Plan includes 34%tax on importsfromChina,20% on theEU
President Donald Trumpholds up achartoutlininghis newtariffs during an event at the
BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press
ä Louisiana’scongressional delegation reacts to President Trump’s tariff hikes. PAGE 5A
by other nations.
Billionssoughtfromoil industry in firstofa string of lawsuits
BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer
At acourthouse in lower Plaquemines Parish near Louisiana’s fadingcoastline, alandmarktrial that could force oil and gas companies to pay billions forwetlands restoration is nearing its verdict.
For the lawyers who championed the lawsuit, getting to that courthouse took over adecade.
The trial in Pointe àlaHache is the culmination of alegal saga, part of the only effort still underway to get the oil and gas companies to pay for efforts to restore Louisiana’scoastal wetlands. Closing arguments are scheduled forThursday
The lawsuit is the first to make it to trialamong 42 similarcases that coastal parishes filed against oil companies starting in 2013, each of whichallegesthatthey failedto comply withstate permitting regulations. Law firm Talbot, Carmouche &Marcello is representing the local governments in the litigation, which allegesthatoil companies failedto abide by coastal regulations and contributed to wetlands loss.
WASHINGTON President DonaldTrump on Wednesday announced far-reaching newtariffsonnearly allU.S.trading partners —a34% tax on importsfrom China and 20% on the EuropeanUnion, among others —that threaten todismantle much of thearchitecture of the global economy and trigger broader trade wars. Trump, in aRoseGarden announcement, said he was placing elevatedtariff rates on dozens of nations that run meaningful trade surpluses withthe United States, while imposing a10% baseline tax on imports from all countries in response to what he called an economic emergency
The president, whosaidthe tariffs were designed to boost domestic manufacturing, used aggressive rhetoric to describe aglobal trade system that the UnitedStateshelpedtobuild after World WarII, saying “our country has been looted, pillaged, rapedand plundered”
Theaction amountstoahistoric tax hike that could push the global orderto abreaking point.Itkickstartswhatcould be apainful transition for many Americans as middle-classessentials such as housing, autos andclothing areexpected to becomemore costly,while disrupting the alliances built to ensure peace and economic stability
Trump said he was acting to bring in hundreds of billionsinnew revenue to the U.S.government and restore fairness to global trade.
ä See TARIFFS, page 5A
Plaquemines Parish and its lead attorney, JohnCarmouche, areasking the jury to award nearly $3 billion in damages in the case. Taken together, the dozens of cases could force companies to pay tens of billions in damages, which would, by law,havetobe used to restore coastal wetlands.
The cases could also lead to hefty payouts forthe lawyers involved.
In the 12 years since the litigation was filed, the Plaquemines lawsuit has survived threeattemptsbyoil and
ä See TRIAL, page 4A
BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer
New Orleans is famousaround the world for its food. Soon, the city’srestaurant scene will begetting newattention froma global brandthat is abyword for culinary excellence.
The Michelin Guide announced Wednesday that it will begin assessing and ranking restaurantsin New Orleans and around Louisiana for the first time. Rankings, including potentially
its coveted Michelin stars, are set to be doled out later this year at an event, thetime and place of which have not yet been named.
Michelin saidits reviewers, calledinspectors, are already at work visiting restaurants for potential inclusion. Louisiana isn’t alone. It will be partofaregional guidecalled the Michelin Guide American South that takes in fivemore states:Alabama, Mississippi, NorthCarolina, South Carolina andTennessee. This reflects anew approach from
Michelin, which has previously turned itsattention to individual cities or states as its guidesexpand in theU.S.
The new guide, which will be online, will alsoinclude restaurants in Michelin’sAtlantaGuide, started in 2023.
Michelin announced the new guide today with the regional tourism marketing group Travel South USAatits conference in Louisville, Kentucky
ä See MICHELIN, page 4A
Emeril’s Restaurant reopened in 2023 with asweeping renovation and newtasting menu approach.
Scientists sue NIH, say politics cut funding
A group of scientists and health groups sued the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday arguing that an “ideological purge” of research funding is illegal and threatens medical cures.
Since President Donald Trump took office in January hundreds of NIH research grants have been abruptly canceled for science that mentions the words diversity, gender and vaccine hesitancy, as well as other politically charged topics
That has led to grants being cut that fund studies of HIV prevention, violence prevention in children, pregnancy health disparities and Alzheimer’s disease, among others, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
The suit aims to restore the money and end the terminations, arguing they violate NIH’s usual science-based review process, specific orders from Congress to tackle health equity and disparities, and federal regulations.
It also argues the cancellations waste taxpayer dollars by ending projects midstream before the results are in.
Guinea sets date for key referendum
CONAKRY, Guinea Guinea’s military junta has set Sept. 21 as the date for a long-promised constitutional referendum that would set the west African country on the path of a return to democratic rule more than three years after it experienced a coup.
A presidential decree scheduling the referendum for the adoption of a new constitution was read on state television late Tuesday by Gen. Amara Camara, secretary-general of the presidency Guinea is one of several West African countries where militaries have staged coups and delayed a return to civilian rule.
Guinea is governed by a military charter that serves the transition period following the suspension of the constitution in the aftermath of the coup.
Junta leader Col. Mamadi Doumbouya, in power since 2021, initially set Dec. 31 as the deadline to launch a democratic transition.
However, he missed the deadline, triggering protests and criticism from activists and opposition figures.
Waves cause damage on Sydney waterfront
SYDNEY Sydney beachfront properties were flooded and coastal infrastructure damaged after a large swell combined with a king tide to batter the Australian shore, officials said Thursday. Several homes were evacuated at Botany Bay in Sydney’s south around midnight as waves surged across the coast, according to New South Wales State Emergency Service spokesman Andrew Edmunds.
Further north at Sydney’s premier Bondi Beach, the coast was lashed by a 18-foot swell, officials said.
Windows were shattered at Bondi Icebergs Swimming Club, a waterfront pool, gymnasium and restaurant complex. CCTV footage showed waves bursting through glass doors after 11 p.m. on Tuesday “It has just been devastating,” club general manager Bob Tate said. “I’ve been a member for 50 years at Bondi. I’ve never seen this sort of thing before. You know the sheer magnitude of the level of water and the power of the water coming through must’ve just been horrendous.” Tate added that on the pool deck around 15 glass panels were splintered, floors were damaged, and cupboards and firehoses were ripped off the walls. It was “quite extraordinary,” he said.
BY WAFAA SHURAFA and ISAAC SCHARF Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel is establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of the Palestinian territory
The announcement came after Netanyahu’s defense minister said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones A wave of Israeli strikes, meanwhile, killed more than 40 Palestinians, nearly half of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms and leaves the territory Israel ended a ceasefire in March and has imposed a monthlong halt on all imports of food, fuel and humanitarian aid. Netanyahu described the new axis as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities. He said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May
Israel has reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor, also named for a former settlement, that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the narrow coastal strip. Both of the existing corridors run from
the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority led by rivals of Hamas, expressed its “complete rejection” of the planned corridor Its statement also called for Hamas to give up power in Gaza, where the militant group has faced rare protests recently
In northern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit a U.N. building in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp, killing 15 people, including nine children and two women, according to the Indonesian Hospital. The Israeli military said it struck Hamas militants in a command and control center
The building, previously a clinic, had been converted into a shelter for displaced people, with more than 700 residing there, according to Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main aid provider in Gaza. No U.N. staff were wounded in the strike.
She said U.N. staff warned people about the dangers of remaining there after Wednesday’s strike but that many chose to stay, “simply because they have absolutely nowhere else to go.”
More than 60% of Gaza is now considered a “no-go” zone because of Israeli evacuation orders, according to Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian aid office. Hundreds of thousands of people are living in squalid tent camps along the coast or in the ruins of their destroyed homes.
BY FATMA KHALED Associated Press
CAIRO At least two people were killed in attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary forces on a famine-stricken camp in North Darfur for people displaced by the war in the country, officials and humanitarian organizations said. The Abo Shouk displacement camp in el-Fasher has been attacked on and off over the past 11 months, but attacks have intensified this week, Adam Rijal, the spokesman for the Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, said Wednesday
He told The Associated Press that two people were confirmed dead due to the attacks by the Rapid Support Forces that intensified on Monday The paramilitary was using artillery shelling “indiscriminately and deliberately,” he said.
Four people were reported injured on Tuesday, but that figure is likely higher The attacks have also destroyed property in the camp, which houses around 450,000 displaced people. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Wednesday that attacks on Abu Shouk camp reportedly killed and injured scores of civilians.
Darfur Governor Mini Arko Minawi condemned the attacks in a Facebook statement on Monday and said the attacks were part of the RSF’s plan to “exter-
BY SCOTT BAUER Associated Press
MADISON, Wis.
— The Democratic-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court defeated a challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday, touting her victory as a win against powerful interests and cementing a liberal majority for at least three more years. Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge who led legal fights to protect union power and abortion rights and to oppose voter ID, stood on stage surrounded by the court’s four current liberal justices and celebrated her win as a victory for democracy while also taking a dig at Musk.
from voters’ approval to elevate the state’s photo ID requirement from state law to constitutional amendment.
“Growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I would be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin,” Crawford said.
“And we won.”
Musk and groups he backed had spent more than $21 million in an effort to defeat Crawford. Musk even traveled to Wisconsin two days before the election to personally hand over $1 million checks to two voters.
“Today Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our Supreme Court,” Crawford said in her victory speech. “And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.”
Crawford defeated Republican-backed Brad Schimel in a race that broke records for spending, was the highest-turnout Wisconsin Supreme Court election ever and became a proxy fight for the nation’s political battles.
Overnight, Musk posted on his X platform that “The long con of the left is corruption of the judiciary.” In another comment, he seemed to take solace
Trump, Musk and other Republicans lined up behind Schimel, a former state attorney general. Democrats including former President Barack Obama and billionaire megadonor George Soros backed Crawford. The first major election in the country since November was seen as a litmus test of how voters feel about Trump’s first months back in office and the role played by Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency has torn through federal agencies and laid off thousands of workers. Musk traveled to Wisconsin on Sunday to make a pitch for Schimel and personally hand out to $1 million checks to voters. Crawford was beating Schimel by more than 8 points, based on unofficial results. Turnout exceeded 52% of the voting age population, topping the record set in 2023 of nearly 40%. Spending was on its way to surpass $100 million. Schimel told his supporters he had conceded to Crawford, leading to yells of anger One woman began to chant, “Cheater, cheater!”
“No,” Schimel said.
“You’ve got to accept the results.” Schimel played bass with his classic rock cover band at his election night party both before and after conceding defeat, covering songs by the Allman Brothers, Tom Petty and others. The court can decide election-related laws and settle disputes over future election outcomes.
“Wisconsin’s a big state politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin,” Trump said Monday “Winning Wisconsin’s a big deal, so therefore the Supreme Court choice it’s a big race.”
minate” the residents of el-Fasher and nearby displacement camps.
The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 between the military and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces with battles in Khartoum and around the country The Sudanese military has control over el-Fasher despite near-daily strikes by the RSF
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday it was “gravely alarmed” by the reports of intensified hostilities.
“The humanitarian and security situation in Sudan remains dire and is worsening,” Dujarric said.
Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, on Wednesday called the continued attacks against civilians across the coun-
try “unlawful & morally indefensible.”
At least 20,000 people are thought to have been killed since the war broke out, though the number is likely far higher. The war has also driven more than 14 million people from their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine. UNICEF recently reported that an estimated 61,800 children have been internally displaced since the war began.
Over the past several months, the Sudanese army made steady advances in its fight against its rival paramilitary in Khartoum and other areas Most recently, the military retook government buildings in the capital, including the Republican Palace and recaptured Khartoum’s international airport
Attorneys seek more time in twocases
BY BRIAN MCCALLUM Staff writer
ACaddo district judge has set execution dates for two men convicted of firstdegree murder in Caddo Parish, while defense attorneys have askedfor more time.
Judge Donald Hathaway ordered Darrell Draughn to be scheduled forMay 28 and Marcus Reed for June 4atthe Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.Caddo District Attorney JamesStewartasked last week for the dates to be set. They could be the second and third Louisiana inmates executed by nitrogen gas this year Reed was sentenced to deathinJanuary 2014 after being convicted of the rural Caddo Parish murder of three brothers in acase that seemed to involve revenge for the theft of property,including an Xbox.
Draughn was convicted in May 2004 of stabbing Lauretta White, 64, in her Shreveport home. She was stabbed 61 times, including 34 to the head.
Until Jessie Hoffman was executed at Angola on March 18 by suffocation from nitrogen gas, no Louisiana inmates had been executed since 2010, when lethal injection was the method.Gov.Jeff Landry called for the resumption of executions in February
The two are among the 55 people on death row in Louisiana.
The cases of these two men convicted in Caddo differ from Hoffman’s case, where advocates admitted he had exhausted his appeals. Attorneys for Draughn and Reed have filedmotions in opposition to death warrants.
Reed’sattorneys have asked for adeadline of Jan. 26, 2026, to file asupplemental applicationfor postconviction relief and added that any execution date was premature because the case has not received federal review
Matilde Carbia, an attorney for Reed, called the pursuit of adeath warrant by the Caddo District Attorney’sOffice “an illegal action.”
“The DA’s statement that Mr.Reedhas notacted to raise grounds for relief relating to the numerous errors that pervaded his trial is disingenuous,” read the statement from Carbia. “Seeking to short-circuit litigation of this case by seeking awarrant is yet another attempt to hide themisdeeds of astateinfamous for its attempt to conceal information from defendants and from the public.” Stewart disagreed.
“Unfounded allegations are not conclusive of the facts and law,” the district attorney said Wednesday “Again, counsel makes statements that are not true and dangerous to the rule of law.This is just the next step in the process of this case. The court will have the final say.”
Draughn’sfiling requests a180-day delay and also offers arguments regarding the filing of post-conviction relief.
An attorney for Draughn said Wednesday that he had waited along timefor his post-conviction appeals, and that alack of resources “tied his hands” and prevented them from going forward
“The state, now rushing to execute him before his legal claims can be heard in court, doesn’tacknowledgethat they agreed to and permitted thedelay in this case,”said Zachary Orjuela, lead counsel forLoyolaUniversity’s Centerfor SocialJustice.
“Mr. Draughn’s triallawyers failed to presentcritical evidence to inform the jury’sdecision between life and death. Becauseof their failure,post-conviction proceedingsare Mr Draughn’sfirst opportunity to present such evidence.”
Draughnstruggled with addiction growing before finding “thestability he lacked in his childhood” in prison, his lawyer said That’samong the evidence they plan to present in his post-conviction hearings.
AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill said she didn’t review themotions filed by Stewart’s office in advance butthat she believes Draughnand Reed arenow eligible for execution
“Wewill be closely reviewing anypleadings filed on their behalf and assistingthe DA,” she said. Murrill has expressed doubt that defendants shouldbeallowed further relief in cases that have been dormant for years. ARapides Parish judge recalleda death warrant in February,just aday after orderinganexecution date, deferringtolawyers who claimed unexhausted appeals.
“The question is, can you sit around for 20 years and say,‘Ihave unexhausted claims,’ ”Murrill said. “We’re going to havetoget the Supreme Court to decidethis question.”
Draughn’svictim, White, was foundbyher son in a poolofblood, stabbed to death in her home’skitchen in April 2000. According to the case presented in court, shemay havebeen robbed by Draughn ofaslittle as $20 duringthe crime. His alibi defense revolvedaroundtestimony from his family members, whosaid hewas at his grandmother’shome down the street at the time of the crime, but his DNA was foundatthe scene. Reed was convicted in October 2013 of shooting brothers Jeremiah Adams, 20; Jarquis Adams, 18; and GeneAdams, 13, on Aug. 16, 2010. A911 caller named him as theshooter, and blood from twovictims —found dead in Jeremiah’scar in the yard where Reed lived —was found on Reed’sclothing. Witnesses stated Reed believedJarquis had beeninvolvedin theft of items including a game console, and the defensearguedhebelieved they were returning to steal more. According to the district attorney’srequestfor an executiondate,noeffort hasbeen made to supplement a2017motionfor post-conviction relief. Reporter John Simerman contributed to this report.
Email Brian McCallum at brian.mccallum@ theadvocate.com
BY MARKKENNEDY and ANDREW DALTON AP entertainment writers
LOSANGELES— ValKilmer, thebrooding, versatile actor who played fan favoriteIceman in “Top Gun,” donned a voluminous cape as Batman in “Batman Forever” and portrayed Jim Morrison in “The Doors,” has died. He was 65.
Kilmer died Tuesday night in Los Angeles,surrounded by family and friends, his daughter,Mercedes Kilmer, said in an email to The Associated Press.
Kilmerdiedfrom pneumonia.Hehad recovered after a2014 throat cancer diagnosis that required twotracheotomies. The NewYork Times was thefirst to report his death.
Kilmer,who at 17 was the youngest actor ever accepted to theprestigious JuilliardSchool at thetimehe attended, experienced the ups and downs of famemore dramatically than most.
“I have behaved poorly Ihavebehaved bravely.I have behaved bizarrely to some. Idenynoneofthis andhave no regretsbecause Ihavelost andfound parts of myself that Inever knew existed,” he says towardthe end of “Val,” the 2021 documentaryonhis career.“And Iamblessed.”
His break came in 1984’s spy spoof “Top Secret!” followed by thecomedy “Real
BY JANIE HAR Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO Legal aid
clinicsthatsuedthe Trump administration after it canceled legalservices for migrant children aloneinthe country say they are still in limbo aday after afederal judgeinCalifornia ordered thereinstatement of direct legal assistance.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of San Francisco ruled late Tuesdayin alawsuitfiledbylegal aid groups afterthe Department of Health andHuman Services and itsOffice of Refugee Resettlement on March 21 terminated acontract with theAcacia Center for Justice.
She wrote that advocates raised legitimatequestions about whether the U.S. violateda2008anti-trafficking law when it canceled funding for direct legal representation withoutensuringthe provision of counselprior to the cancellation, warranting areturntothe statusquo whilethe case continues. The order took effect Wednesday and runs through April 16.
“The Courtadditionally finds that the continued funding of legalrepresentation forunaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system,” she wrote.
Butaid providers said Wednesday theyare not sure if they can expect federal dollars to begin flowing again.
The Acacia center provideslegal services for unaccompanied migrant children under 18 through anetwork of legal aid groups that subcontract with the center Eleven subcontractor groups sued, saying that 26,000 children wereatrisk of losingtheir attorneys and that the government hasan obligation to come up with a plan fortransferring pending cases.
Acacia is not aparty to the
Genius” in 1985. Kilmer would later show his comedy chops again in films including “MacGruber” and “Kiss Kiss BangBang.”
His movie career hit its zenith in theearly 1990s as he made aname for himselfasa dashing leading man, starring alongside Kurt Russell and Bill Paxton in 1993’s“Tombstone,” as Elvis’ ghost in “True Romance” andasa bankrobbingdemolitionexpert in Michael Mann’s1995 film “Heat” with Al Pacinoand Robert De Niro.
“While working with Val on ‘Heat’ Ialways marvelled at the range, thebrilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessingand expressing character,” director Michael Mann said in astatement Tuesday night
lawsuit, but BilalAskaryar, a spokesperson, said Wednesday thatithas receivedno notice from the government on what to do next.
“We’re stillstuck in this impossible situation where the attorneys that workwith these vulnerable kids have no clarity,” he said.
Alvaro M. Huerta, an attorney with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center,said they are waiting to hear from the government on how it intends to comply with the order.Meanwhile, legal aid providers do not know if they can rehire staff or take on new clients,hesaid.
“Many organizations continue to represent children in courtgiven theirethical and professional obligations, even withoutgetting government funding to do so,” he said.
The Trafficking Victims
Actor JoshBrolin, afriend of Kilmer,was among otherspaying tribute.
“You were asmart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker,” Brolin wrote on Instagram. “There’snot alot left of those.”
Kilmer —who took part in the Methodbranch of Suzuki arts training —threw himself into parts. When he played Doc Holliday in “Tombstone,”hefilled his bed with ice for the final scene to mimic the feeling of dying from tuberculosis.
To play Morrison, he wore leather pants all the time, askedcastmatesand crew to only refertohim as Morrison and blasted The Doors for ayear
That intensity also gave Kilmer areputation that he wasdifficult to work with —something he grudgingly
Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 created special protections for migrant children who cannot navigate a complex immigration systemontheir own.Plaintiffs said some of their clients are tooyoung to speakand othersare tootraumatized and do not know English.
The lawrequiresthe government to ensure “to the greatestextentpracticable” that allchildren entering thecountry alone havelegal counsel to represent them in proceedings and to “protect them from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking.”
Attorneys forthe governmentsay that taxpayers have no obligation to pay the cost of direct legal aid to migrant children at atime when the government is trying to save money Theyalso said district
agreed with laterinlife whilealwaysdefending himself by emphasizing art over commerce.
“Inanunflinching attempt to empowerdirectors, actors andothercollaboratorstohonor thetruth and essence of each project, an attempt to breathe Suzukian life into amyriad Hollywood moments, Ihad been deemed difficult and alienated thehead of every major studio,” he wrote in his 2020 memoir,“I’mYour Huckleberry.”
One of his more iconic roles —hotshot pilotTom “Iceman” Kazansky opposite TomCruise in 1986’s“Top Gun” —almost didn’thappen. Kilmer was courted by director Tony Scott but initially balked. “I didn’twant the part. Ididn’tcareabout the film. The story didn’tinterest me,”hewrote in his memoir.Heagreed after being promisedthathis role wouldimprove from theinitial script. He would reprise the role in the film’s 2022 sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.” Onecareernadir was playing Batman in Joel Schumacher’sgoofy,garish “BatmanForever” (1995) with Nicole Kidman and ChrisO’Donnell—before George Clooney took up the mantle for 1997’s“Batman &Robin” andafter Michael Keaton played the Dark Knight in 1989’s“Batman”and 1992’s“Batman Returns.”
courts have no jurisdiction over acontract termination that wouldhaveexpired at the end of March. Acacia is still under contract with the government to provide legal orientations, including “knowyourrights” clinics, which Jonathan Ross with the U.S. Department of Justicesaidata court hearing Tuesdayislegally required. “They’re still free to provide thoseservicesona pro bono basis,”hesaidofthe legal aid clinics. But KarenTumlin with the Justice Action Center said at thesame hearing that the administrationcannotsimplyzeroout funding without providing direction on who will help these childrenwhen Congress hasappropriated money for the care of unaccompanied minors.
gas companies to sendthe litigationtofederalcourt— avenue thatthe companies saw as favorable to them and where similar litigation has died. Legislators in Baton Rouge have introduced bills to try to kill the lawsuits
ButCarmouche and his team have bobbedand weaved their way to trial. And if Carmouche wins, a jury could,for the first time, award mammoth damages from industry to the stateto address coastal land loss.
Duringhis openingstatement before the jury, Carmouche attempted to present the case in simple terms: “Ifsomebodycauses harm, fix it,” he said. “Clean up your mess.”
Chevron noted in astatement that it was being sued over oil and gas activity conducted by Texaco, which Chevron acquired in 2001, under a1980 law.Itargues that the law was never meant to apply to oiland gas activities that took place before the statutewent into effect. The companies also say that the cases belongin federal courtbecause some of the oil and gas activity at issue was conducted under federal guidance, part of the World WarIIeffort.
“The parish and the state should cease theirstate court efforts to destroy the oil and gas sector in Louisiana,” said Bill Turene, a spokesperson forChevron. Industry advocates have argued that the lawsuits could have a“chilling” effect on oil and gas production in Louisiana.
While the levees lining the Mississippi River set the state’sland loss crisis in motion, the thousandsof miles of canals dug through the marsh by oil and gas companies have been major contributors. The extraction of oil and gas has also exacerbated subsidence along the coast.
The scale of the problem is enormous, with Louisiana having lost land the size of Delaware over the past century.The state’sefforts to address it are costing many billions of dollars. While it took Carmouche
Continued from page1A
In New Orleans, the news comes after years of speculation over when the famous food city might be up for inclusioninthe Michelin Guide. Arguing over which restaurants would be likely contenders has long been a parlor sport of localdining aficionados. Now,speculation can begin in earnest on which will actually be included.
Some restaurants have set their sights on Michelin attention well before today’sannouncement. For instance, after more than30 years in business, Emeril’s Restaurant emerged in 2023 from atransformative renovation and with atasting menu formatclearly aligned withMichelin star-level standards. This new edition of Emeril’shas since drawn other global rankings. Michelin deploys its inspectors to dine anonymously at restaurants in its chosen markets and assess them based on the quality of food, service and atmosphere.Some willbeawarded stars on athree-star system, thehighest rankings Michelin offers. Fewer than 300 restaurants in the U.S. now have astar ratingat any level, and just14have the highest three-star rank
Others may get Bib Gourmandrecognition, typically for more casual, less costly restaurants giving good quality and value, and some may also be included as “recommended restaurants” in Michelin’sonline guide, without aspecific award status. New Orleans &Co., the city’stourism sales and market agency, and the Louisiana Office of Tourism are two of the local groups from the region that partnered withMichelin on thenew guide, providing financial support for its entry in the
Since
July 2013: NewOrleans leveeauthority fileslawsuit seekingtorecoupdamages from oil firmsfor thedamagetheydid to coastalwetlands. Thelandmarklawsuit is the firstofits kind to seek restitutionfromoil companiesfor coastallandloss. Nov. 2013: Plaquemines fileslawsuit,represented by Talbot,Carmouche and Marcello,against oilcompanies.They're immediately 'removed'tofederal court. Dec. 2014: Federaljudge sendsPlaquemines lawsuitbacktostate court. Feb. 2015: Afederal judgedismisses New Orleans' leveeauthority lawsuit.
Oct. 2017: TheSupreme Courtdeclines to hear appeal on New Orleans' levee authoritylawsuit,dealing it a finalblow.
May2018: Oilcompanies appeal parish casestofederal courtfor asecondtime, alleging that oiland gasactivitywas conductedunder federal oversightduringWWII.
May2019: Federaljudge sendsparishlawsuitsbacktostate courtfor asecond time.Oil companies will appeal
Sept.2019: Talbot,Carmouche,and Marcello settle with oilcompany Freeport McMoRan for$100million
Aug. 2020: U.S. 5thCircuit Courtagain sendsthe parish lawsuits back to state court.
Aug. 2021: Oilcompanies appeal thecases to federalcourt forathird time Dec. 2022: Afederal courtofappeals againdeterminesthe casesbelonginstate court.
Jan. 2023: Oilcompanies appeal ruling to theU.S.Supreme Court, whichdeclines to take thecase, settingthe stagefor thetrial in PlaqueminesParish.
Dec. 2023: Oil firmssettlewithCameron Parish,the firstofthe 42 lawsuits to settle.Details of thesettlementare notmadepublic.
March 2025: Trialbeginsinone of thelawsuitsbrought by PlaqueminesParish, the firsttrial in the42cases filedsince 2013
and his team adecade to get to trial, he and his team drew on efforts that stretch back decades.
‘Legacylawsuits’
In May1991, Michael Veron, anattorneyinLake Charles, got acallfromhis cousin, Billy Corbello,who toldVeron that ShellOil’s lease on the property, originally signed in 1929, wasdue to expire. For years, Shell haddrilled foroil onproperty owned by Veron and Corbello’sfamily
The agreementthe company hadstruck with their grandfather stipulated that the company was responsible for returningthe property to its initial condition when the lease was up Veron’sargument, like Carmouche’s, was simple: Theoil companymade a mess and didn’tclean it up.
On Veron’sfamily property he found buried oil drums anda gas-dispensing pump emblazoned with theShell logo on the property.The soil was laden with carcinogenicchemicals, hiswitnesses wouldtestify at trial. And yearsafterthe prob-
market, apractice that’s become standard as Michelin has expanded in theU.S The groups didnot release thefinancialtermsofthe partnership.
Walt LegerIII, president and CEO of New Orleans & Co., called it amilestone in efforts to attract more international tourism andculinary tourism more broadly “New Orleans’culinary scene is known and celebrated aroundthe world as truly remarkable,”Leger said “Welook forward to aligning with one of the most well-respected travel brands in the world, Michelin,known the world over for excellence in culinary achievement. Michelin’s presence willshowcase the incredible creativity of our local culinary professionals and demonstrate our restaurants’ ability to continuepushing theboundaries of cuisine through our own uniquelens.” Evenbefore the guide announcement, New Orleans has increasingly been on Michelin’sradar.Last year, thebrand started anew rating system for U.S. hotels, called Michelin Keys, similar in concept to restaurant stars, awarding key symbols. Six New Orleans hotels made the list: Columns, The Celestine, Hotel Peter and Paul, Hotel St.Vincent, MaisonMetier andthe Pontchartrain Hotel. Earlier this year, Michelin released aFrench-language travel guide to New Orleans, part of anew guide division distinct from its restaurant rating system, aimed at overseas tourists coming to the CrescentCity Thecity’srestaurants and culinary reputation are abig part of itsdraw for tourism and events, and lately it has been rackingupmore important accolades. In March, Time Out namedNew Orleans the top food destination in the world And last year,the city was first in North America to host an event for Bocuse
lems were brought to the company’sattention, Shell had taken no stepstofix things, Veron argued.
But nor had the state forced them to. In Veron’slawsuit, as in Carmouche’s, central pillarsofthe oil companies’ defense are that thealleged violations took place years ago, petroleumproduction wasvital to thenationand the potential risks were not understood. Why make them pay up now,yearslater?
“Industry isn’tevil,” Veron said in an interview, “They’rehuman.And humannatureisthatI’m not going to do something that costs me extra money if nobody’smaking me do it.”
Veron won his case at trial.Shell paid $76 million in damages in 2003.
Thecase wasone of the first of the “legacy lawsuits,” so called because they had to do withpollution left on private landowners’ property during oil’sheydayinLouisiana, years priortothe filing of any lawsuit.
“Everybody gotword” of the win against an oil company,Veron said, arare feat in Louisiana. Amongthe
d’Or,known as theWorld Cup of cuisine. NewOrleans will again next year hold the biannualqualifying round for countries in North America and South America vying to makeitto theBocuse d’Or and related Pastry World Cupfinals in Lyon, France.
While Michelin stars and reviews have been part of the dining world for more than acentury,they werea European institutionuntil relatively recently,when a global expansion began.
The first U.S. guide, for New York, appeared in 2005, and since then itsrange has been gradually expanding, onestate or group of cities at atime.
Texaswas thelatest addition, late in 2024, with 15 restaurants in cities around thestate gettingone-star reviews and more featured in theguide below star level.
Florida’sMichelin debut in 2022 brought stars to 14 restaurantsinthree cities, Tampa, Miami and Orlando, and in 2023, Colorado saw five restaurantsget star ratings in its own first year as a Michelin destination.
Michelin guides now expand with financial backing from cities, tourism agencies and other associations and corporate sponsors, which underwrite theexpensesofthe group’sresearch and reviews.
That’sa practice that has drawn some criticism in the industry,though Michelin hasmaintainedthat once it enters amarket, its culinary judgments and editorial decisions remain independent.
Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate. com.
is accusing Texaco,which Chevron bought in 2001, of having used “unlinedwaste pits” to dispose of toxic oil and gas byproducts in an area near Bayou Gentilly
When regulations came into play in 1980 that put tighter restrictions on oil and gas activity in the state’scoastal areas, the lawsuits allege that oil andgas companies did not comply
The lawsuit alleges that “defendants have failed to clear,revegetate, detoxify areas affected by their operations and activities,” as required by law
Working in the parish courts may give Carmouche ahometurf advantage as the jury pool is from the area.
