The Times-Picayune 04-02-2025

Layoffs underway at public health agencies

Sweeping overhaul designed to vastly shrink workforce

Cuts include researchers, scientists, doctors, senior leaders

BY CARLA K. JOHNSON Associated Press

Employees across the massive U.S. Health and Human Services Department received notices Tuesday that their jobs were being eliminated, part of a sweeping overhaul designed to vastly shrink the agencies responsible for protecting and promoting Americans’ health

The cuts include researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff and senior leaders, leaving the federal government without many of the key experts who have long guided U.S. decisions on medical research, drug approvals and other issues.

“The revolution begins today!”

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr wrote on social media as he cel-

ä Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, says resignation of top vaccine regulator does not violate commitment from Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr PAGE 4A

ebrated the swearing-in of his latest hires: Dr Jay Bhattacharya, the new director of the National Institutes of Health, and Martin Makary, the new Food and Drug Administration commissioner Kennedy’s post came just hours after employees began receiving emailed layoff notices.

He later wrote, “Our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs” but

said that the department needs to be “recalibrated” to emphasize disease prevention. Kennedy announced a plan last week to remake the department, which, through its agencies, is responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, and monitoring the safety of food and medicine, as well as for administering health insurance programs for nearly half the country

The plan would consolidate agencies that oversee billions of dollars for addiction services and community health centers under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America.

HHS said layoffs are expected to save $1.8 billion annually — about 0.1% from the department’s $1.7 trillion budget, most of which is spent on Medicare and Medicaid health insurance coverage for

ä See LAYOFFS, page 4A

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

New Orleans’ housing market, which has been in a slump since the end of the pandemic-era buying frenzy of the early 2020s, is showing little signs of improvement, and fresh fears about the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and tariff policy are adding to anxiety over the economy, industry experts said at a University of New Orleans real estate conference

Various groups unite to defeat amendments

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

A charismatic Pentecostal preacher A Grammy-winning singer and songwriter A former Republican state representative. A one-time Saints defensive star Leaders of groups that oppose putting children in adult prisons.

An unlikely crew of people on both the left and the right on Saturday torpedoed Gov Jeff Landry’s effort to revamp Louisiana’s tax system and make three other changes to the state constitution.

Landry raised money for an expensive advertising campaign and stumped throughout Louisiana in particular for Amendment 2, a complicated measure that would have rewritten the state tax code to reduce the top individual tax rate and impose a cap on government spending. He supported the other three amendments, which would

ä See AMENDMENTS, page 6A

FBI agents make immigration arrests in New Orleans

Department joins in Trump’s directive

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

FBI agents are helping federal Department of Homeland Security officers carry out immigration arrests in New Orleans, part of the Trump administration’s redirec-

tion of law enforcement resources toward its sweeping immigration crackdown FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested two people on apparent immigration-related charges in New Orleans East last week, according to statements from law enforcement and an immigrant advocacy group. Union Migrante, the advocacy group said the arrests happened Wednesday near a cluster of busi-

nesses on Crowder Boulevard. In a statement and on social media, the FBI did not identify who had been detained or say what allegations prompted their arrests. The FBI is helping immigration agents “arresting dangerous criminals and helping to keep our communities safe,” FBI spokesperson Lesley Hill said. FBI agents are joining the operations under a nationwide directive from Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi.

Hill referred additional questions to DHS, which did not respond to a request for comment.

The statement appears to be among the FBI’s first public acknowledgments of its agents’ role in Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda, which promises to deport 20 million people but has faced mounting logistical, legal and resource hurdles since the president’s inauguration in January

“We did none of it, as I recall, over my entire career,” Cleveland said. Such enforcement normally is the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, the umbrella agency over ICE and Customs

ä See FBI, page 5A

FBI agents have historically played little role in immigration enforcement, according to Freddy Cleveland, a retired FBI agent who served in the New Orleans field office in the 1990s.

Volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland GRINDAVIK, Iceland A volcano in southwestern Iceland that has erupted repeatedly for more than a year again belched lava and smoke into the air on Tuesday, just hours after authorities evacuated the few remaining residents of a nearby fishing village

The eruption began at 9:45 a.m local time, triggering warning sirens in the town of Grindavik where webcams showed molten rock spewing toward the community. It had subsided by late afternoon, though the volcano was still active, Iceland’s Met Office said.

Police and civil defense officials evacuated Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, after an early morning earthquake swarm suggested an eruption was imminent.

The community located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, was largely evacuated in November 2023 when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for some 800 years. About 40 homes were evacuated on Tuesday, though police reported that some residents refused to leave their homes.

Historic tree to be cut down at White House WASHINGTON A tree that’s nearly two centuries old will be removed from the White House grounds because it’s deteriorating, President Donald Trump said Sunday

The southern magnolia stands near the curved portico on the south side of the building It’s where foreign leaders are often welcomed for ceremonial visits, and where the president departs to board the Marine One helicopter According to the National Park Service website, “folklore tells us” that President Andrew Jackson brought the tree’s seeds from his home near Nashville, Tennessee It was apparently planted in honor of his wife Rachel, who died shortly before he took office in 1829.

“The bad news is that everything must come to an end, and this tree is in terrible condition, a very dangerous safety hazard, at the White House Entrance, no less, and must now be removed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform. “This process will take place next week, and will be replaced by another, very beautiful tree.”

Trump said the wood from the tree “may be used for other high and noble purposes!!!”

6 people injured after truck crashes in Boston

BOSTON A box truck crashed into a building Tuesday afternoon in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood and hit several pedestrians before flipping onto its side, city officials said. The driver and five others were injured in what authorities said appears to have been an accident.

“At least at this preliminary juncture, we don’t have any reason to believe that this was an intentional act,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said at a news conference. “It may very well end up being a tragic accident.”

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said four people were hospitalized. The driver and one pedestrian were in critical condition early on, but several hours later the driver’s condition had improved. Two others declined medical treatment at the scene. Cox and others noted that the outcome could have been far worse given the location.

“This is such a busy part of the city, right on the middle of the day, people going back and forth on their way to get lunch and support our small businesses,” Mayor Michelle Wu said. “And so it’s quite shocking to see the scene as it stands right now.”

The Boston Fire Department, on social media, said the Penske truck struck multiple poles and was wedged between a pole and the building Firefighters extracted the trapped driver from the cab of truck.

In a statement, Penske spokesman Randolph Ryerson said it was “aware of the incident” and was monitoring it closely

Search continues for quake survivors

BY DAVID RISING Associated Press

BANGKOK Rescue workers saved a 63-year-old woman from the rubble of a building in Myanmar’s capital on Tuesday, but hope was fading of finding many more survivors of the violent earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people, compounding a humanitarian crisis caused by a civil war

The fire department in Naypyitaw said the woman was successfully pulled from the rubble 91 hours after being buried when the building collapsed in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit midday Friday. Experts say the likelihood of finding survivors drops dramatically after 72 hours.

The head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, told a forum for relief donations in Naypyitaw that 2,719 people have now been found dead, with 4,521 others injured and 441 missing, Myanmar’s state MRTV television reported.

He said Friday’s earthquake was the second most powerful in the country’s recorded history after a magnitude 8 quake east of Mandalay in May 1912.

The casualty figures are widely expected to rise The earthquake hit a wide swath of the country, leaving many areas without power telephone or cell connections and damaging roads and bridges, making the full extent of the devastation hard to assess Most of the reports so far have come from Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city which was near the epicenter of the earthquake, and Naypyitaw, the capital.

“The needs are massive, and they are rising by the hour,” said Julia Rees, UNI-

CEF’s deputy representative for Myanmar Myanmar’s fire department said 403 people have been rescued in Mandalay and 259 bodies have been found so far

In one incident, 50 Buddhist monks who were taking a religious exam in a monastery were killed when the building collapsed, and 150 more are thought to be buried in the rubble. The World Health Organization said more than 10,000 buildings overall are known to have collapsed or been severely damaged by the quake.

The earthquake also rocked neighboring Thailand, causing a high-rise building under construction to collapse and burying many workers.

Two bodies were pulled from the rubble Monday and another was recovered Tuesday, but dozens were still missing. Overall, there were 21 people killed and 34 injured in Bangkok, primarily at the construction site.

In Myanmar, search and rescue efforts across the affected area paused briefly at midday Tuesday as people stood for a minute in silent tribute to the dead.

Foreign aid workers have been arriving slowly to help in the rescue efforts but progress lagged due to a lack of heavy machinery in many places.

In one site in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, workers formed a human chain, passing chunks of brick and concrete out hand-byhand from the ruins of a collapsed building.

The state Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported Tuesday that a team of Chinese rescuers saved four people the day before from the ruins of an apartment complex. They included a 5-year-old and a pregnant woman who had been trapped for more than 60 hours.

Paraguay recalls ambassador to Brazil, suspends talks over

By The Associated Press

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay Paraguay announced Tuesday that it was recalling its ambassador to Brazil a day after Brazilian authorities acknowledged that their country’s intelligence agency spied on Paraguayan officials in 2022. Paraguay’s government also said it would suspend negotiations with Brazil over the massive hydroelectric dam it jointly operates with its more powerful neighbor.

Paraguay’s decision came after Brazil’s foreign ministry revealed that the administration of Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing predecessor of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, had conducted espionage against the small South American nation.

Lula’s government insisted that it had halted the surveillance against Paraguay immediately after becoming aware of it, without elaborating on the nature of the operation or whom it targeted.

Brazilian news site UOL reported that the country’s intelligence agents had infiltrated Paraguayan computer systems to obtain intel on sensitive tariff negotiations related to the Itaipu dam on their shared border Paraguay on Monday said it would stop talks

espionage revelations

that had been underway for months with Brazil over the costs of hydropower generation from the Itaipu dam until Brazil can clarify “the intelligence action ordered against our country.”

Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry said it had launched an investigation into what exactly occurred between June 2022 and March 2023, when the espionage operation reportedly took place under then-President Bolsonaro. Paraguayan authorities said they had not been aware of any such infiltration.

“It is a violation of international law, the interference in the internal affairs of one country in another,” Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Lezcano told journalists. “We are under

Vote to reverse tariffs on Canada tests GOP support

BY STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press

WASHINGTON With President Donald Trump’s socalled “Liberation Day” of tariff implementation fast approaching, Senate Democrats are putting Republican support for some of those plans to the test by forcing a vote to nullify the emergency declaration that underpins the tariffs on Canada.

Republi cans have watched with some unease as the president’s attempts to remake global trade have sent the stock market downward, but they have so far stood by Trump’s on-againoff-again threats to levy taxes on imported goods.

Even as the resolution from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, of Virginia, offered them a potential off-ramp to the tariffs levied on Canadian imports, Republican leaders were trying to keep senators in line by focusing on fentanyl that comes into the U.S. over its northern border It was yet another example of how Trump is not only reorienting global economics, but upending his party’s longtime support for ideas like free trade.

“I really relish giving my Republican colleagues the chance to not just say they’re concerned, but actually take an action to stop these tariffs,” Kaine told The Associated Press in an interview last week.

Kaine’s resolution would end the emergency declaration that Trump signed in February to implement tariffs on Canada as punishment for not doing enough to halt the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. If the Senate passes the resolution, it would still need to be taken up by the Republicancontrolled House.

A small fraction of the fentanyl that comes into the U.S. enters from Canada. Customs and Border Protection seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the northern border during the 2024 fiscal year and since January authorities have seized less than 1.5 pounds, according to federal data. Meanwhile,

at the southern border, authorities seized over 21,000 pounds last year Democrats warned that tariffs on Canadian goods would ripple through the economy, making it more expensive to build homes, outfit military ships and pay for daily goods.

“These tariffs are a tax increase on American families plain and simple,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York. He argued that the increased costs for American households were being done “simply to give a tax cut to Trump’s billionaire friends.” Schumer said he agrees with taking on China “which really has hurt us in trade every step of the way.” But the tariffs don’t make sense for an ally whose economy is so interconnected with the U.S. economy He added the tariffs are creating uncertainty with businesses and consumers. At a news conference Tuesday, Kaine said fentanyl trafficking is an emergency but that the emergency stems from China and Mexico, not Canada He said Trump invented a “made-up emergency” to help pay for extending tax cuts that he said primarily benefit the wealthy

“How are they going to pay for it? Massive cuts in programs like Medicaid and Medicare, and tariffs imposed on the backs of everyday Americans,” Kaine said Still, Trump has claimed that the amount of fentanyl coming from Canada is “massive” and pledged to follow through by executing tariffs Wednesday

“We are making progress to end this terrible Fentanyl Crisis, but Republicans in the Senate MUST vote to keep the National Emergency in place, so we can finish the job, and end the scourge,” Trump said on social media Tuesday Still, a few of Republicans have indicated they are considering voting for the legislation, which would need just a simple majority to pass the Senate.

constant attack, and the ministry is taking all necessary steps to defend our confidential information.”

Lezcano said the ministry was recalling Paraguay’s ambassador to Brazil and had also summoned the Brazilian ambassador to Paraguay to deliver a formal explanation about the cyber-spying campaign.

The move does not represent a permanent rupture in diplomatic relations, as Brazil’s Embassy in Paraguay will remain open.

But the discord does reflect a revival of historical tensions between the neighbors dating back to Brazil’s invasion of the country in the 1860s, which started a brutal war in which Paraguay lost a quarter of its territory and most of its male population.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

A rescuer works through rubble of a collapsed building following Friday’s earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, on Tuesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHIANG yING-yING

Paraguay Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano speaks during a news conference during his visit in Taipei, Taiwan, on Nov. 29

Devil’s Swamp Lake in BR nears restoration

Wetlands declared contaminated nearly 40 years ago

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

Nearly 40 years after regulators declared Devil’s Swamp Lake and surrounding wetlands in East Baton Rouge Parish dangerously contaminated, work to protect the public and restore the environment is finally taking shape.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies have finalized a plan to determine how to restore the ecology of Devil’s Swamp Lake and nearby bottomland forest from damage left, in part, by Rollins Environmental Services, a defunct hazardous waste incinerator and landfill operator

The plan comes months after the agency also reached a court-ordered deal with Clean Harbors to spend around $3.2 million on remediation aimed at protecting public health.

Near the historic Freedmen community of Alsen founded in 1872, the 3,500acre bottomland swamp along the Mississippi River and its upland fringes have become home to three Superfund sites, including the Rollins property They are in various stages of study, remediation or long-term monitoring.

The sites are the legacy of industrial operations in the 1960s and 1970s, when environmental laws were much weaker, and after 1950s-era city-parish leaders zoned for industry the largely rural, majority-Black area, which then had little representation in city leadership, according to the EPA.

Though the bottomland swamp has been studied multiple times, the restoration plan anticipates more studies to determine

the level of contamination in wildlife, what it will take to bring back the environment, who should be responsible for the cost and which contaminants pose the greatest risks.

While groundwater contamination has been a major concern for the two other nearby Superfund sites, the EPA said that hasn’t been found in the Devil’s Swamp Lake area on the southern end of the large wetland.

EPA researchers have pinned Rollins’ share of the contamination on discharges from its treatment system and stormwater runoff into the Devil’s Swamp Lake area via a drainage ditch.

The earlier, court-ordered remediation deal will require Clean Harbors, which took possession of the Rollins operation in 1995, to cover contaminated stretches of the bottom of the 39-acre Devil’s Swamp Lake with dirt and cap the ditch, which had drained from Rollins into the lake from the 1970s until 1993.

‘Doing what’s right’

The remediation plan for Devil’s Swamp Lake is farther along than the environmental restoration work.

“Clean Harbors has selected a contractor to perform the design of the remedy and will be submitting a work plan to EPA for review and approval,” said EPA spokesperson Joseph Robledo.

The EPA anticipates receiving the work plan in the fall, he added. Clean Harbors expects to begin work in the fall of 2026, according to the EPA. A spokesperson for Clean Harbors wasn’t available for comment.

Quisha Reed-Jones, who leads the Alsen St. Irma Lee Community Village group, said the EPA’s remediation and restoration plans aren’t doing enough

to protect public health, leaving it to the state Department of Health.

“This approach overlooks the long history of environmental inequality tied to the site and lacks any acknowledgment of the adverse effects to communities,” Reed-Jones said. “Our communities deserve more than to be unheard, as if they do not exist. They deserve comprehensive cleanup, ongoing health monitoring and full transparency at every step. This isn’t just about soil and sediment — it’s about restoring trust, health and doing what’s right.”

In response to similar comments the group made to the EPA, the agency says the environmental plan, by definition, is focused only on restoring the ecosystem but that work will include human uses of the environment.

Devil’s Swamp Lake is a human-made oxbow lake dug in the early 1970s to shore up a Baton Rouge Barge Harbor levee. The lake and surrounding swamp, which were used for hunting, fishing and swimming, have had fishing and swimming advisories since 1987 due to polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene and hexachlorobutadiene. In 2015, revised advisories against eating fish and shellfish were issued after scientists found polychlorinated biphenyls in crawfish and fish, which also contained mercury polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene and hexachlorobutadiene are toxic chemicals that don’t break down but bioaccumulate in the food web They have carcinogenic potential in humans and, for polychlorinated biphenyls, the potential rises as the chemicals bioaccumulate according to the EPA. Commercial production of polychlorinated biphenyls has

been banned since 1979. Commercial production of hexachlorobutadiene was banned in 2021, though it mostly occurs as an unintended chemical byproduct. Until a breach in 2020, the low-lying Devil’s Swamp Lake, which can be inundated when the river floods, had been contained by the harbor levee. But EPA reports say contaminated water from Devil’s Swamp Lake ran off into the harbor after the breach. The lake and its contaminated sediments are now mostly dry except in times of high water Rollins, which has already capped a section of the drainage ditch that is on its property, is one of several companies that contributed to soil, groundwater, surface water or biological contamination

in the Devil’s Swamp region, parts of Bayou Baton Rouge or nearby upland areas on the river bluff, the EPA said.

Petro-Processors, another defunct hazardous waste facility, and Schuylkill Metals, later Exide Technologies, a defunct lead battery recycling plant, have been also blamed for contamination in the region. Their properties closer to the northern end of Devil’s Swamp have become their own Superfund sites.

Researchers found heavy metals, hexachlorobutadiene, hexachlorobutadiene and carcinogenic polyaromatic hydrocarbons came from Petro-Processors.

The polychlorinated biphenyls have been tied to Rollins, the EPA said.

The 1984 court order that required Petro-Processors and its industrial custom-

ers to clean up the northern part of the Devil’s Swamp exempted it from southern portions near the lake, where polychlorinated biphenyls contamination from Rollins has been documented, but also hexachlorobutadiene and hexachlorobutadiene in lake fish.

Michael Tritico, a southwest Louisiana environmentalist who commented on the new restoration plan, faulted the plan’s determination to honor the court-ordered exemption for Petro-Processors.

“To me that is a good example of how lawyers manage to lock in a culprit’s protection at the expense of protection of the public and our living natural resources,” he said.

David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

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Nation’s top vaccine regulator quits abruptly

Cassidy says RFK Jr. hasn’t broken promises

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON U.S. Sen Bill Cassidy said Tuesday the abrupt resignation of the nation’s chief vaccines regulator did not violate his pact with health chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr a well-known skeptic of vaccinations.

“There’s nothing in that action that violates the commitment I received from Bobby Kennedy,” Cassidy R-Baton Rouge told local reporters in a phone news conference.

Cassidy played a key role in Kennedy’s confirmation Some fellow Republicans had been wary of confirming President Donald Trump’s controversial pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services, and they looked for Cassidy’s lead as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee before backing Kennedy For years Kennedy fueled widespread suspicion, despite scientific consensus to the contrary, that childhood vaccines cause autism, prompting many in the Senate and the health community to oppose his nomination.

A physician and strong supporter of vaccinations, Cassidy said he was persuaded to support

Bill

Health and Human Services.

Kennedy by promises of “an unprecedented close collaborative working relationship,” including consultation and input in the agency’s personnel decisions. He also said Kennedy told him he would maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention immunization practices, recommendations and published statements that vaccines do not cause autism, he said.

Cassidy said Kennedy had called him before Friday’s announcement that Dr. Peter Marks would step down April 5 as the top vaccine official with the Food and Drug Ad-

ministration.

In a letter sent to acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner, Marks wrote he was “willing to work” with Kennedy on vaccine concerns.

“However, it has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” Marks wrote.

Marks reportedly by several sources was offered the choice of resigning or being fired. The agency on Tuesday began laying off

about 10,000 of its roughly 80,000

employees, including everyone who works in vaccine promotion.

“Let’s wait and see who the replacement is. I think that is how this first decision should be judged,” Cassidy said.

He said that, if Marks’ replacement is “someone of similar academic qualifications, similar commitment to getting drug approvals and vaccine approvals through on a timely basis, then that’s the substitution of one good person with another good person. I’ve had reassurances that would be the case.”

Marks studied at Columbia University and New York University He joined the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in 2012 and became director in 2016. He played a role in the privatepublic effort to quickly develop a COVID-19 vaccine.

Earlier this month, Health and Human Services officials announced that its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also began layoffs Tuesday, would launch another study to examine if there are any links between autism and vaccinations.

“I’ll point out that has been clearly laid to rest,” Cassidy said. “The more resources we put toward that, we are not putting toward actually finding out what is the cause of autism.”

The numbers of children diagnosed with autism have increased dramatically from 1 in 150 children in 2000 to about 1 in 36, according to the CDC. Many scientists suspect the spike is because more parents and more physicians have become aware of the disorder But they’re not sure.

“My strong encouragement for the secretary and anyone else who really, really, really, as I do, wants to find out the reason for increasing incidence of autism,” Cassidy said, “we should be going into areas that have not been investigated as opposed to those things that have been put to rest.”

Continued from page 1A

millions of Americans.

The layoffs are expected to shrink HHS to 62,000 positions, lopping off nearly a quarter of its staff 10,000 jobs through layoffs and another 10,000 workers who took early retirement and voluntary separation offers. Many of the jobs are based in the Washington area, but also in Atlanta, where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is based, and in smaller offices throughout the country

Some staffers began getting termination notices in their work inboxes at 5 a.m., while others found out their jobs had been eliminated after standing in long lines outside offices in Washington, Maryland and Atlanta to see if their badges still worked Some gathered at local coffee shops and lunch spots after being turned away, finding out they had been eliminated after decades of service.

One wondered aloud if it was a cruel April Fools’ Day joke. At the NIH, cuts included at least four directors of the NIH’s 27 institutes and centers who were put on administrative leave, and nearly entire communications staffs were terminated, according to an agency senior leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution.

An email viewed by The Associated Press shows some senior-level employees of the Bethesda, Maryland, campus who were placed on

leave were offered a possible transfer to the Indian Health Service in locations including Alaska and given until the end of Wednesday to respond.

At least nine high-level CDC directors were placed on leave and were also offered reassignments to the Indian Health Service

Some public health experts outside the agency saw it as a bid to get veteran agency leaders to resign. At CDC, union officials said programs eliminated because of the layoffs focused on smoking, lead poisoning, gun violence, asthma and air quality, and occupational safety and health. The entire office that handles Freedom of Information Act requests was shuttered. Infectious disease programs took a hit, too, including programs that fight outbreaks in other countries and labs focused on HIV and hepatitis in the U.S and staff trying to eliminate tuberculosis.

At the FDA, dozens of staffers who regulate drugs, food, medical devices and tobacco products received notices, including the entire office responsible for drafting new regulations for electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products. The notices came as the FDA’s tobacco chief was removed from his position. Elsewhere at the agency more than a dozen press officers and communications supervisors were notified that their jobs would be eliminated

“The FDA as we’ve known it is finished, with most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed,” said former

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in an online post. Califf stepped down at the end of the Biden administration.

The layoff notices came just days after President Donald Trump moved to strip workers of their collective bargaining rights at HHS and other agencies throughout the government.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, predicted the cuts will have ramifications when natural disasters strike or infectious diseases, like the ongoing measles outbreak, spread.

“They may as well be renaming it the Department of Disease because their plan is putting lives in serious jeopardy,” Murray said Friday

The intent of cuts to the CDC seems to be to create “a much smaller, infectious disease agency,” but it is destroying a wide array of work and collaborations that have enabled local and national governments to be able to prevent deaths and respond to emergencies, said Dr Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.

Cuts were less drastic at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where Trump’s Republican administration wants to avoid the appearance of debilitating the health insurance programs that cover roughly half of Americans, many of them poor, disabled and elderly

But the impact will still be felt, with the department slashing much of the workforce at the Office of Minority Health.

Jeffrey Grant, a former CMS deputy director, said the office is not part of a di-

versity, equity and inclusion program, the kind Trump’s Republican administration has sought to end.

“This is not a DEI initiative. This is meeting people where they are and meeting their specific health needs,” said Grant, who resigned last month and now helps place laid-off CMS employees into new jobs. Beyond layoffs at federal health agencies, cuts are beginning at state and local health departments as a result of an HHS move last week to pull back more than $11 billion in COVID-19-related money Some health

departments have identified hundreds of jobs that stand to be eliminated, “some of them overnight, some of them are already gone,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

A coalition of state attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Tuesday, arguing the cuts are illegal, would reverse progress on the opioid crisis and would throw mental health systems into chaos. HHS has not provided additional details or comments about Tuesday’s mass fir-

ings, but on Thursday it provided a breakdown of some of the cuts. n 3,500 jobs at the FDA, which inspects and sets safety standards for medications, medical devices and foods n 2,400 jobs at the CDC, which monitors for infectious disease outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide n 1,200 jobs at the NIH, the world’s leading medical research agency n 300 jobs at the CMS, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid.

ASSOCIA

LAMKEy

Sen.

Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, left, played a key role in the con

rmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr right, as secretary of

Economic Development and Real Estate Research.

House prices overall were slightly higher, with the median sales price for a single-family home up 2.2% at $274,900 — not enough to keep up with inflation — and in the first quarter of 2025, houses were taking about 75 days to sell on average, about two weeks longer than last year

“It’s definitely still a buyer’s market,” Craig Mirambell, CEO of Mirambell Realty, said on the sidelines of Tuesday’s conference.

“We’re a long way from the market during COVID, when you could expect a home to be sold the day after it came on the market.”

On the plus side, the state’s lingering insurance crisis, which has helped chill the housing market — particularly in communities south of Interstate 12 — is showing slight signs of easing — and the northshore continues to lead the area in terms of home-sale activity and growth.

Population in St. Tammany Parish has pushed well above 1 million, and so far in 2025 the number of house sales has increased by nearly 17%, with the median price up 8.3% at $314,045, according to the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors data.

“St. Tammany Parish has been one of the fastest-growing regions in Louisiana, benefiting from a strong retail sector, a growing health care industry, and a high quality of life that attracts both residents and businesses,” the UNO report stated.

In the wake of the general election last November, real estate experts both locally and nationwide were bullish on the economy Mirambell said there were signs late last year that the market was

FBI

Continued from page 1A

and Border Protection. But in February, Bondi issued a series of memos directing Justice Department employees to “use all available criminal statutes to combat the flood of illegal immigration that took place over the last four years.”

On Tuesday, there were few details available about the arrests reported by the FBI and migrant advocates over the weekend.

The Trump administration has frequently publicized immigration arrests without providing details, and has faced fierce criticism from immigration attorneys who say they’ve been unable to contact clients — or even discern their whereabouts after they’re arrested.

Union Migrante, which regularly sends advocates to fact-check reports of immigration enforcement through eyewitness accounts, in a statement said it had confirmed that FBI and ICE agents carried out arrests of “two individuals” on March 26 just after 8 a.m.

The arrests occurred outside a nail salon and insurance office on Crowder Boulevard, the group said.

The FBI published two photos of the arrest. One image shows a group of men

firming up. “But then there was the snowstorm, which shut everything down for a month, then Mardi Gras,” he said

The key driver of house prices is the underlying economy, particularly the job market. The New Orleans-Metairie area has struggled to hang onto the slow increase in population seen before and just after the pandemic, and started to backslide again last year The UNO report forecast that employment in the area would grow by an anemic 1.44% in the coming year

But there are anxieties looming over the broader market about how President Donald Trump’s policies to arrest and deport un-

documented workers and an escalating trade war might affect the economy, said Dan Mills, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans.

At the national level, the National Association of Home Builders has reported persistent labor shortages in construction due to tighter immigration restrictions. The organization found that nearly 30% of construction workers were foreign-born before the crackdown, and the reduction in workforce contributed to delays and higher costs.

Mills said there is no firm data for the New Orleans area. Anecdotally, however, builders have

reported raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement on their subcontractors, which has had a chilling effect overall on the New Orleans construction market.

“It’s not just about the labor market, either,” Mills added. “It has a wider effect.” He said he’s heard from area retailers whose immigrant clientele has been impacted by the crackdown.

Also, tariffs have raised homebuilding costs already and look set to push them even higher if threatened increases are imposed.

As of Tuesday, the U.S. had implemented significant tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber imports, a major component in build-

ing cost Initially, an effective duty rate of 14.54% was in place. In February, the Trump administration announced an additional 25% tariff on these imports, bringing the combined effective tariff rate to nearly 40%. There are reports that they may be increased further, to 58%.

“There is no doubt that is going to have an impact,” Mills said.

There was a brighter note for homeowners on the insurance front. After the huge increase in premiums seen in the wake of the 2020-21 hurricanes, there have been recent signs for owners of commercial properties like retail stores and apartment buildings — that the market is improving, according to Marcus Eagan of Eagan Insurance.

“The pendulum had swung very far, very fast and now we’re starting to see some dramatic decreases (in insurance premiums) for clients,” Eagan said.

The impact of the storms was profound, and there is a long way to swing back. Peter Gardner, for example, a New Orleans-area developer who originally had a premium of $75,000 on his 144-unit apartment complex, told Bloomberg News it had ballooned to $275,000 by the time the project was completed in 2023. Area homeowners saw similar increases averaging between 200% and 300%.

The efforts to fortify roofs and get them certified, whether subsidized or not, are having a positive effect, as are other programs to mitigate wind vulnerability

Eagan said insurance companies are “taking a wait-and-see approach” ahead of the 2025 hurricane season. “We’re going to see decreases on the personal (residential) side as we’ve seen in commercial. It just takes time,” he said.

Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate.com.

wearing balaclavas and body armor surrounding a woman who appears to be detained. The other shows a group of FBI agents in green body armor and balaclavas standing in a circle in what appears to be a shopping center parking lot

“We regret that the New Orleans FBI is collaborating with ICE instead of helping with vehicle thefts, unsolved rape and sexual assault cases, murders, all after they totally failed to prevent the domestic terrorism attack that occurred on the first of this year,” Union Migrante said in a social media post, referring to the Jan. 1 vehicle-ramming attack on Bourbon Street.

