The Advocate 02-27-2025

MAPPING A NEW ROUTE

DOTD plans for changes after review knocks it for project delays, cost overruns and poor work

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

An internal review of the agency that maintains Louisiana’s roads and highways has found it too often allows construction to go past deadline and over budget, has flawed internal communication and lacks a good process for selecting projects among other problems

Meanwhile, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development faces high turnover rates for key technical and engineering staff, inadequate staffing levels and low employee morale, according to a Strategic Improvement Plan report recently issued by the department.

The review is a response to Gov. Jeff Landry’s executive order last year that called on agency leaders to “reform the department as expeditiously as possible.”

To help fix the problems, DOTD has set up a “transformation office” and is considering plans to restructure its departments, outsource some functions and redo how it handles permits and project bids, according to the report

“DOTD recognizes the need to act decisively to rebuild the trust and confidence in the Department that has

eroded over the years,” it states.

The review also states the department’s primary funding sources, federal and state fuel taxes, haven’t kept pace with inflation or growing infrastructure needs.

Among the most significant problems is “inconsistency and inefficiency in the

delivery and execution of its transportation projects.”

“Delays in project timelines, cost overruns, and incomplete or poorly executed infrastructure projects occur frequently,” the report states.

Government efficiency group adds state auditor

Task force mirrors Elon Musk’s DOGE

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

A task force facing criticism for meeting outside of public view is partnering with state auditors to help find waste in government spending, Gov Jeff Landry announced Wednesday The Fiscal Responsibility Program, created by the governor in December will work with the Louisiana Legislative Auditor in its

mission to eliminate unnecessary spending. Landry appears to be modeling the Fiscal Responsibility Program on the federal Department of Government Efficiency created by President Donald Trump and headed by business owner Elon Musk. He is inviting citizens to offer suggestions on how the state can save money to email ladoge@lla.la.gov

The task force met twice this year in secret before pausing its work earlier this month. That move came after good government groups said it failed to adhere to the state public meetings law — which requires

the group to give public notice beforehand of its meetings that then have to be open to the public.

The task force includes eight state legislators and is led by Steve Orlando, a close friend of Landry’s who owned a successful oil field services company “The partnership allows us to expand our work to create state fiscal responsibility,” Orlando said in a text. “The commitment is real. Results are coming!” Mike Waguespack, the legislative auditor, seconded that point in an interview saying his office already conducts regular financial

and performance audits of state agencies.

“We do a lot of audits on state agencies that get put on a shelf,” Waguespack said. Now, he added, “we have a group that will potentially look at our audits and take action. We’ll be the boots on the ground. I’m super excited about this.”

The governor’s news release did not say whether the group will begin holding public meetings.

“We will always comply with public meeting law,” Orlando texted Email Tyler Bridges at tbridges@theadvocate.com.

Docked benefits to start flowing

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON About 94,000 Louisiana government retirees immediately will begin receiving their full Social Security benefits from any private employment that had been docked for years because they also received public service pensions.

And that’s going to start off with a lump sum check to cover the past 14 months, said Garret Graves, the former Baton Rouge congressman who shepherded the bill into law

“The Trump administration is cutting retroactive checks this week,” Graves said Wednesday “There is going to be a lump sum check up front and from there forward you’ll get the updated amount each month.” For example, if a public worker was supposed to receive $1,800 a month in Social Security benefits but was docked $360 and received $1,440, that retiree will soon receive a $5,040 lump sum check — or, more likely the amount will be direct deposited. Then, the monthly check will be $1,800. That’s an average amount. Each case is different.

See BENEFITS, page 4A

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

It’s officially GATOR season. On Saturday, Louisiana families can begin applying to LA GATOR, a new tax-funded scholarship program meant to help parents pay for private education. Replacing the state’s long-running voucher program, LA GATOR — officially the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise program — will be open to more families and allow for more uses than its predecessor In addition to private school tuition, parents can spend the scholarship money on tutoring, textbooks, special-education services and other approved expenses. “For families who are looking for a different approach to educating their child, this is a great opportunity,” said Germain Gilson, assistant superintendent of school choice for the Louisiana Department of Education.

State to open applications Saturday ä See APPLICATIONS, page 5A

Crews prepare supports for new signage that will be used along Interstate 10 near the College Drive exit.

STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK

Drivers navigate Juban Road between Florida Boulevard and Interstate 12 recently in Livingston Parish.

