The Times-Picayune 04-24-2025

12 states sue to stop Trump’s tariff policy

NEW YORK A dozen states sued the Trump administration in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York on Wednesday to stop its tariff policy, saying it is unlawful and has brought chaos to the American economy

The lawsuit said the policy put in place by President Donald Trump has been subject to his “whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority.”

It challenged Trump’s claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The suit asks the court to declare the tariffs to be illegal, and to block government agencies and its officers from enforcing them.

The states listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.

The lawsuit maintains that only Congress has the power to impose tariffs and that the president can only invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act when an emergency presents an “unusual and extraordinary threat” from abroad.

“By claiming the authority to impose immense and everchanging tariffs on whatever goods entering the United States he chooses, for whatever reason he finds convenient to declare an emergency, the President has upended the constitutional order and brought chaos to the American economy,” the lawsuit said.

Senate’s No. 2 Dem won’t seek reelection

Catholic faithful pay final respects to pope

BY COLLEEN BARRY and NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

VATICAN CITY Thousands of people began filing through St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their final respects to Pope Francis on Wednesday at the start of three days of public viewing ahead of his funeral.

important to me because he en-

couraged coexistence. He brought many people together.”

Uvalde approves $2M for families

BY JIM VERTUNO Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas City leaders in Uvalde, Texas, approved a $2 million settlement for families of the victims of the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, marking the first time one of the myriad lawsuits has led to financial compensation.

Attorneys for the families first announced the terms of the settlement with the city in May 2024, and it was approved by the Uvalde city council Tuesday night.

The settlement with the city will spread the $2 million among the 21 families of the victims killed in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, said Javier Cazares, whose daughter Jackie was one of 19 fourth-graders killed by the gunman. Two teachers were also killed.

surprise popemobile tour through the faithful on Easter Sunday, after his nurse assured him he could despite his frail health from a bout of pneumonia and long hospitalization.

WASHINGTON Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said Wednesday he will not seek reelection in 2026, ending his more than fourdecade career representing Illinois and accelerating a generational shift in Senate Democratic leadership where he has long held the No. 2 position Durbin, 80, is in his fifth Senate term and was first elected to the House in 1982. His decision not to run will set off a scramble for his Senate seat in solidly Democratic Illinois and for his leadership position in Washington as many in the party agitate for a new and more aggressive approach to confronting Republican President Donald Trump in his second term.

Throngs of the faithful made their way to the 16th-century basilica’s main altar where Francis’ open wooden casket was perched, as Swiss Guards stood at attention. Over the coming days, tens of thousands of people are expected to pass through, and the Vatican said it may extend the viewer hours even longer due to high turnout. In the first 8½ hours, 19,430 people paid their respects to the pope.

“The decision of whether to run has not been easy,” Durbin said in a video posted to X. “I truly love the job of being a United States senator But in my heart I know it’s time to pass the torch.” Durbin served seven terms in the House before succeeding his mentor, Paul Simon, in the Senate in 1996. Durbin has been the No. 2 Senate Democrat since 2005. From that post, he helped shape the career of an up-andcomer from Illinois, Barack Obama, who was only four years into his first term in the Senate when he was elected president Among Durbin’s more significant legislative achievements, he is largely credited with putting in motion the movement to ban indoor smoking. Having watched his 53-year-old father die of lung cancer when he was 14, Durbin won approval of legislation he sponsored in 1987 prohibiting smoking on short commercial flights and expanded it to nearly all domestic flights two years later Dallas students walk out after shooting

DALLAS Dozens of WilmerHutchins High School students walked out of class Wednesday morning in protest, a Dallas ISD spokesperson said, marking their first day back to the school since a classmate brought a gun to campus and opened fire. As many as 50 students participated in the demonstration at about 11:15 a.m before returning to the school before noon

The protest comes after police say Tracy Haynes, 17, walked into the school on the afternoon of April 15 and opened fire, injuring at least four students. BRIEFS

Francis was laid out in red robes, clasping a rosary and wearing a bishop’s miter, the traditional pointed headdress. Mourners waited hours to reach the casket, which was behind a cordon. Some held their cellphones aloft as they neared to snap photos in what has become a modern ritual.

“It gave me chills,” said Ivenes Bianco, as she left. She was in Rome from the southern city of Brindisi for medical care, and came to pay her respects. “He was

Francis’ casket wasn’t put on an elevated bier as was the case with past popes — but placed on a ramp, facing the pews. It was in keeping with his wishes for the rituals surrounding a papal funeral to be simplified to reflect his belief that the pope’s role is that of simple pastor, not world leader Cardinals, meanwhile, met in private to finalize preparations for Saturday’s funeral and plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor Francis died on Monday at age 88, capping a 12-year pontificate characterized by his concern for the poor and message of inclusion, but also some criticism from conservatives who sometimes felt alienated by his progressive bent.

Francis first lay in state in the hotel where he lived, in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household. Images released by the Vatican on Tuesday showed the pope in an open casket, his hands folded over a rosary Wednesday opened with the bells of St. Peter’s tolling as pallbearers carried Francis’ body into the basilica, in a procession through the piazza where he had delivered his final goodbye. Francis had made a

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is running the Vatican until a new pope is elected, led the procession to the altar, with clouds of incense and the choir chanting the Litany of Saints hymn. In pairs, cardinals approached the casket, bowed and made a sign of the cross, followed by bishops, ushers, priests and nuns. Then the doors were opened to the public. There was the squeak of sneakers, the rustling of kneeling nuns, the murmur of quiet prayers. A cough, a child’s cry

“We knew there were many people, so we approached this with calmness,” said Rosa Morghen from Naples, adding: “It’s the feeling one experiences when a family member passes away, as he is a father, a grandfather who has gone.”

The public viewing ends Friday at 7 p.m., after which Francis’ casket will be closed and sealed. The funeral has been set for Saturday in St Peter’s Square. It will be attended by world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy

Trump: Zelenskyy prolonging war by refusing to cede Crimea

BY ILLIA NOVIKOV, AAMER MADHANI and JILL LAWLESS Assiociated Press

KYIV, Ukraine President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Ukraine’s president, saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prolonging the “killing field” after pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan.

Zelenskyy on Tuesday ruled out ceding territory to Russia in any deal before talks set for Wednesday in London among U.S European and Ukrainian officials. “There is nothing to talk about It is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people,” Zelenskyy said.

During similar talks last week in Paris, U.S officials presented a proposal that included allowing Russia to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a deal, according to a European official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity

Trump called Zelenkyy’s pushback

“very harmful” to talks.

“Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?” he wrote on social media.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 after sending troops to overrun it Weeks later, Moscow-backed separatists launched an uprising in eastern Ukraine.

Trump also asserted they were close to a deal and that Ukraine’s leader can have peace or “he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country,” adding that Zelenskyy’s statement “will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that!”

Wednesday’s meeting was pared back at the last minute, while Vice President

JD Vance said negotiations are reaching a moment of truth.

“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say ‘yes’ or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters during a visit to India.

He said it was “a very fair proposal” that would “freeze the territorial lines at some level close to where they are today,” with both sides having to give up some territory they currently hold. He did not provide details.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations that might bring a ceasefire and open the door to full peace negotiations, as he mourned nine civilians killed when a Russian drone struck a bus earlier in the day

“We insist on an immediate, complete and unconditional ceasefire,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media, in accordance with a proposal he said the U.S. tabled six weeks ago. Western analysts say Moscow is in no rush to conclude peace talks because it has battlefield momentum.

The suit addresses the botched law enforcement response by requiring enhanced training for city police officers. It also expands mental health services available to the families and the greater Uvalde area, sets May 24 as an annual day of remembrance, and establishes a permanent memorial in the city plaza.

“This is a small win in a larger battle and a lot of injustice we are still going through,” Cazares told The Associated Press. “I couldn’t care less about the money.”

Uvalde Mayor Hector Luevano said the city’s settlement included “restorative justice initiatives for the families” but declined to discuss details. He did not say why it took nearly a year to approve the previously announced deal.

The families have several other lawsuits pending, including a $500 million lawsuit against Texas state police officials and officers. There’s also a suit against social media company Meta Platforms, the company that made the video game Call of Duty, and the maker of the rifle used in the attack.

Two former Uvalde schools police officers face criminal charges of child endangerment and abandonment.

Durbin

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By EMILIO MORENATTI

The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on Wednesday, where he will lie in state for three days.

PHOTO PROVIDED By

UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE

Rescuers carry out bodies of passengers Wednesday after a Russian drone hit a public bus in Marhanets, Ukraine.

Wednesday to questions about thenew barricades. NewOrleans police said they would release information Thursday aboutJazz Fest security.Aleader of thelocal neighborhood association declined to comment, referring questions to festival officials.

The concrete barriers beingset up along the sidewalk appear designed to protect people waiting in line for tickets or entry into the festival.Meanwhile, dozens of plastic barriers, like thoseset up for Mardi Gras on the lakeside of St. CharlesAvenue, lined Gentilly Boulevard on Wednesday.

AccordingtoaCity Hall source, NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick and other city officialsheld abriefingWednesday afternoon in which they said more than 200 NOPD officers will be assigned dailytosecurity around the festival, in addition to officers already assignedtothe neighboring First and Thirddistricts.

Louisiana State Police Troop Nola will also bepatrolling the perimeter of the festivalgrounds, with dronesinthe air. Several troopers will roam Faubourg St. John, aiming to prevent vehicle thefts, break-ins and robberies that have marred the lots around Jazz Fest in recentyears.

“Ourfocus will include maintaining avisible policepresence in theFaubourg St.John neighborhood parking areas and along the main pedestrian routes to and fromthe festival grounds,” said Sgt. Katharine Stegall in astatement, adding that plainclothes detectives with State Police’sBureau of Investigations also would be involved.

New Orleans police officerswill be manning the city’sRealTime Crime Center around the clock,

CULTURE

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opportunities for our arts community,” Hatfield said. “Welook forward tosharing how it will help advance our mission and continue to play avital role in preserving our music culture for generations to come.”

Plans for the building remain in the early stages, and Hatfield expects detailson its future will be announced once this year’sJazz Fest is over.But the building’spast has already made it the stuff of local lore.

Matassa’sfather,aSicilian immigrant, operated asmall grocery store in the upper Quarter as well as ajukebox business called J&M Amusement Services.

ATulane University dropout, Matassa began selling used records from the jukeboxes out of the family’s J&M Music Shop, which would soon lead him to install recording equipment in the rear of the business and teachhimselfengineering and studio operation.

From the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, some of the Crescent City’s most influentialmusicians recorded astring of hits and future standards at his J&M Recording Studios, coming to define the sound of the golden age of New Orleans R&B and layingthe foundations of rock ‘n’ roll.

In those days, bookies operated ahorse-betting operation upstairs —where there are now four residen-

and police bomb technicians will be on-site, city officials said at Wednesday’sbriefing, according to thesource, whoadded that no specificthreat had been identified.

Amongthose coordinating the effort for the NOPD is Major LeJon Roberts of the 8th District.A pair of former New Orleanspolice andOrleans Parish Sheriff’sOffice

veterans, Jerry Ursin and Melvin Howard,are among those leading thefestival’ssecurity team.

The securityplans have largely escaped neighbors, said O’Connor, who wondered why residents have been kept out of the loop.

“I getit. Iwould notwant someone to come flying down Fortin Street. This would be aprime

place to do something like that,” O’Connor said. “But c’mon, man It would be nice if they didn’ttreat us like 6-year-olds.”

Normally,residents aregiven passes that allow them to drive around security barriers to reach their homes.Orfor caterersto drop off crawfish.

“I know he’ll get in,” O’Connor

said of Davis, who runs NOLA Crawfish King.“Shaggy’lltry to bulls*** his wayin, that’sfor sure.” Davis said Wednesday that he wasn’tawareofthe newbarriers, but he also wasn’ttoo concerned about clearing any police checkpoints, with crustaceansashis calling card.

“Food talks,” he said.

len Toussaint andProfessor Longhair, whose 1949 Carnivalanthem, “Mardi Gras in New Orleans,” references the corner of St. Claudeand Dumaine (as it was then known) as thespot from which to catch aglimpse of theZuluparade. Matassarelocatedhis studiotoafew blocks downriver in the French Quarter to Governor Nicholls Street in 1956, and thenagain to a Warehouse District buildingdubbed“Jazz City.” Its Camp Street location now houses an upscalerecordthemed restaurant and cocktailbar calledJunebug that opened last month

Facing financial shortfalls, Matassawas forced by theIRS to sell off his studioequipment to pay back taxes in 1969. He eventually returned to the grocery business. Hisson continued to operate the nearby Matassa’sMarket on Dauphine Street until 2021.

TheRampart Street site of Matassa’s first studio was declared ahistoric landmark in 1999atthe 50th anniversary of the recording of FatsDomino’s first single, “The Fat Man.” Adecade later,Matassa told USA Today he never expected thatsong to have become such ahit.

“I had no sense of history,” he said in 2009. “I was trying to make aliving, and Ihad no idea those records would be so historic.”

In 2010, the building, which hadbecomehometoa laundromat, was named one of 11 rock ‘n’roll landmarks by the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame andMuseum

talent in New Orleans and makethe world know it.”

Robert Bowling, the general manager of the latest iteration of the laundromat, Lost Sock NOLA, said the buildingwas aregular stop for tourgroups.

“I loved working here, I loved the musical history of theplace, Iloved explaining it to people,” Bowlingsaid.

That desiretoshareits historyisinfectious. Bowling recalledthatthe sonof alocal sno-ball vendor who operated outofthe shop in recent years picked up enough details about the building from overhearing tour guidesthathewould often approach visitors to explain anecdotes of its past.

“I really enjoyedthe atmosphere,” he said. “And it was just agreat place to work.”

Bowling said much of the memorabilia thatremained in theshop, including acollection of original Fats Domino posters, was handed off to the Jazz Fest Foundation afterhis laundromat’s closure.

As it stands, the board of its newnonprofit owner, which also controls WWOZ 90.7FM, said it does not plan to leaseout thespace or redevelop the property Its future useofthe buildingisexpected to honorits musical history

Email Jonah Meadows at jonah.meadows@ theadvocate.com.

STAFFPHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

The Jazz Fest foundation has purchased the RampartStreet building that was home to Matassa’srecording studio for $2.3 million.

STAFFPHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

City workers place concrete barricades near the main entrance to the Fair GroundsRace Course &Slots on Wednesday ahead of the startofthe NewOrleans Jazz &HeritageFestival.

Continued from page1A

wasspeaker and alsoadelegateto the1973 constitutional convention.

“He always seemed to have avision of where we weregoingand a plan to accomplish what we wanted to do. He helped shepherdthe constitution through. There was no handbook on how to handle that.”

Survivors include his wifeof67 years, Frances Turner Henry, and two children in Baton Rouge: Patrick Henry, an attorney,and Lori Henry Taylor

Funeral arrangements are pending Henry grew up in Jonesboro in Jackson Parish, where his father served as the safety coordinator at the local paper mill and his mother,apianist, taught music at school. They were areligious family,attending church three timesa week.

Henry acquired hisnickname as aboy because his oldersister couldn’t pronounce his given first names,Edgerton Lewis.

Henrydidn’trun foroffice duringhigh school because, he admitted later,hewas afraid hewould lose andcouldn’tstandthe thought. But by the timehegraduated fromLSU LawSchoolin1961, Henry was dreaming of running for governorone day He got his political start bywinningaHouse seat in 1968.

The‘YoungTurks’

At the time, the United States was undergoing dramatic change. Black people had just won the right to vote in the South, women were claiming more rights at work and at home and college students were organizing massivedemonstrations against the Vietnam War. John McKeithen was inhis second term as governor.

Henry and another 10 representatives staged their own mini-revolution at the Capitol by questioning asystem where rank-and-file state legislators were expected to rub-

S&WB

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themost interesting city anywhere, and acity that my family andIloveand care aboutdeeply,”Nelsonsaidin abrief phone call, declining further comment.

Nelson was not identified as afinalist last week when the S&WB said it had narrowed its search to two candidates: Hayman and Bethany Bezak, the San Diego transportation director

“It is disappointing that none of the internal SWBNO candidates made thefinal round of interviews,” District Acouncil member Joe Giarrusso said in astatement,without mentioning any candidate by name.

“The importance of retaining and relying on those with the requisite subject-matter expertise and experience with this system cannotbe understated.” Giarrusso also noted there will be anew mayor in less than ayear.The S&WB is technically astate agency with an independent governing board, but the mayor chairs theboard andappoints most of its members.

The S&WBsaid Hayman will start his position “inthe coming weeks.”Ron Spoon-

ber-stamp the governor’splans, no questionsasked.

Henryand the others —dubbed

“Young Turks” by the press —began asking why lobbyists were allowed to roam the House chamber andeven vote legislators’ voting machines. They asked whythey were givenno chance to examine thestate budget before voting on it.

They asked whytheyweren’t given advance notice before a legislative committee met. They asked why they didn’thavetheir own staff to analyze the likely impactofbills.

Over the next several years, the Young Turksgained enough political strength to ban lobbyists from the floor,give themselves more time to study budget bills and hire staff to study the fiscal impact of bills.

Speakerofthe House Henry,afterwinning reelection

er,aretired S&WB executive, will serveasinterim directoruntil then.

Customer servicefocus S&WB board member Chadrick Kennedy,who co-chaired the search committee, said Hayman was chosen forhis “outstanding leadership in prioritizing customer service.”

The agency’scustomer servicehas long been acomplaint among New Orleans residents, particularly when it comes to erroneous water billsthatare difficulttoresolve. TheS&WB is hoping to alleviate those concerns with new “smart meters” that automatically track water usage. The project is underway now,and officials say all 144,000 analogue meters will be replaced by the end of theyear Hayman led asimilar smart meter projectin Philadelphia, according to an S&WB news release. The news releasealsotouted Hayman’s initiative to prevent billionsofgallons of pollutedwater from reachingstreams andrivers.

“Weknew SWBNO needed an executivedirectorwho wouldcontinue the hardearned strides we’ve made in consumer confidence through our Smart Meters and new onlinecustomer

to his House seat in 1972, secured the votesofhis colleagues to become the new speaker

He hadtomanagea105-memberchamberthatwas dividednot alongpartisan lines —the House had only ahandful of Republicans then—but on the question of populism versus establishment reform.

Henry had afoot in both camps, with adesire to have government programs help working class families in places like Jonesboro, whilewantingtomovethe state forward.

Working mostly harmoniously withEdwards, then in his first term, Henry helped usher intolaw anumber of highly regarded reformssought by good-government groups. Thechangesgenerally made the state’soperations more transparentand better aimed at helping the general public, not just special interests.

“Hehad the mixofpersonality, intelligence and ability to be the

portal,” Kennedy said in a statement

Kennedy did not respond to amessage for further comment. Twoboard members who voted against Hayman’sappointment, Poco Sloss and Janet Howard, did notrespond to messages. Sloss and Howard are two of the agency’sbiggest cheerleaders, frequently defending it against criticism from City Council members, state lawmakers and others.

Rare division

The S&WB has been almost entirely free of public divisions on the board in recentyears, with boardmembers voting in lockstep with themayor to approvenearly everymeasurerecommended by staff. Underlying that unity has been strongsupport forKorban, with Howard, Sloss andotherboard members often describing him as atransformational leader for along-troubled agency

Whether Hayman will contend withanewly dividedboardremains to be seen, but there will be no shortage of external political challengestodeal with. The board is regulated by both city and state lawmakers, and much of its funding depends on an often-critical City Council.

perfect person to lead the House, deal with Edwin Edwards and put together thedream of independence that theYoung Turkshad aboutchanging the oldwaysof doing business in Louisiana,” said Alfred “Butch” Speer,ayoung legislative aide during the1970s who went on to run the House’sday-today operations for 36 years as its clerk. “Theytrusted Bubba to do what needed to be done and knock heads when necessary with Edwin Edwards.”

The YoungTurks —following thelead of then-state Rep. James Dennis of Monroe andthen-state Rep. Bill McLeod of Lake Charles —calledfor anew conventionto replace the 1921 version that had become hopelessly outmoded but still benefited entrenched interests.

In 1973, 132 delegatesmet throughout theyear at aconvention overseen by Henry to modernize Louisiana’s1921 constitution.

TheS&WBisalsoseeking $29 million in state capital funding for the power complex, an identical request to one thatlawmakers unexpectedly denied last year after Cantrell criticizedstate laws affecting the S&WB.

They approved the proposed new constitution on avote of 121-1, attesting to Henry’spolitical skills to bring people together

“You have to have at least acertain amount of compromise to get at least aportion of what you want through thelegislativeprocess,”

Henry said during a1977 interview on Louisiana Public Broadcasting. “You have to have give and take.”

In 1974, votersapprovedthe new document, which simplified the operationsofgovernment, notably by allowing local governments to makesubstantive changeswithout having to winthe Legislature’sapproval.

Life afterthe Legislature

Henry declared his candidacy forgovernorin1979 at Jonesboro High School to emphasize his commitment to better preparing students forcollege and the workforce. Most of the state’snewspapers and good government groups supported him. But he finished fifthinthe open primary

The runoffpitted Louis Lambert, aPublic Service Commission member andDemocrat,against Treen, aRepublican running in what wasthen an overwhelmingly Democratic state.

Henry and the three other Democrats who lost in the primary then-Lt. Gov.Jimmy Fitzmorris, Secretary of State Paul Hardy and state Sen. Sonny Mouton —all endorsed Treen.

He edgedout Lambert to become the first Republican governor since Reconstruction.

Treen named Henry as hiscommissionerofadministration, in chargeofrunningstate governmentday to day and producing the governor’sannual budget.

Henry neverran foroffice again, settling in Baton Rouge as alobbyist and, ultimately,asanelder statesman. In his lateryears, he andthe otherYoung Turks or the delegates of the constitutional conventiongathered fromtime to time to reminisce aboutthe battles they fought.

The powercomplex, which is meanttoensure drainage pumps have reliable electricity,isscheduled to come online this summer.The $29 millionrequest is for a second phase to include an operations center and other equipment. The S&WB is also waiting on the finalization of afederal granttoinclude tap water pumps in the complex. Email BenMyers at bmyers@theadvocate.com.

E.L. ‘Bubba’ Henryservedtwo terms as speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives in the 1970s before afailed runfor governor in 1979.

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street rises as Trump softens talk

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as aworldwide rally came back around to Wall Street after President Donald Trumpappeared to back offhis criticismofthe Federal Reserve and his tough talk in his trade war

The S&P 500 addedtoits big gainfrom Tuesday thatmore than made up for asteep loss on Monday. The Dow Jones IndustrialAverage and the Nasdaq composite also rose Wall Street’sgains followed strong moveshigher for stocks across much of Europe and Asia. They also continued a dizzying, up-and-down run for financial markets as investors struggle with how to react toso much uncertainty about what Trump will do with his economic policies.

The market’slatest move was up in part because Trump said late Tuesday that he has “nointention” to fire the head of the FederalReserve. Trumphad been angry with Jerome Powell, whom Trump had called “a major loser,” because of the Fed’s hesitance to cut interest rates.

Pastor calls for ‘full Target boycott’

The pastor of aGeorgiamegachurchwho led anationwide 40-day “fast” boycott of Target stores over the retail chain’s commitment to diversity initiativesisnow calling for that effort to continue as a“full Target boycott.”

The Rev.JamalBryantsaid this week that the Minneapolisbased retailer has not metall of theboycott effort’sdemands. Among them: Restoring its commitment to diversity,equity and inclusion principles and pledging moneytoBlack-owned banks and businesses.

Target announced in January that it would phase out ahandful of DEI initiatives, including a program designed to help Black employees build meaningful careers and promoteBlack-owned businesses. Conservative activists and President Donald Trump have sought to dismantle DEIpoliciesinthe federalgovernment and schools.

Target did not immediately respond to multiple requests for commentbyphone and by email on Wednesday

Norfolk Southerntopay $600M settlement

The companythat ownedthe railcar that caused thedevastating EastPalestine trainderailmentin2023 won’thave to help pay for the $600 million settlement Norfolk Southern agreedtowith residents

An Ohiojurydecided Wednesday that GATX isn’tliable for the settlement even though thefailure of abearing on its railcarcarrying plastic pellets causedthe pileup onFeb 3, 2023. GATX has maintained Norfolk Southern operated and inspected the train and all the cars and was responsible for delivering the cargo safely “GATX is pleased with the trial outcome,which affirms what we have known for some time: Norfolk Southern aloneis responsible forthe derailment and resulting damage in East Palestine,” the company said in astatement.

Norfolk Southern called the verdict disappointing butsaid it won’taffect the railroad’scommitments to everyone affected by the derailment.

After the train derailed in East Palestine, an assortment of chemicals spilled and caught fire.Three days later,officials blew open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride because they feared those cars might explode, generating amassiveblack plume of smoke that spread over the area and forced evacuations.

Norfolk Southern lost asimilar lawsuit last year when it tried to force GATX andOxyVinyls, which made the vinyl chloride, to help pay for theenvironmental cleanupafter the derailment that has cost the Atlanta-based railroad more than $1 billion. It madesimilar arguments in this trial

Study: Companieshavecaused$28Tinclimate damage

BYSETH BORENSTEIN AP science writer

WASHINGTON Theworld’s biggest corporationshavecaused$28 trillion in climate damage, anew study estimates as part of an effort to make it easier for people andgovernments to hold companies financially accountable, like thetobacco giants have been.

ADartmouthCollege research team cameupwith the estimated pollutioncausedby111 companies, with more than half of the total dollar figure coming from10fossilfuel providers:Saudi Aramco, Gazprom,Chevron,ExxonMobil, BP,Shell, National IranianOil Co., Pemex, Coal Indiaand theBritish CoalCorporation For comparison, $28 trillion is a shade less than thesum of all goods and services produced in the United States lastyear

question: Whatcan we actually claim about whohas caused this?” said Dartmouth climate scientist Justin Mankin, co-author of the study.“And that really comes down to athermodynamic question of can we trace climate hazards and/or their damages back to particular emitters?”

The answer is yes, Callahan and Mankin said.

At the topofthe list,Saudi Aramco and Gazprom have each caused abit more than $2 trillion in heat damageover the decades, the team calculated in astudy published in Wednesday’sjournal Nature. The researchers figured thatevery 1%ofgreenhouse gas put into the atmospheresince 1990 has caused $502 billion in damage from heat alone, which doesn’tinclude the costs incurred by other extremeweather suchashurricanes, droughts and floods.

People talk about making polluters pay, andsometimeseventake them to court or pass laws meant to rein them in.

The study is an attempttodetermine “the causal linkagesthat underlie many of these theories of accountability,”saidits lead author,Christopher Callahan, who didthe work at Dartmouth but is nowanEarth systemsscientist at Stanford University.The research firm Zero Carbon Analytics counts 68 lawsuits filed globally about climatechange damage, with more thanhalf of them in the United States.

The researchers started with known final emissions of the products —suchasgasoline or electricity fromcoal-firedpower plants —produced by the111 biggest carbon-oriented companies going as far back as 137 years, because that’sasfar back as anyofthe companies’ emissions data go and carbon dioxide stays in the air for muchlonger than that. They used 1,000different computer simulations to translate those emissions into changesfor Earth’sglobal average surface temperature by comparing it to aworldwithout that company’semissions.

“Everybody’sasking the same

This system is modeled on the establishedtechniquesscientists have been using formore than adecade to attribute extreme weather events, such as the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave, to climate change.

Chineseautomakerstakeleading role

BY ELAINE KURTENBACH AP business writer

SHANGHAI— Leadingautomakers are showcasingtheir latest designed-for-China and theworld models at theShanghaiauto show this week, fighting nottobeedged aside in the world’slargest car market while watching for U.S.President Donald Trump’snextsteps in his trade war

This year’sshow in the sprawling industrial outskirts of Shanghai comes at apivotal moment. Three decades after Beijing setout to builda world-classautoindustry,local manufacturers account forabout two-thirds of salesinside China, and agrowing share of globalexports.

To gain access toChina’spotentially huge market, foreign automakers like Volkswagen, General Motors, BMWand Ford set up joint ventureswith state-owned local companies beginning in the 1980s and ’90s, helping them build the capacity and technology tocompete on aworld scale

They also created sprawling supply chains in Shanghaiand other major manufacturing hubs, helping to nurture other big names in Chinese automaking,suchasBYD,Geely and Great Wall Motors. With growthathome limited by brutal competition, Chinese autocompanies are expanding rapidly,especially in Southeast Asia andother developingeconomies with relatively affordable sedans, SUVs andpickup trucks.

Shanghai’sauto show is agathering forthe “survival of the fittest,” said ZhouLijun, directorand chiefresearcher of the industry analysis group Yiche Research Institute.

With Trump raising tariffs and theEuropean Union slapping dutiesonChinese electric vehicles, selling to some overseas markets is growing increasingly challenging.

“Geopolitics arevery complex and the situation remains uncertain,” WeiJianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors, told reporters Wednesday.“But Great Wall is always exploring investments in overseas markets.”

Encouraged by government subsidiesfor scrapping oldercars for the latest models, Chinese drivers have embraced the switch to electrics, with salesofbattery-powered and hybrid vehicles jumping 40% last year

Atotal of 31.4 million vehicles, including buses and trucks, were sold last year in the world’sbiggest market by sales, up 4.5% compared to ayear earlier,the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported.