While the lawsuits wound their waythrough the courts, one company,Freeport McMoRan, settledfor $100 million. Days before what would have been the first trial in Cameron Parish, the companies and local government settled in that case, too.
tection Authority-East who spearheaded that agency’s lawsuit, described legislative efforts to kill the efforts as a“recurring theme” in the 2010s. “It was acontinuation of the efforts to kill the legacy lawsuits,” he said. “And ours forthat matter.”
lawyers who took notice were partners at Talbot, Carmouche&Marcello.
Veron would go on to work withateam of attorneys on the landmark SouthLouisiana Flood Protection AuthorityEast’s oiland gasdamages lawsuit, which sought to hold companies accountable for damaging wetlands in South Louisiana. Talbot,Carmouche &Marcello, meanwhile, came up with theirown legaltheory about how to hold oiland gas companiestoaccount: They would represent coastal parishes.
Not incidentally,the firm also stood to make alot of money if the lawsuits went their way
Lawsuits filed
Beginningin2013, six coastalparishes filed42 lawsuits, backed by Carmouche’slaw firm, each lawsuit focused on state-issued permits.
In the case that’snow at trial, Plaquemines Parish
But the lawsuit that Veronhad been working on separately,onbehalf of the NewOrleansFlood Protection Authority-East, was quashed. Afederal judge dismissed it, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take it up on appeal.
Oil andgas companies didn’tjust try to kill the lawsuits in the courts.
During a2016 Louisiana House Committee on NaturalResources hearing, there was near-unanimous outcry from Republican legislators against thelawsuits. Rep. Blake Miguez, R-Erath, said that the state, by intervening in the case on behalf of the plaintiffs,was “discriminating against the oil industry.” In 2020, the state introduced abill that would have barred parishes from suing companies forviolating the conditions of coastal zone drilling permits—the centralclaim in Carmouche’s lawsuits. The bill ultimately died.
John Barry,ahistorian and formerboard member of the South Louisiana Flood Pro-
Through three successive governors, Carmoucheand his team managed to win support for theircause. Gov Bobby Jindal, aRepublican, did not outright oppose the parish lawsuits, though he wasoutspoken against the levee authority’slawsuit out of New Orleans. Gov.John Bel Edwards, aDemocrat, openly supported them Gov. Jeff Landry,inhis previousroleasattorney general, threatened to take over thelitigationfrom Carmouche. But as governor, Landry hashad Carmouche’sback. Edwards and Landry have cited the need to address coastal land loss. Carmouche’sfirm has also long been politically active, contributing $2 million to help Edwards get elected as well as at least $310,000 to Landry’s campaignand a PACthat supported it. The oil companies have made their own political donations. Since 2013, when the lawsuits were first filed, Chevronhas donatedatleast $2 milliontoLouisiana politicians, according to state data.
Without damages from these lawsuits, Barry argues, thecostofrestoring the state’seroding coastline will fall on taxpayers’ shoulders. The price tag on the Coastal Protection and RestorationAuthority’splanto restore parts of the coast: $50 billion over 50 years widely acknowledged as an underestimate since it doesn’ttake inflation into account. “This is clearly the best shot in years that we’ve had to have oilcompaniesmeet their responsibility,which they should be doing voluntarily,” Barry said. “It’sin their own interests. It protectstheir owninfrastructure.”
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON —Republicansin
Louisiana’scongressional delegation wereall for thetariffs President Donald Trump announced Wednesday afternoon,whilethe Democrats were concerned
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, said: “The provisions of the president’stradeagenda can pave the way for stronger trade deals, fairer rules and real results. Iamexcited to work with President Trumptomake it happen. Louisiana’sworkers and families deservenothing less.”
In aWhite House RoseGarden ceremony attended by House Speaker Mike Johnson,R-Benton, and other Republicans,Trump signed the executive orders that set abase 10% tariff,which goes into effect on Friday,for all im-
portsfrom other nations.
Trump set much higher rates for 60 countrieshesaid had set barriers forU.S. products, including35% added ontoimports from China, 24% on Japanese products, 26% on imports from India, and 20% on European Union countries.
Those tariffs go into effect April 9.
“These tariffsrestore fair and reciprocal trade and levelthe playingfieldfor American workersand innovators,” Johnson said after the ceremony.“President Trump is sending aclear message with Liberation Day: America will not be exploited by unfair trade practices anymore.”
Start RepublicanRep. Julia Letlow,amember of the HouseAppropriations Committeewhose district includes parts of Baton Rouge, said: “President Trump is playingthe longgame, using tariffs as anegotiating tool to restore
America’seconomic power.Itrust the president’sjudgment to deliver better long-term results for our economy.”
Trump also announced a25% tariff on all cars and trucks imported forsaleintothe U.S. starting in the dark hours of Thursday morning
The tariff on millionsofforeignmade vehiclessold in the United States will likely increase thecost of cars. That worried Rep. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, for astate like Louisianawith virtually no public transportation. Residents have to drive to work, to the grocery store, take children to school and otherwise get around, he said.
“The cost of automobilesare going to go up $1,000, some say $5,000. That’s alot of money that is going to come out of the pockets of people for apurchase everyone in Louisiana absolutely needs to have,”Fieldssaid. “President
Trump imposing tariffs on our neighbors and allies will result in unnecessary hardships forAmerican consumers and businesses. Underthese tariffs, grocery prices will go up, vehicle prices will go up, and consumer confidence will go down.” Democratic Rep. Troy Carter,of New Orleans, agreed. “Just acouple of months ago, the American economywas poised fora so-called ‘soft landing,’”hesaid. “Thanks to Donald Trump, we’re nowfacing an economic nightmare with slowing growth andincreasing inflation.Tariffs are, and should be, a legitimate and essential tool when specifically targeted and aimed at promoting fair trade that protects American workers and businesses. This Administration is doing the opposite.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise,however,saw the recip-
rocal tariffs as away to levelthe playing field for American businesses.
“The United States and American workers will no longerbe ripped off by other countries with unfair trade practices,” Scalise, RJefferson, wrote on X. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Lafayette, wrote on Xthathesupported the tariffs Sen. JohnN.Kennedy,R-Madisonville, didnot immediatelyrespond to arequest forcomment. ButKennedy, whohad been state treasurer foryears before joining the Senate, agreed with Trump’s logic —though perhaps not his timeline, reported Politico, aCapitol Hill newssource, on Monday “In the long run, (it) will probably work,” Kennedy said.“The problem is that in the long run we’re all dead, and so the short run matters.”
“Taxpayers have been ripped off formore than 50 years,” he said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”
Trump declaredanational economic emergency to levy the tariffs. He has promised that factory jobs willreturn to the United States as aresult of the taxes, but his policiesriskasudden economic slowdown as consumers and businesses could face sharp price hikes.
Trump was fulfillinga key campaign promise as he imposed what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on trade partners, acting without Congress under the 1977 InternationalEmergency Powers Act. But his action Wednesday couldjeopardize Trump’svotermandate in last year’selection to combat inflation. Several Republican senators, particularly from farm and border states, have questionedthe wisdom of thetariffs.U.S. stock market futures sold off sharply overnight in anticipationofthe economy weakening, after having already dropped since the start of this year
“With today’sannouncement, U.S. tariffs will approach levels not seen since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which incited a global trade war and deepenedthe Great Depression,” said Scott Lincicome and ColinGrabowofthe Cato Institute, alibertarian think tank
The president’shigher rates would hit foreign entities that sell more goodsto the United States than they buy.The administration essentially calculated its tariff rates to raise revenues equal in size to the trade imbalances with those nations. Trump then halved that rate in act that he described as “very kind.”
The White House says the tariffs and other trade imbalancesled to an $1.2 trillion imbalance last year Administrationofficials suggested it could take an extended setofactions by other countries to bring down the new tariffs their imports now face, and retal-
iatory tariffs by those countries could make the situation worse.
Olu Sonola,head of U.S economic research at Fitch Ratings, said the average tariff rate charged by the UnitedStateswould increase to roughly 22% from 2.5% in 2024.
“Many countries will likely endupina recession,” Sonola said. “You can throw most forecasts outthe door, if this tariff rate stays on for an extended period of time.”
Thenew tariffs will come on top of recent announcements of 25% taxes on auto imports; levies against China, Canadaand Mexico; and expandedtrade penaltieson steeland aluminum. Trump has also imposed tariffs on countriesthat import oil from Venezuela and he plans separate import taxes on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber,copper and computer chips.
Canada and Mexico would notface higher rates on what they’re already being charged by Trump in what he says is aneffort to stop illegal immigration and drugsmuggling. As of now, goods that comply withthe USMCA NorthAmerican trade pact would be excluded from those tariffs.
Butthe 20% charged on importsfrom China due to its role in fentanyl production would largely be added to the34% announced by Trump. The specificproducts that Trumpistariffing, such as autos,wouldbeexempt from the tariffs unveiledWednesday,aswould products suchaspharmaceuticaldrugs thatheplans to tariff at alater date. Noneofthe warningsigns
about afalling stock market or consumer sentimentturningmorosehavecaused the administration to publicly second-guessits strategy, despite the risk of political backlash.
Senior administration officials,who insisted on anonymity to previewthe new tariffs with reporters ahead of Trump’sspeech, saidthe taxes would raise hundreds of billions of dollars annually in revenues. They said the 10% baseline rate existed to help ensure compliance, while the higher rates were basedonthe trade deficits runwithother nations and then halved to reach the numbers that Trumppresented in the Rose Garden.
The10% rate would be collected starting Saturday and the higher rates would be collected beginning April 9.
Trump removed the tariff exemptions on importsfrom China worth $800 or less. He plans to remove the exemptions other nations have on imports worth $800 or less once thefederalgovernmentcertifies that is has the staffing and resources in place.
Based on thepossibility of broad tariffs that have been floated by someWhite House aides,mostoutside analyses by banks and think tankssee an economy tarnishedbyhigherprices and stagnating growth.
Trumpwould be applyingthese tariffs on his own; he haswaysofdoingso without congressional approval. That makes it easy for Democratic lawmakers and policymakers to criticize the administration if theuncertainty expressed
by businessesand declining consumer sentiment are signs of trouble tocome.
Rep. SuzanDelBene, DWash.,said the tariffs are “part of thechaos anddysfunction” beinggenerated across theTrumpadministration. The chair of the Democratic CongressionalCampaign Committee stressed that Trumpshould nothavethe sole authority to raise taxes as he intends without getting lawmakers’ approval, saying that Republicans so far have been “blindly loyal.”
“The president shouldn’t be able todothat,” DelBene said. “This is amassive tax increaseonAmerican families,and it’s without avote in Congress. President Trump promised on the campaign trail that he would lower costs on day one. Now he says he doesn’t care if prices go up —he’sbroken his promise.”
EvenRepublicanswho trust Trump’sinstincts have acknowledged that the tariffs coulddisrupt an economy with an otherwise healthy 4.1 %unemploymentrate.
“We’ll see how it all develops,”saidHouse Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton. “It may be rocky in the beginning. But Ithink that thiswill make sense for Americans and help all Americans.”
Longtimetrading partnersare preparing their own countermeasures. Canada has imposed some in response to the tariffs that Trumptied to the trafficking of fentanyl. The European Union, in response to the steel and aluminum tariffs, put taxes on $28 billion worth of U.S. goods, including on bourbon, which prompted Trump to threaten a200% tariff on European alcohol.
Many alliesfeel they have been reluctantly drawn into a confrontationbyTrump, who routinely says America’s friends and foes have essentially ripped off the United States with amix of tariffs and other trade barriers.
The flip side is that Americansalso have theincomes to choose to buy designer gowns by French fashion houses and autos from German manufacturers, whereas World Bank data show the
EU has lower incomes per capita than the U.S.
The Chinese government delivereda measured response to thenew tariffs, saying in astatement: “China believesthat protectionism leadsnowhere, and trade andtariff wars have no winners. This has been widely recognizedinthe international community.”
CanadianPrime Minister Mark Carney said Trump’s newtariffs would “fundamentally change the internationaltrading system.” He noted that the tariffs already in place against his country andthoseTrumpsayshe planstoadd will be fought with countermeasures.
“In acrisis,it’simportant to come together and it’sessential to act with purpose andwith forceand that’s what we willdo,” Carney said.
Italy’sconservativePremier Giorgia Meloni said Trump’snew tariffs against the EU were “wrong” and Italy would work towardan agreementwiththe United States to avoida trade war that would weaken all involved.
FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS
Nintendo Switch 2 launches in June
Nintendo has announced a June 5launch date and $449.99 price tag for its latest gaming console, the Switch 2, which will introduce interactivechat andscreen-share functions to connectgamers. In its60-minuteNintendo Direct presentation on Wednesday,the company revealed a more vibrant display on the Switch2,alarger screen and several games that will launch with the console Central to its updated system isanew “C” button on its Joy-Con controller,which will launcha“GameChat” feature that requires asubscriptionto Nintendo’s Switch online service. It allows players to “communicate with friendsand family while playing agame, and lets them sharetheir game screen with others. Abuiltin microphone will also allow chatting with other gamers. Perhaps the most contemporary function yet for the Switch 2isthe abilitytouse theJoyCon controllers like acomputer mouse. The developer displayed multiple ways touse the new function, such as angling a clubinagolf game.
Amazon bid for TikTok comes ahead of ban Amazon has put in abid to purchase TikTok, aTrump administration officialsaid Wednesday,inaneleventh-hour pitchasa U.S. ban on theplatform is settogointo effect Saturday The official, who was not authorizedtocomment publicly and spokeonthe condition of anonymity,saidthe Amazonoffer was madeinaletter to Vice PresidentJDVanceand Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. President Donald Trump on Inauguration Day gave the platform areprieve, barreling past a law that had been upheld unanimouslybythe Supreme Court, which said the ban was necessary for national security Under the law,TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance is required to sell the platform to an approved buyer or take it offline in the United States. Trump has suggested he could furtherextend the pause on theban, but he has also said he expects adeal to be forged by Saturday
Although it’sunclear if ByteDanceplans to sellTikTok,several possible bidders have come forward in the pastfew months. Among the possible investors are thesoftware companyOracle and the investment firm Blackstone.Oracleannounced in 2020that it had a12.5% stake in TikTok Globalafter securing its business as the app’scloud technology provider
Boeing CEO: We made mistakes, learned lesson
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg came to CongressWednesday with astraightforward message:Boeing has made “serious missteps” in recent years but it hasa promising improvement planguiding it forward.
Lawmakers, in response,said they want to see the airplane manufacturersucceedbut are still concerned aboutsomeof the practices in placeatthe company’s factoriesand in its boardroom.
Some said they appreciated Boeing’s efforts to encourage employeestocomeforward with safety concerns but worried about allegations of retaliation when workers did so. Others asked for more details on ensuring astableproductionprocess that won’tlet manufacturing defects slip through the cracks. Still others worried about the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight, and steps by the regulator and Boeing thatmay hand more certification authority back to the manufacturer
Ortberg, who testified Wednesday morning before the Senate CommitteeonCommerce, Science andTransportation,was adamant that Boeing was committed to ensuring qualityand safety were at theforefront of its operations.
BYSTANCHOE AP business writer
NEWYORK— U.S. stocks whipped through another dizzying day Wednesday in the final hours before President Donald Trump’sunveiling of thetariffs promised as part of his “LiberationDay,” which could drastically remake the global economy
The S&P 500 rose after careening between an early loss of 1.1% and alater gain of 1.1%. It’shad apattern this week of opening with sharp drops to finish the day higher
The Dow Jones IndustrialAverageand theNasdaq compositealso
climbed. Both also veered from sharply lower in the morning to sharply higher in the afternoon before doubling back. Marketsaround theworld have broadly been shaky lately because of uncertainty about Trump’strade war.Hehas said he wants tariffs to make theglobal system fairer and to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States fromother countries.But tariffsalsothreatento grind down growth for the U.S. and other economies, while worsening inflation when it maybestuck above the Federal Reserve’s2%target One of thehopes that’shelped push upward on the U.S. stock mar-
ket recently is thepossibilitythatat least theworst of theuncertainty around tariffs maybepassing.
“Wedonot know how long the previouslyenacted tariffs andany future tariffs will remaininforce, but we believe peak tariff uncertainty may soon be behind us,”accordingtoKurt Reiman,head of fixed income Americas, and other strategists at UBS GlobalWealth Management.“Much of thework theadministration set out to achieve will have been put in place, and there arenumerous potentialofframps available.” Afterthe market closed, Trump declared a10% baseline tax on im-
ports from all countries and higher tariff rates on dozensofnations that runtradesurpluses withthe United States. The president held up achart while speakingatthe White House, showingthe United States would charge a34% tax on imports from China, a20% tax on imports from theEuropean Union, 25% on South Korea, 24%onJapan and32% on Taiwan.
Among thecompanieswhose shares fell in after-hours trading were DeckersOutdoor,the maker of Uggs,down9.3%; Lululemon was down 8.8%;and home products retailerWilliams-Sonomawas down 8.4%
BYBERNARDCONDON Associated Press
NEW YORK Tesla sales fell 13% in the first three monthsofthe year,another sign that ElonMusk’sonce high-flying car company is struggling to attract buyers
The leading electricvehicle maker has faced agrowing backlash from Musk’s embrace of right-wing politics and his role in the Trump administration. Opponents have staged protests at Teslashowrooms in the U.S. and in Europe, where the sales declines have been steeper Tesla’slineup is aging, andsome consumers mayhaveheld offfrom buyingits bestsellingModelY whilewaitingfor an updated version. The Austin, Texas, companyalso faces fierce competition from other EV makers offeringvastly improved models,including those of China’sBYD Tesla reporteddeliveriesof336,681 globally in theJanuary to March quarter.The figure was down from sales of 387,000 in the same period ayear ago. The declinecame despite
BY LIZ SWAINE Staff writer
Minden-basedFibrebond, afamily-owned company thatgot itsstart in 1982, has sold for $1.4 billion.
The new owner is Eaton, aNew York Stock Exchange-traded multinationalcorporation headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that saw $24.9 billion in U.S. sales in 2024. Eaton hasassetsworldwide, with locations in more than 160 countries andmore than 92,000 employees
EatonSenior Vice President and General Manager Charles Geisbert spoke on Tuesday just moments after he andFibrebond Presidentand CEO Graham Walker met jointly withFibrebond employees. “This is all aboutgrowth, right?” Geisbert said. “We’re not acquiring acompany to destroy thename, to
deep discounts, zero financing and other incentivesand could be awarning that thecompany’sfirst-quarter earnings report later this monthcould disappoint investors.
Dan Ives of Wedbush said Wall Street financial analystsknew the first quarter was likely bad but turned out even worse than expected. He called thesales results a“disaster on everymetric.”
“The brand crisis issuesare clearly having anegativeimpact on Tesla. there is no debate,” he said.
Musk has been President Donald Trump’s pointman in hisefforttocut government spending. As criticismofMusk mountedand Tesla’s salesand stock price slumped, Trump last month held an extraordinary press conference outside theWhiteHouseinwhichhe praised Tesla,blasted boycotts againstthe companyand bought aTesla himselfwhile TV cameras rolled.
Teslainvestors have complained Musk’s workatthe Department of GovernmentEfficiency has diverted his focus from running Tesla.OnTuesday,New York City’scomp-
destroy thevalue, to destroy theinvestments they’ve made in northwest Louisiana andhere in Minden, and our intent is to really trytoaccelerate that growth with further investmentand growthe business beyond where it’s at today.”
He saidEaton’s“integration team”isinMinden now,not with theintentionofscaling back or eliminating roles, but to “lean in to drive growthinthe business.”
The twocompanies came together after discovering over the 10 years of working together on projects that they were agood fit, Fibrebond’sWalker saidinMarch. Geisbertagreed. “At theend of theday,there’sother companies that they have similarproducts, but what theylack is the culture andthe people that are present here at Fibrebond. And so we really did have conviction that the reputation that Graham and his team have
troller overseeing pension funds holding Tesla stock called for alawsuit accusing a distracted Musk of “driving Tesla off afinancial cliff.”
After falling as much as 6% in early Wednesday, Tesla stock shotupmorethan5% on indications that Musk maysoon return his attention to Tesla. Politico, citing anonymous sources, reported Trump has told Cabinet members that Musk will step back from his role at DOGE in the coming weeks.
Tesla’sstock has plunged by roughly half since hitting amid-December record as expectationsofalighter regulatory touch and big profits with Trumpaspresident were replaced by fear that the boycott of Musk’scars and other problemscould hit thecompany hard. Analysts arestill notsure exactlyhow muchthe fall in sales is due to the protests or other factors.
Still, even bullish financialanalysts who earlier downplayed the backlash to Musk’s polarizing political stancesare sayingitis hurting the company,something that Musk also recently acknowledged.
built of delivering to customers and really just doing what they say they’re going to do and beingable to do it at alarge scale, that really helps differentiate them.”
Eaton is apower management company that provides alarge line of energy-efficient products and services to industries that manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power
The corporation has multiple product divisions that range from helping utility companies in generating and transmittingelectricity to producing electric vehicle platforms.
Fibrebond is knownnationally for itselectricalmodulesthatpower data center,fiber, industrial and utilitymarkets.
Though small in relation to the multinational world of Eaton, Geisbert said Fibrebond had something Eatonrecognizedasspecial.
At some point, Fibrebond’sname might change, but Geisbert said that “Eaton has to earn the right in themarkettoput ourname on their product.” He saidfor now, theEatonand Fibrebond names may be combinedintosomething like Eaton Fibrebond. Walker and hismanagement team will remain through the transition. Geisbert says Fibrebond “will work independently as basically abusiness inside of Eaton.”
The $150 millionexpansion at Fibrebond will continue.
Geisbert said he is excited about the acquisition. “Wehave really high confidence that the culture of Fibrebond and the culture of Eaton are going to come together really well.”
“Graham and his team did areally good job of helping build confidence that this is the rightregion to continue to grow.”
BY CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press
WASHINGTON DOGE’s days appear to be numbered. Elon Musk recently suggested that he will be done with his work in the near future. President Donald Trump told reporters this week that “at some point, he’s going to be going back” to running his companies. As far as the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump said “it will end.”
All of that talk was before Musk faced a setback Tuesday in Wisconsin, where voters rejected his choice for a state Supreme Court candidate despite more than $21 million in personal donations and his campaign appearance over the weekend. There are more problems for the billionaire entrepreneur at Tesla, his electric automaker, which saw a 13% drop in sales in the first three months of the year
The White House has not disclosed any clear timeline for closing down DOGE, and the government cost-cutting organization was never supposed to become a permanent fixture in Washington. But it could be reaching a conclusion faster than anticipated. DOGE was originally intended to operate until July 4, 2026. Now there are signs that it already is winding down DOGE employees have been shifted to various federal agencies, which are supposed to take the lead on cutting costs. Government-wide layoffs are underway to accomplish some of the goals laid out by Musk and Trump.
“We think probably over the next two or three months, we’ll be pretty much satisfied with the people that are working hard and want to be members of the administration,” Trump said last week.
The potential end of DOGE does not mean Trump will stop shaking up Washington. But it appears the administration’s efforts will be entering a new phase that is less focused on Musk, whose chain sawwielding work as a presidential adviser made him a political lightning rod.
DOGE was initially envisioned as an independent advisory panel, with Musk
sharing leadership with Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur Ramaswamy dropped out and is running for Ohio governor, and DOGE became part of the government. It was stocked with Musk’s allies, who were dispatched throughout the bureaucracy to cancel contracts, access sensitive data and push for cuts Musk presumably has a ticking clock on his tenure. He was hired as a special government employee, which means he can only work 130 days in a 365-day time period
“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,” Musk told Bret Baier of Fox News on March 27. So far DOGE is well short of that target, according to its own calculations, which have been criticized as inflated and inaccurate.
Musk did not commit to leaving the administration by any particular date, and it is unclear how the administration is tracking Musk’s time. On May 30, it will be 130 days since Trump’s inauguration on Jan 20
Trump told reporters on Monday in the Oval Office that “I’d keep him as long as I could keep him” and “he’s a very talented guy.”
The Republican president was known for explosive breakups with top advisers during his first term, but anyone hoping for such a split with Musk has been disappointed.
“I think he’s amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run,” Trump said. “And so, at some point, he’s going to be going back.”
Asked if DOGE would continue without Musk, Trump demurred. He said Cabinet officials have worked closely with Musk and may keep some of the DOGE people at their agencies.
“But at a certain point I think it will end,” Trump said.
Musk’s poll numbers lag behind Trump’s, which Democrats believe they were able to use to their advantage in Wisconsin
Susan Crawford defeated Brad Schimel, who Musk supported, and ensured the state Supreme Court’s liberal majority
BY JEFF MARTIN Associated Press
Potentially deadly flash flooding, high-magnitude tornadoes and baseballsized hail could hit parts of the Midwest and South on Wednesday as severe thunderstorms blowing eastward become supercharged, forecasters warned. There were already tornado warnings Wednesday morning near the Missouri cities of Joplin and Columbia — merely the opening acts of what forecasters expect will be a more intense period of violent weather later Wednesday, as daytime heating combines with an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming into the nation’s midsection from the Gulf. The potent storm system will bring “significant, life-threatening flash flooding” starting Wednesday and continuing each day through Saturday, the National Weather Service said. With more than a foot of rain possible over the next four days, the prolonged deluge “is an event that happens once in a generation to once in a lifetime,”
La. faces budget challenges with amendment failure
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
Gov Jeff Landry announced a hiring freeze throughout Louisiana state government Wednesday, a sign of difficult times ahead as lawmakers prepare to draw up the state budget
The Legislature will head to the Capitol in two weeks and begin that process, working from a budget that Landry proposed. Two major challenges are in store for them.
The first is the uncertainty over what federal funding will come through for the coming fiscal year with so much talk of cuts at the federal level.
“What’s happening on the federal level is going to present some challenges,” said state Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.
Though he has already begun to receive news of some cuts, McFarland doesn’t know what exactly is coming down the pike from the Trump administration, he said.
Federal money makes up nearly half of Louisiana’s
budget Also looming large over the budget process is the question of teacher pay For the past two years, the Legislature has given teachers a temporary $2,000 stipend. Support staff received $1,000 stipends.
Legislators and Landry sought to build those payments fully into the annual budget as one piece of a constitutional amendment But Louisianans overwhelmingly rejected that amendment at the polls.
Amendment 2, which was on the ballot Saturday would have rewritten one of the 14 articles of the Louisiana Constitution with dozens of changes. Broadly, it would have given lawmakers more power to decide which revenue streams fund government.
But it also would have liquidated education trust fund accounts to pay down teacher retirement debt, ultimately generating money to fund the teacher stipends as permanent pay raises.
Now, if the Legislature wants to keep those stipends in the budget and prevent teachers from being paid less this year, it will have to come up with $198 million.
Top budget officials say that could mean cuts in other areas.
House Speaker Phillip DeVillier R-Eunice, said he
was disappointed Amendment 2 failed.
“That was one of the strongest initiatives that we could have done to really move our state forward,” he said.
To fund the teacher stipends, the Legislature will have to explore cuts in other areas, he said.
That’s a job that McFarland will have to take on. As Appropriations chair, his job is to put together a bill directing government spending.
“The only way to fund the teacher stipend is I will have to make reductions in the budget,” McFarland said.
But McFarland will have to consider that legislators may have other priorities.
Landry’s proposed budget is a “standstill” budget that keeps state spending as close as possible to last year’s levels. Legislators will want to add additional resources to it, for areas such as behavioral health, early childhood education and public safety, McFarland said.
Having to contend with a $198 million gap for teacher pay will make that all the more difficult, he said.
McFarland will have to ask members to provide lists of their priorities.
“That’s what I got to work with, because for me to pass a budget, I got to have all the votes,” McFarland said.
It is possible that the Leg-
islature will have more money to work with. In May, the Revenue Estimating Conference will provide a new forecast for the upcoming fiscal year and it could include a projected revenue increase. But that won’t solve McFarland’s problem: by then, the budget will already be heading to the Senate, he said. There is another way to come up with the money for teacher pay raises, and that is to raise taxes. But such a move would likely be “politically difficult,” said Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council, a nonpartisan government policy group that has influence in the Capitol. Meanwhile, Landry’s hiring freeze is expected to generate $20 million in savings in a year Landry’s office said. The freeze covers vacant positions, which can only be filled with written permission from the commissioner of administration, according to Landry’s executive order instituting the freeze.
“This is a necessary step to give the Legislature more options, to prevent deeper cuts to health care and education, and to safeguard the future of our state,” Landry said. Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
Louisiana unveiled a new website Wednesday that’s meant to give taxpayers a window into how public schools spend money
Required by a 2023 law, the site offers financial information about each of the state’s school districts and charter schools, including vendor contracts, revenue sources, per-pupil spending, salaries of district employees and other data, which can be viewed online and downloaded. Users can also see how much each school district spends on instructional goods and services, maintenance, transportation, information technology, land acquisition, supplies and more.
Data from private schools that receive public funds is not included.
Schools were already required by law to report financial information to the state’s Department of Education. The new legislation requires that they also submit it to Louisiana’s Department of Treasury, which has put it into the new searchable database.
The website currently only offers data for public and charter schools. Fleming said future legislation could require private schools that receive state funds — including those that receive taxpayer money through Louisiana’s new LA GATOR program — to submit their data.
He said the ultimate goal is to have every school in Louisiana that receives any
public funding submit its spending information to the website.
“Certainly,” he said, “this is a good start.”
Fleming cautioned that because the site is still in its early stages, his department is still collecting data from schools and some information may be incomplete. He urged anyone who finds reporting errors to submit them to the state
treasury department. State Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, who authored the original bill, said the website’s launch is a crucial step toward transparency
“Our parents have an opportunity to see how a school system is spending their dollars,” he said. “I hope what that does is bring confidence in some of those systems.”
the weather service said in one of its flood warnings.
“Historic rainfall totals and impacts are possible.”
The flood fears come as residents in parts of Michigan continued to dig out from a weekend ice storm. Thunderstorms with multiple rounds of heavy rain were forecast in parts of Texas, the lower Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley beginning midweek and lasting through Saturday Forecasters warned the storms could track over the same areas repeatedly and produce dangerous flash floods capable of sweeping cars away.
Rain totaling up to 15 inches was forecast over the next seven days in northeastern Arkansas, the southeast corner of Missouri, western Kentucky and southern parts of Illinois and Indiana, the weather service warned. “We’re potentially looking at about two months of rain in just a handful of days,” Thomas Jones, a weather service meteorologist in Little Rock, Arkansas, said Monday. Parts of Arkansas, west Tennessee, western Kentucky and southern Indiana were at an especially high risk for flooding, the weather service said.
For example, public schools spend an average of $15,400 per student, but the amount varies among districts and charter schools.
About $2,200, or 14%, of that money comes from the federal government, the site states.
State Treasurer John Fleming said residents will be able to use the website as a resource to hold local schools accountable for their spending. He called it the most comprehensive website of its kind in the country
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant to fight inefficiency and waste,” Fleming told reporters Wednesday at the state capitol. “The more transparency we offer the people of Louisiana, the more efficient our state government will become.”
Act 370 requires school districts and charter school operators to provide financial information twice a year to the state Treasury Department. As of Wednesday, 119 school systems and charters had submitted data.
“This is information that (districts) normally report to the department,” said First Assistant State Treasurer Rachel Kincaid, “but we visualized it so that you can search it.”
BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer
The Orleans Parish School Board on Wednesday selected Fateama Fulmore, a veteran educator and administrator who has been temporarily leading the New Orleans school district, to be the school system’s next superintendent. Fulmore has served as interim superintendent since Avis Williams abruptly stepped down from the role in November amid a districtwide financial crisis. While in the interim post, Fulmore has convened charter school leaders to discuss solutions to issues like
N.O. ordered to pay Orleans schools
BY BEN MYERS Staff writer
New Orleans officials last month left little doubt that Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration would comply with a judge’s order to pay $10 million to the Orleans Parish School Board.