Trump’s overhaul of the Justice Department had touched New Orleans in recent weeks with the reassignment of the local FBI field office’s special agent in charge and the administration’s appointment of a new acting U.S. attorney In New Orleans’ federal courthouse, what attorneys describe as a growing stream of people from mostly Spanish-speaking countries have appeared before federal judges in recent weeks to be arraigned on allegations that they entered or reentered the country illegally Federal prosecutors are making those cases amid pressure from atop the Justice Department to prosecute more immigration

cases in federal criminal courts, as well as immigration courts.

“The new administration has placed an emphasis on two areas: violent crime, including guns and drugs, and immigration cases,” said Walter Becker, a veteran New Orleans white-collar defense attorney who spent two decades as a federal prosecutor

ICE has picked up a series of high-profile arrestees nationwide and shipped them in recent weeks to detention centers in Louisiana, which is home to the second-highest population of ICE detainees after Texas.

In New Orleans’ federal courthouse one recent Friday afternoon, prosecutors and defense lawyers waited for hours for a translator to arrive so the arraignment of a man from Honduras, picked up on a traffic violation and accused of illegal reentry into the United States, could proceed.

Last year,morethan7,100 children were served by the foster care system in Louisiana. Severalhundred of theseyouthwerefortunatetoalsoreceiveguidancefrom aCourt AppointedSpecial Advocate (CASA) volunteer. Theseadultsworkwiththe children during theirtime in foster care to provideastabilizing presence,evaluate andmakerecommendationsabout thechild’s physical, emotionalandacademicneeds;andspeaktojudgesabout thestatusofthe case Studieshaveshown that children whohaveaCASA volunteerbytheir side aremorelikelytofind asafeand permanenthome, more likely to succeedinschool, and have significantlyhigherlevelsofhopefor theirfutures However, therewereapproximately 1,500CASAvolunteersinLouisianalastyear,representingasignificantgap betweenchildrenwho need assistance andvolunteers whoare providingit.

“One thingI hear allthe time when I’mtryingtorecruit volunteersis,‘Ican’tdoitbecauseIwouldgettooinvested anditwouldbreakmyheart,’”saidAmandaMoody,executive directorofLouisianaCASA.“Weareactuallylookingfor people whocarethatmuch. This canbeaheartbreaking process,butthesekidsneedadedicatedadulttobealongside them.Asgut-wrenching as it canbefor adults,it’seven worsefor thechild whoisgoing throughthisprocess. If people thinktheyhavetoo bigofaheart for this work,I tell them they arethe people we need.”

MoodysaideachCASAvolunteerapplicantundergoesan extensivevettingprocess,backgroundcheckand30hours ofinitialtraining,with12additionalhoursoftrainingeach year.Ratherthangivevolunteersatimeframe,Moody said localCASAprogramsask them to stay with each childthrough thelifeoftheir foster care case.Thatcan be ayearortwo, although thetimecan vary.MostCASA volunteers work with onechild at atime, although some more experiencedvolunteerstakeontwo,particularlyif they aresiblings.

“One of thebiggest misconceptions is that we arethe DepartmentofChildrenandFamilyServices.Thatisnot thecase,”Moodysaid.“Eventhoughwearepartofthecourt system,weare notthe court. We areavolunteer-based independent nonprofit.Wedoexpectvolunteerstovisit withthechildatleastevery30days,writereportsforthe judge to review andattendcourt hearings pertainingto that child’scase. Volunteers mayanswerquestions from thejudgeortheattorneys.But,wearenottheonesmaking thefinallegal decisions. KristenBeardfirstbecameaCASAvolunteerwithherlocal program,ChildAdvocacyServices,eightyearsagowhen shewas astudent-teacher andsaw firsthand theimpact thatabuseandneglecthadonchildren.Sadly,thosetypes of casescontinue. Last year,Louisiana officialsreceived

more than 52,000 abuse/neglectreports andconducted morethan21,500abuse/neglect investigations Beardsaidbeing aCASAvolunteer canbeanemotional experience.Thusfar,she hasworkedwithninechildren,

andhasnoticedthatdrug usewithinfamiliesisoneof themostcommonreasons childrenareplacedinfoster care.Inaddition, shehas workedwithchildrenwho have suffered physical emotionalandsexualabuse. “Youdoseealotoftrauma, butthe rewarding part is beingabletoserve as a constantpositiveinfluence forachildduringtheworst timeoftheirlife,”Beardsaid “Theyhavesomuchchangeintheir lives. Most of these kids arealwaysgoing to differenthomes andschools and families.It’snicetobethatconsistentpresenceand see thegrowththattheymake. EverycaseIhavehad prior tomycurrentonehasendedwiththekidgoingtoastable environmentwhereIknewtheywouldbeokay.There’sno better feelingthanthat.” Beardwas namedthe Advocate of theYearlastyearat LouisianaCASA’sannualAwardsofExcellence. She said sheisthankfultohaveaflexible work schedule and asupportivefamily,includinghertwoteenagerswhotell herhow proudtheyare of theworkshe does.While being aCASAvolunteer does take time andeffort, Beardsaid shespendstwo to fivehours amonth on herCASAwork.

“Ithinkthere’sastigmathatthisisasecondjobthattakes dozens of hourseachweek, but Ihave neverfound that to be thecase,”she said.“It’s notsotime-consuming that youdon’t have time forother things in your life.Iwould recommendthatpeoplewhose jobs don’t have built-in flexibility speaktotheir bosses abouttakingoff forcourt dates, becausewedon’t have controloverthose. But,I wouldhopemostemployerswouldbeunderstandingand supportive of people whowanttovolunteer.” Moodysaidshe hasnoticed more companiesbeing supportiveofemployeeswhowanttobeCASAvolunteers as businesses embracethe idea of giving back to their owncommunities.Inadditiontobeing passionate about supporting children,Moody said CASA volunteers also do well when they areorganized,detail-orientedand objectiveabout family backgrounds. “Beingabletocollectandanalyzeinformationfromvarious sourcesandputthatintoacourtrecommendationisvery important,”Moody said.“We also look for people

have created specialty courts, expanded the number of crimes that would put children in adult prisons and changed election dates for judicial vacancies.

Each of the four amendments lost overwhelmingly, winning only 35% or so of the vote.

After a string of successes, Landry suffered his worst defeat during his 15 months as governor Black voters turned out in bigger than expected numbers to vote “no,” after being reached through a grassroots digital media campaign and apparently motivated at least in part by opposition to Landry and President Donald Trump.

About 10,000 more people voted in liberal New Orleans in Saturday’s election than did in the governor’s race in October 2023 that elected Landry, and 91% of those who voted there on Saturday rejected all four amendments.

But the rejection was so decisive that the high Democratic turnout doesn’t tell the whole story the governor didn’t win over enough Republicans, analysts say Amendment 2 lost in 50 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, said pollster and political analyst John Couvillon

The amendment passed in only 8 of the 28 Republican-held Senate districts and 27 of the 73 Republican-held House districts, he added.

“It was a collective middle finger to the governor,” said Ed Chervenak, a veteran pollster and political analyst at the University of New Orleans.

That’s not how Landry saw it

“We do not see this as a failure,” he said in a statement immediately after the results where he blamed progressive billionaire George Soros and “far left liberals” for the result.

Landry’s statement offended ultraconservatives such as Woody Jenkins, a Republican who served 28 years in the state House representing Baton Rouge and now publishes the Central City News.

“The idea that Soros money defeated it is absurd,” Jenkins said Jenkins used his newspaper’s website to spread opposition to Amendment 2 because one of the many provisions in the measure would have taken the tax exemption for churches out of the constitution and let state legislators decide whether to keep or end it.

Hunter Lundy, a Pentecostal minister and former trial lawyer who finished fifth in the 2023 governor’s race, hammered away at that point with a self-financed ad campaign on the radio and digital media.

The Rev Tony Spell, a Pentecostal preacher in Baton Rouge, was the first prominent voice to oppose Amendment 2. He recorded videos that likeminded ministers and Jenkins spread on social media.

Landry met with Spell and Jenkins at the Governor’s Mansion on March 5 in an attempt to neutralize their opposition but failed.

Spell said he gave permission through Lyman White, a former LSU star linebacker who is program director of Professional Athletes Supporting Students, to a progressive group to use his antiAmendment 2 material in their campaign.

That group created the notothemall.org website that opposed all four amendments.

Outside of that, Spell and Jenkins on the right and the nonprofits on the left said they didn’t coordinate their campaigns against the amendments.

The progressive groups say each of them started out opposing individual amendments, but they ended up joining forces to oppose all four

“We realized early on that if we got everybody under the same umbrella and had the same messaging, we could be more effective,” said Drew Prestridge, who handled communications for notothemall.org.

Added Peter Robins-Brown, executive director of Louisiana Progress: “It all came together to create a pretty overwhelming chorus.”

His group opposed Amendment 1, fearing it would allow the selection of unelected judges by conservative lawmakers to supersede the power of elected progressive judges in big cities It also opposed Amendment 3, which would have allowed more children to be jailed in adult prisons.

Invest in Louisiana, a Baton Rouge-based group, focused on the anti-Amendment 2 message.

Taking the lead in opposing Amendment 3 was a recently created coalition called the Lib-

erty and Dignity Campaign, led by Kristen Rome, of the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights; Sarah Omojola, of the Vera Institute of Justice; and Ashley Shelton, of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice.

“We don’t think that adult prison for 14-year-olds is the answer,” Shelton said.

The Vera Institute spent more than $400,000 opposing Amendment 3.

“We really understood that voters care, and they care more when you talked to them,” said Omojola. “So we talked to them. They showed up.”

Step Up Louisiana canvassed voters, as did others.

About 17% of Black voters turned out on election day versus only 14% of White voters, an extraordinary result given that a higher percentage of White people almost always vote, said Couvillon.

Still, he added, “the amendments lost by such a large margin that the elevated Black turnout made it lose by 65% rather than 62%.”

The overall turnout was 21%.

Landry was caught on a live mike in Washington, D.C., several days

earlier saying he had expected a 12% turnout.

Malcolm Jenkins, a two-time Super Bowl champ who played safety for the Saints, told voters to reject Amendment 3.

Norris Henderson, executive director of Voters Organized to Educate, recruited John Legend, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter, to do a video calling on voters to oppose all four amendments.

So did such African American influencers as Joy Reid, Monique Pressley and Tiffany Cross.

The push against the amendments especially resonated in New Orleans.

In one predominately African American neighborhood in the 9th Ward, all 147 people who voted opposed Amendment 2, the tax measure.

In another 9th Ward precinct, all 35 voters rejected it.

“There was significant outrage about what we’re seeing from Donald Trump and Jeff Landry,” said Davante Lewis, a member of the Public Service Commission which regulates utilities, who represents New Orleans and Baton Rouge. “These amendments provided the first opportunity to show their discontent with the direction of their state and of their country.”

Landry assembled an impressive coalition to support Amendment 2, including the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Louisiana Association of Educators, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Americans for Prosperity and the Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Donald Trump Jr sent out a text message of support. Curtis Jackson, the rapper better known as 50 Cent who has business ties to Shreveport, cut a video for it.

Brent Littlefield, Landry’s chief media strategist, blamed the defeat on false statements and misrepresentations by opponents of Amendment 2.

“Conservative voters are happy with their legislators, the governor and the president,” Littlefield said.

“There seemed to be more energy on the left than the right.”

State Sen. Jay Morris, R-Monroe, sponsored the legislation that put Amendments 3 and 4 on the ballot.

“They just went down with the ship,” Morris said. “I’m disheartened and disappointed.”

Email Tyler Bridges at tbridges@theadvocate.com.

‘JFK’ director calls for reinvestigation of 1963 assassination

BY JOHN HANNA Associated Press

Oscar-winning director

Oliver Stone, whose 1991 film “JFK” portrayed President John F. Kennedy’s assassination as the work of a shadowy government conspiracy, called Tuesday for a new congressional investigation of the killing during a hearing that aired conspiracy theories about it. The freewheeling hearing of the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, where partisan grievances were aired, followed last month’s release of thousands of pages of government documents related to the assassination.

The task force’s Republican chair opened the proceedings by questioning the Warren Commission investigation’s conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in fatally shooting Kennedy as his motorcade finished a parade route in downtown Dallas on Nov 22, 1963. Scholars say the files that President Donald Trump ordered to be released showed nothing undercutting the conclusion that a lone gunman killed Kennedy Many documents were previously released but contained newly removed redactions, including Social Security numbers, angering people whose personal information was disclosed.

Stone’s “JFK” was nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture, and won two. It grossed more than $200 million but was also dogged by questions about its historical accuracy Stone told the committee that he believes decades of delays in releasing unredacted records

had prevented “clarity” about who killed JFK. Stone also said a new investigation “outside all political considerations” should begin at the scene of the crime” and reexamine all of the evidence from the day of the assassination. Scholars and historians have concluded that there’s strong evidence that Oswald, a 24-yearold former Marine, acted alone in killing Kennedy “Can we return to a world where we can trust our government to level with us, the people for which this government exists?” Stone said “This is our democracy This is our presidency. It belongs to us.”

The task force’s chair, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, of Florida, said she thinks the federal government under previous administrations had engaged in “stonewalling.”

The task force also heard from a witness called by Democrats who criticized the Trump administration’s handling of the recent JFK document release. John Davisson, senior counsel for the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center, called it “hurried” and suggested that the National Archives and Records Administration “simply ignored” procedures for protecting people’s privacy

The task force’s Democrats followed up on his comments by criticizing the Trump administration over a variety of other issues.

“What I find funny about this hearing is that the Republicans are here relitigating whether CIA agents lied 60 years ago,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whose Texas district includes part of Dallas.

Booker sets record with Senate speech

BY MIKE CATALINI and STEPHEN GROVES

Associated Press

WASHINGTON In a feat of determination New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday evening, setting a historic mark to show Democrats’ resistance to President Donald Trump’s sweeping actions. Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” It wasn’t until more than 25 hours later that the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, finished speaking and walked off the floor It set the record for the longest continuous Senate floor speech in the chamber’s history though Booker was assisted by fellow Democrats who gave him a break from speaking by asking him questions on the Senate floor

It was a remarkable show of stamina as Democrats try to show their frustrated supporters that they are doing everything possible to contest Trump’s agenda. Yet Booker also provided a moment of historical solace for a party searching for its way forward: By standing on the Senate floor for more than a night and day and refusing to leave, he had broken a record set 68 years ago by then Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a segregationist, to filibuster the advance of the Civil Rights Act in 1957.

“I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people are more powerful,” said Booker, who spoke openly on the Senate floor of his roots as the descendant of both slaves and slave-owners.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black party leader in Congress, slipped into the Senate chamber to watch Booker on Tuesday afternoon. He called it “an incredibly powerful moment” because Booker had broken the record of a segregationist and was “fighting to preserve the

times in our nation,” Booker said as he began the speech Monday evening. “And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate. The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them.”

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S. Attorney

General Pam Bondi said Tuesday that she has directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, following through on the president’s campaign promise to vigorously pursue capital punishment.

It is the first time the Justice Department has sought to bring the death penalty since President Donald Trump returned to office in January with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the previous administration.

“Luigi Mangione’s murder

of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America,” Bondi said in a statement. She described Thompson’s killing as “an act of political violence.”

Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family faces separate federal and state murder charges after authorities say he gunned down Thompson, 50, outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcare’s annual investor conference.

Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said Tuesday that in seeking the death penalty “the Justice Department has moved from the dysfunctional to the bar-

baric.”

Mangione “is caught in a high-stakes game of tug-ofwar between state and federal prosecutors, except the trophy is a young man’s life,” Friedman Agnifilo said in a statement, vowing to fight all charges against him.

The killing and ensuing five-day manhunt leading to Mangione’s arrest rattled the business community with some health insurers hastily switching to remote work or online shareholder meetings. It also galvanized health insurance critics some of whom have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills.

Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind.

American way of life and our democracy.”

Still, Booker centered his speech on a call for his party to find its resolve, saying, “We all must look in the mirror and say, ‘We will do better.’”

“These are not normal

Shifting his feet, then leaning on his podium, Booker railed for hours against cuts to Social Security offices led by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency He listed the impacts of Trump’s early orders and spoke to concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net could be coming, though Republican lawmakers say the program won’t be touched.

Booker also read what he said were letters from constituents, donning and doffing his reading glasses. One writer was alarmed by the Republican president’s talk

of annexing Greenland and Canada and a “looming constitutional crisis.” Throughout the day Tuesday, Booker got help from Democratic colleagues, who gave him a break from speaking to ask him questions. Booker yielded for questions but made sure to say he would not give up the floor He read that line from a piece of paper to ensure he did not slip and inadvertently end his speech. He stayed standing to comply with Senate rules.

“Your strength, your fortitude, your clarity has just been nothing short of amazing and all of America is paying attention to what you’re saying,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said as he asked Booker a question on the Senate floor “All of America needs to know there’s so many problems, the disastrous actions of this administration.”

In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen. Cory Booker D-N.J speaks on the Senate floor Tuesday morning

BRIEFS FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Automakers report

stellar sales in March

The major car companies say sales rose sharply in March, with most reporting double-digit gains. For some companies, the strong performance last month helped make up for a sluggish start to the year

Automakers sold nearly 1.6 million vehicles in the U.S. in March, up 13.6%. That brought total sales for the first quarter to more than 3.9 million vehicles, Motorintelligence.com said Tuesday Almost all automakers saw a surge in sales of electric vehicles.

What future months hold for the automakers is uncertain.

President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on auto imports that go into effect Thursday The tariffs are set to expand to applicable auto parts in the following weeks, through May 3. The tax hike means automakers could face higher costs and lower sales, though Trump argues that the tariffs will lead to more factories opening in the United States.

Overall U.S. sales for General Motors rose 17% during the first quarter on strong sales of fullsize pickups and SUVs. Ford Motor saw its sales increase 10% in March as strong sales of the F-150 pickup and electric vehicles helped offset a drop in sales of SUVs.

Hooters chain files for bankruptcy protection

Hooters is going bust.

The U.S. restaurant chain, known for chicken wings and its skimpy “Hooters Girls” waitstaff outfits, has filed for bankruptcy protection. HOA Restaurant Group filed the motion for Chapter 11 protection Monday in the North Texas Bankruptcy Court in Dallas

It’s the latest legacy restaurant chain to run into financial trouble amid high food and labor prices, changing customer tastes and growing competition from newer casual chains like Shake Shack. Under the Hooters bankruptcy plan, 100 company-owned U.S. restaurants would get sold to a group of Hooters franchisees. The franchisees, who include Hooters’ founders, currently operate 14 of the 30 highest-volume Hooters restaurants in the U.S., the company said.

“For many years now, the Hooters brand has been owned by private equity firms and other groups with no history or experience with the Hooters brand,” Neil Kiefer, CEO of the franchise group Hooters Inc., said in a statement. “As a result of these transactions, the Hooters brand will once again be in the hands of highly experienced Hooters franchisees, and we will be well-positioned to return this iconic brand to its historic success.”

Hooters said franchisees or licensing partners would continue to operate all existing locations, including those outside the U.S. There are more than 420 Hooters restaurants in 29 countries.

Trump eyes possible

TikTok investors

President Donald Trump will hold a Wednesday meeting with aides about possible investors who could buy a stake in TikTok, a deal that could potentially stop the social media site from being banned in the United States.

The details of the meeting were confirmed by a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. There has been uncertainty about the popular video app after a law took effect on Jan. 19 requiring its China-based parent, ByteDance, to divest its ownership because of national security concerns After taking office, Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed until Saturday the enforcement of the law requiring a sale or effectively imposing a ban.

Among the possible investors are the software company Oracle and the investment firm Blackstone.

Feb. U.S. job openings slip to 7.6M

BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer

WASHINGTON — Employers posted 7.6 million job openings in February a sign that that the job market is slowing but remains healthy Layoffs of federal workers hit the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the economy in 2020, as Elon Musk’s job cuts start to show up in national jobs data.

The number of job vacancies fell slightly from a revised 7.8 million in January and from a 8.4 million a year earlier, the Labor Department reported Tuesday Openings have come down more or less steadily since peaking at 12.1 million in March 2022 when the economy was still roaring back from COVID-19 lockdowns.

Layoffs rose to 1.8 million in February from 1.7 million in January Federal agencies laid off 18,000 workers, most since October 2020. Retailers, cautious about the outlook for 2025, laid off 238,000 in February, the highest figure since April 2020 in the depths of the COVID-19 recession.

The Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary showed that the overall number of people quitting their jobs a sign of confidence they can find better pay or working conditions elsewhere fell slightly in February

The American job market has proven surprisingly durable. But it has clearly lost momentum from the frantic hiring days of 20212023. And the outlook for hiring is

cloudy as President Donald Trump pursues trade wars, purges the federal workforce and promises to deport millions of immigrants working in the United States illegally That has begun to have an impact on the optimism that Americans hold about the job market and the economy Late last month, the University of Michigan released its updated consumer sentiment survey for March, which showed a sharp drop in Americans’ outlook for the economy The survey also found growing anxiety over inflation and jobs. Economists are worried that Trump’s trade wars — he is expected to announce sweeping tariffs on American trading partners Wednesday — will push up prices and stunt economic growth.

“The jobs market remains the economy’s bulwark, and while it’s eroding slowly, it’s not showing cracks that foreshadow recession,” Robert Frick, economist with Navy Federal Credit Union said in a commentary on the job openings report “How it holds up to assaults from tariffs’ effects on consumers and businesses is the crucial question, and one that won’t be answered until later this year.”

On Friday, the Labor Department issues the jobs report for March

According to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet, it is expected to show that employers added 125,000 jobs last month, down from 151,000 in February and an average 168,000 a month in 2024. The unemployment rate is forecast to tick up to a still-low 4.2%.

Businesses nationwide look for ways to offset tariffs

Steve Rad, CEO of toy maker Abacus Brands Inc., which designs science kits and other educational toys for older children, shows a new matte box, left, that will replace its black mold plastic material packaging insert with an improved cardboard material to help offset the costs of future tariffs in El Segundo, Calif. BY

Thinner packaging, no batteries and more assembly at home would help reduce costs

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer

NEW YORK Gadgets sold without batteries. Toys sold in slimmed-down boxes or no packaging at all. More household goods that shoppers need to assemble themselves. These are some of the ways consumer product companies are retooling their wares to reduce costs and avoid raising prices as President Donald Trump levies new import taxes on key trading partners as well as some materials used by American manufacturers. The economic environment in which the president has imposed, threatened and occasionally postponed repeated rounds of tariffs is more precarious than during his first term U.S. consumers are feeling tapped out after several years of inflation. Businesses say tariffs add to their expenses and eat into their profits, but they are wary of losing sales if they try to pass all of the increase on to customers. Instead, some companies are exploring cost-cutting options, both ones that consumers likely would notice in time — remem-

ber “shrinkflation?” — and ones that exist too far down the supply chain for them to see The changes may help minimize price increases yet won’t be enough in every case to offset them completely For many companies, evaluating which components or details they can remove from their products or replace with less expensive ones is the go-to move for absorbing the potential financial hit from tariffs.

Los Angeles-based toy company Abacus Brands Inc., which designs science kits and other educational toys, has most of its products made in China. By using slightly thinner paper in an 80-page project book that comes with two of its kits, the company expects to avert a $10 retail price increase, President Steve Rad said.

“Three or 4 cents here,” Rad said. “Seven or 6 cents there. Two more pennies over there All of a sudden, you’ve made up the difference.” To further reduce its production costs, Abacus Brands is thinking of switching from plastic to cardboard for the package inserts that keep toy parts in place. Cardboard trays cost

7 cents per unit compared with 30 cents for the plastic version, according to Rad.

The change requires finding a new factory to make the inserts, a move that did not make financial sense before now he said. The various tariff-related modifications should be effective for fall and holiday deliveries to stores, Rad said.

“The compromises we’re making are things that do not matter to the consumer,” he said.

Shoppers will likely have to assemble more of their products at home as companies look to reduce shipping costs, according to Kimberly Kirkendall, president of supply-chain consulting firm International Resource Development.

Companies also are reevaluating the pieces of their products that are essential or extra.

Chris Bajda, managing partner at online wedding gift retailer Groomsday said accessories like batteries and decorative gift boxes may end up in the latter category

“We now carefully assess what’s truly necessary and avoid including items that don’t serve a functional purpose for the customer,” Bajda said.

More swerves hit Wall Street

NEW YORK U.S. stocks swerved through another shaky day of trading Tuesday, with uncertainty still high about just what President Donald Trump will announce about tariffs on his “Liberation Day” coming Wednesday The S&P 500 rose after roaring back from an early drop of 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down slightly, after pinging between a loss of 480 points and a gain of nearly 140, while the Nasdaq composite closed higher Wall Street has been particularly shaky recently, and momentum has been swinging not just day to day but also hour to hour because of uncertainty about what Trump will do with tariffs — and by how much they could worsen inflation and grind down growth for economies. On Monday, for example, the S&P 500 careened from an early loss of 1.7% to a gain of 0.7%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields sank after a report said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted last month, breaking a two-month streak of growth. Companies are saying they’re already feeling effects from Trump’s trade war, even with the main event potentially coming Wednesday when the president will announce a sweeping set of tariffs.

“Customers are pulling in orders due to anxiety about continued tariffs and pricing pressures,” one computer and electronic products company told the Institute for Supply Management in its monthly manufacturers’ survey “Starting to see slower-thannormal sales in Canada, and concerns of Canadians boycotting U.S. products could become a reality,” a manufacturer in the food, beverage and tobacco products industry said in the ISM’s survey

The U.S. economy is still growing, to be sure, and the job market has remained relatively solid even with February’s slightly weaker-than-expected job openings. But one of the worries hitting the market is that even if Trump announces less-punishing tariffs than feared on Wednesday, the stop-and-start rollout of his trade strategy may by itself cause U.S. households and businesses to freeze their spending, which would damage the economy Trump has pushed for tariffs in part to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States from other countries.

All the nervousness in the market has helped push the price of gold to records, and it briefly

Trump’s pick for Joint Chiefs chair vows to be apolitical

BY TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s nominee to become the next chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, told senators Tuesday that he understands he is an unknown and unconventional nominee — but that the U.S. is facing unconventional and unprecedented threats and he is ready to serve in its defense.

At his confirmation hearing to become the top U.S. military officer, he said he would be candid in his advice to Trump and vowed to be apolitical. While Caine stopped short of criticizing top leaders for using a Signal chat to discuss plans for an attack against Yemen’s Houthi rebels, he told senators during questioning that he always communicates in proper channels.

Caine, who was not part of the Signal chat and deferred on many questions about the controversy, said that if he found himself in situations where classified information was being posted inappropriately, he “would weigh in and stop it.”

Caine was nominated after Trump fired Gen. CQ Brown Jr., seen by the administration as endorsing diversity, equity and inclusion contrary to the president’s agenda. He had been the second Black general

to serve as chair The firing raised concerns among Democrats that Trump was politicizing the military, and many of the questions Caine faced before the Senate Armed Services Committee centered on that topic.

He was asked how he would react if ordered to direct the military to do something potentially illegal, such as being used against civilians in domestic law enforcement. “Will you stand up and push back?” Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin asked.

“Senator, I think that’s the duty and the job that I have, yes,” Caine said. Sen. Roger Wicker, Republican chair of the committee, said he’s convinced Caine sees the job as nonpartisan.

“We can argue politics up here on the dais, but I expect General Caine to stay out of it no matter the subject,” he said.

Caine sought to assure lawmakers of his approach to readying the nation for future wars. He said his military experience, which included seeing fellow service members die, has shaped his views on when to use force and “the importance of carefully considering the use of that force.”

Caine also for the first time publicly denied that he had ever worn a MAGA hat. Trump has told a story about Caine saying he wore one of the hats when the two met some years ago. When asked during the

hearing, Caine said, “For 34 years, I’ve upheld my oath of office and my commitment to my commission. And I have never worn any political merchandise.”

He said Trump must have been “talking about somebody else.”

Caine was asked about senior national security officials using a Signal chat to communicate about airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthis In the chat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted tactical details before the operation had launched. The chat mistakenly included a journalist but did not involve the acting head of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Christopher Brady

“From what I understand of that chat, it was a partisan political chat, and so the joint force should not have been represented,” Caine said.

Caine declined to comment on whether senior U.S. officials who were in the chat among them the vice president, defense secretary, secretary of state and national security adviser should have discussed battle plans on an unclassified, commercial application.

“What I will say is we should always preserve the element of surprise,” Caine said.

Caine also was asked how he would prevent the military from getting drawn into domestic law enforcement missions, such as helping detain migrants in the country illegally

Firefighters around the United States brace for wildfire risks

BY TY ONEIL and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN

Associated Press

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — From the southwestern U.S. to Minnesota, Iowa and even parts of New Jersey, it seemed that winter never materialized.

Many communities marked their driest winters on record, snowpack was nearly nonexistent in some spots, and vegetation remains tinder dry — all ingredients for elevated wildfire risks.

More than 1,000 firefighters and fire managers recently participated in an annual wildfire academy in Arizona, where training covered everything from air operations to cutting back brush with chain saws and building fire lines. Academy officials say there is a

consensus that crews will be busy as forecasts call for more warm and dry weather, particularly for the Southwest.

The lack of moisture and warm temperatures can combine to increase the rate of spread and intensity of fire, said Roy Hall, the prescribed fire officer for the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. He says it has been dry in his state for months.

“We would be remiss to not acknowledge that changes how we might see fire behavior come out of the blocks at the beginning and through fire season,” he said

Experts with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information reported in early March that total winter precipitation in the U.S. was just shy of 6 inches

— or nearly an inch below average. The period of December through the end of February — what forecasters consider the meteorological winter — ranked the third driest on record. Flagstaff, nestled in the mountains south of the Grand Canyon, has long been on the list of quick escapes for desert dwellers looking to build snowmen or go sledding. The northern Arizona city finished the winter period with a 50-inch snowfall deficit. A major storm hit the area in mid-March, forcing the closure of Interstate 40 and stranding motorists for hours. It wasn’t enough to erase the shortfall. In New Mexico, there were at least 17 sites that marked either their driest winters on record or tied previous records.

BY MARC LEVY and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press

WASHINGTON While most Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the conflict is not weighing as heavily on his public perception as it did on President Joe Biden, a new poll shows. That’s because of Trump’s solid support from his base on this issue. The survey of U.S. adults from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that about 8 in 10 Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of the conflict. Only about 4 in 10 Democrats approved of Biden’s handling of the conflict last June, shortly before Biden dropped out of the presidential race.