Trachtenberg, ‘Buffy’ and ‘Harriet’ star, dies NEW YORK Michelle Trachtenberg, a former child star who appeared in the 1996 “Harriet the Spy” hit movie and went on to co-star in two buzzy millennial-era TV shows — “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Gossip Girl” — has died. She was 39. Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 8 a.m. at a 51-story luxury apartment tower in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood where officers found Trachtenberg “unconscious and unresponsive,” according to an NYPD statement.

Paramedic s pron ounced her dead at the scene. No foul play was suspected, police said Trachtenberg was 8 when she began playing Nona Mecklenberg on Nickelodeon’s “The Adventures of Pete & Pete” from 1994 to 1996.

In 2000 Trachtenberg joined the cast of “Buffy,” playing Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar between 2000 and 2003.

Trachtenberg thanked Gellar for speaking out against Joss Whedon in 2021, following abuse allegations made against the “Buffy” showrunner Trachtenberg alluded to “his not appropriate behavior” she experienced as a teenage actor In 2001, she received a Daytime Emmy nomination for hosting Discovery’s “Truth or Scare.”

Man charged with threat to burn down xAI facility

ASHLAND CITY,Tenn.— A Tennessee man has been charged with an act of terrorism after he threatened to burn down an xAI facility because he was upset with its founder, Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump, authorities said.

Ethan Paul Early, 25, of Ashland City, was arrested and charged on Feb 20 after he spoke with a police officer about the threats, according to an affidavit He was booked into jail on $500,000 bond, court records show A lawyer listed in court records for Early did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday

A police officer in Ashland City said he received a call from a friend of Early’s who was concerned after Early said he wanted to burn down one of Musk’s data centers because he was upset with the tech billionaire and Trump, the affidavit says.

The officer went to Early’s home and asked him what he was thinking of burning down, the affidavit says. Early said Musk had an “AI factory” in Memphis. Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, operates a supercomputer in Memphis.

Early told the officer that he was no longer thinking about going through with the idea “and that he had good friends that had talked him out of it,” the affidavit says.

Texas child dies from measles

BY DEVI SHASTRI and AMANDA SEITZ

Associated Press

LUBBOCK, Texas A child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, state officials said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious respiratory disease since 2015.

The school-aged child had been hospitalized and died Tuesday night amid the widespread outbreak, Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years. Since it began last month, a rash of 124 cases has erupted across nine counties.

The Texas Department of State Health Services and Lubbock health officials confirmed the death to The Associated Press. The Lubbock hospital where the child had been treated — and where most measles patients have been hospitalized during the outbreak — didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official and a vac-

cine critic, said Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is “watching” cases, though he did not provide specifics on how the federal agency is assisting. He dismissed Texas’ outbreak as “not unusual” during a Wednesday meeting of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members.

“We’re following the measles epidemic every day,” Kennedy said in response to a reporter’s question about the child’s death.

The federal government is providing vaccines as well as technical and laboratory support in West Texas, but the state health department is leading the response, said Andrew Nixon, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Texas Gov Greg Abbott said through a spokesman that his office is in regular communication with the state health department and epidemiologists, and that vaccination teams are in the “affected area.”

“The state will deploy all nec-

essary resources to ensure the safety and health of Texans,” said spokesman Andrew Mahaleris, calling the child’s death a tragedy

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said it will provide only weekly updates on the measles outbreak, and has not yet updated its public webpage to reflect the child’s death. Texas health department data shows that a majority of the reported measles cases are in children.

The virus has largely spread among rural, oil rig-dotted towns in West Texas, with cases concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community, health department spokesperson Lara Anton said. Gaines County, which has reported 80 cases so far, has a strong homeschooling and private school community It is also home to one of the highest rates of school-aged children in Texas who have opted out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% skipping a required dose last school year

Hamas hands over 4 more dead hostages from Gaza

BY WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip Hamas handed over four dead hostages to the Red Cross early Thursday in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will end.

An Israeli security official confirmed that Hamas handed the bodies to the Red Cross. The official spoke on condition of anonymity pending a formal announcement

At around the same time, a Red Cross convoy carrying dozens of released Palestinian prisoners left Israel’s Ofer prison Crowds of cheering families, friends and supporters of Palestinian prisoners were gathered in Beitunia jostling for a glimpse of the bus that was on its way

Israel had delayed the release of over 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it called the cruel treatment of hostages during their handover by Hamas. The militant group has called the delay a “serious violation” of the ceasefire and said talks on a second phase aren’t possible until the Palestinians are freed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had said Wednesday that the release of the bodies would be carried out without a ceremony, as opposed to past Hamas releases with stage-managed events in front of crowds. Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N. officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.

