’d be happy to drive a tractor, as long as he can be in a parade.
His favorite parts of the season, he said, are Endymion’s roll through Mid-City and Thoth’s visit to hospitals and homes. Schroder said his toughest pa-
turned-Spanish fort on what is now the Louisiana State Capitol grounds — where the marquis was greeted by “a numerous assemblage of elegantly dressed and beautiful ladies, who surrounded the general and offered him refreshments and flowers.”
Along with the general’s fans, the artists in the current exhibit depict the sidewinder paddle wheel boat, the Natchez, which transported the general along the Mississippi River. Artist Frances Durham’s painting expounds on Lafayette’s trip in her painting, “Lafayette’s View at Dawn.”
“Lafayette’s party had a rough night in the Gulf of Mexico due to storms as they approached Louisiana,” Durham writes of her scene depicting the Mississippi River, banks filled with trees. “But at the break of dawn, they saw the mouth of the Mississippi River.”
Fans at Magnolia Mound
The depiction is followed by Donna Kilbourne’s painting, “Approaching Magnolia Mound,” re-creating the general’s arrival in the Baton Rouge. Though the Natchez did not dock at Magnolia Mound Kilbourne imagines the plantation’s family cheering him on along the way
“At the time of Lafayette’s visit to Louisiana, Magnolia Mound in Baton Rouge was the residents of Armand Duplantier and his family,” Kilbourne writes. “Monsieur Duplantier accompanied Marquis de Lafayette to America and served as his aide-de-camp during the revolution.
“Duplantier acted as one of Lafayette’s agents in Louisiana to secure land that was gifted to him.
He was also a member of Lafayette’s welcoming party and a passenger on tour riverboat, the Natchez. As the party moved up the Mississippi and passed Magnolia
A highlight of the evening was the presentation of two former queens of Oberon, including Miss Marguerite Conery Schmidt, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Justin Burton Schmidt, who reigned over the ball in 2024, and Mrs. Thomas Gerard Diano, who reigned over the ball in 1975 as Barbara Ann Geary Both were presented to their majesties and received flowers from the captain. The Chairmen of the court committee was Mr Horace Mark Adams. The vice chairman was Mr Patrick Albert Talley Jr Committee members included Messrs. Michael John Bell, William Hart Brundige Jr., William Courtade Carrere, Benjamin Arnold Dupuy, William Joseph Goliwas Jr., Odom Bernhardt Heebe Jr., Lawrence Noel Johnson Jr Gordon Hardin Kolb Jr., Richard Bullard Montgomery IV, William Cabell Nelson, Godfrey Bruce Parkerson, James Joseph Reiss III, Michael Hugo Schmidt, Stephen Henry Schonberg, William Parker Stewart, St. Denis Julien Villere III and Dr William David Sumrall III.
rade was on one of those shiveringly cold, wet Mardi Gras mornings, marching all the way down St Charles Avenue with Pete Fountain’s Half-Fast Walking Club.
“It was miserable. I don’t really drink, but I remember having a bloody mary that morning to try to warm myself up.”
What are the ‘intangibles’ worth?
Schroder said you might not expect to find a businessman and former state treasurer so involved with Carnival.
“Being conservative on financial things doesn’t really match up with Mardi Gras,” he said. “It’s a waste of money.”
Unless, of course, you count the camaraderie, family traditions and other intangibles.
“It’s just unbelievable, seeing the people, and everything that goes with it,” Schroder said. “I love it.”
Part of his Carnival celebration these days “is taking my grandkids to the parades.”
What Schroder says he’s learned over the years is that Carnival may seem like a huge event, but it’s actually made up of hundreds and hundreds of small clubs all doing their things simultaneously He wants to sample as many as possible.
Schroder says he has no exact criteria for which parades to add to his running total. He plans to prioritize processions that take place in New Orleans.
But, he said, “I will ride in any parade that I’m invited to ride in.”
Mound, the family may have gathered to greet them.”
Tessier house legend
Artists haven’t slighted Baton Rouge’s Tessier house, which, according to some accounts, Lafayette not only visited but delivered a speech from its balcony The Baton Rouge Bicentennial Commission detailed such a story in a 1976 booklet written by Evelyn Thom.
The house is located at 342 Lafayette St., catercorner to the Hilton Baton Rouge Baton Rouge Capitol Center
Artists also tackled such other subjects as Lafayette’s association with Marie Antoinette, his close friendship with George Washington and the American Foxhound breed that resulted from his gift of French hounds to Washington. An unsung hero
Finally, there’s Becky Olivera’s painting, “Adrienne Noailles de LaFayette.”
“Becky’s painting is really one of the most fascinating, because she looks at Lafayette’s wife, who is really an unsung hero,” said Monica Wood, president of the Associated Women in the Arts. “With this, I think we tell a well-rounded story in this show.”
Sarah Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, queen of Elves of Oberon 2025
Husband says he’ll no longer open doors for me
Dear Miss Manners: I have been married to the same man for 40 years. He has recently decided that opening doors for me, serving me first at dinner, and other forms of respect and thoughtfulness are “sexist.” I fix dinner for him daily, do his laundry, etc. all of the things that a “traditional wife” does. I recently retired from a great career and am no slouch when it comes to work. Is he right? I’m hurt and disappointed.