“During Trump’s first administration, we did not actively start any wars. And there’s a stark difference between his history and his first term versus the Biden presidency And I think Trump is just trying to fix things that Biden let get out of hand,” said Patrick Vigil, a 60-yearold Republican from New Mexico who voted for Trump

in November’s election.

The poll suggests Republicans are growing more satisfied with the country’s foreign policy actions as Trump pulls back U.S. support for Ukraine and puts new pressure on allies notably with his talk of annexing Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal.

Trump has warned Hamas that there would be “hell to pay” if Israeli hostages weren’t returned immediately and urged Israel to wrap up their offensive and “get it over with ” He has supported ceasefire talks in both conflicts and said he’d end the war between Ukraine and Russia within “24 hours” — or even before taking office. Since becoming president again, Trump has publicly torn into Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but also tried to pressure Russia’s Vladimir Putin to accept a peace deal.

Broadly, Republicans are more content with the U.S. on solving global issues now that President Trump is in office. About half of Republicans say the U.S.’s current role in world affairs is about right, up from about 2 in 10 last February when Biden was president.

There’s a greater consensus that the U.S. should be focused on ceasefire negotiations in Israel and Ukraine than there was last year too About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say it’s “extremely” or “very” important for the U.S. to negotiate a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, up from about half in an AP-NORC poll conducted in February 2024, with a similar uptick on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Republicans have grown more committed to both foreign policy goals since Trump took office, according to the poll. For instance, about 6 in 10 Republicans now think it’s highly important for the U.S. to negotiate a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, up from about 4 in 10 last year

The AP-NORC poll of 1,229 adults was conducted March 20-24, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probabilitybased AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

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Report: Allegations substantiated

N.O. homeless services director accused of sexual assault

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

New Orleans Mayor LaToya

Cantrell’s administration has found evidence that the director of the city’s homeless services department kissed a worker while on the job, according to a letter from city officials.

3 appear in trial over bloody turf war

Slayings at center of federal RICO case

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

Briyan Love was attending an Edna Karr High School basketball game with friends in January 2017 when she spotted Wynston “Baby Ghost” Jackson in the crowd.

This presented a problem, a federal prosecutor told a jury Tuesday

Love associated with members of Byrd Gang, a Central City drug clan that authorities blame for a slew of violence around their historic stomping ground in the former Magnolia housing development. Jackson was a leader of Ghost Gang, a bitter and bloody rival with roots in the former Calliope projects nearby.

“You’re going to hear how she was concerned about how she was actually going to get out of that auditorium alive,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Privitera told the jury

“You’re going to hear how she communicated with Byrd Gang members, told them Wynston Jackson was at that game,” she added. “You’re going to hear that she knew by doing that, that they would come and try to kill Wynston Jackson, but it was either going to be her or it was going to be him.”

ä See WAR, page 2B

BY JOSEPH CRANNEY Staff writer

Officials said the “appointing authority” Cantrell appointed Fields — will make a determi-

In a letter Friday to Mary Bonney, who works for Civix, a public sector technology firm based in Metairie, city officials wrote that they “were able to substantiate” Bonney’s allegation that Nathaniel Fields kissed her on the night of Jan. 6 while they were working to transport homeless people to an emergency shelter during cold weather

nation regarding the appropriate resolution, including possible disciplinary action.” Fields did not respond to a request for comment. Bonney also declined to comment and a spokesperson for Civix did not respond to a request for comment.

In a statement Tuesday, a spokesperson for Mayor LaToya Cantrell said: “We take all workplace policies seriously and re-

main committed to upholding a professional and respectful environment for all employees. While we cannot comment further on this personnel matter, we will continue to enforce our policies consistently to maintain the integrity of our workplace.”

Bonney earlier said that Fields sexually assaulted her and then continued to harass her in the following days, including calling

ute span. That prompted her to request that Civix submit a complaint with the city on her behalf. The letter did not say whether the allegation of continued harassment had been substantiated or not. Bonney also filed a criminal complaint with the New Orleans Police Department. The complaint remains under investigation, according to a NOPD spokesperson.

‘LEADING FROM THE FRONT’

Deputy killed in chase laid to rest

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

Nine days after he was killed trying to stop a vehicle being pursued by deputies in a high-speed chase, family and friends packed a venue in Slidell to remember the life of St Tammany Parish sheriff’s Sgt. Grant Candies, offering an affectionate farewell to the popular law enforcement officer during a somber but hopeful ceremony The service drew hundreds of uniformed law enforcement of-

ficers to the Northshore Harbor Center, who joined with friends and family to remember the life of Candies, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, husband and father to two children.

Former Marine Corps and Sheriff’s Office colleagues recalled a reliable friend and coworker, supportive mentor and a devoted father, husband and son — someone who took his job and commitments seriously, but did so with a good sense of humor

ä See LEADING, page 3B

Tulane scraps gender, multicultural offices

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

As President Donald Trump’s administration pressures colleges and universities to put a stop to diversity initiatives or risk funding cuts, Tulane University has dissolved two offices that provided support for LGBTQ+ students and students of color Tulane shuttered the Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity, a longtime resource for LGBTQ+ students, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, which housed the Black Student Union and other student groups. The Carolyn Barber-Pierre Center for Intercultural Life, which provides services for “all students,”

Hundreds of police officers from across the state ride on motorcycles as they lead the hearse carrying the body of Sgt Grant Candies.

WWII Museum breaks ground on new facility

AFF PHOTO By

FELD Protesters honor Trans Day of Visibility and voice opposition Monday to Tulane’s decision to dissolve the Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity

will absorb the two offices, a university spokesperson said.

Move comes as Trump targets DEI ä See TULANE, page 2B

Space will be used to design exhibits

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

As it prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary in June, The National WWII Museum is expanding its downtown New Orleans campus yet again, officially breaking ground Tuesday for a new facility that will be used to design and create new exhibits and host educational events. The Floyd Education and Collections Pavilion, as the two-story complex is known, will be located at

the Floyd Pavilion will not house exhibits for public viewing. Rather, it will be used as a workspace, where museum staff can design and create exhibits. It will also be used to store the museum’s evergrowing collection of artifacts, including tanks, jeeps and other large vehicles.

“As the museum enters the next chapter in its history the Floyd Pavilion will ensure this history is kept alive, relevant and accessible for learners of all ages and backgrounds,” said Stephen J. Watson, president and CEO of the museum. Construction of the 34,000-square-foot building will cost $12 million and was made possible through a $7.5 million gift from Timber and Peggy Floyd, longtime supporters of the museum.

STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

Courtney Candies stands between her children, Brenna, 13, and Bryson, 8, as the casket holding Sgt. Grant Candies is placed into the back of a hearse on Tuesday at The Harbor Center in Slidell. Grant Candies was killed in the line of duty on March 23.

It was him. Jackson, 19, and Lawrence Williams IV, 18, had left the gym and were sitting in a car parked on Huntlee Drive when shooters rolled up in a silver sedan and opened fire. Hundreds were kept for hours on lockdown inside the gym afterward Prosecutors claim that Terran “Funky” Williams, Tyrone “Sixx” Bovia and Javonta “Dutt” Doleman committed the deadly assault.

The double murder is the centerpiece of a sprawling criminal racketeering case now playing out in the federal courthouse in New Orleans. Williams, Bovia and Doleman sat in crisp dress shirts and ties on Tuesday as their lawyers argued that authorities had cast too wide a net, trying to pin a gang’s worth of violence on their clients.

The case is a throwback to a series of sprawling RICO cases that federal prosecutors unleashed a decade ago, often charging 10 or more suspects at once, hoping to flip lesser ones against the prime targets before trial Dozens went to prison.

A superseding indictment in August 2021 named 10 alleged Byrd Gang members, though a package deal in November resolved charges against six of them.

Among those pleading guilty was Tim “T-Mal” Jackson, an admitted Byrd Gang leader and “principal supplier of controlled substances for the enterprise.” In a wheelchair after being shot, he admitted to crimes that included arranging the 2016 murder of Javon “Tokyo” Johnigan, a rising rapper from the Calliope, agreeing to a 127-month sentence.

Samuel Morton, 26, agreed to serve 18 years and admitted to being a gunman and drug dealer for the group Chance Skipper, 28, accepted a seven-year sentence. Skipper admitted he helped a fellow gang member flee after being shot up in a brazen Aug. 25, 2017, gunfight outside a boutique on Magazine Street in the Lower Garden District.

Others have pleaded guilty as well, including Love, who has agreed to testify over the Edna Karr slayings. Love pleaded guilty as an accessory after the fact to murder

Among other acts of violence attributed to the gang feud were the July 18, 2016, murder of Kent “Digg” Franklin in the Calliope, and the slaying in June 2017 of two Byrd gang members, Terran “Trilla” Young and

MUSEUM

Continued from page 1B

The second floor of the new pavilion, called the Sanderson Leadership Center, will be used to host seminars and leadership training sessions that the museum will offer to corporate and nonprofit executives, civic and military leaders, and students and educators

The educational programs will be designed around events and lessons of World War II, and the training rooms will be custom-built, “immersive” spaces that will enable participants to experience the themes they are exploring.

“We are deeply grateful to the Floyds for their generosity and commitment to educating future generations about the history of World War II,” Watson said. “This gift will have a significant impact as our institution strives to teach and inspire new audiences.”

Tuesday’s groundbreaking comes as the National World War II Museum prepares to mark a quarter of a century in operation and has expanded across several Warehouse District buildings to create a campus of exhibitions, research, restaurants and a hotel.

Initially known as the DDay Museum the facility opened on June 6, 2000, and was the brainchild of historians Nick Mueller and Stephen Ambrose. It was rechristened the National WWII Museum by an Act of Congress in 2004

More than two decades and $420 million later, the museum has grown into one of New Orleans’ most popular tourist attractions, with more

Darrell “Micey” Pollard, at Carrollton Avenue and Earhart Boulevard. A man named Dwight Washington was convicted of that killing, allegedly sparked by a rap feud.

Prosecutors claim that claim Bovia and two other men, James Alexander and Terrance Augustine, attacked two Ghost Gang members on May 3, 2017. Augustine ended up shot and dying, and Privitera said surveillance footage captured Bovia dropping him at the hospital.

“You will hear they committed fantastic levels of violence,” she said.

Lawyers for the three men told the jury that prosecutors had little evidence of a gang conspiracy

James Washington, an attorney for Williams, said his client didn’t deny drug and gun crimes to which he’s pleaded guilty, or that he cavorted with Byrd Gang associates. But he denies promoting a gang. As for the Edna Karr killings, Washington said there’s no evidence Williams was there.

“There are just too many possibilities,” he said.

“Wynston Jackson supposedly earned his name, ‘Baby Ghost,’ because he committed so many murders (and) no one could trace him. He was like a ghost on the street.”

Bovia’s attorney, Rachel Conner, described his childhood shuffling among lowincome neighborhoods, later graduating high school and fathering two kids. Conner sought to cast doubt on the criminal nature of the Byrd Gang itself.

“People who are actually from Uptown have very different ideas of what the Byrd Gang is and what it represents,” she said.

Michelle Stratton, one of Doleman’s attorneys, told the jury that Love recently withdrew her claim that Doleman had confessed to the Edna Karr killings. Love “has since recanted her terrible lie, admitting that Javonta never told her that he did the murder,” she said.

Though her client communicated with Love the night of the killings, Stratton asked the jury to “not let the horror of it blind you” to a lack of evidence. She also suggested the streets had spoken with the killings of Young and Pollard.

Their convicted killer, Washington, had the date of the Edna Karr murders — 1-31-17 — tattooed by his right ear

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, a nominee of former President Barack Obama, is presiding over a trial expected to run 10 days.

than 780,000 visitors a year

The six-acre campus includes seven pavilions, each covering different aspects of the global conflict. These include the Liberation Pavilion, which deals with the end of the war and the Holocaust; the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion, covering the home front; Campaigns of Courage, with over 19,000 square feet of space showing the jungles, beaches and mountains where battles were fought; and the Hall of Democracy, focusing on education.

The Floyd Pavilion is the latest of several facilities and exhibits made possible by Timber and Peggy Floyd, whose support of the museum began in 2015, when the couple purchased a commemorative brick in honor of Peggy Floyd’s father, Nicholas Dragisic, Sr., who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during the war

“I am overjoyed at this opportunity to support the growth of The National WWII Museum’s crucial educational mission and help increase access to its indispensable programs and exhibits,” Peggy Floyd said.

Timber Floyd’s father, Jay Floyd, and four uncles also served in World War II

Since their first gift, the Floyds have supported the annual Family and Military Appreciation Block Party; the newly reimagined “Fighting for the Right to Fight: African American Experiences in World War II” special exhibition; and the installation of 473 commemorative pavers on the Museum’s Col. Battle Barksdale Parade Ground as a permanent tribute to World War II’s Medal of Honor Recipients.

TULANE

Continued from page 1B

All traces of both offices have been wiped from Tulane’s website and social media platforms.

The restructuring comes as the university overhauls its Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in response to threats by the Trump administration to pull funding from colleges that have programs or services that target students by race. Tulane officials said the crackdown could threaten the university’s $320 million in annual federal funding.

Another executive order by Trump instructed federal agencies to stop promoting and funding “gender ideology.”

Tulane’s move has rattled students, who have come to rely on the offices for resources and support.

The gender office was founded around 2012 after student leaders advocated for a full-time staff member and office dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ students, including through mentoring, advising and helping queer students navigate university life, according to the office’s former webpage. About 12% of Tulane’s freshman class identify as LGBTQ+.

“It’s a dark time,” a Tulane student said at a protest Monday in support of transgender rights and diversity, equity and inclusion. The student, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation said the shuttered offices “were a support system for all kinds of students.”

It is not clear whether Tulane will continue the specific services offered by the gender and multicultural offices.

Tulane spokesperson Mike Strecker said that the Carolyn Barber-Pierre Center for Intercultural Life, which previously housed both offices, would provide services and programs “for all Tulane students.”

“This reorganization is part of our ongoing effort to ensure that every unit of the university remains equally accessible and supportive and that we continue to follow our core values,” Strecker said, “which include building a community in which everyone, regardless of their backgrounds, has an equal opportunity to achieve their dreams and contribute to our mission.”

Scott Nolan, a professor of practice in American politics at Tulane, said universities should push back

REPORT

Continued from page 1B

Cantrell hired Fields in 2023 to run the city’s newly created Office of Homeless Services with the ambitious goal of finding permanent housing for everyone living on the streets of New Orleans. He has since taken the spotlight as the spokesperson for the city’s efforts.

A spokesperson for Cantrell did not respond to a request for comment about what Fields’ job status has been during the investigation.

Bonney said that on Jan. 6 about 11 p.m., she and Fields were alone in a city vehicle parked outside the temporary shelter at the Rosenwald Recreation Center while working to transport people to the shelter

Bonney said Fields began rubbing her arm. She pulled away, she said, but

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Protesters gather Monday on a Freret Street sidewalk next to the Tulane University campus to honor Trans Day of Visibility and voice opposition to the university’s decision to dissolve the Office of Gender and Sexual Diversity which they say diminishes support for LGBTQ+ students.

against attacks on programs that support marginalized groups.

“In today’s political climate, pulling back from equity and inclusion efforts doesn’t place the university above the fray — it places us squarely in it,” he said in an email. “Universities must stand firm in defending access, fairness, empowerment, and the democratic values we teach every day.”

Diversity efforts targeted

The changes at Tulane come as the Trump administration has ordered higher education institutions around the country to end programs and practices that target students by race or face consequences, including cuts to federal funding. The administration has argued that support for minority students discriminates against other groups.

The university has already come under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education in recent weeks. Tulane was among 60 universities that the agency warned would face harsh sanctions if they did not sufficiently protect Jewish students from antisemitism.

Separately, Tulane is among 45 universities under investigation for alleged racial discrimination for partnering with a nonprofit that supports Black, Hispanic and Native American graduate students.

In a message to the school community last month, Tulane leaders said the university would refashion its Office of Equity, Diversity

“he just grabbed me and stuck his tongue down my throat. He had my head in his hands.”

Rules adopted by the City Council in 2018 prohibit sexual harassment and establish a process for reporting, investigation and discipline. If the investigation confirms that harassment took place, disciplinary action against the harasser may include “suspension, demotion, and

and Inclusion into a new Office of Academic Excellence and Opportunity The letter said the new office would provide equal opportunities for all, “without bias for or against any groups.”

Nolan said his students attribute the changes at Tulane to the Trump administration.

“My LGBTQ students, in particular, regularly acknowledge that the federal government actively works against their success (and their) physical and mental health,” he said in an email, adding that many have expressed “anger, sadness, and confusion” at Trump’s policies.

Support for students

Some students said the multicultural and the gender and sexual diversity offices offered a refuge for students from underrepresented groups. The offices brought in speakers and sponsored events and networking opportunities that helped students build community, said a junior public health major who asked to remain anonymous.

It’s unclear how programming will be impacted, but some students are concerned that housing and research opportunities aimed at LGBTQ+ students could be at risk and that identity-based student organizations could scale back their operations, the student said.

A now-deleted webpage for the Office of Multicultural Affairs said the office was founded in 1987 and uses critical race the-

where circumstances warrant, termination.”

In emails to the city’s Employee Relations Division, Bonney also alleged that Fields may have been involved in her interview, which would violate the city’s policy that interviews with the parties be conducted separately The City Attorney’s Office denied that, but Council President JP Morrell and Council Vice President Hele-

ory, student development theories, social justice framework and a “traumainformed lens infused with radical love to counter the effects of oppression and empower students to thrive.”

Terms such as “critical race theory,” social justice and oppression — long used in academia have been targeted by the Trump administration as tokens of woke ideology

The gender and sexual diversity office’s now-deleted webpage said it aimed to “strengthen and enhance diversity at Tulane University by providing students of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, and allied students with advocacy services, mentoring, personal support, and cultural, social, and academic programming.”

In the decade since it was established, the office helped push Tulane to revise its anti-discrimination and equal opportunity statements to include gender identity and gender expression, made it easier for students to update their university identification to indicate preferred names and pronouns and institute gender-inclusive housing policy Days into his second term, Trump issued an executive order that instructed federal agencies to stop promoting and funding “gender ideology.”

The order also rescinded a slew of Department of Education guidance for schools, including on building inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ students.

na Moreno requested that the Inspector General’s Office “investigate and monitor the ongoing investigation” into the complaint against Fields, “to ensure strict adherence to codified procedures.”

New Orleans Inspector General Ed Michel declined to comment Monday

Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@ theadvocate.com.

Ex-jail officer pleads not guilty to fraud

Man accused of falsifying time to pocket $80K

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

A former Jefferson Parish corrections officer has been formally charged with stealing about $80,000 by falsifying his time sheets.

Curtis Lumar, 44, pleaded not guilty Monday to theft

valued at $25,000 or greater Lumar had been with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, working at the correctional center in Gretna, for about nine years by the time of his arrest in May 2024, according to the department.

Investigators suspect Lumar logged about 2,000 phony work hours, both regular and overtime, during a six-month period of time in 2023, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

While large amounts of overtime isn’t unusual for jail staffers, according to the department But the excessive amounts reported by Lumar caught the attention of Sheriff’s Office officials, according to authorities. Lumar was fired after his arrest. He was released from jail May 9, 2024, on a $50,000 bond.

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate. com.

“If every there was someone in this profession for all the right reasons, it was Grant,” said John Thornhill, a detective with the Sheriff’s Office.

“He was the type of leader who did not view himself as superior to those he led He always said he was just a glorified deputy with stripes. That was Grant, always leading from the front, right there with his team.” Candies, 37, was struck and killed in the early-morning hours of Sunday, March 23, while deploying a spike strip to stop a speeding vehicle. Candies was struck by the vehicle on an Interstate 10 onramp near Oak Harbor, not far from where Tuesday’s funeral services were held

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens the other Grant wasn’t just iron. He was the whetstone He sharpened all of us, even though he might have been born down to nothing,” said Scott Goretzke, who served in the Marine Corps with Candies. Candies served in the Marine Corps from 2006-2013, rising to the rank of sergeant, and was an avionics technician and a martial arts program instructor while in the corps. He joined the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2016.

In 2023, Candies was pro-

RACE

Continued from page 1B

Parker, 70, mentioned jail overdoses, an issue that’s also been flagged by monitors of the jail’s decade-old consent decree, who have said they are difficult to track because of Sheriff’s Office poor record-keeping. At least two Sheriff’s Office inmates died from overdoses in 2023, The Times-Picayune has reported.

“Recently there have been people who have died from fentanyl overdoses right back here in the jail,” Parker said. “If that’s not enough to make you upset, to make you want to get up and do something when you know you can do it, I don’t know what can.” Parker pointed to his time on the bench, where he served for a time as the court’s chief judge and ran a drug court, with a goal to help addicts reenter society.

“I’ve enjoyed retirement, but I just can’t stand to see this go on when I know I have the expertise and knowledge to do something about it,” Parker said.

moted to sergeant and that year was also named Deputy of the Year after helping to save the lives of two people.

Candies also served in a mentorship role, working as a field training officer in the Criminal Division.

Audience members included police officers from out of state, top Louisiana law enforcement officers like New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick and deputies from the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office, where Candies’ father, Mark Candies, was a longtime captain.

“I want you to know your son had respect, honor and was very courageous You don’t get that by yourself. Thank you for you raising him the right way Your son should make you proud,”

Chad Keating, a family friend, told Mark Candies. Keating also addressed Candies’ wife, Courtney, whom Candies had met at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, and his two kids Brenna 13, and Bryson, 8, encouraging them to remain strong and proud of Candies.

The high-speed chase that led to Candies’ death started earlier in the night, when deputies tried to stop a vehicle without a license plate on Brownswitch Road in Slidell.

The driver refused to stop

Before taking the bench in 1996 Parker spent a year as a prosecutor on a federal task force A New Orleans native, he has a law degree from Southern University Law Center and spent four years as a prosecutor with the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office in the 1980s.

“I’ve been inside these jails,” Parker said “I’ve interviewed prisoners. I’ve tried every criminal case in the book, from arson to domestic violence. I’ve studied criminal law for 40 years. I know what needs to be done to treat people like human beings.”

Parker’s other opponents for sheriff include Edwin

and a high-speed pursuit ensued, eventually making its way to the Interstate 10 on-ramp where Candies was setting up a spike strip to try and disable the fleeing vehicle. After Candies was hit, the driver continued west over the twin span bridges before finally crashing into a New Orleans Police Department vehicle in New Orleans East.

The 17-year-old driver and two passengers, also 17, were arrested and have been booked with first-degree murder and other counts.

Despite the somber circumstances of his death, speakers noted Candies’ sense of humor and lightheartedness.

Sgt. Gretchen Sanders, who was once Candies’ supervisor meanwhile, recalled how Candies liked Sunday morning breakfast at Cracker Barrel and midnight coffee, and said those traditions needed to continue.

After the speakers finished, a bagpiper led Candies’ coffin draped in an American flag and surrounded by St. Tammany Parish sheriff’s deputies, to the hearse waiting outside the venue. From there, with overcast skies above, a procession of police officers on motorcycles escorted Candies’ coffin through Slidell and to a private burial at a cemetery off La. 41 in Pearl River

Email Willie Swett at willie.swett@theadvocate. com.

Shorty, the longtime 2nd City Constable in Algiers, and Michelle Woodfork, a retired longtime New Orleans police officer who held a brief stint as interim superintendent.

Seven months before November’s election, it’s an unusually active race, after Hutson’s first term was marred by a string of controversies and a dip in compliance with the federal consent decree.

In 2021, Hutson, the former New Orleans independent police monitor pulled off a shocking upset of former Sheriff Marlin Gusman, then a 17-year incumbent. Parker briefly emerged from retirement in 2022, when Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said he was bringing Parker on to help screen cases for prosecution.

Parker’s law license had lapsed at the time, however, and it appeared Williams backtracked from those plans. Parker’s license is now active, according to the Louisiana Bar directory

Now, Williams has endorsed Woodfork in this year’s race. He supported Hutson in 2021.

Police ID victims in 2 crashes

BY KASEY BUBNASH

have been identified by Louisiana State Police as 49-year-old Rene Davis, of Westwego, and 43-year-old Paul Garcia, of Des Allemands. Davis was driving a 2000 Ford F-150 on La 18 near Avondale Garden Road in Jefferson Parish on Sunday when he ran off the right side of the highway, police said.

Davis overcorrected and lost control of the truck, eventually swerving off the left side of the road and hitting two large pipes. The crash was reported to troopers at 7 p.m. Police said Davis was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene. “Impairment is believed to be a factor in this crash; standard toxicology samples were collected and submitted for analysis,” State Police said in a news release. “This crash remains under investigation.”

Garcia was riding a bicycle across U.S. 90 near Norman Avenue in St. Charles Parish early Monday when he was hit by a 2022 Audi Q5 that was traveling west on the highway, police said. The crash was reported to police at 1:30 a.m., and Garcia died at the scene. The driver of the Audi was wearing a seat belt and was not injured in the crash, police said. Police said routine blood samples were collected and will be analyzed and the crash remains under investigation.

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

A Westwego man facing several dozen counts of possession of child pornography recorded video of himself sexually abusing a minor and used software to digitally alter an image of the victim to make it pornographic, according to authorities.

The disturbing videos and images were discovered in email accounts and on devices linked to 61-year-old Darrell Devenny, according to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office.

Devenny appeared in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court on Monday for a bail hearing following his arrest last week on accusations of production of pornography involving juveniles, creating unlawful deepfake images, 55 counts of possession of pornography involving juveniles, three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and molestation.

A deepfake is video or au-

dio that has been manipulated to appear authentic or real using artificial intelligence technology

The Louisiana Bureau of Investigations received a tip in May about a sexually explicit image of an infant that had been uploaded using an email address linked to Devenny, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Agents got a search warrant for Devenny’s Westwego home and the email accounts registered to him. They discovered more lewd images of children as young as toddlers and infants, according to the authorities.

Among those images were videos of a sleeping child being fondled and touched by a man’s genitals, according to authorities. The man in the video was later identified as Devenny, investigators said. There were other sexually explicit videos of the child, who was between the age of 4 and 11 and identified as someone known to the Traylor, according to

authorities.

One image was taken when the child was in public and had been digitally altered to appear as if the child was nude, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

In interviews with investigators, Devenny admitted using specialized software to create pornographic images, authorities said. He also admitted viewing and saving the other explicit images of children, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Devenny’s bail had already been set at $110,000 on the 55 counts of child pornography possession. During Monday’s hearing, Jefferson Parish Criminal Commissioner David Wolff set bail at $700,000 on the remaining counts. Should Devenny make bail, Wolff also ordered that Devenny put be on an ankle monitor and barred from use of any computers. Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate. com.

Boudreaux, Shirley

Breaux,Augustine

Brown Brookshire, Angelica

Cascio,Anthony

Chattard Jr., Noel

Crane, Michael

Crews Jr., Louis

Culotta, Ethel

Elmer, Gaynel

Favorite, Stephen Jenkins, Laura

LeBlanc, Camille

Lilly, Betty

McConnell, Marilyn

Pearson, Robert Petty, Bernetta

Roop,Adrian

Stewart, Barbara

Teague, Michael

Trahan Sr., Robert E Jefferson

Services, Inc. and later Oil &Gas Marine Services, Inc. retiring as Chairman in 2006. Red served hiscountry honorably in the United States Navy. Atime of visitation for Red will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2025 from 9:00 am to 10:30amwith a Mass of Christianburial following promptly at 10:30 am, all at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Morgan City. Graveside services will be held privatelyby the family. TheVery Reverend Jay Bakerwill preside overthe services for Red. The familywould like to invite lovedones and friends to join them following the services at the Petroleum Club where they will gatherinmemory of Red. Red leavestocherish his wonderful memoryfive sons, Byron (Shannon) A. Adams Jr., Bruce (Jennifer) A. Adams Sr., Burt (Jodi) A. Adams, Brad A. Adams; and Ben (Dawn) A. Adams; grandchildren, Aubrey, Shay, Beau, Bruce Jr., Beth Ann, Colby, Rachel, Chelsea, Caroline, Benjamin and Lizzie; great grandchildren, Larkin, Felicity, Madeline,Sabrina, Declan, Lucien, Preston, Marie and two moregreat grandchildrenonthe way. He is also survivedbya host of otherrelativesand friends.

Serving as pallbearers are Bruce A. Adams, Jr., Colby Adams, Benjamin Adams, Byron A. "Beau" Adams, III, DavidLaBrosse, Alan Schlanker, Jason Lin, Preston Beattieand Clarence Robinson Jr

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Central Catholic at 2100 Cedar St. MorganCity, LA 70380. Fond memoriesand expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.har gravefuneralhome.com for the Adams Family.

procession to All Saints Mausoleum in Metairie Cemetery for their inurnment ceremony, together. In lieuofflowers, the family suggestsa donation to afavoritecharityinher name. Also, special thanks aredue to the wonderful in -home caregivers and Anvoi staff who so helped Shirley in her final days.

Breaux, Augustine 'Oogie'

Brookshire (Ursula), and Layla Baldwin; and her grandchildren Noah Phillips, Breanne Marler, Camille Marler, Ellington Marler, Taston Brookshire II, Theodore Brookshire, and Tobin Brookshire. She is also survived by her parents and siblingsBrande Brown, David Brown Jr., Melissa Baldwin, Paula Baldwin, and Samantha Brown. Angie is preceded in death by her sister Kelly Baldwin.

Angelica graduated from CharitySchool of Nursing in 1995 and dedicated over 20 years of her life to serving her community in NOLA, Covington, and Stuttgart,AR. Angie was amember at First Baptist Church of Covington, adie-hard Saintsfan, and amusic lover. She was asafe place for family, friends, and strangers alike and set an amazing example to those who knew her. "You can make adifference -Nothing is too small."