Growth in sales of EVs was offset by falling sales of traditional gasoline anddiesel-powered vehicles, which still accounted for just over half of new car sales.

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD nudgedpastTesla as theworld’sbiggest maker of EVsbysales last year,reporting revenue of over $100 billion.

It recentlyannounced an ultra-fast EV charging system that it says can provide afull charge for its latest EVs within five to eight minutes, aboutthe time needed to fill up at the pump. It plans to build more than 4,000ofthe new charging stations across China.

Statewidetechnologycompetition will spotlighttop students

BY TIMOTHYBOONE Business editor

Thedeadline is approaching to apply for aspotinthe first statewide technology competition, designed to showcase the latest software and hardwarebeing developed across Louisiana. The NexusTechnology Cup will spotlight innovative developments created by high school and college students, along withtech enthusiasts. The event will be held June 17-19 at the Water Campus in Baton Rouge. Theroots for the competition go

backtoNexus Louisiana President and CEO Tony Zanders’ days as a student at Henry W. Allen ElementaryinNew Orleans, when he was taking part in the school science fair

“Ifyou won at theschool level, you would go to the UNO Lakefront Arena to compete at the citylevel. It was so exciting,” he said. “And if youwon at thecity level, yougot to come to the state competition, which was up here in BatonRouge. Whenyou gotinvitedtoBaton Rouge, that meantyou were

school students andwanted to spotlight their work, while giving them avenue for academiccompetition. The competition will have three tracks: onefor highschool students, onefor college studentsand an open track for anyone buildinginteresting technology. It fits in withNexus Louisiana’smission to expand tech startups, developthe workforce

andstimulate economic growth, Zanders said. Atotal of $100,000 in cash prizes will be awardedtothe winning teams, withthe top finishers in each categorytaking home between $5,000and $10,000. Afew dozen teamshave signed up forthe event, and Zanders said he expects more entries before thedeadline. To be eligible,teams must submit an application before April 30, detailing an original project primarily developed by team members. For more information or to register,go to nexusla.org/technologycup/.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS PHOTOByNGHAN GUAN

Visitors look at the newFireflymodel from Chinese automaker Nio during the Shanghai auto showonWednesday

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO By ERIC RISBERG

The Chevron Richmond Refineryisseen in Point Richmond, California, in 2023. Chevron is one of 10 fossil fuel providers that have caused more than half of the total dollar figure of $28trillion in climate damage, accordingtoa recent study.

Louisiana could ban or regulate kratom

Legislature is taking up the debate

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Louisiana lawmakers are currently grappling with what to do about kratom, an unregulated herbal substance that causes stimulating or sedating effects and can be purchased over the counter at gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops. This spring, the Legislature is considering two competing bills. One would ban kratom; the other would regulate it.

State Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, wants kratom banned outright. He said he believes the products are too dangerous to be allowed, and he has won support from many law enforcement officials. His proposal, Senate Bill 154, would make it a crime to possess or distribute kratom.

If his bill passes, those in possession of less than 14 grams of kratom would be fined $500. Possessing more than that, or distributing kratom, would carry a penalty of between one and five years in prison or a fine of over $2,000.

Meanwhile, state Rep. Chad Boyer, R-Breaux Bridge, is sponsoring House Bill 253, which would restrict what types of kratom products could be sold to prevent what experts say are dangerous, synthetic products from being on the market.

It would also ban the sale of kratom to people under 21, require that products be registered with the Louisiana Department of Health and set standards for kratom product labels With HB253, which is backed by some in the kratom industry,

Boyer says he is seeking a middle ground that balances the concerns of people who worry kratom is dangerous with those of constituents who say kratom has helped them overcome mental illness, Boyer said What is kratom?

Kratom comes from a tree native to Southeast Asia, where it has been used for medicinal purposes for hundreds of years. Research on kratom is thin and inconclusive so far, and there is much about it that scientists do not understand, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. But it appears to have stimulating effects at low dosages, and sedating and opioid-like effects at higher dosages.

People report using kratom to self-treat chronic pain, alleviate withdrawal symptoms and treat mental illness But the substance is not approved for medical use by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, which warns against the use of kratom as a medical treatment because it has not yet evaluated its safety and effectiveness.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse cautions that kratom may cause rare but severe neurological symptoms, heart and lung problems, and liver problems. Kratom products can also contain harmful contaminants.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, which lists kratom as a Drug and Chemical of Concern, says users have experienced a long list of effects, among them seizures, nausea, vomiting and hallucinations.

Committee weighs pros, cons Boyer presented HB253 last week to the House Health and Welfare Committee.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By

Nassau County police and prosecutors display photos of Tanya Jackson and Tatiana Dykes, whose remains were found near Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, during a news conference Wednesday in Mineola, N.y

Remains of mom, child found near Gilgo Beach ID’d

Police unsure if woman linked to serial killer

BY PHILIP MARCELO and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press

There, Christopher McCurdy, a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Florida who studies kratom, testified in support of the bill. He said research at UF has “shown great medical potential for kratom in its use to enhance mood and also move individuals off of substances of abuse.”

But he also supported restricting the sale of some kratom products, particularly because of a compound they contain that McCurdy said carries abuse potential.

That compound, 7-hyrdoxymitraginine, is found at low levels in kratom post-harvest, McCurdy said. But some kratom products, created synthetically in labs, contain higher concentrations and have exploded on the market even though they are dangerous, he said.

HB253 would ban such products by limiting legal products’ 7-hydroxymitraginine concentration to the level found naturally in kratom plants post-harvest, McCurdy said HB253 also would ban the sale of kratom to people under 21. It would further require the products to be labeled with ingredient lists and warnings that kratom can be “habit-forming.”

Manufacturers would have to register their products with the Louisiana Department of Health, providing test results showing their products comply with state law. The Health Department would charge a fee to cover the costs of the registration program.

The department would be responsible for enforcing the new law, which would cost the department between $400,000 and $600,000 annually over the next five years, according to the bill’s fiscal note.

That document also says the proposal would bring in an undetermined amount of revenue for the Health Department from reg-

istration fees.

During the House Health and Welfare Committee meeting, concerns arose about the cost of the bill. In an interview Boyer said he is exploring ways to fund kratom regulation.

The committee cleared the bill, sending it to the House Appropriations Committee, which will weigh its fiscal impact and decide whether to send it to the full House for a vote.

Support from law enforcement Boyer’s bill was backed by several Louisianans who testified about the positive impact kratom had on their lives.

Leann Pierson, of Baton Rouge, said she had long suffered from depression, anxiety and chronic pain. Kratom helped her to stop all her medications, as well as opioids, and to “become a functioning human.”

“I’ve taken it for nearly 10 years,” Pierson told the committee. “It saved my life.”

But Morris said he’s heard from people who say their loved ones have been harmed by kratom addiction He does not think Boyer’s bill would protect consumers, he said, but rather the kratom industry

“In no way shape or form is that what this is about,” responded Boyer, who said his bill aims to protect some constituents from a product they consider dangerous while allowing other constituents to continue to use a product that helps them.

Powerful law enforcement lobbying groups, including the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association, are backing Morris’ bill for an outright ban, officials for both groups said.

A statewide ban “would give law enforcement the authority to do

something about it when we come across kratom in Louisiana,” said Sheriff Steven McCain, of the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office. McCain said kratom became a problem in his community several years ago, when local grandparents, parents and school professionals told him young people were increasingly abusing it.

A woman also showed McCain a death certificate for her grandson that listed a kratom overdose as the cause of death, McCain said. Given those concerns, he successfully asked the parish to ban kratom and has heard few concerns since, he said.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “a very small number of deaths have been linked to kratom products compared to deaths from other drugs.”

But Grant Parish is not the only place in Louisiana where kratom has caused public safety concerns. Zachary and Ascension Parish, for example, also have banned the substance.

In October, the St. Tammany Parish coroner said a woman died of a “lethal dose” of kratom, though there were other drugs present in her system. In 2021, a 2-year-old who ingested kratom and an “extraordinarily high, lethal level” of tianeptine, an antidepressant, died. As details of the case became public in 2023, it fueled a push to ban kratom in Livingston Parish.

Sheriff Jason Ard, who said kratom was often present at drug busts, supported such a ban, though it failed to pass. Now, a newly constituted Parish Council is again considering a ban.

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

Pause in student loan repayments ends

Collections to resume May 5, officials say

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON The Trump administration warned Tuesday that borrowers who haven’t had to pay down their college student loans during the past few years will be expected to start repayments on May 5 — or soon have to answer to debt collectors and possibly have their paychecks docked.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, argued that Biden’s plan favored people who chose college over immediately going into the workforce, and also was unfair to those who took out college loans

and repaid them. Cassidy wrote on social media Tuesday: “During the Biden administration, the American taxpayer has been forced to carry that burden. @usedgov (the Department of Education) is simply returning the responsibility paying back the debt to those who willingly took out the loan. This is common sense.” Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

“Although Tanya and Tatiana have commonly been linked to the Gilgo Beach serial killings because the timing and locations of their recovered remains, we are not discounting the possibility that their cases are unrelated from that investigation,” Nassau Police Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said.

“I’m not saying it is Rex Heuermann and I’m not saying it’s not,” he added. “We are proceeding as if it’s not, keeping our eyes wide open.”

Some of Jackson’s remains were discovered on June 28, 1997, stuffed inside a plastic tub in a state park in West Hempstead. More remains, and the skeletal remains of the female child, were found in April 2011 off Ocean Parkway, which runs for 15 miles along Long Island’s barrier island beaches. At the briefing Wednesday, law enforcement officials said they had identified Jackson and her daughter through advanced DNA and genealogy research.

Fitzpatrick said local authorities initially turned over DNA evidence to the FBI, which provided a likely identification for the two in 2022. Additional DNA samples obtained the following year allowed police to notify surviving family members last year The two were recently laid to rest, with Jackson receiving “full military honors,” Fitzpatrick said

MINEOLA, N.Y A woman and toddler whose remains were discovered scattered along an oceanfront highway not far from the victims of Long Island’s infamous Gilgo Beach killings were identified Wednesday as a U.S. Army veteran from Alabama and her daughter Tanya Denise Jackson, 26, of Mobile, had been living in Brooklyn with her 2-year-old daughter, Tatiana Marie Dykes, at the time of their deaths, Nassau County police announced. Jackson, who police say may have worked as a medical assistant, had been previously nicknamed “Peaches” by investigators after a tattoo on her body Her identity had been a mystery for nearly 28 years. For roughly half that time, investigators have sought to determine whether she and her daughter were victims of the same killer, or killers, who left the bodies of several other people strewn in the sand along the parkway that runs the length of Jones Beach Island. Police said Wednesday that they had no evidence at this point linking the mother and daughter’s deaths to Rex Heuermann, who has been charged in the deaths of seven women whose remains were discovered elsewhere on the beach road and other parts of Long Island.

“The Trump administration will never force taxpayers to pay student loan debts that don’t belong to them,” Karoline Leavitt, President Donald Trump’s press secretary, said during a Tuesday news conference. “Borrowers will now be clearly expected to repay their loans, and those who default on their loan obligations will face involuntary collections.”

The U.S. Department of Education estimated that more than 42 million people hold student loans underwritten by the federal government, totaling more than $1.6 trillion in debt. More than 5 million have not made a repayment in the past year, the department said Monday evening in an announcement that the repayments would begin again.

Back in 2020, Invest in Louisiana, a Baton Rougebased left-of-center think tank, calculated that 614,700 Louisiana residents held $21.3 billion in outstanding student debts.

Trump, during his first term, paused repayment requirements in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joe Biden delayed restarting the payments.

Biden tried several avenues to allow for limited repayments or to forgive up to $20,000 of the debt for some borrowers. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Biden did not have authority to forgive debt. He then adjusted the regulations to reduce some repayments and forgive some debtors based on family size and income. That plan was also stalled by the courts.

Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, RBaton Rouge, have long criticized Biden’s efforts to erase student loan debt. Cassidy, who chairs the

PHILIP MARCELO

Zach Ewing

Jim Derry

Officials expect wildfire in N.J. to grow

BY BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI Associated Press

CHATSWORTH, N.J A fast-moving wildfire engulfing part of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens has not resulted in any injuries, officials said Wednesday, though it’s expected to grow before forecast rain later this week.

The fire in southern New Jersey’s Lacey and Ocean townships has grown to more than 20 square miles and could continue to burn for days, officials said. No one has been injured so far in the blaze, and 5,000 residents were evacuated but have been permitted to return home A single commercial building and some vehicles were destroyed in the fire, while 12 structures remained threatened Wednesday evening.

“This is still a very active fire,” said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. “As we continue to get this under full control the expectation is that the number of acres will grow and will grow in a place that is unpopulated.”

Officials said the fire is believed to be the second-worst in the last two decades, smaller only than a 2007 blaze that burned 26 square miles.

try’s most densely populated state. LaTourette, the DEP commissioner, said the fire is straddling an area on the edge of wilderness and residential areas. “It’s the interface where the environment and development meet,” he said.

The area had been under a severe drought until recently, when early spring rains helped dampen the region, but officials cautioned recent low humidity and a dry stretch have heightened the risk of fire.

The Jersey Central Power and Light Company cut power to about 25,000 customers at the request of the Forest Fire Service and the wildfire’s command post Tuesday evening. By late Wednesday afternoon, power had been restored.

Earthquake injures 236 in Turkey

BY MEHMET GUZEL and SUZAN FRASER Associated Press

Acting Gov Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency early Wednesday as officials said they’ve contained about 50% of the wildfire. Video released by the state agency overseeing the fire service showed billowing white and black clouds of smoke, intense flames engulfing pines and firefighters dousing a charred structure.

The cause of the fire is still under

The Garden State Parkway, one of New Jersey’s busiest highways, reopened Wednesday morning after officials closed a roughly 7-mile stretch in the southern part of the state.

investigation, authorities said. Forest fires are a common occurrence in the Pine Barrens, a 1.1 million-acre state and federally protected reserve about the size of the Grand Canyon lying halfway between Philadelphia to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east. The region, with its quick-draining sandy soil, is in peak forest fire season. The trees are still developing leaves, humidity remains low and winds can kick up, drying out the forest floor It’s a vast wilderness in the coun-

On Tuesday, Debi Schaffer was caught in gridlocked traffic after evacuating with her two dogs while her husband agreed to stay with their 22 chickens, The Press of Atlantic City reported.

“I wanted to take them in the car with me; can you imagine 22 chickens in a car?” she told the newspaper Around her Waretown house it was “like a war zone,” she said, describing smoke, sirens and the buzz of helicopters.

The blaze is the second major forest fire in the region in less than a week.

India blames Pakistan for deadly attack in Kashmir

BY AIJAZ HUSSAIN, SHEIKH SAALIQ and RAJESH ROY Associated Press

SRINAGAR, India India blamed Pakistan on Wednesday for a militant attack that killed 26 people in Indian-held Kashmir, downgrading diplomatic ties and suspending a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the nuclear-armed rivals

The spray of gunfire at tourists Tuesday in a scenic, mountainringed valley was the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region that is claimed by both countries. The unidentified gunmen also wounded 17 other people.

India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri, announced the diplomatic moves against Pakistan at a news conference in New Delhi late

Wednesday, saying a special cabinet meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that the attack had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. However, the government provided no evidence of this publicly

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad said that India was using “an unfortunate incident of terrorism” as a pretext to jettison a treaty it has long been trying to evade.

India describes militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism.

Pakistan denies this. Many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.

Misri said that the Indus Water Treaty would be suspended “until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.” He said a number

of Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi were asked to leave, and Indian diplomats were recalled from Pakistan, reducing diplomatic officials for both countries from 55 to 30. Misri also said the main land border crossing between the countries would be closed.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his country would respond to the Indian government’s decisions after a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday

The Indus Water Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allows for sharing the waters of a river system that is a lifeline for both countries, particularly for Pakistan’s agriculture.

The treaty has survived two wars between the countries, in 1965 and 1971, and a major border skirmish in 1999.

Indian forces on Wednesday launched a manhunt for the assailants Tens of thousands of police and soldiers fanned out across the region and erected additional checkpoints.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh vowed to “not only trace those who perpetrated the attack but also trace those who conspired to commit this nefarious act on our soil.”

Kashmir Resistance, a previously unknown militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack on social media The group said Indian authorities had settled over 85,000 “outsiders” in the region and claimed that those targeted on Tuesday were not “ordinary tourists” but “were linked to and affiliated with Indian security agencies.” The group’s messages could not be independently verified.

ISTANBUL An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 shook Istanbul and other areas of Turkey on Wednesday, prompting widespread panic and scores of injuries in the city of 16 million people, though there were no immediate reports of serious damage. At least 236 people were treated for injuries they suffered while trying to jump from buildings or for panic attacks — most of them in Istanbul, where residents are on tenterhooks because the city is considered at high risk for a major quake.

The earthquake had a shallow depth of about 6 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey, with its epicenter about 25 miles southwest of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara. It was felt in the neighboring provinces of Tekirdag, Yalova, Bursa and Balikesir and in the coastal city of Izmir, some 340 miles south of Istanbul. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said

rushed from their homes and buildings into the streets. Authorities urged residents to avoid entering buildings that might have been damaged and said sports halls and mosques would be open to house residents not wanting to spend the night in their homes. Turkey is crossed by two major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent.

| Thursday, april 24, 2025 1BN

House committee advances teacher pay

Bill comes after Amendment 2 rejected

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Less than a month after voters

soundly rejected a state constitutional amendment that included making stipends teachers received last year a permanent part of their salaries, lawmakers again are pushing a bill to reorganize education funding to boost pay The House Education Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to approve House Bill 466, a repackaged version of a bill from November’s special tax session that requires school systems to give teachers raises using savings from a related piece of legislation. That second bill would eliminate three long-stand-

New tax could raise prices on vape products

Bill would tax 33% of total cost

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

The Louisiana Legislature is considering changing how vape products are taxed in a way that is widely expected to increase the price of those products

Advocates for House Bill 517 by state Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie, say it would lower youth vaping rates and health care costs. Opponents do not think it would serve as an effective deterrent to vaping and would instead simply tack on new costs for Louisianans already struggling with their checkbooks. Those views came head-to-head during a House Ways and Means Committee meeting on Tuesday, when the panel decided to send HB517 to the full House for a vote. The committee’s Democrats all voted in favor of the bill, while Republicans were split. Currently vape products are taxed based on the amount of liquid in them, at 15 cents a milliliter HB517 would instead tax vape products and electronic cigarettes at 33% of their total price.

Quarter businesses eye Cinco de Mayo

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

Several bars and restaurants on a two-block stretch of Bienville Street in the French Quarter that has become a popular spot for large street gatherings — and the site of two high-profile shootings in the past year will close early on Cinco de Mayo in hopes of preventing more violence.

Pike Howard, on what is typically one of their busiest nights of the year because of public safety concerns.

“For me, Cinco de Mayo is kind of like Mardi Gras 2.0,” said Howard. “But we are putting safety ahead of sales.” Howard has been organizing the effort and said he has received commitments from at least five establishments that plan to join him. He declined to name them because he was not at liberty to speak on their behalf.

ing trust funds in order to pay off debts owed by the state’s teachers retirement system, for which individual districts currently pay interest. With the money districts are expected to save from the move, they’d be required to give raises of $2,000 to teachers and $1,000 to support staff. If both bills pass, Louisianans would again head to the polls to vote on the measure.

In March, voters rejected wide-

ranging constitutional changes all wrapped up into Amendment 2. Unlike that attempt, HB466 by Rep. Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette, focuses on teacher pay Voters would only have to consider whether to eliminate the trust funds to raise teacher pay, rather than also weighing a bevy of other changes to the state’s tax system in one swoop.

Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, who authored companion bill HB473, said the legislation re-

sponds to criticism that Amendment 2 was too complicated 115 pages long, it also included a cap on income taxes, new limits on government growth and nearly a dozen other changes.

“We heard a lot of feedback that people would like this in more single-dose issues, which is why we broke up the larger amendment,” she said.

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

A 20-year-old man was shot and killed in front of a Harvey home Wednesday morning in a hail of gunfire that startled residents of the usually quiet neighborhood. The homicide was reported about 30 minutes after a 15-yearold boy arrived at West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero with life-threatening gunshot wounds. As of Wednesday evening, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives were still working to determine whether the two shootings, which occurred less than

two miles of one another, were related, according to Sgt. Brandon Veal, spokesperson for the department. The 15-year-old boy, who’s believed to have been shot just before 9:21 a.m on Justice Court in Marrero, was being treated at University Medical Center in New Orleans. His condition was not immediately available. The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office identified the homicide victim as Christian Burgau, 20, of Harvey He was pronounced dead after being found wounded in the bushes of a residence in the 1100 block

of St. Michael Drive in Harvey Residents of the block who described themselves as a tight-knit group of mostly retirees said they’ve never seen that kind of violence in their neighborhood before. “There were 15 to 20 shots,” Jerry Vollenweider, 81, said. St. Michael Drive resident Tania Krenkel, 43, was moving a garbage can in front of her house and had stopped to greet another neighbor when the gunfire rang out.

“All of a sudden, we hear ‘Pop. Pop.

said Kren-

kel, who ran for the cover of her neighbor’s house. An 84-year-old woman who lives nearby was at her breakfast table when the shots erupted.

“It sounded like a war going on,” said the woman, who did not want to be named. Other neighbors described diving to the floor for cover as the gunshots continued to ring out. When the shooting finally stopped, Vollenweider peered out of his window and could still see

STAFF PHOTOS By SOPHIA GERMER

ABOVE: A Memorial Mass is held for Pope Francis at the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans on Wednesday. BELOW: Catholics gather for the Memorial Mass for Pope Francis at the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans

See TEACHERS, page

More photos from the Pope Francis Memorial Mass. PAGE 2B

ä See VAPE, page 2B

Strawberry Fest to change hoursafter twoshootings

Mayor says event will endearlier each night

BY MARCOCARTOLANO Staff writer

After two shootings in the vicinity of this year’sPonchatoula StrawberryFestival that woundedthree and led to the arrests of six teenagers, Ponchatoula officials said the festival will endearlier each daygoing forward.

Mayor Wesley Daniels said in astatement on Facebook Wednesdaythat the decision was made in collaboration with Police Chief Bry Layrisson and

theStrawberry Festival Board “The safety and wellbeing of our community is —and always will be —our toppriority,” Daniels said in his post. “In response, and after much thoughtful discussion, we have taken proactivesteps to ensure thatthe festival remains a safe and enjoyableexperience forall attendees in the years to come.”

The Strawberry Festival’s updatedhours areas follows:

n Friday:11a.m.to8 p.m

n Saturday: 9a.m. to 8p.m.

n Sunday: 9a.m. to 6p.m.

The Strawberry Fest has historically run until 10 p.m. on Friday and Sat-

urday, but on April 12, a shootingnearthe festival’s ticket booth was reported at 9:25 p.m. Twoteenageboys werehit: One was grazed in the legand another was shot in theabdomen.

Shortlyafterward, police were called about anearby shooting at thePonchatoula Community Center, wherea teenage boywas shot in the leg.

The festival was shut down early following the shootings.

Days later,authorities announced the arrest of sixteenagersinconnection with the shooting

Email Marco Cartolano at Marco.Cartolano@ theadvocate.com.

Carter holdsmeetings with farmersinVacherie

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

Gail Honoré Conish and her husband, Leroy Conish, have been farming their Vacherie land commercially for just over 20 years

Situated alongLa. 18,the couple’sfarm produces vegetables including cabbages, mustard greens and okra

On Monday,asthe Mississippi levee held the river’s rising waters at bay,their farm hosted avisit by U.S Rep. Troy Carter,D-NewOrleans. Thestopwas oneina series of meetings Carter held across his district as he listened to concerns from farmers about the need for afarm bill and recent cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Weare traveling throughout the statetotalk directly to the stakeholders that matter most, the people who make aliving on the earth,” Carter said, “the people that are going to undoubtedly be impactedbytariffs, the peoplethat are going to be impacted by the drastic cuts to the(Natural Resources Conservation Service).”

Farmersmeetingwith Carter in Vacherie and Donaldsonville expressed concerns about federal funding cuts and the lack of anew, five-year farm bill.Honoré Conish added that although federalcuts hadn’timpacted their farm yet, other targeted programswouldhavea pronounced impactinSt. James Parish.

“What’shappening now in Congress and with Trump is impacting our community, especially the underprivileged, and people just, for the most part, don’tknow where to turn,” she said.

“You know,you’retalking about cutting SNAP, you’re talking about Social Security.Those are people’slivelihoods.”

Farmerssupport bill

The farm bill is apackage of legislation passed roughly every five years, but the current bill was signed into law in 2018 and has been

SHOOTINGS

Continued from page1B

Burgau had collapsed in the front garden of asinglestory home. Vollenweider saidonly his shoes were visible in the foliage.

Burgau didn’tliveatthe house where the shooting occurred. The residents were not home at thetime, according to Vollenweider, who said he had to call to tell them what had happened.

On Wednesday afternoon, white evidence stickers marked two bullet holes in the front door and another on awindow just above the area where Burgau’sbody was recovered.

Gouges in the sod also appeared to mark spots where bulletsripped into thegrass.

STAFF PHOTOSByMICHAEL JOHNSON

Rep. Troy Carter, D-NewOrleans, looks overthe various seeds thatfarmerLeroyConish uses at RiverRoad Farms on Monday in Vacherie.

renewed viaone-year extensions since 2023. Farmers such as Ross Noel, of Donaldsonville, said theextensions aren’t enough, and new, five-year legislation is aan “absolute need” for theyounger generation

“Weneed a five-yearfarm bill so ayoung farmer like myself thatneeds to go to thebank to get aloan, they have someconsistency,” he said. “Towhere thebank is like …‘Look, the farm bill’s in place for five years less. I don’tmindloaning themthe money.’

PriceGay,the president of the Louisiana AssociationofConservation Districts, said the organization is “desperate formoney” because of the lackofa new bill. That organization acts as avoice forthe parish districts, and thenational organization works to prioritize natural resource legislation and funding.

“With no farm bill,we’re laying peopleoff, we’re cutting hours,”hesaid. “It’s just adesperatesituation. We have never,inthe 90year history of this organization,seenanything like this.”

Recent cuts to USDA Cartervoicedhis support for anew farm bill, adding that the tour wasfor him to know specificpriorities

Sheriff’s Office SWAT team members clad in camouflageand armed with rifles periodicallydrove down theblock,seemingly searching for something or someone.

Marreroshooting

OveronJustice Court, astreet lined with mobile homes, abit ofyellow police tapetied to amailbox was the only remaining evidence of the15-year-old’sshooting on Wednesdayafternoon Neighbor Anthony Mejia, 20, said he’d heard gunfire around4 or 5a.m. but didn’t go outside. “I heard five more gunshotsat9 a.m.,” he said Mejia stepped out to see agroup of people standingnear the mobile homes about ahalf-block away Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicles soon followed.

NewOrleans Area Deaths St Bernard (Larry).

St Bernard

AndrySr.,Ronald Roman, Billie

Aymami, Patricia West Bank Banks-Williams, Lucille DavisMortuary Bell, Lillie BurtonIII,Willie Braud, Delroid Obituaries

Brown, Beverly AndrySr.,Ronald Allen'Unk'

Burton III, Willie Cook, Grace Davis, Kim Doughty, Elton Doyle, Patricia EncladeJr.,Vincent Farrington, William Gauthier,Ranaldo Gehlbach,Robert Gordon, Thomas Howard,Earnest Joseph, Merial Landeche, Clarence Maillho, Marlena McCray Sr., Thomas Payton, Carry Penn, Kerry Rollins, Ruth Roman, Billie Rudd, Karen Smith,Emma Thomas,Myrtis Thomas,Maradell Williams-Allen, Celeste

EJefferson

LA Muhleisen Gehlbach,Robert NewOrleans

farmers wanted in thelegislation. One goal was the desire for afull legislationpackage rather than a “piecemeal”approach,he said.

“Weneed afarm bill that is not subject to the whims of oneadministration, to the next administration,to thenext administration,” he added. “Farmers need the stability of knowing that they’re going to have a farm bill that they can govern their businesses by.”

He also spoke against the Trumpadministration’s cutting of USDA programs, which include the Local Food for Schools and the Local Food Purchase Assistance programs. Those provided around $1 billion to schoolsand food banks nationwide.

Carter also advocatedfor the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which could face changes or cuts under theproposed budget blueprint passed lastweek by Congress.

“Listen, we’reall supportive of getting ridof waste, fraudand abuse,” he said. “Butwhen you unilaterally pick winnersand losers and you start cutting down keycomponents of USDA, taking away grant dollars that areimportant to farmers, be they Black, White, Republican or Democrat, they all hurt.”

He didn’t seethe injured teen,and he said he didn’t know what had happened. No arrests had been made in either shooting as of Wednesdayevening,according to Veal. Anyone with information aboutChristianBurgau’s death on St. Michael Drive in Harvey or the15-year-old victim’s shooting on Justice Court in Marrero is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office investigations bureau at (504) 364-5300.

Thepublic can alsocall Crimestoppers at (504) 8221111 or toll-free at (877) 9037867. Callers do nothave to give their names or testify andcan earn a$2,500 reward forinformation that leads to an indictment.