“We will certainly respect the court’s direction,” Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño said after the ruling though he added that plans could change later without his knowledge. “My orders are that we are going to pay within 30 days.”
Now the Cantrell administration is asking Civil District Court Judge Nicole Sheppard to reverse the order to pay, calling it illegal on a number of fronts.
In court documents filed March 28, the administration and Cantrell’s Chief Financial Officer Romy Samuel allege the order tramples on Cantrell’s spending discretion under the city charter
ä See ORDER, page 2B
seeks
order Mayor appeals ruling over photos
BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
Monday will mark a year since the snapshots that roiled New Orleans, revealing Mayor LaToya Cantrell enjoying drinks on a French Quarter balcony with her alleged police officer paramour, Jeffrey Vappie. And the case pitting Cantrell against French Quarter resident Anne Breaud isn’t over yet. On Wednesday, an attorney for Cantrell argued to a state appeals court panel that an Orleans Parish judge got it wrong last year when she tossed the mayor’s stalking claims and bid for a temporary restraining order against Breaud Civil District Judge Bernadette D’Souza also ordered Cantrell to fork over $15,000 to Breaud in legal costs.
ä See RESTRAINING, page 2B
chronic absenteeism The School Board recently approved her plan to partially address the $50 million financial hole facing New Orleans schools.
The board voted 5-2 for Fulmore over Sharon Latten Clark, the longtime leader of a New Orleans charter school and an elected member of the state board of education. Fulmore, by contrast, arrived in New Orleans three years ago after holding leadership positions in school districts in several different states.
Wednesday’s vote came after the board selected Fulmore and Clark as finalists out of more than 20 ap-
plicants for the district’s top job. The board conducted community meetings and several interviews, including a final round with the two candidates on Wednesday After the board’s vote, dozens of district staff members crowded around Fulmore in the district headquarters and gave her a standing ovation.
“This is a dream come true,” Fulmore said, dabbing tears from her eyes “I’m looking forward to getting to work, continuing to work, doing better work for our community.”
ABOVE: Trucks come and go Wednesday from the Esplanade Street Wharf as demolition continues. RIGHT: Pedestrians walk past the future site of a riverfront park
BY JILLIAN KRAMER Staff writer
In the first day of testimony in the trial of a New Orleans police officer accused of raping a coworker in his Mid-City apartment, the woman described the incident in painful detail.
Gerry Paul, 33, a seven-year veteran of the city’s police force, is charged with second-degree rape stemming from the May 15, 2021, incident.
Paul held her hands behind her back, choked her and painfully raped her as she demanded he stop, over and over again, she testified on Wednesday in Orleans Par-
ish Criminal District Court.
And afterward, she said, she spent the night with him.
“I was in such shock and he was acting so normal,” she said. “So I thought, ‘I’ll act normal too.’”
The woman’s actions after the incident, including her reluctance to leave his apartment and her delay in filing a report, became the focus of both prosecutors and the defense.
Research has found it’s common for survivors to delay or never report sexual assault or maintain relationships with their assailants after they are raped.
City declines to renew contract with tech firm
Move follows assault allegation by worker
BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer
Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration has declined to renew its contract with Civix, the employer of a worker who accused the director of the city’s homeless services department of sexual assault. The decision comes days after officials notified the worker, Mary Bonney, that a city investigation into the complaint was “able to substantiate” her allegation that Office of Homeless Ser-
vices director Nathaniel Fields kissed her while on the job in January
In a statement Wednesday, the Cantrell administration said Civix, a public-sector technology firm based in Metairie, was originally under contract with the city through December but the contract had since been extended on a month-to-month basis “to accommodate additional work requested” by the Office of Homeless Services.
“With that work now complete, the contract with Civix can officially be concluded,” the statement said.
ä See CONTRACT, page 2B
been committed to doing that for children.”
development of the five-year strategic plan and managing enrollment
‘I’ve been preparing for this’
As she shifts from interim to fullfledged superintendent, Fulmore must grapple with the ongoing financial crisis, declining district enrollment and fundamental questions about the future of New Orleans public schools. New Orleans is a district made up almost entirely of charter schools that function independently but are held accountable to standards set by the superintendent and School Board.
Fulmore’s role will include running the Leah Chase School, which opened in 2024, becoming New Orleans’ only traditional public school Board members have discussed the possibility of opening more districtrun schools in the future
She was hired in 2022 as deputy superintendent under Williams. A Brooklyn, New York, native, Fulmore often speaks about the role her elementary school principal played in rescuing her from an abusive household.
“I saw the power of what education did for me,” she said, “and I’ve
Continued from page 1B
The payout — $10 million of the $90 million the School Board sought under a settlement deal Cantrell abandoned — also amounts to an illegal donation because there is no “reciprocal benefit” to the city, the administration contends.
A lawyer for the School Board, William Aaron, said it’s “ridiculous” to call the payment an illegal donation, and that because the payout was included in a 2025 budget Cantrell signed, it is legally enforceable.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with the law This is basically just a way that they figure they can get around paying the $10 million,” Aaron said.
Citing pending litigation, the Cantrell administration declined comment on why it has not clarified Montaño’s comments or whether he had been briefed on the new legal strategy The city
Continued from page 1B
Attorney Eddie Castaing argued Wednesday that D’Souza got it wrong on both counts, relying on a bogus free-speech argument to toss the mayor’s case. He urged the panel to let Cantrell move forward with her claim that Breaud presents a danger Breaud’s attorney, Justin Schmidt, asked 4th Circuit Court of Appeal Judges Daniel Dysart, Karen Herman and Joy Lobrano to keep D’Souza’s ruling in place and make the mayor pay up. Breaud had lived for 30 years
Continued from page 1B
She began her career in North Carolina as a career and technical education teacher, and later did stints as an assistant principal and principal of a high school.
Before moving to New Orleans, Fulmore was chief of accountability and school improvement for Omaha Public Schools, the largest school district in Nebraska. She was also a district administrator in Philadelphia, which has a mix of traditional and charter public schools.
At a Tuesday evening town hall, Fulmore said that even though she is relatively new to New Orleans, her long career in education has prepared her to lead the city’s school system.
“I didn’t roll over yesterday and decide I wanted to be a superintendent of NOLA public schools; I’ve been preparing for this every day of my life,” Fulmore said. “This is purpose work. This is mission work. It comes with preparation. It comes with dedication.”
As deputy superintendent, Fulmore’s responsibilities included overseeing the district’s daily operations, as well as assisting with
has asked Sheppard to consider its request on April 10.
Montaño, along with the City Council and school officials, announced a $90 million settlement in November to the School Board’s 2019 lawsuit against the city over administrative fees the city charges to collect property taxes on the board’s behalf.
But Cantrell and the city attorney, Donesia Turner, later said they hadn’t been consulted on the terms. Montaño then said he wasn’t authorized to bind the city to a legal settlement, but tensions between Montaño and other administration officials Samuel in particular — have continued to ratchet up ever since Cantrell and Samuel sounded alarms over the city’s financial position.
Samuel warned City Council members in a February presentation that the city could not pay the School Board settlement because “spending is out of control” and “financial instability is imminent.”
Asked about those statements in the media briefing last month, Montano said he “would not have
in an Upper Pontalba apartment fronting Jackson Square when, on April 7, she took photos of Cantrell and Vappie on the neighboring second-floor balcony of restaurant Tableau.
Breaud caught the pair sipping what appeared to be wine over a lunch that stretched into evening, and she forwarded the shots to the watchdog Metropolitan Crime Commission, which demanded an internal police probe. Vappie soon retired and was indicted on federal fraud charges related to his time with Cantrell. He has pleaded not guilty The mayor has not been charged
“This is a case where Ms. Breaud, she took the pictures and
Since taking over as interim superintendent, Fulmore was tasked with helping the district remedy a nearly $50 million funding shortfall that came to light in October
Last month, the School Board approved her plan to pull from district savings and its budget surplus to ensure schools won’t take a hit in payments this year
“The district is on a great path right now, and I think that (Fulmore’s) leadership really played a big role in getting us here,” board President Katie Baudouin said after the meeting. “I’m excited to see what she does as permanent superintendent.”
Fulmore received votes from all but two board members, Nolan Marshall Jr and KaTrina Chantelle Griffin, who went for Clark. The board will now enter contract negotiations with Fulmore, before voting on the contract at its April 17 meeting.
Vision for the district
When asked about her vision, Fulmore told the board Wednesday that she would prioritize the district’s financial health, which she
used them, personally.” He said Samuel had given a misleading budgetary picture by disregarding expected revenue collections.
“The presentation that was provided was not from my office,” Montaño said.
The $10 million payment Sheppard ordered was the first of two equal lump sums that were part of the proposed settlement. An additional $70 million would be paid to specific school programs over the next decade.
The School Board in February petitioned Sheppard to enforce the settlement, arguing Cantrell’s signature on the 2025 city budget was evidence she had ratified it. Sheppard disagreed and dismissed the parts of the settlement that weren’t included in the budget. A trial on the underlying lawsuit is set for June 9.
Cantrell’s team now says the $10 million payout can’t be counted as partial settlement with the School Board because it will not end the board’s long-standing lawsuit against the city, because it cuts into the administration’s right to
passed them onto the MCC. They took it and ran with it,” Schmidt said, claiming the mayor was retaliating.
Castaing told the judges that Cantrell never had a chance to prove her case against Breaud, and he sought to dismiss innuendo around the balcony scene, which featured an armed Vappie.
“I’ve heard a lot about the photographs. It is what it is,” Castaing said. “I’m not seeing what’s inside the glasses. He’s a cop. Cops carry guns.”
Cantrell allegedly enlisted her chief of staff, Clifton Davis, and others in filing her petition against Breaud, who has sued Cantrell and Davis in federal court. That civil
It is unclear how many workers will be affected. It is also unclear when the decision not to renew Civix’s contract was made or if the decision was related to Bonney’s complaint. Bonney declined to comment. A spokesperson with Civix did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fields also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a letter to Bonney on Friday, city officials wrote that they “were able to substantiate” her allegation that Fields kissed her while they were working to transport homeless people to an emergency shelter during cold weather on Jan. 6. According to the letter, the “appointing authority” Cantrell appointed Fields — will “make a determination regarding the appropriate resolution, including possible disciplinary action.” A spokesperson for Cantrell did not respond to a request for com-
Even so, the woman found herself defending her actions against a defense attorney who argued she was twisting a consensual experience into something sinister
The Times-Picayune does not typically name sexual assault survivors.
From the witness stand, the woman said a sexual experience with Paul turned criminal when she rescinded consent and he refused to stop, at one point restraining her by her wrists. The woman said she fought Paul so vigorously that, when it was over “I didn’t know if I could walk.”
When she regained her strength, she went to the kitchen for water, she said. She sat on Paul’s sofa, where they talked about whether they wanted children, she said, and later, she slept beside him in his bed. In the morning, she hugged and kissed Paul goodbye, the woman testified.
“Why did you want to act normal?” the lead prosecutor William Dieters, asked.
said could entail making charter schools give the district more frequent financial updates. She also said she would monitor district enrollment and try to bolster the workforce, including by advocating for higher salaries for teachers and support staff.
She said she would defer to the board’s vision for direct-run schools but added that the board should weigh the desire for more traditional schools with the district’s dropping enrollment and limited funding.
“We can’t simultaneously have a policy that says we need to optimize as a district and simultaneously open up more schools,” she said, adding that the district must be “intentional” about creating new schools.
Acknowledging her outsider status, Fulmore said on Tuesday she’s spent the past three years building relationships at the city and state level.
“I’ll never be able to compete with relationships that have been here since birth, and that is not my objective,” Fulmore said. “My objective is to be the person who works hardest for children to get what they deserve in the room.”
spend as it sees fit and because it amounts to a donation to the board, which has been weathering a fiscal crisis.
School system leaders have said they are not counting on receiving any settlement funds and have instead pulled from reserves to right an accounting error that scrambled school budgets months into the school year
District A council member Joe Giarrusso, who spearheaded settlement negotiations for the city, said the city’s new legal filing undermines the city budget ordinance that Cantrell signed off on.
“It is a little strange that (Samuel) is challenging the Mayor’s actions but I guess that’s where we are,” Giarrusso said in a text message.
Giarrusso is planning to bring a vote on a budget amendment for another $10 million — as a standin for the second lump-sum payment — at the council’s April 10 meeting.
Email Ben Myers at bmyers@ theadvocate.com.
rights case claims the mayor’s petition against Breaud included “outrageous fabrications and outright lies.”
On Wednesday, Dysart homed in one claim that Cantrell made in her petition, alleging that Breaud “has been the source of photographs and video (over 800 hours of video) that has been used to attack, dehumanize, weaponize my character and caused harm; risking my overall safety.”
Dysart asked Castaing for clarity
“The 800 hours of video: Is that something you can concede one way or the other?” he asked.
“We can amend that,” responded Castaing, later adding, “Until we have discovery I don’t know.”
ment about what Fields’ job status has been during the investigation. Bonney also filed a criminal complaint with the New Orleans Police Department. The complaint remains under investigation, according to a NOPD spokesperson.
Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@theadvocate. com.
“Because I didn’t want him to be upset or angry,” she said. The woman didn’t file a report until the next day. She called the New Orleans Police Department’s Employee Assistance Program, an internal support line that offers counseling and legal services.
The same day she called the hotline, she made a recording on her phone, which prosecutors played for the jury “I feel very embarrassed about it and dumb. ,” she said. “Because low-key, I still want to date him. I want him to apologize and be sincere and not do it again.”
During his cross-examination of the woman, Paul’s defense attorney, Jeffrey Hufft, zeroed in on other portions of the recording that he claimed proved the encounter was consensual. In one instance, the woman said: “When we talked last night, he said he didn’t want kids, and I want a family.”
“That upset and embarrassed you,” Hufft argued “that you’d had sex with him and he didn’t want kids.”
The woman denied that allegation as Hufft repeatedly questioned her actions after the incident, including remaining undressed as they sat on Paul’s sofa and talked.
Police arrested Paul on May 19, 2021. He posted a $25,000 bail the next day
The department put Paul on a 120-day suspension, but canceled it on June 30, 2021. He has remained on active duty since, pending the outcome of the criminal case against him.
The case has faced significant delays. Though he was arrested just days after the incident, court records show Paul wasn’t formally charged by prosecutors for nearly 16 months.
The woman had submitted to a forensic exam to gather evidence for a rape kit days later But the samples scraped from her body sat untested at the backlogged Louisiana State Police Crime Lab until New Orleans police asked analysts to expedite her rape kit’s processing.
The request came three days after The Times-Picayune inquired about the case.
On Tuesday, as the attorneys attempted to seat the final members of Paul’s jury several potential jurors claimed they could not remain impartial in his case.
One woman said she was raised to believe law enforcement protected people. But when “I heard that the person accused of rape is a police officer,” she said, “I got scared, as a woman.” Another woman said she knew several people who had endured “unfortunate things at the hands” of New Orleans’ officers, while a man alleged he had “extreme bias against the police.” If the jury finds Paul guilty as charged, he faces between five and 40 years in prison.
320K fentanyl pills, $425K seizedaspart of initiative
BY BOBWARREN Staff writer
Arecent murder indictment stemming from the drug overdose death of a Washington ParishSchool Board member highlights some of the work being done by anew regional opioid task force, law enforcement authorities said Friday The Opioid Initiative, launched last July,started small —anorthshore District Attorney’sOffice investigator and two Slidell Police Departmentnarcotics detectives —but has since growntoinclude law enforcement agencies from across thenorthshore and Jefferson Parish, northshore District Attorney Collin Sims said during anews conference in Covington. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security are also involved.
against 12 people in St. Tammany and Washington parishes accused of supplying drugs that were later tied to overdose deaths.
“Those cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute,” Authement said, adding that theinvestigative workoften includes digging through phone and text records and tracking down reluctant witnesses.“But Iwould expect that number to grow.”
Black,Joan
task force.
“Drug dealers don’t know borders,” Sims said, backed by ahost of law enforcement representatives on the steps of the St.Tammany Justice Center Theinitiative has seized 320,000fentanylpills, $425,000, 75 firearms, two kilograms of heroin and assortedother drugs, authoritiessaid.
Sims said thetask force will continue to expand, with the aim ofreducing the illegal drugtrade and making more arrests. Sims saidbypoolingresources and intelligence, the hope
is that the task force will makeabig dent in drug trafficking across the region, as well as reduce the number of drug overdoses.
St.Tammany has seen increasing numbers of drug overdosedeaths in recent years, frustrating public healthauthorities trying to reach users aboutthe dangers they face,particularly as fentanyl flooded the drug market
ElizabethAuthement, first assistantdistrict attorney in Sims’office, saidthe task forceisresponsible for pending homicide charges
Sims touted the recent second-degree murderindictmentofDayon Dyson as an example. Dysonwas indictedonMarch18in connection with theoverdose deathlastyearoffor Frankie Crosby Sr., aWashington Parish School Board member
Dyson allegedly sold fentanyl to Crosby,67, who was later found dead inside his vehicle, Franklinton police have said.
And last December,a jury in St.Tammany convicted Felicia Grantham of second-degree murder in theoverdose deathofa 15-year-old Covington girl Grantham faces alife sentence.
“It’sbeen phenomenal,” Slidell Police Chief Randy Fandal said.“We’vetaken down some pretty heavy hitters.”
BY MISSY WILKINSON and HANNAH LEVITAN Staff writers
Aman is in custody after leading Troop NOLA troopers on achase that started in Treme and ended with a collision and arrest in East Carrollton, accordingto Louisiana State Police. Shortly before noon Wednesday,troopers tried to stop aChevrolet Camaro with tinted windowsand no license plates at Orleans Avenue and North Galvez Street.
“Wesaw this car flying down Burdette, andit’sa one-way,so they weregoing the wrong way,” Loyola University senior Rex Broussard said. “You could hear it blocks away,and then we heardacrash.”
TwoLouisianaState Police vehiclesentered the intersectionatBurdette andPlum streets in an attempt to stop the driver, who clipped the side of one of them. The second unit hit the driver’svehicle head-on. Troopers pulled the suspect from his vehicle and cuffed him, sources said.
Troop NOLA vehicles and asuspect vehicle displaydamageWednesday after achase ended with an arrest and crash at Burdette and Plumstreets.
According to LoyolaUniversity junior Gracie Agostino,ahelicopter circled the neighborhood forapproximately20minutes before thecollision
“It was likeamovie,” Agostinosaid Whenshe tried to get closer to see what happened, Agostino saidanoff-duty
BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer
Asuspected burglar in Slidell is hospitalized and will be jailed upon release after being shot in the leg by the homeowners he attempted to rob, according to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.
New Orleans PoliceDepartment officer ran out of his house to tell her to stay back. No serious injuries were reported.State Police have notyet released the name of theman they arrested, nor his alleged offenses.
It was at least the second Troop NOLA chase to end
in acrash and apprehension within aweek. On Friday,state troopers arrested threeteen boys after astolen car crashed into an Regional TransitAuthoritybus during apursuit. Police said they recovered three stolen firearms from the scene and linked Brynel Smith, 18, to at least four auto thefts.
Cambridge,Frances Coleman Sr., Kenneth CrewsJr.,Louis Culotta,Ethel Curtis, Dorothy DiGiovanni,June Favorite,Stephen Grover, Blair Jackson, Willie Jenkins,Laura Johnson, Lovida Lacy Sr., Eddie Lilly,Betty McMahon, Bryan Metz,Julie Miller, Gladis Murray, Betty Nettles, Joseph Ridings,Betty Rudd, James Scott,Alex ScottJr.,Miller Stewart, Barbara Taylor Jr., Robert Theodore, Jaunita Trahan Sr., Robert EJefferson
Garden of Memories
Nettles, Joseph NewOrleans
Boyd Family Grover, Blair
Lacy Sr., Eddie Charbonnet
Cambridge,Frances Favorite,Stephen Johnson, Lovida DW Rhodes Miller, Gladis Estelle JWilson Jackson, Willie Gertrude Geddes Curtis, Dorothy ScottJr.,Miller Stewart, Barbara Greenwood Metz,Julie
Black, Joan Ward
Joan WardBlack, age 89, passed away peacefullyat herhomeinMetairie, Louisiana, on Monday, March31, 2025. Joan wasprecededin death by herbeloved husband, Raymond J. Black; herparents,Lynnand Edna Ward; hersisters, Letty Wardand Mary WardGros; and herbrother-in-law, Donald Gros. Sheissurvivedbyher threesons, David Moreau (Rosalyn), Daryl Moreau (Jill), andDougMoreau; hertwo grandchildren, Adam Moreau (Cory) and Hannah Moreau;her three nephews, WardGros (Anita), John Gros (Becky), and AndrewGros(Alison); herniece, DonnaBourgeois (Randy); hergreat nieces, Racheland EmilyRibandoGros, Jennifer Quigley, Camille Gros, and Cecile Gros; hergreat nephews, Joseph andJacob Quigley PaulGros, and Drew Gros; and cousin, Donald Brinkman (Charlene). Joan wasborninNew OrleansonSeptember 10, 1935. She graduatedfrom SacredHeart of Jesus High School, class of 1953, and, growingupinMid City, attended hergrammar school yearsatSt. Anthony of Padua, class of 1949. Sheworked for the Veterans Administration Medical Center, holding numerouspositions from 1956 until1992. Shewas an active parishioner of St PhilipNeriCatholic Church whilealso maintaining her close association with other members of thePadua 20s. Keepingher close relationship with valued friends, shealso lovedto coordinate luncheswith former classmates and work colleagues.
Joan's love forher pets remained constant throughout herlife, eventually leading hertovolunteer with Animal Rescue NewOrleans after HurricaneKatrina. In addition she enjoyed gardening, refinishingantiquefurniture,and researching familyhistory. Shewas an avidfan of professional tennis andmen's and women's basketball.
Police said Tyrone Mercadel, 52, kicked in the door of ahouse in the 42000 block of U.S. 190 East on Monday evening and assaulted the female homeowner.After a fight between Mercadel and the homeowners, the woman shot two rounds in self-defense and hit himinthe leg, police said. The suspect fled. The malehomeowner, WayneMercadal,53, fired at TyroneMercadel’s vehicle’s tires to stop him fromfleeinglaw enforcement,who located himnearbyand took him to ahospital. Tyrone Mercadel will be bookedinto theSt. Tammany Parish Correctional Center on onecountofaggravated burglary
Wayne Mercadal was booked Monday night into the correctional centerona count of aggravated criminal damage to property The Sheriff’s Officesaid Mercadel was known to the homeowners.
N.C. cyclist killed in Port Sulphur collision
Staff report
Acyclist was fatally struck by atruck traveling down La. 23 in Port Sulphur, Louisiana State Police said. Kenneth Oshell, 72, of Cornelius, North Carolina, was heading south in the right hand lane near Fosters Road about 5:10p.m. Monday,state troopers said. Althoughheworebright clothes and had astrobe
light on his bike, the driver of a2018 Ford F-150 travelinginthe same lane as Oshell hithim,State Police said. Oshell was seriously injured and died at the scene, trooperssaid. The driver was wearinga seat beltand wasn’tinjured. Theresults of atoxicology test arepending, and troopers areinvestigating why the driver struck Oshell.
Nickelback,Kid Rock to performinLivingston Fairgrounds firststopof 10-towntour
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
Thousands of fans will gather at Livingston Parish Fairgrounds thisweekendtosing alongtorock hits such as “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock or “Rockstar” by Nickelback. The“Rock theCountry” two-dayconcert is ahuge milestone forLivingston Parish, as officialshave said it is thebiggest event theparish has hosted.
The national tour is scheduled for 10 small towns,with Livingston Parish as the first stop. The shows Fridayand Saturday will feature musicians suchasLynyrd Skynyrd, Gavin Adcock and Treaty OakRevival, as well as Kid Rock and Nickelback, starting at 2:30 p.m. both days at the fairgrounds in the town of Livingston off Florida Boulevard.
The concertisestimated to bring in about $10 million in new-visitor spending to the area, said Michael McBrayer, adirec-
tor with the concert. This is basedonstudies of when “Rock the Country” was held in different parishes in thepast.
McBrayer said attendance of 16,000 to20,000 is expected per night.
The location was selected because it is between two large cities and is an underservedareawith amajorityofblue-collar workers “that needs musical entertainment,” he said.
Eric Edwards, executive director of theparish’s Conventionand Visitors Bureau, said an event like this affects avariety of parishdivisions,including lodging, local dining, shopping and labor Edwards said theparish hasnever hosted an event of this size.
“It’sthe first time for the parish,” he said. If the event goes over well, LivingstonParish could potentially host more events of the same size, Edwards said. “I think (theevent) is the proving ground,” he said.“We do have alot of landavailable.”
Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@ theadvocate.com.
Lake Lawn Metairie
Black,Joan Culotta,Ethel DiGiovanni,June
Majestic Mortuary
Theodore, Jaunita River Parish
HC Alexander
Rudd, James PatrickH Sanders Scott,Alex St Tammany
Audubon Trahan Sr., Robert
EJ Fielding
Jenkins,Laura West Bank
DavisMortuary
Coleman Sr., Kenneth Murray, Betty Mothe
Lilly,Betty Ridings,Betty
Joan's constantpresence in thelives of many allowed to possess an uncannyability to assess situations andoffer herguidance with heartfelt honesty, forthrightnessand sincerity. To all whoknew herclosely, she wasa cherished confidant,mentor andfriend. Joan often welcomed familyand friends and was neverknown to throw a bad party. Herhomewas theplace to be.Joandedicated herlifetofamily with thehallmarkofitbeingthe love of herthree sons. The familyextendsits appreciationand gratitude to lifelongfriendKatie Willsand to Drs. Andrea andLuisEspinoza fortheir personal andloving care, concern, andattention for ourmother.
Relativesand friends are invited to attendthe Funeral Mass in thechapel of Lake LawnMetairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd.inNew Orleans, on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 2:00PM. Avisitation will be held at thefuneralhomebeginning at 12:00PM.The interment will follow the Mass at Lake LawnPark Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers, please considera donation in Joan's memory to St AnthonyofPadua Catholic Church or Animal Rescue NewOrleans To view andsignthe online guest book, please visit lakelawnmetairie.com
Cambridge, Frances Beatrice
4B ✦ Thursday,April 3, 2025 ✦ nola.com ✦ The Times-Picayune fully on Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at theage of 82 in New Orleans, LA.Frances was born on July 22, 1942 in Independence,LA. ACele‐bration servicehonoring the life andlegacyofthe lateFrances B. Cambridge willbeheldinthe Chapel ofCharbonnetLabat Glapion FuneralHome, 1615 St.PhilipStreet,New Orleans,LAonFriday, April 4,2025 at 10 am.Interment Resthaven Memorial Park, 10400 OldGentillyRoad, New Orleans, LA.Please signonlineguestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504) 581-4411.
ColemanSr.,Kenneth Michael
KennethMichael Cole‐man,Sr. enteredintoeter‐nal rest at OchsnerMed‐icalCenterMainCampus onWednesday,March 19 2025, at theage of 67.He was anativeand resident ofKenner, LA.Kenneth was a graduate of John H. Mar‐tyn High School andem‐ployedwiththe Jefferson ParishCoronersOffice as a BodyTransport Specialist LovingfatherofJudithA Price,TiffanyD.Harris, Kenneth M. Coleman, Jr Kenneth M. Phillips, Leonard D. Jordan,Sanaa Cutno,Santana Cutno, Kendall Woods, Larry E. Lewis,Jr.,Jamal J. Price, and thelateJustinJ.Price Beloved sonofthe late Houston Earl Coleman, Sr and LeolaBradfordCole‐man.Brother of thelate Houston E. Coleman, Jr Kenneth is also survived by his ex-wifeLaura Coleman, 9 grandchildren, andhost ofother relatives and friends.Relatives and friends of thefamilyare in‐vited to attend theCele‐bration of Life at Davis MortuaryService,6820 WestbankExpressway, Marrero,LAonFriday, April 4,2025, at 10:00 a.m. Pastor SamuelTravis, of Greater ZionfieldFamilyWorship Center, officiating. Visita‐tionwillbegin at 8:30 a.m. until servicetimeatthe parlor. Interment: Wood‐lawnParkMemorialCeme‐tery-Westwego, LA.Toview and sign theguestbook, pleasegotowww.davismo rtuaryservice.com.Face masks arerecommended
Crews Jr., Louis Sherwood 'Woody'
Louis Sherwood "Woody" Crews Jr., anative New Orleanian and avidsportsman, 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 Lafaye Crews, is survived by his wife Barbee Magruder Crews; three children Louis Sherwood "Chip" Crews III (Shannon), Stephen Paul Crews (Kirsten), Kaylyn Crews Burmaster (Adam); four grandchildren Collin Crews, Catherine Crews, 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 right there with him. He loved agood joke, astrong drink, and giving the people he cared about ahard time. Beneath the jokes wasa man who loved deeply, always showing up for familyand friends when it mattered most. Aproud member of the
AlphaTau Omegafraternity at Tulane University (Class of 1980), Woody forged lifelongbonds and earned his reputationasa vibrant and respected presenceinthe community. His passion forhunting and fishing naturally led him to dedicate hisfree time to conservation projects, serving on the board of Coalition to RestoreCoastal Louisiana (CRCL)since 1998.Woody was awarded the CRCL's Lifetime Achievement Awardfor Coastal Stewardship in 2019 Evenings at his beloved Tally Ho Club werewhere Woody's spirittruly shined— surrounded by goodfriends,swapping greatstories, and filling the normally quiet bayou with laughter. Acelebrationof Woody's life willbeheldon Friday, April 11 from2 to 5 pm at The Lakehouse New Orleans. Family andfriends will come together to reminisce, raise aglass, and honor aman who was larger than life.Casual attire is encouraged
Culotta,EthelChachere
Born Nov. 7,1924 in New Orleans,LAtothe late Tilghman George Chachere Jr.and Gertrude Coralie LevyChachere.The wife of the late Vincent ACulotta Sr.MDdied peacefully at home on March26, 2025. Sister of the late Elizabeth C. Brennan (William) of LaMiradaCa.,the late Coralie C. Liberto (Vincent), the late Naomi C. Bonnabel (Guion), the late TilghmanG.Chachere III (Lavicia), andthe late RobertE.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 FrancesCulotta Schmeeckle (Frederick), and the late John Tilghman Culotta (Eileen). Grandmother of the late Vincent A. Culotta III. Survived by 18 grandchildrenand 23 great grandchildren and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. In lieu of flowers, have amasssaidatSt Francis Xavierchurch or donations to the Trey Culotta Wrestling Fund at Brother Martin High School. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the service at Lake LawnMetairieFuneral Home on Saturday April 5, 2025.Visitationwillbe from 10 a.m. untilthe mass at noon.Interment to follow withinMetairie Cemetery
DorothyThomasCurtis, age 68,was born on Sep‐tember21, 1956, in NewOr‐leans,LA. Shedeparted thisearthly life on Thurs‐day,March 20, 2025, into her eternallifeinthe hands of God. Shewas the proud daughter of thelate Steve Thomas,Sr. and Alice Thomas (Clark). Dorothy will be unitedin eternal life with herhus‐bandthe late Clifford E. Curtis, Sr.She leaves a daughter, LaTanyaH.Cur‐tis,son Clifford E. Curtis Jr.,two sistersDeloris Thomas, Mary Husband (Robert), anda brother James Thomas,Sr. (Dar‐lene).She wasalsosur‐vived by ahostofnieces, nephews,cousins,family and friends. Relativesand friends of thefamily, also employees of theOld Char‐ity Hospital 12th floor Surgery Unit,LSU OBGYN Clinic, Booker T. Washing‐ton Senior High School c/o 1975, staff of Bisso Marine Company,Shore Marine, SouthernCandymakers are invited to attend theCele‐bration of Life Serviceon Saturday, April5,2025 at HolyAnointedHouse of Prayer, 1447 Senate Street New Orleans, LA 70122 at 11:00 a.m. Family Hour from 10:30a.m.until 11:00
a.m. IntermentMount OlivetCemetery, 4000 Nor‐man MayerAvenue,New Orleans,LA70122. Youmay signthe guestbook on http://www.gertrudeged deswillis.com. Gertrude GeddesWillisFuneral HomeInc., in charge (504) 522-2525.