Elmer, Gaynel

New Orleans

Boyd Family

Chattard Jr., Noel Charbonnet

Favorite, Stephen Gertrude Geddes

Stewart, Barbara

Lake Lawn Metairie

Boudreaux, Shirley

Crane, Michael Culotta, Ethel

McConnell, Marilyn St Tammany

EJ Fielding

Jenkins, Laura Grace Funeral

Brown Brookshire, Angelica West Bank

Mothe

Breaux,Augustine

Lilly, Betty West Leitz-Eagan LeBlanc, Camille

Obituaries

Adams Sr., Byron A. 'Red'

Byron A. "Red" Adams Sr., age 91, of Patterson, Louisiana passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Red was born on June 21, 1933 in Marrero, LA to the late John Henry Adams and Florence Rose Amrein Adams. Along with his parents, Red was preceded in death by his loving wife of 64 years, Yvonne Adams and numerous siblings. Red has been engaged in various aspects of the oil industry most of his life; Contract LaborForeman for the California Company (Chevron) Bay Marchand area from 1952 until 1958; Division Manager for Arnold Pipe Rentalsfrom 1958 until 1964; Division Manager for Drilling Tools, Inc. from 1964 until 1967; and in November of 1967 founded Oil &Gas Rental Services, Inc. and later Oil &Gas Marine Services, Inc. retiring as Chairman in 2006. Red servedhis country honorably in the United States Navy. Atime of

Shirley K. Boudreaux, after abriefillness, peacefully departed thislifethe morning of 23 March 2025, at her home and surrounded by her lovedones.

Shirley Antonia Marguerite Kelt was alifelong resident of New Orleans, bornthere on 17 November1925. She attended Saints Peterand Paul grammar school and then Holy Angels Academy. In the midst of World War II, she marriedthe love of her life,Borne Boudreaux, with whom she had three sons. She was afiercely devotedand loving wife, mother, grandmotherand great-grandmother. Through all her years, her innate joy and fresh enthusiasm for life never dimmed. Resourceful, highly intelligent and always perceptive,she excelledinher chosen role as homemaker- especially in theleanerearlyyears of marriage.Later she traveled the world with her insurance executive husband, ever full of curiosity and delight in theiradventures.What she enjoyed most weregardening playing cards with dear friends, reading andcooking -and she was an avid Saints football fan tillthe last! She was also a deeply religious person, very involvedinher parish church, St. Pius X. Her Catholic faith was her bedrock. Shirley was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years: Borne P. Boudreaux Sr; by herparents: Harold and Elinora Kelt; by her sisters: Doris Cusimano, Audrey Cortez and Gloria Dibos; by herbrothers: Harold Kelt Jr and Douglas Kelt; and by two of her sons: Borne P. "Sonny" Boudreaux Jr andJack C. Boudreaux, PhD. She is survived by two siblings: BeverlySamuel and Richard Kelt;byher son: David A. Boudreaux MD (Richard Nesbitt); by her grandchildren: Shannon ScheuflerMD (MichaelCaluda MD), B. Paul Boudreaux III (Denyse Haddock), Bridget Boudreaux MD (Dane St John MD), Andree Grove (David) and Monique Kelly (Kevin); and by ten greatgrandchildren: William, Paige and Emily Grove; Collin and Caraline Scheufler; Connor and Borne IV Boudreaux; and Reed, Paul and Iris St. John. Visitation will begin at 10 AM on 8April 2025which is Shirley and Borne's anniversary -at St.Pius XChurch in Lake Vista, followed by a11AM Mass. After thisservice, there will be an escorted procession to All Saints Mausoleum in Metairie Cemetery for theirinurnment ceremony,together. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests adonation to afavorite charity in her

Itiswithheavyhearts thatweannouncethe passingofAugustine Oogie”Breaux,acher‐ishedlifelongresidentof theWestbankofNewOr‐leansOogiedepartedthis worldonMarch30,2025,in her84thyear,leavingbe‐hindalegacyoflovekind‐ness,andcherishedmem‐ories.BornonJanuary16 1941,inNewOrleans LouisianaOogiewasavi‐brantsoulwhosespirit touchedtheheartsofall whohadtheprivilegeof knowingher.Withhergen‐tlesmileshebrightened countlessdaysandem‐bodiedtheessenceof compassionandcareHer passionforgardeningwas areflectionofhernurtur‐ingnatureasshetended toherplantswiththe sameloveanddedication sheshowedherfamilyand friendsOogieleavesbe‐hindchildrenSusanBreaux andJasonBrunet,bothof whomhavebeenshaped byherunwaveringlove andsupport.Herniece ElizabethDoucet,alsore‐membersthejoyfulmo‐mentstheyshared,asher AuntOogiewasasourceof strengthandguidancein herlife.Shewaspreceded indeathbyherbeloved mother,IsabelleGuidry, andhersisterPatricia Doucet,bothofwhomwel‐comedherwithopenarms intheembraceofeternity Oogie'sheartwillforever beentwinedwiththatof hergodchild,JodyDoucet Macaluso,whocarries fondmemoriesoftheir timetogether.Avisitation tohonorOogie'slifewill takeplaceonApril32025 from9:00a.mto11:00a.m atMotheFuneralHomes locatedat2100Westbank Expressway,inHarvey,LA Afuneralservicewillfol‐lowat11:00a.mTheburial willtakeplaceimmedi‐atelyfollowingatRestlawn ParkCemetery,3540US-90 Avondale,LA70094.Aswe gathertorememberand celebratethebeautifullife ofAugustineBreauxwe honorherspirit,herdedi‐cationtofamilyandthe loveshegenerously shared,whichwillcontinue toliveonintheheartsof thoseshetouchedRestin peacedearOogie.Youwill beprofoundlymissed.

BrownBrookshire, Angelica Marie

Angelica Marie Brown Brookshire, age 51, of Kenner passed away on March 18, 2025. She was born on September 22, 1973, in New Orleans, LA to Wanda Baldwin and David Brown, Sr. Angie is survived by her children MandaBrown (Randall), Taston Brookshire (Ursula), and Layla Baldwin; and her grandchildren Noah Phillips, Breanne Marler, Camille Marler, Ellington Marler, Taston Brookshire II, and is ents Brown, Melissa Bald Brown. death Bald Ange graduated from CharitySchool of Nursing in 1995 and dedicated over 20 years of her life to serving her community in NOLA, Covington, and Stuttgart,AR. Angie was amember at First Baptist Church of Covington, adie-hard Saintsfan, and amusic lover. She was asafe place for family, friends, and strangers alike and set an amazing example to those who knew her.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral services at Grace Funeral Home, 450 Holy Trinity Drive, Covington, LA 70433 on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 11:30 AM with visitationonSaturday from 9:30 AM until 11:30 AM. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in memory of Angelica may be madetoTeam Gleason made at https://teamgleason.org/.

Anthony Philip "Tony" Cascio, 81, of Metairie, Louisiana, died on November 10, 2024. He suffered acardiac arrest and later died surrounded by his family.

Born and raised in New Orleans to Charles Rosario Cascio and Bernice Bellman Cascio, he was the second of three brothersCharles John Cascio (Sarah Scanio) and Dennis Joseph Cascio, all who preceeded him in death. After high school, he joined the U.S. Navy where he served 3 years. An avid sportsman, he loved boating, fishing and crabbing. Known for his congenial personality, he was afavorite among his friendsand family"Funcle Anthony" was adored by his nieces Kim Cascio McLemore (Sal) and Chris Cascio Gannon (Hector), his nephew Chuck Cascio (Janet) and his great niece Callie McLemore. Tony liked the slot machines and it was on abus trip to alocal casino where he met Sheryl Klinger, his devoted girlfriend for thelast 10 years of his life.

He is survived by his nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews and many cousins. AFuneral Mass was held at St. Philip Neri in Metairie and he is interred at Greenwood Cemetary with his mother, brother Charlie and beloved sister-in-law Sarah.

Afteralifewelllived, NoelJosephChattardJr., affectionatelyknownas "No,""Al,"and"Rookie," departedthislifeat56 restingpeacefullyinhis sleepHismothercameto carryhersonhomeonce againBornatwinonJune 30,1968,toGraceandNoel ChattardSr.inChicago,he movedtoNewOrleansat three—aplacethatbe‐camehistruehome.A proudAlceeFortierHigh SchoolalumnusClassof 1986,Noelwasalwaysata picnicorreunion,beerand raginhandHeworkedat TulaneUniversity,Xavier University,andseveral FrenchQuarterrestau‐rantsNoeltheself-pro‐claimed"BestoftheBest," lovedcompetitionandso‐cializingHewasaproud dadadotinggrandpa,and afun-lovingunclewho adoredchildren.Healways madetimeforfamilyHeis survivedbyhisdaughters, grandchildrensignificant other,siblings,andex‐tendedfamilyFamilyand friendsareinvitedtoat‐tendtheCelebrationofLife ServiceonSaturday,April 52025,from10:00a.m–2:00p.m.atTheEventistry, 2800HigginsBlvd,NewOr‐leans,70126.Intermentis private.Onlineguestbook: wwwanewtraditionbegins. com(504)282-0600.Don‐avinD.BoydandLinear BrooksBoydOwners/Fu‐neralDirectors

K. Cranepassed away on March 27, 2025 at 81 years of age. He was born on November 14, 1943 in San Antonio, Texas. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in San Antonio before moving to NewOrleanstoattend Loyola University. There, he was amember of Beggars Fraternity and earned aBachelor in Business Administration. In this time of changing jobs frequently, Michael was an anomaly. Hisentire career of nearly 42 years was spentinthe service of one company, Stewart Enterprises, Inc. While a student at Loyola, he took aweekend summer job at Lake LawnPark Cemetery answering calls and assisting sales professionals with their leads. He became afull-time sales counselor in 1964. Over the next four decades, he advanced through multiple positions- sales group manager, sales director, preneed sales director, and vice president of sales at Stewart Enterprises. He was the recipientofnumerous awards and accolades including recognition as the top salesperson in the country by the Prearrangement Interment Association of America and its Counselor of the Year five years in arow. He wasa PaulHarris Fellow of the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. As his career advanced, Michael moved into the executive ranks of Stewart Enterprises ultimately becoming President of the Central Division, the position he helduntil retiringin 2005. Michael was agenuine southern gentleman to all whoknew him. He was adevoutCatholic and most recently aparishioner of St. Peter Catholic Church in Covington. In his retirement, he enjoyed many pursuits, including golfing, swimming, traveling and the outdoors. He was alongsuffering and loyal Saints fan. Most of all, he enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and grand dogs. He is preceded in death by his parents, John M. Crane and Julia "Judy" Brown Crane, and brother, Jon Stephen Crane. Michael was aloving, generousand devoted husband survived years, Crane; Michelle Michael Allan (Marjorie), Rene Cran children,P Crane; Warren family gives thank you to Ochsner Health System, particularly St. TammanyParish Hospital in Covington, Dr. Craig Seicshnaydre, and the exemplary skilled and compassionate 3rd floor care team. Relatives and friends are invited to attend aFuneral Mass at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124 on Thursday, April 3, 2025,

ents, JohnM.Crane and Julia "Judy" Brown Crane, and brother, Jon Stephen Crane. Michael was aloving, generousand devoted husband and father. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Barbara Kogos Crane; daughter, Emily Michelle Crane; sons, Michael Keith Crane, Jr., Allan Charles Crane (Marjorie), and Jeffrey Rene Crane(Janet); grandchildren,Paul and Judy Crane; and brother, Warren PatrickCrane. The family gives aheartfelt thank you to Ochsner Health System, particularly St. TammanyParish Hospital in Covington, Dr. Craig Seicshnaydre, and the exemplary skilled and compassionate 3rd floor care team. Relatives and friends are invited to attend aFuneral Mass at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124 on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at12:00 p.m. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. until service time. Interment will follow at Metairie Cemetery in All Saints Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers, please consider adonation to St. Michael's Special School,1522 Chippewa St., New Orleans, LA 70130 or Little Sisters of the Poor, 1655 McGill Ave., Mobile, AL 36604. To share your fond thoughts, memories, and condolences with thefamily, please visit the online guestbook at lakelawnmetairie.com.

Lafaye Crews, is survived by his wife Barbee Magruder Crews; three children Louis Sherwood "Chip" CrewsIII (Shannon), Stephen Paul Crews (Kirsten), Kaylyn Crews Burmaster (Adam); four grandchildren Collin Crews, CatherineCrews, Alexander "Alex" Burmaster, and Elizabeth "Ellie" Burmaster; his siblings Catherine Crews Courtney (Cory), Lynn Crews Solorio (Rudy), Beverly Crews McQuaid, and John E. Crews (Marie); many adored nieces and nephews; and his cherished cousins. Woody was most at home in aduck blind at sunrise or at the end of a dock -rod in one hand, whiskey in the other. He had atalent for turning any hunting or fishing trip into alegendary story. And if you were lucky enough to hear one, you'd swear you were rightthere with him. He loved agood joke, astrong drink, and giving the people he caredabout ahard time. Beneath the jokes was aman who loved deeply, always showing up for family and friends when it mattered most. Aproud member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity at Tulane University (Class of 1980), Woody forged lifelongbonds and earned his reputation as a vibrant and respected presence in the community. His passion for hunting and fishing naturally led him to dedicate his free time to conservation projects, serving on the board of Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) since 1998. Woody was awarded the CRCL's Lifetime Achievement Award for Coastal Stewardship in 2019. Evenings at his beloved Tally Ho Club were where truly surrounded by swapping and filling quiet bayou elebration of be held on from 2to5 akehouse New and friends to remilass, and honor aman who was larger than life. Casual attire is encouraged.

Adams Sr., Byron

Crane, Michael K.

Michael

Garden of Memories

Cascio, Anthony Philip 'Tony'

Crews Jr., Louis Sherwood 'Woody'

Louis Sherwood "Woody" Crews Jr anative New Orleanian and avid sportsman, passed away peacefully at his home on March 25, 2025, at the age of 66. Woody, son of the late Louis Sherwood Crews Sr. and Joyce

Pearson, Robert Leitz-Eagan

Boudreaux, Shirley K.

Chattard Jr., Noel Joseph

projects, serving on the board of Coalition to Restore CoastalLouisiana (CRCL) since 1998. Woody was awarded the CRCL's Lifetime Achievement Award for Coastal Stewardship in 2019.

Evenings at his beloved Tally Ho Club were where Woody's spirit truly shined— surrounded by good friends, swapping great stories, and filling the normallyquiet bayou with laughter.

Acelebration of Woody's life will be held on Friday, April 11 from 2to5 pm at The Lakehouse New Orleans. Familyand friends will come together to reminisce, raise aglass, and honor aman who was larger than life. Casual attire is encouraged.

Born Nov. 7,1924 in New Orleans, LA to the late Tilghman George Chachere Jr. and Gertrude Coralie Levy Chachere. The wifeof the late Vincent ACulotta Sr. MD died peacefullyat home on March 26, 2025. Sister of the late Elizabeth C. Brennan (William) of LaMirada Ca., the late Coralie C. Liberto (Vincent), the late Naomi C. Bonnabel (Guion), the late Tilghman G. Chachere III (Lavicia), and the late Robert E. Chachere (Georgette).Mother of Vincent A. Culotta Jr. MD (Mimi), Salvador P. Culotta (Patricia), Gertrude Culotta McGarvey (Charles), Pascal Mark Culotta (Leslie), and the late Frances Culotta Schmeeckle (Frederick), and the late John Tilghman Culotta (Eileen). Grandmother of the late Vincent A. Culotta III. Survived by 18 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. In lieu of flowers, have amass said at St Francis Xavier church or donations to the Trey Culotta Wrestling Fund at Brother Martin High School. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the service at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home on Saturday April 5, 2025. Visitation willbe from 10 a.m. until the mass at noon. Interment to follow within Metairie Cemetery

Elmer,

GaynelAmedeeElmer bornonOctober13,1965 passedawayonThursday, March27,2025.Beloved wifeof40yearstoThad ElmerMotherofChelsey ElmerBurgess(Devvin) andKaylaElmerWeber (Matthew).Mostbeloved andcherishedGrand‐mother“Nelie”toBlair CatherineBurgess,Nora JoyBurgess,JackJoseph BurgessandBabyWeber dueinOctober,2025.Sur‐vivedbysiblings,Lawrence Amedee,Jr(Linda),Wayne Amedee(Debbie),LaurieA Bernard(Ronald),KarenA Demoruelle(Guy),and MaryAmedee.Prede‐ceasedbyhermotherand fatherJoyV.Amedeeand LawrenceAmedee,Sr.Also survivedbymanynieces andnephewsandprede‐ceasedbynephewsJustin WeaverandDylanCashio GaynelwasborninNew Orleans,marriedherchild‐hoodsweetheart,and raisedherfamilyin Metairie.Shelovedgarden‐inghuntingthebeach andallthingsbling.But mostofall,herlifecen‐teredaroundherhusband, daughters,andgrandchil‐dren,whomsheloved dearly.Herglamorous smileandheartofgoldwill foreverbemissed.Rela‐tivesandfriendsofthe familyareinvitedtoattend theMemorialonFriday April4,2025.Visitationwill beatLeitz-EaganFuneral Home,4747Veterans MemorialBlvd.,Metairie, LAfrom11:00a.mto2:00 p.m.,withmassfollowing at2:00p.mIntermentwill beatGreenwoodCeme‐teryNewOrleansLAThe familyinvitesyoutoshare yourthoughts,fondmemo‐riesandcondolenceson‐lineatwwwleitzeaganf uneralhome.com

MemorialBlvd.,Metairie, LAfrom11:00a.mto2:00 p.m.,withmassfollowing at2:00p.m.Intermentwill beatGreenwoodCeme‐teryNewOrleansLAThe familyinvitesyoutoshare yourthoughts,fondmemo‐riesandcondolenceson‐lineatwwwleitzeaganf uneralhome.com

Favorite, Stephen Roy

StephenRoyFavorite,a devotedhusbandandfa‐therandlongtimeresident ofNewOrleans,LAunex‐pectedlydepartedthis earthlylifedoingwhathe loved,creatingsomething forotherstoenjoy.Ana‐tiveofVacherie,Louisiana, he'sgraduateofStJames HighandSouthernUniver‐sitybeforeembarkingona careerasacertifiedcon‐structionprojectmanager andalicensedgeneral contractor.Hewasfounder andCEOofSRFGroupCon‐sulting,anarchitectural designandprojectman‐agementfirm,andF3Man‐agement,whichdeveloped multi-familyhousingcom‐munitiesinsouth LouisianaTocherishmem‐oriesofmomentstogether Stephenleavesbehindhis wifeandbestfriendof32 years,TereseBennettFa‐vorite;sons,Aaron,Mar‐cusandEtienne;grand‐children,Layla,Ethan,Dev‐ereaux,ZiggyandEdison Favorite;siblings,Wilson, Jr.(Elaine),James(Va‐lerie),Anthony,Kathleen, andJulietteFRichardson (Jerry);brothers-in-law, AngeloisWashington,Sr. TimothyBennett(Janice); sisters-in-law,Gabriella andXochitlBennett;anda hostofotherrelativesand veryclosefriends.Hewas predeceasedbyhispar‐ents,WilsonSrand BerthaPierreFavorite;and hissisterMarieRoseanne FWashingtonFuneralser‐viceandintermentwillbe heldatSt.JamesCatholic ChurchandCemetery6613 LA-18,St.James,LAonFri‐day,April4,2025at11:00 am.ACelebrationofLife willbeheldatXavierUni‐versityofLouisiana’sAd‐ministrationBuildingAudi‐torium1DrexelDriveNew Orleans,LA,onSaturday, April5,at3:00pm.Inlieu offlowers,thefamilyre‐questsdonationsbemade totheLeukemiaandLym‐phomaSocietyathttps:// pageslls.org/ltn/msla/ NOrleans25/favoritefam ilyandfriendsnolainhis memory

LauraShirleanJenkins, ofBushLouisiana,passed awaylastThursday.Sheis survivedbyherchildren ClineJenkins,DeAnnJenk‐insandDouglasJenkins; grandchildrenPaige ThompsonandTiffany Jenkinsandagreat-grand‐child,AdleighWattsSheis alsosurvivedbyhersisters EllenRaeFeltsandJoNell King.Shewasprecededin deathbyherhusband,Car‐rollHowardJenkins.Be‐causesheseeslifeasfull ofunendingopportunities forlove,learningandkind‐ness,sherequestedthat herdateofbirthanddate ofdeathnotappearinthis obituary,norwillitever appearonhertombstone Shewasafoundational memberofBushMethodist ChurchInlieuofflowers contributionsinmemoryof Shirleanmaybemadeto BushMethodistChurch Also,shewasaformer schoolbusdriverwholeft lastingimpressionsonher studentsandshewasthe ownerofasmallbusiness, BackstreetinCovington andMandevillefor25 yearsVisitationtohonor herwillbeginat12:00PM onFriday,April42025,fol‐lowedbyherfuneralser‐viceat2:00PM:E.JField‐ingFuneralHome2260 West21stAvenue,Coving‐tonLouisiana.Herinter‐mentwillfollowinherfam‐ilycemetery27494High‐way40,Bush,Louisianafol‐lowedbyarepassather homenextdoorE.JField‐ingFuneralHomeofCov‐ington,Louisiana,ishon‐oredtobeentrustedwith thefuneralarrangements TheJenkinsfamilyinvites

wa‐lowedbyarepassather homenextdoorE.JField‐ingFuneralHomeofCov‐ington,Louisianaishon‐oredtobeentrustedwith thefuneralarrangements TheJenkinsfamilyinvites youtosharethoughts, memories,andcondo‐lencesbysigninganonline guestbookatwwwejfield ingfh.com

LeBlanc, Camille Jane Majoria 'Dubby

CamilleJaneMajoria LeBlanc,"Dubby",age88, enteredintoeternalrest onMarch30,2025sur‐roundedbyherchildren Sheisprecededindeath byhermotherAnnaCol‐luraMajoria,fatherMur‐phyGMajoria,theloveof herlife,herhusbandLee JamesLeBlanc,herbroth‐ersMurphyEandJohnny Majoria,hersister JosephineLedetandsonin-lawJohnHerndon Dubbyissurvivedbyher children,Michael(Cheryl), David(Roseanne),Blaine Paula,andStephen(Ivy) LeBlanc;herbrotherAn‐thony"Tony"Majoria; grandchildrenDamian, Ross(Anne),Seth(Mar‐garet),andConnor LeBlancLeighAnn(Chris) Engle,ChetHebertIV (Rachel),JordanTranchina (Dallas),LindseyMoreau, SkylerBlanchard(Nikki) SheldonandSavannahWil‐son;great-grandchildren Allison,Amber,Anthony, LeeAtticus,Luke,andBon‐nieLeBlanc;Caleighand CarolyneEngle,Penelope Nicholson,RoriRose Hebert,andBeauxandLot‐tieBlanchard.Shealso leavesbehindnumerous familyandfriendsinclud‐ingFatherPatrickAn‐gelucciDubbywasalife‐longwifeandstay-athomeMamaShelovedher childrenfiercelyandun‐conditionally,andthey lovedherHerlovenever failed.Therewasnevera problemthatMamacould notfix.Resteasy,Mama Flyhighoneagle'swings Thefamilywouldliketo extendtheirgratitudeto SouthernGraceHospice, especiallytoAlexis,Chris‐tineandShannonfortheir lovingcaretoMs.Camille duringhertimeofneed VisitationforMs.LeBlanc willbeheldatVisitationof OurLadyCatholicChurch inMarreroLouisianaon April3,2025beginningat 10:30AM,withMasstofol‐lowat12:00PM.Dubbywill belaidtorestwithher husbandatWestlawn CemeteryinGretna

BettyLawsonLilly,born onMarch4,1933,inNew Orleans,Louisianapassed awayonMarch28,2025,in Gretna,LouisianaBetty willberememberedasa devotedmemberofher familyandcommunity, whoselegacywillliveonin theheartsofmany.For39 yearsBettydedicatedher‐selftohercareerasalongtimeemployeeofGMAC, whereshedemonstrated unwaveringcommitment andsteadfastprofession‐alism.Shewasnotonlyre‐spectedasahardworking employeebutalsocher‐ishedasaloyalcolleague Bettywasapassionatefan oftheSaintsandLSU,em‐bodyingthespiritofdedi

spectedasahardworking employeebutalsocher‐ishedasaloyalcolleague. Bettywasapassionatefan oftheSaintsandLSU,em‐bodyingthespiritofdedi‐cationandloyaltythatshe demonstratedthroughout herlife.Herloveforcook‐ing,especiallyduringthe holidays,broughtherfam‐ilytogether,fillingtheir homeswithwarmth, laughteranddelicious mealsthatwillbefondly rememberedbyallwho gatheredaroundhertable Knownforherangelic spirit,Bettywaskindand givingShewasasupport‐ivepresenceinthelivesof herfamilyandfriendsal‐waysgoingaboveandbe‐yondtoofferassistance andsolaceHerdevotion extendedbeyondherfam‐ily;shewasadedicated caregiverforherbeloved mother,MildredLawson whopredeceasedherShe foundjoyinservingothers andwasactiveinher CatholicChurchcontribut‐ingtogroupssuchasSt Andrew’sLadiesGuild,the SagesandtheLadyofFa‐timaprayergroupBetty's favoriteresponsewhen someoneexpressedtheir loveforherwasaheartfelt Loveyoumore,"illustrat‐ingherunwaveringaffec‐tionforthosearoundher Sheleavesbehindherlov‐ingdaughters,Gwen(Pat) RyanandGerry(Chuck) Blumenthal.Hercherished grandsons,BradleySulli‐vanColbyBlumenthal Tyler(Amanda)Blumen‐thal,andShaneRyan alongwithhergreatgrand‐sonBeauxBlumenthal willcarryforwardtheval‐uesandlovesheinstilled inthemHersiblings Robert“Bobby”Lawson (Patsy),Theodore“Teddy Lawson,Michael“Mike” LawsonandDwight“Ike Lawson(Charlotte).Betty alsoembracedherstep grandsons,Scott(Kira) RyanandShaun(Shelly) Ryan,andtookprideinher stepgreat-grandsons William,Aidan,Shaun,and IanRyanaswellasallof herniecesandnephews BettyLawsonLillyledalife ofloveserviceanddedi‐cation,leavinganindelible markonallwhohadthe privilegeofknowingher Shewillbedeeplymissed butforeverhonoredinthe memoriesshecreatedwith herfamilyandfriends Friendsandfamilyarein‐vitedtoattendavisitation onThursday,April3,2025 atMotheFuneralHome 2100WestbankExpress‐wayinHarveyLAbegin‐ningat5p.muntil7p.m; andwillcontinueagainon Friday,April4,2025at9:30 a.matSt.Andrewthe ApostleChurchinAlgiers TheFuneralMasswillfol‐lowat11a.m.onFriday, April4,2025atSt.Andrew theApostle.Theburialwill beheldprivatelyinWest‐lawnMemorialParkata laterdate.Pleasevisit wwwmothefuneralscom toviewandsigntheonline guestbook

Celeste McConnell died under hospice care at St. Anna's at LambethHouse on Saturday, March 30, 2025. She was 91 years old. A fourth generationTampan Marilyn was born in 1933 to Mary Celeste Dossel McConnell and Milton Hayes McConnell. After graduation from Hillsborough HighSchool, Marilyn received her R.N. from Orange Memorial Nursing School. She later earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Tulane University. During her professional career, Marilyn was an essential part of Dr. William Waring's Pediatric SpecialtyClinic at Tulane Medical School formany years, and later continued her work with children at the New Orleans Adolescent Hospital. She finished her medical ca-

years, andlater continued her work with children at the New Orleans AdolescentHospital. She finished her medical career at the Jefferson Parish Substance Abuse Clinic as aDual Diagnosis Counselor. She also was the proud owner of The Great American Kitty Cat Store for several years during the 1980s, one of her favorite undertakings. Marilyn was achampion for women and aleader in civil rights advocacy for lesbians. She committed her time, talents, and treasure to the work of the Human RIghts Campaign (HRC), Parents and Friends of Lesbiansand Gays (PFLAG), the Forum for Equality (FFE), Planned Parenthood, and the ACLU For many years, Marilyn also wrote columns for Impact, anewspaper serving the New Orleans LGBTQ community, andwas one of the founders of Mamou, alocal lesbian education and discussion group that has now been meeting bimonthly for over 38 years.

Marilyn was alover of four-legged critters, whether pure bred or mongrel, rescue or feral, and wasMama to numerous dogs and cats throughout her life, the smallest of which -Peaches -now survives her Marilyn was ajoyful and beautifulwoman- generous, intelligent, kind, inclusive, and simply exceptional. She was apowerhouse, with steel in her spine and warmth in her smile. A much beloved, albeit unwilling, icon. She wasa great athlete, committed to her fitness. From running marathons, to competinginthe Senior Olympicsinbasketball with the Silver Slammers, and finally all the fitness events she could manage at Lambeth House.

This world is abetter place because Marilyn lived. Her family and friends, both two and fourfooted, shall miss her but will remain filled with the love and care andkindness she gave so generously.

Marilyn is survived by her beloved spouse of 50 years, Dr. Jody Gates, and by her Florida family: sister Ann, nieces Stephanie and Tracy, and their wonderful children and grandchildren

She is also survived by her numerousNew Orleans chosen family, especially her "Wubble" buddies: Bonnie, Carol, Jennifer, Judy, Linda, Mickie, and Regina. Marilyn's NOLA chosen family even increased (if such were possible!) during the last seven years with theaddition of all the newfriends she made while livingat Lambeth House.

Special thanks to the staff and administration of Lambeth House, especially St. Anna's, and to Guardian Angel Hospice.

AMemorial Service will be held on Monday, April 7, 2025 at 12 noon in the chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home with visitation from 10 AM until service time Inurnmentwill be private.

Memorial gifts may be made to an animal rescue charity of yourchoice, or the Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org).

To share your fond thoughts, memories, and condolences with thefamily, please visit the online guestbook at lakelawnmetairie.com.