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate. com.

Boyd Family Joseph, Merial Smith,Emma Charbonnet Braud, Delroid McCray Sr., Thomas Thomas,Maradell DW Rhodes Gauthier,Ranaldo

Williams-Allen, Celeste

Estelle JWilson

AndrySr.,Ronald Davis, Kim Gertrude Geddes

Bell, Lillie

Brown, Beverly Doughty, Elton

Howard,Earnest

Rollins, Ruth Thomas,Myrtis

Greenwood

Aymami, Patricia

Doyle, Patricia

JacobSchoen

EncladeJr.,Vincent Maillho, Marlena Lake Lawn Metairie

Farrington, William LittleJohn FH

Payton, Carry River Parish

BardellMortuary

Banks-Williams, Lucille

HC Alexander

Landeche, Clarence Rudd, Karen

PatrickH Sanders Cook, Grace

Ronald AllenAndry Sr affectionately knownas Unk,"entered into eternal peace on April8,2025, at the ageof85. Born to the union of thelateWillieVic‐tor Andryand thelateCon‐suelo Beatrice Jackson Andry.Hewas aproud graduateofJosephS.Clark HighSchool (Class of 1957) and Southern University in Baton Rouge. He served his country in theUnited StatesArmy. Ronald wasa dedicated educator for morethan31years in the Orleans andJefferson ParishSchool Systems. He retired from Bridge City El‐ementarySchool in Jeffer‐son Parish.Ronald, as an educator, wasdevoted to shaping young minds. Unk, withhis nephew Kent Johnson,alsomanaged The Bottom Line Lounge, which wasownedbyhis nephewLesterJohnson Togethertheybuilt asuc‐cessful business. Ronald was thedevoted husband ofConstance Charles Andry for42years.Hewas the father of Ronald Allen Andry Jr.(Syretta), and grandfather to Jayden Andry.Heissurvivedby his sister,Consuella Doretha AndryWynne of Inglewood, California,and byhis brother-in-law Gre‐goryStafford,and sistersin-lawDebra S. Brooks, LisaStafford,and Erica Sholar. Ronald also leaves behinda host of nieces nephews,cousins,and life‐longfriends.Hewas pre‐ceded in deathby15sib‐lings:5 brothers and10sis‐ters. Relativesand friends, along with pastors, offi‐cers, andmembers of His‐toric Second Baptist Church,FranklinAvenue Baptist Church,Beecher MemorialUnitedChurch of ChristCongregational, pa‐trons andemployees of The BottomLine, employ‐ees of TotalCommunity Ac‐tion, membersofBlack Men of Labor, employees ofOrleans andJefferson ParishSchool Systems, and employees of Catholic Charities Archdioceseof New Orleansare invitedto attend ACelebration of LifeonSaturday, April26, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at His‐toric Second Baptist Church,2505 Marengo Street,New Orleans, LA 70115. Reverend Robert B. Jackson officiating. Visita‐tionbeginsat9:00AM. In‐terment will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery and Mausoleum,4000 Norman Mayer Ave. NewOrleans La. 70122. Arrangements By Estelle J. Wilson Funeral Home, Inc. 2715 Danneel Street,NOLA70113. Infor‐mation: (504) 895-4903. To signonlineguest book pleasevisit www.estelle jwilsonfh.com

Aymami,Patricia Peer 'Pat

Patricia (Pat)Peer Ay‐mami, age72, passedaway peacefully on April17, 2025. Patwas born in New Orleans,Louisiana,onFeb‐ruary 15, 1953. Wife of the lateFrank Aymami,Jr. Daughterofthe late Mr.& Mrs.Charles R. Peer,and a lovingsistertothe late Charles R. Peer Jr.(Aleta) She is survived by her3 re‐maining siblings,David Peer,MarjoriePennock (Richard) &FredPeer (Paula),and theniece and nephews Keagan,Royce, Cory, andCharles III. Stepchildren: Melissa Mc‐Grane (Mitch), FrankL.Ay‐mamiIII (Mandy), and Christie GraceAymami

Loving MawMaw toGabrielle Aymami,Abi‐gailEllis,Joshua Ellis, Kait‐lyn Gautreau,AlexAy‐mami, GraceAymami, Madison McGrane, and Michael McGrane. Finally, she is also survived by the trueloves of herlife, her dogs Belle andSophie. Pat was born andraisedin Gretna, Louisiana, and graduated from Immacu‐lataHighSchool andthe UniversityofNew Orleans. Professionally,she wasa lifelongemployeeofWGNO Televisionuntil herretire‐mentin2015. In 1992, Pat married FrankAymami, Jr., who wouldbeher husband for thenext20years until his passingin2013. To‐gether, they comprised halfofa blendedfamily withFrank’s ex-wifeand maternalmotheroftwo of their children,Johnette and herhusband,Fritz Beter.Together, thefour great friendsco-parented Frank L. Aymami III and ChristieGrace Aymami and co-grandparentedall the grandchildren.Theywerea UnitedFront.Theytook turns hostingholidays, birthdays,crawfish boils, and specialoccasions at eachother’s homes. They alsoattended Grandparent Daysatthe Grandkids' schools. AfterFrank passed, thehosting contin‐ued.Their children and grandchildren benefited immenselyfromtheir rela‐tionship. Fritzand Johnette willcarry on from here on their own, butPat will never be forgotten. The celebrationswillnow in‐clude Pat’sspecial andde‐licious recipes, andher legacywillsurelyliveon for generationstocome through 8grandchildren whomshe lovedwithall of her heart. Patwas an avid gardenerand loverof music.But mostly,she was a proudMaw Maw. The grandchildren were herfa‐voritetopic of discussion, daily.Her houseand so‐cials were festoonedwith photosshowing offhow muchthey’ve grown, their accomplishments,and any other news of theday.She willbemisseddearlybyall who have theprivilege of knowing her, butweare all consoledbythe factthat she hasjoinedsomanyof her lovedoneswho passed beforeher.Toplant trees inmemory, please visitthe SympathyStore.Relatives and friendsare invitedto visit Greenwood Funeral Home, 5200 CanalBlvd. New Orleans, LA 70124, on Friday, April25, 2025, start‐ing at 9:00 a.m. AGraveside Service will follow thevisi‐tationat11:00 a.m. in Greenwood Cemetery.We alsoinviteyou to share yourthoughts, fond memo‐ries, andcondolences on‐lineatwww.greenwoodfh com.Yoursharedmemo‐rieswillhelpuscelebrate Pat’s life andkeep her memoryalive

With heartfeltloveand deep sorrow,weannounce the passingofLucille Ann Banks-Williams, who en‐tered eternalrestonApril 15, 2025, at theage of 68 Lucille wasbornonOcto‐ber 24, 1956, to thelate JosephBanks Sr.and Lu‐cille Banks. Shewas bap‐tized at ayoung ageat CorineSt. Claire Baptist Church by thelateRev‐erend Granderson Hunter where shefaithfully sang

ethic andresilience,Lucille heldvarious positions throughouther life.She workeddiligently forsev‐eralyears at aTenneco Oil Refinery as an operator, and laterasa dietarysu‐pervisoratChalmette Medical Center.Later in life, Lucille discovered her truecalling,caringfor oth‐ers,asa personal in-home careattendant, providing loveand supporttomany until herhealthdeclined Lucille was firstunitedin marriagetoWalterSanta Cruz, andfromthisunion she wasblessedwithtwo children: AshantiSanta Cruz-Williams andKarnell Santa Cruz.She latermar‐riedMarionWilliams, con‐tinuing herjourney sur‐rounded by familyand love. Lucille leaves to cher‐ish hermemory: hertwo loving children,Karnell

4B ✦ Thursday,April 24, 2025 ✦ nola.com ✦ The Times-Picayune SantaCruzand Ashanti SantaCruz-Williams;affec‐tionateson-in-law, Timothy Williams;stepchildren, Cory andTasha Williams; onebrother,Kenneth Banks(Angela); andone sister,Theresa Cowart (Kenneth); sisters-in-law, Carlos Banksand Melba Rush;her precious grand‐children,Avani Miller,Tae‐genWilliams, CornellJr. Tasiyia, andKaramel Santa Cruz;two dear aunts, Willie MaeButlerand Brenda Richard. Twoloving godchildren,Perry James, Jr., andJenniferBardales; cherishedfriends,Marsha, Andrell, Lois,and Selena; anda host of nieces nephews, extended family, neighbors, andfriends.She wasprecededindeath by herbeloved parents, Joseph Sr.and Lucille Banks; siblings,JosephJr. Ronald,Roy,Cornell,and Gerald Banks(Dorothy) Family andfriends arein‐vitedtothe Homegoing CelebrationonSaturday, April26, 2025, at 12 p.m. at CorinneMissionaryBaptist Church,5620 EJudge Perez Dr,Violet, LA 70092.View‐ingwillbefrom11a.m until servicetime. Pastor John Bailey, Jr.officiating. Interment: MerrickCeme‐tery.Servicesentrusted to Bardell’sMortuary. Infor‐mation: (504)487-2193.

Lillie MaeBell, age81, wasbornonSeptember 4, 1943, in NewOrleans,LA. Shedepartedthisearthly home on Thursday,April 17, 2025. Lillie wasa parish‐ionerofSt. Katherine Drexel Catholic Church Sheattended Loyola Uni‐versityand retiredfrom ShellOil Companyasa Per‐sonnel Clerk. Lillie wasthe loving mother of Kendall Willis andKylineetraStans‐berry.Beloved sister of Au‐reliaNarcisse andPoland Perkins(June). Sister-inlawofJohnNarcisse.She wasalsosurvivedby 6 grandchildren, 9greatgrandchildren, 2greatgreat-grandchildren, anda host of nieces,nephews cousins, familyand friends. Lillie waspreceded in deathbyher husband Bryant Bell; herformer husband Clarence Willis Sr.; herparents Raymond Herbert, Sr.and Louise M. Herbert; herson Clarence Willis,Jr.;her brotherRay‐mond Herbert, Jr.; andher son-in-law Lawrence Stansberry III. Relatives andfriends of thefamily, also Priest andparish‐ioners of St.Katherine Drexel Catholic Church are invitedtoattend theMass of ChristianBurialonSat‐urday, April26, 2025, at St KatherineDrexelCatholic Church,2015 LouisianaAv‐enue,New Orleans, LA 70115 at 10:00 a.m. Visita‐tion from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. PrivateBurial. Youmay sign theguest book on http://www.ger trudegeddeswillis.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis Fu‐neralHomeInc., in charge (504) 522-2525.

DelroidRoyce Braud, at theage of 73, enteredinto eternalrestonMonday, April14, 2025.Delroid was born in NewOrleans,LAto theunion of thelateDe‐broid, Jr.and EvaH.Braud Mr.Braud leaves to cherish precious memories,his wife of 52 years, JacintaD Braud; children,Angel M. Hall,Jasmine B. White(Al‐fred)and DelroidR.Parker; sister,Cherlyn Howard; brother-in-law,Merlin Dusuau,Matthew Dusuau (Anna); sister-in-law, Jarita D. Hunter (Chris); grand‐children,DelreshaParker, GregoryMcKendall,III, Gar‐rick McKendall, GraceM Thompson (Hassan),Del‐roid Parker,Jr.,Gabriel McKendall, Jayden,Anyah andJulianWhite;greatgrandchildren, Elsa McK‐endall,HassanThompson, Jr DeandreColeman,II, Hoseaand Huey Thomp‐son. Also survived by a host of nieces,nephews, otherfamilyand friends. In addition to hisparents, Delroidisalsoprecededin deathbybrothers, Debroid

Braud, III, histwin, Delloid R. Braud, anda niece, Sean Howard.A Celebrationser‐vice honoring thelifeand legacy of thelateDelroid R. Braudwillbeheldinthe Chapel of Charbonnet LabatGlapion Funeral Home,1615 St.Philip Street,New Orleans, LA 70116 on Friday,April 25, 2025 at 10 am.Interment Mt.OlivetCemetery, 4000 Norman MayerBlvd.,New Orleans, LA.Visitation9 am in thechapel. Please sign online guestbook at www.charbonnetfuneralho me.com.CharbonnetLabat Glapion, Directors (504)581-4411.

Brown, Beverly Elaine Bivens

BeverlyElaineBivens

Brown, age78, wasbornon December 9, 1946 in New Orleans, LA.She departed this earthlyhomeon Wednesday, April2,2025. Beverlyattended Orleans Parish Schools, graduated from DillardUniversity with aBachelorinElemen‐tary Educationand re‐ceived aMaster'sinNorth Carolina.She retiredafter 40 yearsofteachingele‐mentarystudentsin2012. Beverly wasa silver mem‐berofDelta SigmaTheta Sorority.She wasalsoa member of St.Phillip the ApostleCatholicChurch untilmovingtoNorth Car‐olinawhere sheattended St.Ann Catholic Church andwas affiliated with the St.Ann'sLadiesGuild and alecturesfor St.Ann's Catholic Church.Beverly wasthe loving sister of Sandra Jupiter, Deborah Bivens,Frank James Bivens,Jr. andWanda Bow‐mantocherish hermemo‐ries.She is also remem‐beredbya host of nieces, greatnieces, nephews, greatnephews,cousins, family andfriends.Beverly wasprecededindeath by herhusband of 55 1/2 yearsJohnE.Brown; and herparents FrankJames Bivens,Sr. andEllaOphelia Bivens.Relatives and friendsofthe family,also Priest andparishionersof St.Phillip theApostle Catholic Church andSt. Ann Catholic Church (North Carolina), members of DeltaSigma Theta Sorority andSt. Ann's Ladies Guildare invitedto attend theCelebration of Life ServiceonFriday, April 25, 2025 at Gertrude Ged‐desWillisFuneralHome, 2120 JacksonAvenue,New Orleans, LA 70113 at 10:00 a.m. Visitation from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Inter‐ment Lakelawn Park Ceme‐tery andMausoleum,5454 PontchartrainBlvd, New Orleans, LA 70124. Youmay sign theguest book on www.gertrudegeddeswilli s.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis FuneralGomeInc., in charge (504) 522-2525.

Willie Burton III, age90, passedawayonTuesday, April15, 2025. He wasa na‐tive of NewOrleans,LA anda resident of Harvey LA.Williewas a1954 grad‐uate of L. B. Landry High School,and he attended Southern University of BatonRouge,where he wasa member of thecon‐cert,dancing andmarch‐ingbands.Heservedhis countryfor eightyears as aCommunication Special‐istinthe U. S. AirForce Aftercompletionofhis mil‐itaryduties, Willeenjoyed alongcareer with Exxon OilCompany.Hewas a faithfulmemberofMt. SinaiBaptist Church,serv‐ingasa deacon anda member of theMen’s Aux‐iliary andMaleChorus. Knownfor hiseasysmile, love of jazz,and dedication to familyand faith,Willie will be deeply missed by allwho knew him. Beloved husband of 63 yearsto RuthSurbadger Burton.De‐votedfatherofTerri L. Bur‐tonand loving father to Murvin (Marilyn) Grander‐

son, Jr.and Eric (Lorraine) Granderson.Proud grand‐father of MilesGranderson, Jennifer Anderson,Jessica King,and Kelly Williams Cherishedgreat grandfa‐ther of Simone,Alex, Is‐abelle,Roman,Gracie, Ava, Troy,and Lawren;alsosur‐vivedbya host of otherrel‐atives and friends. Rela‐tivesand friendsofthe family, also pastors, offi‐cers,and membersofMt. SinaiBaptist Church and allneighboring churches areinvited to attend the Homegoing Celebrationat Mt.Sinai BaptistChurch 1249 LeBoeufStreet,New Orleans, LA on Friday,April 25, 2025, at 10:00a.m. Pas‐torDudleyWatson, officiat‐ing. Visitation will beginat 9:00a.m. until servicetime at thechurch.Interment: McDonoghvilleCemeteryGretna,LA. Arrangements by DavisMortuaryService, 230MonroeSt.,Gretna, LA To view andsignthe guest‐book,pleasegotowww davismortuaryservice.com Face MasksAre Recom‐mended

GraceHilaireCook,age 93, passedawaypeacefully in herhomeonApril 12, 2025, in herhometownof Edgard,Louisiana.After living alongand dutiful life,God called herhome. Gracelived alifemarked by astrongconnectionto herfamily, resilience,and adeep devotion to her Catholic faith.She wasa well-knowneducatorinthe community andservedas teacherand lateraccepted an administrative position within theSt. John theBap‐tist Parish educationsys‐tem. Hertenureextended over 40 years. Sheislov‐inglyrememberedbyher children:daughter, Reonda Cook Cannon (Bruce); son, RonFrank Cook (Charlene) grandchildren, Nicole Cook andLaurenCook;sister, DeloresCox (Milton),sis‐ter-in-law SlataMae Hilaire alongwithmanynieces andnephews throughout theextendedfamilies and countless friends. Sheis preceded in deathbyhus‐band Robert F. Cook,fa‐ther,Romauld Hilaire; mother,NoelieHilaire Smith; sister,Audrey Oubre(Warren Sr.), brother, Bertrand Hilaire; sister-in-law, Evelyn Strick‐land;brothers-in-law,Lon‐nieCook andSigmond Cook.Relatives andfriends of thefamily, Priest and Parishioners of St.Johnthe BaptistCatholicChurch, andall neighboring churches,alsoemployees of St.Johnthe Baptist Parish School Boardare in‐vitedtoa Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00amonSatur‐day, April26, 2025, at St John theBaptist Catholic Church,2349 Highway18, Edgard,LA70049. Rev. Ro‐bustiano Morgia-Cele‐brant. Visitation forfamily, friends, andneighbors will be from 8:00 am until mass time.Recitationofthe Holy Rosary will beginat9:00 am.Interment St.Johnthe BaptistCatholicmau‐soleum.Inlieuof flowers, a donation in Grace’sname to theSt. John theBaptist Catholic Church wouldbe greatlyappreciated. Final arrangements entrustedto PatrickH.Sanders Funeral Home &FuneralDirectors, LLC, 605MainStreet Laplace, LA 70068, 985-3591919. “Providing Care & ComfortisOur Highest Mission”

Kim"Queen"Marie JohnsonDavis,a lifelong resident of NewOrleans, LA,entered into eternal rest at herhomeonApril 16, 2025atthe ageof54. Shewas born on July 22 1970 in NewOrleans,LA. Kimattended Walter L. Cohenand graduatedfrom L. E. RabouinVocational High School.She wasa dedicatedmanager of St AnnGroup Home.Daughter

of RosalynJohnson-Perry andthe late Clarence John‐son. Loving wife of Leon Davis. Mother of Sean Breaux,DanielBreaux (Kelsey),and Jeremiah Davis. Loving grandmother of Shai Breaux.Kim was thesisterofShelita Warn‐ing(John-Deceased), Desmon Johnson (Michelle), DamonJohn‐son, Joanetta Anderson (Stanley), Tara Johnson (Clarence),JohnPerry III, CornellMinor,Kevin Jones (Roniese)and William Jones. Abonus father John H. Perry Jr., mother-in-law ShirleyWinston.Kim was thegodmother of Matthew Tyler, Kennitra Williams EmaniDrake,and Da'Shy Johnson. Also survived by ahostofnieces, nephews, cousinsand many friends. Kimwas amemberof ThirdRoseofSharonBap‐tist Church,Edwin St.Cyr Chapter#77 OES, Hard Head Hunter's,CareShare Basket Groupand We are OneSocialAid andPlea‐sure Club andEmployees of Domino's SugarRefin‐ery, Poor Boy'sLoungeand Home Depotare invitedto attend theCelebration of Life ServiceonSaturday, April26, 2025 for10:00 a.m. at ThirdRoseofSharon BaptistChurch,2132 Third Street,New Orleans, LA 70113. Rev. KenndrickC Allenofficiating. Visitation from 9:00 a.m. until service time 10:00 a.m. Interment: Private. Arrangements en‐trustedtoEstelle J. Wilson FuneralHome, Inc.,2715 Danneel Street,NOLA 70113. Information: (504) 895-4903. To sign online guestbook please visit www.estellejwilsonfh.com.

EltonLee Doughty, age 55, wasbornSeptember 12, 1969 in NewOrleans,La. He departed hisearthly home on Sunday,April 13, 2025, surrounded by family. He waseducatedinthe Or‐leansParishpublicschool system andgraduated from Walter L.CohenSenior High School.Elton leaves to cherishhis memories, wife Patricia Doughty, par‐ents MelvaleeneWaters andthe late Eugene “Buddy Boy” Simpson, 3 sons Darren Williams,Der‐rick Milton,James-Charles Wilson,3 stepsons Ken‐trell, Terrance,and Thomas Paul.SiblingsLaquanta, Shaun(Kennita) Carmelita, Lashara, Charles(Tamika), Christo‐pher,and Geraldnisha (Ced)Waters. Eltonwas also survived by ahostof grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, family andfriends.Elton is pre‐cededindeath by hisstep‐father Gerald Anthony, his sister Barbara“Tiny”Wa‐ters-Solomon,and his nephew ShermanWaters. Relativesand friendsofthe family, also residentsof RiverGarden(formerly St Thomas Housing) arein‐vitedtothe Celebrationof Life Services on Saturday, April26, 2025atGertrude Geddes Willis Funeral Home,2120 JacksonAve, NewOrleans,La. 70113 at 10:00a.m.Visitationfrom 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Reverend PatrickJohnson, Officiating(GreaterMt. Rose BaptistChurch). In‐termentJefferson Memor‐ialGardens,11316 River Rd., St.Rose, La.70087. You maysignthe guestbook on www.gertrudegeddesw illis.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis FuneralHomeInc.in charge (504) 522-2525.

Patricia Doyle, 89,ofBay St.Louis,Mississippi passedawayonFriday, April18, 2025, at Gulfport Memorial Hospital.Bornin NewOrleans,Louisiana, Patricia,alsoknown as "Cookie"tofamilyand friends, livedthe majority of herlifeinBay St.Louis, Mississippi.Inher early years, Patricia wasanavid breeder andexhibitor of Pekingesedogs;for there‐

mainderofher life,she wasnever withouta belovedPekingese by her side.For twenty years, she ownedand operated asuc‐cessfulceramic shop first in Metairie,Louisiana,and laterinWaveland, Missis‐sippi.She wasanactive member of theWaveland American Legion Auxiliary formanyyears andserved as itspresident forthree years. Patricia wasmarried to her firstlove, AndreM.J Lepine,Jr.,for twenty-five yearsuntil hispassing in 1991. Shewas blessedto find love againand mar‐ried Carrol "Jack" Doylein 2001, sharinga beautiful life together until Jack's deathin2014. Patricia is survived by herdaughter, MelanieLepine(Grant), andPeggy Price(Ted).She waspredeceased by her husbands, AndreM.J.Lep‐ine, Jr.and Jack Doyle, her son, PatrickScott Lepine, mother,Melanie Bearmann Lynn, father, JamesJoseph Lynn, andbeloved dog, Angel. Relativesand friendsare invitedtovisit Greenwood FuneralHome, 5200 CanalBlvd.,New Or‐leans, LA 70124, on Friday, April25, 2025, starting at 11:00 AM.A GravesideSer‐vice will follow thevisita‐tion at 1:00 PM.The burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery.Inlieuof flow‐ers, donationsmay be made to thePurpleHeart Foundation to honorand support veterans andtheir families.Wealsoinviteyou to shareyourthoughts, fond memories,and con‐dolences online at www greenwoodfh.com.Your shared memories will help us celebratePatricia’slife andkeep hermemory alive.

VincentG.Enclade,Jr. 81, abeloved husband,fa‐ther,grandfather (“Pappy”), brother, and friend,was called home to be with hisSavior. He passedawaypeacefullyin hissleep on Good Friday April18, 2025. Born June 11, 1943 to VincentG.Enclade Sr.and Narcille Ricaud En‐cladeinNew Orleans, LA He wasa longtime resident of RiverRidge,LA. He is survived by hisbeloved wife of 54 years, AnnBock Enclade. Theirlifetogether wasfulloflaughter, love, andthe best of times. In their58years together they neverlefteach other'sside. He also leaves behind hischildren, Amanda (Donovan)Fremin andErin(Jason) Asevedo, hisgrandchildren,Jaxon Asevedo, TylerAsevedo, Finley Fremin andDeclan Fremin,his sister Carol Wallace, hisbrother Ken‐neth (Sheila) Enclade, and hisnieces,nephews,and many cousinsand friends. He grew up on RoyalStreet

in theMarigny,attended Holy TrinityGrammar School,St. Aloysius High School,and Loyola Univer‐sity NewOrleans graduat‐ingwitha degree in Ac‐counting. He wasa longtime member of theAmeri‐canLegionPost307, the IrishChannel St Patrick's DayCluband theEmerald SocietyofNew Orleans. He wasalsoa retiredveteran of theArmyNational Guard. V.J. nevermet a stranger andalwayshad a smile on hisface. He en‐joyedlifetothe fullest.He lovedhis familyand friendsand wasa devoted Catholic.Inhis younger yearshewas an avid run‐ner, biker, dancer,and a devotedSaintsand LSU fan.Familyand friendsare invitedtoattend avisita‐tion beginningat9:30am followed by afuneral mass that will be celebrated at 12:00 pm on Saturday,April 26 at JacobSchoen& Son FuneralHomeon3827 CanalStreet in NewOr‐leans, LA.Interment will follow at Hope Mausoleum St.JohnCemetery, 4841 CanalStreet in NewOr‐leans, LA.Inlieuof flowers, please make donationsto theAlzheimer’s Associa‐tion LouisianaChapter for research:alz.org.Arrange‐mentsbyJacob Schoen & SonFuneralHome. Condo‐lences maybeleftatwww schoenfh.com

William Prentice Farrington died quietly at home on April 18, 2025, at the age of 74. He was born on August 31, 1950, in New Orleans, LA, to NolleyC andFenella C. Farrington He wasprecededin death by hisparents and hissister,Fenella L. Farrington.Heissurvived by numerous cousins and hislong term caregiver, NatalieWilliams Smith. William served in the Navy andwas agraduate of TulaneUniversity. He wasa skilledGenealogist and loved doing theresearchrequiredtotrace familyroots. He also loved working in his garden, his dog, and reading science fiction andhistory. Afuneral service will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at Lake LawnMetairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd.New Orleans, LA. Visitationwill be held from12PM- 2PM with aservice to begin at 2 PM.Interment will follow in MetairieCemetery In lieu of flowers, the familyisrequesting that donationsbemade to the ASPCA.

Gauthier,Ranaldo J. With sadnessweshare thepassing of RanaldoJ Gauthier,onApril 10, 2025.

Cook,Grace Hilaire

Bell, Lillie Mae

Farrington, William Prentice

Doughty, EltonLee

EncladeJr.,Vincent G.

Braud, DelroidRoyce

Burton III, Willie

Davis, KimMarie Johnson 'Queen'

Doyle, Patricia

uneral.comtoviewservice information, sign theon‐line guestbook,send flow‐ersand sharecondolences

Robert Edward Gehlbach,82, of Mandeville Louisiana, passedaway peacefully on Friday,April 11, 2025. Born on April1, 1943, in Louisiana, Robert wasthe sonofthe late Philip A. Gehlbach (1893–1959) andAnnabelD Gehlbach (1899–1978) Though adoptedand un‐awareofthe exactcityof hisbirth,Robertbuilt alife marked by resilience,pur‐pose,and strong personal values.A devout Catholic, Robertlived hisfaith qui‐etly butdeeply.Hewas guided by astrongmoral compassand asense of compassion.Hebegan his career as asurveyorfor thecityofNew Orleansbe‐fore becoming theproud ownerofhis ownfence company. Knownfor his work ethic, honesty, and determination, Robert was aman who valued doing things theright wayand took prideina jobwell done.Hehad apassion for cookingand wasdelighted whenpreparing mealsfor thoseheloved.A lifelong studentofAmericanhis‐tory,hewas especially fas‐cinatedbythe Oregon Trail andthe pioneeringspiritit represented—areflection of hisown independent andcurious nature.Hewas preceded in deathbyhis belovedwife, Rosemary H. Gehlbach (1943–2017),with whomhesharedmany yearsofloveand partner‐ship.Robertissurvivedby hissignificant other, Mar‐velWinne,whose compan‐ionshipbrought warmth andcomfort in hislater years. He will be remem‐beredbyall who knew him as akind, intelligent, and steady presence—a manof principle, faith,and quiet strength.Relatives and friendsare invitedtoat‐tend theVisitationatL.A Muhleisen& SonFuneral Home,2607 Williams Blvd. Kenner on Friday,April 25, 2025. Visitation will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Thefuneral mass will di‐rectly follow at OurLadyof GraceRoman Catholic Church,2552 Kentucky Ave.,Kennerstartingat 11:30 a.m. followed by bur‐ialinSt. LouisCemetery No.3,New Orleans, LA.To sharememoriesorcondo‐lences,pleasevisit www muhleisen.com

Thomas Miller Gordon, Jr. passed awaypeacefully surrounded in his last days by his family and his loyal housekeeper, Donna Conforto, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Tom graduated from Del la Salle high school in 1969 and Centenary College in 1973. After graduating college, Tom spent six months on his houseboat "Boons Farm" trapping with his beloved golden retriever, Amie, where he earned the moniker, "Trapper." After his tenure in the marsh Tom had various careers starting with DH Holmes, Reilly Benton Company, Precision Rebuilders and the Jackson Kearney Group but found his true calling in being an independent oil and gas landman working in Texas. He settled in Tyler, Texas, for 17 years. Eventually, Tom's roots brought him back to Louisiana where he settled into aboat house on Bayou Liberty. Tom's love of the outdoors never left him as he loved hunting and fishing with his many friends. It was his passion thathe served in several positions with aGulf Coast Conservation Association, including President of the Delta Chapter and as a member of the Louisiana StateBoard.