EXHIBIT
Continued from page 1D
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
Gentle reader: Fun times ahead at your place! Miss Manners is sorry to miss watching your husband’s face as he keeps discovering what it is costing him to stop opening doors for you. He is right that many gender-specific practices are fading away But he is unwise to mandate such changes without your consent. Surely you had some working arrangement all these years: You have cooked and laundered, and presumably he
did tasks that were considered “manly” — servicing the car, mowing the lawn and shoveling snow, perhaps. Maybe even doing the taxes. It is quaint now even to think that way Between you, you could each stop performing these “traditional” tasks and bring your household to a standstill. But the little gestures you mention are in a different category They are symbolic, not practical. Of course you are capable of opening doors. And distinguishing behavior by gender would be damaging in a
professional setting. In private and social life, however, such customs often linger because they have acquired a certain charm. That is why for example, a high-powered executive still might want her father to “give her away” at her wedding. You might want to tell your husband that as the female in the marriage, you will decide what is sexist and what is harmlessly charming. You might pick his next laundry day to do so.
Dear Miss Manners: When planning a party, I am sure many of us could agree it is stressful trying
to get an accurate head count. How do you get the people you invited to respond in a timely fashion?
Gentle reader: An excellent question. Please let Miss Manners know when you come up with an answer
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.
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.
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 author-illustrator 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 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.
“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 Book-turned-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.
Prepared by Jill Marie Kenyon (RRCA)
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Love makes the world go 'round. Pick up the pieces you left behind and fill your day with positivity and a desire to see the good in others. Life is about choices; do what's best for you.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Channel your energy wisely. Don't waste time on situations you cannot change or negative individuals trying to rattle your nerves. Focus on using your energy to promote positive gain.
tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Say no to toxic situations Move toward peace of mind, even if your journey necessitates difficult choices. Put your time and effort into things that bring you joy.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) It's easier to navigate life's land mines if you know what to look out for. Make changes and don't mask problems instead of eliminating them Deal with things in an assertive fashion.
CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Be the light everyone looks to for guidance. Your wisdom, experience and gratitude will offer strength to loved ones and help you recognize what's possible. Push forward and achieve great things.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Be a leader, not a follower — make things happen instead of sitting on the sidelines observing and criticizing others. Join forces with sincere people and find purpose in making positive changes.
VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) An unfamiliar environment will set your mind adrift.
Use your experience to get a read on what's new and exciting, and you'll discover the power of positive change. Today is about growth.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Spread the love. Compliment and help those around you, and see what happens. Choose a jubilant approach to life; doors will open, and opportunities will manifest.
SCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Share ideas, lend a helping hand, expand your circle of friends and choose peace of mind and personal happiness over enticement. Make choices based on facts, figures and flexibility.
SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Observe, listen and assess situations carefully. Stick to the rules and take the path that bypasses indulgent behavior and temptation. Choose wisely, and you'll be proud of your achievements.
CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take your time. Refuse to bend or let someone take advantage of you. Speak up and stand up for what's best for you. Protect your physical and emotional wellbeing and your reputation.
AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Look on the bright side of life, and you'll attract positive people and input. Make your home your sanctuary, and spend time doing the things that make you happy.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
toDAy'S CLuE: L EQuALS A
CeLebrItY CIpher
For better or For WorSe peAnUtS zItS
FrAnK And erneSt
SALLY Forth
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
SherMAn’S LAGoon
bIG nAte
Sudoku
InstructIons: sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THe wiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS
CurTiS
By PHILLIP ALDER
Lao-tzu, a Chinese philosopher who died in 531 B.C., said, “When the highest type of men hear Tao, they diligently practiceit.Whentheaveragetypeofmen hearTao,theyhalfbelieveinit.Whenthe lowest type of men hear Tao, they laugh heartily at it. Without the laugh, there is no Tao.”
This week we are looking at the defensive principle that if you lead a low card from length, you guarantee at least one honor in that suit. With a weak suit, you lead an unnecessarily high card. This is no laughing matter, but there is one situation when the rule should be ignored when you are leading partner’s suit and you have not supported that suit. Then, giving length information is (usually) more important than strength information. This deal is a textbook example. North passes as dealer, East opens one heart, and South leaps majestically to four spades. If West leads the heart seven (top of nothing), East will think it is a singleton or high from a doubleton. He will win the first trick with the heart nine (low from touching cards when playing third hand high), take the heart ace, and try to cash the heart king. But South will ruff and run all of his trumps. There is no minorsuit squeeze, but declarer takes eight spades and two clubs.
Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD = gOOD aFTErnOOn
Previous answers:
InStRuCtIonS: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.
toDAy’S WoRD — unConSCIouS: un-KON-shuss: Not knowing or perceiving; not aware.
Average mark 17 words Time limit 30 minutes
Can you find 25 or more words in UNCONSCIOUS?
yEStERDAy’S WoRD — EDItoR
marmaduKe
Bizarro
hagar the horriBle
Pearls Before swiNe
garfield
B.C.
PiCKles hidato
Scrabble GramS
dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
ken ken
InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a
WiShinG Well
Get fuzzy
jump Start
roSe iS roSe
animal crackerS
DuStin
Drabble Wallace the brave
breWSter rockit
luann
AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-643 BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING
SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBERMORENO
WHEREAS, the City Planning Commission’s report forZoning Docket 078/24, submitted to the Clerk of Council and received by the Council on October 10, 2024, erroneously identified theapplicantas Armstrong NOLA Real Estate LLC; and WHEREAS, the Clerk of Council’s official notice of theCouncil’s public hearing date on Zoning Docket 078/24 was erroneouslyprovided to Armstrong NOLA Real Estate, LLC; and WHEREAS, the correct applicantfor ZoningDocket 078/24isNesbit’s Esplanade Market, LLC; and WHEREAS, Nesbit’sEsplanade Market,LLC acknowledged havingactual notice of the Council hearing on ZoningDocket 078/24and has been advised of the zoning application and waived its right to formal notice; NOWTHEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the report and recommendationofapproval,subject to one proviso, by the City Planning Commission on ZONING DOCKET NO. 78/24 initiated by NESBIT’S ESPLANADE MARKET, LLC,requestinga Conditional Use to permit the retail sale of packaged alcoholic beverages in an HMC-2 Historic Marigny/Tremé/Bywater Commercial District, on Square3 Lot 1or 3, in the ThirdMunicipal District, boundedbyEsplanadeAvenue, Decatur Street, Elysian Fields Avenue, Frenchmen Street, andNorth Peters Street (Municipal addresses: 425-427Esplanade Avenue), is hereby approved.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That theClerk of Councilshallforwardcopies of this motion and the report of theCity PlanningCommission to theLaw Department forpreparation of an ordinance to effectuate the request.