June Breaux DiGiovanni, born on June 16, 1938, passed away at her home in Metairie,Louisiana,surrounded by her family on Friday, March 28th. Belovedwife of 67 yearsof JosephR.DiGiovanni,Sr. and cherished mother of Julie D. Martinez(Urban), JanelleD.O'Brienand JosephR.DiGiovanni,Jr. (Renée). Proud Grandmother to Ian J. O'Brien (Elizabeth), Myles L. O'Brien (Kristie), Mia R. DiGiovanni and DominicS DiGiovanni. Loving Great Grandmother to Jackson J. O'Brien and Maile J. O'Brien.SisterofFay B. Drouet.June is also survivedbymany nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by her parents, Louis E. Breaux, Jr. and EthelB.Breaux. Familyand friendsare invited to attend the FuneralService at St. Catherine of SienaChurch, 105 Bonnabel Blvd.in Metairie on Friday, April 4th. Visitation willbegin at 10:30 AM followedbya FuneralMass at 11:30 AM PrivateBurial at Cypress Grove Cemetery will conclude theService The family wouldliketo extend theirsincere gratitude and appreciationto thestaff of Serenity Hospice fortheir professional and compassionate care of June over her final years. Special thanks to Breni, Janet, Roberta, Sandra and Trudyfor their personal attention. In lieu of flowers,please considera donationon June's behalfto ArchbishopRummelHigh School (www.giverummel.com) or June's Alma Mater, St Mary's Dominican High School (www.stmarysdomi nican.org).
StephenRoy Favorite,a devoted husband andfa‐therand longtime resident ofNew Orleans, LA unex‐pectedlydepartedthis earthly life doingwhathe loved,creatingsomething for others to enjoy. Ana‐tiveofVacherie, Louisiana, he'sgraduateofSt. James Highand Southern Univer‐sitybeforeembarking on a career as acertified con‐struction projectmanager and alicensedgeneral contractor. He wasfounder and CEOofSRF GroupCon‐sulting,anarchitectural designand projectman‐agement firm,and F3 Man‐agement,which developed multi-familyhousing com‐munities in south Louisiana.Tocherish mem‐ories of momentstogether, Stephen leaves behind his wifeand best friend of 32 years,TereseBennett Fa‐vorite; sons,Aaron,Mar‐cus,and Etienne;grand‐children, Layla, Ethan, Dev‐ereaux, Ziggy,and Edison Favorite; siblings,Wilson, Jr. (Elaine),James (Va‐lerie), Anthony, Kathleen and Juliette F. Richardson (Jerry); brothers-in-law, AngeloisWashington, Sr., Timothy Bennett(Janice); sisters-in-law, Gabriella and XochitlBennett; anda hostofother relativesand veryclose friends. He was predeceased by hispar‐ents, Wilson,Sr. and BerthaPierreFavorite; and his sister,Marie Roseanne F.Washington. Funeralser‐viceand intermentwillbe heldatSt. JamesCatholic Church andCemetery, 6613 LA-18, St.James,LAonFri‐day,April 4, 2025 at 11:00 am.A CelebrationofLife
will be held at Xavier Uni‐versity of Louisiana’sAd‐ministrationBuildingAudi‐torium, 1DrexelDrive,New Orleans,LA, on Saturday, April 5, at 3:00 pm.Inlieu of flowers, thefamilyre‐questsdonations be made tothe Leukemia andLym‐phoma Societyathttps:// pages.lls.org/ltn/msla/ NOrleans25/favoritefam ilyandfriendsnolainhis memory.
BlairTonellGroverwas bornonFebruary28, 1992, tothe late DeldaMae Fred‐erick Grover andthe late CornelGrover. He attended BishopMcManus Academy School in NOLA.Blair en‐joyed workingasanEvent and MaintenanceClerk at the Zulu Social Aidand PleasureClub, where he met many newpeopleand spent time with hisUncle Bunnyand honorary,Uncle Josh. Blairwas averypri‐vate, generous,quiet and respectfulperson. His playful spirit will trulybe missedbyhis brother, nieces, aunts, uncles cousins andfriends.Blair leavestocelebrate hislife two siblings,Brandon H. Frederick (Amanda) and TaiwanGroverBenoit (Frank);aunts, KimLinette Frederick,PamelaFreder‐ick Dumas(Bertrand)and RosalindFrederick Johnson (Kevin) of Surprise,Ari‐zona. Nieces,Shiyanne Green,DylanaFrederick, Aliyana Frederick, Shon‐taneand EwainGrover; nephew, Koby Grover Twelvecousins andother close relatives. Blairispre‐ceded in deathbyhis mother, DeldaFrederick Grover& father,Cornel Grover; grandparents,Mr. & Mrs. Howard Frederick Jr.,Mr. &Mrs.Roosevelt Grover; aunts, Shelia Fred‐erick,Wanda Frederick Newell, Arlendra Grover Crisler;uncles, Raymond HarveySr.,Larry Harvey Sr.,HowardCrisler Sr.; and cousin, Howard CrislerJr. Familyand friendsare in‐vited to attend theVisita‐tionService at TheBoyd FamilyFuneralHome, 5001 ChefMenteur Hwy.,onFri‐day,April 4, 2025, from 12:30 p.m. -2:30p.m.Inter‐mentisprivate.Guestbook Online: www.anewtraditi onbegins.com(504) 2820600. Linear BrooksBoyd and DonavinD.BoydOwn‐ers/FuneralDirectors
please visitwww.estelle jwilsonfh.com
LauraShirleanJenkins, ofBush, Louisiana, passed awaylastThursday.She is survivedbyher children, Cline Jenkins, DeAnnJenk‐ins andDouglas Jenkins; grandchildren,Paige Thompsonand Tiffany Jenkins anda great-grand‐child,Adleigh Watts.She is alsosurvivedbyher sisters Ellen RaeFelts andJoNell King. Shewas preceded in death by herhusband,Car‐rollHowardJenkins.Be‐cause shesees life as full ofunendingopportunities for love,learningand kind‐ness, sherequested that her date of birthand date ofdeath notappear in this obituary, norwillitever appearonher tombstone. She wasa foundational memberofBushMethodist Church.Inlieuof flowers, contributions in memory of Shirleanmay be made to BushMethodist Church Also, shewas aformer school busdriverwho left lasting impressionsonher students, andshe wasthe ownerofa smallbusiness, Backstreet,inCovington and Mandeville for25 years.Visitationtohonor her will beginat12:00 PM onFriday, April4,2025, fol‐lowed by herfuneral ser‐viceat2:00PM: E. J. Field‐ing FuneralHome, 2260 West21st Avenue,Coving‐ton,Louisiana.Her inter‐mentwillfollowinher fam‐ily cemetery,27494 High‐way 40, Bush,Louisiana fol‐lowed by arepassather homenextdoor.E.J.Field‐ing FuneralHomeofCov‐ington, Louisiana, is hon‐oredtobeentrusted with the funeralarrangements. The Jenkinsfamilyinvites you to sharethoughts, memories, andcondo‐lencesbysigning an online guestbook at www.ejfield ingfh.com
cludeher children,Lakisha, Edward, Jr.and Eldred; seven grandchildren, one uncle,a host of nieces, nephews,sisters in law, other familyand friends. In additiontoher parents, Mrs.Johnson is also pre‐ceded in deathbyher hus‐band, in-lawsand brother. A Mass of Christianburial honoringthe life and legacyofthe late Lovida Jones Johnsonwillbeheld atSt. Raymond/St.Leo the Great Church,2916 Paris Avenue, NewOrleans,LA onSaturday, April5,2025 at10am. TheMasswillbe live-streamed viathe church’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Interment St. John theBaptist Church, 2349 LA-18, Edgard,LA 70049. Visitation 9amin the church.Pleasesignthe onlineguestbook at www charbonnetfuneralhome com. Charbonnet Labat Glapion,Directors (504) 581-4411.
EddieLacy, Sr wasborn October 31, 1940, to the lateLeonLacySrand Ella GageLacy. He lived84 years before crossing over tohis heavenly home on March 30, 2025. He wasa graduateofBatchelor High School.Eddieissurvived byhis wife EthelLacy, chil‐dren: Patrick, Eddie, Jonathan, Raymond, Nicole, Sonya, Kimberly, Shantelland ahostof brothers, sisters, grand‐kids, great-grandkids, nieces, nephews, godchil‐dren, otherfamilyand friends.Precededindeath byhis sonJeromePolk. Familyand friendsare in‐vited to attend theCele‐bration of Life Serviceon Saturday, April5,2025, for 10:00 a.m. at NewMount Era BaptistChurch,2519 S. PrieurStreet,New Orleans, LA70125. Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. Reverend ClaudeMitchell, officiating. Intermentwillfollowat Mount Olivet Cemetery, 4000 Norman MayerAve., New Orleans, LA 70122. On‐lineguestbook:www.ane wtraditionbegins.com (504) 282-0600. DonavinD Boydand Linear Brooks BoydOwners/FuneralDi‐rectors
Willie Jackson, "Jr",de‐partedthislifeonThurs‐day,March 20, 2025. He was 32 yearsold andborn atMethodist Hospital,now known as NewOrleans EastHospital. Anativeand residentofNew Orleans, LA. SonofFeebeeJackson, Willie Marshall III andthe lateEugeneMillerIV. GrandsonofQuiellene Davis JacksonHowardand the late Gloria Marshall and Willie Marshall, Jr and Willie B. Jackson. Brother ofVianna Jackson, Jonika Jackson,JosephArm‐strong, Jovana Benjamin Jolia Marshall, Destinee Marshall, Eugene Jackson, Egyanna Miller andJovara Marshall. Also survived by a host of aunts, uncles nieces, nephews, cousins, other relativesand friends. Relatives andfriends of the familyare invitedtoattend the FuneralServiceson Saturday, April5,2025 for 10:00 a.m. at EstelleJ.Wil‐son FuneralHome, Inc. 2715 Danneel Street,New Orleans,La. 70113. Visita‐tionwillbegin at 9:00 a.m. until servicetime. Pastor Kim Bailey officiating. In‐terment:Private.Arrange‐ments entrustedtoEstelle J.WilsonFuneralHome, Inc.,2715 Danneel Street New Orleans, La.70113. In‐formation:(504) 895-4903 To sign online guestbook,
Lovida JonesJohnson, age 83, the firstchild of the lateBennieand Alfroncine Jones wasbornonNovem‐ber 11, 1941. Lovida,a re‐tired educator,departed fromthislifepeacefully, on Thursday,March 20, 2025 athome. Shewas agradu‐ate of Joseph S. ClarkHigh School andreceiveda B. A. ineducation from Xavier University.Survivors in‐
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Orleans, Louisiana, passed awayonMarch 28,2025, in Gretna, Louisiana. Betty willberememberedasa devoted member of her familyand community whose legacy will live on in the hearts of many.For 39 years,Betty dedicatedher‐selftoher career as alongtimeemployeeofGMAC, where shedemonstrated unwavering commitment and steadfastprofession‐alism. Shewas notonlyre‐spected as ahardworking employeebut also cher‐ished as aloyal colleague Betty wasa passionate fan ofthe Saints andLSU,em‐bodying thespiritofdedi‐cationand loyaltythatshe demonstratedthroughout her life.Her love forcook‐ing,especiallyduringthe holidays, broughther fam‐ily together, fillingtheir homes with warmth laughter, anddelicious meals that will be fondly rememberedbyall who gatheredaround hertable Known forher angelic spirit, Bettywas kind and giving. Shewas asupport‐ive presence in thelives of her familyand friends, al‐waysgoing aboveand be‐yondtooffer assistance and solace.Her devotion extendedbeyondher fam‐ily;she wasa dedicated caregiver forher beloved mother, MildredLawson, who predeceasedher.She found joyinserving others and wasactiveinher Catholic Church,contribut‐ing to groups such as St Andrew’sLadiesGuild,the Sages,and theLadyofFa‐timaprayergroup.Betty's favoriteresponsewhen someone expressedtheir lovefor herwas aheartfelt "Love youmore,"illustrat‐ing herunwavering affec‐tionfor thosearound her. She leaves behind herlov‐ing daughters, Gwen (Pat) Ryanand Gerry (Chuck) Blumenthal. Hercherished grandsons,Bradley Sulli‐van,Colby Blumenthal, Tyler (Amanda) Blumen‐thal, andShane Ryan along with hergreat grand‐son,Beaux Blumenthal willcarry forwardthe val‐ues andloveshe instilled inthem. Hersiblings Robert“Bobby” Lawson (Patsy),Theodore“Teddy” Lawson, Michael“Mike” Lawson, andDwight“Ike” Lawson(Charlotte).Betty alsoembracedher step grandsons,Scott (Kira) Ryanand Shaun(Shelly) Ryan, andtook prideinher stepgreat-grandsons William, Aidan, Shaun, and IanRyanaswellasall of her nieces andnephews Betty Lawson Lillyled alife oflove, service, anddedi‐cation, leavinganindelible markonall who hadthe privilege of knowingher She will be deeply missed but foreverhonored in the memoriesshe createdwith her familyand friends. Friends andfamilyare in‐vited to attend avisitation onThursday,April 3, 2025 atMothe FuneralHome, 2100 Westbank Express‐way,inHarvey, LA begin‐ningat5 p.m. until 7p.m.; and will continue againon Friday, April4,2025 at 9:30 a.m.atSt. Andrew the Apostle Church in Algiers. The FuneralMasswillfol‐low at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 4, 2025 at St.Andrew the Apostle. Theburialwill beheldprivately in West‐lawnMemorialParkata later date.Pleasevisit www.mothefunerals.com to view andsignthe online guestbook
BryanT.McMahon,74, the longtime Editor and Publisher of ThePoncha‐toula Times, passedaway peacefullyonMarch 31, 2025, at hishomeinPon‐chatoula, LA.Originally froma roughsideofDe‐troit,Michigan, Mr.McMa‐hon excelled in academics and wasactiveinthe per‐forming arts andpublished booksofpoetry. He founded threenewspapers inLouisiana andlived as a truescholar andmodernday bard.Hewon the Louisiana PressAssocia‐tion'stop awardfor inves‐tigativejournalism, and the BrownPelican Award for environmentalreport‐ing amongmanyother awardsand recognitions for hisprolificnewspaper career.Bryan is survived byhis children,Anna Breaux(Lyle), BlissMcMa‐hon (Ben),Brendan B. McMahon (Landis),and Deirdre Margaret McMa‐hon Sanchez(Mariano) grandchildren,Felicity, Patrick,Claire, Anna Maria and Lucas; brother, Mark McMahon,ofGrosse Pointe,Michigan; andhis
son, Ryan McMahon (Anne); andtheir children Cayden, Connor, Collin of Michigan; as well as multi‐ple VanAntwerp cousins and Frederickin-laws Bryan is preceded in death byhis loving wife,Terry Ann McMahon(neeFreder‐ick); parents, BernardVin‐centMcMahon andHele‐nAnn McMahon; and brother Terrence McMa‐hon.Bryan wasa proud dualcitizen of Irelandand the U.S.A. andfounder of the KreweofErinPoncha‐toula St.Patrick's Parade "Wearingofthe green"is encouragedand allare welcome to services arranged by HarryMcK‐neely. In lieu of flowers, the familysuggestsdonations bemadetothe Ancient Order of Hibernians.Rela‐tives andfriends arein‐vited to attend thevisita‐tionheldatHarry McK‐neely& SonFuneral Home, 100 W. Magnolia St Pon‐chatoula, LA 70454, Friday, April 4, 2025, at 5:00 pm8:00pm. Visitation will con‐tinue Saturday,April 5, 2025, at 9:00 am until ser‐vices beginat11:00 am.In‐terment will follow in Pon‐chatoulaCemetery, Pon‐chatoula,Louisiana
JulieBoldenMetz, Janu‐ary 17,1961 –March 09 2025. JulieBoldenMetz, 64, losther courageous battle withpulmonary fibrosis on March 9, 2025. Juliewas bornonJanuary 17,1961, and wasprecededindeath byher parents, thelate Jules M. Bolden Jr.and SylviaB.Bolden. Shewas alsoprecededindeath by her grandparents Mr.and Mrs.Jules M. Bolden Sr (Margaret), Mr.and Mrs. ElmoF.BienvenuSr. (Louise), herfather-in-law and mother-in-lawMr. and Mrs.ThomasE.Metz (Betty), heruncle Elmo F. BienvenuJr. andbrotherin-lawand sister-in-law, Mr. andMrs.William H. Saunders(Lisa). Julieis survivedbyher loving hus‐bandof36years Thomas A. Metzand daughter Kristina E.Metz(Alexander),her brother andsister-in-law Mr. andMrs.Jules M. BoldenIII (Silvia),her aunt Linda Bienvenu as well as nieces, nephews, grand nephews,cousins and countless otherfamilyand friends who allloved and willmissJulie dearly.Julie attendedgrammar school atSt. Lawerencethe Mar‐tyr Catholic School and was agraduateofArch‐bishopChapelle High School classof1979. She attendedLouisiana State Universityfrom 1979-1981 where shewas amember ofthe Golden Band from Tigerland.She is agradu‐ate of St.Mary’sDominican College andLoyolaUniver‐sityNew Orleans. Julie workedinthe Healthcare industryall herlifewith her finalpositionbeing a recruiter in HumanRe‐sources forOchsner Health System. Thefamilywould liketoextendtheir sincer‐est gratitudetothe Ochsner IntensiveCare Team, theTransplantteam and herwonderful Critical Careand PulmonaryPhysi‐cians.TheywereJulie’s biggest cheerleaders Julie’s finalgiftwas organ donationthrough LOPA so her legacy cancontinue to liveonthrough thelives of others. Family and friends are invitedtoattend avisi‐tationat10:00 a.m. on Sat‐urday,April 5, 2025, at St Agnes Church,3310 Jeffer‐son Hwy.,Jefferson, Louisiana 70121, with a massat12:00 p.m. Inter‐mentwillfollowatGreen‐wood Cemetery in NewOr‐leans,Louisiana.Inlieuof flowersand masses, pleaseconsiderdonating inJulie’s name to thechar‐ity of your choice
With heavyhearts, yet ingratitude fora well lived life, we sharethe passing ofGladisMae Miller,a cherished mother,grand‐mother, daughter,sister, cousin, andfriend. On March 25,2025, at theage of 78,Gladispeacefully
transitioned from this life, embracing herheavenly journey andresting in the lovingarmsofour Heav‐enlyFather. Gladis Mae Millerwas born in NewOr‐leans,LA, to thelateHer‐man W. Sr.and JuliaMae Tyler.Her life wasa beauti‐ful reflection of love,laugh‐ter,and generosity.She touched theheartsof those around herwith warmthand kindness, cre‐ating precious memories thatwillbeforever cher‐ished.A womanofbound‐lesscompassion, shededi‐cated herselftoothers, leaving an enduring impact oncountless lives. Gladis was preceded in deathby her parents, Herman W. Sr and JuliaMae Tyler; grand‐parents,Lorenzo andLu‐cinda Tylerand Joseph and Luvinia Pierre Singleton; brother,HermanTyler Jr (Dianne); children,Adrian Millerand KevinTyler;and grandchildren,Marvin Jackson andBertrand DezaraIII. Sheleavesbe‐hinda familywho will for‐evercherish hermemory: her threechildren, Jack Jr., Michael (Sharon),and Sonia Miller;her beloved grandchildren,April Glenn, Michael andMaurice Jack‐son,Kendraand Ayanna Neville, DanielaClements (Robin),Breione (Darius) Encalade-Gatson,and Kaia Dezara; andher treasured great grandchildren, Michael Marshall, Michelle, Kimani, andMaliyah Jack‐son,JeremyTolliverJr., Robyn Clements,Kyleigh Gatson, Azureand Amare Mack, andSeven Funchess
She is also deeply missed byher loving siblings,Jan‐ice (Claude, III) Bean Melvinand LindaTyler,as wellasa host of nieces nephews,cousins,ex‐tendedfamily, andlifelong friends,all of whomwere touched by herkindness, love, andunwavering sup‐port. Relatives, friends, and colleaguesofthe Regional Transit Authority(RTA),Bi‐enville BasinHRI,Positive Care, United Postal Ser‐vices,aswellasformer employees of CharityHos‐pital andClaudeBeanAuto and Body Shop,are invited tohonor thelifeofGladis Mae Miller.Members of FranklinAvenue Baptist Church,St. Luke AME Church,BeulahBaptist Church,and FirstZion Church arealsowelcomed toattend herhomegoing celebration on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at Franklin Av‐enue BaptistChurch,8282 I-10 ServiceRd.,New Or‐leans,LA70126, at 10:00 a.m.Visitationwillbegin at 9:00a.m.(Please note:The casketwillnot be re‐openedfor finalviewing.) PastorFredLuter Jr.willof‐ficiatethe service. Inter‐mentwillfollowatSt. Vin‐centDePaulCemeteryNo. 2,1950 Soniat St., NewOr‐leans,LA70115. Arrange‐ments areentrusted to D.W.RhodesFuneralHome, 3933 Washington Avenue New Orleans, LA.Please visit www.rhodesfuneral. com to sign theonline guestbook,share memo‐ries, andoffercondolences tothe family. Gladis,may you rest in God'seternal embrace,surrounded by His love andgrace.Your love, kindness, andcher‐ished memories will live on forever in ourhearts. Live StreamCelebration avail‐ableatFacebook.com/ FABCNOLA, Youtube.com/ FABCNOLA, www.franklin abc.com
Betty Murray,age 72 entered into eternalrestat PiedmontFayette Hospital onWednesday,March 26 2025. Shewas anativeof New Orleans, LA,a former residentofSaginaw,MI, and presentlyresidingin Fayetteville, GA.She wasa faithfulmemberofMount
Carmel BaptistChurch in Saginaw,MI, where she sanginthe choirand cooked formanychurch functions. Betty will be re‐memberedfor herloving, givingand helpingspirit she showed to everyone she encountered. Loving motherofAntoinette (Vell‐vette)Bibbs andPatrick (Rannetta)Murray. De‐voted grandmotherof ShainaMurray(Alonzo) Small, JaleesaMurray, Sparkle Murray,Zaviya Clark,ZamariClake Zy’Loni Murray,and the lateZa’Nyla Murray.Greatgrandmother of Antonio Murray, Donnell Murray TrevisAdams,DenzelAn‐thony,TreasureMurray, Lyrical Murray,Aaliyah Murray, andCeige Murray Daughterofthe late Ed‐wardand Mary Hammond Murray. Belovedsisterof George(Marlena) Murray, EdwardMurray, Henry(An‐gela) Murray,LionelMur‐ray,Ethel MaeLewis Elouise Jones, andthe late Jimmy Murray,and TheodoraMcAbee. Aunt of the late DavidJones.Betty isalsosurvivedbya host ofaunts, uncles,nieces, nephews,cousins,her MichiganFamilyand friends.Relatives and friends of thefamilyare in‐vited to attend theCele‐bration of Life at Davis MortuaryService,230 Mon‐roe Street,Gretna, LA on Friday, April4,2025, at 10:00 a.m. Rev. George Mur‐ray,officiating. Visitation willbegin at 8:30 a.m. until service time at theparlor. Interment: Will be private. Toviewand sign theguest‐book,pleasegotowww davismortuaryservice.com. Face masksare recom‐mended.
Joseph “Joe”George Nettles,68, alifelongresi‐dentofMetairieand Ken‐ner,passedawayonMon‐day,March 24, 2025 after a well-fought battlewith cancer. Born on September 16, 1956, to thelate Dempsey andShirley Tou‐jouse Nettles, Sr., Joewas a kind,accepting,humor‐ous,and generous soul who will be deeply missed. With his firstwife, Shelli McCool Molaison,hewas a devoted father to their three children:Duane Net‐tles, Daniel Nettles(Jen‐nifer), andKelli Nettles (DavidGrant); anda proud grandfather to four grand‐children: Emma Nettles, Bennett Nettles, Anna Marie Nettles, andWilliam Nettles.While theirmar‐riage ended, they contin‐ued to co-parentand main‐taina friendship forover 50years—setting an exam‐ple of love andforgiveness Hewas predeceasedbyhis secondwifeand compan‐ion,Debora“Debbie LeBouef Nettles, with whomhehappily wel‐comed abonus daughter intohis life,Summer LeBouef Stevenson (Shawn),and wasa proud Pawsy” to hersons, Logan Boynton andJudeBoynton Heissurvivedbyhis four siblings: DixieNettles Tucker, MarieNettles Walker(Michael),Dempsey Byron Nettles, Jr.(Brenda), and Judy NettlesGallops (James);and by hissisterin-lawJanis McCool Matthews(Richard),along withnumerousniecesand nephews who fondly re‐membertheir “Uncle Joe. Hewas preceded in death byhis baby sister,Colette Nettles,sister-in-law,Jane WeekleyNettles,and brother-in-lawTimothy J. McCool.A skilledmachin‐ist andmechanic, Joetook great prideinhis work and often spokefondlyofhis colleaguesatLouisiana Docks,Hills Bros.Coffee, and Superior Coffee. He wasa coffee lover, atin‐
kerer, andsomeone who found humoreveninlife’s hardest moments. Finally, itshouldbenoted that he would certainlythink we spent toomuchonthis obituary—butthisisone argumentdad won’twin withhis children.Family and friendsare invitedtoa Celebration of Life on Sat‐urday,April 5, 2025, at 1:00 p.m at VintageChurch (3927 RayneSt.,Metairie, LA70001).Dress casually likeJoe:bluejeans,a Tshirt,and tennis shoes. He willbelaidtorestamong familyina privateinter‐mentpreceding thecele‐bration.Inlieuof flowers, pleaseconsidera donation tothe American Lung As‐sociation
Ridings, Betty Bennett 'Nana'
Betty “Nana” Bennett Ridings passedaway peacefully on March30, 2025 at theage of 88. Wife ofthe late George Gonza‐les Sr.by firstmarriage and thelateRichard Rid‐ingsbysecondmarriage. MotherofGeorgeGonzales Jr. (Jolyn), Melissa Forrest, and thelateChristine Rivers(Timmy).Sisterof the late Archie Bennett (thelateAlice),MaryAnne Palmisano (the late Frank), and DianeBrady (the late Sidney).Daughterofthe lateArchieBennett Sr.and MaryDimmBennett. Also survivedby11grandchil‐dren, 19 great-grandchil‐dren, 1great-great-grand‐son alongwithnieces, nephews,other relatives and friends. Sheretired fromthe JeffersonParish PublicSchool System and was adevoutmemberof Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church in Westwego.Visi‐tationwillbeatMothe Fu‐neral Home,7040 Lapalco Boulevard,Marrero,LAon Friday, April4,2025 from 10 a.m.to1 p.m. AFuneral Masswillfollow. Interment Our Lady of Prompt Succor Mausoleum.Familyand friends areinvited to share condolences andmemo‐riesbyvisitingwww.mot hefunerals.com.
ary4,1940, in SanAntonio TXtoJames M. andFlo‐rence DuecyRudd. He was married to KarenAiple Ruddfor 53 years. He was precededindeath by James M. andFlorence Rudd. He is survived by his wifeKaren Rudd, sons Vic‐tor M.,Jeffrey F. andDavid M.Rudd, grandson Austin M.Rudd, daughter in laws Janet Rudd,DawnRudd and Michelle Agosto,sis‐ter-in-lawSusan Attaway, brother-in-lawCharles Att‐away, nieceNicoleBrouil‐lette,(Randy, Andrew, Amanda),nephew JonathanAttaway (Jess, Alexandra,Elijah).Asa child,Mikemoved to New Orleans,and latermarried Karen Rudd.Heisa vet‐eranofthe Airforce,served overseas, andproudly workedonthe Apollo 11 Mission.For 35 yearshe was theGeneral Superin‐tendent of Marine Indus‐trial Cableand also was co-ownerofOptechCom‐pany. Having attended LSU, hewas astaunch Tigers fan andfortunate to wit‐nessall of theirFootball championships.Mikewas a huge military andhistory buffand oftenvisited the NationalWWIIMuseum. Private services will be heldatSt. CharlesBor‐romeo Catholic Church in Destrehan
Alex George Scott. Sun‐rise: September5,1984 Sunset: March20, 2025 AlexGeorgeScott de‐partedhis earthlylifeon Thursday,March 20, 2025, age 40. He wasthe sonof DollindaScott andthe late ThomasScott andthe brother of Joshua Scott. Alexwas aresidentofSt. Charles Parish andat‐tendedSt. CharlesParish Schoolsgraduatingfrom Destrehan High School Alexalsoattendedand graduated from ITTtechni‐cal Instituteachieving a degreeinCriminalJustice Alexservedthe commu‐nity, firstasanemployee ofWinn-Dixie,Inc.and later in hiscareer as aSt. Charles Parish police offi‐cer from where he retired in2024. Alex touchedso manypeoples livesfrom his volunteer work with Destrehan High School and AFJunior ROTC,his service withthe St.Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office andall the friendlyinteractionswith everyonehehas ever met. His compassion andac‐tions have rippledacross the whole community and has setanexample forall ofus. He wasprecededin death by hisfather ThomasLeo Scott, grand‐mothers Martha Johnson and Merlin Rita Johnson. GrandfathersLeo Scott, JosephSmith,and Lennard Johnson.UnclesRodell Smith andDavid Scott. Alexwillbeforever missed byhis mother Dollinda Scott, brotherJoshua B.
TheFamilyofJames Michael Rudd sadlyan‐nounces hispassing.He diedpeacefullyathomein his sleep on March24, 2025, at theage of 85 Michaelwas born on Janu‐ See more
We’re now less than two monthsawayfrom the start of another hurricaneseason—one that AccuWeather has predicted willbe“turbulent” —and the authority that oversees floodprotection on the east bank of theMississippi Riverin severalNew Orleans areaparishes is in disarray
That’sthe direct result of meddling by Gov. Jeff Landry and his unofficial aide, Shane Guidry,and it causes us great concern.
TheSoutheast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East wasformed back in 2006, when acitizen-led reformmovementspurredthe creationofone regional authorityfor theeastbank flood basin and one forthe west, replacing multiple boards broken up alongparishlinesthat have nothing to do with how water flows. This happenedafter the catastrophic flooding following HurricaneKatrina, and thesubsequent discovery that the federally built and maintained flood protection infrastructure that guarded New Orleans was faulty.So, it seemed, wasthe local board’soversight, whichwas often focused on other things such as managingreal estate holdings and policingnearbyneighborhoods
Thesenew boards,recommended by and stackedwithpeoplewith relevant expertise rather than political connections, were created viaconstitutional amendment by an overwhelming 81% statewide vote.
But now,the east bank authorityisinthe sights of agovernor who is lookingtobring appointed boards all over the statemoreunderhis control.
The first sign that somethingwas up came at theend of last year’slegislativesession, when Landry —with no explanation —refused to asklawmakersto confirm the board appointmentofNorma Jean Mattei, aprofessorofcivil engineering at the UniversityofNew Orleans, aformer president of the AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers and one of themost qualified candidates the board has ever had,according to Jay Lapeyre, the longtime chairofthe nominating committees forboth regional boards Since then, Guidry,who hassaid hewants to streamline the agency’soperations, save taxpayer money and better utilize the board’spolice force, has worked withhis handpicked chair to push the board not to hire adirectorfor the agency,but to allow its police chief to assume many of the director’sduties instead
He has called for an endtothe nominating committees, and actuallyaccused membersof being “scammers who are just outfor themselves,” without explaining what he means In responsetoall this, four membershave now resigned from the nine-member board, leaving it with the bare minimummembership to conductsome business and shortofthe minimum needed to approve infrastructure projects.