Robert“Bob”Edward Pearson,91,ofMetairie, Louisianapassedaway peacefullyonFriday, March28,2025.Bobwas bornonFebruary8,1934,in LakeVillageArkansasto thelateJamesBoydPear‐sonandthelateOdessa SwaimPearson.Hewas precededindeathbyhis parentsandsisterJane Pearson.Bobwasaloving husband,stepfatherand grandfatherHeleavesbe‐hindhiswifeJeannieRue Pearson,withwhomhe shared40yearsoflove partnership,anddedica‐tiontofamily;hisdaugh‐ter,ElizabethRueBrennan, hisson,StephenRobert Rue(ElizabethHerberg) granddaughters,Brooke BridgemanBrennan(Mac Brennan),AshleyElizabeth Brennan(JackSchwietz) andGiGiEliseHerberg, alongwithhisbrother-inlaw,J.RobertAtesBob wasanaccomplishedath‐leteinfootball,basketball, andtrackinhighschool, whichearnedhimafull athleticscholarshiptoat‐tendtheUniversityof Arkansas,wherehewasa proudmemberoftheRa‐zorbackfootballteamIn Januaryof1957,Bobgradu‐atedfromtheUniversityof ArkansaswithaBachelor ofSciencedegreeinBusi‐nessAdministration,which setBobupforasuccessful lifelongbusinesscareer Bobalsoproudlyserved thiscountrythatheso lovedspending30yearsin theArmyReserves,retiring in1985asaLieutenant ColonelRelativesand friendsareinvitedtoat‐tendBob’sfuneralservices onThursday,April32025 atGardenofMemoriesFu‐neralHome,4900Airline DriveMetairieLouisiana 70001.Visitationwillbe heldfrom12:00pm–1:00 pm,withaservicebegin‐ningat1:00pmAburial willtakeplaceimmedi‐atelyafterservicesinGar‐denofMemoriesCemetery withMilitaryHonorsIn lieuofflowers,thefamily requestthatdonationsbe madeinBob’smemoryto theWoundedWarriorPro‐ject.Onlinecondolences maybeofferedatwwwgar denofmemoriesmetairie. com

Pearson, Robert Edward 'Bob'

Culotta, Ethel Chachere

Petty, Bernetta

Bernetta Petty of Crown Point, Louisiana, beloved mother of 4children, passed away on March 30, 2025. Born in Crown Point, LA on February 10, 1960 to Joseph L. Petty Sr. and Emelda J. Petty. Bernetta was adevoted mother to Sylvester L. McGrew III, Amber S. Simon, Joshua L. McGrew and Enrica N. Petty her pride andjoy. Bernetta took special joy in becoming a Service will be held on April 12th at New Zion Christian Family Worship

Gaynel Amedee

McConnell, Marilyn

Marilyn

community, and was one of the founders of Mamou, alocal lesbian education

Jenkins, Laura Shirlean

Lilly, Betty Lawson

End

landmark Denka lawsuit should not end discussion on environment

Amid a frenzy of changes as the new administration in Washington remakes government, one shift that deserves greater discussion is the recent Department of Justice decision to drop a federal lawsuit against the Denka Performance Elastomer plant in St. John the Baptist Parish. The plant, which makes neoprene, a synthetic rubber used in wetsuits, automotive parts and the like, is owned by a Japan-based company that acquired it from DuPont in 2015. It has long been the target of concern by local residents, who say that emissions from the plant have affected their air quality and health

They were encouraged when the Environmental Protection Agency under President Joe Biden took an aggressive stance on the case. The plant sits in the Mississippi River corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans which is home to scores of petrochemical plants. The EPA referred the case to DOJ, which filed suit in the Eastern District of Louisiana in 2023, charging that the predominantly Black residents near the plant faced “imminent and substantial endangerment” as a result of the emissions. It promised to be a landmark case that would put the issue of environmental justice, or whether minority communities face disproportionate impact from polluters, front and center.

But on March 7, the Department of Justice dismissed the suit, saying in a statement that it was doing so to align with President Donald Trump’s executive order to curb diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in government.

New EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has vowed to root out environmental justice programs and has fired workers who focused on it. Gov. Jeff Landry and state Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Aurelia Giacometto cheered the end of the legal action.

As for Denka, it faces ongoing litigation over its chloroprene emissions. And that’s what we’d like to home in on.

It doesn’t matter if one believes in the goals of the environmental justice movement or if one agrees that the EPA’s efforts should be focused elsewhere. There remains a worrying state of affairs in St. John the Baptist The residents there still live in the census tract that faces the highest risk of cancer from air pollution in the nation, according to an EPA study The school district is preparing to close a school less than a half mile from the plant amid a discrimination case involving children’s exposure to the cancer-causing agent. Residents from groups like RISE St. James Louisiana and Concerned Citizens for St. John still keep a watchful eye on air quality Zeldin said that existing regulations can protect our communities “without stretching the bounds of the law.” We genuinely hope so And we urge both state and federal officials to show that by committing to stringent air quality monitoring in the area and holding Denka accountable for any lapses. We believe thriving industry and environmental protection can go hand in hand. But only if the government doesn’t abandon its role as referee.

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.

I ask everyone to stop for a moment and think — not as a Republican or Democrat, but as an American. Ask yourself one simple question: If any president of the United States did the following, would you accept it?

n Allowed an unelected billionaire, with foreign business ties, to access classified government data giving him influence over national security and public policy with no accountability

n Cut funding for veterans, Social Security and Medicaid, abandoning those who served our country, seniors who worked their entire lives and families struggling to make ends meet.

n Turned the White House into a personal marketplace, selling cars on the front lawn to benefit a private business associate blurring the lines between public service and personal profit.

n Publicly praised a brutal dictator responsible for jailing and killing political opponents while insulting and alienating NATO allies who have fought alongside us in war and kept global instability in check.

n Imposed reckless tariffs that crushed American farmers and busi-

nesses, causing layoffs and skyrocketing prices — all while claiming it was part of a master plan.

n Fired inspectors general, the only watchdogs responsible for exposing fraud, waste and abuse making it easier for corruption to flourish in the highest levels of government.

n Ignored the Constitution, checks and balances and the rule of law, demanding personal loyalty over loyalty to the country If any president — any president — did these things, would you stand by and accept it? Would you justify it because of party loyalty? Would you stay silent while democracy crumbles before your eyes?

I ask these questions not to divide, but to demand reflection. Because if we wouldn’t accept these actions from one leader, we should never accept them from another Our nation was built on truth, accountability and justice — not blind loyalty to any one person or party.

America is bigger than one individual. Democracy is worth fighting for The Constitution must be protected The question is, will you stand up before it’s too late?

U.S. REP TROY A CARTER SR. Louisiana’s Second Congressional District

La. should not be in lawsuit

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE

I am pleading with Attorney General Liz Murrill and Gov Jeff Landry as one of their constituents and to them as loving parents. Please remove Louisiana from the list of states asking for the discontinuation of 504 programs. These programs were developed and designed to protect children from being treated badly or unfairly because of their intellectual or developmental disabilities. Why are we wanting to get rid of these programs? If your child were disabled, would you not fight for their inalienable rights as an American? I have two beautiful granddaughters who will be directly affected by such a tragic action. These children cannot speak for themselves. In many cases, they cannot speak at all. These children (and consequentially, their parents/grandparents) have autism. They need special accommodations that would enable them to progress and survive in this world. Doctors must give clear information to people with these types of disabili-

ties. 504 programs help these children. Elimination of 504 programs will leave disabled children behind to wither like an unwatered and unfed flower Decisions about these children’s opportunities and accommodations should be determined by doctors and educators, no one else. The class action lawsuit wants to get rid of the 504 program (not just the updates these states disagree with). Getting rid of the program would be like “throwing our precious babies out with the bath water.” This action would be disastrous for these disabled children and would undo 50 years of progress for our children, our future. Don’t sue the U.S government to exterminate 504. This isn’t right. These children deserve the same rights to education as their neurotypical peers. Murrill and Landry should do the right thing and remove Louisiana from this list of developmental assassins.

TIM CARLOS Baton Rouge

Emily Woodruff’s article on March 17 about Louisiana residents’ mistrust of vaccines following the COVID-19 pandemic fails to detail the connection. Recall briefly that Dr Anthony Fauci and Dr Deborah Birx’s policy “recommendations” led to lockdowns and then lockouts if one didn’t get the shot. We were told natural immunity was impossible, that the vaccines would stop the spread and that the reported side effects — blood clots, myocarditis and pericarditis, especially in young people who were least susceptible to dying — were exaggerated. Is it any wonder that there is now public mistrust? But these restrictions and prevarications were not recounted, and instead, the article baldly alleges vaccine reluctance is the result of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nowabandoned speculation about autism, and that, as secretary, he had the chutzpah to “direct public health authorities to study” it. The account, of course, omitted the secretary’s more recent appeal for skeptical parents and adults to obtain MMR vaccinations for those who have never been vaccinated or who may need a booster The most galling aspect of the article is its very apparent dismay that postpandemic patients now question their doctors’ recommendations. To this writer, that is probably the only positive outcome of the COVID-19 catastrophe — that patients no longer passively accept everything their care providers tell them. Oh, and for those who may have already jumped to their conclusions, I took the shots (my employer forced me to) but also got a Remdesivir infusion — after a long discussion with my doctor GLENN SCHREIBER New Orleans

Many proponents of the death penalty assert that they are good Christians. However, they are not good enough. Jesus did not kill criminals but declared that they are worthy of his forgiveness and love. He said, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.” (Mt 21:31). This was one of his many reversal responses to the way his followers reasoned out justice.

HERMAN JOHNSON New Orleans

Landry needs to slow down

The results of Saturday’s election weren’t a mandate. About 21% of the state’s registered voters cast ballots in an election that analysts and politicos thought might bring out 10-12%, closer to normal for an off-cycle election. Then, after early voting results showed heavy Black and Democratic participation, the thinking was that there might be a 1518% turnout. Regardless, 79% of registered voters didn’t cast a ballot But still, what a clear message to Gov Jeff Landry Unlike some, I’m not stunned by Saturday’s results. In the fall, I warned readers about Amendment 3, which would have given the Legislature the chance to add more crimes to put more of our children in prison and give them hard-to-remove felony records.

About six weeks ago, I thought the election would be competitive. Antiamendment advocates had developed a strategy that I thought was working At home, at coffee shops, at restaurants, at church, at events, I heard people talking about voting early, and voting and getting other people to vote “no.” Two weeks ago, I thought this might be more than a squeaker — if there were to be a strong Black turnout. New Orleans Black talk station WBOK talked about the amendments every day for weeks. If you had listened, you could’ve heard hosts and guests talk about how harmful the amendments would be And you could’ve heard the amendments read on the air Not the ballot language The actual amendments.

During early voting, things really picked up. I saw more “I voted” stickers When I voted early, there was a line of about 20 people ahead of me and another 10-15 behind me.

I knew the election was over for Landry and his ilk when they stopped talking about three amendments and focused on Amendment 2, the governor’s hide-and-seek, duck-and-dodge effort to further much-needed tax reform with lots of surprises that would be bad news for Louisiana, including houses of faith.

What made the news was the strong, anti-amendment message — “Say No to All Four.”

The governor and allies saw things weren’t going well in the days leading up to election day so they put Curtis James Jackson — aka 50 Cent — up to

promote Amendment 2 with a video and used his name in a text. That’s when I knew Landry had given up on getting the three other amendments approved, focusing on Amendment 2, his “tax reform” measure that would have harmed so many people in so many ways. 50 got what he deserved — clapback, pushback and “you ain’t from here” comments.

Black Baton Rouge-based advocate Gary Chambers Jr was among a number of people who actively campaigned against all four amendments. The Rev. Torin Sanders of Sixth Baptist Church in New Orleans held a gathering about the harmful amendments at his church.

State Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, held an Instagram live session to pound the bad batch of amendments. Together New Orleans organized a campaign, including boots on the ground with door-knocking, calls and texts. The Power Coalition held town halls across the state, and Chambers joined them I went to one expecting 15-20 people. There were scores of people. Black and White. Professional and working class. They were there to hear more about the amendments and to help They picked up yard and neutral ground signs and flyers. They traded contact information to organize.

“Chambers attended all Power Coalition town halls. He saw Black and White people at each one, but for Narco, the only all Black event. “People are concerned about their money,” he shared with me Tuesday “People want

more opportunity, and people believe the Legislature needs to stand up and give them better.”

Chambers didn’t say “Black people want ...” He said “people.” All people. People voted “no” casting ballots saying, “Yes, we want more in our pockets, we want more from our tax dollars and we want better, guv.”

That’s what happened Saturday

The last time there were four constitutional amendments on the ballot, Election Day turnout was 11%.

This time the Election Day turnout was 21%. Of the early voting turnout, 37% was Black. Majority White precincts rejected the amendments 53%43%. Majority Black precincts said no, 92%-8%. Orleans Parish turnout was 31% 10 points higher than the state turnout average — and Orleans voted no with 91%.

Most Black folks want a Landry reset. Most people want that, too.

Don’t mistake Saturday’s results as the end of Landry and the Republicancontrolled state Legislature. It wasn’t a mandate. It was a beatdown, a whipping. It was a clear, strong message: Paraphrasing Simon & Garfunkel, “Slow down. You move too fast. Make Louisiana last. We want to feel groovy.”

I’ll feel groovy when voices like yours and mine are a part of the process and when efforts like those who made it happen are better financed. Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

to Trump or bend the knee

As part of his attempt to rule like an autocrat, President Donald Trump is threatening to destroy major law firms that dare oppose him. By caving to such pressure last week, one big firm — Paul Weiss — chose its own well-being over the survival of our democracy That may sound like hyperbole, but it is not. Thus far, the judiciary has been the only effective restraint on the Trump administration’s trampling of the law and the Constitution. With unprecedented executive orders targeting specific firms, Trump is sending a clear warning to lawyers who might dare to oppose him politically or in court: You could be next. Paul Weiss — the full name is Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a 150-year-old New Yorkbased firm with more than 1,000 lawyers The firm has traditionally been seen as leaning toward the Democratic Party, just as some other big firms are viewed as inclining toward the GOP Paul Weiss’s longtime chairman, Brad Karp, was a prominent fundraiser for Kamala Harris during last year’s presidential campaign.

ington & Burling, which had done some work for the special counsel who prosecuted Trump, Jack Smith; and Perkins Coie, which had the temerity to represent Hillary Clinton during her 2016 campaign. Perkins Coie promptly marched into court and obtained a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of Trump’s edict, with U.S District Judge Beryl Howell noting that the Constitution prohibits “bills of attainder” imposing punishment without any trial or judicial hearing. She said the executive order against Perkins Coie “sends chills down my spine.”

paying corporate clients “perceived our firm as being persona non grata with the Administration.”

“We were hopeful that the legal industry would rally to our side,” Karp wrote. “Disappointingly, far from support, we learned that certain other firms were seeking to exploit our vulnerabilities by aggressively soliciting our clients and recruiting our attorneys.”

Columbia University at first appeared to have surrendered to President Donald Trump’s demands that the New York school stop coddling antisemitic and anti-Israel demonstrators. The school announced it was buckling, not on principle, but because it wants the $400 million in federal grants and contracts restored. Trump had frozen the money to get them to act against protesters. Now the protesters are protesting what Columbia’s then-interim president, Katrina Armstrong, who resigned last week, did to have the grant restored.

The New York Post reports: “The school’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, privately told faculty that Columbia has not, in fact, banned masks — even after it promised the White House that it would ban them. Yet Armstrong turned around Tuesday to insist Columbia’s promises to ban masks and make other changes are “real.”

As of Tuesday, face coverings were still on many protesters.

There is a larger question emanating from the ongoing demonstrations on several college campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel and their seizing of hostages on Oct. 7, 2023. Why are so many of these elite schools, some of them with huge endowments and high tuition, receiving taxpayer money?

Among the top 20 universities receiving federal largesse are Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, MIT and Dartmouth College. Their endowments range from more than $50 billion (Harvard) to nearly $8 billion (Dartmouth). Added together, the total for the top 20 is close to $2 trillion.

In a new book, “Let Colleges Fail: The Power of Creative Destruction in Higher Education,” Richard K. Vedder of the Independent Institute writes: “Why are universities given special status not given to other providers of useful services such as used-car dealers or fast-food restaurants? Why have well-intentioned federal programs such as government-guaranteed student loans had an impact dramatically different than was intended when the legislation was passed?”

Good questions. Vedder notes that enrollments at universities and colleges have been consistently falling since 2011, including fewer men attending for various reasons. Others believe the high cost does not guarantee jobs after graduating that will pay them enough to live on, much less pay back their student loans in a timely fashion. Then there’s the “woke” agenda at too many of these schools, along with courses that add little or nothing to one’s resume when graduates seek employment in the real world.

What about research conducted by many of these schools? Is the research tailored to outcomes the government wants because researchers want the money, or is it truly independent research that produces beneficial results and is not open-ended?

Government subsidies and bailouts, Vedder argues, are the leading cause for all the problems at today’s universities. His solution? “Americans should get rid of these third-party safety nets and allow the Schumpeterian phenomenon of ‘creative destruction’ to force colleges to fail or succeed.”

On March 14, Trump signed an executive order suspending all security clearances held by Paul Weiss lawyers and instructing federal agencies to begin canceling all contracts with the law firm or with contractors that employ the firm. Given that Paul Weiss has a long list of major corporate clients, the order created what Karp called “an existential crisis” for the firm. Trump’s action was also likely unconstitutional. He had previously issued executive orders imposing similar punishments on two other big firms: Cov-

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

That sensation can only be experienced by those who have a spine. The leaders of Paul Weiss decided not to fight but to surrender Karp went to the White House last week and met with Trump to negotiate a settlement. According to a statement Trump issued Friday, the firm agreed to “adopting a policy of political neutrality with respect to client selection and attorney hiring; taking on a wide range of pro bono matters representing the full political spectrum; committing to merit-based hiring, promotion, and retention, instead of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ policies; dedicating the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services during my term in office to support causes including assisting our Nation’s veterans, fairness in the justice system, and combating anti-Semitism.”

In a lengthy email to Paul Weiss partners and employees Sunday, Karp wrote that he feared the firm might not survive even if it went to court and prevailed. The “fundamental problem,” he wrote, was that Paul Weiss’s high-

It is hard to shed tears for highly paid lawyers, but I do recognize Karp’s plight. And I understand that partners have a fiduciary responsibility to their firms that may require making tough decisions. But Perkins Coie faced the same pressures and chose to fight — a decision I believe was not just more principled but also, in the long run, more pragmatic.

Big Law needs to heed the warning Benjamin Franklin supposedly gave after signing the Declaration of Independence: “We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

If Trump can use an executive order of dubious constitutionality to cow one law firm into submission, what is to stop him from doing the same with any other firm he decides to target?

Trump-friendly firms that try to poach clients need to remember that what goes around does, indeed, come around. If Trump can impose the death penalty on firms that help the political opposition, a future Democratic president can do the same.

All of these firms build their wealth and power upon the rule of law They have a duty to defend it. Eugene Robinson is on X, @Eugene_ Robinson.

Joseph Schumpeter, (1883-1950), was an Austrian political economist. He believed in innovations in the manufacturing process that increase productivity, describing it as the “process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionizes the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one.”

Why should wealthy American universities that are not providing the useful kinds of education they once did continue to receive the equivalent of life support from the federal government? Haven’t we seen how government involvement consistently drives up tuition and other costs, making a college education unaffordable for an increasing number of lower-income Americans? That some schools reduce or even waive tuition for certain categories of students (usually based on race or other external factors) adds to a feeling of inequity for certain demographic groups who face discrimination from many of these institutions.

There is money to be saved and possibly a real education to be revived should the DOGE people look at these subsidies and grants and the unfairness of providing money to these schools, money that isn’t available to any business, which must succeed or fail based on whether they produce goods and services the public wants to buy

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com.

Will Sutton

Cal Thomas

Eugene Robinson

TO

Gov. Jeff Landry stumps for votes for Amendment 2 at the March 25 meeting of the Rotary Club of Shreveport.

New Orleans Forecast

Bernetta Petty of Crown Point, Louisiana, beloved mother of 4children, passed away on March 30, 2025.

Born in Crown Point, LA on February 10, 1960 to Joseph L. Petty Sr. and Emelda J. Petty.

Bernetta was adevoted mother to Sylvester L. McGrew III, Amber S. Simon, Joshua L. McGrew and Enrica N. Petty her pride and joy

Bernetta took special joy in becoming a Grandmother, and had fond memories of her 10 Grandchildren.

Bernetta is survived by 3 Sisters; Charmaine Burney, Leatrice Wells and Lisa Petty; 2Brothers; JosephL Petty Jr. and Kenzith Petty along with ahost of aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews who will never forget the love she brought to their lives.

Service will be held on April 12th at New Zion Christian Family Worship Center at 10am. Burial thereafter at: Greater St John Baptist Church anda reception to commemorate her life to follow.

BarbaraMcIntoshStew‐art,age81,wasbornon March25,1943,inNewOr‐leans,Louisianaentered eternalrestonThursday, March20,2025.Shewas raisedintheTremé/Sev‐enthWardandreceived herearlyeducationatSt Paul’sLutheranSchool ShelatermovedUptown whereshebuiltlifelong friendshipsthatspanned over70years.Aproud graduateofWalterL CohenHighSchool,Bar‐barawasacheerleader andanactivememberof theDramaticArtsClub Barbaradedicatedmore than30yearsofserviceas acivilianfederalgovern‐mentemployeeworkingas anAccountTechnician Afterretirement,shespent overadecadeattheNew OrleansJazz&Heritage Festival,workingattheOf‐ficialBandanaBooth.She wasabelovedmemberof theWarwickEastCommu‐nity,wheresheresidedfor over50years.Barbarawas ashininglightinthelives ofallwhohadtheprivilege ofknowingherHerjour‐neyonthisearthwasone markedbylove,compas‐sion,andunwaveringfaith inGod.Herloveforher daughtersandgrandkids wasimmeasurableShe believedinthemwithall herheart,alwaysseeing theirpotentialandremind‐ingthemthattheskywas thelimitBarbarahada deeploveforsportsfaith‐fullysupportingtheNew OrleansSaintsandNew OrleansPelicansandwas anavidfanofStephCurry Apassionatemusicenthu‐siast,sheenjoyedattend‐ingconcerts-especially performancesbyMaze Barbarawasalovingand devotedsister,mother, grandmother,andfriend Herwarmth,generosity andsenseofhumorwillbe greatlymissed.Herlegacy willliveonthroughher daughters,YolandaSmith andCharleneSmith(Ben); granddaughter,Yasmin Matthews;grandson,Jus‐ticeSmith;bonussons,Ed‐wardBrianSmithand StephenSmith;andGod‐daughter,JanellBlack‐stoneBarbara’slifewas enrichedbytheloveand supportofher“honorary brother,”DonCHubbard, andher“sisterfriends,” CarolDaniels,CarolynGrif‐fin,andGlendaPorterShe wasprecededindeathby herfather,JohnThomas McIntoshSr.;mother HazelToussaintMcIntosh; andbrotherJohnThomas McIntosh,JrWewouldlike togiveaspecialthanksto theEMT'sandTraumaUnit doctors,nursesandmed‐icalstaffatUniversity MedicalCenterwhocarea comfortedherduringher timeofneedFamilyand friendsareinvitedtoat‐tendtheCelebrationofLife ServiceonFriday,April4 2025,atAbundantLife

BarbaraMcIntoshStew‐art,age81,wasbornon March25,1943,inNewOr‐leans,Louisiana,entered eternalrestonThursday, March20,2025.Shewas raisedintheTremé/Sev‐enthWardandreceived herearlyeducationatSt Paul’sLutheranSchool ShelatermovedUptown, whereshebuiltlifelong friendshipsthatspanned over70years.Aproud graduateofWalterL. CohenHighSchool,Bar‐barawasacheerleader andanactivememberof theDramaticArtsClub. Barbaradedicatedmore than30yearsofserviceas acivilianfederalgovern‐mentemployeeworkingas anAccountTechnician. Afterretirement,shespent overadecadeattheNew OrleansJazz&Heritage Festival,workingattheOf‐ficialBandanaBooth.She wasabelovedmemberof theWarwickEastCommu‐nity,wheresheresidedfor over50years.Barbarawas ashininglightinthelives ofallwhohadtheprivilege ofknowingher.Herjour‐neyonthisearthwasone markedbylove,compas‐sion,andunwaveringfaith inGodHerloveforher daughtersandgrandkids wasimmeasurable.She believedinthemwithall herheart,alwaysseeing theirpotentialandremind‐ingthemthattheskywas thelimit.Barbarahada deeploveforsportsfaith‐fullysupportingtheNew OrleansSaintsandNew OrleansPelicansandwas anavidfanofStephCurry Apassionatemusicenthu‐siast,sheenjoyedattend‐ingconcerts-especially performancesbyMaze Barbarawasalovingand devotedsister,mother, grandmotherandfriend Herwarmth,generosity andsenseofhumorwillbe greatlymissed.Herlegacy willliveonthroughher daughtersYolandaSmith andCharleneSmith(Ben); granddaughter,Yasmin Matthews;grandson,Jus‐ticeSmith;bonussons,Ed‐wardBrianSmithand StephenSmith;andGod‐daughter,JanellBlack‐stone.Barbara’slifewas enrichedbytheloveand supportofher“honorary brother,”DonC.Hubbard, andher“sisterfriends,” CarolDaniels,CarolynGrif‐fin,andGlendaPorterShe wasprecededindeathby herfather,JohnThomas McIntosh,Sr.;mother HazelToussaintMcIntosh; andbrother,JohnThomas McIntosh,Jr.Wewouldlike togiveaspecialthanksto theEMT'sandTraumaUnit doctors,nursesandmed‐icalstaffatUniversity MedicalCenterwhocarea comfortedherduringher timeofneedFamilyand friendsareinvitedtoat‐tendtheCelebrationofLife ServiceonFridayApril4 2025,atAbundantLife Church,9900HayneBlvd, NewOrleans,LA70127at 11:00a.mVisitationfrom 10:00a.muntil11:00a.m Interment:Providence MemorialPark8200Airline Drive,Metairie,LA70003 Youmaysigntheguest bookatwwwgertrudeged deswilliscom.Gertrude GeddesWillisFuneral Home,Inc.,incharge,(504) 522-2525.

Teague, Michael E. 'Mike'

Michael "Mike" E.

Teague, dedicated husband and father, passed away on March 14, 2025. He was 82 years old.Born in Langley, South Carolina, Mike was thefourth of six siblings. At theage of six, Mike's family relocated to Old Fort,a small town in the mountains of North Carolina. AgraduateofOld Fort High School--Class of 1960--Mike excelled academically and athletically, finishing fifth in his class while starting at both quarterback and point guard on the school's footballand basketballteams, respectively. Imagine the pride that Mike's teen sons felt when they accompanied their father on what was otherwise expected to be aubiquitous trip to the Old Fort barbershop. The old-timers present that day, having not seen Mike for decades, gushed over their Dad's gridiron exploits. Every child should be fortunateenoughtoexperience such amoment regarding aparent Despitereceiving apartial scholarship, Mike was unable to afford the costs associated with attending college immediately after high school. This financial constraint was ablessing in disguise, however, and led Mike to thepathhe was meant to travel. Following highschool, Mike enlisted in the U.S. Navy, having completed boot camp at the Naval

Michael "Mike" E. Teague, dedicated husband and father, passed away on March 14, 2025. He was 82 years old.Born in Langley, South Carolina, Mike was thefourth of six siblings. At theage of six, Mike's family relocated to Old Fort,a small town in the mountains of North Carolina. AgraduateofOld Fort High School--Class of 1960--Mike excelled academically and athletically, finishing fifth in his class while starting at both quarterback and point guard on the school's footballand basketballteams respectively. Imagine the pride that Mike's teen sons felt when they accompanied their father on what was otherwise expected to be aubiquitous trip to the Old Fort barbershop. The old-timers present that day, having not seen Mike for decades, gushed over their Dad's gridiron exploits. Every child should be fortunateenoughtoexperience such amoment regarding aparent Despitereceiving apartial scholarship, Mike was unable to afford the costs associated with attending college immediately after high school. This financial constraint was ablessing in disguise, however, and led Mike to thepathhe was meant to travel. Following highschool, Mike enlisted in the U.S. Navy, having completed boot camp at the Naval Training Center in San Diego. It was early in his naval career, that Mike was assigned adutystation in Charleston, South Carolina. Here, Mike would meet the love of his life-BrendaCarolyn Belvin--and the two would be wed in 1963. Brendapredeceased Mike roughly amonth before their 60thwedding anniversary; aloss that Mike truly never overcame. Mike and Brenda had two boys--Keithand Alan. While Mike's naval career spanned some 30 years, Brendaobtained an Honorable Dischargeand settled into what can sometimes be the difficult role of amilitary housewife, moving fromone duty station to thenext without theabilitytoput down roots. Mike served aboard the U.S.S. Ozark and the U.S.S. Repose, and was a proud Vietnam War veteran. Having begun his military career as an enlisted serviceman, Mike rose through theranks to that ofChief PettyOfficer before ascending even further to that ofa commissioned officer, respectfully referred to as a"mustang in military vernacular. In 1974, Mike completed the Navy's Medical Services Technician course, having graduated as "HonorMan" in aclass of 46 graduates This would be the beginning of future endeavors in higher education. Mike would go on to obtain degrees from George Washington University, the University of the State of New York, and TroyState University, all of which he would earn with honors During his military career, Mike would be awarded numerous medals/ribbons for his exemplary service, including the Joint Services Commendation Medal, the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the expert pistol marksmanship ribbon (the latter to appease his youngest son). He was assigned to the Medical Services Corps, having served as an administrator and management service head at various Navy hospitals and clinics. Upon retirement, Mike held the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Retirement fromthe Navy was not an end to Mike's professional endeavors, however, and he spent the next 15-plus years as apublic servant with theState of Louisiana. Most of this service involved mental healthcare,

high school. This financial constraint was ablessing in disguise, however, and led Mike to the path he was meanttotravel. Following high school, Mike enlisted in theU.S. Navy, having completed boot camp at the Naval Training Center in San Diego. It was early in his naval career, that Mike was assigned aduty station in Charleston, South Carolina. Here, Mike would meet the love of his life-Brenda Carolyn Belvin--and the two would be wedin 1963. Brenda predeceased Mike roughly amonth before their 60th wedding anniversary; aloss that Mike truly never overcame. Mike andBrenda had two boys--Keith and Alan. While Mike's naval career spanned some 30 years, Brenda obtained an Honorable Discharge and settled into what can sometimes be the difficult role of amilitary housewife, moving from oneduty station to the next without theability to putdown roots. Mike served aboard the U.S.S. Ozark and the U.S.S. Repose, and was a proud Vietnam War veteran. Having begun his military career as an enlisted serviceman, Mike rose through theranks to that of Chief Petty Officer before ascending even further to that of acommissioned officer, respectfully referred to as a"mustang" in military vernacular. In 1974, Mike completed the Navy's Medical Services Technician course, having graduated as "Honor Man" in aclass of 46 graduates. This would be the beginning of future endeavors in higher education.Mike would go on to obtain degrees from George Washington University, the University of theState of New York, andTroy State University, all of which he would earn with honors. During hismilitary career, Mike would be awarded numerous medals/ribbons for his exemplary service, including the JointServices Commendation Medal, the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the expert pistol marksmanship ribbon (thelatter to appease his youngest son). He was assigned to the Medical Services Corps, havingserved as an administrator and managementservice head at various Navy hospitals and clinics. Upon retirement, Mike held the rankof Lieutenant Commander. Retirementfrom the Navy was not an end to Mike's professional endeavors, however, and he spent the next 15-plus years as apublic servant with the State of Louisiana. Most of this service involved mental healthcare, cumulating in Mikehaving served as the Chief Executive Officer of Southeast Louisiana Hospital. Mike's greatest satisfaction--after that of his wife, children,grandchildren,and great-grandchildren--came from knowing that his servicehelped so many others within our community and that his military servicehelped guarantee thefreedoms we often take for granted. Indeed, even after asecond retirement, Mike would often serve as a consultant, including within the private sector, and even had atenure as an executive with UnitedHealthcare before retiring for afinal time.