ABSENT:Harris, Thomas -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.
NO. M-24-644
BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING
SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO
BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the report and recommendationofapproval,subject to two provisos, by the City Planning Commission on ZONING DOCKETNO. 77/24initiated by DAVID DEMAREST,requestingaConditional Use to permit aprincipal bed and breakfast in an HMR-1 HistoricMarigny/Tremé/Bywater Residential District, on Square171, Lot 18, in the Second Municipal District, bounded byMarais Street, Governor Nicholls Street, Ursulines Avenue, andNorth VillereStreet (Municipal Addresses: 1123-1125Marais Street), is hereby approved.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Councilshall forwardcopies of this motion and the report of the City Planning Commission to theLaw Department for preparation of an ordinance to effectuate the request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL,THE ROLLWAS CALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTEDASFOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell- 5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Harris, Thomas -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-645 (AS CORRECTED)
BY:COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS
SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBERGREEN
BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the report and favorable recommendation of the City Planning Commission onZONING DOCKET NO. 69/24– Requestinga Zoningchange from an S-RS Suburban Single Family Residential District to an S-B2 Suburban Pedestrian Oriented Corridor Business District, on Square4,Lots F, G, and H, Lakeland Acres, in the ThirdMunicipal District, boundedbySpringwood Street, Warren Drive, Chef Menteur Highway,and Read Boulevard (Municipal Address:4523 Read Boulevard), is hereby approved and the request is granted.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That acopy of thereportofthe City Planning Commission and of this motion be forwarded to theCity Attorney’s Office for the preparation of an ordinance to effectuate the request
THEFOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL,THE ROLL WASCALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:
YEAS:Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6 NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris -1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-646 BY:COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS
SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN
BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That thereport and favorable recommendation of the City Planning Commission on ZONING DOCKET NO. 74/24 –Requestinga Conditional use to permit areceptionfacility in aC-2 Auto Oriented Commercial District and anENORC EasternNew Orleans Renaissance Corridor Use Restriction Overlay District, on Sq Lot 6A-5C, Section 24,Lakratt Tract, in the Third Municipal District, bounded by Lake Forest Boulevard, Bundy Road, Dwyer Road,and Read Boulevard(Municipal Addresses: 9900 Lake Forest Boulevard), is received and the request isgranted,subject to theseven (7) provisos as stated in the City PlanningCommission’s report.
BEITFURTHER MOVED, That acopy of thereportofthe City Planning Commission and of this motion be forwarded to the City Attorney’s Office for the preparation of an ordinance to effectuate the request THE FOREGOING MOTIONWAS READ IN FULL, THEROLL WASCALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTEDASFOLLOWS: YEAS: Green, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Giarrusso, Harris -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-647
BY:COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS
SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBERGIARRUSSO
BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the report and favorable recommendation of the City Planning Commission onZONING DOCKET NO. 76/24– Requesting aZoning change from an NANatural Areas District to an M-MU Maritime Mixed Use, on aPortion of Section 25, Township 10 South, Range 14East; aportion of Section 30, Township 10 South, Range 15East;and Lots74, 80, and 94, in the Third Municipal District,bounded by ChefMenteurHighway,the Rigolets, and Lake Pontchartrain, (Municipal Addresses: thereare no municipal addresses), is hereby approved and the request is granted.
BEITFURTHER MOVED, That acopy of the report of the CityPlanning Commission and of this motion be forwarded to the City Attorney’sOffice for the preparation of an ordinance to effectuate the request THE FOREGOING MOTIONWAS READ IN FULL, THEROLL WASCALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTEDASFOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Morrell, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Harris, Moreno -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-648 (AS AMENDED) BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBERMORENO
WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.m of theComprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuance of only one non-commercial short-term rental permit within each city block, inclusive of all lots fronting anyexterior boundary of said block and all interior lots; and WHEREAS, CZO Section 21.8.C.18.r authorizes the City Council to grant special exceptions to the one-permit-per-block cap imposed by Section 21.8.C.18.mand to allow for theissuance of uptotwo additional noncommercial short-term rentalsinany given block; and WHEREAS, Virginia Pluta has applied for aspecial exception fromthe block limit on non-commercialshort-term rentals for theproperty located in Square155 and bearing mun cipal address 628 KERLEREC STREET; NOWTHEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That theCouncil, having reviewed thereportand recommendation provided by the City Planning Commissionstaffpursuantto CZOSection 21.8.C.18.r,
does hereby GRANT Virginia Pluta, aspecial exception from the Section 21.8.C.18.m block limit on non-commercial short-term rentals for the parcel of property located in Square155 and bearing municipal address 628 KERLEREC STREET (the “Property”). This special exception is being made in accordance with, and subject to, Section 21.8.C.18.r of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That if the applicant fails to obtain noncommercial short-term rental owner and operator permits for the Property within 30 days of the adoption of this Motion, or in the event the applicant’s owner or operator permit is revoked or the applicant transfers the property thespecial exception granted herein shall be void.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion to the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, theDepartment of Safety and Permits, and the applicant. The Department of Safety and Permits is directed to advise the City Planning Commission and the Council if the applicant fails to securepermits within the period prescribed herein or if the applicant’s owner or operator permit is revoked. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Green, Harris -2 AND THE MOTION, AS AMENDED, WASADOPTED.