We don’tknow what theadministration’s end game here is, but we know what itshouldbe: a singular focus by knowledgeable professionals on making sure the area is as protectedfrom flooding as it possiblycan be That’swhat this newspaper supportedin2006, and what amassive majorityofvotersback then said they clearly wanted.That’swhatthey still deserve.
LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR
GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence
The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet 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.
TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE
DOGE access to recordsshould terrify all
This is from aconcerned citizen of Holy Cross, Lower 9th Ward regarding the article on the grain terminal planned for Holy Cross, March 10. Your article was slanted toward big business. Yet, theactual business is bigger than the article indicates.
Yousay that we are fighting aCanadian Organic foods company called Sunrise Foods. In actuality,Sunrise Foodsisa subsidiary of Tiryaki Agro. Based in Turkey,Tiryaki Agro is ahuge multinational company.It handles 80% of the world’sorganic grain. Much of itsgrain comes from Eastern Europe, including Russia. They have been in trouble for trying to bring fraudulent grain intoports in California repeatedly
Now they are coming to New Orleans to import dubious grain from undisclosed places in thevicinity of Russia.
Pleasedonot soften this to make it sound like they are nice and want-
ing to do good things. This should be front-page news, and Tiryaki Agro should be chased out of town
As thearticle states, elected officials are against the project. It is the first such project in North America where agrain terminal is placed inside acity
There are other places along the river that are less populated, such as aport in Avondale that is ready, willing and able to host this grain terminal.
In Holy Cross, thepeople will be guinea pigs as far as how much the grain dust can be mitigated and how it will affect people’shealth. Furthermore, daily trains will go within feet of people’shomes. That will shake their foundations, damage their homes and reduce their property values. Who will compensate them for their losses? Or is foreign agribusiness moreimportant?
TAMALYN DALLAL-HARRIS NewOrleans
In aspateofrecent articles examining House Speaker Mike Johnson’s position on proxy voting, thecongressman defended his refusal to allow Colorado congresswoman (and new mother)Brittany Petterson to votebyproxy, claiming: “That’s been my belief as aconstitutional law litigator,and Idon’tsee any way around that. Andit’sunfortunate, I have great sympathy,empathy for all of our young women legislators who are of birthing age. It’s areal quandary. ButI’m afraid it doesn’t fit withthe language of the Constitution,and that’sthe inescapable truth that we have.”
The congresswoman —having recentlygiven birth —was recently forced to fly to Washington withher four-week-old baby to voteinperson.But rules arerules.According to Johnson —a“constitutional law litigator”— proxyvoting is unconstitutional.
This is unfortunate, not just for Petterson but also for Johnson, who
has voted by proxydozens of times. To give but one example, between Dec. 21-23, 2022, Johnson votedby proxy 19 times to add aweek to his Christmas vacation.
If Johnson’scorrect that voting by proxy is unconstitutional, why did he votebyproxy? Why would he purposefully violate theConstitution, which he took an oath to uphold? Or does Johnson’s allegiance to the Constitutionvary from year to year,speaker to speaker?
The bestleaders in my life taught me never to hold subordinates to a standardImyself could not meet. Johnson failed this test. He then hid from constituentshis history of proxy voting to justify rejecting a new mother’s reasonable request for an accommodation that he hasrepeatedly enjoyed. Thatisdisqualifying —perhaps never electorally but certainly morally
EVAN RIEBSOME Shreveport
Reading newsreports on Elon Musk’sDOGEactions at the Social Security Administration has me very worried.
It wasunsettling to find out that DOGE now has access to all of my, and your,personal information including Social Security number, where you worked in the past, how much you were paid, whoyou’re married to and whoyour kids are, where you lived foryour entire life, where you bank and where your savings are and if any members of your family wereborn outside of the U.S. DOGE has refused to explain why they need all of my,and your,information to cut government spending, yet has insisted that not only do they need the information, they need the “source code” forthe Social Security systems.
This would allow DOGE to change how Social Security works by changing the programming, without asking anyone forpermission. Far more frightening, it would allow DOGE to change my information. How would Ibeable to prove that Iearned what Idid in the 1980s, ‘90s and 2000s if DOGE’s Social Security suddenly says Ididn’tearn enough to be qualified forthe Social Security check I now get and rely on to live?
Simple answer is, Icouldn’t. Musk now has the ability to take away my, and your,benefits that we worked our whole lives for. Ijust talked to my wife about how we could live if Musk takes away my benefits. We’re afraid.And that may be thepoint ROBIN MOULDER Baton Rouge
Auditor’sreportonLa.’s handling of Medicaid must prompt action
The article “La. oversight of Medicaid criticized” gives aclassic example of the graftand corruption in Louisiana. More than half of the $2.4 billion was spent on administrative expenses and other costs that did not have ameasurable impact on patient health outcomes.
Gov. Jeff Landry should fire everyone involved in this travesty and start over with new people and new rules and very close oversight.
DOUGLAS DOREMUS Baton Rouge
Louisiana voters roundly rejected four constitutional amendments on Saturday’s ballotthatGov.Jeff Landry had supported, including a complex, far-reaching overhaul of the stateconstitution’ssection on revenue and finance. Columnists Stephanie Grace, Quin Hillyer and Will Sutton compared notes on what message they think the voters meant to send. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Sutton: This seems like a really huge moment in Louisiana politics. Do you recall avote on anything else in Louisiana that was so lopsided?
Grace: There was an election in Orleans Parish in 2023 where 91% rejected aSheriff’s Office millage. There was the creation of regionallevee authorities after Katrina, which got 81% support statewide. Thoseare bigger numbers than we had this week, but still, we had63-66% voting against the governor The common thread, to me, is trustin government.There was alack of trust in these proposals. It came from afew different places. It was not hard forDemocrats to capitalize on, because they’re angry anyway. They’re angry at Landry,they’reangry at Donald Trump. They feel liketheir government is doing all kinds of things that they can’tcontrol. Thiswas something they could weigh in on, andboy,did they. Ifeel like Amendments 2and 3were really the ones that people talked aboutand were strongly opposedto, butthe campaign to vote no on all four offered apowerful, easy message. But the opposition wasn’t onlyfrom Democrats, so let’stalk about that. Hillyer: Iagree that most of this was driven by the two more high-profile amendments, juvenile justice and the tax overhaul.Voters, especiallywhen they’re given this little time —and they really had almostno time to digest this —theytendtosee what the high-profile things are and then lump everything together And the juvenile justice one was just aflat-out bad idea. Imean,itwas togive legislatorsthe ability to try juvenilesas adults, without letting thepublic weigh in on what crimes should count. Most people do notthink that childrenshould be treated as full adults except in extremesituations, and you ended up with aton of opposition. Grace: And the backdropisLandry and the Legislature had already moved in that direction in the past year without voters having achancetoweighin, Hillyer: And now they wanted to go even further,and that struck alot of people, not just liberals and Democrats, as really sort of scary.Imean, you’ve got alot of conservativeswho have just spentthe lastseveral years saying, “don’ttreat childrenas adults when it comes to booksand libraries, when it comes to transgender issues, when it comes to all sorts of social issues.” And you’re going to turn aroundand say, “treatthem as adults for acrime that’sless than amurder or aggravated rape;” that flies against what most people think. So that was ahard no. And alot of people were hard noonthe taxthing becauseitwas toocomplicated, and because if you’re against anyone part you’re likely to be against thewholething. And if you’re ahard no on twoofthem, it’s so easy to be ahard no on allfour amendments, because you’re thinking,“We just don’ttrust these guys.”
Grace: They included sweeteners and really promoted them —the teacher payraise, whetheryou agreeitwas really apay raise or not —and Ithink people took it as “look at that, but don’tlook at therest.” Ireally do think people support paying teachers at least the extra $2,000 they’vegottenthe last couple of years, letalone more Sutton: And along those lines, on Amendment 3, juveniles are now treated as adults only in the most heinouscrimes, and they’re in the constitution.Sothenthe question is: Well, what else would youwant to add? There was no answer tothat, andI think that was abig problem.I don’tcare
whatparty or philosophy you have, you wanttoknow what’syour alternative. Andwith Amendment 2, there was also afaith component. The Rev.Tony Spell focused on takingprotection against property taxes for religious institutions out of theconstitution, and it resonated withfolks from various faiths and backgrounds.
Grace: And that group included parts of Jeff Landry’sconservative base, and they ended up in the vote-no-on-everything space too —which, again, was an easy place to go.
Also, none of this was about national politics —even though there are national Democrats saying it’spart of atrend —but the context does matter.Landry has moved so fastonsomuch, and Trumpismoving so fast on so much.And there just really is this environmentof: Can we slow down and talk aboutwhether we are really making good decisions?
Hillyer: And there is avery healthy visceral antagonism in theAmerican public against too much concentration of power, andagainst when somebody like Landry, all across the board, is grabbing power He’sgrabbing power withlevee boards. He tried to rig asystem tocompletely rewrite thestate constitution. He failed at that, but everywhere you look, he is trying to consolidate power.And once that idea gets out there, people are going to say no.
Grace: So far,the Legislature has mostly gone alongwith Landry.Iwonder if thisresult changes that to someextent, if it gives legislators afeeling that that’snot necessarily what their voters want, and maybe empowers them.
Sutton: Ithink it absolutely will, as they see the statewide result,but then look at their districts, with so few parishes voting yes. How canyou not look at that and say, “Whoa, OK, Ican still be with (the governor),but to what degree?”
Hillyer: Ithink on boththe stateand the national levels, this might send amessage to legislators to have somebackbone and realize that they are not elected to follow whatever the executive says. Andnot to over-nationalize this, but that’sa lesson that national Republicans are also going to learn ayear and ahalf from now after refusing to use theauthoritythat their constituents gave them to use their own independent judgment rather than just follow alonglikepathetic bleating sheep.
Grace: The map was so striking because parishes of all different political stripes opposed the amendments.
Sutton: And that’sone of the reasons why Democrats have good reason to look at this as abig win, but Ithink it’d be too much to consider this an anti-MAGA vote. This was adifferent coalition of voters saying no, too much, too far,too fast.
Hillyer: Ithink something needs to be said here. Jeff Landry’sresponse to this was despicable. To say that just because people disagreed withhim on this means that this is, quote, “a state that is conditioned for failure.” It’snot true, and it’sobnoxious, and it is assuming that because you wantit as governor,that what you wantisthe only thingthat matters.
Grace: When has insulting voters ever been asmartthing for apolitician to do? When have voters ever said, “Oh, you’re right,Iamstupid. You’re smart.”
There’scriticism that amendment supporters were caught flat-footed by the strong opposition from multiple corners. The groups on theleft were very coordinated and out there very early,and the group on the right that we talked about was very vocal. Butalso, just anecdotally, Iknew people who were engaged and trying to figure out how to vote, and there was so much confusion, even from them, as to what Amendment 2would do. Iheard people say that they thought the 5% sales tax was in there. It’snot; that already happened. The flat incometax already happened. So, Landry sold this as part of this big tax reform package, but someofthe thingsthat people opposed weren’t even in there.
Hillyer: Let me jump in here real quick and say that raising thesales tax in an already high sales tax statewas both substantively and politically avery bad thing to do. It is aregressive tax, and it is atax that is also pretty bad from astandpoint of economic development,and Ithink it’s avery unpopular tax.And Ithink that that definitely played arole here, because people were responding to that hike in the sales tax.
Ibet alot of people would have voted for Amendment 1ifthey separated that into two, because there were two different parts of that amendment involving courts that had nothing to do with each other.Each of them might pass individually.Amendment 4, which was theone on timingrequirements for fulfilling Supreme Court vacancies —it’sa very minor thing. Given another chance, it might pass.
Grace: Again, Ithink thetrust issue came into play.You heard conversation about, ‘Wait, arethey going to do something to trytorig Supreme Court elections?’ And it’shard to understand how they could, but Ithink there was that feeling, especially after Landry pushed theLegislature to create party primaries for the SupremeCourt.
Hillyer: Andthen on Amendment 2, unless two items have to go together operationally to make something work, then you should separatethem.For instance, that sort of back door-way to get rid of the inventory taxes; no reason why that couldn’t pass on itsown. You’d have to put that with
aprovision that provided another revenue source, but you separate it from all the rest of the tax stuff,and that could pass individually,right? People want to understand what they’re voting forindigestible chunks.
Grace: And there is an inherent contradiction in Amendment 2, in that the argument wastofree up legislators to give them moremaneuverability by taking money out of trust funds that voters adopted and in manycases liked. There’sanargument forthat, but at the sametime, there were provisions that gave them less flexibility The cap on incometax was actually higher than the current rate, but it would mean legislators can’traise incometax in the future if,say,they decide to lower sales tax. And also the hard spending cap. Probably those were put in in to get very conservative support in the Legislature, but they created acontradiction.
Let’stalk about what happened in some of the local referenda. All over the state, measures involving taxes lost.
Hillyer: Well, there’salibrary tax in St. Tammanythat passed.
Grace: That did pass. People like libraries, but they don’tseem to like much else. The city charter in St George wentdown. When Ilooked at the results on Saturday night, my thought was that the voters are really cranky Will, you brought this up, but let’stalk about it abit more. What does this mean forDemocrats in this state?
Sutton: Randal Gaines, the state party chair,just hired anew executive director,and he’sreally good with fundraising and building staffand working through different affinity groups. Ithink this is something where the timing is so right for them to latch on to, to tell folks: See what we can do.
Grace: Because the party has been viewed as very ineffective in recent years. Like tragically ineffective.
Sutton: Right. And they’ve got an opportunity here to use this to establish some infrastructure to attract morepeople to party engagement, and to look ahead and figure out if what happened with this election can translate into people running for office.
Grace: Quin, do you feel like this says anything about the partisan mixinthe state? Hillyer: Ithink it’seasy to overgeneralize about what the results might mean for the bigger picture. But that said, if Iwere the Republicans, Iwould be alittle nervous now,and Iwould start to think maybe I need to start listening not just to my activist base, but to people whoare either more in the middle or whoare not as political. All of this, too much, too soon, too big and too arrogant does not play well.
Scott, uncles:Michael Scott, Sheridan Smith (Gail), Lenard Johnson(An‐drea),Percy Smith. Aunts: Beryl Howard (Alan),Di‐annaBarrett (Jarzy), Mu‐tanaJones,Patrice Wesco (George), StacySmith PriscillaBrumfield(Timmy) and OrianHomes.Also, a hostofgreat aunts, uncles and cousins. Relativesand friends of thefamily, Pas‐tors, Officers andMembers ofFifth AfricanBaptist Churchand allsurrounding Churches, also employees ofSt. CharlesParishSheriff Departmentand Winn Dixie,Inc.are invitedtothe Celebration of Life Services at11:00 am on Friday,April 4,2025,atFifth African Baptist Church,174 4th Street,St. Rose,LA70087 Visitation9:00amuntil timeofService at the above-named church.In‐terment JeffersonMemor‐ial Gardens, 11316 River Rd.,St. Rose,LA70087 Final arrangements en‐trusted to PatrickH Sanders FuneralHome& FuneralDirectors,LLC,605 MainStreet,Laplace,LA 70068, 985-359-1919. “Pro‐vidingCare& Comfortis Our HighestMission”.
DEATHS continued from Robert Boudreaux. He also leavesbehinda host of nieces, nephews, grand‐children, great-grandchil‐dren, cousinsand friends. Hewas preceded in death byhis mother Marjorie (Margie)Stewart Scott, fa‐therMiller ScottSr.,broth‐ers,Washington(Bubba) Scott Sr Lionel ScottSr. and Irving ScottSr.,sister Catherine Scott, andtwo sonsCornell Scottand GeorgeBurnside. Relatives and friendsofthe family are invitedtoattendthe Celebration of Life Service onSaturday, April5,2025, atGertrudeGeddesWillis FuneralHome, 2120 Jack‐son Avenue,New Orleans, LA70113 at 10:00a.m.Visi‐tationfrom9:00a.m.until 10:00 a.m. IntermentMount OlivetCemetery, 4000 Nor‐man MayerAvenue, New Orleans,LA70122.You may signthe guestbookon www.gertrudegeddeswilli s.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis FuneralHomeInc., in charge(504) 522-2525.
ScottJr.,Miller
Miller ScottJr.,age 86 lovinglyknown as “Fat Sam”tohis familyand friends,was born on De‐cember3,1938,inMcCall, LA. He departed this blessedlifefor hiseternal restonSaturday, March22, 2025. Miller’s primaryedu‐cationwas through the New OrleansPublicSchool System. Miller wasa diehard Blackand Gold Saintsfan.Besides watch‐ing theSaintsgame, he en‐joyed beingoutside sitting onthe stoop drinking his MillerBeer.Heleavesto cherish in hislovingmem‐ories,his daughter Yvette Celestine andhis sons Em‐mett BoudreauxSr. and
Stewart, Barbara McIntosh
BarbaraMcIntoshStew‐art,age 81, wasbornon March 25,1943, in NewOr‐leans,Louisiana,entered eternal rest on Thursday, March 20,2025. Shewas raisedinthe Tremé/Sev‐enthWardand received her earlyeducation at St Paul’sLutheranSchool She latermoved Uptown where shebuilt lifelong friendships that spanned over70years.A proud graduate of Walter L. Cohen High School,Bar‐barawas acheerleader and an active member of the Dramatic Arts Club Barbara dedicatedmore than30years of serviceas a civilian federalgovern‐mentemployeeworking as anAccount Technician After retirement,she spent overa decade at theNew Orleans Jazz &Heritage Festival, workingatthe Of‐ficial BandanaBooth. She
wasa belovedmemberof the WarwickEastCommu‐nity, where sheresided for over50years.Barbara was a shininglight in thelives ofall who hadthe privilege ofknowing her. Herjour‐ney on this earthwas one markedbylove, compas‐sion, andunwaveringfaith inGod.Her love forher daughters andgrandkids was immeasurable.She believedinthemwithall her heart, always seeing their potentialand remind‐ing them that thesky was the limit. Barbarahad a deep love forsports, faith‐fully supporting theNew Orleans Saints andNew Orleans Pelicans andwas anavidfan of StephCurry A passionate musicenthu‐siast,she enjoyedattend‐ing concerts-especially performancesbyMaze. Barbara wasa loving and devoted sister,mother, grandmother,and friend Her warmth,generosity and senseofhumor will be greatly missed. Herlegacy willliveonthrough her daughters,Yolanda Smith and Charlene Smith(Ben); granddaughter,Yasmin Matthews; grandson,Jus‐ticeSmith;bonus sons,Ed‐wardBrian Smithand Stephen Smith; andGod‐daughter, Janell Black‐stone.Barbara’s life was enrichedbythe love and support of her“honorary brother,” DonC.Hubbard and her“sister friends, Carol Daniels, CarolynGrif‐fin, andGlendaPorter. She was preceded in deathby her father,JohnThomas McIntosh, Sr.; mother, Hazel ToussaintMcIntosh; and brother, John Thomas McIntosh, Jr.Wewould like togivea specialthanksto the EMT'sand Trauma Unit doctors,nursesand med‐icalstaff at University Medical Center who care a comforted herduringher timeofneed.Familyand friends areinvited to at‐tendthe CelebrationofLife Service on Friday,April 4, 2025, at Abundant Life Church,9900 HayneBlvd., New Orleans, LA 70127 at 11:00 a.m. Visitation from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Interment: Providence MemorialPark, 8200 Airline Drive,Metairie, LA 70003 You maysignthe guest book at www.gertrudeged deswillis.com.Gertrude GeddesWillisFuneral Home, Inc.,incharge, (504) 522-2525.
Taylor Jr., Robert C. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, LocalUnion #130: It iswithdeepestsorrow thatweinformthe Officers and Membersofour local union of thedeath of our beloved retiredmember RobertC.Taylor, Jr., on March 1, 2025. He will be misseddearlybyall who knewand lovedhim.By Order of:ErnestC.“Corky” Cortez. Attest:RodneyW Wallis, Business Man‐ager/Financial Secretary.
On March28, 2025, Jau‐nitaTheodorewenthome tobewiththe Lord.Jaunita was born on April8,1939 inNew Orleans, Louisiana, tothe late Joseph andLil‐lianTheodore. Jaunitawas educatedinthe Orleans publicschool system.She attendedJohnson C. Lock‐ett Elementary School and JosephS.Clark Sr.High School.Jaunita also at‐tendedStraightBusiness School.Jaunita attended PleasantZionBaptist Church andwas baptized bythe late Rev. G. W. McWaters. Jaunitawas a Sundayschool teacher, a memberofthe choir, anda memberofthe Juliette Mc‐Clain Women'sMissionary Auxiliary.Jaunita's favorite songwas “I Really Love the Lord”;her favorite saying was “Bring it to Jesus.” Jaunita wasemployedby F.W.Woolworthfor 35 years until thecompany officially closed. Jaunitathen worked5 yearsatKrauss DepartmentStore until it closed. AfterHurricane Ka‐trina,Jaunita relocatedto Indianapolis,Indiana, where sheworkedfor Wal‐greensPharmacyuntil her returntoNew Orleans. Jau‐nitaleavestocherish her memoryone son, Troy A. HarrisonSr. (Mary),a sis‐ter,Helen Jackson, two granddaughters, Mercedes and Olivia Harrison,one great granddaughter, KayleeGrace Harrison,and a host of nieces,nephews cousins,and friends. Jau‐nitawas preceded in death by herparents,Josephand
LillianTheodore, three brothers, Joseph,Herman, and WilbertTheodore; five sisters,Marie Young,De‐lores Phillips,Lillian Mae Rankins,Betty Theodore and Bertha McDaniel;and one grandson,TroyA.Har‐rison Jr.Relatives and friends of thefamily, also Pastors,Officers,and Members of Pleasant Zion MissionaryBaptist Church and GreaterBeulahLand Baptist Church areall in‐vited to attend theFuneral Service on Saturday,April 5,2025, at 10:00 am at PleasantZionMissionary Baptist Church,3317 ToledanoSt.,New Orleans, Louisiana 70125. Visitation willbegin at 9:00 am.The burialwillbeinProvidence MemorialPark. Profes‐sionalarrangementsen‐trusted to Majestic Mortu‐ary (504) 523-5872.
Aftera briefill‐ness caused by a stroke,Robert “Bobby”Preston TrahanSr. passedawayat his home,surrounded by his loving family, on March 29, 2025. He was80years old.Bobby wasa native of Kaplan, Louisiana, butlived inChalmette,Louisiana,for mostofhis life until Hurri‐caneKatrina displacedhis family. He residedinPearl River,Louisiana,for the last18years.Bobby is the beloved husbandofalmost 58years to BridgetMcNa‐maraTrahan, whomhe married on March31, 1967 and shared countless memoriestogether.Heis the caring brotherofSan‐dra White(thelateHoward White),the late BennyPaul Trahan(KathyTrahan),and RogerTrahan; cherished fatherofBethanneCum‐mings (Frank), BeckyMail‐let (John),and PrestonTra‐han;proud anddevoted grandfather,affectionately knownas“Poppy,”to
Baileeand BradyMaillet; brother-in-lawtoSharon McNamaraand KathyMc‐Namara(T.J);and uncle to manyniecesand nephews whomheloved dearly.He alsoleavesbehindhis pre‐cious great-grandfur baby Belle.Hewas preceded in death by hisparents,Pre‐stonand Dorita Des‐ormeaux Trahan,and his mother-in-law,Lorraine McNamara. Bobbybravely servedinthe United States Navy. He retiredfromthe IBEWLocal 130 Electrical Union,where he wasa memberfor over 40 years. Bobby will be greatly missedbyall who knew and lovedhim.The family would like to thankNotre DameHospice forall their caringhelp. Aprivate Cele‐bration of Life will be held ata laterdate. In lieu of flowers, please consider MassessaidinBobby’s nameatyourchurch. Memoriesand condo‐lencesmay be expressed atwww.AudubonFuneralH ome.com
BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer
Where are you from?
For most people, that’sa simple answer. But when you’re part of acoaching family —orinthe case of LSU sophomore gymnast Amari Drayton, afootball coachingfamily it’smore complicatedthan that.
Drayton lists Spring, Texas, just north of Houston as her hometown.She lists World Champions Centre, Simone Biles’ gym,as her home facility
But Drayton was born in Starkville,Mississippi, whenher father Stan Draytoncoached running backs at MississippiState. Her sisterAnaya was born in Gainesville, Florida,
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
This summer,Jamie Tutkocame to Jay Johnson withaproposition. Tutko, then the director of player development/video and scouting for LSU baseball, wanted to work more closely withthe pitchers. He was apitcher in college and his heart had always beenonthat side ofthe ball.
ä LSU at Oklahoma
6P.M.THURSDAy, ESPN2
After afew staff changesresultedinan opening on thepitching side, Tutko took the opportunity to present his idea to Johnson. It didn’ttake much to persuade Johnson to get on board.
“He was actually really fired up this summer,” Tutko said. “And hopefully he’sstill fired upwithit.” Tutko’snew role is the director of development—pitching. The position allows him to almost exclusively workwithLSU pitchers and pitching coach Nate Yeskie.
Along with Tutko moving into his new role, assistantcoach Marc Wanaka’stitle also changed to director of player development —offense.
“There were some areas thatmeand coach Yeskie could really work well together,” Tutkosaid, “andexplore some,I wouldn’tsay different, butjustsome newer developmental ideasfromthe pitchingside of things.” Tutko still prepares the scouting reports on opposing pitchers ahead of everygame. Maintaining that responsibilitymeans that he still helps Johnson devise thelineup and stands next to him in the dugout when the Tigers are up to bat.
Butmanyofhis otherscouting responsibilities have been spread among other members of the staff.
“I love workingonstuff with him,”JohnsonsaidofTutko.“(We) work very closely together.Ifeel like he’ssopassionateabout helping our players and our team that because of that, he’smade himself better in four years. And Imeanthatand as
ä See ANALYTICS, page 2C
when Stan coached running backs with the Gators.
“It was ajoke in our family to ask the girls where they were from,” saidStan, entering his firstseasonasPennState’srunningbackscoach after three seasons as head coach at Temple Amari Drayton trainedinfive different gyms growing up.Still, it did nothamper herability to make theU.S.Olympic Trials in 2021 or become one of LSU’s key contributors going into thestartofNCAA postseason competition Thursday at Penn State.
Somehow,and somewhat unexpectedly,the roads of awell-traveled football and gymnas-
tics family convergethis week in the mountains of central Pennsylvania.For afamily thatdoesn’tget to spend agreat deal of time together,ithas been adelightful happenstance. “Theystartedspring practice andI called him immediately and said, ‘Dad, we’re going to Penn State,’ ”Amarisaid. “It’sexciting. He wasn’table to go to regionals last year becausehewas at Temple, but nowhe’sthere.”
LSU’sregional semifinal is set for6 p.m.at PennState’sRec Hall. The Tigers will competeinthe Olympic rotation—vault, bars, beam and floor —against Southeastern Conferencerivaland No.16national seed Arkansas, along withMichigan and Maryland. Maryland advanced Wednesday by winning aplay-in meet against West Virginia, 196.250-195.325.
ä See QUEST, page 3C
With LSUfootball practice paused for springbreak, it’s aconvenient time to takestock of what we have learned aboutthisteam
TheTigers have completed 10 practices, and they will have five more before spring ball ends. Here is onetakeaway about every position based on what we have seen and heard three weeks into practice.
LSU mayhave upgraded at backup quarterback with Mississippi State transfer Michael VanBuren. He’s still early in the process of learning a new offense, but he has shown some promise. Offensive coordinator Joe SloansaidVan Buren’s“comfortability in the pocket is exceptional,”
BY TIM REYNOLDS and
ALANIS
THAMES AP sportswriters
Paige Bueckers is widely expected to become thefirst WNBANo. 1overall
draft pick from theUniversity of Connecticut sinceBreanna Stewartnine yearsago.Bothbecamecan’t-missstars in college, both are UConn icons and both went to four Final Fours. Stewart did it while making nothing. Bueckers,who hasUConn in theFinal Four for thesecond straight year,has done it while making millions. And she’s
and that he can reach every part of the field as apasser. Though he won’t unseat Garrett Nussmeier, VanBuren could be an option in 2026 if he continues to develop.
Runningback
Therehavebeensomeencouragingthings saidaboutKaleb Jackson. LSU coach Brian Kellyadmitted
Jackson“struggledthe last year with his size and volume” after gaining 10 pounds, but the coaches have seen betterthings fromhim after a disappointing sophomore season Eventhough Jacksonisstill listed at 235pounds, Kellysaid “hehas really crossed that hurdle.” Sloan
ä See LSU, page 3C
far from the only one cashing in right now
There’s no one-and-done path to the WNBA for women’splayers like there is formen,who canjump to thepros after oneyearofcollege regardless of age Duke’sstandout freshman, Cooper Flagg, for example, is expected to go No. 1inthe NBAdraft, and he just turned 18 in December TheNBA and WNBA have different rulesregarding draft eligibility.For years, that impeded how and whenwomen’s players couldstart making money. The name, image and likeness era of
college sports has changed just about everything, leveling the playingfield in somerespects for female athletes such as Bueckersand allowing hertohavedeals with Nike, Gatorade andother sponsors while still wearing UConn colors. “I think Paige is the poster child for how it’ssupposed to be,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “That’sthe wayit’s supposed to work. She cameout of high school at atimewhen people weren’tjust getting paid to play. …She made aname
See NIL, page 4C
On TV
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6p.m. Dukeat North Carolina ACC
6p.m.LSU at Oklahoma ESPN2
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6p.m. Slam Dunk, 3-point champ. ESPN MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALLTOURNEYS
6p.m. Crowne: UCF vs. Cincinnati FS1
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GOLF
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Noon America’s Dayatthe Races FS2
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10 a.m. WTA: Charleston earlyrounds Tennis
4a.m.ATP: Bucharest, Marrakech *Tennis
6a.m.ATP: Bucharest, Marrakech *Tennis *Friday
Skenes dominates Rays on dayGQ publishesprofile of him andDunne
By The Associated Press
TAMPA, Fla. The only thing that
flustered Paul Skenes on Wednesday was getting asked about his photo spread with girlfriend Olivia Dunne in GQ magazine. The topic came up only afterthe Pirates ace dominated the Tampa Bay Rays, allowing one unearned run on three hits in seven innings of a4-2 Pittsburgh victory.Skenes struck out six and walked none while throwing 102 pitches. As comfortable as he was on themoundatSteinbrennerField —the Yankees’spring training ballpark and Rays’ temporary home —Skeneswas less at ease whenconsidering how histeammates might react to him being interviewed and photographed by the venerable men’smagazinefor aprofile that was publishedonline
Wednesday
“I’m going to get some flak in the locker room,” the former LSU star said, asmile growing on hisface. “I’m not looking forward tothat …I didn’tknow what GQ was until the offer came. So glad Idid it. I think. Imean, how do Ilook?”
Dunne, an LSU gymnast, has 8 million followers on TikTok and 5 million on Instagram, and the couple was photographed in asleek houseinBatonRouge forthe GQ profile. They spoke to themagazine about their romance, which began in college. Fame arrivedquickly forDunne
Continued from page1C
acomplimentbecause Ialready thought he was great.”
Since Tutkoand Yeskie have combined forces, they heavilyhaveemphasized theimportance of throwing first pitch strikes and throwing strikes on two of the first three pitches of the count.
They’ve also stressed thesignificance of overall zone percentage and competitive location percentage. The latter statistic measures the rate of pitches that are both in andaround the strike zone.