But whatbroughtMike the most joy in life was his family. Brenda andthe boys were his world. Whether he was coaching their youth sports, helping out with their scouting activities, or simply playing all-time quarterbackfor the neighborhood touch football game, Mike loved spending time with his boys. Mike andBrenda were so very proud of their sons, both of whom went on to obtain advanced degrees. That love and pride extended even further to their two grandchildren Justin and Kelly--andseven great-grandchildren.Asan added bonus, with retirement from the Navy came the opportunity for Mike and Brenda to finally put down the roots that had always been out of reach. The couple built their dream home in Lacombe, Louisiana, having shared this home until Brenda's death some 23 years later. Notably, Brenda had an immense love for Christmas and the decorations that accompanythe holiday, and in particular, an affinity for Hallmark ornaments.

During thelast decade of her life, the family would often decorate four fullsized Christmas trees. Mike kept his promise to Brenda, and decorated four such trees the Christmas following her death. Of course he did. Following Brenda's death, Mike moved to Texas to be near his oldest son and daughter-in-law, as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He livedinanover-55 community, having made many good friends. During the last fourmonthsofhis life, Mike faced many health challenges, including cancer(lymphoma), Retirementfrom

deavors, however, and he spent the next 15-plus years as apublic servant with the State of Louisiana. Most of this service involved mental healthcare, cumulating in Mikehaving served as the Chief Executive Officer of Southeast Louisiana Hospital. Mike's greatest satisfaction--after that of his wife, children,grandchildren,and great-grandchildren--came from knowing that his servicehelped so many others within our community and that his military servicehelped guarantee thefreedoms we often take for granted. Indeed, even after asecond retirement, Mike would often serve as a consultant, including within the private sector, and even had atenure as an executive with UnitedHealthcare before retiring for afinal time. But what broughtMike the most joy in life was his family. Brenda andthe boys were his world. Whether he was coaching their youth sports, helping out with their scouting activities, or simply playing all-time quarterbackfor the neighborhood touch football game, Mike loved spending time with his boys. Mike andBrenda were so very proud of their sons, both of whom went on to obtain advanced degrees. That love and pride extended even further to their two grandchildren Justin and Kelly--andseven great-grandchildren.Asan added bonus, with retirement from the Navy came the opportunity for Mike and Brenda to finally put down the roots that had always been out of reach. The couple built their dream home in Lacombe, Louisiana, having shared this home until Brenda's death some 23 years later. Notably, Brenda had an immense love for Christmas and the decorations that accompanythe holiday, and in particular, an affinity for Hallmark ornaments. During thelast decade of her life, the family would often decorate four fullsized Christmas trees. Mike kept his promise to Brenda, and decorated four such trees the Christmas following her death. Of course he did. Following Brenda's death, Mike moved to Texas to be near his oldest son and daughter-in-law, as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lived in an over-55 community, having made many good friends. During the last fourmonthsofhis life, Mike faced many health challenges, including cancer(lymphoma), kidney failure, and ultimately, COVID. He fought as he lived, with dignity and resolve, never complaining or shying away from the fight. In his last days, Mike told his boys he was ready to be reunited with their mother andwas ready to meet his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. While we selfishly wanted him to stay longer, we knew he was right. He almost always was. We know Dad is looking down with Mom and it brings us comfort. A life well lived. Mike is predeceased by his lovingwife, Brenda. He is survived by their son Keith Teagueand his wife of more than 30 years, Kristin Teague, as well as their son Alan Teague. Mike is also survived by his grandson Justin Teague and his wife Crystal Teague, his granddaughter Kelly Graham and her husband, Jeff Graham, and his great grandchildren Wesley Teague, Cameron Teague, Miles Graham, Jett Graham, Katie Graham, and the twins, Mia and Mandy Graham. Mike is also survived by his sisters Marion and Toni. He is predeceased by both parents (Robert and Dorothy), as well as three siblings (Andre, Venie, and Mona). Funeral Services will take place at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery on April 4, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Sr., Robert Preston 'Bobby' International Brotherhoodof ElectricalWorkers, LocalUnion#130.It iswithdeepestsorrow thatweinformtheOfficers andMembersofourlocal unionofthedeathofour belovedretiredmember Robert“Bobby”Preston TrahanSronMarch29 2025.Hewillbemissed dearlybyallwhoknewand lovedhimACelebrationof lifewithhisfamilyispri‐vate.ByOrderof:ErnestC “Corky”CortezAttest:Rod‐neyWWallis,Business Manager/FinancialSecre‐tary

DEATHS continued from

Stewart, Barbara McIntosh

Teague, Michael E. 'Mike'

Petty, Bernetta

Roop, Adrian Henry

Adrian Henry Roop passed away on March 24th 2025. He was aloving father. He had an immense love for geology, photography and motorcycles. He will be missed.

Trahan

Stewart, Barbara McIntosh

Doing their ‘homework’

Saints, coach Moore putting in time to get a better look at quarterbacks

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

PALM BEACH,Fla.— Before he flew in for the NFL owners’ meetings, Kellen Moore already had logged plenty of travel.

Last week the Saints coach was at the University of Miami on Monday Two days later, he was spotted at Ohio State.

Then, on Saturday he was at Ole Miss.

Moore, leading his own team for the first time this offseason, was on the pro day circuit to observe prospects for the NFL draft later this month

And it wasn’t a coincidence those schools all had one type of prospect for Moore to see.

“We all know that I’m a quarterback guy,” Moore said.

Mulkey explains why she keeps going in a ‘broken’ NCAA

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

New Orleans has taken quarterbacks in back-to-back drafts in Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler. But this year, the Saints hold the ninth overall pick — their highest selection since 2008 — and have the kind of draft capital that could help them move up higher Drafting a rookie quarterback, particularly one in the first or second round, also would give Moore the chance to pick his own signal-caller after inheriting the others.

Moore, a former quarterback at Boise State and in the NFL, said the research isn’t out of the norm.

The Saints appear to be doing heavy research on the top quarterbacks in this class, even after restructuring Derek Carr’s contract to ensure he returns next season. Moore’s visits further reinforce the idea.

“Every team in the NFL is always trying to bring in quarterbacks and develop them under any circumstance,” Moore said. “And so everyone does homework every year on quarterbacks. It’s a very valuable position.

Kim Mulkey didn’t have much time to ruminate over a seasonending loss to UCLA in the women’s Elite Eight. The LSU women’s basketball coach told radio station WNXXFM 104.5-FM in Baton Rouge on Tuesday that she turned her attention toward next year before she and her team’s flight from Spokane, Washington, even landed in Baton Rouge on Sunday “I’m on the phone, on the plane,” Mulkey told hosts T-Bob ing to portal kids. We’ve got our own kids that’ll get in the portal. It’s just free agency, and you just never know.” Mulkey’s comments were part of a larger discussion about the transfer portal, the recruiting calendar, the state of college sports and when she may retire. She called the current state of affairs “tiring” and “broken.” Now, athletes can transfer between schools an unlimited number of times without losing any eligibility For both men’s and women’s college basketball players, the transfer portal opened March 24 right in between the second round of the NCAA Tournament and the Sweet 16. That timing forces coaches of teams still alive in the postseason to juggle the needs to both prepare for door-die games and recruit players from the portal. Those teams, Mulkey said are almost incentivized to lose early in the tournament. The ones who reach the second weekend risk falling behind in recruiting.

“So obviously, we feel like we have Derek — who’s played a ton of football and we feel great about. Then certainly, our organization has invested in quarterbacks the last few years. “ Moore said where he visits in person is decided on by Jeff Ireland, the college scouting director and assistant general

ä See SAINTS, page 4C

Pelicans wise to shut down Zion, McCollum

and his staff have made in his six seasons calling the shots for the New Orleans Pelicans. Monday’s decision to shut down Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum for the remainder of the season was a no-brainer In an ideal season, the Pelicans would

and McCollum wouldn’t play again this season. “It was more of a collective talk from the front office, performance and medical (team), and obviously our players,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said after Tuesday’s practice. “They are both dealing with sorta some nagging injuries, so to finish up the season we felt like it was the smart way to go.”

This was a no-brainer for a team that has nothing to play for with just seven games remaining. The Pelicans, who take a 21-54 record into a Wednesday game at the Los Angeles Clippers, are pretty much locked into finishing with one of the four worst records

ä See WALKER, page 6C

Mulkey

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROGELIO V. SOLIS

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart looks to throw a ball during a passing drill at the school’s pro day on Friday in Oxford, Miss.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JESSICA TOBIAS

Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders interviews with the NFL Network during the Big 12 pro day on March 20 in Frisco, Texas.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MICHAEL LAUGHLIN

Miami quarterback Cam Ward throws during a drill at the school’s pro day on March 24 in Miami. Ward is considered by some pundits the top quarterback prospect in the upcoming NFL draft. STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER Pelicans forward Zion Williamson reacts after a play against the Detroit Pistons on March 17. With seven games remaining, the Pelicans are 21-54 entering Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

7

Gators carry big bite late in games

Florida continues trend of making comebacks

BY MARK LONG AP sportswriter

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — These Gators bite, especially when they feel threatened.

Florida, which has shown a knack for wearing down opponents all season, has become the ultimate closer in the NCAA Tournament Late-game rallies against two-time reigning national champion UConn in the second round and against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight have the Gators (34-4) believing that no hole is too deep for this gritty group.

Coach Todd Golden pointed to confidence and maturity as the keys to his team’s penchant for comebacks. He also joked that having All-American guard Walter Clayton on the floor makes a huge difference.

“It’s our ability to not get too high or too low,” Golden said Tuesday Golden clearly would prefer to have his team get off to a better start when it faces fellow Southeastern Conference foe Auburn (32-5) — the Gators won their first meeting in February — to open the Final Four in San Antonio on Saturday But he’s seen enough to know there’s no reason to panic if Florida falls behind.

After all, these Gators have looked fairly harmless for the first 20, 30 or even 35 minutes of games before attacking with a frenzy

Just ask UConn or Texas Tech. Or Alabama, Georgia, LSU and South Carolina. The Gators overcame daunting deficits against all of them.

“Undying belief,” Clayton said. “It goes to show how together we all are.

“Many times (we) could easily just break, start pointing the finger, blaming each other for this and that. But we just stayed together through the end and stayed the course.” None of Florida’s rallies have been as impressive as its latest one.

ä MEN’S FINAL FOUR: Auburn vs. Florida, 5:09 P.M. SATURDAy, CBS; Duke vs. Houston, 7:49 P.M., CBS

The Gators trailed Texas Tech 71-61 with 5:30 to play when Clayton took over The senior made three 3-pointers, a layup and two free throws down the stretch. He also dished out two assists by finding Thomas Haugh for open 3-pointers. “Instead of letting our emotions get the best of us or pointing fingers, we did a good job staying the course,” Golden said. “Obviously our guys did a good job understanding it’s now or never and made every big play down the stretch.”

Added Haugh: “When you’ve got guards like these guys, the game’s never over It’s just wild.”

Florida ranks second in the country in second-half scoring margin, a clear indication of the team’s coaching/talent/depth combination. The Gators wore down against Alabama and Tennessee in the SEC tournament last month and did the same to the

Huskies and Maryland in NCAA play UConn led much of the game until Clayton stepped up in the closing minutes. The Terrapins held tough early — they trailed 40-38 at halftime before Florida made a few adjustments at halftime and dominated the second half. It’s hardly anything new for Golden’s group, either The Gators nearly beat Missouri in mid-January despite trailing by 19. They rallied to shock South Carolina a week later after being down 14 in the second half. Although less dramatic, they did something similar at LSU in late February Down eight in the second half, Florida flipped a switch and routed the Tigers the rest of the way Golden’s squad nearly pulled off another stunner three days later

After trailing by 26 in the first half, Florida fought back to take a lead at Georgia before Cain Blue hit a dagger 3 with a minute to play “Again, the consistency, the

maturity and their belief in each other is a big part of that,” Golden said.

Golden has spent three years rebuilding Florida, which is in the Final Four for the first time since 2014. He ended up with three senior guards — Clayton, Will Richard and Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin — who comprise the core of the team. Each of them has made plays to spark comebacks, although Richard and Martin have so far taken a backseat to Clayton in the postseason Still, the trio is the main reason these Gators have won 10 in a row and have a shot at a third national title and first since going back-toback in 2006-07 And all of them have the potential to chomp, especially in crunch time “Guys could just break apart during those moments,” Clayton said.

““We all stay the course, stay together And I think that just goes to show the togetherness of the team, the love we have for each other to get through those tough times.”

Auriemma caught off guard by underdog remark

BY CHUCK SCHILKEN

Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Geno Auriemma seemed both amused and bemused.

The legendary Connecticut women’s basketball coach described himself as “shocked” after ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt jokingly referred to the Huskies as “pesky underdogs” following their 78-64 victory over USC on Monday night. With the victory, Auriemma and UConn advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament for the 24th time since 1991 and the 21st time in the last 22 years in which the tournament was held (it was canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19). The Huskies, who will face UCLA on Friday in a national semifinal, have won the NCAA title 11 times, most recently in 2016. Van Pelt knew all that when he made what was clearly a tonguein-cheek reference to Connecticut being the only remaining team that didn’t enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed. Still, Auriemma seemed to be caught a bit off guard by the SportsCenter anchor’s comment during a postgame interview that took place with him on the court in Spokane, Washington, and Van Pelt in a Washington, D.C., studio.

“I was just calling you guys the ‘pesky underdogs,’ the only

two seed,” Van Pelt said to start the interview “Twenty-four of these, man, you’ve done it so often. What do you appreciate most about this team and this journey you’re on?” Auremma paused and chuckled slightly

“Well, you know, um, we’ve been um,” the coach said before chuckling a bit more “I’m still shocked at the word ‘underdogs’ and UConn coming out of your mouth at the same time.” Van Pelt answered: “I’m joking, Geno, I’m joking. You know me

better than that.”

“I know you are,” Auriemma said. “I just don’t hear that (very often), you know? It’s just funny.” It’s difficult to imagine a world where Auriemma, the winningest coach in all of college basketball, and UConn are truly considered underdogs. UCLA might be the top-seeded team in the tournament, but DraftKings and FanDuel each have the Huskies as 81/2-point favorites over the Bruins in the teams’ Final Four matchup. Both sites also have Connecti-

LSU’s Carter to participate in two Final Four events

LSU sharpshooter Cam Carter will participate in two Final Four events.

The senior was selected to be in the College 3-Point Contest and the National Association of Basketball Coaches College All-Star Game in San Antonio.

The 3-point shooting competition will be at 6 p.m. Thursday on ESPN and the all-star game is at 3:30 p.m. Friday on CBS Sports Network. The Final Four begins Saturday At LSU (14-18), Carter made 80 3-pointers, which is sixth on LSU’s all-time list, and the most since Marcus Thornton made 90 during the 2007-08 season.

The Donaldsonville native averaged 16.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season.

Maryland hires Williams to coach men’s basketball

Maryland has hired Buzz Williams as its men’s basketball coach.

The Terrapins quickly moved on after Kevin Willard left to take the Villanova job.

Maryland says it will introduce Williams at a news conference Wednesday Willard left for Villanova last weekend after leading the Terrapins to the Sweet 16.

Williams arrives after six seasons at Texas A&M. He took the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament in the past three seasons. He previously was the head coach at Virginia Tech, Marquette and UNO.

The 52-year-old Williams is one of 12 active Division I head coaches to win at least one NCAA Tournament game at three programs.

Pitcher Crochet receives 6-year, $170M contract

Ace left-hander Garrett Crochet has agreed to a record-breaking $170 million, six-year contract with the Boston Red Sox. Crochet’s contract starts next year, and he can opt out after the 2030 season. It is the largest deal ever for a pitcher with four-plus years of major league service time. The 25-year-old Crochet was acquired by Boston in a trade with the Chicago White Sox during the winter meetings in December and agreed to a $3.8 million, one-year contract for this season.

Crochet gets a $4 million signing bonus payable within 60 days of the deal’s approval by Major League Baseball, $24 million in 2026, $28 million in each of the following four seasons and $30 million in 2031.

Scherzer says sore thumb feeling better after shot TORONTO Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer said Tuesday he hopes to play catch in the next few days after a cortisone injection to treat his sore right thumb.

ä WOMEN’S FINAL FOUR: South Carolina vs. Texas, 6 P.M. FRIDAy ESPN; UCLA vs. UConn, 8:30 P.M. FRIDAy ESPN

cut as the favorite to win the national title (-165 odds on FanDuel, -150 on DraftKings), beating either Texas or South Carolina in the final.

The Huskies finished the regular season at 35-3 and 18-0 in the Big East, then won their conference tournament and claimed the No. 2 seed in the Spokane 4 regional.

The top-seeded USC lost one of the nation’s top players, JuJu Watkins, to a torn ACL in the second round. The Trojans overcome Kansas State in the Sweet 16 but were met with such headlines as The Los Angeles Times’ “Here is what USC needs to do to upset UConn, reach the Final Four” going into their matchup against the Huskies.

And for the second straight year, the Trojans were outmatched by Paige Bueckers and UConn in the Elite Eight. “Today was a real challenge, playing against a team that was obviously missing a great great great, great player, JuJu,” Auriemma told Van Pelt. “It’s just a Connecticut thing, I hope, that when we get in these situations, we know how to win. And I’m really proud of that.”

The three-time Cy Young award winner visited a hand specialist in the U.S. on Monday and received the injection before returning to Toronto, where he was in the dugout for a 5-2 win over Washington. Scherzer left his debut start with the Blue Jays against Baltimore on Saturday after three innings because of soreness in his right lat muscle. He said that his thumb issue was to blame for that soreness. On Tuesday, Scherzer said his lat soreness was gone. Toronto put Scherzer on the 15day injured list Sunday because of right thumb inflammation.

Veteran DL Campbell signs deal with Cardinals TEMPE, Ariz. — Veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell has agreed to a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals, returning to the franchise that drafted him for his 18th NFL season. The Cardinals announced the move on Tuesday The six-time Pro Bowl selection played his first nine seasons with the Cardinals and was a member of the team that made the Super Bowl in the 2008 season before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 38-year-old Campbell started all 17 games for the Miami Dolphins last season and had 52 tackles, five sacks, 12 quarterback hits, 12 tackles for a loss, five

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ

Florida coach Todd Golden does the Gator chomp when cutting down the net after the Gators defeated Texas Tech in the Elite Eight on Saturday in San Francisco.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JENNy KANE

UConn coach Geno Auriemma reacts to action during the second half against Southern California in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Monday night in Spokane, Wash.

THE VARSITY ZONE

COACHING CAROUSEL

Kirkwood stepping down at Holy Cross; Biehl to take over job

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Mister Kirkwood has decided after 11 seasons to step away from coaching basketball at Holy Cross so that he can focus on another role at the school as the assistant principal for student affairs

In his place will be Chris Biehl, who recently stepped down from his basketball coaching position at Brother Martin after 12 seasons but still had a desire to coach.

Both coaches set school records for wins while at those schools, with 218 wins for Kirkwood at Holy Cross and 255 for Biehl at Brother Martin.

Those moves, announced Tuesday by Holy Cross, came not long after Brother Martin announced Biehl decided to step down from his coaching position.

Kirkwood, who will continue as athletic director for the remainder of the school year, felt it was “the right time” to make a change, he said, adding that he was leaving the basketball program “much better than I inherited it.”

Biehl, 52, said he and Kirkwood were close enough in age that they grew up playing in some of the same leagues together at Butch Duhe Playground in Kenner That connection continued in the decades since then, including the past several years coaching against each other in the Catholic League.

Biehl liked what he saw from the Holy Cross team through the years. His final game as Brother Martin coach came against Holy Cross in a first-round playoff loss at Holy Cross, which ended the season with a 25-6 record.

“I think with the basketball team, it speaks for itself what you saw,” said Biehl, whose Brother Martin team went 13-18 last season.

“I saw a bunch of boys that played extremely hard, that did things the right way. I think they have a great deal of talent.”

Biehl said he was “walking into a situation where I know they were well coached, and that’s a plus because It’s not like from Day One I’m going to have to teach them how to do things in a discipline manner and things like that.

“I assume coach Kirkwood and I have different styles and things like that, but at the end of the day we’re coaching young men to try to be successful men in the future.” Biehl, a Rummel graduate, told

Brother Martin in November that he planned to step down after the season, and he had “absolutely no inkling at that point in time” that Holy Cross would have an opening.

“Sometimes doors open up for you when you least expect them,” said Biehl, who coached Brother Martin to the Catholic League championship two times and to one state runner-up finish in 2017.

Replacing Biehl at Brother Martin will be former Shaw coach Wesley Laurendine, who coached the Eagles for 10 seasons and reached the state tournament the past four seasons — including a runner-up finish last month.

Laurendine coached Shaw to the Catholic League championship in 2022, the last season before Shaw decided not to play up in Class 5A.

Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com

St. Aug steals victory from Holy Cross

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

St. Augustine stole six bases in the third inning against Holy Cross, which proved to be a difference-maker in a District 9-5A matchup Tuesday at Holy Cross.

The six stolen bases led to a three-run third inning for St. Augustine to take its first lead of the game, and the Purple Knights led the rest of the way in an 8-6 win over Holy Cross. Bryce Robinson had two of the stolen bases, and the Knights finished with eight total steals.

CJ Cornelius, Kenyon Hughes and Robinson scored the three

St. Aug runs in the third inning.

The Knights had four hits in the inning, with Robinson and Jayden Jackson delivering RBI singles.

Patience at the plate helped St. Augustine deliver three more runs in the fourth inning as the Knights had four walks. A sacrifice fly by Knights catcher Aiden Castillo drove in Cornelius and put them up by four runs, which was their largest lead of the night Derek Marcadel and Dylan Robinson scored the other two runs. Holy Cross fought back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, two of which were the result of an error by St. Aug first baseman Mekhi McCollum The

inning ended for Holy Cross after Hayden Derbes was thrown out at the plate in an attempt to tie the game. St. Aug responded by adding two more runs in the fifth. Hughes drew a walk with the bases loaded to score a run, and the second run was driven in on a Bryce Robinson sacrifice fly Robinson also shined on the mound, with the right-hander throwing four innings in relief and finishing with three strikeouts. Right-hander Dylan Robinson started the game for St. Aug and threw three innings.

Holy Cross scored its first run of the game in the first inning on an

RBI double by third baseman Will Andrade, which scored shortstop Dom Pellegrin. Pellegrin hit a solo home run to left in the bottom of the third to score the second Holy Cross run.

Left-handed pitcher Matthew Watson started the game for Holy Cross and threw 31/3 innings before being relieved by Jacob Stephens, who threw an inning and was relieved by Collin Tallet, who pitched the rest of the way Up next is a rematch between Holy Cross and St Augustine on Thursday

Email Spencer Urquhart at surquhart@theadvocate.com.

SOFTBALL

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

The addition of a state championship-winning coach has helped Hahnville have one of its best softball seasons in years.

Coach Jeremy Duplantis and the Tigers won for the 20th time this season with a 13-2 victory against Mount Carmel on Tuesday in Hahnville.

Duplantis previously coached at Vandebilt Catholic, which won the Division II select state title last season.

The biggest improvement for Hahnville has come on defense.

“Last year they were able to hit the ball,” said Duplantis, who noted how the team “hit a lot of home runs last year.”

This year, the Tigers can still score runs in bunches. So, it was the attention paid to the team defense during the offseason that boosted the team’s win total.

“When I came in this summer my biggest focus was defense, defense, defense,” he said. “So all fall we focused on defense. I feel like we got better We started working with the pitchers in the fall two days a week and they got better I think now we have the hitting, pretty good pitching and pretty good defense: Putting it all together, and that’s what’s making us a decent team right now.”

That showed with how Hahnville (20-6) scored nine runs and rapped 12 hits in the first two innings against a shorthanded Mount Carmel (14-5) team that did not have ace pitcher Paige Reuther after she had season-ending knee surgery Hahnville pitcher Jenna Cancienne allowed five hits over six innings in the run-rule shortened contest. Cancienne reached base four times (two singles, two walks) while batting fourth in the lineup. She struck out three and walked none in the circle. She noted the improved defense behind her “They’re very good at backing me up,” she said. “I’m not a very fast pitcher I try to hit my spots. But I’m a pitcher who, they hit the ball, we get the out.”

Shortstop Brazzi Jacob noted her improved play in the field. She learned proper footwork on double plays and how to make certain throws with different arm slots. She learned how to better field slow-rolling groundballs on her glove side and make the throw to first.

“With the slapping teams, it makes a big difference,” said Jacob, a fourth-year varsity player who went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and two RBIs against Mount Carmel.

The team has made fewer errors this season, as Duplantis noted how “they had like 70 errors last year, so we’re definitely lower than that right now.” Against the Cubs, Jordyn Chaix hit a two-run double in the second inning. Rylee Villasanor went 3-for4 with a double and three runs. For the Cubs, Chloe Krey hit a two-run home run in the first inning. She pitched the final four innings. At No. 5 in the latest LHSAA Division I nonselect power ratings, Hahnville could have its highest playoff seeding since the Tigers reached the Class 5A state final as a No. 2 seed in 2018.

“I think we’re going to make it to state and win it. I really do,” Jacob said. “I have a lot of hope for this team.”

Brother Martin coach Chris Biehl guided the

N.O. plans return to team facility for camp

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

PALM BEACH, Fla.

— The Saints plan to hold training camp at their team facility in Metairie this summer, coach Kellen Moore said Tuesday

Saints notebook

The Saints’ decision to practice back in the area comes after the team spent last year in Irvine, California. Team officials said then that the arrangement was temporary because the team’s cafeteria was under construction. The Saints finished the project in the fall, clearing the way — and the space — for camp to be held in the building.

Though most of camp will be in Louisiana, Moore also said they are exploring traveling for a “shorter period of time” to escape the heat.

That includes the possibility of having joint practices with an unspecified team, he said.

“We’ll spend some time in Louisiana,” Moore said at the NFL owners’ meetings. “The exposure

of the heat and all that stuff, we think there’ll be value to it Just getting accustomed to that. Training camp isn’t supposed to be the easiest thing in the world.

“There will be some challenges with the heat, but that’ll be a good thing for our team.”

The arrangement would mirror past camps. Under former coaches Sean Payton and Dennis Allen, New Orleans traveled regularly for joint practices. In 2023, the team spent two days in August practicing against the Los Angeles Chargers prior to their preseason game at SoFi Stadium. In 2022, New Orleans went to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the Packers hosted the Saints for joint practices.

Real value

The Saints were active in free agency striking a balance between retaining their own players and making a splashy addition in the secondary with the signing of safety Justin Reid Moore liked the strategy

The Saints coach said Tuesday that the team added “real value”

this offseason, later adding that he believes the franchise still has flexibility to make additional moves if need be. Over The Cap estimates the team has $28.3 million in cap space, putting the Saints in the upper half of the league.

The Saints’ biggest moves were to re-sign tight end Juwan Johnson to a three-year, $30.8 million contract and defensive end Chase Young to a three-year, $51 million contract.

New Orleans then poached Reid from the Kansas City Chiefs on a three-year $31.5 million deal.

Moore said he enjoyed getting to know his players in a “short period of time,” and the coach was involved in the process, such as when he laid out Johnson’s envisioned role in a late-night phone call with the tight end.

The first-year coach also appeared excited about Reid’s addition, calling the 28-year-old a “premier player” in the NFL. He recalled scouting the Louisiana native when he was preparing for the Super Bowl in February as offensive coordinator of the Phila-

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playmaker instantly emerges.

He is a shifty ballhandler who is a blur going up and down the court

Thomas’ speed and fluidity as a dribbler aren’t only aesthetically pleasing but functional. He is a low-mistake player, averaging 1.9 turnovers per game, and unselfish teammate who took only 12.6 shots per game. Thomas reached the paint whenever he wanted to at UNLV, forcing defenses to collapse. These occurrences presented him with passing options, which he was adept at delivering to teammates.

The lefty has excellent court vision, throwing one-handed passes across the court, alley-oop passes and simple swing passes to nearby 3-point shooters.

Thomas should be an excellent pick-and-roll passer for forward Jalen Reed, who played only eight games last season after tearing an ACL, and center Michael Nwoko, LSU’s first transfer portal addition from Mississippi State.

“His vision on the court, unselfishness, and ability to throw the lob pass are fun to watch,” McMahon said in a news release. “I am really excited about his pas-

sion for player development and the opportunity to play at LSU.”

Thomas’ facilitation and knack for blowing by defenders are traits that were missing from LSU this season.

Scoring arsenal

His impressive quickness with the ball is blended with a craftiness to score around the paint.

Thomas was ninth in the Mountain West in scoring and does most of his work from two-point range.

Thomas has a nifty floater with his dominant left hand and is adept at creating space for his turnaround mid-ranger jumper

If he is crowded he doesn’t panic and shoot an impossible shot often. The 19-year-old still needs to improve his efficiency

The tendency to shoot inside the arc is reflected in his low 3-point shooting attempts. The volume is concerning, although he shot a solid 35.3% from 3-point range.

He will have to attempt more 3s to be a threat in a skilled SEC.

Defensive concerns

Thomas has a slight frame that makes his 185-pound listing seem generous. The reality of smaller players, especially those without length or strength, is that defending at the high-major level is

delphia Eagles ahead of their win over the Chiefs.

“We nailed it when we were able to get Justin,” Moore said. “Obviously, you recognize there were a lot of other teams chasing after him, and so we feel really, really excited that ultimately he made a decision to come back to Louisiana. Watching him on film, he was one of those big impact players on the field.”

Moore said Reid’s signing wasn’t an either-or scenario. New Orleans agreed to terms with the safety after striking out on Charvarius Ward who signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts. Ward told an Indy radio station that he was close to signing with New Orleans before the Colts swooped in at the “last minute.”

Saints’ tush push?