NO. M-24-649
BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING
Denying the request of VIRGINIA PLUTAfor the property located on Square Number 135 and bearing municipal address 628 Kerlerec Street (the “Property”). WITHDRAWN. NO. M-24-650
BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING
SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL
WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.m of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuance of only one non-commercial short-term rental permit within each city block, inclusive of all lots fronting any exterior boundary of said block and all interior lots; and WHEREAS, CZO Section 21.8.C.18.r authorizes the City Council to grant special exceptions to the one-permit-per-block cap imposed by Section 21.8.C.18.m and to allow for the issuance of up to two additional noncommercial short-term rentals in any given block; and WHEREAS, Sara Hauge has applied for aspecial exception from the block limit on non-commercial short-term rentals for the property located in Square257 and bearing municipal address 2465 DAUPHINE STREET; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That theCouncil, having reviewed the report and recommendation provided by theCity Planning Commission staffpursuant to CZO Section 21.8.C.18.r, does hereby GRANT Sara Hauge, aspecial exception from the Section 21.8.C.18.m block limit on non-commercial short-term rentals for the parcel of property located in Square257 and bearing municipal address 2465 DAUPHINE STREET (the “Property”). This special exception is being made in accordance with, and subject to, Section 21.8.C.18.r of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That if the applicant fails to obtain noncommercial short-term rental owner and operator permits for the Property within 30 days of the adoption of this Motion, or in the event the applicant’s owner or operator permit is revoked or the applicant transfers the property the special exception granted herein shall be void.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion to the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, the Department of Safety and Permits, and the applicant. The Department of Safety and Permits is directed to advise the City Planning Commission and the Council if the applicant fails to securepermits within the period prescribed herein or if the applicant’sowner or operator permit is revoked. THE FOREGOING MOTIONWAS READ IN FULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:
YEAS: Giarrusso, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5 NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris, Green -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-24-651 BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING
Denying the request of SARA HAUGE for the property located on Square Number 257 and bearing municipal address 2465 Dauphine Street (the “Property”).
WITHDRAWN. NO.M-24-652 BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING Deny the request of DAVIS ROGAN for the property located on Square Number 145 and bearing municipal address 1142 Marais Street (the “Property”).
WITHDRAWN. NO. M-24-653 BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING
SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO
WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.m of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuance of only one non-commercial short-term rental permit within each city block, inclusive of all lots fronting any exterior boundary of said block and all interior lots; and WHEREAS, CZO Section 21.8.C.18.r authorizes the City Council to grant special exceptions to the one-permit-per-block cap imposed by Section 21.8.C.18.m and to allow for the issuance of up to two additional noncommercial short-term rentals in any given block; and WHEREAS, Davis Rogan has applied for aspecial exception from the block limit on non-commercial short-term rentals for the property located in Square145 and bearing municipal address 1142 MARAIS STREET; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That theCouncil, having reviewed the report and recommendation provided by the City Planning Commission staffpursuant to CZO Section 21.8.C.18.r does hereby GRANT Davis Rogan, aspecial exception from the Section 21.8.C.18.m block limit on non-commercial short-term rentals for the parcel of property located in Square145 and bearing municipal address 1142 MARAIS STREET (the “Property”). This special exception is being made in accordance with, and subject to, Section 21.8.C.18.r of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That if the applicant fails to obtain noncommercial short-term rental owner and operator permits for the Property within 30 days of the adoption of this Motion, or in the event the applicant’s owner or operator permit is revoked or the applicant transfers the property, thespecial exception granted herein shall be void.
BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion to the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, the Department of Safety and Permits, and the applicant. The Department of Safety and Permits is directed to advise the City Planning Commission and the Council if the applicant fails to securepermits within the period prescribed herein or if the applicant’sowner or operator permit is revoked. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WASCALLED ONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0 ABSENT: Green, Harris -2
RECUSED: 0 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.
ORDINANCES ON FIRST READING
CAL. NO.34,886 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER THOMAS -AnOrdinance to establish aconditional use to permit asalvage yardina GPD General Planned Development District (Zoning Docket 079/24), on Square207, Lots 31 and 32, in the ThirdMunicipal District, bounded by Grant Avenue, Almonaster Avenue, and Old Gentilly Road (Municipal Address: 3795 Grant Avenue); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. (ZONING
in the servitude agreement will incorporate space that is neither needed for public purposes nor shall such use interferewith the use of the public right-of-way; to set forth the reasons for said servitude agreement; and otherwise to provide
Annotation: (This matter was introduced 10/24/24).
CAL.
thereto. Annotation: (This matter was introduced 10/24/24). (Unless subject to an earlier deadline or deferred to aspecificdate, this matter will be postponed indefinitely and removed from futureagendas pursuant to Council Rule 34 if not acted upon before2/21/25).
CAL. NO.
(the “City”), and
(“Contractor”), for aterm
of coordination of careregarding
the
at Health Carefor the Homeless, as morefully set forth in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement attached hereto and made apart hereof, titled Exhibit “1”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
Annotation: (This matter was introduced 10/24/24).
(Unless subject to an earlier deadline or deferred to aspecificdate, this matter will be postponed indefinitely and removed from futureagendas pursuant to Council Rule 34 if not acted upon before2/21/25).
CAL. NO. 34,893 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER KING (BY REQUEST) -An
Ordinance to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into that certain First Amended and Restated Lease Agreement (the “Amended Lease”) with TouroShakspeareRevitalization Company,LLC (“Lessee”) for acertain portion of ground together with all buildings and improvements thereon situated in the Parish of Orleans, Fifth Municipal District, Square 5, Part 9orLot A(as part of asubdivision of Arpents 14 and 15), formerly known as the TouroShakspeareHome, and which improvements bear the municipal address of 2621 General Meyer Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70114 (the “Leased Premises”); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
Annotation: (This matter was introduced 10/24/24).