“If you put adot in the middle of the strike zone, and then you put acircle 17 inches around (that), (a pitch) inside that circle it’s acompetitive located pitch,” Tutko said. Tutko and Yeskie decided to narrow their focus to mastering those four numbers because that was “what the best teams in the country are doing.”
“Ifwe’re goingtodothose things, then the strikeouts aregoing to happen,right? The weak contact, the lower walks, allof that is goingtohappen,”Tutko said. “It’sgoing to take care of itself if we just focus on acouple of different numbers that we hadn’t put abig emphasis on in the past.”
Reaching those feats is easier said than done.
Walkshavebeenanissue for LSU. The Tigers are allowing over four free passes per game. They walked seven batters Saturday against Mississippi State and seven more the prior Saturday against Texas. Free passes also nearly cost them awin over Missouri three weeks ago.
But Tutko isn’tconcerned about control issues. He said the Tigers are not far offoftheir team goal of a9%walk rate.
“It’ssomething that we’re continuing to grind at, and we’re continuing to work at,” Tutko said, “and these guys have worked really,really hard getting to that point.” Tutko believes that commanding the ball is much tougher than
PittsburghPirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers to the Tampa BayRaysduring the second inning Wednesday in Tampa, Fla. The former LSUstar allowedone unearned runonthree hits in seveninnings in a4-2 Pirates’ victory. He struckout six and walked none.
in the name, image and likeness era of college athletics, and she told GQ shedidn’tknowwho Skenes was when they met. But Skenes —the National League rookie of the year and an All-Star last season —might be catching up. On Wednesday,the 22-year-old Skenes retired 21 of 24 batters and generated 13 swings-andmisses, sevenonhis fastball. His 0.92 WHIP is thelowestthrough apitcher’sfirst 25 starts in major
league history Athrowing error by Isiah KinerFalefa helped theRays get within 2-1 in the sixth inning, but Skenes minimizedthe damage. In the seventh, he fell behind 3-0tohis last two batters, but struck them both out.
“Falling behind 3-0 on thelast two hitters of the game is not very good,” he said. “I don’thave anything to lose out there. I’ve got to get an out.It’smyjob, so that’s all Iwas trying to do. Imean, it’s
“Wewill never stop pushing for command, but (we need to understand) that commanding thebaseball, even in the big leagues, is really, really,really hard, right?”
JAMIETUTKO,LSU baseball director of playerdevelopment
it seems from theoutside,saying that major-leaguers on average misstheir pitchlocation by more than 12 inches.
“Wewill never stop pushing for command,”Tutko said,“but (we need to understand) that commanding the baseball, even in the big leagues, is really,really,really hard, right?”
LSU’spitching staff clearly has enough talent —with fastballs thatreach the upper90s andpro-
caliber breaking balls. Buthas that come at the cost of walks and shaky control?
“Whenitcomes to stuff versus command, ideally, youwould want both,right?”Tutkosaid
“I’m notabeliever that stuff is better thancommand, and I’m not abeliever thatcommand is better than stuff. Theygohand in hand. It’sjust amatter of trying to get bothofthem for our guys. And it’s extremelyhard.”
LSU’sTejedo in 30th at AugustaWomen’sAmateur
LSU freshman RocioTejedo fired an even-par 72 Wednesday to finish in atie for30th place after the first round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia.
Tejedo got off to agreat start with birdies on three of the first 10 holes, but then madedouble bogey on the par-311thand abogey at the par-416thtogive herred numbers back.
The low 30 and ties after Thursday’ssecond round will advance to the final round Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club, meaning Tejedo is right on the cutline with 18 holes to go.
Tejedo will teeoff at 7:58 a.m. Thursday.The second round is on the Golf Channel.
Sooners freshman Fears declaresfor NBA draft
Jeremiah Fears has declared for the NBA draft after one standout season at Oklahoma.
Fears made the announcement on asocial media post Wednesday The 6-foot-4 guard is projected by manytobea lottery pick. He averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists this season and helped the Sooners reach the NCAA Tournament.
Fearshad plenty of big games that boosted his stock. He scored 26 points against Arizona. He also hit a30-footer,drewafouland completedafour-point playlate that pushed the Sooners to an 8786 winover Michigan in the Jumpman Invitational. He scored 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting and madefour 3-pointers in aloss to No.2Florida.
All-Star Merrill, Padres agree to $135M contract
not as hard as people think it is to throw strikes. Ijust did it —three pitches too late.”
Thoseclutchouts allowed Skenes to play the role of stopper forthe Pirates, who hadlostfour straight,and managerDerek Shelton was impressed.
“It’s something not alot of guys have in the game,” Shelton said. “Tobeable to go back and get that pitch at 100 mphwhen you need it —that’swhat makes Paul Skenes special.”
WHO: LSU (27-3, 7-2 SEC) at Oklahoma (23-5, 5-4 SEC)
WHEN: 6p.m.Thursday
WHERE: L. Dale Mitchell Park, Norman, Okla TV: ESPN2
RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (New Orleans);KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette)
RANKINGS: LSUisNo. 7by D1Baseball; OklahomaisNo. 10
PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU— LHP KadeAnderson (5-0, 3.52 ERA); Oklahoma —RHP Kyson Witherspoon (5-1, 2.31 ERA)
WHATTOWATCH FOR: Anderson struggled in his last startagainst Mississippi State,surrendering five earned runs in 41/3 innings. Before last week, he had not allowedmore than three earnedruns in astart this year.Witherspoon gave up three earned runs in four innings aweek agoagainst Alabama.
Koki Riley
Thedifficulties that come with tryingtocommand the baseball are why Tutko has focused alot of effort on pitchsequencing. He sees it as the best way of giving his pitchers agreater “margin for error.”
When Yeskie is calling pitches, Tutko is by his side helping him decide what theirguys should throw and when.
“Pitch sequencing right and theusageand using theright pitches in the right times,” Tutko said, “all that’sgoing to do is just help getthese guys’walknumbers go down.”
The Tigers’ staff is far from perfect, butitstill is oneofthe better groups in the conference.
Tutkointends on keepingitthat way
“He’sa very valuablemember of our team,” Johnson said. Email Koki RileyatKoki. Riley@theadvocate.com.
SAN DIEGO— All-Star outfielder JacksonMerrill andthe SanDiegoPadresagreed Wednesday to a$135 million, nine-year contract covering 2026-34. Merrill hada sensationalrookie season in 2024 andsaidseveral times he wanted to stay long term with the Padres. Merrill, whoturns 22 on April 19, wasmoved fromshortstop to centerfieldinspring training last year when the Padres hadonly two outfielders on their roster.Hemade the opening-day roster and hit .292 with 24 homers, 90 RBIs and 16 stolenbases.Hefinished second in NL Rookie of theYear voting behind Pittsburgh pitcherPaul Skenes. He’shad aleast one hit in every game this season and hashelped the Padres to the first 6-0 start in their 57-season history
of Timberwolvesand Lynx MINNEAPOLIS The drawn-out dramasurrounding the sale of the Minnesota Timberwolves is finally over More than ayear after Glen Taylor tried to retain majority control of the franchise by canceling its $1.5 billion sale to Marc Lore and AlexRodriguez, Taylorisending that battle.
Lore and Rodriguez will become controlling ownersafter Taylor decided he will not appeal a2-1 February arbitrationruling against him
Thepanel ruled Taylor was not operating within the legalframework of their purchase agreement whenheattempted to call offthe sale in March 2024.
The sale also includes the MinnesotaLynx, the most successful franchise in WNBA history
76ers’ All-Star Embiid set for arthroscopic surgery
PHILADELPHIA Joel Embiid will undergo arthroscopic surgery next weekonhis leftknee, the latest attempt to makethe All-Star center healthy enough to play next season.
Embiidwas ruledout for the season in late February,withthe Sixers saying he would focus on treatmentand rehabilitation of his leftknee.
TheSixers said additional updates on Embiid would comefollowing the surgery Counting the 164 games he missed his first twoseasonsafter he wasdraftedNo. 3overall in 2014 and what’sleft of this season, Embiid will have played in 452 of 883 76ers’ games by the end of this season —missing nearly 50% of the regular season.
Former UL star has averaged 10 assistsover thelastthree games
BY RODWALKER Staff writer
Elfrid Payton will gettostick around with his hometown team for the rest of the season
The New Orleans Pelicansare giving the Gretna native asecond 10-day contract after signingthe veteranpoint guardtohis first 10day contract March 21.
“Anytime Ican put on this jersey,itfeels good,” Paytonsaidat the time.
Payton, who played at John EhretHigh School before going on to star at UL, has made the most of his opportunity.
He’saveraged 10 assists over his last three games heading into Wednesday’slate game against the Los Angeles Clippers.Hedished out 14 assists in awin over the
ä Late nightinL:A: Pelicans at Clippersended after thisedition went to press. For completegame coverage,visit nola.com
Philadelphia76ers last week. That performance drew high praise from Pelicanscoach Willie Green.
“I’ll say it again,” Green said. “There is no way he shouldn’tbe on aroster.He is that good.He can pass theball. He knows how to throw you open sometimes. Even when you don’tknow you’re open, theball is hittingyou right in your hands on time and on target.He’s an excellentdefender and floor leader.We’re glad to have him.”
Payton’s14-assist performance was the third-most assists in a game by aPelicans player this season. Payton also has the most assists by aPelicans player this season, recording 21 assists against the Indiana Pacers in his stint with the team backinNovember That’s thesecond-most assistsin
franchise history,trailing only the 25 assists by Rajon Rondo against theBrooklyn Netsin2017.
Payton also hasaveraged4 points, 4.7rebounds and asteal over his last three games.
This is Payton’sthirdstint with thePelicans. In addition to playing with the team in November before getting waived, he also played 42 games withthe Pelicansduring the 2018-19 season.
Drafted by the OrlandoMagic in 2014, Payton hasplayedinnine NBA seasonswithfive different teams. In addition to his first31/2 seasonswith the Magic, he has suited up for thePhoenix Suns New York Knicks and Charlotte Hornets. Butnone of those compare to his hometown team “I love being here,” Payton said last week.“This is the best thing ever.Igrew up less than 10 minutes from here. Anytime Ican be playing here, it’slove.”
Email RodWalker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.
LSU
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The other semifinal pits No. 8 Michigan State and No.9 Kentucky against Ohio State and host Penn State. The top twoteams from each semifinal will advance to the regional final at 4p.m.Saturday.The top two teams from Saturday’s meet move on to the NCAA championships set for April 17-19 in FortWorth,Texas.
All three of the regional sessions will be shown on astreaming basis on ESPN+.
Asking Stan Drayton whether he would be in LSU colors or Penn State colors or neutral was apretty easy question.
“Blood is thicker than all of this,” he saidwitha chuckle. “Purple andgold,for sure. ButI may mix in some blue and white.”
LSU goes into the NCAAs as the No. 1overall seedinthe entire 36-team tournament, afirst for the Tigers who werethe No.2 nationalseed last year when they won the program’sfirst national championship.
It’sbeen an impressive run to this point for LSU (18-2). The Tigers won ashare of the regularseasonSEC title with Oklahoma,
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added: “I thinkKaleb’s hadsome of his best practices as aTiger.”
Caden Durham will be the lead back, but perhaps Jackson can earn arole.
Wide receiver
LSU could have adeep rotation. AaronAnderson looks as reliable as he was last year,and Chris Hilton hasshown thedifference he can make when he’shealthy They’re both having good springs. Zavion Thomas also runswith the first-team offense, and we haven’t mentioned the transfersyet.
Barion Brown, Destyn Hill and NicAndersonare allinthe mix, though Nic Anderson hasn’tdone much during media viewing periods. Don’tforget about redshirt sophomore Kyle Parker,either Watching all of them, it’sclear LSU has more speed thanitdid last year,which might improve the deeppassing game.
Tightend
During arecent goal-line period, BauerSharpwas used on a
“Before Igot here, in elite (gymnastics) you contributefor yourself Coming here to be on a team and contributing for others is adifferent feeling.Itgives you that motivational drive.”
AMARI DRAyTON,LSU gymnast
then bested thethen-No. 1Sooners and No. 3Florida Gators plus six other teams to win their second straight SEC championship meet.
Drayton has been amajor contributorfor LSUalong theway Competing in every meet on vault and floor —plus one routine on beaminthe season opener with Iowa State —she has posted atotal of five 9.95scores and10total marks of 9.90 or better
“It’sbeen cool” being part of a team,Drayton said. “Before Igot here, in elite (gymnastics)you contributefor yourself.Coming here to be on ateam and contributing for others is adifferentfeeling. Itgives you that motivational drive. We’re on ateam withall
jetsweep.The tight end! He also caughtamiddlescreen at one point.The Oklahoma transfer is a fluid route runner,and he hasmade some impressive catches. Sharp and sophomore Trey’Dez Green form an intriguing tandem as LSU tries to replace one of the most productive tight ends in school history in MasonTaylor. Kelly said “those two can feed off each other.”
Offensiveline
It could take awhile to figure outwho will start.Sofar,the first group left-to-right has consistently beenTyreeAdams, Paul Mubenga,DJChester,CoenEcholsand Weston Davis. The one development has been Echols playing right guard the past few weeks afterBoBordelonbegan spring practice there. But that lineup is subject to change. Chester andVirginia Tech transfer Braelin Moore have both gotten reps at center.When Moore entered at arecentpractice, Chester moved to left guard. Northwestern transferJosh Thompson was the second-teamleft tacklehis first fewpractices, but it would be asurprise if he stayed there. “There’sgoing to be intense com-
BY JOSH DUBOW AP pro football writer
The one-year trial version of the dynamic kickoff in the NFL ledto an uptick in thereturnratethat wasn’tquite as much as the league had hoped. Now the new form of the kickoff is permanent with achange for 2025 thatthe leaguehopes will lead to asignificant increase in returns. Owners votedTuesday to move touchbacks on kicks from the 30 to the35inhopes that moreteams will kick the ball in play instead of giving up an extra5yards of field position.
The league also approved changes to the overtimerule, expanded replayassist and made afew other technical changes at the league meetings in Palm Beach, Florida.
The league approved aproposal to make the regular-season overtimemore like the postseason, with both teams getting achance at apossession, even if the team that got the ball first scores a touchdown.
theseamazing girlswho want to push hard to give their best for the team and thefansand the coaches.”
Completing the “homecoming” of sorts thisweek for LSUisTigers assistant and former 17-time All-American Ashleigh Gnat. Now in her fifth year on the LSU staff, Gnat started her coaching career at Penn State from 2019-20 before returning to Baton Rouge.
This is LSU’s40th straight NCAAappearance and 42nd overall. Despite all of theTigers’ success historically andrecently,it is verymuch do-or-die time now for LSU and every other team. As coach Jay Clarkhas frequently said, ahighly regarded team gets knocked out of the regional round every year
Obviously,hedoesn’twant LSU to be that team in 2025.
“Mindset is apermanent intention for us,”Clark said. “Our goals this week arethe same as they’vebeenall year.Weneedto stay where we have been andadvance.”
The Tigersknow wherethey are from. They also know where they want to go.
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petition for those fivepositions all year,and it’s notgoing to get to a certain date andgo, ‘Well, there’s no competition anymore,’ ”Kelly said. “Wehave more thanfive guys thatcan play in the SEC up there The pressure will be on each and every week.”
The three transfers are going to play alot, but don’tsleep on sophomoreGabriel Reliford. He’sthe heaviest defensive end on the roster at 268 pounds,and he’sphysical. Kelly saidLSU wants him to be “an anchor againstthe run.” Outofthe transfers, Jack Pyburn hasstood out the most with his abilitytoset the edge.
When defensive coordinator Blake Baker interviewed Kyle Williams to becomethe newLSU defensive line coach,Williams explained that when he first got to the NFL, defensive tackles had to absorbblocks. When he was allowed to get upfield andcreate havoc afew yearslater, his career took off. Baker wants that from his defensive tackles, and he thinksWilliams’stylewill mesh well withthe scheme. “This defense, foreverand
Here’s an explanation of some of the new rules that will be in place:
Kickofftweaks
The league was mostlypleased with the experimental kickoff put in place for 2024 that led to the rate of kickoff returns increasing from arecord-low 21.8% in 2023 to 32.8% last season,while reducing the rate of injuries on whathad been the game’smost dangerous play
Therulemadekickoffs more like scrimmageplays by placing thecoverage players and blockers close together to eliminate thehighspeed collisions that had contributed to so many injuries on the play
The league said the rate of concussions dropped 43% on returns with asignificant reduction as well in lower-body injuries.
The problemlast seasonwas many teams still opted to kick the ball in the end zone because the touchback wasn’t punitive enough.
The startingfield positionona touchback was 2.4 yards farther than the averagestarting position after returns, which was the27.6yard line.
By moving thetouchbacktothe 35,the league projects thereturn rate will rise to somewhere between 60% and 70%, with asimilarincreaseinlongreturns,adding moreexcitement to the game.
ever,wetalk about the defensive tackles arethe tip of the spear,” Bakersaid.“We’vegot to be able to create knock-back andhavoc. I thought we gota little stale from thatstandpoint last year,and that’s on me.
“I think you’re already seeing some of ourguys use their quick twitch and their get-offtocreate plays in the backfield.”
Onething that’seasy to see is the size that LSU added to the interior
There are fivehealthy defensive tackles at the moment, and they average 319 pounds. Last year only three defensive tackles were listed at morethan 300 pounds.
Linebacker
With HaroldPerkins and Whit Weeks out, LSU has spent alot of time evaluating its other linebackers. West Weeks and Davhon Keys are getting most of the work with thefirst-team defense,and Baker said theyswitchevery day between middle and weakside linebacker to practice both spots.
Cornerback
LSU has more talent at cornerback than the first three years of theKelly era. We’ll seewhat their ceiling becomes, but the floor
The NFLadded regular-season overtime in 1974, adding a15-minute sudden-death period that ended on anyscore. In 2010, the rule was tweaked to a“modified” suddendeaththatrequiredanopening possession touchdowntoimmediately end the gameinstead of only afield goal in both the regular season and playoffs Overtimethen was shortened for the regularseason to only 10 minutes in 2017. Arule change in 2022 forthe playoffs gave both teamsthe chance to score even with atouchdown on the opening possession. Now that will be the case in the regularseason,after theimproved field position on kickoffs made winning in OT on an opening possession TD easier According to Sportradar,six of the16overtime games last season ended on an opening-drive TD for the most overtimegames ended on the first drive sincethe rule change went into effect in 2010.
In all, teams that wonthe overtimetoss won 75% of the time last season, according to Sportradar, andhavea.606 winning percentage in overtime since it wascut to 10 minutes.
The league kept the 10-minute overtime period instead of expanding it back to 15 minuteslike was originally proposed by Philadelphia. Replay assist
The NFLexpanded its replay assist system to overturn objective calls if there was “clear and obvious” evidence that afoul didn’toccur.The calls could include facemask penalties, whether there wasforcible contact to the head or neck area,horse-collartackles and tripping. Replay also would be able to overturn aroughing-the-kicker or running-into-the-kicker penalty if videoshowedthe defender made contact with the ball.
is higher.Asked about five-star freshmanDJPickett, Virginia Tech transferMansoor Delane and Florida transfer Ja’Keem Jackson, Baker said “they’ve been as good as we were hoping theyweregoing to be.”
Delane would be asafe betto play somewhere. Baker called him LSU’s“defensive weapon” because of his versatility.But no one has secured aspot at this point. Pickett has shown alot of upside. Jackson and junior Ashton Stamps are both in themix. Redshirt freshmanMichael Turner also has made someplays this spring.
There’ssomebuzz around sophomore Dashawn Spears, aformer top-100 recruit who’s6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. After playing in every gamelast season with three starts, can he help improve the safety play?
“Nobody was harder on Dashawn Spearslastyear than me, andit’s starting to pay off,” Baker said. “The dude is making aton of plays out there.”
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BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer
LSU men’s basketball earned its third commitment from the transfer portal for the 2025-26 season with Northeastern guard Rashad King, according to the player’s social-media account.
King, a 6-foot-6, 204-pound guard, made the All-Coastal Athletic Association first team this season after averaging 18.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7
turnovers per game. He started all 32 games and shot 44.9% from the field, 31.9% from the 3-point line and 85.3% from the free-throw line on 4.9 attempts.
“We’re excited to welcome Rashad King to the LSU basketball family,” coach Matt McMahon said in a news release. “We love Rashad’s 6-6 frame at the guard position. He scored the ball at all three levels this season, was excellent on the defensive glass, and also showcased his playmaking
and defensive abilities. I love the character and leadership he will bring to the program.”
The Evans, Georgia, native was the 79th player on the 247Sports transfer portal rankings. In the conference, King was second in scoring, fifth in free-throw percentage, seventh in field-goal percentage, eighth in steals and ninth in assists.
Northeastern finished the season 17-15 overall and 9-9 in conference play King’s best performance was
BY REED DARCEY Staff writer
LSU women’s basketball guard
Last-Tear Poa announced Wednesday that she has decided to enter the transfer portal Poa, a native of Australia, just completed her senior season. But a recent NCAA rule change, which stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, granted extra eligibility to her and other former junior-college athletes.
Before she played for the Tigers, Poa spent two seasons at Northwest Florida State junior college.
She became a valuable contributor to each of LSU’s last three teams. She played around 15 minutes per game in her 102 appearances and 27 starts for the Tigers, usually while assuming a chunk of their ballhandling duties and playing sound point-of-attack defense.
In the first half of the 2023 national championship game, Poa
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for herself and set a standard for exactly why you’re supposed to be able to appreciate this stuff You go to college. You’re the best player in the country, and everybody wants to be associated with you, and the school doesn’t give you a dime.”
To jump to the WNBA draft, players must either be a senior with all college eligibility exhausted or turn 22 in the draft year and renounce any remaining eligibility
Yet there is no clamoring to change the women’s rules because, frankly, it wouldn’t make much sense under the current salary structure. The No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft will make somewhere around $13.8 million in his rookie season. The No. 1 pick in this month’s WNBA draft will make $78,831 in her rookie season.
Staying in school isn’t a bad thing for women’s players. It’s smart business.
NIL deals will follow many of them to the WNBA. But the pro check isn’t exactly a gamechanger for those at the top of the women’s game. The top current WNBA base salary is around $242,000, though that’s expected to increase with the recent financial boom in women’s sports.
Former Miami guards Haley and Hanna Cavinder became the first faces of the NIL era in college sports when it started on July 1, 2021, while they were still at Fresno State. They were im-
drew two charges that put Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark in early foul trouble.
Drawing charges were a staple of Poa’s game. As a junior, she took 31 charges in 36 games. This season, as a senior, Poa split lead ballhandling responsibilities with transfer point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson. She started a career-high 15 games, including three of LSU’s four NCAA Tournament contests. In a first-round win over No. 14 seed San Diego State, she tallied four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
In October, Poa filed a lawsuit against US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) over the agency’s decision to deny her a visa that would’ve allowed her more freedom to strike name, image and likeness (NIL) deals
Current policy places tight restrictions on which off-campus employment opportunities international students such as Poa can pursue
mediately featured on a billboard in Times Square, the new faces of Boost Mobile. College sports were immediately changed.
The Cavinder twins have built a multimillion-dollar fortune and have more than 7 million followers across their Instagram and TikTok accounts. They’ve never confirmed actual numbers, but it’s reasonable to believe the Cavinder twins are among the toppaid college athletes given both their earnings and equity stakes in various companies. Their college careers ended last month.
“I think we were pretty naive in the beginning with it honestly,”
Haley Cavinder said. “To be transparent, I don’t think Hanna and I really knew We had talks of what NIL was, and I always saw tweets about it But I never really envisioned myself getting paid or Hanna getting paid until July 1 happened. And then I was like, ‘Wow this is overwhelming ’ I didn’t know how much money there was.”
Olivia Miles, who starred at Notre Dame for four seasons, was widely expected to go between No. 2 and No. 4 in this month’s WNBA draft. Instead, she decided to enter the transfer portal and play one last college season — taking her lucrative NIL deals with her wherever she ends up and missing out on the $78,000 WNBA payday for the 2025 season.
Same goes for Southern California’s JuJu Watkins, perhaps the most talented player in the women’s game. Her season ended with a torn ACL in the NCAA Tournament, but her NIL deals will live
a career-high 32 points on 10-of-15 shooting in an 84-75 loss to Hampton on Feb. 8. He spent three seasons with the Huskies and in his last game, they lost 70-65 to Hampton in the first round of their conference tournament. King scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-21 shooting. He also had a game-high 10 rebounds.
King joins Mississippi State center Michael Nwoko and UNLV point guard Dedan Thomas as transfer portal additions.
LSU had five players enter the transfer portal, two of whom are guards in freshman Vyctorius Miller and sophomore Mike Williams. The other transfers are redshirt freshman forward Corey Chest, junior center Noah Boyde and junior wing Tyrell Ward. The Tigers finished the season 14-18 overall and 3-15 in the Southeastern Conference.
Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@theadvocate.com
BY ANNE M. PETERSON AP sportswriter
SPOKANE, Wash. — If there’s one thing UCLA’s Elite Eight victory showed, it’s that the Bruins are about more than just Lauren Betts.
The 6-foot-7 All-America center is the centerpiece of UCLA’s offense and a menace for its opponents. But she’s not the only asset for the overall top-seeded Bruins, who will face UConn and Paige Bueckers on Friday as the women’s NCAA Tournament heads to Tampa, Florida, for the Final Four
Against LSU in the regional final, Betts picked up two early fouls. She went to the bench with less than a minute left in the opening quarter, then sat the entire second quarter She didn’t return until after halftime. The Bruins leaned on Timea Gardiner, while guards Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez kept their teammates focused. UCLA wound up outscoring the Tigers 22-12 in the quarter as Betts looked on.
The filing was believed to be the first legal challenge tossed at those laws since the NCAA began allowing collegiate athletes to profit off endorsement deals in 2021.
Poa is now the second LSU player to enter the transfer portal this offseason. On Monday starting forward Sa’Myah Smith submitted her name so she could play the last two years of her career at a different school. Both Poa and Smith were two of the three holdover contributors from LSU’s 2023 national championship team. The third, star guard Flau’jae Johnson, can return for her senior season, but she can also declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft. As of Wednesday afternoon, Johnson had not announced a decision.
Poa will finish her LSU career with averages of 3.5 points and 2.0 assists per game. Across those three seasons, she converted 36% of her field-goal attempts and 29% of her 3-point tries.
on and could even grow by the time she returns to the court — presumably sometime next season. There’s no urgency for her to go pro, since her earning stream already exists.
Opendorse, a company that provides NIL services to dozens of schools, has data that might be shocking to some. It shows that top women’s programs have a combined social-media following that exceeds that of the top men’s programs, which is a clear factor in determining NIL value.
While the numbers of those engaging with top men’s programs on social media skew about 4-to1 male, it’s close to a 50-50 split when charting those engaging with women’s basketball stars and teams.
“Female student-athletes are probably the most effective media buy in sports right now,” Opendorse CEO Steve Denton said.
“And everything I see in the data tells me that, which is that their social audiences are three times as large as the average social audience. They’re just better at it in terms of — they curate their social feeds better than the men do.”
The opportunities afforded by NIL were certainly a reason why Bueckers chose to stay in college. Same goes for Miles. It was one of the reasons why Kate Martin was in no hurry to leave Iowa and end her time as teammates with Clark. Martin was in college for six years. When she got there, NIL didn’t exist. When she left, people were paying money to wear things bearing her name.
“I don’t have to be in the game at all times. I have a team full of players who are just amazing and talented in their own right, and they put in the work,” Betts said. “So I knew that as I was sitting there, I’m going to be the best teammate that I can and cheer them on, but they have my back at the end of the day.”
Even when Betts was in the game, she was often derailed by the Tigers’ defense, which double-teamed her at times. She still finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six blocks in three quarters of play Betts averages 20 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Bruins.
“I think that we just did what we usually do One person goes down, another person steps up,” said Gardiner, who finished with
“I think that we just did what we usually do. One person goes down, another person steps up.”
TIMEA GARDINER, UCLA forward
15 points — all on 3-pointers. “As Lauren said, we have a deep team and everyone is ready when their number’s called, and so we truly did that and we found each other, too, and we just played off each other and we just had fun.”
The Bruins have lost just twice this season — both times to nemesis Southern California — before winning the Big Ten title and then sweeping through the opening two rounds of the tournament. They pulled away in the second half of a 76-62 victory over Mississippi in the Sweet 16, Betts leading the way with an efficient 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds. That set up the victory over LSU, which sent the Bruins to the NCAA Final Four for the first time, although UCLA won a national title in 1978 in the pre-NCAA era of women’s basketball.
Jaquez had 18 points and eight rebounds against the Tigers and Gardiner finished with 15 points. Gardiner, a transfer from Oregon State, has averaged 7.7 points and 3.5 assists, while Jaquez has averaged 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds. Rice is second on the team to Betts with an average of 12.9 points.
UConn, the Bruins’ opponent on Friday, got 31 points from Bueckers in a 78-64 Elite Eight victory on Monday night over USC, for the Huskies’ record 24th trip — a record among both men’s and women’s teams — to the national semifinals. Sarah Strong added 22 points and 17 rebounds.
BY NOAH TRISTER AP sportswriter
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Whatever misgivings Kevin Willard may have had about coaching basketball at Maryland, Buzz Williams’ arrival shows the job is still pretty enticing.
In Williams, the Terrapins hired an experienced replacement who has had some success in highly competitive leagues. He was not only willing to leave Texas A&M after three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, but he accepted the Maryland job shortly after the departure of the school’s athletic director and following Willard’s messy exit.
“Relative to what I thought was important on the commitment going forward, on what is needed to be successful at the highest level, there was never any question from (Maryland) on the commitment for us, me, the staff, NIL, the players, the resources,” Williams said. “I’m at peace with all of it.”
Williams was introduced Wednesday at a news conference that also included Colleen Sorem, Maryland’s interim athletic director, and Darryll Pines, the school’s president.
Maryland was certainly eager to show off its new coach, holding an event that included cheerleaders and band members. The playlist before the news conference included “Somebody That I Used to Know” by Gotye and whether that choice was intentional or just
a coincidence, the mood was clear
The Terps were moving on from Willard, and they were excited about the future.
Spectators included football coach Mike Locksley and women’s basketball coach Brenda Frese, plus Gary Williams, who coached the men’s basketball team to the 2002 national title Following his departure, the Terps were coached by Mark Turgeon (who also came from Texas A&M) for 10-plus seasons and Willard for three.
Willard left last weekend to take the job at Villanova. It wasn’t a surprise that he viewed Villanova as an attractive position, but before he left, he also had some pointed comments about the institutional support for his program at Maryland. Those remarks occurred around the same time athletic director Damon Evans left for SMU — and right as the Terps were starting their NCAA Tournament run that ended in the Sweet 16.
Buzz Williams was also in the tournament — Texas A&M lost in the second round. So there was some distance between him and the Willard-Maryland breakup. “I really didn’t even know what had transpired, and I think that was what caught me off guard in my interaction with Dr Pines, is he told me what had transpired,” Williams said. “That’s not to speak ill towards coach Willard or the team. I didn’t hear all of it, nor do I think all of it’s important.”
Recent LSU commitment has become multipurpose weapon
BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer
Jabari Mack played a versatile role on the Destrehan football team last season as a junior
Primarily a wide receiver during his first two high school seasons, the speedy Mack got pressed into playing quarterback and defensive back when injuries on both sides of the ball caused coach Marcus Scott and his staff to make some changes.
Mack handled those duties so well that Scott lamented not having him do more during his first two seasons.