Tom is survivedbyhis son, Thomas "Miller" Gordon, III, wifeGillian, grandson, Rowan, brother HenryHodges Gordon, wife Lorie, and sister,Evelyn TheresaZimmermann and husband,John. Preceded in deathbyhis parents, T.M. Gordon and Evelyn Gordon, his belovedsister, Karen Gordon Crawford, wifeofRobertV.Crawford andbrotherPeter Goodridge Gordon. In lieu of flowers, please make adonationtoSt. Gabriel MercyCenter, P.O. Box824, Mound Bayou, MS, 38762, in the memoryof KarenGordon Crawford.

Howard,Earnest Lee'Dad'

Mr.Earnest LeeHoward "Dad", age88was born Oc‐tober9,1936, in Mccomb, Mississippi. He worked as adeliverydriverfor Coca Cola Company, Bell South in NewOrleans,Louisiana andSingerKitchen Com‐pany in Slidell, Louisiana performing contract floor‐ing andcustodial mainte‐nance. He worked on the custodialstaff at Chevron locatedinBelle Chasse, Louisianafor over 35 years until hisretirement. Earnestlived hisbestlife with hisfamilyand friends. He wasa Saints season ticket holder.For more than 25 years, he wasan avid fan -evenwhensome maynot have been.Here‐newedhis fellowship and attended theChristian Life BibleChurch where he was welcomed with open arms andwas affectionately knownas“Dad” Earnest. He always enjoyedthe family atmosphere,the ministryservicesand praise andworship.He looked forwardtoattend‐ingand alwayscameinthe door readytopraiseGod He leaves to cherishhis memory:his son, Kenneth L. Howard (wifeAlanda) his4 grandchildren: Tenell Moore, Jamall Moore, Hope Howard-Giles (husband Justin)and Kennady Howard;13great-grand‐children,4 sistersOllie Kay Overstreet,Claudine Brown, AngelitaLawless, andDenise Howard;one brotherRodneyHoward, as well as ahostofnieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Earnestwas pre‐cededindeath by hisde‐votedwife(Estella“Mom” Howard), hisparents WilliamHoward, Sr.and LucindaHoward, hisson KeithE.Howard, daughter DeborahA.Howard-Jack‐son, nine brothers:Henry, WilliamJr.,Tony, Issac, Joseph,Raymond,Jerry, Earl andMelvinHoward, sevensisters Everlena Perkins, Isabella Howard, KatieHoward, Louise Howard Crosby,Earline Howard,Emma Jean Howard-McClain,and Eliza‐beth Howard.Relatives and friendsofthe familyare in‐vitedtoattend theCele‐brationofLifeService on Friday,April 25, 2025, at ChristianLifeBible Church 16 Westbank Expressway, Gretna,LA70053 at 10:00 a.m..Visitationfrom9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Inter‐ment Mount Olivet Ceme‐tery,4000 Norman Mayer Avenue,New Orleans, LA 70122. Youmay sign the guestbook on www.ger trudegeddeswillis.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis Fu‐neralHomeInc., in charge (504) 522-2525.

Joseph,Merial Ann'Minnie'

Merial (Minnie) Ann Joseph passedawayon April13, 2025, at theage of 70. Sheissurvivedbyher children:Darryl(Kim) Joseph,Zennia(Greg)Win‐nier andLatanya (Samuel) Joseph,grandchildren: DalarraJoseph, Zenesha Joseph,Taiwana Joseph, Tyre’ana Berryhill and JavonWinnier.Alsosur‐vivedbyseven great grandchildrenand hersib‐lings: Raymond, Jr.An‐thonyand Edwina Joseph ahostofother familyand friends. Preceded in death by herhusband Alfred

Sanders, Jr., parentsRay‐mond,Sr. andEarnestine Joseph,and siblings:Gail Harney Michaeland Regi‐nald Joseph.Familyand friendsare invitedtoat‐tend theCelebration of Life ServiceonFriday, April25, 2025, for10:00 a.m. at The Boyd Family FuneralHome, 5001 Chef MenteurHwy NewOrleans,LA70126. Vis‐itation begins at 9:00 a.m. Pastor Bennie Scott, offici‐ating. Intermentwillfollow at Providence Memorial Park,8400 AirlineHwy Metairie,LA. Guestbook Online:www.anewtraditi onbegins.com (504)2820600. Linear BrooksBoyd andDonavin D. Boyd Own‐ers/FuneralDirectors

Landeche,Clarence Adolph

Clarence Adolph Lan‐decheofDestrehan,LA passed away peacefully at hishomeonSaturday, April19, 2025, at theage of 98.Hewas born June 16, 1926. He is survived by his belovedwifeof76years, FaySchillaci Landeche Loving father of Barry J. Landeche (Donna), DavidJ Landeche (Anne), LauraL Gautreaux(Murphy), and Kerry J. Landeche (Robyn). Loving grandfatherof JaredC.Landeche(Ash‐ley),JonathanD.Landeche, Melissa A. Landeche,Ryan M. Gautreaux(Stephanie), BrandonJ.Gauthreauxand great-grandchildren, Bryce, Owen,and Amelie Fay, with oneonthe way. Also,four step-grandchildren and10 step great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister CarolCambre (Sonny), andmanynieces, nephews, greatnieces, and greatnephews.Hewas preceded in deathbyhis parents, AdolpheC.and LillyV.Landeche, and brotherMilton J. Landeche (Olive). Clarence will al‐ways be remembered as a loving father,grandfather, andgreat-grandfather who lovedspendingtimewith hisfamily. He wasa devout catholic andmemberofSt. CharlesBorromeoCatholic Church.Hedevoted many yearsofservice to various committees forthe church He retiredfromShell Oil CompanyNorco,LAin1986. He wasa proudWorld War II Marine Veteran, who lovedhis country. He will be deeply missed andlov‐inglyrememberedbyhis family, friends, andall thosewho knew him. Visi‐tation will be on Saturday April26, 2025, at St.Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Destrehan, LA at 10 a.m. Mass of ChristianBurial will be held at 11:30a.m with burial to follow in the church cemetery.Inlieuof flowers, please donate to theSt. CharlesBorromeo Building Fund

MarlenaChantal Maillho enteredintothe gatesof heaven on Friday,April 18 2025. Marlenawas born in NewOrleans on June 25 1993, andlived herwhole life there. Marlenawentto St.Dominic School and graduatedfromSt. Mary’s

DominicanHighSchool in 2011. Marlenaloved to read andloved far toomanydif‐ferent bookstonamehere butloved Harry Potterthe most.Marlena wasa babysitter atheart,and shesharedthatlovewith each andevery childthat shewatched.Marlena will be foreverrememberedby herfather, Paul Maillho, hermother, ShelleyTusa Maillho,brothers, Justin andCharles Maillho,and herfurbaby,Donut.She wasbeloved by hermany friendsand familymem‐bers andwillbegreatly missed. Family andfriends areinvited to apublicvisi‐tation on Friday,April 25, 2025, from 10:00 am -12:00 pm at JacobSchoenand SonFuneral Home on 3827 CanalStreet.Masswillfol‐lowthe visitation in thead‐joiningchapel, followed by aburialatSt. Patrick’s Cemetery #2 locatedat 5000 CanalStreet.Family guestbooksmay be signed at www.legacy.com. To planttrees in hermemory, visitthe sympathy store.

Thomas "Mack" McCray Sr., age79, wasbornon July 12,1945inNew Or‐leans, LA.Hedepartedhis earthlyhomeonThursday April3,2025. Mr.McCray waseducatedinthe Or‐leansParishPublicSchool System andwas agradu‐ateofGeorgeWashington Carver High School.Hewas joined in Holy Matrimony to SabraMcCannMcCray for55years andtothis union,three children were born,Letrece McCoy Thomas McCray,Jr. and SabrinaBrazil. Also sur‐vivedbyseven grandchil‐dren,foursiblings, four brothers in law, four sis‐ters-in-law, ahostof nieces,nephews,cousins closefamily, church mem‐bers andfriends.All arein‐vitedtoattend thefuneral ACelebration servicehon‐oringthe life andlegacyof thelateThomas"Mack" McCray,Sr.,willbeheldat GreaterCarverBaptist Church,3343 Metropolitan Street,New OrleansLA 70126 on Friday,April 25, 2025 at 10 am.Internment Restlawn Park Cemetery 3540 US-90, Avondale,LA 70094. Visitation 9amin thechurch.Pleasesignon‐line guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion, Directors(504)581-4411.

Minister Carry Ann BatistePaytonpassed peacefully at herhomeon Sunday,April 13,2025, sur‐rounded by herfamily. She is survived by sons,Elvia III, Johnell,Germain and Anthony, Payton;grand‐children,JaWanda,Elvia IV Germisha,Phoenix and GavinPayton; threesis‐ters,Ethel Williams,Rose‐mary (Darryl) Brownand Betty Jack;brother,Alfred George.She also leaves her best friend,sister-in-law andsisterinChrist, Saun‐drea Jackson-Payton; brothers andsisters-inlaw; Reginald,Eugene, Aaron, Darryl (Debbie)

Kevin(Denise), Stevie (Dione), Romell (Joy), Be‐linda, Glinda andYolanda Payton;aunts, MableRan‐dolphand MadgePower; Also survived by nine great grandchildren, ahostof uncles,nieces, nephews. cousins, extended family, church familyand friends. Minister Paytonispre‐cededindeath by herpar‐ents,Ethel George and Joseph Batiste; husband, ElviaPaytonJr.;mother andfather-in-law,Martha andElvia Payton Sr.; daughter,Shirley Payton; granddaughter, Eraniesha Payton;brothers-in-law, SolWilliams, Andrew Pay‐tonSr. andVernell Payton Sr.Relatives andfriends of thefamily, also pastors, of‐ficers andmembers of NewOrleans BibleFellow‐ship BaptistChurch,Good News BaptistChurch and Mount SalemBaptist Church;employees of Xavier University,Payton Hodges LawFirmand Stu‐dio7 TaxService LLCare invitedtoattendthe Cele‐brationofLifeonFriday, April25, 2025 beginning 10:00 a.m. at NewOrleans BibleFellowshipBaptist Church,4430 BundyRoad, Pastor LeonardM.Parker Jr., officiating. Church visi‐tationfrom9:00a.m.until thehourofservice.Inter‐ment Providence Park Cemetery.Rev.David M. PatinSr. andGwiena MageePatin,Funeral Direc‐tors.Professionalservice entrustedtoLittlejohnFu‐neralHome, 2163 Aubry Street,Cal K. Johnson, Fu‐neralDirector/Manager. Info:(504) 940-0045.

2025, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Charbonnet FamilyServices, Violet, LA. In lieu of flowers, thefamily requests donations be made to St.Michael's Special School in New Orleans, in Kerry'smemory. "Then sings my soul, my SaviorGod, to Thee.. Howgreat Thou art,how great Thou art." Gehlbach,RobertEdward

Rollins, Ruth M. James

Ruth M. JamesRollins departed this life on Thurs‐day, April10, 2025, at her daughter’s residencein Birmingham,AL. Shewas 94, anativeofPlattenville, LA anda resident of Avon‐dale,LA. Visitation on Fri‐day, April25, 2025, at Sec‐ondSt. John Baptist Church,242 Avondale Gar‐denRd.,Avondale, LA from 9:00 am to religiousser‐vicesat10:00 am.Inter‐ment in Restlawn Memorial Park.Arrangementsby Williams &SouthallFuneral Home,5414 Hwy. 1, Napoleonville, LA,(985) 369-7231. To sign theguest book or offercondolences visitour websiteatwww williamsandsouthallfune ralhome.com.

KerryAnn Wilk Penn BSN, adevoted nurse, belovedmother, grandmother,sister,and friend, enteredeternalrest on April 16, 2025, at age 76. Shewas born on April 24, 1948, at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Newport, RI

Shewas preceded in death by herparents, Casimir and Jean Wilk; her husband of nearly 50 years, Lounis Dave Penn; herdaughter, Carolyn Penn-Martin; grandson Hayes"Tommy" Penn;and siblings Kevinand Cecilia Wilk. She is survived by siblings Darrell,Julie (Joel), Linda, Leon (Debbie), and sister-in-law Jenny.

Sheissurvived by her childrenLeslie, Barbara (Marc), David, andEric (Ashleigh); grandchildren Katherine,Nathan, Gabriella, Carolina, David, Ander, Emmersyn,Juliette Jack, Eloise Jean,Phoenix, andGryphon; andgreatgranddaughterKaleigha.

Agraduate of Loyola Chicago,Kerry served over 40 years as apost-anesthesia nurse at Methodist Hospital, andTouro Hospital. Shelived her faiththrough quiet strength,selflessness, and compassion,findingjoy in hergrandchildren, her dachshunds, anda lifetime of service to others.

Shewill be laidtorest alongside herhusband, Lounis, in ajoint memorial service on Monday, June 9,

Billie BourgRoman,born November 27, 1934, passed away peacefully on April 16, 2025 at theage of 90 in BatonRouge,LA. Shewas born in NewOrleans and livedmostofher life in Chalmette,relocatingto BatonRouge after Hurri‐cane Katrina. Shewas the daughter of thelate SylvesterT.Bourg andthe late Cecile Lods Bourg. She wasprecededindeath by herhusband of 67 years, Joseph C. Roman, Jr.She wasthe mother of Patricia R. Earhart(Bobby),Joseph C. Roman, III (Judy), Pamela R. Mascari(Brian) andthe late BradleyJ Roman; grandmotherof ChrisEarhart (Daynell), AlanaE.Barnett-Woods (Chris), VincentRoman (Kayla), Gerard Roman (Alyssa), andKatherine Peterand Andrew Mascari; great-grandmotherof Noah andChloe Earhart, Carter Barnett-Woods, Luke,Camille,and Kolton

See more DEATHS page IN LOVING MEMORY OF SuyapaCasco Apr 24,1969- Apr24, 2012

As the garden starts to bloomthe memories of you start to come through. As gardening was yourfavorite thing to do, the plants grow strong and tall to represent you.AsI pick arose, all Ican think about is you. Your laughter in the breeze, yourtouch in the dew. Each petal holds a story, each stem atrace,of the warmthyou left behind, yourgentle grace. So I'll tend to thisgarden, season by season, holding you close for love is the reason. HappyBirthday to our beautiful angel. We love and missyou dearly. Love all of your family and your daughters:Andrea, Adriana, and Gabby.

McCray Sr., Thomas 'Mack'

Penn, Kerry Wilk

Roman, Billie Bourg

Payton,Carry AnnBatiste

Gordon, Thomas Miller

Maillho,Marlena Chantal

Shrimp bill arareshow of worthy bipartisanship

It is arare sight indeed to seetwo polesin Louisiana’sstark politicaldivide come together on any topic.

That’swhy we were heartened last week to see two of the state’sdedicated political footsoldiers —Democratic Rep.Troy Carterand Republican Rep. Clay Higgins —jointogether to sponsor abill that would increase thepower of federal regulators to confiscate anddestroy seafood that has been found to be contaminated, adulterated or misbranded.

This measure is especially key in Louisiana’s shrimp industry,which has been hard hit by imports thatare sold at cheaper prices than Gulf-caughtshrimp. Imported shrimp can contain high levels of contaminants and chemicals, but largely due to staffing shortagesatthe Food andDrugAdministration, which ischarged with testingimportedseafood,only atinyfractionof inbound seafood is inspected before it hits the U.S. market. Under the provisions of the billCarterand Higgins have proposed, inspectors with the FDA would have greater leeway in deciding when to impound and destroy importedseafood found to be mislabeled or in violationofU.S health and safety guidelines. Federal inspectorswiththe Food and Drug Administrationalready have authority to seize and destroy food that is misbranded or adulterated. But often, importers are allowedtokeep theproduct, and oftentimes they just take it to another port wherethey hope theinspections are not as strict.

“Billions of pounds of uninspected seafood continuetoenterour country,causing major healthconcerns,” Higginssaid.The bill will help “protect consumers,” Carter added. Evenifthe bill passes,itmay betough to overcome inspection shortages exacerbated by staffing levels at the FDA that make it virtually impossible for targetstobemet,according to a Government AccountabilityOffice Reportpublished in January

The FDA has not met inspection targets since 2018, the report said.

Louisiana shrimpers have complainedfor yearsthatimported shrimp were undercutting their market and making it impossible formany of them to stay afloat financially State legislators have taken some stepsto address the problem, requiringrestaurants to disclose to customers if theysell foreign-caught shrimp or seafood, but those measureshavenot gone farenough for many The problem was highlighted even further lastyear, when testing of theshrimp sold by five vendors at the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City —anevent staged to highlight theproduce of Louisiana shrimpers —found four of them to be selling imported shrimp

We have long supported Louisiana’s shrimpers, who catch so much of what is turnedinto amazing dishes on Louisianatables. We alsolike to support people in Congress workingtogether forgoodends, as Carter andHiggins areinthis case. We lift adelicious (shrimp) cocktail to you, gentlemen.Moreofthis, please.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone 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

OPINION

The resultsfromthe public’svote on Amendment Three sent aclear message:Louisiana voters favor evidencebased strategies over superficial solutions to enhance public safety. They want real solutions —solutions backed by facts, dataand resultsthat actually make our communities safer And we have proof that thosesolutions work. In 2017, Louisiana took abold, bipartisan step to reform our criminal justicesystemthrough the Justice Reinvestment Initiative. It wasn’tabout slogans or quick fixes —itwas adata-driven efforttoreduce crime, cut costs and make families safer.Iwas proud to support that effort then, and today,aswehold anew fiscal session, it’scritical thatweprotect and build upon the principles that have worked.

Before JRI, Louisiana had the highestincarceration rate in the country, nearly double thenational average. That approach wasn’tmaking us safer —itwas draining our state budget and leading to higherrates of recidivism. We werespending moretolock people

up without addressing the root causes of crime.

JRIchanged that trajectory.Between 2017 and 2022, the state saved approximately $153 millionasaresult of these smart-on-crime policies. But moreimportantly,those savings were reinvestedwhere they could do the mostgood: crime victim services, rehabilitation programs, reentry efforts and juvenile justice initiatives. Instead of simply warehousing people, Louisiana started focusing on what works —giving people apathway out of the system and reducing the chances they’d commit new crimes.

The evidence is clear: Investing in proven strategies toprevent crime and reducerecidivismisthe only way to deliver lasting public safety

It’s timetodouble down on what’s working —not retreat to failed policies of the past.The path to safer communities is through evidence-based solutions like JRI, not empty promises.

DANNY MARTINY

formerstate senator and member of the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Task Force

Volunteers spread suicidepreventionmessage

This week, National Volunteer Week, Iamthankful for thevolunteersofthe Louisianachapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention,recognizing the incredible impact they’ve contributed to our mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide.

Suicide is thethird leading cause of death for 10– to 24-year-olds in Louisiana, but it is preventable. Our passionatevolunteers work tirelessly to support those impacted by suicide and help to save lives. This year alone, AFSPLouisiana’slocal volunteershave presented 231 prevention education programs to over 13,000 youthand adultsaspart of our Prevention in Every Parishinitiative: our bold goal to bring suicide prevention education to every Louisiana communityin2025.

We would like to give special recognition to our chapter board of directors who dedicatetheir time and talents to leading the fight against suicide: Dr.Kevin Yaudes, Tyler

Rousseau, DanitaLeBlanc, Allison Cormier,Clay Aguillard, Barbie Hutches, Christopher Joseph, Kim Juneau, Racquel Parfait, Allen “Bubba” Randall” and CherylShelvinLewis

Those who volunteer with our chapter include survivors of suicide loss; people with lived experience; family,friends and co-workers of those affected by suicide and others who support thecause, knowing this is an issue that affects everyone. Our volunteers arededicated champions of suicide prevention, and they reach people in theLouisiana community directly when they need it most.

If you’re interested in supporting this cause too, Iencourageyou to becomeavolunteer with AFSP Louisiana. There are so manywaystoget involved, and volunteering can look different for everyone —from fundraising, to educating, to advocating for policy change and more.

MEGHAN GOLDBECK executivedirector,AFSPLouisiana

I’m alongtime Tulane baseball fan andlaw school graduate,but also a big fanofUNO as an institution for allitdoes for the local community andeconomy

There was agreat crosstown rivalry earlierthis month at Turchin, andthe Privateerscametoplay, taking a6-2 lead in the first inning. Lots of folks there,cheering for both teams,enjoying the beautiful sunset Uptown, watching kids catch flyballs andparticipating in contests like: “Whichone?Audubon or City Park? Mardi GrasorJazzFest?” Does it get betterthanthat? Well, maybe fora Tulane fan, because we lost the game 10-5. IknowitmadeNOLA.com but not the Sports sectionofthe newspaper (Westill getone on the porch). Too badyou missed it. It was worthy of the print edition, even if someone had to work alittle late. More local baseball, please. Local, as in New Orleans colleges.

DONNA MASELLI NewOrleans

Your April 21 article by John Stanton of Gambit Weekly about Festival International in Lafayette contains lots of accurate, positive information. Unfortunately,italso harbors some potentially harmfulencouragement, as the author says “First off, it’sfree... [and] you can pack alunch and beers.” Sorry,but the reality of it is that if enough people bring their own food and drink to Festival, there is no way it can remain free. It would be better forthe writer to encourage festivalgoers to leave their ice chests at home and purchase areasonably priced cold beer and someofthe regional and international foods while enjoying the music, dancing and camaraderie. Festival is free, but it depends on income from vendors to pay forbands and production. Please encourage support forthe vendors and let the good times continue to roll forfree.

GUY HOKANSON Covington

COMMENTARY

Democratsdon’t want Harris

Here is asimple fact: The Democratic Party does not like to renominate presidential candidates who lost in thelast election. Just look at history.The 2016 losing Democrat was Hillary Clinton; the party moved on in 2020. Before that, John Kerry was the losing Democrat in 2004 He made some noise about giving it another try in 2008,and the party told him to forget it. The losing Democrat in 2000 was Al Gore. The party did not give him asecond chance. Go back to Democratic losers Michael Dukakis (1988), Walter Mondale (1984), Jimmy Carter (1980), George McGovern (1972), and Hubert Humphrey (1968). Nobody got asecond run after losing. Youhave to go back70years, when the DemocraticParty in 1952 nominated Adlai Stevenson, who lost, andthen renominated him in 1956, when he lost again, to find atime Democrats chose aproven loser as their nominee. And that didn’twork.

againsta man Democratic prosecutors hadindictednot one, not two, not three, but four times. And she still lost. Compared to 2020, the Democratic presidential ticket lost ground in state after state,lostall the critical swing states, and lost standing among important Democratic constituency groups, like black and Hispanic voters.

Harris’defeat,combined with the Democratic loss of the Houseand Senate, caused the party to begin asoul-searching exercise that continuestothis day Democratic strategistsare tornbetweena visceral desire to base the party’sentire reason for existence on attacking President Donald Trump, or trying to reformthe party’spositions andreconnectwith lost voters. So far the attack-Trump side is winning.

lier,” reported the New York Times this week. “Yet some of her closest allies sayshe is leaning against another White House run in 2028 and, instead, toward acampaign for governor of California in 2026. Her political choice is binary, she hastold people: She can run for governor or president,but not both.”

The first part of that passage suggests Harris has settled on thebelief that she didn’treally lose the2024 election— Bidendid.

But the second partsuggests that, whatever the truth, Harris has gotten the message thatanother presidential run would not succeed, even in securing the Democratic nomination.

Which brings the story to Kamala Harris. The former vice president lost the 2024 presidential election. Yes, she started late, and yes, she hadtofollow the enfeebled President Joe Biden. But Harris had ahugely enthusiastic base, allthe money in the world, and glowing press coverage in her short race

FEST TIME!

For2028,the first question Democrats must grapple withis: Do we want to renominate Harris? The answertothat questionlies in theparty’shistory,for alltosee. Anditappears Harris has gotten the message.

“Friends, former aides, and advisers sayMs. Harris, 60, still thinks she would have beatenMr. Trumpifshe’d had more than 107 days to campaign —the implicationbeing thatformerPresident Joe Biden should have quit the race ear-

Jazz Fest is here again andit’stime to celebrate,dance,eat, drink and be happy!Havefun, everyone!

So,what’sgoingoninthis cartoon? youtellme. Be witty, funny, crazy, absurd or snarky —just trytokeepitclean.There’snolimit on the numberofentries.

Meanwhile, theformer vice president’shusband, Douglas Emhoff, is said to be making $6 million ayear from the law firm, Willkie Farr&Gallagher,that he recently joined. Which means Kamala Harris might have another option for something to do: Nothing. She doesn’t have to run for office. She doesn’thave to give speeches. She doesn’thave to set up an institute. She can dabble in things she enjoys.Travel. Give advice to aspiring politicians.

And, of course,dump on Donald Trump. She would probably do that for free,anyway

Byron York is on X, @Bryon York.

The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and run on Mondayinour print editions andonline.Inaddition,the winner will receiveasigned print of the cartoon along witha cool winner’sT-shirt! Some honorable mentions will alsobelisted. Email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com DON’T FORGET! All entries mustinclude your name, home addressand phone number. Cellnumbers arebest. Thedeadline for all entries is midnight on Thursday.Good luck, folks! —Walt

Unionmembershiponthe decline

It hardly qualifies as news anymore, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union membership declined from 2023 to 2024, going from 10% to 9.9% of wage and salary workers. Some 32% of public employees are union members compared toonly 5.9% of private-sector workers, down from 6% in 2023.

This means 49% of all union members work for the governmentand, even more striking, 32% belongtothe twonationalteachersunions. As National Review’sDominic Pinopointed out, national media is chock full of hopeful stories about union organizing drives and strikes he cited 214 in 2024 —but the longtime trend line away from private-sector unions has not turned around despite the considerable efforts of Democratic politicians.

In early 1937, auto and steel union organizers staged illegal sit-ins in the giant factories that fueled American economic growth from the 1890s to the 1920s. After Democratic governorsrefused to enforce court orders to clear out, auto and steel executives caved in and accepted the industrial unions as bargainingagents.

When the big factories switched to wartime production, industrial labor leaders, such as the young Walter Reuther, cooperated to prevent strikes as workers churned out astonishing numbers of planes in Henry Ford’s Willow Run plant in Michigan and boatsinHenry J. Kaiser’s Richmond shipyards in California.

factories, while high-tech assembly work migrated to China.

This is despite acertain amount of nostalgia in liberal andconservative quarters for the dayswhen union representation of private-sector employees was considered thenorm. Union membership as apercentage of employees peakedat33.5% in 1954, when almost no public employees belonged to unions.

That’smore than five times thepercentage of private-sectorunionmembershiptoday

What accounts for this major change in American life? It startswithhow unions were formed. Craft andbuilding unions have roots going back more than acentury,when manyserved the function of medieval guilds —maintaining quality standardsand stamping out the competition. They often had adiscernible ethniccharacter,with membership opento sons, brothers, nephews and cousins of current members Thebig jump —atripling —inunion membership camesuddenly from 1937 to 1947 after the passage of theNew Deal’sWagnerAct. Industrial workers weren’tthe worst-off employees in the 1930s Depression. They feared that “time and motion study”managers would speed up the assembly lines, and, with 20% unemployment, they knew they could be easily replacedif they walked out.

In the postwar years, Reuthernegotiated with General Motors’ Charles E. Wilson on the 1950 Treaty of Detroit —a five-year no-strike contract with cost-of-living increases, health care benefits and defined-benefitpensions.