(Unless subject to an earlier deadline or deferred to aspecificdate, this matter will be postponed indefinitely and removed from futureagendas pursuant to Council Rule 34 if not acted upon before2/21/25).
CAL. NO. 34,894 -BY: COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL -AnOrdinance to amend and reordain Section 26-15 of the Code of the City of New Orleans, relative to the City of New Orleans’ amendments to the adopted International Building Code, 2015 Edition; to amend therein the Stormwater Code of the City of New Orleans, which includes permitting and submittal requirements, removal of bonding requirements, fees, plan review,and various standards relative thereto; and otherwise provide with respect thereto. Annotation: (This matter was introduced 10/24/24).
(Unless subject to an earlier deadline or deferred to aspecificdate, this matter will be postponed indefinitely and removed from futureagendas pursuant to Council Rule 34 if not acted upon before2/21/25).
CAL. NO. 34,895 -BY: COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, GREEN AND THOMAS (BY REQUEST) -AnOrdinance to amend Ordinance No. 29736 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating Budget of Expenditures for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2024”, to transfer funds within the Health Department from appropriation 200 –Other Operating to 100 –Personal Services for the City Readiness Initiative to deliver medication and medical supplies during alarge-scale public health emergency; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. Annotation: (This matter was introduced 10/24/24).
(Unless subject to an earlier deadline or deferred to aspecificdate, this matter will be postponed indefinitely and removed from futureagendas pursuant to Council Rule 34 if not acted upon before2/21/25).
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCES WERE LAID OVER AS REQUIRED BY LAW. Therebeing no further business, on motion of Councilmember Green, seconded by Councilmember Moreno, and without objection, the Council meeting adjourned at 3:04 P.M. AISHA R. COLLIER ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL CCH/jmr NOCP 8184
ENO has not been able to convert this numbers into days of outages for any given storm.
2 “Resilience Framework, Methods, and Metrics for the Electricity Sector,” Technical Report PES-TR83, IEEE Power &Energy Society Industry Technical Support Leadership Committee Task Force at 1, October 2020. https://resourcecenter.ieee-pes.org/publications/technical-reports/PES_ TP_TR83_ITSLC_102920.html
3 NARUC: Energy Resilience Reference Guide (February 2023) at chpt.2, p. 4. The specificdata points arecontained in AAE’sProposed Resilience Metrics at 4, filed July 17, 2024. 5See footnote 2above.
and
WHEREAS, the City and the ATFdesiretoenter into acooperative endeavor agreement in order to accomplish the valued public purpose of educating ATFofficers on prehospital protocols in the field to aid in safety of citizens in the City of New Orleans; and WHEREAS, Section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans ordains that cooperative endeavor agreements having aterm of morethan one year must be reviewed and approved by the New Orleans City Council (“Council”); NOW THEREFORE
SECTION I. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY
ORDAINS, That the Mayor,on behalf of the City of New Orleans (“City), is hereby authorized to enter into the attached cooperative endeavor agreement (“CEA”) with the ATF, for atermof five (5) years, for the public purpose of educating ATFofficers on prehospital protocols in the field to aid insafety of citizens in the City of New Orleans.
SECTION II. That, for the purpose of executing the CEA between the City and the ATF, Rule 57 of the Rules and Regulations of the Council of the City of New Orleans is suspended. SECTION III. That said CEA is attached to this ordinance as Exhibit A” and incorporated and made apart hereof.
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 24, 2024 HELENA MORENO PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER25, 2024
APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL
MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30, 2024 AT 4:00 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE:
YEAS:Green, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Giarrusso, Harris -2
RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment maybeseen in full in the ClerkofCouncil’s Office, 1300 PerdidoStreet, Room 1E09, City Hall.
ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: October 10, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,852 NO. 30103 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING(BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) between the City of New Orleans (the “City”), and the Regional Transit Authority (“RTA”), relative to the planning and construction of renovations to the existing West Bank Ferry Terminal, as morefully set forth in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement form attached hereto and made aparthereof; andotherwisetoprovide with respect thereto.
WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavorswith each other, or with any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant to Section 9-314ofthe Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enter into cooperative endeavorswith any public or private association, corporation, or individual for activities in support of economic growth and other public purposes; and WHEREAS, the City and the RTAdesiretoallow and facilitate the planning andconstruction of renovations to the existing West Bank Ferry Terminal; and WHEREAS, the City desires to allow for the design and redevelopment of the West Bank Ferry Terminal by the Regional Transit Authority by the use of available State Capital Outlay Funds as appropriated by the Louisiana Legislatureand authorized by the State Bond Commission; and WHEREAS, the City and the RTAdesireto enter into this Cooperative Endeavor Agreement to provide for the implementation of the forgoing and toset forth certain other matters in connection therewith; NOW THEREFORE
SECTION I. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS HEREBY
ORDAINS, That the Mayor,onbehalf of the City of New Orleans, is hereby authorized to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans and the Regional Transit Authority to allow and facilitate planning and construction for renovations to the West Bank FerryTerminal in the City of New Orleans.
SECTION 2. That said Cooperative Endeavor Agreement is attached hereto as Exhibit “1” and incorporated and made aparthereof.
ADOPTEDBYTHE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 24, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024
APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL
MAYOR
RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30, 2024 AT 4:00 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
ROLL CALL VOTE:
YEAS:Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris -1
RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 PerdidoStreet, Room 1E09, City Hall.