The future of the tush push will be decided at a later date. But if it were up to Moore, it wouldn’t be going anywhere. Moore said he felt “very comfortable” with keeping the play in place as the league debates

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manager of the Saints. And it would make sense for Ireland to lean on Moore’s particular area of expertise, even if the coach is also evaluating other positions.

At Miami, Moore was on hand to watch Cam Ward — largely regarded as this class’ top quarterback. Moore was part of a notable contingent sent by the Saints, including Ireland and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier

Speaking generally, Moore said he looks for a “certain threshold” and wants to understand how they grasp the “classroom” aspect of the game.

“You spend as much time with these guys as you can,” he said.

If the Saints want to draft Ward, they’ll almost certainly have to trade up to grab him. Ward is the favorite to go first overall to the Tennessee Titans, though Titans coach Brian Callahan didn’t dismiss the idea of trading the pick this week for the right offer

“We’re open to everything at this point,” Callahan told reporters. “If it’s something you feel is beyond the value you ever thought you could get, that’s one thing. But you also have to look at what a potential quarterback could look like. Those guys, to me, are priceless.”

Elsewhere, Moore observed Ohio State’s Will Howard and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart the latter of whom is often ranked right after Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders Both players have

MULKEY

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the future of it. On Tuesday, NFL owners decided to table the Green Bay Packers’ proposal to ban the play deciding more discussion was needed before making a final decision.

The next league meeting is scheduled for mid-May

Moore obviously learned the intricacies of the play — which involves shoving the quarterback from behind and ran it often last year as the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator

So, if the play is still legal, will Moore run it in New Orleans? Or more specifically does he have the personnel to run it?

“I don’t know,” Moore said. ”We’ll see. Obviously, I think other teams have tried to replicate it and have not had success. I think investment is — (Eagles coach)

Nick (Sirianni) has done a phenomenal job.

“It’s a huge investment to execute that play at a really high level, and they put a lot of time and effort into it.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

extended starting experience, a trait becoming more common in college football with longer periods of eligibility Howard, for instance, has 43 college starts 27 in four years with Kansas State and then 16 with Ohio State. Moore believes there’s value in the additional reps, adding that he thinks quarterbacks don’t peak until their early 30s.

“Bo Nix was a great example,” Moore said, referring to the Denver Broncos starter who thrived as a rookie after 61 college starts. “Older guy, but he’s played a lot of football.”

The Saints’ research on the position isn’t an indication they are ready for the Carr era to be over Again on Tuesday Moore reiterated his excitement to coach the starter and said he believes those feelings are reciprocated even amid reports the 34-year-old was open to a change of scenery this offseason. Moore also spoke highly of Rattler, calling the 2024 fifth-rounder a “really good player” whom he’s excited to build up after a challenging first year Even then, and even with other glaring needs on the roster, the Saints could take another swing at the position. That’s been their pattern as of late, and Moore presents a new set of eyes for the rest of the team’s brass.

“It’s a good class,” Moore said. “I think (there are) different skill sets. That’s the important aspect of it, is identifying stylistically how all of them play and what best suits them.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

the years of working, you have enough.”

grueling.

Game tape showed that he seemed to understand rotations, but he wasn’t physically capable of covering enough ground to make life harder for an offensive player facing him.

Thomas also isn’t good at collecting steals, notching only a 1.2% steal rate. For perspective, LSU’s 5-11, 185-pound fifth-year senior point guard Jordan Sears had a 3.4% rate for 1.5 steals per game this season. When UNLV played Mississippi State, Thomas wasn’t assigned to defend star scorer Josh Hubbard. While Thomas has a slight edge in height over the 5-11 Hubbard, the new LSU point guard doesn’t have the physicality or lateral agility to bother a premier

scorer

The bet that LSU is placing is that Thomas’ elite offensive skills will outweigh his defensive issues. LSU is off to a good start with nabbing a point guard with top-notch traits to be an all-conference type player in the right situation. The work in building a hopeful NCAA Tournament team is far from over

Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy brown@theadvocate.com

“I don’t have an answer,” Mulkey said. “I just know that my generation of coaches they’re getting out. This is now what it’s supposed to be like They’re not opposed to money They’re not opposed to young people making all that they can. It’s just that the transfer portal is not healthy in their eyes.”

In that breath, Mulkey mentioned Nick Saban, the legendary former LSU and Alabama football coach who retired after the 2023 season. After he stepped down, Saban, 73, told ESPN that he was not ending his coaching career because the sport had become too hard to manage, though he did say that “everybody is frustrated about it.”

Mulkey, 62, also brought up Georgia Tech women’s basketball coach Nell Fortner, who retired on Monday two months after she agreed to a three-year contract extension.

In October Tony Bennett abruptly resigned as the Virginia men’s basketball coach, citing a belief that he wasn’t suited to lead a team through the current landscape of college athletics

Mulkey was then asked how she navigates the transfer portal and NIL and why she keeps coaching.

“What keeps me going?” Mulkey said. “Sometimes I ask myself that question. Honestly, why do I keep doing this? I don’t need to win more championships to validate my resume or my career I never ever am motivated by money Money, yes, it’s great, but at the end of the day, if you’re frugal with your money through

Mulkey then said she feels a “sense of responsibility” to both LSU and the players she coaches. She views herself as the head of a company, she said, one with people who depend on her for their careers.

“I know that young people’s chief want in life,” Mulkey said, “is for somebody to push them to become what they’re capable of becoming. And maybe that’s my answer to your question, is when I don’t feel like that is still the truth and what I believe, then maybe that’s when it’s time to retire.”

Mulkey is under contract with LSU through the 2033 season. She and her staff recently signed the nation’s No. 1 freshman class, four players who can each contribute to next season’s team.

On Monday, LSU lost starting forward Sa’Myah Smith to the transfer portal. So far, she’s the only Tiger who has left the program.

LSU star Aneesah Morrow exhausted her eligibility but both Mikaylah Williams and Flau’jae Johnson can return next season. Johnson, however, is age-eligible to declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, and as of Tuesday afternoon, she hadn’t announced her plan for the future.

“They don’t get in the portal because they don’t like you or they’re not playing,” Mulkey said. “It’s, ‘Hey, got to go get some more money, some better NIL deals.’ It’s broken, guys.”

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By IAN MAULE

UNLV guard Dedan Thomas drives past Utah State center Isaac Johnson on Jan. 13, 2024, in Las Vegas. Thomas committed to transfer to LSU on Monday.

Tulane coach Willie Fritz walks behind defensive back Kiland Harrison, left, and linebacker Jesus Machado after the Green Wave’s 26-14 loss to SMU in the American Athletic Conference championship on Dec. 2, 2023, at yulman Stadium.

Tulane’s 2023 leading tackler enters portal

BY GUERRY SMITH

Contributing writer

A second marquee Tulane defensive player has entered the transfer portal during spring drills, but the similarity between their circumstances ends there.

elected to wait until this year

“Of course I wanted to come back, but it was the best decision for myself,” he said after Tulane’s third spring practice. “You’ve just got to trust in it (the knee holding up) and build that relationship with it and strengthen it.”

Tulane returns senior linebacker

at Troy after recruiting him as a walk-on when he was the linebackers coach before returning as the head man With Winner-Johnson, he hit the other extreme.

Linebackers rarely are that tall because it presents leverage issues when they take on blocks.

Horschel-Hoge team commits to Zurich Classic

BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer

Two-time Zurich Classic champion Billy Horschel and PGA Tour veteran Tom Hoge have committed to play in this year’s tournament, officials announced Tuesday

Horschel has become a fan favorite in New Orleans since winning the 2013 Zurich Classic and teaming with Scott Piercy to win the 2018 event, the tournament’s second year of team competition In 13 appearances at the Zurich Classic, Horschel has earned more than $3 million.

This year’s tournament will be played April 24-27 at TPC of Louisiana in Avondale.

Notebook

Senior linebacker Jesus Machado, who had a teamhigh 98 tackles in 2023 when he suffered a torn ACL during a Military Bowl loss to Virginia Tech, on Monday joined cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant as a departure on March 26. Unlike Pleasant, Machado faced a hard road to becoming a starter again after his injury He was not practicing with the first-team defense before he left.

“He and I met last week and he wanted to talk,” Tulane coach Jon Sumrall said. “I’m for Zeus (Machado’s nickname), love him to death, grateful for what he’s done for Tulane football and hate to see guys leave, but at the same time when they ask you questions about where am I, what’s my role, I deal in truths, like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to earn it. No one’s given anything.’ ”

Machado’s tackles total under former coach Willie Fritz in 2023 was the highest for any Green Wave player since Sam Scofield made 104 in 2013 He considered entering the portal when Fritz left for Houston, decided to stay after talking with Sumrall and missed all of 2024 while recuperating from the knee injury He was cleared to return near the end of the season but

WALKER

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in the NBA. They currently have the fourth-worst record, which would give them about a 12.5% chance of landing the No. 1 pick at the May 12 lottery in Chicago. The teams with the three worst records (the Utah Jazz Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets) have a slightly better chance at 14% each.

For the Pelicans and their fans, it’s been another frustrating season. Injuries hit the team left and right, which is why Williamson, McCollum, Dejounte Murray, Trey Murphy and Herb Jones will have missed a total of 196 games by the time the season is over in two weeks. The five of them never played a game together. The foursome of Williamson, McCollum, Murphy and Murray played just five games together They went 2-3 together including a one-point road loss to the Boston Celtics when a McCollum buzzer beater didn’t fall.

Williamson played in just 30 games this season, just one more than he played two seasons ago.

Sam Howard, who finished second on the team with 63 tackles last year, as well as promising backups Dickson Agu (34 tackles) and Chris Rodgers (24 stops). Machado, who has one year of eligibility left did not have a clear role among that group.

“I wish him well, but we have to move on,” said Sumrall, who added he would help Machado find a good fit. “He’s working back into being confident with his knee.”

Making an impression

Tulane’s lone transfer portal addition at linebacker, redshirt sophomore DallasWinner-Johnson, stood out on the first day of spring drills simply because he was 6-foot-5.

He has been noticeable since then for his playmaking ability.

Winner-Johnson, whose 62 tackles were the second-highest total at Missouri State last year had a tackle for a loss and an interception in Tuesday’s practice.

“He has a really high ceiling,”

Sumrall said. “Some guys have high floors and low ceilings. That was me I didn’t have very much to go talent-wise, but I was going to be pretty good. He can be really really special with time.”

Sumrall coached 5-9 all-time FBS

leading tackler Carlton Martial

Since being drafted, he’s missed more games than he played. Last season, he played in a careerhigh 70 games. It was a big reason the Pelicans won 49 games, tied for the most in franchise history The Pelicans went 10-20 this season in game’s Williamson played and 11-34 without him in a year that saw him average a career-best 5.3 assists and tie his career-high in rebounds (7.2)

“There’s no doubt about Z’s ability when he’s on the floor,” Green said. “Everyone got a chance to see it. See him handle the ball, see him play in more pick and rolls as a screener He was incredible for the games he was on the floor I think there is no doubt about where he is as a basketball player in terms of his ability on the floor

“Now the next step for us is going through the summer getting healthy and re-evaluating our group and going from there.”

The key to it all will be Williamson, who looked to be in the best shape of his career this season. Williamson missed 27 games with a hamstring injury, then played in 24 of 34 games after returning. Six of the games he

“That’s something he’s having to continue to focus on,” Sumrall said. “I’ve seen improvement in the spring and he will continue to grow What bodes well for him is he’s flashed in the periods of live football. In the normal practice setting he’s looked all right, but when we’re just playing the game is when he flashes and makes a play.”

Stepping up

Senior wideout Bryce Bohanon turned in the play of Tuesday’s practice, catching a short pass from Illinois transfer Donovan Leary in 11-on-11 work, juking a defender and racing to the end zone before getting swarmed by his offensive teammates in celebration.

Bohanon, who also scored a touchdown in the scrimmage at Friday’s practice, has 24 career catches but can help fill the hole left by the loss of Mario Williams, Dontae Fleming and Yulkeith Brown, who combined for 126 catches last year.

“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” Bohanon said. “It’s fun. Just being out there and playing football in general is fun. Winning games is fun, and that’s what I’m just looking to do. Whether it’s being a starter or not being a starter, as long as we’re winning games, I’m good.”

missed were because of the Pelicans playing on back-to-back nights.

If it was up to Williamson, he would have played. But those decisions were made by the team’s medical staff, which is being extra cautious with its most critical player Chances are, similar decisions will have to be made next season.

That’s assuming the Pelicans run it back with Williamson again.

He’s too talented not to. The best guess here is the team won’t risk moving on from Williamson and seeing him thrive elsewhere. They will instead keep their fingers crossed that the conditioning they saw this season will spill over into next season.

“We definitely want him to be able to maintain that,” Green said. “That’s a key factor, a key component.

“He knows it, and it’s something he has to stay committed to.”

While Williamson’s season is done, his commitment to the Pelicans and himself must continue.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

“Billy has shown consistent success in the Zurich Classic,” said Steve Worthy, CEO of the Fore!Kids Foundation, which operates the tournament for the PGA Tour “In addition to his two wins, he finished tied for fourth in the 2021 Zurich Classic and earned a solo second the following year in New Orleans, so we always expect to see him on the leaderboard, this time with a great partner in Tom Hoge.”

Horschel, ranked No. 20 in the latest World Golf Rankings, recently sank a long putt to lead his Atlanta Drive team to the first SoFi championship in this year’s inaugural season of the TGL golf league.

The former University of Florida All-American rebounded from a disappointing 2022-23 season to post 13 top-25 finishes in 2024. He won the Corales Puntacana Championship and tied for second in The Open Championship.

He also recorded top-10 finishes in the Houston Open, the Wyndham Championship, the PGA Championship and the St. Jude Championship.

He has won eight times on the PGA Tour and twice on the Euro-

pean Tour He was named to the winning 2007 Walker Cup squad that included Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson and Webb Simpson. Horschel posted a 3-1 record in that year’s competition, helping the U.S. squad to a narrow onepoint victory At 27, he became the youngest winner of the FedExCup. His final round of 68 in the Tour Championship was his 12th consecutive round in the 60s, the longest streak of sub-70 rounds in PGA Tour history Hoge, currently ranked 19th in FedExCup points, most recently tied for third in The Players Championship. He tied for ninth at the 2022 PGA Championship and won the Pebble Beach Championship earlier that year He posted 12 top-25 finishes in 33 events in 2022-23.

Hoge’s best finish at the Zurich Classic was in 2018, when he tied for 10th while teamed with J.J. Henry Hoge teamed with Harris English to finish tied for 13th at the 2023 Zurich.

Email Jeff Duncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com.

Joking aside, will we see Tiger compete again?

As April Fools’ Day jokes go, this was a pretty good one. With the 89th Masters set to start a week from Thursday, fivetime champion Tiger Woods set the sports world aflutter when he posted on his X account that he would play in Augusta despite rupturing his Achilles tendon in March.

Scott Rabalais

“I can’t believe I am saying this, but a few weeks after rupturing my left Achilles, the sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber plus the explosive lifts my doctors and trainers have me ready to play the Masters next week!” Woods posted Tuesday morning. “Can’t wait! See y’all on the course.”

Three minutes later, Woods posted the punchline:

“P.S. April Fools my Achilles is still a mess.”

Woods reportedly will attend the Masters’ annual champions dinner next Tuesday The dinner is an exclusive Masters week tradition, with only the past champions and the current Masters chairman invited.

Still, whether the patrons attending the tournament get to see him or not this week — or

ever again in competition is an unanswerable question, and the humor of Woods’ April Fools’ Day joke masks a serious question in the mind of two-time U.S. Open winner and ESPN analyst Curtis Strange.

“I hope he gets back to where he can play,” Strange said Monday on an ESPN conference call with fellow two-time U.S. Open champ and ESPN analyst Andy North. “We don’t know if he can ever play again.

“It’s going badly,” Strange said of Woods’ rehabilitation, though he didn’t cite any specifics. “The people can’t get enough of him. We can’t get enough of him. It would be sad that he wouldn’t come back here and play in the future, but what the future holds, we have no idea.”

Woods’ age he turns 50 in December — must be a factor in his ability to recover and return from injury after injury surgery after surgery He’s done it before to everyone’s surprise, but at his age it’s not quite as feasible as it once was to do something like win with a fractured leg in the 2008 U.S. Open at age 32. The sports world wishes the best for Woods, but one is beginning to wonder whether best wishes will be enough.

And that’s no joke.

LSU golfer taking different mindset into 2nd Augusta event

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

LSU women’s golfer Rocio Tejedo has quite the Augusta National story to tell, if not exactly the one she would like to be her defining chapter there. Playing in the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, the Spanish golfer didn’t make the 36-hole cut to play the tournament’s final round at the home of the Masters tournament. But every player in the field did get to play a practice round at the famous club the day before the championship was decided. Tejedo got to play both the main

course and the nine-hole Par-3 course next door It was there she made a hole-in-one on the 140-yard sixth, the longest hole on the short course. Players who make a hole-in-one in the Masters or the ANWA get a crystal bowl to commemorate the moment. Did Tejedo get anything special?

“No, just a picture,” she said with a wry smile. Tejedo is back at Augusta this year, taking a break from an impressive freshman season at LSU to compete for what in six short years has become perhaps the biggest tournament in women’s amateur golf.

She said her attitude is not the same going into this year’s tournament.

“I went with a different mindset (last year) just to have fun and see how it works,” Tejedo said. “I thought it was a gift.

“Now my mindset has changed because it’s a very big event The best players are playing there. So you have to be prepared and playing very good and focused on your game.”

Tejedo, the world’s No. 32-ranked women’s amateur, has enjoyed an excellent start to her collegiate career Playing in all nine of LSU’s events, she leads the Tigers with a 71.52 stroke average and has five

top-five finishes, including a runner-up in February in Puerto Rico.

“Rocio has a brilliant mind,” LSU coach Garrett Runion said. “She sees angles and shots a lot differently While she speaks softly, she’s a very aggressive player and very competitive, which I like.”

Tejedo is the fifth LSU golfer to play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur since its inception in 2019 (the tournament was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic).

Former Tigers Ingrid Lindblad and Latanna Stone were both runners-up in the event in 2022 to Anna Davis. Lindblad played from 2021-24; Stone from 2022-24;

Rocio’s older sister, Carla, played in 2023; as did former LSU golfer Kendall Griffin. The 72-player field will contest two rounds at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia, near Augusta on Wednesday and Thursday The field then will be cut to the low 30 and ties for Saturday’s final round at Augusta National, with all the competitors allowed a Friday practice round. The tournament will be televised on Golf Channel from 12:302:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and on NBC Saturday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Live scoring is available at www.ANWAgolf.com.

Horschel reacts

A smoking good time

Cookoff teams bring food, fun and their own flair to Hogs for the Cause

BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer

Barbecue has opened doors to new worlds of opportunity for Gerald Vinnett Jr An electrical engineer for Entergy during the week, on weekends, he’s the pitmaster for his roving Big Papi’s Smokehouse catering business.

He cooks for football teams, including recruiting events at his alma mater, LSU. Last year, he competed on the Netflix series “Barbecue Showdown,” finishing as runner-up on a show followed nationally For the last few years though, Vinnett has also found a way to open a door for others to his own world. It’s Hogs for the Cause, the annual food event, music festival and charity cookoff based on barbecue. It returns Friday and Saturday (April 4-5) to the grounds outside the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena (see “what to know” below).

His cookoff team is composed of family, most of whom still live near Vinnett’s hometown of St. Rose and around the River Parishes. While Vinnett focuses on the competition barbecue they’ll submit to judges, his siblings and cousins serve up rib

head

Orleans in 2024.

corn dogs and pulled pork nachos to the festival crowds, turn up the blues and gospel on the sound system, and make sure their teammates have drinks close at hand.

“I always take pride in bringing people to St. Rose, so when you come by our booth, that’s what you get I’m bringing you into my world,” Vinnett said.

“This is just like how we feed you at home, it’s having a good time, listening to music, hang-

ing with family, all the things you do waiting for the brisket to smoke.” Big Papi’s Smokehouse is one of 95 cookoff teams that will raise money and compete for awards It’s a smaller team in a field where some have grown into essentially their own yearround civic organizations and fundraising machines (one, Fleur de Que, raised more than

What to know

WHAT: Hogs for the Cause

WHERE: University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena Grounds, 6801 Franklin Ave., New Orleans

WHEN: 3:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday,April 4; from 11 a.m. Saturday,April 5.

AT A GLANCE: A two-day festival and fundraising, supporting families dealing with pediatric brain cancer, with live music on three stages and food from 95 cookoff teams.

TWO DAYS,WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?: Both days have live music and much food for sale. Friday is “Bacon and Wings Night,” with different food competitions based on bacon and chicken wings. Saturday (from 11 a.m.) is the main barbecue competition day, when teams also serve many dishes at their booths, with an award ceremony culminating that night.

THE IMPACT: Hogs for the Cause has distributed more than $12.5 million, including grants to families, funds to hospitals to support pediatric cancer units, and the development of Hogs Houses providing lodging near hospitals for families, with one in New Orleans, one in Baton Rouge and a third planned in St. Petersburg Florida

DETAILS: The festival is rain or shine.All purchases are cashless.Tickets start at $50 per day, with different levels available. Free admission for kids age 10 and under See hogsforthecause.org

BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer

From its early days, Bellegarde Bakery was a game changer for New Orleans bread, bringing an old-world artisan style for crusty baguettes and rustic loaves. Now, a big name

weeks ahead, the company plans to move equipment,

The ham and brie sandwich on fresh baguette at Bellegarde Bakery is grab-and-go perfection.

Diners

to Piggy Stardust during Hogs for the Cause on the grounds of the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena in New

The grill is fired up at DeSwine Intervention during the 2024 Hogs for the Cause. | STAFF PHO

Dear Heloise: Our street is next to a large cemetery, and I’ve gotten to know the grounds manager well.

He has said that theft of the cemetery vases is a big problem due to their value from the copper content He has caught people turning in large quantities of vases at the local metal reclamation company The best way to combat this is for reclamation companies to refuse to accept these vases, which can be difficult because of the potential money to be made. — Phil V., via email

our daughter and her fam-

ily in another state. It’s our responsibility to take care of ourselves. It’s our goal to be good friends, parents and grandparents not users. — C.D., in Claremont, California

Unsubscribing

Visiting with friends, family

Dear Heloise. I just read the column about uninvited guests and the family letter that was sent out to discourage the same from happening again. I would think it highly rude, disrespectful and presumptive for people to simply show up and expect to be put up, fed, entertained, and/or think it acceptable to have a built-in babysitter!

We have close friends with a lakeside cabin in the Sierra mountains If we want to visit, we rent a condo or stay in a hotel, and we visit with our friends. We do the same thing when we want to see

Dear Heloise: I receive hundreds of emails each day that I have no interest in When I select unsubscribe, I’m taken to another screen to assure that this is what I want to do. It sounds simple, but one extra step for each email that is received could consume most of a person’s day Why can’t each email have an “unsubscribe” button in the body of the email, and once it’s been selected, it’s done? It doesn’t open another browser, and you no longer receive email from this source. And please don’t tell me that there is an app for this. — Steve W., in California Steve, this is an interesting point! How do my readers feel about this? Please let us know here at Heloise Central. — Heloise

Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday April 2, the 92nd day of 2025. There are 273 days left in the year

Today in history:

On April 2, 2005, John Paul II, the Polish pope born Karol Józef Wojtyła, died in his Vatican apartment at age 84. The first non-Italian pope in over 450 years, John Paul II became one of the most influential leaders of the late 20th and early 21st centuries while playing a crucial role in the fall of communism in Europe. Also on this date:

In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.

In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, after Union troops broke through Confederate lines in the Third Battle of Petersburg.

In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Congress declared war four days later.) In 1982, Argentine troops seized the disputed Falkland Islands from the United Kingdom, sparking

the Falklands War. In 1992, mob boss John Gotti was convicted in New York of murder and racketeering; he was later sentenced to life in prison without parole. (Gotti died in prison in 2002.) In 2007, in its first case on climate change, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, ruled 5-4 that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were air pollutants under the Clean Air Act In 2012, a gunman killed seven people at Oikos University, a Christian school in Oakland California. (The gunman, One Goh, died in 2019 while serving a life prison sentence.) In 2020, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 1 million, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Today’s birthdays: Disc jockey Dr. Demento is 84. Actor Linda Hunt is 80. Musician Emmylou Harris is 78. Actor Christopher Meloni is 64. Tennis Hall of Famer Todd Woodbridge is 54. Actor Pedro Pascal is 50. Actor Adam Rodriguez is 50. Actor Michael Fassbender is 48. Country musician Chris Janson is 39. Actor Jesse Plemons is 37. Rapper Quavo is 34. Country musician Zach Bryan is 29.

$650,000 last year alone).

But it is the different textures of the teams that make Hogs for the Cause different, and make the event so much fun to explore, a tapestry of individual expressions stitched to the same goal. It makes the festival feel like getting an invitation to 90plus different parties in one place.

Big acts, big flavor

Strolling the sprawling grounds between music stages, you can see how teams express their creativity through the hundreds of snacks and dishes they sell (most meaty, some not). You can check out campsites built for the weekend, some of which are like their own theme park attractions (a nearly life-size paddle wheeler from the team River Pork Pilots is a returning highlight).

And you can see the different ways that people come together for the cause, whether through family, friendship, career affiliation or a love of barbecue fused to a conviction to help others.

Hogs for the Cause raises money to support families contending with pediatric brain cancer Cookoff team members across the spectrum cite this as the compelling reason why they devote the time and effort to participate, and that has made the event the leading funder nationwide for its cause.

It started very small back in 2009 and has continued to evolve and grow This year, organizers expect the biggest event yet, thanks

BAKERY

Continued from page 1D

including deck ovens and stone flour mill, to the Commissary from Bellegarde’s current facility in the Leonidas neighborhood. The Commissary will become Bellegarde’s new storefront location once the operation is up and running.

“Our hope and dream is to have Bellegarde keep being the Bellegarde it wants to be,” said Sara Brennan, general manager of the Commissary, who previously was a baker at the modern artisan bread pioneer Tartine in San Francisco.

“This is about how we make sure there’s a future for Bellegarde,” she said.

“It’s their bakers, their ovens, their mills, and now they can just bake and do what they love.”

Farmers market to menus

Bellegarde was founded in the 2000s by Graison Gill as a one-man operation with a stand at the Crescent City Farmers Market He won a following with an insistence on age-old technique and transparent sourcing. New Orleans restaurants frequently namecheck the bakery on their menus.

The business grew as

in large part to the talent on the music stages. Zach Top, performing Saturday has been selling out huge venues, including a concert at the Houston Rodeo in March for more than 70,000 people.

Still, what makes Hogs for the Cause one of the great eating weekends on the New Orleans calendar are the individual teams and what they bring to the festival menu.

Pop-ups and collabs

Like Vinnett’s group, the team Pork Belly Cartel is another relative newcomer, out for its third event this year This one shows the spirit of collaboration shared by many of the newer players in the local food scene, especially pop-ups.

The team is led by Jason Gonzales, founder of Gonzo’s Smokehouse, a cult favorite among barbecue

fanatics that’s open just two days a week in Luling. It’s racked up a trophy case of awards at local food festivals of late.

Some of Gonzo’s signature items will go into tacos the team will sell at the festival, including a smoked beef cheek barbacoa taco and a smoked brisket boudin taco.

This year, Gonzales is also working with Chicken’s Kitchen, the runaway hit plate lunch spot that Marlon “Chicken” Chukumerije started as a pandemic pivot pop-up, now with two Gretna restaurants. Look for a fried mac and cheese taco with collard greens to come from this collaboration at Hogs for the Cause. And for dessert, Pork Belly Cartel has been busy smoking graham crackers for a campfire-inspired Oreo cookie ice cream from Super Witch Ice Cream Co., the pop-up started by team

artisan baking in general was rising in New Orleans, and Bellegarde set a new standard by reaching into the past, using fresh milled flour from its own mill. By 2019 Bellegarde moved into a former events hall at 8300 Apple St where it opened its own retail storefront for the first time.

In 2022, Gill departed and sold Bellegarde to his staff as the bakery became an employee-owned cooperative.

The business has struggled recently Baking days were reduced and in March the bakery announced it would temporarily shut down its storefront.

“This is the best possible outcome,” Keira Watt, a

longtime Bellegarde baker, said of the purchase.

She’s confident Bellegarde will maintain its identity and with more support can bring back products it once produced, including a wider selection of flours and meals.

“We have a lot of faith in working with Sara Brennan with her bread baking experience,” Watt said. “I think people here are looking forward to the stability.”

Old world bread, in the now Bellegarde products will be worked into the line up of baked goods used at Dickie Brennan & Co. restaurants. The company already has its own in-house baking

member Briggs Barrios that’s drawn lines of devotees.

With larger crowds expected this year, the team is aiming to surpass last year’s effort of 2,500 tacos, with an assist from another local brand, Mawi Tortillas, the Metairie-based brand from chef Will Avelar, which is supplying the corn tortillas. For Gonzales the Hogs for the Cause effort means closing his restaurant for the week, but he said the feeling of contributing to the charitable cause and the camaraderie of working with other food pros fuels his fire.

“It’s just really cool to work with these guys. We’re always bouncing ideas off each other,” Gonzales said. “At the end of the day, we all know why we’re here.”

Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate. com.

operation and uses traditional New Orleans table bread, po-boy loaves and other products from Leidenheimer Baking Co., and that will be unchanged by the Bellegarde addition, Brennan said.

Pettus believes the Bellegarde baking operation will perform better with the management structure the company has in place, with departments for human resources, accounting, marketing and maintenance. The idea, he said, is to provide the larger business and support systems and allow staff to focus on their areas of expertise. They will also have access to the company’s benefits program.

This isn’t the first acquisition of a local name for Dickie Brennan & Co. In 2023, the company bought historic Pascal’s Manale Restaurant, bringing the restaurant and its staff under its umbrella while keeping its own character intact.

A decade earlier, Dickie Brennan & Co also developed the restaurant Tableau as part of a plan to bring back Le Petit Théâtre Du Vieux Carré, a beloved community asset then facing the possibility of closing.

Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate. com.

THRELKELD

People picnic during Hogs for the Cause on the grounds of the University of New Orleans Lakefront Arena in New Orleans in 2024.

STAFF PHOTO By IAN McNULTy

Bellegarde Bakery opened a new bakery in a freshly renovated Apple Street building in 2019.