“We should have probably done it as a freshman,” Scott said Fortunately for Destrehan Scott and his coaches have another season to go with Mack on the team
Mack (6-foot, 200 pounds) is a recent LSU football commitment whose pledge to the school will not be official until at least the early signing period in December Mack, listed by the 247Sports composite as a four-star-rated prospect, projects as a wide receiver in college. But he will continue to play multiple positions for Destrehan in the fall
“Jabari is that guy,” Scott said.
“If we played him on defense, he’d be the best player in the state on defense. If we played him at running back fulltime, he’d be the best running back in the state He’s that versatile of an athlete. He brings a lot to the table.” Scott could tell when Mack “walked through the door” as a freshman, “he wasn’t normal. He was certainly on par with the better players to come through Destrehan, which is saying a lot. He has that level of ability to be mentioned with the very best to
“Jabari is that guy. If we played him on defense, he’d be the best player in the state on defense. If we played him at running back fulltime, he’d be the best running back in the state.”
MARCUS SCOTT, Destrehan coach
play here.”
Mack’s most impactful game might have come last season against Captain Shreve, when he rushed seven times for 105 yards and a touchdown on a mix of direct-snap plays and wide receiver sweeps, threw the winning 56-yard touchdown pass to Greg Wilfred in the final minutes and clinched the 46-42 victory with a tackle in the backfield on defense.
“That was really just instinct for me,” Mack said of his clinching play on defense. “They were in hurry-up offense. I felt like their running back was their best guy on the team, so why not get to the best guy — so I blitzed and got the tackle.”
Mack, a freshman when Destrehan won a state championship in 2022, ended the 2024 season with 58 catches for 818 yards and nine touchdowns — all team highs on a squad that reached the state semifinals. He rushed 32 times for 317 yards and four touchdowns. He had three total tackles on defense.
Mack made his LSU pledge during a visit to watch spring practice in Baton Rouge.
“They were always at the top for me, really,” said Mack, who said he did not expect to make a commitment before he arrived that day But once he arrived, he “just felt like the time was right.”
The 2026 signing period will be the third in a row with a Destrehan player going to LSU. Receiver Phillip Wright and safety Jhase Thomas signed as part of the 2025 class. Defensive end Kolaj Cobbins signed as part of the 2024 class.
Mack will have several Destrehan teammates fielding scholarships offers during the spring and summer Quarterback Jackson Fields holds offers from Nicholls State and Lamar. Receiver Damien Richard holds offers from Louisiana Tech and TCU. Offensive lineman Earl Collins (6-5, 330 pounds) has an offer from Nicholls.
Destrehan will host Edna Karr for a spring game May 14, in what Scott said has “turned into the premier event in the state in terms of spring football games.”
The spring game last year drew coaches from 51 colleges, Scott said.
“Name a school, and they were there,” he said.
Spring could be a busy time for Mack. Not only for football, but also for track and field. Mack said he expects to compete May 10 at the Class 5A state meet in the 4x100 relay with LSU signees Wright and Thomas along with sophomore Jordan Zeringue, a wideout on the football team, among his relay partners.
The best for Mack could be yet to come.
“Just having a fun time,” Mack said when asked about expectations for his senior season. “Really getting my last high school days out.
“I know we’re going to have a great team this year.”
Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com
BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer
There was talk and action on girls flag football and the Louisiana Gator Scholarship program on the first day of the LHSAA executive committee’s annual spring meeting on Wednesday in Baton Rouge.
As expected the executive committee approved a two-year pilot program for girls flag football with 2027-28 as the season for it to become a sanctioned sport. An eligibility path for homeeducation students who receive Gator funds for education tools/ classes as part of the state’s new school voucher also was formalized during the meeting at the LHSAA office.
A national push for girls flag football is spearheaded by the NFL, with each franchise promoting the sport in its region. The Saints provide promotion and support along with sponsors in the region.
Mississippi, also backed by the Saints, became the 14th state to sanction girls flag football in January. Currently, 19 other states offer pilot programs. The Saints will help provide flags, jerseys, balls and many other things, LHSCA director Eric Held said.
“There are a lot of questions about the sports seasons. Where does it go?” Held said. “Stadium availability and a lack of officials are problems with the fall. Most states have it in the spring and that’s probably not the most ideal for us.
“But right now, the best option is a six or seven-week spring season. You could fit it in between girls basketball and the state softball championships.”
The NFL’s push in New Orleans got real when a 10-team high school girls flag football league
launched last spring. Held said the league has 20 teams this year and those schools are the only state schools offering the sport.
More than 100 LHSAA schools have expressed interest in the sport, an LHSAA survey revealed. Under LHSAA bylaws, 166 schools would need to field teams to fit LHSAA rules for adding a new sport.
Baton Rouge area schools expressing interest include Dutchtown, Madison Prep, Jehovah-Jireh, Walker, St. Joseph’s Academy LSD, Collegiate Baton Rouge, Tara, Southern Lab and North Iberville.
LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine told the committee that the growth of the sport outside of New Orleans will determine what happens next.
Gator scholarships
The approval Wednesday of the Gator Scholarship program gives home-education students the option to participate at public or private schools as part of the program.
Executive committee member Ken Bradford, chief of staff for the Louisiana Department of Education, said questions about athletic eligibility are among those asked by families involved in the voucher program. He noted that Gator funding includes all extracurricular activities, not just sports.
“One of Louisiana’s education priorities is expanding educational choice for students and families,” Bradford said. “This action today ensures their continued access to extracurricular activities.”
A total of 91 private schools are part of the program. Bradford said LHSAA eligibility rules, including those regarding attendance zones, must be met by traditional students.
BY GUERRY SMITH Contributing
writer
Crippled by the transfer portal, the Tulane men’s basketball team went down meekly in its first postseason tournament in 11 years.
Late Tuesday
Playing without starters Kaleb Banks and Kam Williams and top reserve Mari Jordan the Green Wave lost 89-60 to USC on Tuesday night in the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. The outcome was never in doubt against the taller, stronger, deeper Trojans (17-17), who overcame a sloppy start to lead by double digits for the final 23 minutes.
The absence of Jordan, who returned to the team for a practice on
Friday after entering the transfer portal and skipping the previous three, robbed Tulane (19-15) of its remaining athleticism on defense to go along with the 6-foot-8 Banks and Williams, who committed to Kentucky last week.
Coach Ron Hunter said Jordan did not fly with the team and no longer was a member of the roster
“I want guys that want to be here the whole way and not just for a one-out,” he said “That doesn’t work for me.”
The lack of depth forced Hunter to start redshirt freshman Tyler Ringgold for the first time since November and junior Percy Daniels for the first time in his career Guard Logan Stephens played 18 minutes after logging 29 for the year Guard KJ Greene played 29
minutes after totaling 22 minutes since the end of January
The lineup and the 17-day layoff between games contributed to a season-high 13 turnovers in the
first half as the Wave fell behind 39-24. While it fixed that problem in the second half, coughing it up only once, it could not stop USC from getting any shot it wanted as a foulplagued rotation of seven wore down Rowan Brumbaugh, Gregg Glenn and Asher Woods played all the way until garbage time.
The Trojans blistered the nets with 75.9% shooting after halftime, getting many of their baskets on uncontested looks in the lane.
“They were tired,” Hunter said. “You combine that with how talented that team is, and it was tough.” USC power forward Rashaun Agee scored 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting. With Ringgold and Daniels picking up four fouls in the first half and Glenn joining them at the 11:30 mark of the second
half, the Wave’s interior big men could not afford to be aggressive defensively Still, Tulane remained within striking distance for 30 minutes, cutting its deficit to 56-46 on Stephens’ two free throws with 9:32 left. Soon afterward, the Trojans went on a 17-0 run to put it away on a series of layups, dunks and open 3-point shots. Woods led Tulane with 18 points. Brumbaugh finished 3 of 14 from the floor, but he led the Wave with seven assists and tied for the team high with five rebounds and three steals Glenn struggled with USC’s size
The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)
Maple syrup is anatural for pancakes and baking,and it has shownits prowess in savory dishes. But the springtime ingredient is equally at home in cocktails,too.
Bentley Gilman, head distiller of Tattersall Distilling in River Falls, Wisconsin,created these four cocktailsusing its Birkie WI-SKI, which was created “in the spirit of” the American Birkebeiner,aging rye whiskey in used maple syrup barrels. Follow these recipes to the letter or use them as aroad map to create your own. Feel free to use the rye whiskey (preferably aged in maple barrels) of your choice.
Maple Old Fashioned
Makes 1. 2ounces (4 tablespoons) Birkie WI-SKI
¾ounce (1½ tablespoon) maple syrup
1. Stir whiskey and syrup with iceuntil well
2. Straininto rocks glass with
ice or one large ice cube. 3. Add adash or five of bitters andgarnish with the rip of orange peel.
Maple Whiskey
It’snot often that Iremember with completecertainty the first time Iate adish, but Idorecallmyfirst Salad Niçoise
When Iwas agraduate student, Iworked as awaitress at aFrench bistro, La Crepe Nanou, in NewOrleans. I noticed that the Salad Niçoise was verypopular with theregular customers, so Ihad to try it. Istill remember the saltycomplex flavors draped over hard-boiled eggs,potatoes, green beans and tuna. It was the first timethat Ihad ever eaten an anchovy,and that is ataste sensation that stickswith you.
Recently, my husband and Itook our kids out to La Crepe Nanou. My son, who is nowa Tulanestudent, ordered the Salad Niçoise and devoured it.Itis asimple joy to share ameal and memories. These moments are theones that inspire me to recreate special dishes at home.
ä See NIÇOISE, page 2D
Dear Miss Manners: There are many examples of technology and bad behavior merging, and Iask for your opinion regarding one that bothers me: peoplelocking their vehicles by pressing the key fob twice, which causes the vehicle to omit a loud chirp.
All one has to do to lock acar is push the button inside the door,oratmost, push the fob once, which doesn’tcause aloud noise. In parking lots and garages,these unexpected loud noises can startle people, and in residential areas, they can awaken sleepers.
doesnot shareyour mystification aboutwhy people press thebutton more than once. Shedoubts there is anysense of power gained from using this tool, but doesunderstand its marginal ability to assuagethe sense of powerlessnessabout whether thedoor has actuallybeen locked.
lady downstairs is aheavy smoker and drinker.When she calls meupand asks if I would like some of thefood she has prepared, Ialways find an excuse to decline. She seemsmiffed about it.
Judith Martin MISS MANNERS
Plus, it can help locate acar in a crowded and poorly labeled parking lot
This practice shows a lack of concern for others. Also, Idon’tunderstand the motivation: Is there some small sense of power the person gets from using the technology?
Gentle reader: Yours is an excellent example of technology inviting bad behavior.Why could not the engineerssimply have made the devicevibrate and/or light up when locking the door?
But Miss Mannerscannot condemn people for using this technology,and she
Serves 4-6.
Dear Miss Manners: I stopped eating potluck food at work years ago when I found cat hairina piece of cake. Apparently,the lady who brought thecake regularly let her catsjump up on her kitchen counter. Iwas alwayscareful with food before that, but that was thelaststraw Iwas invited to aco-worker’shome for dinner recently,but declined going. I had been there before,and thekitchen was very dirty, and there was abig fatcat roaming around. Ithink peoplefeel snubbed when Itell them “Thanks, but no thanks” when they offer me food
Another example: The
At an event in apark, a lady Idid not know had abig bucket of cookies and was offering them to people. Ialmost took one, asking her what bakery she got them from, and she said she madethem herself. I withdrew my hand and told her “No, thanks” and she got angry at me. Idon’twant to sound snobby,but how do Ipolitely get out of these food offers?
Gentlereader: Youalso do not want towaste food, nor do you want tobedishonest —by, for example, saying that you already ate.
Miss Manners can accommodate this long list so long as you do not also insist on being original: Say “No, thank you” —this, time before reaching for a cookie —and repeat it as manytimes as necessary, resisting thetemptation to explain your reasons.
Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com.
NIÇOISE SALAD DRESSING:
½cup olive oil
2lemons, juiced
2teaspoons lemon zest
1tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1small shallot, finely chopped
1-2 anchovies, finely chopped (or 2teaspoons of anchovy paste)
Salt and pepper
1teaspoon chopped fresh herbs
likethyme or tarragon(optional)
SALAD:
1pound small yellow or red round potatoes (boiled and cut in half)
1pound haricots verts, or fresh green beans, trimmed 4eggs, boiled and halved
½pound cherry tomatoes, halved 6radishes, sliced thin
½cup pitted olives, halved
2cans of tuna in oil (or favorite tinned fish, likesmoked salmon)
Salt to add to water for boiling vegetables
1-2 heads of red leaf or romaine lettuce
1. In amediumbowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard,shallot, chopped anchovies (or anchovy paste), and fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk until emulsified.
2. Bring 2quarts of salted water to aboilinalarge saucepan overmedium-high heat. Add the potatoes and cook for about10minutes, or untilthe potatoes arefork tender.Use aslotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the water and set them aside to cool.
3. Return the water to boil, and add the green beans.
Dear Annie: I’ve been seeing this guy since early December.He’sperfect in every way,except he seems to be attached tothis one woman, “Suzy,” who he becamegood friends with due to unfortunate pastsconnecting the two of them. Since the very beginning, he has always been honest withme about his platonic relationship with Suzy While Ihave no issue with him being best friends with Suzy,there were acouple of instances that Ifound troubling. He seemstowant to keep his friendship with Suzy in thebubble just for thetwo of them, while he’s“forcing” me to accepther by mentioning her name so very often. Iknow part of it might be that he wants to be honest withmewhenever he has plans with her The last time he mentioned that he was planning to watch her son’sevent with her,Ioffered to join them —itwas apublic event, so no one would feel like a thirdwheel —but again he rejected theidea.
can get to know her,too. I feel that their relationship is definitely morethan a platonic one because he seemstobevery involved emotionally with her, even if they do not have a physical relationship. Do you think my new relationship with him is doomed? Should I give up now before Iget hurt later on?
friendship with her,and you can better communicate your concerns.
—ConfusedinMichigan Dear Confused: His friendship with another woman does not constitute aproblem,but his secrecy of it does.
Even if there is no infidelity,his behavior is making you feel like asecond choice.
Tell him that it’simportant to you to spend some timewith Suzy.Frameitas an expression of your love forhim rather than your suspicion of her: “Ifshe’s an important part of your life, then of course Iwant to get to know her!”
I’m somewhat confused by their relationship because if they’re just friends, Idon’tunderstand why he always has problems including me so I
One thing to consider: Yousay your boyfriend’s friendship with Suzy formed “due to unfortunate pasts connecting the twoofthem.” If he and Suzy have experienced similar traumas or losses in their lives, perhaps he viewsher as asafe space. Through couples therapy, he can better communicate what he values in his
Dear Annie: Yougave “Want Peace and Quiet” some good advice, except for one thing: Younever mentioned the fact that her daughter may also be going through somemental health issues of her own. Taking care of aparent all the time is atremendous stressor on the child. Iused to be extremely patient, too. Itried to take into consideration all the things my mom had been through.
Ihad taken care of my father when he was dying. Iwas already exhausted. Imoved to be closer to my mom and help her Helping turned into her taking advantage of me, never saying thank you, constantly criticizing everything and never being the least bit happy It sucked every ounce of patience out of me, and Ididn’tlike me anymore. Cut the daughter some slack. —TiredSandwich Dear Tired Sandwich: Thank you forthis valuable perspective. Both mother and daughter owe it to themselves to take responsibility fortheir health —mental and physical.
Send yourquestions forAnnie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.
Dear Heloise: We hadan upstairs leak in the master bathroom that left us with awater stain on theceiling. It’s notterribly noticeable, but Iknowthatit’sthere (And it’sannoying.)Itmakes my dining room look shabby to me. How can Iget rid of the water stain without repainting the whole ceiling? We just had this done two weeks beforethe leak happened! —A.S.,in NewYork A.S., here is a solution you might like to try: Mix 1cup of bleach with 3cups of warm water and stir well. Then dip a sponge intothe solution and wring out the excess so that the sponge is wet but not soaked completely Gently apply this only to thearea that is affected by thewater stain. Do not oversaturate it. —Heloise Dryerscreencare
under the water from a kitchen faucet and see how much water runs through. If there is abuildup that will not allow water to go through the screen, use somedishwashing soap mixed with a ½ cup of vinegar.Use the rough side of a clean sponge and scrub the screen. Rinse and allow it to air-dry —L.W., in Florida Laundrybag use
DearHeloise: Iused asmall, new zippered laundry bag to make soup. For chicken soup, Iput the bones, skin and fat in the bag, then put the whole thing in the soup pot. All the flavor is added to the soup without the mess. Then you can just empty the bag and discard it. Ialso did this with ham bones and scraps for hamand-bean-soup. —C.F via email Moving hint
boxes out of the truck. If there’sanumber missing, either someone took it, or you leftitbehind. —S.W in California
Removing bulbs
Dear Heloise: My light bulbs are always so difficult to remove after they have burned out. Itried to insert them loosely,but it just makes the bulb flicker How can Iget bulbs out of their socket without breaking them? —K.D., in Ohio K.D.,try this hint: Before you insert alight bulb into its socket, take alittle petroleum jelly on your finger and give the metal end alight coating. This will ensure an easier removal when the time comes.
Heloise
Hard pill to swallow
Continued from page1D
ASalad Niçoise is aclassic Frenchmeal. It originated from Nice on the French Riviera. The word niçoise literally means “in the style of Nice.” There aresome who thinkthat it should only be made with tuna, but Ilike to substitute salmon. Sometimes, Icook fresh tuna or salmon filet and put it on the salad, but canned seafoodworks wellon this dish. Ihave noticed a large variety of seafood in eye-catching, artistically labeled tins. The tinned fish trend is prominent on social media sites like TikTok, so the humble can of fishis now cool. It should be easy
5. Put the eggsina medium pot and cover themwith water byabout2 inches.Put the potover medium-high heatand bring the eggs to a gentle boil, turn off theheat andcover thepot. Letthe eggssit in thecovered pot for about 10 minutes.
6. Place the eggs in the prepared ice bath and letsit in the icewater for about a minute. Remove the eggs from the ice water,dry and peel. Slice each egg in half
4. At this point, prepare an ice bath by placing ice and water in abowl and placing it on the counter near the boiling green beans. After the beans boil for about 3 minutes, or until crisp and bright green, drain the beans into acolander and place them into the ice bath for about2minutes to stop themfromcooking andto keep crisp. Then,drain the beansand setthemaside with the cooked potatoes.
to find in local specialty food markets. Iboughta few tinsofsmoked wild salmon and Pacific cod and put them in my pantry to await inspiration Onenight while trying to decidewhattocook,I looked in my pantry andI saw the tins of salmon that were sitting nexttoajar of anchovies. Tinnedseafood is ready to eat, convenient and agreat source of protein.Ihad some potatoes, green beans and acouple of eggs. Iwas able to put together theingredients of atasty version of Salad Niçoise for my dinner at home
This salad is the perfect meal because it requires very little cooking. It’s a goodrecipe toadd to your home repertoiretomake
and set them aside for use in thesalad.
7. Slice the tomatoes,radishes and olives. Cleanand separatethe lettuce leaves.
8. To assemble each salad, place thelettuce on aplate or in abowl. Then add some of the sliced potatoes, green beans, tomatoes,radishes, olives and boiled eggs. Open acan of tuna fish, or smoked salmon andadd some of the fish to thetop of the salad. Drizzle the dressing over thesalad. Optional: Add one anchovy over the boiled eggs.
9. Serve with asliceof French bread.
during thesummer months in Louisiana. Most of the time, Imake Salad Niçoise like it is prepared at La Crepe Nanou, but it is easy to tweak it to meet your taste preferences. If you are missing ingredientsorhave produce that needs to be used, change this recipe to suit your needs. If you like cucumbers, add them. Sliced fresh red bell pepper would add another layer of taste. If olives or anchovies aren’t your thing,don’tuse them. Have fun and be creative in your kitchen. Bon appétit!
Liz Sullivan Faul is a registered dietitian nutritionist whoenjoys cooking and sharing mealswith her friends and family
Dear Heloise: Most people thinkthat removinglint from thedryer screen is enough, but it’snot.Chemicals from the dryer sheets build up on the lint screen, making it difficult for it to catch as much lint as it should. It also creates a fire hazard. Runthe dryer screen
Dear Heloise: Invariably when you are moving, there’salways one box that gets lost. Maybe it wasstolen or leftbehind, or something else happened to it. But if you markeach box No.1,No. 2and so on, you can account forevery one of them when you get your
By The Associated Press
Today is Thursday,April 3, the 93rd day of 2025. There are 272 days left in theyear
Todayinhistory: On April 3, 1996, Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, was arrested at his remote Montana cabin by FBI agents.
Also on this date: In 1860, thefirst PonyExpress mail delivery rides began; one heading west from St. Joseph, Missouri, and one heading east from Sacramento, California. In 1882, outlaw Jesse James was shot and killed in St. Joseph, Missouri, by Robert Ford, amember of James’ gang. In 1936, Bruno Richard Hauptmannwas electrocuted in Trenton, New Jersey,for thekidnap-murder of 20-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr
In 1944, theU.S. SupremeCourt, in Smith v. Allwright, struckdown a Democratic Party of Texas
rule that allowed only white voters to participate in Democratic primaries.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the Marshall Plan, designed to help European allies rebuild after World WarIIand resist communism
In 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr delivered what was to be his final speech, telling a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, “I’ve been to the mountaintop. I’ve seen the Promised Land. Imay not get there with you. But Iwant you to know tonight that we,asapeople, will get to the Promised Land!” (The following day,King waskilled by an assassin’s bullet at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.) In 1973, the first handheld portable telephone wasdemonstrated forreporters on aNew York City street corner as Motorola executive Martin Cooper called Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
Dear Heloise: If you have ahard time swallowing pills, try what my 99-yearold uncle taught me: Bend your chin forward, keep your head down, then swallow.(Don’tliftyour chin up or tilt your head back.) This aligns the pill with your throat so that it’s easier to swallow.Thanks, Uncle Joe! —B.O., via email Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.
In 1974, an outbreak of tornadoes began hitting wide parts of the South and Midwest before jumping across the border into Canada; 148 tornadoes caused morethan 300 fatalities in what becameknownasthe 1974 Super Outbreak. In 1996, aU.S. Air Force jet crashed as it approached Dubrovnik, Croatia; all 35 people on board were killed, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown. Today’sbirthdays: Conservationist Jane Goodall is 91.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) You have more options than you realize. Before agreeing to participate in something that offers no returns, consider your needs and long-term plans. Refuse to fall prey to emotional blackmail.
tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Pay attention to financial transactions. A lifestyle change that helps you stay healthy, wealthy and wise will help ease stress and point you in a positive direction.
GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Make your position clear, and be adamant regarding your motives and expectations. Honesty is the quickest route to victory. Refuse to let emotions lead to mistakes and loss.
CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Explore ways to improve your skills and how you apply them to your everyday routine. Refuse to let outside influences or competitive challenges cause doubt or setbacks.
LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Search for innovative ways to apply your knowledge and skills in the workforce. Take charge, open doors and change whatever is outdated or standing between you and your chance to advance.
VIRGo (Aug 23-Sept. 22) Stop, observe and rethink your strategy. A partnership appears to be losing equality. Offer practical solutions, and be sure to divvy up responsibilities evenly.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Look for opportunities to promote your skills, attributes and hopes for a brighter future. Refuse
to let emotions, drama, temptation and indulgence creep in and take over.
SCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Try something new and exciting, or adjust one of your skills to enhance a niche waiting for a makeover. How you present yourself and your attributes will flourish if you network and socialize.
SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Sit back and observe. The information you gather will help you negotiate when the time is right. Avoid temptation, excess and taking on more than you can handle.
CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Speak up; ask questions and rephrase any misconception you or someone else may have. The direct approach will help you avoid misunderstandings and encourage positive lifestyle changes.
AQuARIuS (Jan 20-Feb 19) Pick up the pace and finish what you start. Being grateful doesn't mean you can go over budget. Maintaining as much revenue as possible is necessary for your success.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Put your head down and get busy. Work toward your goal, and don't stop until you are satisfied with the results. Say no to invitations that are costly emotionally and financially.
The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication
InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of thesudoku increases from monday to sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
Bridge
By PHILLIP ALDER
Elvis Stojko, aCanadian figureskater whowon three world championships, said, “I had the strength and the finesse there and put it alltogether.”
Bridge declarers (and sometimes defenders) with high-card strength oftenput together tricks with finesses. Thereisrarely adeal without at least one finesse. However,occasionallyasuitcombinationcomesalongthatlookslikeafinesse, but isn’t
Which applies in this deal —finesse or look-alike non-finesse?
Southisinthree no-trump. West leads theheart queen. What should declarer do? Would the best line change if South’s clubs were Q-J-9-2? When in no-trump, always start by counting your toptricks, your instant winners. Here Southhas seven: four spades, two hearts and one club. So, if he can rake in three club tricks, he will make his contract Any declarer who thinks that club suit is afinessingcombination will take the firsttrickwithhisheartking(hedoesnot want to riskadiamond shift) and run the club queen. However,when East turns up with four clubs, three no-trump must fail. Instead, South shouldplayalow club todummy’saceandreturnaclubtoward his queen-jack. East will probablyplay low. Then declarer, afterwinningwith his club queen, returnstodummy witha spade and leads another club to gain that third club trick.
wuzzles
Interestingly, that is still the right approach even withace-fourth opposite queen-jack-nine-fourth. Running the queen loses when East has asingleton king. Lead toward the hand with the two honors. ©2025 by nEa,inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication
Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn
Previous answers:
word game
InStRuCtIonS: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters 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 wordsare not allowed
toDAy’S WoRD VERBEnA: ver-BEE-nah: Achiefly American plant with afruit that separates into four nutlets.
yEStERDAy’S WoRD —RESuRGED
Average mark21words Timelimit 30 minutes Can you find 28 or morewords in VERBENA? reed
urger used user greed deer dreg drug
today’s thought
Christalsohas once suffered forsins, the just forthe unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:” 1Peter 3:18
dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
ken ken
InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a
SouthernUniversityCol‐legeofEngineering, LSU College of Engineering, Louisiana Engineering Society,and American Society of CivilEngi‐neers. CURRENTVACANCY TheNominatingCommit‐tee is acceptingapplica‐tions for4 positionson the SLFPA-EBoard of Commissioners:
1. Anon-residentwho re‐sides outsideofJeffer‐son,Orleans,orSt. Bernard Parish to com‐plete theremainder of a termthatstarted on July 2,2021 andendsonJuly 1,2025 anda second termappointed by the Governorthatstartson July2,2025 andendson July1,2029. 2. AresidentofOrleans Parishon theeastbank ofthe Mississippi River tocompletethe remain‐der of atermthatstarted onOctober 21, 2022 and ends on July 1, 2026.
or
ChrisHumphreys InterimRegionalDirec‐tor,Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Author‐ity-East6920 Franklin Ave NewOrleans,LA70122 (504) 286-3100 chumphreys@floodau thority.org Thedeadlinefor receiv‐ing applications is April 25, 2025. 134972-apr3-10-17-3t $168.34
NOTICE TO CLAIMANTS OF PETITION FOR EXONERATIONFROM AND/OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that PetitionersMy ShipholdingLtd Blumen‐thal Asia PteLtd
Meet picturebookauthorMinhLêfor abook talk andsigning, plus light breakfastoffruit an xôi, Vietnamese sweetstickyrice. Families wil receivetheir own copy of DrawnTogether. l
FREE ANDOPENTOTHE PUBLIC
Register at nolalibrary.co/minh-le or by scanningthe QR code.Registrationfor Books& Breakfastisrecommended to help us plan supplies.
/nolalibrary @nolalibrary
Main Library
219 Loyola Avenue (504) 596-2570
Algiers Regional Library
3014 Holiday Drive (504) 596-2641
Alvar Library
913 AlvarStreet (504) 596-2667
CentralCityLibrary
2020 Jackson Avenue,Suite 139 (504) 596-3110
Children’s ResourceCenterLibrary 913 Napoleon Avenue (504) 596-2628
Desire /FloridaSatelliteLocation 3250 Industry Street
East New Orleans Regional Library 5641 Read Boulevard (504) 596-0200
Cita Dennis HubbellLibrary 725 Pelican Avenue (504) 596-3113
Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center
4300 South Broad Avenue (504) 596-2660
Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Library 1611 Fats Domino Avenue (504) 596-2695
Milton H. Latter Memorial Library 5120 Saint Charles Avenue (504) 596-2625
Norman Mayer Library 3001 GentillyBoulevard (504) 596-3100
Mid-City Library 4140 CanalStreet (504) 596-2654
Nora Navra Library 1902 Saint Bernard Avenue (504) 596-3118
Nix Library 1401 South Carrollton Avenue (504) 596-2630
REACH Center 2022 St.Bernard Avenue,Building C (504) 256-6983
Robert E. Smith Library 6301 Canal Boulevard (504) 596-2638
BABY STORYTIME*
Bond with your baby throughbooks, bouncy rhymes, and songs in this baby storytime that introducesearly literacy skills and encourages language development. This program is designed for newborns to pre-walkers.
Mondays from 10:30am –11:30am
Alvar Library Nix Library
STORYTIME
Read, sing, talk,write,and play together in aformat designedfor childrenfrom birthto5 years old and theircaregivers.
Tuesdays
from10:30am –11:30am
Algiers Regional Library
MiltonH.Latter Memorial Library Main Library
NormanMayer Library
Robert E. Smith Library
Wednesdays from10:30am –11:30am
Alvar Library
Central City Library
Children’sResource CenterLibrary Nix Library
Thursdays
from10:30am –11:30am
CitaDennis Hubbell Library
Rosa F. Keller Library &CommunityCenter
Dr.Martin Luther King,Jr. Library
Mid-City Library
For children from birth to 5years old and their caregivers
Tuesdays from 5pm –6pm East New Orleans Regional Library
Thursdays from 5pm –6pm Nora Navra Library
PLAYTIME AT THELIBRARY*
Imagine and play with Library-provided toys, dress-up clothes, puppets, and more.For children ages 2–5and their families.
This month’sthemes include
•Let’sPlay Construction Zone
•Let’sPlay Ice Cream Shop
•Let’sPlay with Puppets
•Let’sPlay Movie Theater
•Let’sPlay Science Lab
•Let’sPlay Camping
•Let’sPlay Barber Shop and Beauty Salon and more!
Visit nolalibrary.co/ playtimeorscan the QR code to gettimes andlocations
Practice developing early literacy skills with crafts,hands-on activities, and snacks. Afun superhero-themed program for children ages 2-5and their families.
Friday,April 11 from 10:30am–11:30am Rosa F. Keller Library & Community Center
Familieslooking for awelcoming and comfortable space for neurodivergent children can join us for inclusive and interactive sensoryplay and exploration activities. This smaller andadaptive playand exploration program is inclusive and accessible to all, including children who are physically and developmentally aged 2-5.
Register at nolalibrary.co/sensory-play
Mondays in April from 10:30am–12pm Algiers RegionalLibrary
Hang out time for Spanish-speaking/bilingual families withfree activities, snacks, andbooks. Tiempo para pasar juntos en familia. Actividades gratuitas que incluyenmeriendaylibros de regalo.Inpartnership withthe Stone Center for Latin American Studies atTulane University.
Register at nolalibrary.co/martes to help us plan supplies
Tuesday,April 8 from 5:30pm –6:30pm Mid-City Library
Experime
hands-on ages 6–1
This month
•Art Smart
•Art Smart
•DIY Mini
•Seed Dispersal
Visit nolalibrary and locations.
Louisiana SPCAcats and kittens are headed to the Library.Kids and familiescan meet these fluffyvisitors and craft toysto go back with them to the shelter
Saturday,April 19 from 2pm –3:30pm Main Library
SCelebrate differentspy-themed book series with secret codes, invisibleink,challenges, and themed snacks.Thisprogram is forchildren ages 6- 12 and their caregivers.