In what has been referred to as “America’smidcentury moment,” it becamewidely known that the only enlightened way to manage enormous centralized factoryoperations, vulnerable alwaystoviolence, was tocooperate with union leaders. Alas, as so often happens in human affairs, success bred failure. U.S. auto andsteel companies failed to respond effectively to unexpected foreign competition,and 1970s contracts promising early retirement and open-ended preMedicare retiree health care insurance pushed Detroit’sBig Three and Big Steel toward bankruptcy Foreign-based auto companies building new plants avoided Michigan and Ohio counties with elected judges who would not enjoin wildcat strikes and chose sites in states with right-to-work laws banning compulsory union membership. As inventive employers moved from labor-intensive to increasingly automatedmanufacturing and as agrowing economy moved from manufacturing to services, rapid-growth firms such as Walmart and Amazon depended on thousandsofgeographically dispersed locationsrather than afew enormous

Unions were also victims of their own good intentions. Federal and state minimum wage, work safety and pension legislation made union protections seem unnecessary.Human resource departments,created in responseto government regulations and court decisions, handled matters unions used to. Or consider the record of the two teachers unions, which today pocket thedues of one-third of American union members. Their major achievementinthe past decade was shutting down schools in states and cities controlled by their Democratic allies, not just for six weeks tostop the spread of COVID-19 but for two years or more after it was clear that schoolchildren didn’tcontract or transmit the virus at significant rates The result has been asharp lowering of test scores, especially among Black and disadvantaged students.Itmay have been thegreatest destruction of learning in U.S. history

In contrast, thegreatest improvementinNational Assessment of Educational Progress test scores in recent years cameinthe two non-teacher union-dominated states, Mississippi and Louisiana, which have thenation’s highest Black percentages. Their scores have jumped from the bottom to themiddle rank of states and, adjusted for racial composition, now rank highest in thenation, ahead of even high-incomesuburb-dominated Massachusetts. Democrats inevitably insert provisions encouraging private-sector unionization in their big legislation, including Obamacare and the Biden stimulus. Provisionsthat “Abundance” authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson pointed out include increased costs and delayed completion of public works. Butthese haven’tpushed the union numbers up. It seemsthat however well suited labor unions were during the “midcentury moment,” they’re not well suited toour current servicedominated decentralized economy. Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

With die-hard Saints fans nervously awaiting tonight’sstart of the NFL Draft, there’s one thing all can agree that the Saints should do better. No,Idon’tmean they should completely change how they adjudge defensive ends (although they definitely should do that). And Idon’tmean they must follow my own draft preferences. Instead, the one area Saints clearly owe more to their fans is in transparency about injuries. The latest, obvious case in point is the mysterious shoulder ailment of putative starting quarterback Derek Carr Before getting too deep into the transparency argument, please allow adisclaimer: This isn’tan anti-Saints-in-general column. Ilove the Saints, not just on the field but off. Owner Gayle Benson is acharitable dynamo. The Saints encourage their players to be beneficially active in the community,and they tend to choose players with the character to embrace those community engagements. And the Saints tend to reinvest in Louisiana and, in general, to be good (albeit somewhat demanding) corporate citizens. Finally,ofcourse, they are our Saints. Theyare an indelible part of us. (If you know whatImean, you really know whatI mean.) We cannotnot love them.

Yetstill, they drive us crazy.They make wacky trade-ups in the draft for boom-or-bust players who too often go bust. They insist coaches are good when we can all see they aren’t. They repeatedly insist their roster is betterthanitis and blame injuries for poor team performance —without seeming to look inward to figure why the Saints for so many consecutive years have had among the most games lost to injuriesinthe league.

Which brings us back to the team’sconsistent lack of transparency about injuries, especially as highlighted by Carr’ssituation. Nearly two full weeks ago, April 11, reports emergedsaying Carr has ashoulder ailment so bad he might miss the whole season. Since then, the Saints have told us nothing. Not asingle substantive thing about the status of the quarterback on whom $150 million is being lavished.

What sort of injury is it? How did it happen? When did it happen? Will he need surgery? Is he really out for the year? We deserve to know the answers.

Caveat: If he isn’treally injured so badly and the Saints are playing mind games with the rest of the league to make other teamsthink we are desperate for aquarterback, thus giving the Saints abetter shot at asuperstar non-QB in the draft, then maybe that’sOK. We like competitive advantage.

Still, no later than Monday,wedeserve those answers. Why? Because in more thanone sense that $150 millionisour money.Idon’tjust mean through the tickets and merchandise purchased by Saints fans. Additionally,Louisiana state government through the years has either paid directly or subsidized the Saints to the tune of many,many hundreds of millions of dollars (I’ll spare you the exact accounting, but the receipts are public knowledge) —building the Superdome and renovating it several times, making direct payments to the team, and creating the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District that through special tax revenue (along with income generated at the stadium) pays for another large chunk of the dome and subsidizes the Saints’ otherproperties. All of whichisn’ttomention that, evenasthe Saints do generate lots of revenue for the region, it is the super-loyal fan base that has allowed whatwas a$70 millionpurchase by TomBenson to balloon into afranchise now valuedbyCNBC at $5.5 billion.

Moreover,nearly uniquely among NFL franchises, the Saints were awarded to the city itself (largely through national political maneuvering, but that’sanother story) before the would-be franchise even had an original owner.Inthat sense, the Saints belong to the city and state themselves.

All of whichmakes the Saints essentially apublic-private partnership. With public-sector money should comepublic accountability

Yetthe Saints are notoriously close-mouthed about injuries in general, and so oftenmisleading that the incorrect reports begin to lookdeliberate. How many times, fergoshsakes, canthe Saints say aplayer is expected to miss only X number of weeks, only to see him still shelved after X-plus-eight or nine or more?

And now our $150 millionman reportedly is injured. Yes, our man: We pay for him. Yetthe Saints, two weeks later,still tell us absolutely nothing about his status. In the long run —indeed, even in the almostimmediate run —there’snogood reason for the secrecy.The Saints have an ethical duty to tell us the truth.

Now, as for how the Saints should draft, well Quin Hillyer can be reached at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com.

Quin Hillyer

Byron York

Michael Barone

McIlroywasn’t missing

Zurich,despite newstatus

As Shane Lowry celebrated after the Masters with his friend Rory McIlroy,there was aquestion he just had to ask, and it wasn’t whether he could try on his new green jacket Say,mate, are we still playinginthe Zurich Classic together?

Loomis mumonCarr, talksdraft

GM says Saints seeking ‘clarity’onQB’sinjury

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

New Orleans Saints general manager

Mickey Loomis refused to answer questionsonquarterback Derek Carr’sstatus Wednesday,telling reporters only that the 34-year-old hasa“shoulderissue” that is causing theteam to wait for more clarity.

Loomis made an opening statement on Carr during his mandatory

ä Round 1 7P.M.THURSDAy,ABC, ESPN, NFLN

pre-draft news conference and then stuck to those talking pointswhen asked several follow-up questions, such as when the team found out about Carr’sinjury

“He does have an issue with his shoulder,” Loomis said. “We’re hoping to get someresolution and some clarity on that in the near future.And when we do,I’ll reportback to you. Otherwise, Idon’thave anything more to stateonDerek.”

News that Carr is dealing with apotential season-endingshoulder injury broke April

11, three days before the team’svoluntary offseason workouts began. Carr has not been around the facility since then.

LoomissaidCarr’s injury does notaffect howthe Saintsare planning to approach the draft,which begins Thursday andruns through Saturday

“We’re hoping to find as many good players, great players, as we can find,” Loomis said. “And we’re fortunate enough this year to have multiple picks in the first four rounds,and we’re excitedabout that becauseIthink there’s some depthinthisdraft that will be able to help our roster.” Loomissaid he believes this year’s draft is

See SAINTS, page 4C

Scott Rabalais

ä Zurich Classic 2P.M.

THURSDAy,GOLF

The pair won the tournamentin2024, instantly becoming the most popular champions of the PGA Tour’sonly team event since it went to itscurrent buddy-buddy format in 2017. They were even themost popular before they won, gettingastanding ovation the night before the final round as they left dinner at Arnaud’s, then singingalong lustily withapacked room of fans at theZurich’sposttournamentshindig. Still, Lowry’squestion was afair one consideringhow McIlroy’s life had changed. Plus, Rory was soon jetting home to Northern Ireland to celebrate with his parents, who hadn’tbeen in attendance.

“I said to my caddie on the 15th hole at Augusta —and Ithinkhe(Rory) hadjust made double on 13 —‘No matterwhathappens the next few holes, Ithink we’re going to do well to get into New Orleans,’ ”Lowry said Wednesday,sitting next to McIlroy at a pre-tournament newsconference. “Ifthings didn’tgohis way,Idon’tthink he’d want to be here, and Ithought if things did go his way,he’d want to be somewhere else McIlroy,who has picked up acold but fewclubs since becomingthe sixthman ever to complete the careerGrandSlam, leftnodoubt

“I said, ‘Absolutely,’ ”McIlroy said.

ä See ZURICH, page 3C

NewPelicans’ VP Dumars must decide whetherto invest anymore time in Zion

During Joe Dumars’ 26-minuteintroductorynews conference Tuesday,he mentioned Zion Williamson’s name exactly threetimes, all within thespan of 10 seconds

The one time thenew head of basketball operations for the Pelicans was asked directly about theteam’sstar forward, he deftly sidestepped thequestion beforequickly changing the subject. None of this,ofcourse, was by accident

If you don’tknow this by now,you will soon:Zion Williamson’sfuturewiththe Pelicans hangs in the balance. After yet another injury-plagued season and another embarrassing off-courtincident,Williamson’sfuture

with the franchise is tenuous at best. The next few weeks will determine whether Zion returns to New Orleans for aseventh season or is traded elsewhere for afresh start —for him and the franchise. His Pelicans’ career has reached acrossroads.

As the new man in charge, Dumars is the one who will decide his fate.

So it was no surprise that Dumars went out of his way to limit any Zion discussion in his first official public comments. Understandably,hewants to spend more time with Williamson and gain abetter understanding

ä See DUNCAN, page 2C

STAFFFILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

RoryMcIlroyplays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the Zurich Classic on April 25 at TPCLouisiana in Avondale.

Zach Ewing

6p.m.

6p.m.Oklahoma

7p.m.

10

2p.m.

12:30

3:30

6p.m. Newyork at DetroitTNT

8:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at Memphis TNT 9p.m. DenveratL.A.Clippers NBATV

7p.m.Round 1ABC/ESPN/NFLN

5:30 p.m.Florida at Tampa BayTBS

6p.m.Toronto at Ottawa ESPN2

8p.m.Vegas at MinnesotaTBS

8:30 p.m.Winnipeg at St.Louis ESPN2

MEN’S SOCCER

9:30 p.m.Inter Miami CF at Vancouver FS1

LSUwomen stillonlinefor big fish

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Any women’scollege basketball

player whowished to enterthe NCAA transfer portal had to do so by Wednesday night.

LSU suffered its fair share of losses in this year’scycle,but coach Kim Mulkey and her staff still have the bones of achampionship-caliber team.

They can build aroster around the two stars they’re retaining (Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams), the four freshmen they’re enrolling (Grace Knox, ZaKiyah Johnson, DivineBourrage and Bella Hines),and the two transfers they’re alreadyadding (Kate Koval and Amiya Joyner).

How aggressive will LSU be in what’sleft of the portalcycle? How heavily will it have to rely on its freshmen next season?

Let’sexamine the Tigers’ offseason to date, with afocus on all thetalent they’ve lost and an eye toward themoves they stillcan make.

Heavyturnover

LSU knew it’dhave to replace three players whowere set to exhaust their eligibility:Aneesah Morrow,Shayeann Day-Wilson and Amani Bartlett.

It was unsure, however,ofhow many contributors it’d lose tothe transfer portal. The final number wound up pushingMulkey and her staff into relativelynew territory

In all, they’ve lost five players to the portal, which means they must replace eight of the 13 players from last season’steam. That’s three more openings than they hadto fill last offseasonand two more than they had to address the year prior

The Tigers haven’texperienced this much turnover since the 2022 offseason, when Mulkey overhauled her first LSU roster and signed the nucleusofthe team that eventually won the 2023 national championship.

Sa’Myah Smith, aformer starter who’stransferring to Virginia, kicked off the movement when she entered the portalthe dayafter the Tigers’ season ended.Four others have followed her out the door

DUNCAN

Continued from page1C

of his motives and mindset before talking about his statuswith the team.

Those meetingspresumably will take place in the days and weeks ahead as Dumars conducts his damage and mitigation assessment of the basketball operation. How those get-togethers go largely will dictate the direction of the franchise going forward.

Dumar was nattily dressed in acharcoal suit and crisp white dress shirt Tuesday,but apair of coveralls and shrimpboots might have been more appropriate attire. He has amess to clean up

The Pelicans are comingoff the second-worst season in franchise history and have lostthe confidence and attention of their loyal fanbase.

The disastrous 21-61 season cost David Griffinhis job as vicepresident of basketball operationsand is expectedtospur more changes on Airline Drive.

PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSUcoach Kim Mulkey celebrates as her team heads to the bench after causing SanDiegoState to call a timeoutinthe first quarter of their NCAA Tournament first-round game last month at the PMAC

Last-Tear Poais moving to Arizona State, Aalyah Del Rosario is enrollingatVanderbilt andasof Wednesday,bothMjracle Sheppard and Jersey Wolfenbarger are still looking for newschools.

Twobig targets

More portal additions are likely on theway LSU hosted former Wisconsin star Serah Williams on avisit last Thursday, andit’salso considered “the strongfrontrunner” to land ex-South Carolina guard MiLaysia Fulwiley, according to aWednesdayreportfromOn3.

Williamsisa 6-foot-4 forward with 89 career starts,all-conference defensive honors anda scoring average of 19.2 points pergamelast season as ajunior.

Landing herwould give the Tigers aprovenpost presence who can score, defend andrebound, and she’s one of the 10 besttransfers of the cycle, per ESPN rankings UConn and North Carolina also are reportedly recruiting her hard. FulwileyisESPN’s fifth-ranked transfer.She’s oneofthe most dynamic, athletic guards in the country,but sheaveraged only 11.7 ppg on 43% shooting across the first twoseasons of her career Her ceiling is much higher.Could LSU find theright role for her and unlock her potential?

LSU awaitsWilliams’ and Fulwiley’s finaldecisions.Iftheysign on, the Tigers will have one of the nation’s top transfer classes for thesecond time in three years.

Otheroptions

LSU is runningout of chancesto catch big fish.

According to On3, roughly a third of the approximately 1,500 playerswho decidedtotransfer hadfound adestination by the time theportalclosedWednesday

That number includes most of thetop prospects. Only five of the top-25 players in ESPN’s annual transfer rankings are still searching for anew home: Williams, Fulwiley,Utah’sGianna Kneepkens, Vanderbilt’s Iyana Moore and St. Joseph’sLaura Ziegler

If theTigers miss out on one or bothofWilliams and Fulwiley, they’ll have afew open roster spots andnot many high-profile players left to pursue.

LSU men’shoops guard Givens goes in portal LSUmen’sbasketball guardCurtis Givens entered the transfer portal, according to multiple reports. The freshman entered beforethe portal closed Tuesday Givens averaged 4.8 points on 26.9% fromthe field and1.6 assists in 18.2 minutes pergame, including 12 starts, last season. In LSU’s91-62 loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament, he hadseven points five rebounds, threeassistsand zero turnovers in 26 minutes. The 6-foot-3 guard was theNo. 65 player in thecountry in the 247Sports Composite coming out of high school. He is the seventh LSU playertoenter thetransferportal, joining freshmanVyctoriusMiller, redshirt freshman Corey Chest, sophomore Mike Williams, redshirt junior Daimion Collins, junior TyrellWard andjunior Noah Boyde

Fredette,U.S.

Olympian, retires from basketball

Jimmer Fredette,the 2011 Associated Press men’s collegebasketball player of the year at BYU who went on to become an NBA lottery pick and then played for theU.S.in3x3 at last year’s Paris Olympics, announced his retirement on Wednesday.Fredette, 36, was the No. 10 pick by Milwaukee in that 2011 draft. He spent parts of six seasons in the NBA with Sacramento,New Orleans, Chicago, Phoenix and New York.

He also played professionally in Chinaand Greece, winning the MVPawardinthe Chinese Basketball Association in 2017.

He averaged 28.9 points per game for BYU in the 2010-11 college season, leading the country on hisway to theAPplayerofthe year award.

Nuggets coachoptimistic Porter will play in Game 3 DENVER Michael Porter Jr.participated in the DenverNuggets’ practice Wednesday and interim coach David Adelman said he was hopefulPorter wouldplayinGame 3against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night. Adelman also said astomach bug that hadswept through the team earlier in the week, one that had him doubting if Jamal Murray would even play Monday night, was abating. Porter sprained his left shoulderlateinthe Nuggets’ 105-102 loss in Game 2and wasn’t on the floor when Denver missed desperation 3-pointers in the final seconds.

Porter was in significant pain afterward, grimacing as he got dressedand saying he’dnever dealt with that kind of pain.

As Dumars noted, Griffindid alot of good things duringhis six-year tenure. He professionalized and elevated thefront office, adroitly navigated the messy divorce from Anthony Davis, and oversaw the shrewd draft selections of TreMurphy,HerbJones, Dyson Daniels and Yves Missi. His undoing, though, was an inability to make the Zion Experience work. It certainly wasn’tfor alack of trying. Griffinbuilt the entire roster around Zion’stalents. He brought in respected veteran guard CJ McCollum to serve as amentor and hired a new training staff to try to get the best out of him. None of it worked.

Enter Dumars. Theproductofa blue-collar, Louisiana household, Dumars starredfor thefamed Detroit Pistons Bad Boysteams in thelate 1980sand early1990s.During hisprime, he was chargedwith defending Michael Jordan one-onone, so going toe-to-toe withZion over dinner or in ameeting room will not intimidate him. If anything, he will relish thechallenge. Dumars didn’tmention Williamson directly by name, but many ofhis comments Tuesday were athinlyveiled message aimed directly at the star-crossed superstar “You’re not going to be successful just with talent alone,” Dumars said. “There aresome intangibles that you have to have.You’ve got to figure out: Does this guy really wanttobe great?Ishegoingtowork? Is he going to show up? Does he have toughness? All of those intangible things besides who can run fast, who can jump high, whocan shoot the ball. Ican seethat. Anybody cansee that.”

Dumars then added, pointing to his chest, “What you don’tknow is, what’sinhere. Does this guy have it?”

Dumars will spend the next few weekstrying to answer those questions aboutZion.It’s an indictment on theformer No. 1overall pick—and indirectly, Pelicans’ leadership—thatwe still don’tknowthe answers six years into his career Throughout his time in New Orleans, Williamson hasdemonstrated an affinity for the good things associated with beingan NBA franchise player—the money,status andfame —while shirking its other inherent responsibilities —among them, responsible leadershipand mature, off-court decision-making. Whenhealthyand focused, Williamson is aforce of nature capable of singlehandedly dominating games with his rare combination of brawn,quickness, agility and explosiveness. Unfortunately,the times Williamson hasbeen healthyand focused have been few andfar

between. Injuries to his knee, thumb, foot and hamstring have underminedWilliamson’sprogress andcaused him to miss more games (258) than he’splayed (214) so far in his career.Asaresult, the Pelicans have won fewer than 45% of their games during his tenure. Still, his talent is so prodigious andhis potential so immense, team officials have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to nurture his development, often shielding him from outside scrutiny while waiting —and probably,praying —for him to mature into the franchise leader they thought they were getting back in 2019. Along the way,the growing pains have frustrated management and ownership. Williamson was suspended fora game earlier this season forviolating team rules, hadbeen regularly late to flights, meetingsand other team functions, andwas ano-show for the Pelicans’ official team photo shoot late in theseason The latest tabloid-inducing legaldrama at his Kenner home was theproverbial last straw “Certain things are universal,” Dumars said. “You win with good people.Wereally want to bring in the right type of players here. We wantpeople that are going to embrace New Orleans and this state. Youhavetoput atremendous amount of emphasis on your staff to dig in to find out what’sthis guy made of. Does this guy really wanttobegreat? Is he going to come here and be apart of the culture?Ishegoing to buy in?” Dumars wasn’ttalking directly aboutWilliamson, but everyone understood the message: It’stime for Zion to get on board or be shipped out. Dumars will learn the answer soonenough. If he can’t reach Williamson,I’m notsure who can

Hall of Fame DT McMichael dies at age 67 from ALS

Steve McMichael, astar defensive tackle on the Chicago Bears’ famed 1985 Super Bowl championship team whose larger-than-life personality madehim a fixturein the Windy City for decades and a natural for professional wrestling, has died following abattle with ALS. He was67.

McMichael died Wednesday afternoon, his publicist, Betsy Shepherd, told The Associated Press. An All-Pro in 1985 and 1987, McMichael was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2024.

He played in afranchise-record 191 consecutive games from 1981 to 1993 and ranks second to RichardDentonthe Bears’career sacks listwith 921/2.His final NFL season waswith Green Bayin 1994.

Jrue Holiday,wifejoin ownership of soccerteam

Former U.S. women’snational team star Lauren Holiday and husband Jrue Holiday of the Boston Celtics have joined the ownership group of the North Carolina Courage in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Lauren Holiday was on the U.S. teams that won the 2015 Women’s World Cup and gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

Jrue Holiday is atwo-time NBAchampion and two-time AllStar whohas also played for the Philadelphia 76ers, the New Orleans Pelicansand the Milwaukee Bucks.

Thetwo haveinvested in the Courage through their Holiday Family Trust, the team announced Wednesday.Lauren Holiday will serve as an advisor and ambassador forthe NWSL club. On TV

STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Pelicans executivevice president of basketball operations JoeDumars speaksduring hisIntroductorynewsconference on Tuesday at the OchsnerSportsPerformance Center

STAFF

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ROSS D. FRANKLIN

Penn State tight end Tyler Warren pulls in atouchdown pass as Boise State safety Ty Benefield defends during the Fiesta Bowl on Dec.31in Glendale, Ariz.

Saints go heavy on offense early in mock draft

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

The 2025 NFL Draft is upon us, andthe NewOrleansSaintscurrently are armed with their most top-100 selections sincetheir alltime great 2017 draft class. Currently is the operative word in that sentence. New Orleans already has been rumoredtobe looking to trade up from its spot in the second round, potentially using some of their other draft picks as ammunition to do so. Until that happens, let’sgaze into the future to try andidentify who the Saints may take when their turns come around on the first two days of the draft. To provide apool of available players, this mock draft was completed using ProFootball Focus’ mock draft simulator No.9

Considered: Missouri OL Armand Membou, Penn State TE Tyler Warren, Texas CB Jahdae Barron

The selection: Warren Several fun options went off the board just before the Saints’ pick, including Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty,Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham and Georgia pass rusher Jalon Walker.But one of the best players in the draft was still there. Warren immediately would add some playmaking juice to the offense. He recordedmassive numbers in his final season with the Nittany Lions, catching 104 passes for 1,233 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 8.1 yards per carry as aWildcat quarterback.

He’sapolished receiver with sure hands, and he’sadeptatcreating yardage after the catch. Warren also offers some value as ablocker,using his prototypical 6-foot-5, 256-pound frame to wall off defenders.

Tight end would be abit of aluxury pick, considering the Saints just signed Juwan Johnson to an extension. But more than any positional need, New Orleans needs to stockpile good young players, which are in short supply on its current roster Membou was tempting in this spot —some evaluators consider him the best offensive lineman in the class —but it’snot clear how the Saints view their current offensive front. Would they consider moving Trevor Penning inside? Would they use atop-10 pick on an interioroffensive lineman, as some view Membou’sbest fitatguard? It’s definitely apossibility they go in this direction, but the Warren pick feels safer No.40

Considered:Alabama OL Tyler Booker,Arkansas DE Landon Jackson, Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe

The selection:Dart Idon’texpect Dart (or Colorado’sShedeur Sanders or Louisville’sTyler Shough) to behere when the Saints make their pick at No. 40 —which is why I’m also not anticipating the Saints to stay in this spot.

Loomis needstoanswer

QB Carr questionssoon

Mickey Loomis treated the Derek Carr questions Wednesday much like he often treats the number-crunching intricacies of thesalary cap. He kicked thecan down the road.

So if you were hoping toget someanswers tothe most importantquestion about the mostimportantposition on themost important sports franchise in this city,you’ll have to wait.

Loomis,the Saintsexecutive vice president/ general manager,held his annual league-mandated pre-draft news conference Wednesday.But he had very little to say about the one topic most people wanted toknow about Youhad abetter chance of finding out whom the Saintswill choose with their No. 9draft pick Thursday night than you had of gettingLoomis to give any insight on the Carr situation.

thinghecan not to tip his hand on theeve of oneofthe mostimportantdrafts in recent history Whatever the Saints’ plans are at quarterback, Loomis doesn’t want to show his hand to the other 31 general managers around the league. That’sunderstandable leading up to the draft.

Will Carr be available this season? Didthe Saints know about the injury before they restructured Carr’scontract in early March? Were they blindsided by the newsofthe injury just like the rest of us?

We’llsee how it plays out Thursday, but there has been plentyofsmoke in recent days suggesting some quarterbackneedy teams may waituntil early in thesecondround to target aquarterback.That includes teams such as the Browns (No. 33) andGiants (No. 34).

Let’ssay theSaints don’tselect aquarterback in the first round. Andlet’salso say thePittsburgh Steelersdon’tselect one with the No. 21 pick. If New Orleans really wants to address quarterback early,thenitwould makesense to trade into theback quarter of the first roundto get ahead of theBrowns andGiantsand make sure they get their guy And Dart may betheir guy TheSaints had abig presence at Ole Miss’ pro day,and while that is far from an indicator that they lovehim as aprospect, it does show they’redoing their homework.

Dart has NFL size (6-2, 223 pounds), astrong arm (FBS-best 10.8 yardsper attempt) and is asolid athlete (14 career rushing touchdowns), but theSaints would have to be comfortable with his ability as aprocessor At Ole Miss, hewas not often asked to see thewhole field.

No.71

Considered: Cal CB Nohl Williams, LSUDESai’vion Jones, SouthCarolinaDTTJSanders

The selection: Williams Forthisscenario, let’soperate as thoughthe Saintshave both of their currentthird-round selections. There is still one glaring hole on theroster, and that is at cornerback.New Orleans currently has only three players with real NFL experience at the position.

Enter NohlWilliams, who intercepted an FBS-best seven passes in his finalcollegiate season —all of which happened under PeterSirmon, theformer Cal defensivecoordinator who nowservesasthe Saintslinebackers coach. There are some concerns about Williams’ speed —heran a4.50 40-yarddash at thecombine —but aperfect prospect doesn’texist at this stage of the draft

No.93

Considered:LSU OG Miles Frazier,Georgia OG Dylan Fairchild, Georgia RB Trevor Etienne

The selection:Frazier

Unless theSaints use their top pickonanoffensivelineman, one of thetwo third-round picks feels like the best place to beef up theinterior of theoffensive line. Even when New Orleans hadits preferred starting five on the field last season,left guard was aweak spot.

Frazier offers alittle more upside than Fairchild. He’s huge (6-5, 317) and displayed theathleticism the Saintscovet in their offensivelinemen (a 9.58 RelativeAthletic Score at the combine). Heplayed every position butcenter at LSU, though most of his experience (28starts) cameatright guard.

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

The Saints have nine picks in this draft, none more important than ninth overall. It’s their highest draftpick since 2008, when they selected defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis with the seventh overall pick. This pick wasimportant even before the unexpected news that dropped on April 11 that Carr was dealing with ashoulder issue that could sideline him forthe season. Thepick becameeven moreimportant once we found out Carr may not even become available.

Only Loomis can answer those. And perhaps he will once all the dust settles on this year’sdraft. He owes that to the folks who spend their money filling up the SuperdomeonSundays. It would be good to at least know whether Carr and the Saints are on the samepage. If they aren’t, it’s OK to admit that. Teams and key players have disagreements all the time.

Since nobody —that’sneither Carr nor Loomis —have said anything, we’re leftwondering.

Loomis knew Carr would be one of the main topics and addressed it in his opening statement before closing the book on the topic.

“He does have an issue with his shoulder,” Loomis confirmed. “We’rehoping to get aresolution and clarity on that in the near future. When we do, we’ll report back to you. Otherwise, Idon’t have anything moretostate on Derek.”

The biggest question, of course, is why don’tthe Saintshave clarity on something so important? Hopefully,they do have clarity and Loomis is just doing every-

All of asudden, quarterbacks like Shedeur Sanders of Colorado and Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss seem moreappealing, especially for a franchise and afanbase that have spent the past four seasons trying to find DrewBrees’ successor.The Saints shouldn’tjust draft aquarterback just for the sake of drafting one. The grade on Sanders or DartorLouisville’sTyler Shough doesn’timprove just because you suddenly need aquarterback. If you love them, you draft them. If you don’t, you don’t. Butthese are thequestions that were themost important ones Wednesday:

One of Loomis’ mostinteresting responses Wednesday came when he wasasked whether the starting quarterback this upcoming season is currently on the roster That would be Carr,Spencer Rattler,Jake Haener or Ben DiNucci.

“I’m not going to answer that question, because that will just lead to abunch of speculation, whichever wayI answer it,” Loomissaid.

A”yes” to that would have indicated Carr or Rattler

A”no” would have indicated they’d try to find their guy in the draft.

What the Saints decide to do in this draftshould provide some answers.

And once the draftisover, Loomis needs to provide some answers, too.

Campbell settobreak LSUdrought in draft

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

Will Campbell’sparents recently learned only one LSU offensive lineman has been pickedinthe first round of the NFL draft in the Super Bowl era. They found that hard to believe considering how many players have come through the program, anditboggledtheir minds that their son likely will be thesecond. “I saw that the other day,” said Campbell’sdad, Brian, “and that blew my mind.”

Campbell is aprojected early first-round pick Thursday night in the 2025 NFL Draft. He is expected to join Alan Faneca as the only LSU offensive linemen to be pickedinthe first round sincethe Super Bowl era began in 1970 after theAFL-NFL merger.Hecould becomethe highest-drafted offensive lineman in school history Campbell’smom read about the history herson will make in the newspaper in Monroe. She asked hersister whetheranyoneshould talk about this before the draft happens, as thoughshe didn’twant to jinxanything.

SAINTS

Continuedfrom page1C

heavy on defensive linemen, while lighter on cornerbacks. New Orleanshas nine overallselections, four of which come in thetop 100 and six in thetop 150.