Hints from Heloise

Nolan SOCIETY

Contact: nnolan@theadvocate.com

n Mystic

Harking back to 1907, The Mystic Club traveled to Buenos Aires, “the greatest city in Latin America,” for the staging of its tableau ball. Honored then were Spain’s King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, who were greeted by Argentina’s President José Figueroa Alcorta and his wife, Señora Josefa Bouquet Roldan at the Presidential Palace, the Casa Rosada, for a splendid garden party

The royal revels were portrayed at the Hilton Riverside Hotel with Mrs. Frederic Theodore Le Clercq, née Courtney Johnson, as Queen Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. The Mystic king, as Alfonso XIII of Spain, was not identified. Her majesty was stunning in a Royal Design House gown of Wedgwood blue with a beaded and embroidered overdress and significant accessories.

Most impressive, too, were the above design-house gowns of the ladies-in-waiting, who respectively portrayed the first ladies of Ecuador Mexico, Chile and Venezuela. They were Mmes. Hardie Christian French, Laura; Joel Malone Funderburk Jr Mary; John Thomas Paige, Lori; and Robert Bruce Worley Jr., Cassie As did their majesties and the Mystic captain, they entered the ballroom to thematic music arranged by Robert Maxwell Vincent Rose’s “Linger Awhile” announced Mrs. Louis McDaniel Freeman, Judy, the first 50-year Mystic queen to appear at the annual ball. The initial ball was in 1923. The young ladies presented were Misses Carolyn Taylor Bienvenu, Marguerite Lisette Breaux, Elizabeth Shaw Feirn, Sarah Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Flora Elizabeth French Celia Louise Funderburk, Charlotte Anne Galloway, Serena Elizabeth Klebba,Alden Ann Laborde, Fiona Hanna Marks, Morgan Elizabeth Nalty, Charlotte Heyward Parrino,Tatum Lady Reiss, Elizabeth Talbot Rogers, Eugenie Gardiner Selser, Laura Elise Vickery, Marianne Pratt Villere,Ava Renee Wilkes and Caroline Burke Zvonek

As debutantes, six wore Carnival crowns of the recent season. Among them was Miss Villere, whose mother (as were those of the above) was in attendance Her majesty Courtney was applauded by family and friends, including her mother, Mrs. Edward Douglas Johnson Jr., Susan.

All admired the beautiful ball program by Patricia Hardin that depicted the famed venue, the Casa Rosada, the Pink Palace, and scripted the evening’s activity: a 6 p.m. reception, the tableau ball, dancing, and a three-course dinner and more dancing. All the while, guests admired further finery onstage, such as gaucho outfits and handsome costumes worn by club members. A subtle, yet significant transfer occurred at 9 p.m. when the present club captain gave a successor the whistle of command.

As did the Spanish royalty in Argentina in 1907, the 2025 monarchs endeared themselves to their Crescent City subjects, giving one and Mystic all the glory of both the past and lovely present.

History loves Carnival company

n Alexis

Russia’s glory of yore was reenacted at the New Orleans Country Club when Alexis presented its 48th Imperial Reception. It celebrated the reign of Fydor I Ivanovich (1557-1598), Tsar of all Russia for 14 years until his death. Nicknamed the Bellringer for the church visits he made when bells were rung, he was especially interested in architecture. Onion domes resulted.

Following tradition, the Alexis monarch, as Fydor (Feodor), was not identified, but his radiant tsarina, as Irina Ivanovich, was: Melissa Mason Gordon, Mrs. Bruce Gordon The grand duchesses, Praskovia Solova Ivanovich and Anna Ivanovich, were Michelle Marie Chase and Nikki Rae Crawford, Mmes. Judson Chase and Scott Haydel. Her majesty’s rhinestone-sprinkled gown was burgundy in color and trimmed in gold. The jeweled motif on the skirt’s insert matched that of the kokoshnick, the traditional Russian headwear of the period she portrayed. That era also was represented in the splendid gowns of the grand duchesses.

The court’s arrival in front of their appreciative audience was to music by noted Russian composers, such as Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky Red roses filled the ballroom and the Alexis crest appeared above the mantel.

After the pageantry, Alexis members and their guests sat for a beef-filet dinner and the fun of a make-your-own sundae bar Dancing became just deserts when The Boogie Men set the beat Among those reveling were Peggy Scott Laborde and spouse Errol, Charlene and Tim Peterson, Kim and René Navarre, Caroline and Arthur Nead, Katherine and Adam Lambert, Linda and Michael Gray, Carrie and Eric Berger, and Agatha and Gerald Haydel, an Alexis founding member who were celebrating their 72nd anniversary

Delighted and surprised to receive the royal honor, tsarina Melissa summed up everyone’s assessment of the imperial event saying “I loved the ball and the evening.”

Alden Laborde, Ava Wilkes, Flora French, Heyward Parrino

Seated: Fiona Marks, Morgan Nalty Marianne Villere; Standing: Elise Vickery, Charlotte Galloway, Marguerite Breaux

Susan Greenwood, Betsy Stout, Jeanne Landry, Valerie Besthoff

n Arthurians

Nostalgia was to the fore on the face of the ball’s invitation, as was a rendering of a “smiling” pachyderm. “For many years Arthur rode an Elephant to the Winter Palace” was the wording.

The stupendous arrival of the past bowed to the streetcar as the mode of transport for Arthur XXXXIV his royal entourage (Merlin, two Knights Chamberlain, Jester) and krewe members of Arthurians, who were heralded by bagpipes from the Kilts of Many Colours as they accessed the Winter Palace.

Within, they had a mission: selection of a court. Merlin tapped as ladies-in-waiting Mrs. Robert Lippincott, Bonnie, and Mrs. Ronald Whitcomb Kathy Excitement crested when Merlin chose Mrs. Frank Arnemann, Eileen Hofrichter, to reign as Guinevere with King Arthur Last year’s royal dubbing was of Mrs.W Kenneth Mann, Dr. Naomi Mann. As the new monarchs of lore, the unidentified Arthur and Guinevere Eileen joined with the Knights Chamberlain and ladies-in-waiting Bonnie and Kathy for the first dance to music by The New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, led by John Craft. The court and general dancing followed. And never stopped. All the while, ball chairman Warren J. Greenwood Jr was roundly thanked.

Delighted by the decorations of garlands and tiny white lights, Meade Wenzel‘s fabulous flowers, delicious Pigeon Catering, the favor pin of King Arthur’s erstwhile arrival on an elephant, and the lively music were Peter Kastl with Valerie Besthoff, Susan and Butch Greenwood, Betsy and Wendell Stout, Donna and Chris Elliott,Wendi Sweetland and Terry Hauver, Sandra and John Callender Harvey Burns, Kim and Josh Reyher, Hugh Blair, Devie and A.J Friedman, Joan and Alan Sheen, Carly and Duncan Friedman, Grady Hardy, Clay Andrews and Melissa Smith, Deborah and Albert Lujan, and Emily and Tommy Ryan All reveled in the surprise and fun of the court selection, which was emphasized by Mmes. Arnemann, Lippincott and Whitcomb, and the elephantine ado.

PHOTOS By JEFF STROUT

Courtney Le Clercq, Mystic King

Laura French, Mystic Masker

Mary Funderburk, Mystic Masker

Mystic Masker Lori Paige, Mystic Masker

Mystic Masker, Cassie Worley

Peggy Laborde, Mystic Masker, Susan Johnson

Seated: Serena Klebba, Caroline Zvonek, Betsy Feirn, Celia Funderburk, Taylor Bienvenu; Standing: Elizabeth Rogers, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Tatum Reiss, Eugenie Selser

A.J and Devie Friedman, Lydia Moreau, Carrie Berger

PHOTOS By JEFF STROUT

Melissa Gordon, Tsar

Anne Villere, Judy Freeman

Captain, Michelle Chase, escort Nikki Rae Crawford, escort

PHOTOS By JEFF STROUT

‘Guinevere’ Eileen Hofrichter, King Arthur

Arthurian Knight, Kathy Whitcomb Merlin Bonnie Lippincott, Arthurian Knight.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Set yourself up for success. Take charge, be part of the team and remain focused on your objective. Ask like-minded people to join you in physical and mental activities.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Take care of personal paperwork, expiration dates and investments. How you handle your affairs will affect your lifestyle. Adopt change and turn it into something that benefits you.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) An inquisitive approach will help you make better choices. Be wary of inflated or misleading claims. Trust verified information that fits into your lifestyle and plans.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Concentrate on your finances, reputation and meaningful relationships. Refuse to let temptation lead to excessive behavior. Trust what you see, not what you hear.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Let your creativity flow, and you'll develop a plan that attracts attention Emotional issues are best dealt with swiftly to avoid unnecessary anxiety and an inflated self-assessment.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Lend a helping hand, but don't let anyone take advantage of your kindness and consideration. Suggest alternatives and encouragement, but don't take the lead. Moderation and an empathetic attitude are your best choices.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Get firsthand information. Engage with your community and the issues that concern you. Your input can make a difference

that influences your life, environment and safety.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Set a budget, cap your spending and be cognizant of expenses that can set you back. Look for new outlets for your skills, experience and knowledge.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Focus on being creative and rearranging your living space to better suit your needs. Say no to temptation and excessive behavior. Examine what and who matters most to you.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Pay attention to detail. Joint ventures can be beneficial if solid agreements and designated plans are in place. Put time aside for someone you love or want to spend more time with.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take time to reorganize your space. The more efficient you are, the easier it will be to get things done. Let your imagination explore new ventures that can help you bring in extra cash. Be a leader, not a follower.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Be moderate, stick to a budget and surround yourself with those offering support instead of temptation. A social event catered toward sports, the arts or cultural events will be entertaining and enlightening.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

toDAy's cLuE: Z EQuALs P

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

FrAnK And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

dooneSbUrY

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

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

From “Romeo and Juliet,” we all know the line: “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

At the bridge table, sometimes it pays totaketimetosmellthehigh-cardpoints, which by any other name would be as important.

How does that apply in today’s deal?

South is in four spades. West leads the heart 10 to declarer’s ace. How should South continue?

West applied the Law of Total Tricks for his jump to four hearts. In a competitive auction (or when you are confident your side does not have the high-card values for game), bid as high as your side’scombinednumberoftrumps.West knewabouta10-cardfit,sojumpedtothe 10-trick level.

South saw four potential losers: one spade, two diamonds and one club. It looked as though he needed the spade finesse to work. But since there were only 17 high-card points missing, declarer took time to learn who held the club ace. At trick two, he led his club king.

Westwonwithhisaceandshiftedtothe diamond nine, but now South won with hisaceandledthespadequeen,tempting West to cover if he unexpectedly had the king. However, after West played low, declarer called for dummy’s ace to drop East’sking.IfEasthadnotheldthespade king, he would have opened with only 10 high-card points, which was highly unlikely.

Whentheopponentshavebeenbidding, always check the high-card points when the dummy comes down. It will make it easier to place the missing key cards. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD = gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAy’s WoRD — REsuRGED: rih-SURJ’D: Rose again into life, activity or prominence.

Average mark 23 words Time limit 35 minutes

Can you find 29 or more words in RESURGED?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD — tRoPHIc

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

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.

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.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

WiShinG Well

HErE is a plEasanT

the

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe

$53,996.94

2024-10161

$273,946.02

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Or‐leans GH 20 LAW OFFICES OF HERSCHEL C. ADCOCK, JR. LLC (225) 756-0373

COREY J. GIROIR

2023-1083

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 3, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 2530 CLEVE‐LAND AV NEW ORLEANS, LA 70119 LOT#9, SQUARE NO. 579 FIRST MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN 1406156 WRIT AMOUNT: $159,828.85

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH

The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

BT 8 DEAN MORRIS, LLC 318-388-1440 CANDACE A COURTEAU

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 2/26/2025 & 4/2/2025

FEB 26-Apr 2-2T $89.30

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 2/26/2025 & 4/2/2025 FEB 26-Apr 2-2T $ TIN AND MELISSA

ACQ MIN: 1385289 WRIT AMOUNT: $38,000.00

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter.

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans GH 24 NEWMAN, MATHIS, BRADY & SPEDALE A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORP 504837-9040 JOSHUA MATH‐EWS

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 4/2/2025 & 5/7/2025 apr 2-may 7-2t $90.36

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 927 SPAIN ST THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER ENTI‐TLED: WELLS FARGO BANK, NA VERSUS CHRISTOPHER J WALTON

PUBLIC NOTICE -

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 5876 FLEUR DE LIS DRIVE, THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: MAR‐GARET ALBERT WIFE OF/AND JULES G. AL‐BERT, III VERSUS TODD D. HIG‐GINS

C

Case No: 2024-4430

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 5876 FLEUR DE LIS DR NEW OR‐LEANS, LA 70124 LOT 22, SQUARE 45 SEVENTH MU‐NICIPAL DIS‐TRICT ACQ MIN: 1119529 WRIT AMOUNT: $466,201.87

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 3300-3302 MET‐ROPOLITAN ST NEW ORLEANS LA 70126 LOT 22-ASQUARE 2167 3RD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1431474 WRIT AMOUNT:

$314,513.17

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH

The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

RB 21 MCCABE LAW FIRM, LLC 504-782-3436 RYAN M MC‐CABE

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

BT 19 LOGS LEGAL GROUP LLP 504-838-7535 EMILY A. MUELLER

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 4/2/2025 & 5/7/2025

apr 2-may 7-2t $92

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 2400 LAURADALE DRIVE, THIS CITY IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: MID‐FIRST BANK VERSUS RAN‐DALL PULLEN

above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 200 HELENA ST NEW ORLEANS, LA 70119 LOT D, SQUARE 627 SECOND MUNIC‐IPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1225923 WRIT AMOUNT: $236,066.59

Case No: 2024-2672

NUMBER 1621 MAGNOLIA STREET THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: LOAN PARTNERS L L C VERSUS ROYAL AMBASSADOR HOUSING DE‐VELOPMENT, L L C AND SONJA DEDAIS

Case No: 2024-3194

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 1621 MAGNOLIA ST NEW OR‐LEANS, LA 70113 LOT 1, SQUARE; 418 FIRST MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN:

Case No: 2023-10731

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 3, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 927 SPAIN ST NEW ORLEANS, LA 70117 LOT 6 - SQUARE 275 THIRD MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1062754 WRIT AMOUNT: $214,842.42

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

RB 5 ALBERTELLI LAW, P.A 813-221-4743 ASHLEY MORRIS

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 2/26/2025 & 4/2/2025 FEB 26-Apr 2-2T $86.13

The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Or‐leans

GH 22

NEWMAN MATHIS BRADY & SPEDALE A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORA‐TION 504-8379040 JOSHUA P MATHEWS

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 4/2/2025 & 5/7/2025 apr 2-may 7-2t $

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 4/2/2025 & 5/7/2025 apr 2-may 7-2t $93.10

NOTICE

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 15151517 HOMER STREET, THIS CITY IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: JPMOR‐GAN CHASE BANK NA‐TIONAL ASSOCI‐ATION VERSUS DORIS LEBLANC (A/K/A DORIS WASH‐INGTON SMITH, DORIS HENDER‐SON, DORIS WASHINGTON SMITH LEBLANC)

S Case No: 2024-5638 By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 1515-1517 HOMER ST NEW ORLEANS, LA 70114 SQUARE 164, LOT N &

FIFTH MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN:1234096 WRIT AMOUNT: $53,996.94 Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐

EN‐TITLED: CAR‐RINGTON MORT‐GAGE SERVICES, LLC VERSUS TERRY DENISE HILTON (A/K/A TERRY HILTON)

Case No: 2024-10810

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 2741 JONQUIL ST NEW ORLEANS, LA 70122 LOT: 32-A, SQUARE: 26 THIRD MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1397487 EDGEWOOD PARK SUBDIVI‐SION WRIT AMOUNT: $199,476.05

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 17 LOGS LEGAL GROUP LLP 504-838-7535 AMY R. ORTIS

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 4/2/2025 & 5/7/2025 apr 2-may 7-2t $89.30

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the fol‐lowing de‐scribed prop‐erty to wit: 2400 LAU‐RADALE DR NEW ORLEANS, LA 70114 LOT 6 SQUARE 12 FIFTH MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1323332 LAURADALE AD‐DITION SUBDIVI‐SION WRIT AMOUNT: $131,600.83

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

GH 18 LOGS LEGAL GROUP LLP 504-838-7535 AMY R. ORTIS

The N.O. Advocate Date (s): 4/2/2025 & 5/7/2025 apr 2-may 7-2t $88.24

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 16 LAW OFFICES OF HERSCHEL C. ADCOCK, JR. LLC (225) 756-0373 DENNIS F. WIG‐GINS JR. The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 4/2/2025 & 5/7/2025 apr 2-may 7-2t $89.30

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 12420 CARMEL PLACE, THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COM‐PANY, AS TRUSTEE FOR MORGAN STAN‐LEY ABS CAPITAL I INC TRUST 2005-HE3 MORT‐GAGE PASSTHROUGH CER‐TIFICATES, SE‐RIES 2005-HE3 VERSUS DWAYNE SANDERS A/K/A DWAYNE ED‐WARD SANDERS A/K/A DWAYNE E SANDERS C

Case No: 2022-10183 By virtue of a Writ of Fieri Fa‐cias directed to me by the Hon‐orable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Or‐leans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock

Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks. FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING. Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans RB 13

Case No: 2023-12653 By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on May 8, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the fol‐lowing de‐

Dan Gill is a retired consumer horticulture specialist with the LSU AgCenter. He hosts the “Garden Show” on WWL-AM Saturdays at 9 a.m. Email gardening questions to gnogardening@agcenter.lsu.edu.

Spring Green

Spring is an important time when it comes to lawn care. We first apply fertilizer to our lawns in late March through early April. Fertilizer provides the mineral nutrients your lawn needs to grow vigorously and have a rich, green color. A vigorous lawn is thicker and more resistant to weeds and foot traffic.

You may use any lawn fertilizer following package directions Look at the fertilizer analysis (a series of three numbers on the label). The first number, which represents the amount of nitrogen in the fertilizer, should be higher than the other two

Be sure you apply the fertilizer, at the recommended rates, using a spreader to ensure even greening. Make a second fertilizer application in July.

If cool-season weeds are an issue, you may apply a weed and feed product (fertilizer/weed killer combination) to fertilize the grass and control the weeds in one step

After having the winter off, we are starting to mow again. Even before the grass starts growing, you may need to mow occasionally to cut down cool-season weeds. Mowing them suppresses their grow and helps prevent flowering and seed formation –reducing weeds next cool-season.

When it comes to mowing, sharp blades are important to making clean cuts and keeping the grass attractive and healthy. Sharpen your mower blades or have them sharpened.

A common mistake is not mowing frequently enough. Grass can grow rapidly in summer, especially if we get lots of rain or lawns are regularly irrigated. It is unhealthy to allow the grass to grow tall and then mow it back short

As a rule of thumb, you should not cut more that one-third the

length of the grass blades when you mow. The smaller clipping will sift down into the grass and decay, so you don’t necessarily have to bag grass clippings if you mow frequently enough.

Also, make sure your mower is adjusted to mow at the right height. St. Augustine is mowed at 2 to 3 inches, centipede and zoysia are mowed at 1 to 2 inches and bermuda at 1 to 11/2 inches

As the grass greens up in spring, you may notice you have damage to your lawn, such as areas of dead grass or bare patches This may be due to insect or disease problems last summer or loss over the winter.

April and May are good months to assess and repair this damage if needed. With fertilization and good care, surrounding grass may grow over and fill in small areas of damage. If the areas are wider than a foot or two, repair is recommended by laying sod in the damaged areas

If there are large areas of dead grass, remove the dead grass before laying the sod. If areas are bare, the soil has likely become compacted. Loosen it up with a shovel or garden fork, rake it smooth and then lay the sod. Late April and May are a good time to lay sod to repair damage, although it can be done all summer through October

Gill’syear-roundguidetoabeautifullawn

Turf War

Weeds make the lawn look bad and can crowd out and damage desirable turf grass. Lawn weeds are divided into cool-season weeds that grow in our lawns from October through May They disappear once it gets hot, and warm-season weeds grow in our lawns from April to November

Currently, most of the weeds you see in your lawn are cool-season weeds. Some of the leading cool-season weeds include dollarweed, clover, annual bluegrass, burweed/sticker weed and chickweed.

Dollarweed is a perennial weed and the most destructive of the cool-season weeds. It can crowd out areas of lawn grass, so control is recommended. Clover is also a perennial. Dollarweed and clover can be tough to control, but Atrazine and MSM Turf (metsulfuron) will do an excellent job taking out these weeds

The rest of the cool-season weeds are annuals. If you mow them back occasionally to suppress growth and seed production, they will die off once it gets hot. But if you decide you want to control them, any lawn weed killer should do a good job

Applying a weed killer would be especially important if you have had a problem with sticker weed in your lawn. The stickers are formed when the weeds, which have been growing in the lawn all winter, bloom and form spiny seed pods in spring. You must control sticker weed before the spiny seed pods form.

This may be done by applying a preemergence lawn weed killer in October. This kills the germinating sticker weed seeds (and most other cool-season weeds) preventing them from showing up. You can also control sticker weed by applying a lawn weed killer in January, February or March. If you have had sticker weed problems in the past, you should treat immediately at this point and, hopefully, kill them before the spiny seed pods form. Warm-season weeds begin growing in spring infesting the lawn all summer into the fall. They include Virginia buttonweed, lespedeza, spurge, sedges (like nutsedge and kyllinga) and grassy weeds like bahiagrass. A common mistake in controlling these weeds is not applying a weed killer early in the season. Many gardeners wait until late summer when the weeds become very noticeable and have invaded large areas of the lawn before decid-

ing to so something.

These weeds begin to grow in spring and are present in the lawn through the summer. It is far more effective to treat for these weeds in May or June when they are younger and have not caused major issues in the lawn.

Virginia buttonweed is the leading weed in summer lawns

You should not wait to treat until late summer when it becomes very noticeable. Even though not as visible in early summer, it is there. This perennial weed is tough to control, but weed killers work better on younger plants

If you had a problem with Virginia buttonweed last summer, apply a lawn weed killer in April or May. Metsulfuron (MSM Turf ) is one of the more effective lawn weed killers for Virginia buttonweed control (as well as the other common summer lawn weeds). Then, monitor your lawn carefully through the summer looking for small areas of Virginia button weed. If needed, make additional herbicide applications in summer

We must be careful what lawn herbicides we apply to our lawns in summer. High temperatures above 90 degrees make it more likely that many common lawn weed killers we use in spring when temperatures are cooler may damage the grass.

Two lawn weed killers may be used during summer despite the heat – MSM Turf and Celsius. You may use these through the summer, and they will effectively control a wide variety of summer weeds. Metsulfuron will also control bahiagrass.

Most lawn weed killers do not effectively control sedges like nutsedge or kyllinga. When they are an issue, use halosulfuron (Sedgehammer) or imazaquin (Image Kills Nutsedge).

Remember that proper lawn care, including fertilization, mowing, pest control and irrigation, will make your lawn thicker, healthier and more resistant to weeds

DanGill’syear-roundguidetoabeautifullawn

PetalP wer

People enjoy colorful landscapes, and that color can be provided a variety of ways. People often first think of beds of colorful bedding plants, and they do provide a powerful punch of color whether planted in beds or large containers. But they must be replanted seasonally. Color can also be provided by perennial plants and summer flowering bulbs. These plants live for many years and don’t have to be replanted each year like bedding plants.

And don’t forget that trees and shrubs can also contribute color to the landscape during their blooming seasons

Visit any nursery now and you will be overwhelmed by blooming bedding plants. They come in a wide variety of colors and heights, and there are sun-loving and shade-loving types for every situation except dense shade.

Bedding plants are divided into two categories – cool-season bedding plants (grown from October to May) and warm-season bedding plants (grown from March to November).

What you may see blooming so beautifully in flower beds now are cool-season bedding plants, like pansy, dianthus, viola and snapdragon. They are often planted in fall, and they bloom through the winter with a big display in late March, April and early May

You may still get your money’s worth planting them as late as February. But, despite how wonderful they look in April, they will fade as daytime highs start hitting the 90s next month and are not your best choice for planting now

If you currently have beds of cool-season bedding plants blooming beautifully, enjoy them – there is no hurry to replace them. As the weather gets hotter and they begin to go downhill in late May, you can replace them then.

Select and plant warm-season bedding plants in your flower beds now. The nurseries are full of a wonderful selection.

Some warm-season bedding plants, such as coleus, impatiens, periwinkles, blue daze, pentas and begonias, are actually tender

perennials rather than true annuals. They can bloom for more than one year here if mild winters occur. But these plants are generally grown as summer annuals because they do not reliably survive winter freezes.

The advantage of planting these tender perennials is that they have more stamina than true annuals. They have excellent longevity in the summer flower garden, often blooming from late spring until cold weather arrives in fall. True annuals rarely make it all the way through our exceptionally long summer growing season.

Choose bedding plants well suited to the light conditions provided by the location where they will be planted. While many need full sun (at least eight hours of direct sun) to part sun (about six hours of direct sun), there are also those that thrive in part shade (about four hours of direct morning sun) or shade (about two hours of direct morning sun or dappled light).

Flower beds are not low maintenance, and you should keep in mind the care that they will need through the long, hot summer when deciding where, how large and how many beds you will plant. Mulch will reduce problems with weeds, but regular weeding will still be necessary. Regular watering, pest control and grooming (removing dead flowers and unattractive leaves) will keep them looking their best. In containers, hanging baskets and window boxes annuals need regular watering and fertilization

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What Plant to

Warm-season bedding plants for sun to part sun

Ageratum, amaranthus, angelonia*, balsam, blue daze*, celosia, cleome (particularly Senorita Rosalita) , coleus (sun-tolerant types)*, coreopsis, cosmos (yellow gold and orange flowered types), dusty miller*, gaillardia (short-lived perennial), gomphrena, lantana*, marigold, melampodium, narrow-leaf zinnia, ornamental pepper*, periwinkle*, pentas*, portulaca, purslane*, rudbeckia (Goldsturm is a long-lived perennial), salvia*, scaevola*, sunflower, SunPatiens*, tithonia, perennial verbena (hardy perennial), zinnia (Profusion and Zahara perform best).

Warm-season bedding plants for part-shade to shade

Balsam, begonia*, browallia*, caladium* (perennial tuber), coleus*, impatiens*, pentas*, salvia*, torenia (Kauai series).

Tender perennials are marked with an asterisk *.

While bedding plants must be replaced seasonally, long lived hardy perennials and trees and shrubs can provide color with less effort – particularly when using flowering trees and shrubs

Hardy perennials and summer flowering bulbs

Plant rudbeckia, yarrow, hardy hibiscus, Louisiana iris, salvia, ligularia (Farfugium japonicum), jewels of Opar, Chinese ground orchid, phlox, native butterfly weed, gingers, lilies, coneflower, beebalm, Stokes aster and goldenrod.

Trees

Plant crape myrtle, vitex, redbud, fringe tree, Japanese magnolia, Taiwan flowering cherry, Parsley haw, mayhaw, Southern crabapple and snowbell.

Shrubs

Some good choices include azaleas, roses, loropetalum, star magnolia gardenia, camellia, sasanqua, star bush (Illicium) and spirea.

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Branchingout

Asking a horticulturist to recommend a good shade tree is like walking into a shoe store and asking the salesperson to recommend a good pair of shoes. Without knowing your shoe size, what you will be doing in them, your taste, your budget and a variety of other factors, the salesperson won’t be able to help you select the right shoes

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Choosing

Other characteristics that need to be determined before deciding the best tree for your landscape include:

Should the tree be evergreen or deciduous?

Should it grow more upright or is a spreading habit more desirable?

Are you interested in any special characteristics such as flowers or colorful fall foliage?

What about fragrance or the production of food for wildlife?

Are there nearby powerlines or concrete surfaces (sidewalk, driveway) that need to be considered? This will affect where the tree is planted and the mature size.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

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Branchingout

Live oak (Quercus virginiana)

One of the most popular and reliable trees, the live oak is widely planted. Growing up to 60 feet tall with a spread 100 feet or more, make sure you have room for this tree. Live oaks often require extensive pruning through their lives to lift the canopy. Long-lived and one of our most hurricane resistant trees, live oaks are semi-evergreen.

More upright growing oaks that do not spread like the live oak are becoming increasingly popular, particularly in smaller urban and suburban yards. Consider the Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii), Nutall oak (Quercus nuttallii) and the willow oak (Quercus phellos). They all grow to be 60 to 80 feet tall with a spread of 40 feet and are deciduous

Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)

A popular large tree that is resilient and long-lived. The large, lustrous, dark green leaves are evergreen, although magnolias drop their old leaves in late spring so there is still raking to do. The large white flowers produced in summer are richly fragrant. Mature size is about 60 feet tall and 30 to 40 feet wide. Dwarf forms like Little Gem or Teddy Bear are suitable for smaller yards

Drummond Red Maple (Acer rubrum var. drummondii)

Native to swampy areas, Drummond red maples are also perfectly happy in average landscapes. Trees grow to be about 40 feet tall and 30 feet wide. They are relatively fast growing, and some years produce nice fall color

Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)

The upright, conical shape of bald cypresses make them a real standout in the landscape. Growing to be about 80 feet tall and 20 to 30 feet wide, they are deciduous and drop their needles in fall. Extremely hurricane resistant, they are best planted into well-drained yards to reduce the production of knees, which can be a nuisance in lawns

SMALLERTREES

Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

A popular tree with a long summer flowering season, crape myrtles come in a variety of colors and sizes. In addition to selecting the color you want, do be aware of the wide variety of sizes of different varieties, ranging from 10 to 30 feet at maturity. These deciduous trees also often produce decent fall color

Japanese magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana)

An early spring flowering tree that produces large, tulip-shaped flowers in shades of white to dark purple, these trees mature at about 25 feet tall and 10 feet wide. These trees are deciduous, and the flowers emerge before the leaves making the floral display especially striking.

Vitex (Vitex agnus-castus)

A small, summer flowering tree that produces spikes of lavender blue in June/July and again in late summer. Maturing at 15 feet tall and wide, this deciduous tree is tough and drought tolerant.

Eagleston Holly (Ilex x attenuata“Eagleston”)

This evergreen small tree is a natural hybrid of Dahoon holly and American holly, and is known for its dense, pyramidal growth habit glossy green leaves, and bright red berries. Growing about 15 to 25 feet tall with a spread of about 10 to 15 feet, it’s a good choice for privacy screens

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

A nice understory tree that will take some shade or grow in full sun, redbuds produce a profusion of tiny pinkish purple flowers in midspring. These deciduous native trees need excellent drainage and grow to be 15 to 20 feet tall and wide.