Celebrate thewinners of this year’s Black History Month Art Contest. Winning artpieces will be displayed and refreshments will be provided.
Thursday,April 3from5:30pm–7pm |REACH Center
Hang out, play games, make art, learn anew hobby,or explore newtech at this program for teens ages 11 -18.
Visit nolalibrary.co/teen-dropin for times and locations.
MONTHLY QUEER TEEN HANGOUTWITH NOLAHYPE*
Enjoy games, activities, pizza, and wellness discussions each monthatthis drop-in event for teens ages 11 -18.
Thursday,April 10 from 4pm –5:30pm Main Library
Serve your community,be creative,socialize,and earn service-learning hours. Teen Volunteer Day is open to teens ages 14 -18. Registration is required.
Register at nolalibrary.co/spies to help us plan supplies.
Saturday,April 5 from 10:30am– 12pm MiltonH.LatterMemorialLibrary
Visit nolalibrary.co/ teen-volunteer-day or scan the QR code to get timesand locations.
Designed for folkswith all levels of experience,these in-personand virtual workshops,roundtables, and networking events will give you practical tools to build, grow,and sustainyour music career.Inpartnership with the Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economyand the Ella Project.
BUILDINGAMUSIC BUSINESS PLAN
Learn how to treat your music career likeabusiness by creating astructured plan for growth.
Wednesday,April2 from 2pm –4pm Nora Navra Library
TOURINGTIPSFOR LOCALMUSICIANS: EXPAND BEYOND NEWORLEANS
Ready to takeyour musiconthe road? This session will provide practical advice on booking shows, budgeting for travel, promoting your tour,and building afanbasebeyond NewOrleans.
Wednesday,April 9 from 2pm –4pm East New Orleans Regional Library
FORMUSICIANS
Diversifyyour income andmakethe most of your music career.Explore strategiesfor earning throughdigital streaming, sync licensing, live performances,merchandise,crowdfunding, and more
Wednesday,April 16 from 2pm –4pm Algiers Regional Library
Learn the steps of the citizenship application process. In collaboration with USALEARNS, The NewNeighbor Project provides the tools you need to takethe exam and to be preparedfor your citizenship interview.
ThursdaysthroughAugust from 4pm –5pm REACH Center
POETRY NIGHT AT LATTER LIBRARY: READINGS
FROM RENEWED*
Celebrate National PoetryMonthwith readings from local poets published in the New Orleans Public Library’sown anthology,RENEWED
Thursday,April 3 from 5:30pm– 6:30pm MiltonH.Latter Memorial Library
PLANTSWAP*
Bring your clippings, propagations, cast off plants, unused seeds, and spare pots to swap and share with others. Make your ownseed bombto propagatelocal wildflowers.
Saturday,April 5 from 10:30am –12:30pm Cita Dennis Hubbell Library
Saturday,April 22 from 10:30am –12:30pm Mid-City Library
THELIBRARY AT THE SEXUAL HEALTH,EDUCATION &RIGHTSBLOCK PARTY
Free resources, services, food &music at the 2nd annual block party,including apop-up library and giveaways.
Saturday,April 5from11am–4pm Fred Hampton Free Store (5523 St Claude Avenue)
Celebrate thepower of place and howitshapes ourcommunity. This year’s GenFest will feature over50 localgenealogical, cultural, historical and preservation groups; four educational speakers; and apanel discussion from experts and partners.
Saturday,April 5 from 10am –3:30pm DillardUniversity Professional School, 24 East Road
Updateyour LinkedIn with afree professional headshot by local photographerCheryl Gerber.Business or professional attire is strongly recommended. Aprofessional backdrop will be available.
Tuesday,April 15 from 4:30pm –6:30pm Rosa F. Keller Library &CommunityCenter
Learn basic hand-sewing techniques to mend,extend, and bring newlife to your clothing and accessories.
Register at nolalibrary.co/mending beginning April 8
Tuesday,April 29 from 5pm –6:30pm Mid-City Library
JOB SEARCHINGFROMATOZ: GETTINGTHE JOB YOUWANT ANDNEED
FINDYOUR FITINTHE JOBMARKET
Identify your workpreferences. List keyskills to include on your resume
Calculate your target income.Research jobs and employers thatmatchyour preferences, skills, andincome needs.
Visit nolalibrary.co/job-search Thursday,April 3 from 4:30pm–6:30pm Nora NavraLibrary
Bring your clean glass to recycle it. Glass is turnedinto sand and cullet for coastal restoration, disaster relief, eco-construction, andmore.Glass is only accepted during program hours. Please do not drop off glass outside of programhours. Unattended glass on the premises is unsafe for everyone and has to be thrown away
3rd Mondays beginning April16from 4:30pm –6:30pm East NewOrleans RegionalLibrary
Visit nolalibrary.co/glassroots to view glass recycling locations and times.
The traditional German celebration of spring at Deutsches Haus will includea maypole,dachshund races, music andabit of schnapps (and otherbeverages like German wines) from 4p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday,1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1p.m. to 6p.m.Sunday.Also look foravariety of German dishes likebratwurst, pretzels, doner kebabs with fried fishfor Friday.Admissionis$5. deutscheshaus.org.
11 a.m., Saturday,April 5
The processions are still rolling in the metro area. St. Bernard Parish’sCarnivalstyleparade includes floats, trucks, musical groupsand marching units and celebrates the trio of hometowncultures. Theparade, which loopsonWest Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, startsand ends at theSigur Civic Center at 11 a.m. Saturday. facebook.com/iiiparade.
ABOUTLAGNIAPPE
LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: Annette Sisco, asisco@theadvocate.com
COVER DESIGN: Andrea Daniel
Mississippi River
Get messy at the Louisiana Children’sMuseum. From 10 a.m. to 4p.m. Saturday,all ages are invited to participate in an obstacle course and other interactive activities with two stages of entertainment. The highlight will be the giant dirt pile for climbing and building. There will be a “kid wash” to clean up after the muddy merriment. Tickets start at $24. lcm.org.
The Lagniappe section is publishedeach ThursdaybyThe Times-Picayune |The New OrleansAdvocate. Allinquiriesabout Lagniappe should be directed to theeditor.
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Victor Andrews, Will Coviello, Ian McNulty,BradRhines, ChelseaShannon,KeithSpera
GETLISTEDINLAGNIAPPE
Submit events to Lagniappeatleast twoweeks in advance by sending an email to events@theadvocate.com.
ON THECOVER
The documentary ‘The Spirit of Halloweentown’willbeamong the horror-themed featuresatthe OverlookFilm Festivalthis weekend. Provided photo. Story by Will Coviello on Page 6.
Plenty of palatable porcine products (and other grilled goodies) are up for grabs Saturdayand Sunday for the benefit helping families dealing with pediatric brain cancer.More than 90 teams compete in asmorgasbordofcategories as attendees enjoy world-class cooking and entertainment on three stages at Universityof New Orleans’ LakefrontArena, 6801 Franklin Ave. Tickets start at $50. Gates open at 3:30 p.m. Friday and at 11 a.m. Saturday.hogsfest.org.
BY CHELSEA SHANNON Staff writer
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has announced its cubes and food lineup, giving music lovers a first look into the schedule and dining options that will be available for the 2025 concert series
The food offerings include the classic dishes like the cochon de lait po-boy to Crawfish Monica. But also this year, three new vendors have joined the lineup, including a first fully vegan entry.
Jazz Fest added Lady Nellie Oysters, Cafe Dauphine and Sweet Soulfood Vegan Cuisine this year.
Lady Nellie Oysters is an oyster farm in Grand Isle owned by Justin Trosclair. He started farming oysters in 2023 after working as a cheesemonger for over a decade.
Trosclair will sell his oysters on the half shell with a satsuma mignonette in the Heritage Square food area of the Fairgrounds.
Cafe Dauphine has maintained a presence at festivals despite not reopening after the pandemic. The family-owned restaurant first opened in 2012 in the
food will serve vegan cuisine in Food Area 2. Many booths have vegan and vegetarian items on their menus, but none have been fully dedicated to nonanimal products.
Anthony and Chetwan Smith opened their restaurant seven years ago on North Broad Street. The Smiths started eating a vegan diet after Chetwan Smith experienced health issues during her pregnancy in 2008 and Anthony Chetwan’s mother died from colon cancer while also suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes.
For Jazz Fest, the Smiths will bring some popular dishes from the 1025 N. Broad St restaurant to the Fair Grounds. The menu will include sweetheat cauliflower, sweet potatoes, collard greens and cornbread.
“It’s an honor to be a vendor at Jazz Fest. We know that Jazz Fest has the best and Sweet Soulfood is the best,”
Holy Cross neighborhood.
This year, it will sell fried bell pepper bites stuffed with crabmeat and shrimp and crawfish and shrimp stuffed egg rolls in Food Area 1 at Jazz Fest
As a first for the festival, Sweet Soul-
The flavors of Croatia combine with local seafood for offerings like grilled calamari, spit-roasted lamb, cevapi (a type of grilled sausage), desserts, beer and wine, and a local favorite Tako
Toddies from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at 220 Croatian Way in Belle Chasse. The Croatian American Society event will also feature music, traditional kolo dance performances, exhibits, cooking demonstrations and kids’ activities.
Chetwan Smith said.
Jazz Fest organizers hosted a party Thursday to share this year’s theme, poster and cubes. Guests and festival staff could try bites from the vendors to prepare for the festival, which is a month away
After sampling Sweet Soulfood’s collard greens, Wes Keith, director of Jazz Fest ticket sales and operations, was blown away by how much he enjoyed the meatless version.
Keith, a Monroe native, said he grew up on soul food and never thought he could find a meatless version that would compare.
“I thought it was an impossible feat, and it’s amazing,” he said.
Staff writer Ian McNulty contributed to this report.
Email Chelsea Shannon at cshannon@ theadvocate.com.
Stephen Wilson Jr
FRIDAY-SATURDAY,SAENGER THEATRE
Paul Simon
FRIDAY-SATURDAY,UNO LAKEFRONT
ARENA GROUNDS
Is Hogs for the Cause abarbecuefestivalwith lots of music ora music festival with lots of barbecue?The answer is yesand yes.
The annual charitable event raises funds for families dealing with pediatric cancer. As teams compete for the honor of best barbecue in multiple categories, attendees roam the grounds eating and taking in the music at two outdoor stagesand another inside atent.
The rosters assembled byHogs founderand CEO Becker Hall and HepCat Entertainment’s Adam Shipley over theyears tend to favorAmericana music and country. This year,they pulled off acoup by booking thefast-rising singer,songwriter andguitarist Stephen Wilson Jr. as the Friday night closer.
Wilson’sself-described styleis “Death Cab for Country,” as he blends country with elements of indie rock and grunge; his influencesrange from Willie Nelson to Nirvana to John Mellencamp. The former microbiologist’smost recent album, “Son of Dad,” coupled with relentless touring, has expanded his audience exponentially.He’sslated to hitthe Hogs Stage at 9:15 p.m. Friday.Other acts on the Friday bill include Eddie 9V,Willow Avalon, Nether Hour and ClayStreet Unit
Themusicplays mostofthe day onSaturday,culminating with idiosyncratic country/blues/ soul singer-songwriter-guitarist
Charley Crockett.Crockett grew up in Dallas but spent summers in New Orleans with an uncle. Years later,Crockett busked in theFrench Quarter while trying to find hispath in life. He spent several years living an itinerant, homeless existence, someofitin New York City and Paris. After a stint working on farms and communes in Northern California, he returned to Texas andgot serious about his music. He released a dozenstudio albumsina decade, alternatingoriginal fare and deep-country covers. His2024 album “$10 Cowboy” was his last as an independentartist. Hisnew “Lonesome Drifter,” released in March, is hisfirst for major label IslandRecords.
Other artists Saturday include Zach Top, the Droptines, JD McPherson and Giovannie &the Hired Guns.Goto www.hogsfest.org for the complete scheduleand ticket info.
EmailKeith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.
In September 2018, Paul Simon’s“Homeward Bound: The Farewell Tour” stopped at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. As is often the case with musicians who “retire,” that farewell turned out to be a“farewell for now.” This weekend, Simon kicks off his “A Quiet Celebration”tour with back-to-back nights at the Saenger Theatre on Friday and Saturday Simon’stour is stopping in 20 cities this spring and summer.Inmost of those cities, he’ll perform multiple nights at midsize venues, for atotal of 50 concerts. The set list will reportedly focus on his well-received 2023 album “Seven Psalms” but also include hitsfrom throughout his career Showtimeis8 p.m. Tickets are still available for both shows, ranging in pricefrom $75 to $275, plus fees.
SATURDAY,TIPITINA’S
Red Rockers broke out of Algiers in the early 1980s as one of the first New Orleans rock bands to sign with amajor record label and get on MTV.They scored a hit with“China” and spent several memorable weeks on the road with U2.
In 2023, Red Rockers re-released their 1981 debut album, apunk rock statement of purpose called “Condition Red,” on CD and as ared vinyl LP.InNovember 2023, guitarist/vocalistJohn Thomas Griffith, bassist Darren Hill and guitarist James Singletary reunited for the first time in nearly 40 years forashow at Tipitina’s. With new drummer Bryan Barberot,they played allof“Condition Red.”
They return to Tip’sonSaturday to perform their 1983 album “Good As Gold” —that’s theone that contained “China” —along with other Red Rockers favorites. Lenny Zenith &Pop Combo and theContenders open the show.Tickets are $37.
THURSDAY
Standing at the crossroads of country,Americana and bluegrass at just the rightmoment, Tyler Childers headlines the Smoothie King Center withhis band the Food Stamps S.G. Goodman opens the show.Atpresstime, only ahandfuloftickets remained,starting at $75 plus fees.
Jazztrumpeter Jason Palmer plays shows at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro on Frenchmen Street ($30).
Sunpie &the Louisiana Sunspots are featured for the weekly Zydeco Night at Rock ’N’ Bowl ($15).
FRIDAY
Louis Michot brings his progressive Cajun band Swamp Magic to theBroadside,with Crush Diamond opening($15 advance, $20 at the door)
Catch Neon Trees and Nite Cap at Tipitina’s; tickets are $25
Jazz pianist and composer Joanne Brackeen is at Snug Harbor for the first of two consecutive nights, performing at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($45).
Rock Show NOLA presentsa night of Styx andForeigner anthems at Rock ’N’ Bowl ($20).
SATURDAY
The Broadside hosts “A Night in Havana 2,” an Afro-Cuban cultural festival featuring Yusa, Cuba Heat and Mali’sgriot/ master drummer Cheickne Sissoko.The
event will present musicians in various combos on the Broadside’sindoor and outdoor stages. Admission is $30 Country-blues singer and guitarist Jontavious Willis is at Chickie WahWah ($25).
Pianist Joanne Brackeen is back at Snug Harbor for thesecond night ($45).
At 8p.m., the Maple Leaf hosts the NewOrleans Legacy Coalition,a“New Orleans Family Affair” featuring nextgeneration musicians Michael Mullins, Omari Neville, Bradford Lewis II, River Eckert and Rodney
Weber ($15 advance, $20 door). Then at 10 p.m., the Maple Leaf presents The Quickening ($15 advance, $20 door).
SUNDAY
Cajun accordionist and singer Bruce Daigrepont hosts his monthly fais do-do at Tipitina’sstarting at 5:15 p.m.($15).
Singer KimPrevost and guitarist Bill Solley return to Snug Harbor forshowsat 7:30 p.m.and 9:30 p.m.($30).
Guitarist and singer Jackie Venson mixes up blues, rock and soul at Chickie WahWah ($20).
MONDAY
Shannon&the Clams headline Tipitina’s; tickets are $28.
TUESDAY
ZZ Ward hits Chickie WahWah as part of the “Dirty Sun Tour” ($35).
WEDNESDAY
Singer-songwriter John Moreland visits Chickie WahWah with Al Olender opening the show ($25 advance, $32 door).
BY WILL COVIELLO Gambit Weekly
Spook shows or midnight ghost shows becamepopular during the Great Depression and lasted through the1950s, and they can be seen as precursors to popular figures like Elvira and midnight screenings of movies like “The Rocky HorrorPicture Show.” The shows might feature amagician leading adramatic seance or hypnosis demonstration or recounting ghost stories with spooky effects. Often held in dark theaters, they sometimes wereaccompanied by horror films.
The Overlook Film Festival has a great lineup of more than 30 feature horror films, and among itsmany events this year is athrowback spook show with Rob Zabrecky.The horror fest moved to New Orleansin2018, and this year,itadds asecondline in the French Quarter with abrass band working in horror themes before its opening night party. The festival runs Thursday through Sunday at the Prytania Theatres and other venues, and there are extra film screenings on April 7-8. Zabrecky was thefrontman for the1990s Los
Angeles alt-rock band Possum Dixon before he delved into the world of magic and illusions. He’sbeen atop attraction at L.A.’sMagic Castle performance hub. He’srevived spook shows, bothleading them and doing performances that recount their historyand thrills.
At Overlook, he presents amultimedia talk about the history of spook shows, complete with film clips, photos and more at 5p.m. Saturday at the Westin. He also brings his “Phantom Follies with Zabrecky” show to The Prytania Theatre in Uptown at 5:15 p.m. Sunday.The show features magic tricks, stories, audience interaction and a screening of thehorror classic “13 Ghosts.”
The festival’sroster of horror filmsstretches from thelatest horror filmsfrom Japan and Scandinavia to horror comedy. There’severything from the voracious cannibals in “40 Acres” to ahorny alien disguised as ahuman in “Touch Me,” a vampire slayer in “Abraham’s Boys” and all sorts of cyber creeps. There also aredocumentaries, such as “Predator,” which exam-
ä See FESTIVAL, page 8
orPROVIDED PHOTOS
ABOVE: ‘The Shrouds’ by David Cronenberg is ataleofcorruption, greed, conspiracy and technology. TOPLEFT: With only asevered finger as remembrance, aheartbroken romantic embarks on amadcapmission to reanimate the love of her lifein‘Dead Lover,’screening at the Overlook Film Festival.
ABOVE: Avampire slayerhas his wayin‘Abraham’sBoys,’tobe featured at the Overlook Film Fest. LEFT: ‘Clown in aCornfield’by Eli Craig is amore traditional slasher film about atownthat has fallen on hard times as its cornsyrup factorycloses.
WHAT: Alineup of 30 feature horror movies WHEN: Thursday throughSunday; extra screenings April 7-8
WHERE: Pyrtania Theater,5339 Prytania St., and othervarious locations.
TICKETS: overlookfilmfest. com
The13-part cookingseriesfromWYES-TV takesviewers on aroadtripthatcelebratesthe bounty of SoutheastLouisiana andraisesawareness aboutcoastal restorationthrough thelensoffood. Chefsleading theeffortinthe BayouState areshowcased.Restaurants includePêche,GWFins, Drago’s, Carmo, Spahr’s, Restaurant R’evolution, Dickie Brennan’sBourbon Houseand Pascal’s Manale
Also featured aredishespreparedbyculinaryprofessionals, cook-off winners, andtalentedhomecooks
Continuedfrom page6
ines the show“To Catch aPredator.” Spun off of anews magazine, the reality TV series turned the prospect of lurid crimes into entertainment. The festival includes David Cronenberg’s latest, “The Shrouds,” and 1992’s “DeathBecomes Her,” starring Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn and Isabella Rossellini.
“Cloud” is thelatest thriller from Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, whose work includes “Cure” and “Pulse.” In “Cloud,” ayoung man rips off strangers by selling faulty used goods online behind aveil of anonymity.But he’snot as secure as he thinks, and searching for him only fuels the rage of the angry buyers.
PROVIDED PHOTO
Voracious cannibalsdrivethe terror in ‘40 Acres,’featured in the lineup of this year’sOverlook Film Festival.
In an international collaboration, “Monster Island,” or “Orang Ikan,” is set during World WarIIasa Japanese soldier and Britishprisoner of war are washed ashore on an Indonesian island. The enemies have to put their differences aside when they realize they are not alone on the island.
The centerpiece film is Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt’s“The Ugly Stepsister.”Billed as adifferent take on the Cinderella story,itrevolves around ayoung woman’sdesire to be beautiful, or more attractive to suitors, and it delves into body modification, jealousy and twisted family relationships in abaroque body horror film Blichfeldtwill attend thescreening.
Alsoout of Scandinavia, there’s “Home,” in which aman returns to his small hometown totake his dementiaafflicted mother out of anursing home and care for her himself. He’s an alcoholic, but that doesn’texplainthe strange visions he has and what’shappened to his mother
Eli Craig is known for thehorror comedy “Tucker &Dale vs. Evil,” a lampoon of cabin-in-the-woods slasher flicks. His new film,“Clown in aCornfield,” has humorous momentsbut is amore traditional slasher film about atown that has fallen on hard times as its corn syrup factory closes, and a new menace preys upon young people. Craig will attend thescreening.
“Chain Reaction”explores the impact of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” by interviewing people about the impression it left on them, including
Stephen King and Patton Oswalt. In “Good Boy,” Todd takes his dog to live in the countryside, and the dog sniffs out that something is amiss. The film is shot from the perspective of the dog.
The festival pays tribute to director David Lynch, whodied in January at age 78. The festival screens his 1997 surreal neo-noir film “Lost Highway,” full of unexplained video surveillance and the deadly Mystery Man. There’salso aslate of Lynch’sshort films.
Screenings of horror classics include the century-old “The Phantom of the Opera,” the 4K restoration of “ReAnimator” on its 40th anniversary and “Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight” on its 30th.
Festival events include apanel on DIY filmmaking that looks at the success of low-budget horror filmslike “The Blair Witch Project” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” There also are intimate immersive experiences, horror movie trivia, and aworkshop on using 16mm cameras. The “Immersion Nation” podcast hosts horror filmmaker and immersive experience creator Darren Lynn Bousman.
The official closing event is Splatterday Night at the Toulouse Theatre. It’s adance party lead by electronic artist Destryur,featuring goth and synthwave sounds.
Email Will Coviello at wcoviello@ gambitweekly.com.
Elvie Ellis, from left, Nathan Haydel,Jared Howelton and Tyler Fauntleroy, whoplays the title role, are Revolutionarywarriors whoservedwith GeorgeWashington in ‘Hamilton,’opening Tuesdayatthe Saenger Theatre. Haydel is amember of the Chase culinary family of NewOrleans.
PROVIDED PHOTO By
JOAN MARCUS
‘Hamilton’ runatthe Saengerhas ties to aNew Orleansculinarydynasty
Family is athemethatruns through “Hamilton” likethe spirit of revolution ran through the colonies in thelate18th century.
Crafted by Tony,Emmy andGrammy winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, thestory looks at FoundingFatherAlexander Hamilton, his life andthe infancy of the United States, all told with contemporary theatrical license.
The family aspectsofthe blockbuster coming to the Saenger Theatre this week focuses on how Alexander lost his mother at ayoung age, was considered “without family” because of his parents’unwed
Victor Andrews
status when he was born, married into a prosperous family and even had an unusually close relationship withhis sisterin-law.Plus he fathered eight children, including ason who (spoiler alert) doesn’t makeittothe end of the musical.
Butfamily also has aplace in the world off-stage as amember of one of the city’s leading culinary bloodlines will be taking therole of the younger Hamilton when thecurtain goes up on Canal Street as part of Broadway in New Orleans.
Nathan Haydel, great-grandson of Edgar “Dookie” and Leah Chase, takes the twin roles of Philip Hamilton andJohn Laurens.
And though he wenttoAtlanta’sWestlake High School and Berklee College of MusicinBoston, Haydel has strong connectionstothe Crescent City
“I spent alot of time in and around the restaurant growing up,” he said. “All of my cousins and Ihad to put in our hours working at the restaurant, some way morethan others. Most summers, Iwould come stay with family and go to camp with my cousins and be in and out of the restaurant almost every day.Every
ä See HAMILTON, page 11
‘Orpheus Descending,’ a sprawling tale of lust and violence
BY BRAD RHINES
Contributing writer
Do you know the story of Orpheus, the Greek myth about a guy with a god-like gift for music?
He was so talented that his songs tamed wild beasts and made stones weep. And when his wife died from a snake bite, Orpheus followed her to the underworld on a rescue mission, determined to bring her back.
Somewhat related is Tennessee Williams’ play “Orpheus Descending,” only instead of a Greek hero, we get Valentine Xavier (Val, to his friends), a guitar player from New Orleans in a snakeskin jacket. And instead of Hades, Val goes to Mississippi. In this case, they’re pretty much the same thing.
Presented by the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans in conjunction with the Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary Festival, “Orpheus Descending” churns with heartache and violence. It’s a play packed with characters that get all tangled up to the point where a safe extraction seems impossible for any of them.
For Val, the road to Two Rivers County is paved with good intentions. He has sworn off the corrupting influences of liquor, weed and cheap sex and embarked on a journey of enlightenment up the Dixie Highway toward Memphis with just his suitcase and guitar
What he finds is a small town on the verge of a breakdown, populated by a slew of church-going gossips, racists and murderers, along with a few tenderhearted souls left stricken in their wake. Val’s arrival reignites old flames and fuels discontent between the iron hand
of the status quo and the free spirits they’ve battered down.
Unlike other Williams plays with a taut center of two or three main characters, “Orpheus Descending” sprawls in multiple directions with interconnected characters and plotlines, a play stuffed with everything the writer has to offer. Director and TWTC co-founder Augustin J. Correro attends to each disparate piece of the production, harnessing the tumult of lust, violence, dark comedy and surrealism to deliver a tightly contained tempest of a play.
At the eye of the storm is Val, played with a soft touch by Benjamin Dougherty. He’s a charmer and a sweet-talker, a little bit of a dreamer, but he’s also rough around the edges and possesses the self-proclaimed ability to “burn a woman down.”
Val gets a job at the local mercantile store run by Lady Torrence, the daughter of an Italian immigrant who is still haunted by her father’s death. He was murdered by a crew of White vigilantes who set fire to his lakeshore vineyard as punishment for selling homemade wine to Black residents of Two Rivers County Desperate and alone after her father’s death, Lady married store owner Jabe Torrence, a man recently taken ill and now at death’s door, but still full of spite
‘ORPHEUS
WHEN: through April 13
WHERE: Marquette Theatre, Loyola University New Orleans, 6363 St. Charles Ave. TICKETS: $40-55
(discounts for under 25)
INFO: twtheatrenola. com
LEFT: From left, Benjamin Dougherty, David Sellers, John Wettermark and John Jabaley perform in Tennessee Williams’ ‘Orpheus Descending.’ PROVIDED PHOTOS
and meanness.
As Lady, Leslie Claverie grounds the production with her staunch tenacity to just keep living, to scrape together some small meaning in this existence that she can cling to. But her resolve is weakened by Val’s arrival and the hope he brings, and Claverie deftly depicts the emotional push and pull of Lady’s shifting loyalty and affections.
As Val and Lady grow closer, people take notice, including her wild-eyed husband, Jabe, and his sneering old friend Sheriff Talbott. The two men, played by James Wright and John Jabaley in a pair of merciless and menacing performances, are evil incarnate, dangerous men who delight in violence and demand obedience from those around them. Sheriff Talbott’s own wife, Vee, finds a sympathetic figure in Val. She’s a fellow artist, a painter, inspired by religious visions of saviors and salvations that she translates onto canvas in a state of mania. Vee, a sweet woman with a heavy heart portrayed with grace by Judy Lea Steele, shows compassion toward Val that only draws further ire from the town’s peacekeeper and his henchmen Val’s past haunts him in the form of Carol Cutrere, a disgraced daughter of Two Rivers County who previously crossed paths with Val in the New Or-
Continued from page 9
family event and gathering would go through the restaurant. Sometimes, even when we just needed a reason to get together, we would just meet at the restaurant.”
Paw JV (James Haydel Jr.),” he said. In the meantime, Haydel and company will be “in the room where it happens” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays, 1 p.m. Sundays and April 17, and 7 p.m. April 13, through April 20 at 1111 Canal St. Tickets start at $94, plus there is a lottery for $10 tickets. Visit saengernola.com.
fiction that provides insight into coping featuring Alex Martinez Wallace. Tickets start at $20. nolaproject.com.
leans bars. She’s a dolled-up drunken mess with a fast car and a penchant for exhibitionism, supposedly exiled from the county, but like a bad penny, she keeps turning up.
Despite only a few scenes in the play, Carol is one of Williams’ more memorable characters, a high-strung rebel longing for some magical intervention, like Stanley, Stella and Blanche rolled into one. As Carol, Charlie Carr — who recently played Blanche in TWTC’s production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” — turns in an attention-grabbing performance every time she crashes through the door
A reckless, dizzying ride
If this sounds like a lot, it is. “Orpheus Descending” is a reckless, dizzying ride, and there’s no telling which of these characters, if any, are going to make it out alive.
When the original 1957 Broadway production experienced only modest success, particularly compared with the whirlwind of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” which premiered the year before, Williams lamented that the production was “under directed.” What he didn’t acknowledge is the possibility that the play might be “over written.”
There’s plenty of excess in “Orpheus Descending,” but Williams was no stranger to excess, as he often wrestled with overindulgence and overabundance in his personal and professional lives.
This production of “Orpheus Descending” manages to overcome those challenges and wrangles Williams’ script to effectively capture the turmoil of an artist confronting the demons that threaten to undo him.
Brad Rhines writes about theater. Email him at bradfordrhines@gmail com.
Taking on the task of two roles proves to be an interesting endeavor for the young actor As Philip, he plays a crucial role in the story and in the history of the country. Laurens, who died in the Revolutionary War, was a South Carolina statesman who worked to recruit enslaved people to fight. He was one of George Washington’s aides-de-camp.
But which is the favored?
“That changes night to night, honestly,” Haydel said. “Sometimes I really look forward to playing the piano with Lauren (Mariasoosay as Eliza Hamilton) and jumping into Tyler’s (Fauntleroy as Alexander) arms, and some nights I want nothing more than to dance (with the) Schuyler sisters and jump over Nathaniel (Hirst) in Yorktown.”
Haydel on his own also releases music under the name “Nat Riel.”
The show will enjoy a longer run than most in New Orleans. It’s set for Tuesday through April 20, Easter Sunday at the Canal Street auditorium.
“Keeping the show fresh and honest to me while also maintaining the integrity of the show that everyone is paying to see can become really challenging which gives me a lot to think about,” Haydel said.
And while the show may be set in the revolutionary period, Haydel sees parallels to contemporary times.
“One of the coolest things about this show is the opportunity that it offers, to open every aspect within the show to how America is functioning today, and using that to influence your intentions within each moment and line that can completely rework your understanding and emotions behind what you are doing it is a beautiful challenge to have.”
But on to the really important stuff. What is he going to do in New Orleans?
“Eat some stuffed shrimp and go to breakfast with my grandpa Paw
Onstage this week
“BILLY ELLIOT”: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive, Metairie. Jefferson Performing Arts brings the story of a young boy from a coal mining village in north England who is torn between his love (and talent) for dance and his family’s deterioration, with music by Sir Elton John. Tickets start at $30. jpas.org.
”EVERY BRILLIANT THING”: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Sunday; Big Couch New Orleans, 1045 Desire St. The NOLA Project’s one-man play about depression based on truth and
“JERSEY BOYS: THE STORY OF FRANKIE VALLI & THE FOUR SEASONS”: 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday; Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter St. Packed with tunes, the show is a history lesson about the group that started singing on street corners and became a global sensation. Tickets start at $22. lepetittheatre.com.
“ORPHEUS DESCENDING”: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through April 24; Marquette Theater, Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Ave. The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company examines the Greek tragedy of Orpheus, who descended into the underworld to retrieve his new wife, only to lose her permanently It coincides with the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival. Tickets start at $25. twtheatrenola.com.
Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@ theadvocate.com.