The Saintsalso have done alot of homework on thisyear’squarterback class, withcoach Kellen Moore andhis staff attending pro days for the top prospects. New Orleans is believedtobeinterested in Jaxson Dart from Ole Miss and Tyler Shough from Louisville, which could require theSaints to trade up for either prospect if they passonthem at No. 9. In Round 2, the Saints hold the 40th overall pick, but they are settopick after other quarterback-needy teams in the New York Giants (No. 33) and Cleveland Browns (No. 34).

Unwillingtoanswer on Carr, Loomis didfield multiple questions about potentially draftinga quarterback. He left thepossibility open —“allteams are in the business of quarterbacks,”hesaid —but cautioned “overdrafting” at theposition.

“I think if you’re draftingupreally high, you better love them,” Loomis said.

Loomissaidhehopestheninthpick will yield akey playerwho the team can “count on”for thenextdecade.

The Saints have taken aquarterback in back-to-back drafts with JakeHaener andSpencer Rattler Loomis said he likes each of those players, but he hasn’tchangedhow he approaches scouting the position. Rattler and Haener combined to go 0-7 in starts when Carr was injuredlastseason, with Rattler starting six of those contests.

“Wehave strived to keep him humble and grounded,” said Campbell’smom, Holly.“There’salot of talk, and it’snice. But it’speople’s opinions. Until it’sadonedeal,it’s purely speculation.” It will becomerealitysoon

SAINTS EXERCISE OPTION ON OLAVE BUT NOTPENNING

During his pre-draft news conference, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis announced that his team will pick up the fifth-year option forreceiver Chris Olavebut will not do so foroffensivetackle Trevor Penning The decision is not asurprise foreither player.When he’sbeen healthy,Olave has been the Saints’ most productivereceiver since the team draftedhim 11th overall in 2022. Penning,meanwhile, has been either injured or ineffectivefor much of his tenure. Olaveisentering the final year of his rookie contract in 2025, and by exercising his fifth-year option, he will be tiedtothe Saints through at least the 2026 season. According to Over The Cap, Olave is projected to cost the Saintsabout $15 million in 2026. Penning startedjust six gamesinhis first twoseasons afterthe Saintsselectedhim 19th overall in 2022.

He opened the 2023 season as the starting left tackle, butwas benched midway throughthe campaign afterstruggling mightily.New Orleans shifted him to right tackle last season. Luke Johnson

With Carr injured and theother

two still developing, does Loomis feel the Saints have astarting quarterback on theroster?

“I’m not going to answer that questionbecause that’lllead to a bunch of speculation, whichever wayIanswer,” Loomis said. Loomis saidhehas leaned on the new coaching for input ahead of the draft. Working with head coach Kellen Moore, he said, has been “great,” and he noted they have anumber of other assistants whohaveplayedquarterback.He later added he agrees with Moore’s

enough. Campbell flew to Green Bay,Wisconsin, on Monday as one of 17 players invited to attend the draft. His parents joined him the next day.After months of workouts, meetings with teams and scrutiny of his arm length, aday their family said they were “anxiously awaiting” has arrived. When Campbell’snamegets called —several draftanalysts project him to go No.4 overalltothe New England Patriots —hewill end along drought for the LSU program. Thirty LSUplayers have been drafted in the first round since Faneca went No. 26 overall in 1998 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not asingle one wasanoffensive linemen. Before Faneca, two LSUoffensive linemen were picked in the first round of aprofessional draft. Dave McCormickwentinthe first round of the1965AFL Draft, thoughhe wasselected in the fifth round of the NFL draft. Ayear later,George Rice waspicked No. 12 overall in theNFL draft and in the third round of the AFL draft.

philosophy to build the roster “inside-out,” which meanstofocus on adding to the trenches.

Defensive coordinator Brandon Staley also has shared his preferences with the “structure of our defense changing,” Loomis said.

As forCarr, Loomis declinedto say whether the clarity New Orleansisseeking is about the severity of Carr’sinjuryorhow the injury happened.

The Saints also restructured Carr’s contract last monthtofree up morethan $30 million in salarycap space in 2025. Loomis said “restructures can come in all sorts of forms” when asked if aplayer has to pass aphysical for therestructure to take place.

Asked about the quality of this year’s quarterback class, Loomis said there are some“really good” players, but he suggested the quantity isn’tasstrong as past years. As ageneral manager, Loomis has not taken arookie quarterback in the first round —and as a franchise,the Saints haven’tdone that since 1971 when theteam took Archie Manning with the second overall pick.

“Look,the guys youfallinlove with at that position, (that)you feel like are immediate players, are going to be taken in the top 7or8,10 picks, right?” Loomis said. “That’s just the nature of it. That doesn’t mean you can’t find areally good quarterback later,justmore often, later it’smore speculative and there’smoredevelopment that’s required.”

When the Saints are on the clock Thursday at No. 9, Loomis’ actions will reveal whether the Saints love any of these quarterbacks enough to takethemthat high. Even if he’snot ready to answer questions about Carr

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU offensivelinemanWill Campbell standsinthe tunnel beforea game againstArkansas on Oct. 19 in Fayetteville,Ark.

Rod Walker

Flavors lead to successof Chicken Picadillo

BY LINDAGASSENHEIMER Tribune News Service (TNS)

Picadillo is apopular Latin dish

Ihave

in

and

dinner using ground chicken as themain ingredient for alighter result. It only takes afew minutes to gather the ingredients,but they all cook together in less than 15 minutes.

I

find that this is aquick and easy meal to have on hand.It freezes well, so Ioften make double the recipe and save half foranother meal.

Chicken Picadillo Yields 2servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer

4teaspoons canola oil, divided use 1cup frozen diced onion

1cup frozen diced green bell pepper 2medium garlic cloves, crushed

¾pound ground white meat chicken breast

2cups low-sodium, tomato sauce

2tablespoons Worcestershiresauce

2tablespoons capers

¼cup raisins

2tablespoons distilled white vinegar Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Microwaveable brown rice to measure 1cup cooked Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2cups washed, ready-to-eat lettuce

1tablespoon reduced-fat oil and vinegardressing

1. Heat 2teaspoons oil in alarge nonstick skilletover medium-high heat and add the onions, green pepper,garlic and ground chicken. Sauté 3 to 4minutes, breakingupthe chicken into small pieces as it cooks.You canuse the edge of acooking spoon to break upthe chicken.

2. Addthe tomato sauce and saute untilthe sauce startsto bubble, about 2to3 minutes. AddWorcestershire, capers, raisinsand vinegar. Reduce heat to medium and cook gently for about 3to4minutes. Add salt and pepper

3. Divide in half and place on 2dinner plates.

4. Microwavethe brownrice according to the package instructions. Measure 1cup and savethe remaining rice foranother meal

5. Toss the rice with the remaining 2teaspoons of oil. Divide the rice in half and place on the plates with the picadillo. Serve alittle washed, ready-toeat lettuce on the side with the dressing.

NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 612

calories(23 percent from fat), 15.8 gfat (2.1 gsaturated, 7.5 gmonounsaturated), 126 mg cholesterol, 47.1 gprotein,72.9 gcarbohydrates, 9.5 g fiber,461 mg sodium.

LIVING

Steeped in flavor

Make crawfish stew,Creolecream cheese grits, andanItalian saladafter thecrawfish boil

When we have a crawfish boil in Louisiana, we make sure to have our vegetables, too. Yearsago, adding corn and potatoes to thepot was de rigueur,but today people add any vegetables they like, such as carrots, onions, celery,mushrooms and even artichokes.Sausage is often thrown in for good measure. Of course, there can be leftovers, an opportunity to create somethingnew.This crawfish stew is versatile enough for people who have leftovers from aboil as well as those of us whobuy abag of frozen crawfish tails.Ifyou didn’t use all of these vegetables in your boil, just addfresh vegetables to supplementwhat youhave. Boil the fresh veggies beforeyou add them to the stew.You don’twant to overcook some vegetables and undercook others Ihopethissparks some ideas

Serves 4to6

Crawfish Stew

2tablespoons olive oil or baconfat

2tablespoons all-purpose flour 1tablespoon tomato paste 1onion, chopped 1sausage, cut into small pieces, if you put sausageinto your boil.Ifyou did not, use about ¼pound chopped tasso

1. Place theoil or fat into aheavy-bottomed stewpot Heat over medium flameuntil theoil begins to shimmer.Add the flour.Stir until the flour becomes the color of peanut butter.Add thetomato paste and stir until it is incorporated into theroux.

2. Chopanonionleftover from thecrawfish boil. If you didn’tboil onions or there are none left, addafreshly choppedonion. If youare using acooked onion, cook for2 minutes. If you are using araw onion, cook for 7to8minutes or until it softens. Add the sausage and cook another minute. If you use tasso instead of sausage, cook for 3minutes.

3. Addthe garlic, corn kernels, carrots andmushrooms. These vegetables will have come from theboil. Stirgently.Add 1cup

Go forthe greens with aporkand

Pork and Asparagus Stir-fry, RECIPE 2D

BYGRETCHENMcKAY PittsburghPost-Gazette (TNS)

Freshideas for dinner can spring from so manyplaces: thepages of anew cookbook or food magazine, afunny TikTok or instructional

2cloves garlic, minced Corn kernels cut from2or3cobs 3carrots, sliced 10 to 15 mushrooms, sliced 3small potatoes, chopped 1pound peeled Louisiana crawfish ½cup slicedgreen tops of scallions (optional)

of hotwater.Stirand cook for2 minutes.Addpotatoesandcrawfish. Stir for 2more minutes. If you likeyour stew looser,add abit more hot water.Then stir andcook for aminuteor2 more Don’tadd thepotatoes too early. They are probably already soft andslightly overcooked.

4. Test for seasoning using a clean teaspoon. Because these vegetables andcrawfish have absorbed seasoning from the previous boil,you must taste the stew to adjust the seasoning. If it is too bland, add your favorite CajunorCreoleseasoning mix ¼teaspoon at a time, cooking for 1minute after each addition. Keep adding, if moreseasoning is needed.

5. Serve over grits (recipe included) or cooked rice, garnishingwithslicedgreen tops of scallions, if desired.

STAFFPHOTO By BRETT DUKE

TNS PHOTO By LINDAGASSENHEIMER Chicken Picadillo

Liz Williams TIPOFTHE TONGUE

Italian GreenSalad with Gorgonzola

Serves 4to6

1 cup babyarugula leaves

1cup babyspinach leaves

½cup basilleaves

½bulb fennel thinly sliced

¼poundgorgonzola, crumbledintopieces the size of alargeblueberry

6pitted black olives cut in half(optional)

6cherrytomatoes cut in half(optional)

Salad dressing

1. Place all of the ingredients in asalad bowl. Right before serving, pour on the salad dressing and toss. Serve immediately

Serves 4.

1cup yellow grits

½teaspoon salt

SALAD DRESSING:

½cup olive oil

3to4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1tablespoon Creolemustard

¼teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1clove garlic, minced

1teaspoon dried oregano

1. Place all ingredients in ajar.Cover with alid and shake vigorously.Justbefore servingthe salad, pour half of the dressing on thesalad and then toss. Serve therest of the dressingina smallbowlonthe table forthose people wholike more dressing.

CreoleCreamCheese Grits

¼teaspoon ground black pepper

¼teaspoonsmoked paprika

½cup Creole cream cheese at room temperature

WHAT MEMORIES LURK BENEATH BE

It’sbeen 50 years, but some people still don’tthink it’ssafe to go back in the water

The blockbuster 1975 movie “Jaws,”about a monstergreat white shark that terrorizes aNew England beach town, marks ahalfcenturythissummer.yetfor manypeople, the horror feels as recentasthe last time they nervouslystepped into the surf

We’retaking alook at this cultural phenomenon, and we want to hear from you. For example, wherewereyou when you first saw“Jaws”?

Howmanytimeshaveyou seen it since?Did it change your life, and if so how?

Whydoyou think “Jaws”has

had such alasting effect on the public, including sequels, more attention to sharks and subsequent hits like“Shark Week” and “Sharknado”? Email us at holidays@ theadvocate.com.We’ll include someresponses in a storyabout the movieand its long-lasting impact. Include your nameand town,and (not forpublication) adaytime phone number

Aspeed-demon with a temper?Soundslikea keeper

Dear Miss Manners: We visited afriend and her new partner for aweekend visit.Her partner drove us to an outing about 20 miles away and went 95 mphonthe highway

Despite fearing for our lives, we said nothing. On the way back, however, Ipolitely asked the partner if he could please keep his speed under 80 mph.

After aheated exchange, he coldly got back in the car,drove moreslowly,and never said another wordfor the rest of the trip. It wasvery uncomfortable. Was Iright to speak up?

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Gentle reader: If a reasonable person would feel that the alternative to speaking up would have been to be found dead by the side of the road when the local constabulary made their rounds Monday morning, then this is not an etiquette question.

timehas passed to allow everyone to recover their bearings, resumeasnormal an interaction with your friend as you can muster —speaking about other things forthe rest of the weekend. It won’tfool anyone, but you have to pass the time someway,you are not likely to accept asecond invitation, and it is better than playing dead.

The etiquette question is: What to do after everyone got back in the car?

CRAWFISH

Continued from page1D

2. Right before serving, removethe lidand stir in theCreole cream cheese.

1. Bring 2cups of water to aboil. Add the salt, pepper,and paprika. Reduce the heat to asimmer. Then add the grits, whisking all the while to avoid the formationoflumps.The grits will thicken. This takes no more than 5minutes. Then remove from the heat and cover. Set aside for 10 minutes.

This should loosen the grits. Addupto¼cup more Creolecream cheeseifyou prefer looser grits. These grits are designed to be a base foragravy dish like shrimp Creole or crawfish stew,sodonot season them too much or theseasoning may not be compatible with thegravy.

for those leftovers from your next crawfish boil. And maybe besides corn andpotatoes, you consider adding morevegetables to your boil.The seafood boil seasoning and the crawfish give the vegetables adelicious, spicy flavor Thestewisreally versatile,and if you don’thave something, or if you are notafan of one of the vegetables, leave it out I’dlove to hear aboutwhat you put in your boils. We may discover anew taste sensation! Justemail me

Liz Williamsisfounder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans.Listen to “Tip of the Tongue,” Liz’spodcast about food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts. EmailLiz at lizwillia@gmail.com.

Pork and Asparagus Stir-fry

Serves 4. Recipe adapted from bonappetit.com.

2-3teaspoons olive or vegetable oil, divided

1½ pounds asparagus, trimmed, cut on adiagonal into 1- or 2-inch pieces Kosher salt

1pound ground pork

6scallions, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped

5garlic cloves, finely chopped

1(2-inch) piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped

2tablespoons Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) or mediumdrycooking sherry

2tablespoons soysauce

1teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1-2 teaspoons chili crisp, plus additional for serving

Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving,optional

1. Heat 1tablespoon oil in a large skilletonhigh.

2. Once the panishot (oil will be lightly smoking), add half of the asparagus and a couplepinchesofsalt and cook,tossingonly once or twice so the pieces have a chance to blister, until crisptender and lightly browned, about 4minutes

3. Transfer asparagus to a plate. Add another teaspoon oliveoil to skillet (no need to wipe it out) and repeat with remaining asparagus.

4. Reduce heat to mediumhigh. Add remaining 1teaspoon olive oil to skillet,then add groundpork, spreadingit out in an even layer

5. Season with acouple

Cucumber salad

pinches of saltand cook, undisturbed, untilmeat begins to brown underneath, about 2 minutes.

6. Break up meat witha woodenspoonandaddchopped scallions, garlic andginger. Cook, stirring, until pork is crisp andmixture is very fragrant,about 2minutes

7. Add wine or sherry,soy sauceand chili crisp, and return asparagus to skillet. Cook, turning to coat with pork mixture, until heated through, about 1minute.

8. Transfer stir-fry to aplatter or large shallow bowl and drizzle withsesame oil. Serve withrice and additional chili crisp, if desired, garnished with chopped cilantro.

Serves 4. Recipe is by GretchenMcKay,Post-Gazette.For aless spicysalad, omit the chili crisp

1pound cucumbers, sliced verythin

1teaspoon kosher salt

2tablespoon rice vinegar

1tablespoon soy sauce

2teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1heaping

STIR-FRY

teaspoon chili crisp

4cloves garlic, finely minced

1-inch piece of fresh ginger,grated 1½ teaspoons sugar

1teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, plus more for garnish Red chili pepper flakes, for garnish

Continued from page1D

they’re tossed in apan with ground pork that’sbeen

1. In amediumbowl, tosscucumber and salt. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes while you prepare the dressing.

2. In alarge serving bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice wine vinegar,sesameoil, chili crisp, garlic, ginger,sugar and sesameseeds.Set aside.

3. Rinsecucumber slices with cool water in acolandertwo or three times to removethe salt, then strain into abowl. Pat dry with paper towels.

4. Pourcucumber slices intothe bowlwiththe dressing andtoss well to combine. Garnishwith sesame seeds and red chili flakes for extra heat.

andreally hit thespotwhen paired with asuper-simple (andspicy) cucumber salad that also took just minutes to throw together.Both include the gentle heatof chili crisp,which youcan easily omit if appealingto tamer taste buds. When choosingasparagus, look for brightgreen stalks with tightly closed andcompact tips. To keep it fresh in the fridge until cooking, store it upright in aglass or cup with about an inch of water,and cover the topswith aplastic bag. Igenerally prefer superthin asparagus becauseI believe it’s themost tender, but you can alsouse thicker spears. Just be sure peel thebottom third after snapping off the knobby ends.

He immediately turned indignant, got out of the car and told me Ishould drive and that he would sit in the back with my wife. I told him Iwould not drive and to just please obey the speed limits.

Miss Manners’ answer is: Play dumb. After enough

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

When switchingtoanew doctor

Dear Heloise: If you or a family member are referred by your doctor or dentist to another physician for treatment, be sure to ascertain whether the new doctor participates with your insurance carrier.Exorbitant costs could be incurred for which you are responsible. —B., via email Hair-washing protocol

can help between shampooing to remove excess oil from the scalp.

P.S. Believe it or not, the detergent in shampoos can actually trick your hair into producing more oils, so frequent washing can be counterintuitive.

frightening to have someone turn suddenly in the aisle, and you are face to face with abig bag or backpack. Or to be seated when someone is wrestling with abag that barely fits in the overhead. Be thoughtful, and everyone’strip will be more enjoyable! —C.M.,inPennsylvania

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: As Iget up there in years, I find myself washing my hair less and less. It has become shinier and even thicker! Helen, in Ohio Helen, Iconcur! The natural oils in our hair can mean stronger and healthier hair.Wetting the hair makes it expand and contract, which can cause damage and breakage. Overly washed hair that is naturally dry can lead to frizz. Experts agree that washing hair less frequently is best. Dry shampoo

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, April 24, the 114th day of 2025. There are 251 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On April24, 1916, Irish republicans launched the Easter Rising, arebellion against British rule in Ireland. Though the rebels surrendered to British forces six days later,the uprising set the stage for republican victories in the Irish general election of 1918 and the establishment of the Irish FreeState via the AngloIrish Treatyin1922.

On this date:

In 1915, in what is considered the start of theArmenian genocide, theOttoman Empire began rounding up Armenian political and cultural leaders in Constantinople.

In 1960, rioting erupted in Biloxi, Mississippi, after Black protesters staging a “wade-in” at aWhites-only beach were attacked by acrowd of hostile White people.

In 1967, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was killed when his Soyuz

Heloise

Mini trashcan

Dear Heloise: Ihaveatrash drawer in the kitchen.

Rather than opening it all thetime forsmall items like tea bags, Ikeep acontainer, usually a48-ounce sour cream tub, as amini trash can.I keep it in thesink and empty it,and Iwash it in the dishwasher periodically D.D.,inCalifornia

Carefulcarry-on

Dear Heloise: Itravel to visit family; Ienjoy traveling and love flying. Iwould like to remind travelers whohave carry-ons that it’sconsiderate to be aware of others around you. It’s

TODAYINHISTORY

1spacecraftsmashed into the Earth after his parachutes failed to deploy properly during reentry

He was the first human spaceflight fatality

In 1980, the United States launched Operation Eagle Claw,anunsuccessful attempt to free 53 American hostages in Iran that resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. service members.

In 1990, Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope.

In 1995, the final bomb linked to the Unabomber exploded inside the Sacramento, California, offices of the California Forestry Association, killing chief lobbyist Gilbert B. Murray (Theodore Kaczynski was later sentenced to four lifetimes in prison foraseries of bombings that killed three people and injured 23 others.)

In 2013, in Bangladesh, a shoddily constructed eightstory commercial building housing garment factories collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people. In 2018, former police

Meatballsonice

Dear Heloise: After making abatch of meatballs,my mother-in-lawwould place them on acookiesheet so that they were nottouching each other.She would freeze them on thetray overnight The next day, when the meatballs were frozen solid, shewould place them in a plasticbag andreturn them to thefreezer.Whencooking dinner, shetook outas many as she needed forthat meal. Iuse the samemethod forthings such as chicken, sausage, etc. —Sue D.,inTroy, NewYork

Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

officer Joseph DeAngelo wasarrested at his home near Sacramento after DNA linked him to crimes attributed to the Golden State Killer; authorities believed he committed 13 murders and morethan 50 rapes in the 1970s and 1980s. (DeAngelo would plead guilty in 2020 to 13 counts of murder and be sentenced to lifeinprison without parole.)

Today’sbirthdays: Actor Shirley MacLaine is 91. Actor-singer-filmmaker Barbra Streisand is 83. Fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier is 73. Actor Eric Bogosian is 72. Actor Michael O’Keefe is 70. Actorcomedian Cedric the Entertainer is 61.

STAFF PHOTO By BRETTDUKE

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Keep your plans to yourself until you have straightened out any wrinkles that might get in your way. Don't expect a unanimous response or let opponents stand in your way.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Reluctance to join the crowd is wise; doing things your way and maintaining balance and integrity have more benefits than following someone else. Let your insight and intelligence lead the way.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Deal with contracts, legalities and medical and financial issues, and you'll make headway. Simplify how you run your life, and you'll gain respect and peace of mind.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Listen, discuss and rethink how you want to proceed. Take responsibility for your happiness, and align yourself with doers, not with complainers; it will speak volumes about who you are and what you can achieve.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) It's OK to change your mind and head in a direction that suits you better. Ignore people trying to steer you in a direction that doesn't suit your needs, and head down a healthy path.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Your words of wisdom will impact the people you encounter today. Stick to the facts and speak passionately without exaggeration. Do your best, and something good will emerge.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Join forces with those who enjoy the same activities as you, and channel your energy into competitive challenges that help alleviate stress and anger.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Look for alternatives when someone disrupts your plans. Refrain from taking on someone else's drama. It's up to you to make your own opportunities and then take advantage of them

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take a moment to gather facts, consider your options and talk with those affected by your choices. A collective decision will help you avoid negative feedback and blame.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Sit tight and watch for signs indicating that any action will improve your position, finances and reputation. Focus and fortitude will help you excel.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Separate fiction from fact before you decide what's best for you. Revise how you manage your day and to-do list, and focus on your health and well-being.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Stick to the facts. Exaggeration will lead to trouble Put your efforts into personal growth, research and networking with people who can help you.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

toDAy's cLuE: c EQuALs H

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

peAnUtS zItS

And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZardoFid

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

John Wayne said, “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” When we are first shown a bridge deal, it is perfect and puts the cards in our hands. Then, usually some mistakes are made after all, we are only human. Sometimes, we can analyze a doubledummy problem. The contract is given and the result calculated, assuming everyone is looking at all 52 cards. At thetable,yourarelyplaydouble-dummy. However, occasionally it is possible — as in this deal.

How did South play in four spades? West led the club three (low from length since he had not supported his partner’s suit). East took dummy’s 10 with his queen and shifted safely to a trump.

South might have started with a takeout double, but he judged it unlikely that his side could make a slam.

Since there were only 12 high-card pointsmissing,declarercouldplaceEast with the heart king and diamond queen. South, though, still faced four losers — two hearts, one diamond and one club — because he did not have a dummy entry to take the diamond finesse.

Declarer drew trumps, then played three rounds of diamonds. East won and was endplayed. He led the club ace, but South accurately discarded a low heart. Now East, whether he led a heart or a club, had to bring the dummy back to life. There were other successful lines of play involving a squeeze-endplay on East, but this one was the easiest. © 2025 by nEa,

Previous answers:

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato

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.

Puzzle Answer

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

WiShinG Well

the number of

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

until 9:30 am Thursday, May15, 2025, whenthey will be opened andpub‐liclyread. Late bids,for anyreason, will notbe accepted. Bids shallbe addressed“Bidfor Com‐modity Storageand De‐livery”. Bidspecificationsmay be obtainedfromthe Purchasing Office of School Food &Nutrition Services, 3000 W. Es‐planadeAvenue N.,Suite 300, Metairie,LA70002, Monday throughFriday between thehours of 7:00am and2:00pm. 504596-3430. In accordance with Fed‐eral lawand theU.S.De‐partment of Agriculture (USDA) civilrightsregu‐lationsand policies,this institutionisprohibited from discriminating on thebasis of race,color national origin (including limitedEnglish profi‐ciency), sex(including gender identity andsex‐ualorientation), age, dis‐ability, andreprisalorre‐taliationfor priorcivil rights activity.Program informationmay be made availableinlan‐guages otherthanEng‐lish.Persons with dis‐abilitieswho requireal‐ternativemeans of com‐munication forprogram information(e.g.,braille, largeprint,audiotape American Sign Lan‐guage) should contact theresponsible Stateor localAgencythatadmin‐isters theprogram or contactUSDAthrough theTelecommunications

RelayService at 711 (voice andTTY). To file a program discrimination complaint, acom‐plainant should complete aFormAD-3027, USDA ProgramDiscrimination ComplaintForm, which canbeobtainedonlineat https://www.usda.gov/ sites/default/files/ docu‐ments/ad-3027.pdf,from anyUSDAoffice,bycall‐ing(866) 632-9992, or by writinga letter ad‐

by 843 CAMP ST DEVELOPMENT,LLC, requesting aconditional use to permit ahotel in aCBD-5 Urban CoreNeighborhood Lower Intensity Mixed-Use District on Square181, Lots Dand E, in the First Municipal District, bounded by Camp Street, Julia Street, Saint Charles Avenue, and Saint Joseph Street (Municipal Address: 843 CampStreet), is hereby APPROVED.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion and the report of the City Planning Commission to the Law Department for preparation of an ordinance to effectuate this request.

THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno -5

NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Morrell, Thomas -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED NO. M-25-36

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO

BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the report and recommendation for approval, subject to four provisos, by the City Planning Commission on ZONING DOCKET100/24 initiated by 2500 LOUISIANA,LLC, requesting aconditional use to permit established multi-family dwellings in an HU-RD2Historic Urban Two-Family Residential District on Square556, Lots 11 and 12 and the rear portions of Lots 13 and 14 in the Sixth Municipal District and bounded by LaSalle Street, LouisianaAvenue,South Liberty Street, and Delachaise Street (Municipal Addresses: 3418-3434 LaSalle Street), is hereby APPROVED. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of thismotion and the report of the City Planning Commission to the Law Department for preparation of an ordinance to effectuate this request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno -5

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell, Thomas -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED NO. M-25-37

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO

BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, That the report and recommendation for approval, subject to three provisos, by the City Planning Commission on ZONING DOCKET101/24 initiated by KCT St Thomas, LLC, requesting aconditional use to permit aneighborhood commercial establishment in an HU-RD2Historic Urban Two-Family Residential District on Square56, Lot For portions of Lots 18 and 19, in the Fourth Municipal District, bounded by Eighth Street, Saint ThomasStreet, Chippewa Street, and Seventh Street (Municipal Address: 601-605 Eighth Street), is hereby APPROVED

BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of thismotion and the report of the City Planning Commission to the Law Department for preparation of an ordinance to effectuate this request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF, AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno -5 NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell, Thomas -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED NO. M-25-38 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING

BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the report and recommendation for approval, subject to two provisos, by the City Planning Commission on ZONING DOCKET 102/24 initiated by 2712 Athania, LLC, requesting aconditional use to permit an indoor amusement facility in aCBD-5UrbanCoreNeighborhood Lower Intensity Mixed-Use District on Square235, Lots 25 and 26 or aparcel designated as Lot 25 and part of Lot 26 and aparcel designated as part of Lot 26 in the First Municipal District, bounded by Baronne Street,Carondelet Street, Saint Joseph Street, Julia Street, and Saint Charles Avenue (Municipal Address: 840 Baronne Street),ishereby APPROVED BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of thismotion and the report of the City Planning Commission to the Law Department for preparation of an ordinance to effectuate this request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTIONTHEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris,King, Moreno -5

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell, Thomas -2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-25-39

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO

WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.m of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuance of only one non-commercial short-term rental permit within each city block, inclusive of all lots fronting any exterior boundary of said block and all interior lots; and WHEREAS,CZO Section 21.8.C.18.r authorizes the City Council to grant special exceptions to the one-permit-per-block cap imposed by Section 21.8.C.18.m and to allow for the issuance of up to two additional noncommercial short-term rentals in any given block; and WHEREAS, Florenc Ceka has applied for aspecial exception from the block limit on non-commercial short-term rentals for the property located at SQUARE 585 and bearing municipal address 4322 Freret Street; NOW THEREFORE

BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the Council, having reviewed the report and recommendation provided by the City Planning Commission staffpursuant to CZO Section 21.8.C.18.r,does hereby GRANT Florenc Ceka aspecial exception from the Section 21.8.C.18.m block limit on non-commercial short-term rentals for the parcel of property located at Square585 and bearing municipal address 4322 Freret Street (the “Property”). This special exception is being made in accordance with, and subject to, Section 21.8.C.18.r of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That if the applicant fails to obtain noncommercial short-term rental owner and operator permits for the Property within 30 days of the adoption of this Motion, or in the event the applicant’sowner or operator permit is revoked or the applicant transfers the property,the special exception granted herein shall be void.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of thismotion to the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, theDepartment of Safety andPermits, and the applicant. The Department of Safety and Permits is directed to advise the City Planning Commission and the Council if the applicant fails to securepermits within the periodprescribed herein or if the applicant’sowner or operator permit is revoked. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THE ROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTIONTHEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell-6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Thomas -1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED.