ORDINANCE (AS CORRECTED) CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: October 10, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,863 NO. 30104 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL AN ORDINANCE to amend and reordain Section 26-661 of the City Code; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
WHEREAS, The Healthy Homes program has been operational for almost ayear; and WHEREAS, during this time, the City has learned that it would be more efficient to requirerenewal of registration everytwo years rather than every year,and WHEREAS, the City does not believe that lengthening the renewal period will impair the aims of the program or otherwise negatively affect City priorities and practices; NOW THEREFORE SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Section 26-661 of the Code of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana is amended to read as follows:
26-661. Registration and submittal requirements. (a) Acertificate of compliance shall be valid for aperiod of two yearsfrom the date of issuance, and must be reapplied
compliance to the lessor in aformat designated by the department. The certificate of compliance shall indicate that the lessor has certified that the rental housing unit complies with the minimum rental standards set forth in section 26-656 and provide the name, address, telephone number,and e-mail for the lessor and property manager,aswell as the addressatwhich lessee complaints may be made to the city (g) The department may rescind any certificate of compliance or renewal thereof issued in error; on the basis of incorrect, inaccurate or false statements; or in violation of any law.”
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER
24, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024
APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL
MAYOR
RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30, 2024 AT 4:00PM
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
ROLL CALL VOTE:
YEAS: Giarrusso, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Green, Harris -2
RECUSED: 0
ENGROSSED VERSION:
Sec. 26-661. Registration and submittal requirements.
(a) Acertificate of compliance shall be valid for aperiod of one year two years from the date of issuance, and must be reapplied for and renewed annually every two years.
(b) Aseparate certificate of compliance shall be required for each rental housing unit located on asingle lot of record. The department shall, however, adopt streamlined procedures for consolidating submissions and for issuing certificates of compliance involving multi-unit lots.
(c) An application for acertificate of compliance shall be made on forms created by the department, which shall, at aminimum, requirethe following information to be submitted at the time of registration:
(1) The address of the rental housing unit.
(2) Alisting of any other rental housing units on same lot of record.
(3) The name, address, telephone number,and e-mail address of the lessor The address must be aphysical address at which legal process and notices relative to the rental housing unit may be served. Apost-office box or similar mailing address may not be accepted. In the case of ajuridical lessor,the submission shall include the same of the registered agent or other duly authorized representative.
(4) The name, address, telephone number and email address of the property manager or other person the lessee should contact to request repairs or to raise issues regarding the condition of the rental housing unit, if different from the owner.A post-office box or similar mailing address may not be accepted.
(5) Astatement made under penalty of perjury that the lessor or an agent for the lessor has conducted areasonably recent inspection of the rental housing unit and found it to comply with the minimum rental standards set forth in section 26-656.
(d) An applicant will not be eligible for acertificate of compliance if any of the following conditions exist:
(1) Thereare delinquent property taxes on the subject property;
(2) Thereare outstanding fines on the subject property; (3) Thereare open permits that would render the unit unfitfor habitation; or (4) Thereare open violations on the subject property related to electrical or mechanical code violations or to work without permits.
(e) If the department has reason to believe that anything in the application is inaccurate, that the rental housing unit is not compliant with the minimum rental standards set forth in section 26-656, or that any circumstance exists that would provide cause not to issue acertificate of compliance, the department may requireadditional documentation from the lessor and, if appropriate, requireaninspection of the unit beforeissuing acertificate of compliance.
(f) Upon receipt of acomplete application that meets all required criteria, the department shall promptly issue acertificate of compliance to the lessor in aformat designated by the department. The certificate of compliance shall indicate that the lessor has certified that the rental housing unit complies with the minimum rental standards set forth in section 26-656 and provide the name, address, telephone number,and e-mail for the lessor and property manager,aswell as the address at which lessee complaints may be made to the city (g) The department may rescind any certificate of compliance or renewal thereof issued in error; on the basis of incorrect, inaccurate or false statements; or in violation of any law.”
ORDINANCE
CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
CITY HALL: October 10, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,867 NO. 30105 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN (BY REQUEST)
AN ORDINANCE to approve and authorize the City of New Orleans (“City”), by and through the New Orleans Aviation Board(“NOAB”), to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) with the State of Louisiana, Division of Administration, OfficeofCommunity Development (“OCD”); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 5-602 of the Home Rule Charter for the City,NOAB is charged with the administration and operation of the Airport; and WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 14(c) of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana provides, “For apublic purpose, the State and its political subdivisions or political corporations may engage in cooperative endeavors with each other,with the United States or its agencies, or with any public or private association, corporation, or individual”; and WHEREAS, the NOAB is agovernmental entity or political subdivision or non-governmental entity of the State of Louisiana; and WHEREAS, the CEA will provide disaster recovery funds to assist the NOAB in the payment of the non-federal Cost-Sharefor eligible activities under the StaffordAct Public Assistance Grant Program which will facilitate the expeditious and effective recovery of public services in Louisiana as part of the CDBG Disaster Recovery Program; NOW,THEREFORE
SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY
ORDAINS, That the Council hereby approves, and that the City of New Orleans, by and through the New Orleans Aviation Boardbeand is hereby authorized to sign, the following cooperative endeavor agreement in substantial conformance to and with Exhibit “A” attached hereto and made apart hereof: Exhibit: A Document: CDBG Disaster Recovery Program Grant through the FEMA Public Assistance Nonfederal ShareMatch Program
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 24, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024
APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL
MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30, 2024 AT 4:00 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6
NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Harris -1
RECUSED: 0
COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell -5
NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Harris, Thomas -2 RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE
OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: October 10, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,875 NO. 30107 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, GREEN AND THOMAS (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No.