NO. M-25-43

BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL

Submitting the parade positions and start times for the 2025 carnival parade season, in accordance with City Code section 34-6. WITHDRAWN. SUBSTITUTENO. M-25-43 BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That, in accordance with City Codesection 34-6, the parade positions and start

sidewalks, streetcar tracks, neutral grounds, bicycle paths, parking areas, and adjacent intersections, extending from sidewalk or lateral lines of aroadway to the sidewalk or lateral lines of aroadway on the oppositeside of the roadway BE IT FURTHERMOVED, That in the event acarnival parade is rescheduled pursuant to section 34-5 of the City Code, the mayor may determine the appropriate route for the rescheduled carnival parade.

THEFOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THEROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS:

YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell-6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Thomas -1

ANDTHE MOTION WASADOPTED.

NO.M-25-44 BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORRELL

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO

WHEREAS, the City Council adopted MotionNo. M-25-09 on January 9, 2025, creating the Film Advisory Committee; and WHEREAS, MotionNo. M-25-09 requires thatthe Film Advisory Committee’snine members be appointed by motionatthe Council’s second regular meeting in January 2025; NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCILOFTHE CITYOFNEW ORLEANS, That the Council hereby appoints the following persons as members of the Film Advisory Committee:

•Brittany Chandler,representative from Film New Orleans in the Office of Cultural Economy

•Jason Waggenspack, representative from Film Louisiana

•TreyBurvant, representative from Second Line Stages

•Carroll Morton, representative from New Orleans Film Society

•Simonette Berry,representative from IATSE Local 478

•Alice Glenn, representative from New Orleans &Company

•Nguyen Phan, representative from the Department of Public Works with expertise in trafficand engineering

•John Johnston, New Orleans-based Location Manager

•Todd Lewis, New Orleans-based Producer

BE IT FURTHERMOVED, That the ClerkofCouncilisdirected to send certified copies of this motionvia electronic delivery to all nine appointed members of the Film Advisory Committee.

THEFOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THEROLL WASCALLED ON THEADOPTION THEREOF,THE RESULT WASASFOLLOWS:

YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT: Thomas -1 ANDTHE MOTION WASADOPTED.

NO.M-25-45

BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER MORENO

BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCILOFTHE CITYOFNEW ORLEANS,

That having received the report and favorable recommendationofthe City Planning Commission on DESIGN REVIEW DOCKET 52/24 –911

JOLIET STREET,LLC, requesting to change the non-conforminguse from industrial facility for the manufacturing and storage of fences to an industrial facility forthe repair and replacement of wood windows and doors, in aHU-B1Historic Urban Neighborhood Business District, on Square111, Lot W, bounded by Joliet Street, StateStreet,Leake Avenue, Freret Street, and Cambronne Street (Municipal Addresses: 911 Joliet Street), is approved and the request is granted.

BE IT FURTHERMOVED, That the Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motiontoall other affected commissions and departments. THEFOREGOING MOTION WASREAD IN FULL, THEROLL WAS CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso,Green, Harris, King, Moreno -5

NAYS: 0 ABSENT: Morrell, Thomas -2 ANDTHE MOTION WASADOPTED.

NO.M-25-46

BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN

WHEREAS, Section146-762 of the Code of the City of New Orleans empowers the City Council to designate intersectionswithin the city to honor persons and institutions who have made significant contributions to the historical or cultural landscape of New Orleans; and WHEREAS, Walter LouisCohen, anotable politician and businessman, carved out his place in New Orleans history as afreeBlack man prior to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in his substantial influence over the Reconstruction Era and post-Reconstruction Era political scape; and WHEREAS, in recognitionofthe foregoing cultural contributions, the Council desires to dedicate the intersection of Louisiana Avenue and Baronne Street as “W.L. Cohen Green Hornets Way” and to direct the installation of appropriate signage reflecting same; NOWTHEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THECOUNCIL OF THECITYOFNEW

CALLED ON THE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell-6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Thomas-1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED NO. M-25-47 BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO

WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.mofthe Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuanceofonly one non-commercialshort-term rentalpermit within each city block, inclusive of alllots fronting any exterior boundary of said block andall interior lots; and WHEREAS, CZOSection 21.8.C.18.rauthorizes the City Council to grant special exceptions to the one-permit-per-blockcap imposedbySection 21.8.C.18.mand to allow for the issuanceofuptotwo additional noncommercialshort-term rentals in anygivenblock; and WHEREAS, KELVIN HODGES hasapplied for aspecial exception from the block limit on non-commercialshort-term rentals for the property located at SQUARE 243 andbearing municipaladdress 1918 Conti Street;NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the Council, having reviewed the report andrecommendation provided by the City Planning Commission staffpursuant to CZOSection 21.8.C.18.r, does hereby GRANT Kelvin Hodges, aspecial exception from the Section 21.8.C.18.mblocklimit on non-commercialshort-term rentals for the parcel of property located at Square 243 andbearing municipal address 1918 Conti Street (the“Property”). This special exception is being made in accordance with, andsubject to, Section 21.8.C.18.rofthe Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. BE IT FURTHER

special exception grantedhereinshall be void. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, Thatthe Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion to the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, the Department of Safety andPermits, andthe applicant. The Department of Safety andPermits is directed to advise the City Planning Commission andthe Council if the applicantfails to secure permits within the period prescribed herein or if the applicant’sowner or operator permit is revoked. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREADINFULL, THE ROLLWAS CALLEDONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell- 6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Thomas-1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-25-48

BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING Denying the applicant’srequest for ZD 75/19. WITHDRAWN. NO. M-25-49 BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the request of J. NICOLE WEBRE, for an additionalextension of the PlannedDevelopment Ordinancefor Zoning Docket 75/19 (Ordinance No. 28,291 MCS), is hereby approved, andthe extension is granteduntil January 30th, 2026. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, Thata copy of this motion be forwarded to the City Planning Commission to effectuate this request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREADINFULL, THE ROLLWAS CALLEDONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell-6 NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Thomas-1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED NO. M-25-50 BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the report andrecommendation of approval, subject to seven provisos, by the City Planning Commission on ZONING DOCKET NO. 103/24 initiated by LAISSEZFAIRE MANOR, LLC, requesting aConditional Use to permit aprincipal bed andbreakfast andoutdoor live entertainment (secondary use)inconjunction with areception facility in an MU-1 Medium Intensity Mixed-Use District, on Square 2, Lot 4-A, St. ClaireGarden, in the Fifth MunicipalDistrict, bounded by Patterson Drive, General Collins Road, Richland Road, andSocrates Street (MunicipalAddress:3819 Patterson Drive), is hereby approved.

BE IT FURTHER MOVED, Thatthe Clerk of Council shall forward copies of this motion andthe report of the City Planning Commission to the Law Department for preparation of an ordinancetoeffectuatethe request. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREADINFULL, THE ROLLWAS CALLEDONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno-5 NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Morrell, Thomas-2 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-25-52

BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING Denying the request of CHRISTOPHER S. CLARKE for the property located on Square 260 andbearing municipaladdress 2229 Dauphine Street (the“Property”). WITHDRAWN. NO. M-25-53

BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING

SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GIARRUSSO

WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.mofthe Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuanceofonly one non-commercialshort-term rentalpermit within each city block, inclusive of alllots fronting any exterior boundary of said block andall interior lots; and WHEREAS, CZOSection 21.8.C.18.rauthorizes the City Council to grant special exceptions to the one-permit-per-blockcap imposedbySection 21.8.C.18.mand to allow for the issuanceofuptotwo additional noncommercialshort-term rentals in anygivenblock; and WHEREAS, ChristopherS.Clarke hasapplied for aspecial exception from the block limit on non-commercialshort-term rentals for the property located in Square 260 andbearing municipaladdress 2229 DAUPHINE STREET;NOW THEREFORE BE IT MOVED BY THE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEWORLEANS, That the Council, having reviewed the report andrecommendation provided by the City Planning Commission staffpursuant to CZOSection 21.8.C.18.r, does hereby GRANT ChristopherS.Clarke, aspecial exception from the Section 21.8.C.18.mblocklimit on non-commercialshort-term rentals for the parcel of property located in Square 260 andbearing municipal address 2229 DAUPHINE STREET (the“Property”). This special exception is being made in accordance with, andsubject to, Section 21.8.C.18.rof the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, Thatifthe applicantfails to obtain noncommercialshort-term rentalowner andoperator permits for the Property within 30 days of the adoption of this Motion, or in the eventthe applicant’sowneroroperator permit is revoked or the applicanttransfers the property,the special exception grantedherein shall be void. BE IT FURTHER MOVED, Thatthe Clerk of Council shall forwardcopies of this motion to the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission, the Department of Safety andPermits, andthe applicant. The Department of Safety andPermits is directed to advise the City Planning Commission andthe Council if the applicantfails to securepermits within the period prescribed herein or if the applicant’sowner or operator permit is revoked. THE FOREGOING MOTION WASREADINFULL, THE ROLLWAS CALLEDONTHE ADOPTION THEREOF,AND RESULTED AS FOLLOWS: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell- 6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Thomas-1 AND THE MOTION WASADOPTED. NO. M-25-54 BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING Denying the request of JAMES L. BAIRD for the property located on Square 147 andbearing municipaladdress 619 Franklin Avenue (the “Property”). WITHDRAWN. NO. M-25-55 BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING SECONDED BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN WHEREAS, Section 21.8.C.18.mofthe Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (“CZO”) permits the issuanceofonly one non-commercialshort-term rentalpermit within each city block, inclusive of alllots fronting any exterior boundary of said block andall interior lots; and WHEREAS, CZOSection 21.8.C.18.rauthorizesthe City Council to grant special exceptions to the one-permit-per-blockcap imposedbySection 21.8.C.18.mand to allow for the issuanceofuptotwo additionalnoncommercialshort-term rentals in anygivenblock; and WHEREAS, James L. Baird hasapplied for aspecial exception from the block limit on non-commercialshort-term rentals for the property located in Square 147 andbearing municipaladdress 619 FRANKLIN AVENUE;

Theoutside of thebid envelope must contain thesubmitting firm’s name,Louisiana Contrac‐tors LicenseNumber, the St.Charles Parish Project Number,and theSt. CharlesParishProject Title. AttentionofBidders is called particularly to the requirements forcondi‐tionsofemploymentto be observed andmini‐mumwagerates to be paid underthe Contract (Davis-Bacon Act),Sec‐tion 3(LowIncomeResi‐dent Participation) of the Housingand UrbanDe‐velopmentAct of 1968, Section109 (Non-Dis‐crimination) of theHous‐ingand CommunityDe‐velopment Actof1974, Section503 (Non-Dis‐criminationAgainstEm‐ployeeswithDisabilities) andSection 504 (NonDi i i ti A i t and Section 504 (Non Discrimination Against IndividualswithDisabili‐ties) of theRehabilitation Act of 1973, Segregated Facilities, Executive Order11246, andall ap‐plicable laws andregula‐tions of theFederal gov‐ernment andState of Louisianaand bonding andinsurance require‐ments

St.Charles Parish is an EqualOpportunity Em‐ployer. We encourageall smalland minorityowned firmsand women’sbusinessenter‐prisestoparticipate in this solicitation Anypersonwithdisabili‐tiesrequiring specialac‐commodationsmust contactthe St.Charles Parish CouncilOffice at 985-783-5000 no later than seven(7) days prior to bidopening Successful bidder must have an active Unique Entity ID (UEI), asverified on www.sam.gov,prior to awardofcontract.

St.Charles Parish Council Matthew Jewell, Parish President AdvertisementSource andDates: St.Charles Herald Guide St.Charles Parish Web‐site CentralAuction House TheDaily JournalofCom‐merce TheTimes-Picayune/The NewOrleans Advocate McGraw-HillDodge of HotSprings ConstructConnect Thursday,April 17, 2025 Thursday,April 24, 2025 Thursday May01, 2025 136252-apr17-24-may13t $1,915.38

ProjectNo.:P190505

PrincipalWorkLocation: Destrehan, LA DescriptionofBasic Work: Thescope of this projectincludesthe re‐movaland replacement of theexistingdrainage within the30’ servitude that lies within thedevel‐opment of Ormond Cen‐ter, andall supporting construction work such as removaland replace‐ment of concrete pave‐ment,curb, tributary drainlines,catch basins waterlineetc Bids:Separatesealed Bids will be received by theST. CHARLESPARISH COUNCILRECORDS OF‐FICE,ParishofSt. Charles, 15045 River Road,Courthouse3rd Floor,Hahnville Louisiana, 70057, either by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, or hand deliv‐ered,orelectronically submittedatwww.cen tralbidding.com, no later than 11 a.m. localtime on May20, 2025. Promptlythereafter,the bids will be publicly opened andreadaloud in theCouncil Chambers of theSt. CharlesParish CourtHouse.The Owner reserves theright to re‐ject anyand allBidsin accordance with the Public BidLaw,and to disregardall noncon‐forming, nonresponsive, unbalanced or condi‐tional Bids BiddingDocuments:The BiddingDocuments (Con‐tractDocuments,Specifi‐cationsand Drawings) areavailable to Contrac‐tors who areproperlyli‐censed in Louisianaorto bona fide suppliersof materialsand equipment forpurchaseand/orre‐view at theoffice of the Engineer forthe con‐tract, Stuart Consulting Group, Inc.,1018 Central Ave(Suite200),Metairie, LA 70001. Apayment of $250.00 in cash or checkpayable to theEngineer will be re‐quired foreachcomplete setofthe Bidding Docu‐ments. This paymentis refundable as provided in theLa.R.S.38:2212(D) PreBid Conference:A Pre BidConferencetodis‐

Plantand Carrollton WaterPlant Invitation to Bid(ITB) will be available, April17, 2025,for download at the followingwebsites: Board: https://www2 swbno.org/business_bid specifications.asp LAPAC: https://wwwcfprd.doa.

renovate a 310-unitapartment com‐plex locatedat530 St Andrew St,New Orleans, LA 70130. Theproject will includeassociatedcom‐munity facilities,and 153 units will be reserved for households with income at or below60% of Area Median Income.Itisan‐ticipatedthatall

pursuant to Section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enter into cooperative endeavors with any public or private association, corporation, or individual for activities in support of economicgrowth and other public purposes; and WHEREAS, NORA is apublic body corporate and politic, created pursuant to La. 33:4720.55 and the resolution of the City Council, evidenced by acertificate signed by the Mayor and Counciland registered with the Secretary of State of Louisiana; and WHEREAS, pursuant to La. R.S. 33:4720.56, NORA is authorized to enter into agreements and contracts with the City in pursuance of the intent of the New Orleans Community Improvement Act, including activities to encourage the provision of healthful homes, housing for families and persons of low income, adecent living environment, and adequate places of employment within the City; and

WHEREAS, the City and NORA have enteredinto aCEA, dated December 7, 2021, governing Property Transfer for Redevelopment; WHEREAS, the City desires to enter into an additional cooperative endeavor agreement with NORA for the public purpose of facilitating the development of aNon-Congregate Shelter; NOW THEREFORE

SECTION I. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS that the Mayor,onbehalfofthe City of New Orleans, ishereby authorized to enter into the attached cooperative endeavor agreement with NORA for aterm of three (3) years, for the public purpose of the development of aNon-Congregate Shelter in the City of New Orleans.

SECTION 2. That said cooperative endeavor agreement is attached to this ordinance as “Exhibit A” and incorporated and made apart hereof.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS JANUARY

30, 2025

MORRELL

JP

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON JANUARY 31, 2025

APPROVED: FEBRUARY10, 2025

LATOYACANTRELL

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON FEBRUARY10, 2025 AT 3:20 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell- 6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Thomas -1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen infullinthe Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: December 19, 2024

CALENDAR NO. 34,958 NO. 30221 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE authorizing the Mayor of the City of New Orleans (“City”) to execute alease with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (“NORA”), for the property located at 2932-2934Tulane Avenue, 2928-2930Tulane Avenue, 2924 Tulane Avenue, 2922 Tulane Avenue, 2918 Tulane Avenue, 2914 Tulane Avenue, 2908-2910Tulane Avenue, 618 SGayoso Street, 623 SDupreStreet, New Orleans, LA 70119 (the “Properties”); wherein said property will be leased for aperiod of ninety-nineyears and the rent will be derived by establishing the fairmarket value of the Property,which will be provided to the City in equal or greater value through the development of affordable housing, redevelopment of City-owned property,and economic development (collectively,the “PublicBenefit”); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

WHEREAS, the parties entered into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement executed on December 7, 2021, as authorized by the City Council via Ordinance No. 28,790 M.C.S., adopted on September 23, 2021, to authorize transfersofCity-owned properties to NORA for redevelopment to accomplish the valuablepublicpurposes of affordablehousing development, redevelopment of City-ownedproperty,and economic development (collectively,the “Publ cBenefit”) byproviding for the lease of City-owned properties to NORA in order to facilitate redevelopment of the properties as affordable housing and for other valuablepublicpurposes as approved by the parties (the “CEA”); and WHEREAS, the lease attached hereto byand between the City of New Orleans and NORA will be executed pursuant to the adopted CEA; and WHEREAS, the lease attached hereto as Exhibit“A” by and between the City of New Orleans and NORA is made part of thisordinance; and WHEREAS, Section 70-10(a) of the City Code ordains that certaincontracts providing for the aggregate expenditureofmorethan $1,000,000.00 inCity funds during the initial term and all allowablerenewal terms or having an initial term of morethan one year must besigned by the President of the New Orleans City Council (“Council”); and WHEREAS, Section 70-10(b) of the City Codeordains that the President of the Council shall not execute any such contract unless authorized to do so by the Council; NOW THEREFORE SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That the properties bearing the municipal addresses 2932-2934 Tulane Avenue, 2928-2930 Tulane Avenue, 2924 Tulane Avenue, 2922 Tulane Avenue, 2918 Tulane Avenue, 2914 Tulane Avenue, 2908-2910 Tulane Avenue, 618 S. Gayoso Street, 623 SDupre Street (collectively,“the Properties”), as morefully described inExhibit “A” to the lease attached hereto as Exhibit “A”, shall be redeveloped for public purposes at thistime.

SECTION2.That the Mayor,onbehalfofthe City ofNew Orleans, is hereby authorized to enter into alease of the aforesaid Properties with the New Orleans RedevelopmentAuthority,for aterm of ninety-nineyears, wherein the rent will be derived byestablishing the fair market value of the Properties, which will be provided to the City in equal or greater value through the development of affordable housing, redevelopment of Cityowned property,and economicdevelopment, in the same form (except for technical, non-substantive corrections) as the lease attached hereto and made part of this ordinance as Exhibit “A,” and to execute and deliver any other documents, instruments, or agreements necessary to give effectto said lease.

SECTION 3. That the President of the Councilshallbeadded as a signatorytothe lease between the City and NORA.

SECTION 4. That the President of the Councilisauthorized tosign the lease between the City and NORA.

SECTION 5. That said lease is attached to thisordinance as Exhibit “A” and incorporated and made apart hereof.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWORLEANS JANUARY 30, 2025 JP MORRELL

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON JANUARY31, 2025

APPROVED: FEBRUARY10, 2025

LATOYACANTRELL

MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON FEBRUARY10, 2025 AT 3:20 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell-6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Thomas -1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen infullinthe Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: January 9, 2025 CALENDAR NO.

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON JANUARY31, 2025

APPROVED: FEBRUARY10, 2025

LATOYACANTRELL

MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYORONFEBRUARY10, 2025 AT 3:20 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Thomas -1

RECUSED: 0

Redlined Version: Sec 2-975 -Exemptions.

(a) The domicile requirement imposed by this article shall not apply to any employee of the city who was hired by the city prior to January 1, 2013, except that no employee who was previously exempted and later changed his/her actual domicile to Orleans Parish shall be entitled to retain the benefits of this exemption if that employee establishes anew actual domicile outside of Orleans Parish (b)The domicile requirement imposed by this article shall not apply to any commissioned law enforcement officers or recruits hired by the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD); firefighters or recruits hired by the New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD); emergency medical technicians hired by New OrleansEmergency Medical Services (NOEMS); juvenile detention officers and corrections staffofthe Juvenile Justice Intervention Center; and mechanics, maintenance specialists, and maintenance technicians of the Equipment Maintenance Division. Furthermore, appropriate sensitivity training to address racial, gender,religious, and sexual orientation discrimination shall be provided for all law enforcement officers. For the purposes of this subsection, the word“hired” has the same meaning as the word“employed.” Domicile waivers for juvenile detention officers and corrections staffofthe Juvenile Justice Intervention Center,and mechanics, maintenance specialists, and maintenance technicians of the Equipment Maintenance Division shall be terminated on December 31, 2024.

ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: January 9, 2025

CALENDAR NO.34,968 NO.30223 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the “City”) and The Recycling Partnership (“TRP”), for aterm of two (2) years, for the public purpose of improving recycling and community engagement as part of the City of New Orleans’ Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (“SWIFR”) award, as morefully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement form attached hereto as “Exhibit A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant to Section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enter into cooperative endeavorswith any public or private association, corporation, or individual for activities in support of economic growth and other public purposes; and WHEREAS, The Recycling Partnership is anon-profit, which principal address is located at 20 FStreet NW,7th Floor,Washington, DC, 20001; and WHEREAS, the City and The Recycling Partnership, prepared aproposal and received agrant awardfromthe US Environmental Protection Agency to improve recycling in the City of New Orleans; and WHEREAS, the City and The Recycling Partnership desiretoenter into a cooperative endeavor agreement in order to accomplish the valued public purpose of improving recycling and community engagement; NOW THEREFORE SECTIONI.THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, That the Mayor,onbehalf of the City of New Orleans, ishereby

authorized to enter into the attached cooperative endeavor agreement with The Recycling Partnership, for aterm of two (2) years, for the public purpose of improving recycling and community engagement as part of the City of New Orleans’ SolidWaste Infrastructurefor Recycling award.

SECTION2.That said cooperative endeavor agreement is attached to this ordinance as “Exhibit A” and incorporated and made apart hereof.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS JANUARY 30, 2025

MORRELL

JP

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYORONJANUARY31, 2025

APPROVED: FEBRUARY10, 2025

LATOYACANTRELL

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON FEBRUARY10, 2025 AT 3:20 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell -6 NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Thomas -1

RECUSED: 0

**Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: January 9, 2025

CALENDAR NO.34,969

NO.30224 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Mayor of the City of New Orleans to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement between the City of New Orleans (the“City”) and The Recycling Partnership (“TRP”), for aterm of 15 (fifteen) months, for the public purpose of supporting the purchase and distribution of recycling carts and improving recycling and community engagement as part of the City of New Orleans’ SolidWaste Infrastructure for Recycling (“SWIFR”) award, as morefully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreement form attached hereto as “Exhibit A”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its political subdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant to Section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enterinto cooperative endeavorswith any public or private association, corporation, or individual for activities in support of economic growth and other public purposes; and WHEREAS, The Recycling Partnership is anon-profit, which principal address is located at 20 FStreet NW,7th Floor,Washington, DC, 20001; and WHEREAS, the City and The Recycling Partnership, prepared aproposal and received agrant awardfromthe US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to improve recycling in the City of New Orleans; and WHEREAS, the City and The Recycling Partnership desiretoenter into a cooperative endeavor agreement in order to accomplish the valued public purpose of supporting the purchase and distribution of recycling carts and improving recycling and community engagement; NOWTHEREFORE SECTION I. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, That the Mayor,onbehalf of the City of New Orleans, ishereby authorized to enter into the attached cooperative endeavor agreement with The Recycling Partnership, for aterm of fifteen (15) months, for the public purpose of supporting the purchase and distribution of recycling carts and improving recycling and community engagement as part of the City of New Orleans’ SolidWaste Infrastructurefor Recycling award. SECTION2.That said cooperative endeavor agreement is attached to this ordinance as “Exhibit A” and incorporated and made apart hereof. ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS JANUARY 30, 2025 JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON JANUARY31, 2025

APPROVED: FEBRUARY10, 2025

LATOYA CANTRELL

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON FEBRUARY10, 2025 AT 3:20 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Thomas -1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: January 9, 2025

CALENDAR NO. 34,970 NO. 30225 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER GREEN (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to approve and authorize the City of New Orleans (“City”), by and through the New Orleans Aviation Board(“NOAB”), to enter into aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) with the United States Department of Transportation, Build America Bureau (“BAB”); and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 5-602 of the Home Rule Charter for the City,NOAB is charged with the administration and operation of the Airport; and WHEREAS, Article VII, Section 14(c) of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana provides, “For

subdivision or non-governmental entity of the State of Louisiana; and WHEREAS, the New Orleans Code of Ordinances, Section 9-314(3), requires aCEA longer than one (1) year to be submitted to the Council for approval; NOW,THEREFORE SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That the Council hereby approves, and that the City of New Orleans, by and through the New Orleans Aviation Board, be and is hereby authorized to sign, the following cooperative endeavor agreement in substantial conformance to and with Exhibit “A”

January 9, 2025; NOW THEREFORE SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission be and is hereby directed to change the appropriate zoningdistrict maps, including all the notations,references, and other informationshown thereon, together with the lot line zoning district maps referred to in Ordinance No. 4264 M.C.S, as amended by Ordinance No. 26413 M.C.S., as amended, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of theCity of New Orleans, for the following properties, all of which aremorefully described in the maps attached hereto as Appendix A, and allinaccordance with City Council Motion No. M-24-749 adopted January 9, 2025: Item Property Description Zoning Changed From Zoning Changed To PD13-02

S-B2 Suburban PedestrianOriented Corridor Business District, S-RS Suburban SingleFamily Residential District and S-RM1 Suburban MultiFamilyResidential District S-RS Suburban Single-Family Residential District forthe portion of the lotnot currently zoned SB-2

SECTION 2. Whoever doesanything prohibited by this Ordinance or fails to do anything required to be done by this Ordinance shallbeguilty of a misdemeanor. Upon conviction of such amisdemeanor,the individualshall be subject to a fine, imprisonment, or both, in accordancewith Section 1-13 of the Code of the City of New Orleans. Such aconviction shall be cause for immediate cancellation of theUse andOccupancy Permit for thepremises. Alternatively, the individual shall be subject to whatever civil liabilities, penalties, or remedies the law prescribes.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS JANUARY 30, 2025

JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYORONJANUARY31, 2025

APPROVED: FEBRUARY10, 2025

LATOYA CANTRELL

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON FEBRUARY10, 2025 AT 3:20 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLLCALLVOTE:

YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Morrell -5

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Moreno, Thomas -2

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of the attachment may be seen in full in the Clerk of Council’s Office, 1300 PerdidoStreet, Room 1E09, City Hall.

ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS CITY HALL: January9,2025

CALENDAR NO. 34,972 NO. 30227 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES

BY:COUNCILMEMBERS GIARRUSSO AND MORENO (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to authorize the Mayorofthe City of New Orleansto enter into an amendment to aCooperative Endeavor Agreement (“CEA”) between the City of New Orleans(“City”) and Feed the Second Line to extend the term for an additional twoyears, for the public purpose of developing five resilience hubs or Get LitStay Lit sites, powered by solar and battery power across the city and to aid in emergency preparedness in cases of extreme weather andgrid power outages, as morefully detailed in the Cooperative Endeavor Agreementattached hereto as Exhibit“A” and the Amendment No. 1tothe Cooperative Endeavor Agreementattached hereto as Exhibit “B”; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. WHEREAS, pursuant to the authority contained in Article 7, Section 14(C) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and statutory authority supplemental thereto, the State of Louisiana and its politicalsubdivisions, including the City,may enter into cooperative endeavors with each other,orwith any public or private corporation or individual; and further pursuant to Section 9-314 of the Home Rule Charter of the City of New Orleans, the City may enter into cooperative endeavors with anypublic or private association corporation, or individual for activities in supportofeconomic growth and other public purposes; and

WHEREAS, Feed the SecondLineisa local, registered 501(c)3, whose mission and goal to outfitlocal restaurants with solar and battery to create block-by-block level resilience and decrease dependencyonfossil fuels as back-up power generation, in line with themission and goals of the Office of Resilience &Sustainability’s2022 Climate Action Plan to reduce carbon emissions to net-zeroby2050, and WHEREAS, the City andFeed the Second Line desire to extend the existing Cooperative Endeavor Agreementinorder to accomplish the valued public purpose of developing solar and battery powered resilience hubs across Orleans Parish; NOW THEREFORE

SECTION I. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, That the Mayor, on behalf of the City of New Orleans, ishereby authorized to enter and extend the CEA with the attached Amendment No. 1tothe Cooperative Endeavor Agreementwith Feed the SecondLinefor an additional term of two (2)years, for the public purpose of developing solar and battery powered resilience hubs across OrleansParish.

SECTION 2. That said Cooperative Endeavor Agreement and Amendment No. 1tothe Cooperative Endeavor Agreementare attached to this ordinance as Exhibit “A” and Exhibit “B” respectively and incorporated and made apart hereof.

ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS JANUARY 30, 2025

MORRELL

JP

PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL

DELIVERED TO THE MAYOR ON JANUARY31, 2025

APPROVED: FEBRUARY10, 2025

LATOYA CANTRELL

MAYOR RETURNED BY THE MAYOR ON FEBRUARY10, 2025 AT 3:20 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER

ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL

ROLLCALLVOTE: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green,Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell -6

NAYS: 0

ABSENT:Thomas- 1

RECUSED: 0

ORDINANCE

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: January9,2025

CALENDAR NO. 34,973 NO. 30228 MAYOR COUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS (BY REQUEST)

AN ORDINANCE to authorize the City of New Orleanstoenter into a contract of lease with T-Mobile Central LLC for aportion of rooftop

and to

is not needed forpublic

for said lease of land; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

SECTION 1. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY

ORDAINS, That the following portionsofthe rooftop space arenot needed for public purposes at this time: Portion of ground in the First Municipal

of at least 15% over theRent paid during theprevious five-year term.IfT-Mobile CentralLLC wishes to exercise any of theapplicable renewal options thereafter, the annual rent will be determined by theprocedures outlinedinthe lease. SECTION2.That thelease of portions of therooftopspace be undertaken forthe following reasons:

(a)The Cityand Cook Inlets/VSGSM IV PCS, LLC, were partiestothat certain RooftopSiteLease Agreement dated September 17, 2001. (b) Lessee desires to continue to use aportionofthe Property in connection with its federally licensed communicationbusiness.

(c)City desiretogrant theLessee theright to use aportionofthe Property in accordance with this Agreement

SECTION3.That theMayor is hereby authorized to execute, afterthe effectivedateofthis Ordinance, aLease of Land attached heretoasExhibit “A” and described in SECTION1 ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS JANUARY 30, 2025 JP MORRELL PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL DELIVERED TO THE MAYORONJANUARY31, 2025

APPROVED: FEBRUARY10, 2025 LATOYA CANTRELL

MAYOR

RETURNED BY THE MAYORONFEBRUARY10, 2025 AT 3:20 P.M.

AISHA R. COLLIER ASSISTANT CLERK OF COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE: YEAS: Giarrusso, Green, Harris, King, Moreno, Morrell- 6 NAYS: 0 ABSENT:Thomas -1

RECUSED: 0 **Copies of theattachment may be seen in full in theClerk of Council’s Office, 1300 Perdido Street,Room 1E09, CityHall.

ORDINANCE (ASAMENDED) CITY OF NEW ORLEANS

CITY HALL: January 9, 2025

CALENDAR NO.34,975 NO.30229 MAYORCOUNCIL SERIES BY:COUNCILMEMBER KING AN ORDINANCE to provide forthe designationofpublic property within a specified area of theCityofNew Orleans as atemporary“Special Event Clean Zone” during thetimeperiodbeginning at 6:00 a.m.,Monday June 30, 2025, and ending at 6:00 p.m.,Monday,July 7, 2025, relative to theuse of these public areas in conjunctionwith the2025 Essence Festival of Culture (“theEffectivePeriod”) and relatedactivitiesand eventsproduced by Essence FestivalsProductions; to provide forthe temporaryprohibitionofcertain commercial activitiesinthe Special Event Clean Zone unless approved, sanctioned or authorized by theCity or as set forth in “Sponsor’s”(as defined, below) special event permit,ifand as applicable; to provide forthe establishment of one or morepublic participation areas; to provide forthe establishment of finesand penalties forviolations of this ordinance; to establishthe Special Event Clean Zone within theareabounded by the Pontchartrain Expressway,Tchoupitoulas Street,Orange Street proceeding across theMississippi River,the West Bank Levee, Esplanade Avenue, North Claiborne Avenue, Tulane Avenue, and SouthBroad Street,excluding theLouisiana Superdome property theNew Orleans Smoothie King Arena property,and theErnest N. Morial ConventionCenter property;toprovide asunset period forapplicability; and otherwise to provide with respect thereto.

WHEREAS, theCity of New Orleans is hosting the2025 Essence Festival of Cultureand relatedactivities, collectivelydefined as the(“Event”) presented by Essence FestivalsProductions LLC (“Sponsor”). WHEREAS, thedates of theEventsare scheduled to occur on June 30, 2025 through July 7, 2025 forthe 2025 Essence Festival of Culture;and WHEREAS, theEventswill attract thousands of visitorsand participantsto theCity of New Orleans and provide thecity with national exposure; and WHEREAS, theEventswill have atremendous positiveeconomicimpact on theCity of New Orleans and theState of Louisiana; and WHEREAS, given thethousands of residents, participants, and visitors who will be in attendance, it is necessary that certain public areas surrounding eventsrelatedtothe Eventsberegulated and controlledtoprovide forthe health, safety, and welfare of all residents, participants, and visitors;and WHEREAS, thesaleordistributionofmerchandise and commercial goods or waresonpublic property in proximity to Event will exacerbate congestion, potentially lead to public safetyhazards, and hinder security operations; and WHEREAS, theCity desires to prevent thesale, offerfor sale, or distribution of counterfeit, infringing,orotherwiseillegal merchandise to residents, visitors,and participantswithin theClean Zone; and WHEREAS, theproper regulationofthe flow of people and goods on public property will ensurethat allthat theEvent eventshave to offermay be safelyenjoyed by all; and WHEREAS, to that end, it is necessary to establishaSpecial Event Clean Zone in theareawithin theCity where Event activitiesare scheduled to occur during the“EffectivePeriod” and within thespecified boundaries designated in this ordinance; NOW THEREFORE SECTION1.THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS HEREBY ORDAINS, That thereishereby established a“Special Event Clean Zone” consisting of all public property located within theareabounded by the Pontchartrain Expressway,Tchoupitoulas Street,Orange Street proceeding across theMississippi River,the West Bank Levee, Esplanade Avenue, NorthClaiborneAvenue, Tulane Avenue, and SouthBroad Street,and theairspace above thespecified boundaries, and excluding theLouisiana Superdome property,the New Orleans Smoothie King Arena property, and theErnest N. MorialConventionCenter property.The Special Event Clean Zone Area does not include privateproperty, except as otherwise expresslyprovided herein.

SECTION2.The Special Event Clean Zone shall commence at 6:00 a.m. Monday,June 30, 2025, and continue through and until 6:00 p.m.,Monday July 7, 2025, relativetothe use of these public areas in conjunctionwith the2025 Essence Festival of Culture (the “EffectivePeriod”), and related activitiesproduced by Essence FestivalsProductions LLC (Sponsor). SECTION3.The following activitiesconducted by any person or entity within theClean Zone Area, except forthose approved, sanctioned or authorized by theCity,shall be regulated as follows during theEffective Period:

a. The construction, placement,occupation, or use of any temporary structure or enclosureofany kind shallbeprohibited, including but not limited to tents, canopies, and air-supported, air-inflated, and tensioned membranes except forthose sanctioned or authorized by theCity or as set forth in Sponsor’s special event permit

b. Unless expresslypermittedbythe City,commercial activity and transactions shallbeprohibited upon allpublic streets, sidewalks, or rights of way. This prohibitionshall not applytothe following: 1. thecommercial operationofpermittedtaxicabs, rideshares, limousines, charterbuses, pedicabs, or similar permittedconveyances on public streets;

2. thecontinuationofordinary business operations within an existing, permitted parklet attached to arestaurant or bar and/or currently permitted sidewalk use, provided that (i) no holder of aparklet or sidewalk use permit may assign therightstooperatea parklet or sidewalk use to any third party during theEffectivePeriod, and (ii) no advertising of any kind may be installed within or adjacent to aparklet or as part of asidewalk use except as part of apermittedA frame sign;

3. ordinary vehicular usage of public streets; 4. ordinary pedestrianusage of streetsand sidewalks to access private property and businesses;

5. delivery

WEEK 1

CUBESFOOD PAGE 10 PAGE 6

Musiccontinues after dark page 14

stages stages stages

Religion playsacentral role in upcoming dramas

Twoplays dealing withreligiousthemes will hit the stages on both sides of Lake Pontchartrain in thecoming days, approaching subjects of interest from an interestingpointofview.

Shadow of a‘Doubt’?

The topic of abuse in the Catholic Churchcomes to the forefrontinthe Tony Awardwinning “Doubt, AParable,” running May 1-18 at Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré.

Ashley Santos directs the productionof Oscar-winner John Patrick Shanley’sstory about anun, principal at aBronx school in the early1960s,who takes it upon herself to ferret out the truth abouta young priest’s supposed relations with amale student. It brewsaheady concoction of doubtand suspicion for the characters and the audience.

“‘Doubt’ is the kind of play that sticks

with you long after you leave thetheater,” said Le Petit’sartistic director A.J. Allegra “Its expert craftsmanship and purposeful ambiguity are thereasons I find myself so often drawn to it. Likeany powerful church sermon, it begs you to search your soul and comeface to face with life’suncertainties …asrelevant and striking as it was when it premiered 20 years ago.”

Theproduction had two Broadway runs, with Cherry Jones originating the role of theprincipal, Sister Aloysius, winning one of her two Tony Awards for the part. It was also amotion picture starring Meryl Streep, thelate Philip Seymour Hoffman, AmyAdams and Viola Davis —all Oscar nominees.

Taking the roles locally are Leslie Nipkow as Sister Aloysius, David Lind as the Rev. Flynn,Elizabeth McCoy as Sister James and Queen Shereen Macklin as Mrs. Muller

The showisat7:30 p.m. Thursdays

PROVIDED PHOTO

Leslie Nipkow as Sister Aloysius, left,and Elizabeth McCoyasSister James rehearse for ‘Doubt: AParable,’ opening May1atLePetit Théâtre du Vieux Carré.

Lind Macklin

Victor Andrews

stages stages stages

Rayna Myers, Tyler Bryan, Corey Saltaformaggio as Judas and Louis Mangiaracina rehearse a scene from 30 by Ninety’s upcoming production of ‘The Last Days of Judas Iscariot’ opening Saturday.

PROVIDED PHOTO

DRAMAS

Continued from page 3

through Saturdays and 3 p.m Sundays, with a 2 p.m. matinee May 17, at the French Quarter playhouse, 616 St Peter St. Tickets start at $35

For 30 pieces of silver

Themes of faith, redemption and justice are explored in the dark comedy “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot,” the next show for 30 by Ninety Theatre in Mandeville.

Directed by D.J. James, the show comes with the caveats of strong language, religious themes and theological debate, emotional intensity and mature content.

Stephen Adly Guigis’ 2005 play looks at the Biblical story of the apostle who turned Jesus over to the officials with a kiss on the cheek in exchange for 30 pieces of silver. Judas is now in purgatory and facing his ultimate fate in a court. Using flashbacks and testimony, lawyers call witnesses ranging from Jesus to Pontius Pilate, Mother Te-

resa to Sigmund Freud, even Satan. Corey Saltaformaggio takes the role of Judas, with Adolfo Rodriguez as Jesus. Other cast includes Erin McCluskey, Nino Bonura Jr., AJ Salazar, Evette Randolph, Taylor Bennett, David Jacobs, Erin Pender, Tom Bubrig, Cashel Rodriguez, Chloe Williams, West Dorignac, Louis Mangiaracina, Tom Hassinger, Tyler Bryan and Rayna Myers. Tickets start at $14. The show, which opens Saturday, is at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays through May 11 at 880 Lafayette St. Visit 30byninety.com

In production

“BING & THE BELLES”: 11:45 a.m. most Wednesdays through June 30; BB’s Stage Door Canteen, National WWII Museum, 945 Magazine St.

The show reprises some of the tunes Crosby shared with service personnel around the globe and on Armed Forces Radio. Framed as the Victory Belles preparing for a surprise birthday party, the Ricky Graham-penned show features Richard Arnold as Crosby and a rotating slate including Keyara Mil-

liner, Allison Newton, Chloé Marie, Courtney Andersen, BreAnna Collier and Kate Gulotta. Tickets start at $20. nationalww2museum.org.

“RENT”: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday; Slidell Little Theatre, 2024 Nellie Drive. A group of artists in New York City in the latter part of the 20th century look at life, art, love and AIDS in the Tony-winning blockbuster that also won the Pulitzer Prize for author Jonathan Larson posthumously, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La Bohème.” Tickets start at $35. Visit slidelllittletheatre.org.

“RICKY GRAHAM’S NEW ORLEANS FAIRY TALES”: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St., Kenner. Rooted in Graham’s childhood memories of cartoons with his inimitable New Orleans touches, the author puts a y’at accent to classic tales like “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Snow White” and “Rapunzel.” Tickets start at $35. rivertowntheaters.com.

Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@theadvocate.com.

Female-centric theatrical troupe launches season with ‘String of Pearls’

Staff report

When “String of Pearls” opens May 1 at Big Couch, the story of how a necklace connects the lives of many women across generational lines will be an achievement for the director Lalanya Gunn has been wanting this for a very long time. When she was a shy middle schooler, her family relocated to New York.

“I had no friends, but a lovely girl encouraged me to audition for a musical — the moment I was onstage, I knew I had to do this. It was the only thing that made sense.

“You just feel it in your bones sometimes. You feel joy, where you can be anything you want to be, living in a whole new world,” she said of the stage.

She arrived in New Orleans during the pandemic and found slim pickings for a spirit in need of sustenance.

“One thing I noticed was a lack of femalepresenting playwrights and actors,” Gunn said. “Most of the theater companies here have male directors and therefore become male-driven. So I recognized what we are lacking, and not that I can fix it, but I can bring my voice to the table and hopefully other people will want to listen to it.”

Thus, her company, Pallas Players, was born. With its mission to empower the voice of the feminine spirit, Gunn began to target its first production.

Michele Lowe wrote the female-driven “Pearls” as a four-hander, though Gunn’s actors, Danielle Morvant, Marcea Pierson, Mona Nasrawi and Gabrielle Breona will juggle more than 27 roles.

Lowe’s script is permeated with monologues so Gunn has taken other characters from exposition and brought them to life onstage.

“I did it to create more dynamic within the script,” Gunn said. “It’s such a poignant play and I like to help people create character — helping these actors differentiate between all of those different characters makes ‘A String of Pearls’ the perfect vehicle for amazing actors.”

Tickets start at $20. The show is at 7:30 p.m. May 1-3 and at 2 p.m. May 4 at 1045 Desire St. Visit bigcouchnola.com.

Gunn

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FROM TOP: Cochon de lait po-boys, Crawfish Monica, MangoFreeze and crawfish bread are among the classic bites available at the NewOrleans Jazz & HeritageFestival. TOPRIGHT: Festgoerswalk through a food area during Jazz Fest.

COME HUNGRY

12 vendorstoconsiderasyou mapout your food route

Some of the food at the New Orleans Jazz &Heritage Festival has obtained legendary status.

learn why food is such abig deal here.

again this year,achange from the usual crawfish.

Food Area 1

And over the years, new additions rise to join theclassics.

I’ve been rethinking my own roster of dishes that are JazzFestessentials. I’ll be cutting up the massive menu in different ways as the days go on with alook at new dishes, niche players and other angles on festival eating.

This year,morethan 60 vendors provide theprovisions, with atotal of morethan 200 items.Some vendors are restaurants, others are caterersand afew arenonprofits.

Youcan follow your whim and sample with confidence. Jazz Fest maintains very high standards for its food vendors. This is not the glorified stadium food you get at some other big events.

But veteranJazzFestrevelers will tell you it helps to have aplan.

So, to begin, here is themust-try list Iwould put in thehands of any newcomer to JazzFesttoquickly

Near the center of the festival grounds, in front of the Economy Hall Tent.

Crawfish bread: Crawfish bread went missing in 2023, andboy,did alot of people missit. This classic returned thefollowing year and now continues itstenure. With crawfish and cheese baked into crusty bread, this is alittle like a calzone, but distinctively Louisiana.

Hot sausagepo-boyVaucresson:The Vaucresson family has been part of Jazz Fest from thebeginning. This sausage is chaurice, aCreole heritage food, an important ingredient for manygumbos around town.You get one all to yourself in this classic po-boy Crawfish sack, oyster patties, shrimp beignets: This is ahead-turning combo platter and one-plate feast. The sacks are like fried dumplings filled withcrawfish, theoyster patties are vol-au-vent pastry shells filled with acreamy oyster sauce, and the puffy fried savory beignetsare madewith shrimp

Cochon de lait po-boy: There are only ahandful of vendors serving a single dish at their booths. The runaway popularity of this po-boy dictates that kind of focus. This is Louisiana barbecue, with pork broken down into smoky chunks and topped with acrunchy,creamy slaw in aFrench bread loaf.

Yakamein: Ahangover is not required to enjoy this second-line parade classic, also known as “old sober.” But Miss Linda Green’s broth, smacking with green onions, sluiced with noodles, bits of beef and egg and the (optional) shot of hot sauce, is undeniably restorative. New this year is avegan version of the soup.

Mangofreeze (near Fais Do-Do stage): The iconic sweet treat of Jazz Fest, it’sasorbet with robust mango flavor but only mellow sweetness. It’srefreshing, and it also doubles as afundraiser for community radio station WWOZ 90.7 FM in New Orleans.

Pro tip: This pairs beautifully with the sparking wine sold from

ä See VENDORS, page 7

STAFF FILE PHOTOS

Ian McNulty

This

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Musical miracle

year’s fest returns to ‘normal,’ but it’s still overwhelming

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

The 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival literally and figuratively spans Harry Connick Jr. to Lil Wayne.

Those two very different New Orleanians close out the first Saturday at opposite ends of the Fair Grounds. Lil Wayne, making his Jazz Fest debut, headlines the main Festival Stage while backed by the Roots.

Connick, who made his Jazz Fest debut in the Jazz Tent in 1977 as a 9-year-old piano prodigy, closes the Gentilly Stage.

In between them are Babyface, Diana Krall, Tah Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-chas, the New Orleans Cottonmouth Kings and Afro-centric percussion ensemble Bamboula 2000.

The 54th edition of Jazz Fest, which opens Thursday for the first of two four-day weekends, features more than 600 acts, the overwhelming majority of them indigenous to Louisiana.

That emphasis on homegrown talent sets Jazz Fest apart from every other major music festival

Tank and the Bangas play on the Festival Stage at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT:

Harry Connick Jr. plays the Shell Gentilly Stage at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Lil Wayne performs at 5:30 p.m. Saturday on the Festival Stage.

The Dave Matthews Band performs on the Festival Stage at 5 p.m. Sunday.

in the country Name aside, it’s never been about just jazz, though two of its 14 stages are entirely devoted to the genre.

The big-name acts are what drive the discussion and, to a large degree, the ticket lowing 2024’s blowout “Rolling Stones Thursday,” this year more like a “normal” Jazz

The big change for 2025 overhaul of the ticket pricing structure. Simply put, ticke prices for Louisiana residents stayed more or less the increased for nonresidents.

And locals now get a price break every day, not just two heavily discounted “Lo cals’ Thursdays.” Tickets purchased at the gate end up being approximately $40 cheaper for buyers with a credit card linked to a Louisiana ZIP code.

Traditionally, Jazz Fest presents rappers on the Square Stage. Last year, festival experimented with hip-hop headliner, Anderson .Paak & the Free Nationals, the Festival Stage.

This Saturday’s entire Stage roster, featuring Lil Tank and the Bangas — Jazz Fest poster artist — Freedia, the Rebirth Brass

and Mardi Gras Indian funk band the Rumble, would not be out of place at Congo Square.

Thursday’s big stage closers represent the then-and-now dichotomy of Jazz Fest. Creedence Clearwater Revival singer and songwriter John Fogerty, who turns 80 in May, is on the Festival Stage. Goose, a jam band that just completed its first decade of existence, plugs in for nearly two hours at the Gentilly Stage.

Both Fridays of this year’s festival are unofficially “Classic Rock and Country Day.” A decade after Kacey Musgraves played the Sheraton Fais Do-Do Stage in 2015, she’s earned a promotion to Festival Stage headliner. She’ll be exploring a “Deeper Well” around the same time the grizzled classic rock road warriors of Cheap Trick “Surrender” at Gentilly Additionally, R&B legend Gladys Knight holds down the Congo Square closing slot between Cheap Trick and Musgraves.

Sunday marks Dave Matthews’ tenth trip to the Fair Grounds, counting appearances with his band and as an acoustic duo with Tim Reynolds. The Dave Matthews Band, one of the first acts to sign on for the all-important first Jazz Fest after Hurricane Katrina nearly 20 years ago, returns for the first time since 2019.

In the same slot on Sunday, the guitar-pop sisterhood of HAIM at Gentilly and Nigerian dancehall singer and producer Burna Boy at Congo Square represent the next generation of visiting artists. What is officially the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell is produced by Quint Davis’ Festival Productions Inc.-New Orleans and global live entertainment powerhouse AEG Presents.

The festival is owned by the nonprofit New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Founda-

John Fogerty plays the Festival Stage at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

tion, which uses proceeds to fund a variety of educational and cultural programs.

Throughout the entire 2025 Jazz Fest, a multitude of Mexican bands will perform on multiple stages and at the Cultural Exchange Pavilion in the center of the Fair Grounds infield. Courtesy of the festival, you can experience authentic Mexican music and culture without leaving Orleans Parish.

This weekend, don’t forget to randomly stop by the Gospel Tent, which is again sponsored by personal injury attorney Morris Bart, for a dose of positive energy And duck into the Grandstand to see artists tell the stories behind the songs on the intimate Allison Miner Music Heritage Stage.

Logistical considerations worth

remembering: Jazz Fest is cashless. And you’re allowed to bring in a factory-sealed bottle of water, an essential provision as temperatures soar

In addition to the action on the 14 stages, the Fair Grounds infield will come alive with 47 secondlines and Mexican parades, plus 23 Native American Pow Wows and a dozen Totonac rituals by Staku Guaguas.

After the festival closes down at 7 p.m. each night, New Orleans nightclubs and theaters will keep the music going into the wee hours.

It’s overwhelming, in a good way. It’s Jazz Fest.

Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

Kacey Musgraves plays the Festival Stage at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

ä JAZZ FEST AFTER DARK

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THURSDAY,

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AFTER DARK

Keith Spera SOUND CHECK

No city in theworld has more,orbetter, live musicthan NewOrleans during the first, jampacked week of the NewOrleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

THURSDAY

During Jazz Fest’s first weekend, Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro on Frenchmen Street bumps backits showtimes to 9p.m. and 11 p.m. Kicking off abig weekend at Snug is world-class modern jazz saxophonist Donald Harrison Jr.’s quartet ($50).

Bassist and composer Esperanza Spalding,aself-described “eaabibacliitoti artist” —that’sshort for“EuropeanAfrican ancestored being influenced by American culturesliving in IndigenousTerritories of Turtle Island” holds court at the Orpheum Theater ($49 and up).

It’sZydeco Night at Rock’N’ Bowl with Geno Delafose and JefferyBroussard ($20).

Get Trampled By Turtles at the Fillmore ($55 and up).

All-female all-star ensemble The Coven convenes at the Broadside at 8p.m. ($30). Blues-based guitarist Eric Johanson is on the Broadside’s indoor stage at 10 p.m. ($20).

NOLA Brewing, 3033

Tchoupitoulas St., presents “Hendrix, Heads and Tails,” a

celebration of JimiHendrix’smusic as performed by Tony Hall (Dumpstaphunk), Eric McFadden (P-Funk), Ed Williams (The Revivalists), Deven Trusclair (Dumpstaphunk), Jonathon “Boogie” Long and special guests Eric Krasno and Ivan Neville.Tickets are $25 advance, $30 at the door

FRIDAY

Keyboardist JonCleary and his supertight funk/R&B band the Absolute Monster Gentlemen celebrate therelease of their excellent new album, “The Bywater Sessions,”withashow at the outdoorBroadside at 8p.m. ($35 plus fees). Later Friday,the Pimps of Joytime areindoors at theBroadside ($25).

Arcade Fire,whose WinButler and Régine Chassagne have called New Orleans home for years, headline the SaengerTheatre as part of the “Don’t Think About Pink Elephant Tour.” The tour is name for the band’sforthcoming album, “Pink Elephant,” out May 9. Ticketsfor Friday’sshow start at $67plus service charges.

Snug Harbor hostsblues-based guitarist Chris Thomas King and KennyNeal at 9p.m. and 11 p.m. ($50).

Dumpstaphunk,the New Orleans funk/ soul/R&B band anchored by keyboardist/vocalist Ivan Neville,tops a triple bill at the Civic Theatre that includes the Soul Rebels and the Headhunters ($49.50 and up).

The Honey Island Swamp Band remakes BruceSpringsteen anthems at the “Swamp Boss” showwith the Sweet Lillies at NOLA

Brewing ($20 advance, $25 door).

Soulive guitarist Eric Krasno,drummer Alan Evans,and keyboardist Neal Evans plug in at the Joy Theater for anight deep-groove jazz-funk instrumentals ($49.50).

Cowboy Mouth rocks Rock ’N’ Bowl with LVVRS ($30)

SouthLouisiana doom-rock band Acid Bath reunitesatthe Fillmore with Eyehategod opening. Only resale tickets areavailable (which is also the case for Acid Bath’sshow at the Fillmore on April 30).

The Record Company brings its “Roll With It Tour” to theHouseofBlues, with Jontavious Willis opening the show at 9p.m.; ticketsstartat$25. Lateron Friday, The NewMastersounds,the British band thatspecializes in percolating, Meters-inspired funk, takes over the House of Bluesstage for ashow starting after midnight;tickets are $37.50 and up.

Around 1a.m. lateFriday, trombonist Big Sam’sFunky Nation is in session at the Blue Nile on Frenchmen Street ($25 plus fees in advance).

Even later on Friday, the Iceman Special cools off Tipitina’sstarting around 2a.m. ($25).

SATURDAY

Trombone Shorty &Orleans Avenue’s annual “Treme Threauxdown” at the Saenger Theatre is aJazzFest tradition. For the ninth installment of the “Threauxdown,” Shorty, alsoknown as Troy Andrews and his band will host aparade of special guests, including Lauren Daigle, Elvis Costello,Andy Grammer and Andy Stone.Tickets start at

$64 plus fees.

Thirty years ago, Elektra Records re-released “Deluxe,” an album by south Louisiana alternative rock band Better ThanEzra.Thanks to the modern rock radio No. 1hit “Good” and a batch of equally chiseled and catchy songs, “Deluxe” sold more than 1 millioncopies. Three decades later, BTE is still fronted by co-founding singer/guitarist Kevin Griffin and bassist TomDrummond,joined by drummer Michael Jerome and guitarist/keyboardist James Arthur Payne Jr. At the Fillmore on Saturday,they’ll perform “Deluxe” in its entirety plus other favorites and maybe acut or two from 2024’s“Super Magick,” the band’s10th studio album MarcBroussard opens the show Tickets are $59.

It’sabig night of blues-based guitar heroics at the Civic Theatre courtesy of co-headliners Samantha Fish and Tab Benoit.Sassy soul band Sierra Green &the Giants open the show.Tickets start at $49.50 plus fees.

The New Orleans Groovemasters features drummers Herlin Riley,Jason Marsalis,and Alexey Marti at Snug Harbor at 9p.m ($45) and 11 p.m. ($50).

Following asold-out Galactic gig at Tipitina’s, the GreyboyAllstars,featuring saxophonist Karl Denson,take over the stage around 2a.m.($49.50).

The IkoAllstars,fronted by guitarist Billy Iuso,put aNew Orleans spin on the music of the Grateful Dead outside at the Broadside ($25). At the Broadside’sindoor pavilion hosts “Songs and Stories from The Crescent City” with acoustic performances by Susan Cowsill, Alex McMurray,AndrewDuhon,and GreggHill ($20).

The Blue Nile hasthe Rumblefeaturing Big Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr in one room ($25) and trombonist Corey Henry’sTreme Funktet in the other ($20).

Trombone-powered rock band Bonerama and guitarist Papa Mali share abill at Rock ’N’ Bowl ($25).

The NoahYoung Trio, featuring bassist NoahYoung,guitarist Mahmoud Chouki and drummer TerrenceHouston,plays afree show at NOLA Brewing at 8p.m

The New Mastersounds are back for a second night at the House of Blues as part of the band’sfarewell tour

SUNDAY

Adifferent configuration of the Take Me To the River Allstars,named for the New Orleans music documentary project “Take Me to the River,” plays

Andrews

Better Than Ezra

Donald Harrison Jr