24, 2024
HELENA MORENO PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024 APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024 LATOYACANTRELL MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30,
Thomas -2
RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: October 10, 2024 CALENDAR NO. 34,876 NO. 30108 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO,
to appropriate grant funds to the New Orleans Police Department for travel, supplies and overtime; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Ordinance No. 29735 M.C.S., as amended, be amended to authorize and direct the Director of Finance, notwithstanding any provision therein contained to the contrary,totransfer funds allocated therein as follows: FROM: INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVENUES –FUND 6699
Intergovernmental Revenues Grants, Contributions, and Fund Transfers $104,554
TOTAL $104,554 TO: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR –FUND 4411
Total Office of the Governor $104,554
TOTAL $104,554 ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 24, 2024 HELENA MORENO PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024 APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30, 2024 AT 4:00 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell -5
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris, Thomas -2 RECUSED: 0 ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: October 10, 2024 CALENDAR NO. 34,877 NO. 30109 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, GREEN AND THOMAS (BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE to amend Ordinance No. 29736 M.C.S., as amended, entitled “An Ordinance Providing an Operating Budget of Expenditures for the City of New Orleans for the Year 2024”, to appropriate grant funds to the New Orleans Police Department for travel, supplies and overtime; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That Ordinance No. 29736 M.C.S., as amended, be
TRANSFERS $104,554
TOTAL $104,554 TO: LOUISIANA COMMISSION ON LAWENFORCEMENT –FUND 4411 POLICE DEPARTMENT 200 –OTHER OPERATING $104,554
TOTAL $104,554 ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 24, 2024 HELENA MORENO PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024 APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024 LATOYACANTRELL MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR
–FUND 4110 Total Housing and Urban Development Fund $5,000,000
$5,000,000 ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 24, 2024 HELENA MORENO PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024 APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024
MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30, 2024 AT 4:00 P.M. AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT
CITY HALL: October 10, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,881
NO. 30113 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES
BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO, MORENO, GREEN AND THOMAS
(BY REQUEST) AN ORDINANCE
authorize
INTERGOVERNMENTAL
TOTAL $5,000,000 TO: HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT –FUND 4110
OFFICE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
200 –OTHER OPERATING $5,000,000
TOTAL $5,000,000
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 24, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024
APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL
MAYOR
RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30, 2024 AT 4:00 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris -1
RECUSED: 0
ORDINANCE
CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
CITY HALL: October 10, 2024
CALENDAR NO. 34,882 NO. 30114 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBERS MORRELL AND MORENO AN ORDINANCE to amend and reordain
the City of New Orleans to provide
bargaining agents under the City’sright to
and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.
SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY
ORDAINS, That section 114-406 of the Code of the City of New Orleans, Louisiana areamended to read as follows: “Chapter 114 –PERSONNEL
***
ARTICLE V. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Sec. 114-406. –Recognition of exclusive bargaining agent.
(a) If an employee labor organization has been recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent of abargaining unit of city employees, whether by a memorandum of understanding with the city in effect on January 1, 2024, a legislativeact of the council regarding the general government bargaining unit passed on or beforeDecember 1, 2024, or by another process legally recognized with the city,then that bargaining agent shall have the rights and responsibilities vested by this Article. All other provisions of this Article shall henceforth apply to all recognized bargaining agents and the bargaining units they represent.
(b) If thereisnorecognized exclusive bargaining agent, abargaining agent may become recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent of all employees in an appropriate bargaining unit described in section 114-403 if the LRA reports to the council the appropriate procedures to select arepresentative are followed and that representative is certified by the council as described in section 114-107.”
ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS OCTOBER 24, 2024
HELENA MORENO
PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL
DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 25, 2024
APPROVED: OCTOBER 30, 2024
LATOYACANTRELL
MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON OCTOBER 30, 2024 AT 4:00 P.M.
AISHA R. COLLIER
ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL
ROLL CALL VOTE:
YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, King, Moreno, Morrell, Thomas -6
NAYS: 0
ABSENT:Harris -1 RECUSED: 0
ENGROSSED VERSION: “Chapter 114 –PERSONNEL
ARTICLE IV.COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
*** Sec. 110-406. –Recognition of exclusive bargaining agent.
(a) If upon the effective date of this ordinance,anemployee labor organization has been recognized as the exclusive bargaining
BRIEFS
Craft retailer Joann to close all stores
NEW YORK Fabric and crafts retailer Joann Inc., which has been a destination for generations of quilters, knitters and lovers of crafts projects for more than 80 years, is going out of business and shuttering all its stores.
The announcement comes after the Hudson, Ohio-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, the second time in a year It cited sluggish consumer demand and inventory shortages. At the time it vowed it would keep all of its stores open
But earlier this month, Joann said it planned to close 500 stores — or more than half of its nationwide footprint. The company said Sunday that after a recent auction, financial services company GA Group, together with Joann’s term lenders, were selected as the winning bidder to “acquire substantially all of Joann’s assets” and would begin winding down the company’s operations and conduct going-out-of-business sales at all store locations.
More sanctions on Iranian oil trade
WASHINGTON The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on dozens of people and oil tankers across China, the United Arab Emirates, India and other jurisdictions for allegedly helping to finance Iran and its support for militant groups that launch attacks against the U.S and its allies. This is the second round of sanctions imposed on Iranian oil sales since President Donald Trump issued the National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, which calls for the U.S to “drive Iran’s export of oil to zero.” It also states that Iran “can never be allowed to acquire or develop nuclear weapons.
Apple to invest $500B in U.S. in jobs, factory
NEW YORK Apple announced Monday that it plans to invest more than $500 billion in the United States over the next four years, including plans to hire 20,000 people and build a new server factory in Texas. The move comes just days after President Donald Trump said Apple CEO Tim Cook promised him that the tech giant’s manufacturing would shift from Mexico to the U.S. Trump noted the company was doing so to avoid paying tariffs. That pledge, coupled with Monday’s investment commitment, came as Trump continues to threaten to impose tariffs that could drive up the cost of iPhones made in China.
“We are bullish on the future of American innovation, and we’re proud to build on our long-standing U.S. investments with this $500 billion commitment to our country’s future,” Cook said in a company blog post.
Apple outlined several concrete moves in its announcement, the most significant of which is the construction of a new factory in Houston slated to open in 2026 — that will produce servers to power Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features. The company claims this factory will create “thousands of jobs.”
New CEO aims to streamline operations
BY DEE-ANN DURBIN AP business writer
Starbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate employees globally as new Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol streamlines operations.
In a letter to employees released Monday, Niccol said the company will inform employees
who are being laid off by midday Tuesday Niccol said Starbucks is also eliminating several hundred open and unfilled positions.
“Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability reduce complexity and drive better integration,” Niccol wrote in the letter Starbucks has 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide, but that includes some employees who aren’t impacted, like roasting and warehouse staff.
Baristas in the company’s stores who make up most of the company’s 361,000 employees worldwide — are not included in the layoffs.
Niccol said in January that corporate layoffs would be announced by early March. He said the company needed to reduce complexity and ensure that all work is overseen by someone who can make decisions.
“Our size and structure can slow us down, with too many lay-
ers, managers of small teams and roles focused primarily on coordinating work,” Niccol wrote Starbucks’ layoffs come as other big companies make similar moves. Southwest Airlines said last week it was eliminating 1,750 jobs, or 15% of its corporate workforce, in the first major layoffs in the company’s 53-year history And last month, tire maker Bridgestone Americas closed a plant in LaVergne, Tennessee, and laid off 700 workers there
FDA works to reverse layoffs and rehire lost staff after mass firings
BY MATTHEW PERRONE AP health writer
WASHINGTON Barely a week after mass firings at the Food and Drug Administration, some probationary staffers received unexpected news over the weekend: The government wants them back.
Beginning Friday night, FDA employees overseeing medical devices, food ingredients and other key areas received calls and emails notifying them that their recent terminations had been “rescinded effective immediately,” according to messages viewed by The Associated Press.
Four FDA staffers impacted by the decisions spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity because they planned to continue working for the agency and weren’t authorized to discuss its internal procedures.
The reversal is the latest example of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s chaotic approach to cost-cutting, which has resulted in several agencies firing, and then scrambling to rehire, employees responsible for nuclear weapons, national parks and other government services.
The FDA reinstatements followed pushback by lobbyists for the medical device industry, which pays the agency hundreds of millions of dollars annually to hire extra scientists to review products. The industry’s leading trade group said Monday “a sizable number” of device reviewers appear to be returning to FDA.
“This would be welcome news, and I appreciate the administration for acting quickly,” AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker said in an emailed statement. “We all share the same goal — an efficient, effective FDA review process that helps advance the medical technologies American patients depend on.”
FDA staffers said entire teams of five or more medical device reviewers had been reinstated.
In the agency’s food program, at least 10 staffers responsible for reviewing the safety of new ingredients were offered their jobs back according to a food staffer who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss internal agency matters
The FDA’s deputy commissioner for
foods, Jim Jones, resigned last week, citing “the indiscriminate firing” of nearly 90 staffers in his division, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by the AP The food program recently underwent a major restructuring to better oversee essential products like infant formula and baby food.
The FDA hasn’t released official numbers on the terminations, but former FDA officials have pegged the number at roughly 700, with more than 220 coming from the medical device center. That would represent roughly 10% of the program’s total staffing.
The FDA did not respond to requests Monday about how many employees were being reinstated.
Like other agencies, the FDA terminations went to employees in their probationary period, typically the first two years of federal employment. But that approach resulted in firings across key areas where the agency has been working to beef up staffing, including rapidly
evolving fields like artificial intelligence and digital health. The cuts also included agency leaders who were recently hired for senior roles.
“The disarray caused by the wholesale termination of a wide swath of device center staff was counterproductive and appears to have caused a variety of unintended and negative results,” said Steve Silverman, a former FDA device official who now runs a consulting firm. “It’s encouraging to see a shift in the opposite direction that recognizes the critical expertise of these staffers.”
Many reviewers have advanced degrees in specialized medical and technological fields. They can typically earn more in the private sector than in government.
Last week, the lobbying group AdvaMed pushed back on the firings, calling on Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. to reverse course. The group warned that the cuts would result in slower approvals for companies and fewer new treatment options for patients.
Elizabeth Holmes fails to overturn her Theranos fraud conviction
BY OLGA R RODRIGUEZ Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced founder of Theranos, will remain in prison after losing a bid Monday to overturn her fraud conviction, with a federal appeals court saying she hadn’t proved there were legal missteps during her trial for defrauding investors with false claims of what her bloodtesting startup could achieve.
The three-judge panel in San Francisco also upheld the fraud
conviction of Holmes’ former business partner and lover Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani — as well as a lower’s court order for the two to pay $452 million in restitution.
Holmes was CEO throughout Theranos’ turbulent 15-year history claimed her startup had developed a revolutionary medical device that could detect a multitude of diseases and conditions from a few drops of blood. But the technology never
worked, and the claims were false.
A 41-year-old mother of two small children, Holmes began serving her 11-year sentence in May 2023 at a federal prison in Texas. Her listed release date at the Federal Bureau of Prisons is currently March 19, 2032.
Balwani, 59, was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison in California for his role in the scam and is set to be released in 2033.
The pair alleged in their appeal that legal errors were committed during their separate trials in 2022 when the court allowed some testimony, including that of a former Theranos employee, and improperly prohibited other testimony Judge Jacqueline Nguyen rejected the claims, writing in the 54-page ruling that they failed to prove any violations or major errors by the lower court.
Attorneys for Holmes and Balwani did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