33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The family of a hostage in Gaza said it was notified he is dead and his body was among those to be returned to Israel. The family did not say who informed them.

Tsachi Idan was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot through the door of the safe room. Hamas militants broadcast themselves on Facebook holding the family hostage in their home as two younger children pleaded to let them go.

A fragile ceasefire in peril

The ceasefire’s six-week first phase expires this weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase, during which all remaining hostages held by Hamas would be released and an end to the war would be negotiated.

Talks on the second phase were supposed to begin the first week of February

The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken hostage.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who don’t differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

Israel buries mother, sons

Baby white rhino makes public debut in Belgium

BRUGELETTE,Belgium Baby white rhino Nova captivated visitors at Belgium’s Pairi Daiza Zoo on Wednesday, making her public debut with a playful display of jumps and frolics alongside her mother, Ellie.

Born on Jan. 2, the rare calf first had to be nurtured in the warmth of a secure area where she could gather strength and weight. Earlier this week, her mother brought her out to get acquainted with other rhinos. She was also given a hesitant outing where the public got a first peek.

Among those leaving Israel early Thursday were hundreds of detainees arrested from Gaza, held on suspicion of militancy after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, without charge for months. They include 445 men, 21 teenagers and one woman who were all arrested after the Hamas attack, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that did not specify their ages.

Only around 50 Palestinians were being released into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in this round. Dozens sentenced to life over deadly attacks against Israelis will be exiled out of the Palestinian territories, taken to Egypt at least temporarily until other countries accept them.

The handover will complete both sides’ obligations under the ceasefire’s first phase, during which Hamas returned

On Wednesday, tens of thousands of Israelis lined highways as the bodies of a mother and her two young sons, killed in captivity in Gaza, were taken for burial on Wednesday

The bodies of Shiri Bibas and her sons, 9-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel, were handed over earlier this month.

Israel says forensic evidence shows the children were killed by their captors in November 2023, while Hamas says the family was killed along with their guards in an Israeli airstrike.

The husband and father, Yarden Bibas, was abducted separately and released alive in a different handover His wife and their children were buried in a private ceremony near Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza, where they were living when they were abducted. They were buried in a joint grave next to Shiri’s parents, who were killed in the attack.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — which is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases — is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old for the first shot, with the second coming between 4 and 6 years old.

Vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks. The vaccine series is required for kids before entering kindergarten in public schools nationwide. Last week, Kennedy vowed to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases, despite promises not to change it during his confirmation hearings. Most kids will recover from the measles if they get it, but infection can lead to dangerous complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

Trump sees ‘thirst’ for his ‘gold card’

BY ELLIOT SPAGAT and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he plans to start selling a “gold card” visa with a potential pathway to U.S. citizenship for $5 million, seeking to have that new initiative replace a 35-year-old visa program for investors.

“I happen to think it’ll sell like crazy It’s a market,” Trump said. “But we’ll know very soon.”

During the first meeting of his second-term Cabinet, Trump suggested that the new revenue generated from the program could be used to pay off the country’s debt.

“If we sell a million, that’s 5 trillion dollars,” he said. Of the demand from the business community to participate, he said “I think we will sell a lot because I think there’s really a thirst.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters during the same meeting that Trump’s initiative would replace the EB-5

program, which offers U.S. visas to investors who spent about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people. Lutnick said that program “has been around for many years for investment in projects” but “it was poorly overseen, poorly executed.”

The new program could mark a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration policy but isn’t unprecedented elsewhere. Countries in Europe and elsewhere offer what have become known as “golden visas” that allow participants to pay in order to secure immigration status in desirable places. Congress, meanwhile, determines qualifications U.S. for citizenship, but the president said “gold cards” would not require congressional approval. Trump said of future possible recipients of the gold visa program: “They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it’s going to be extremely successful.”

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ARIEL SCHALIT

Mourners gather around the convoy carrying the coffins of slain hostages Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, during their funeral procession in Rishon Lezion, Israel, on Wednesday. The mother and her two children were abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and their remains were returned from Gaza to Israel last week as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

AP PHOTO By MARIUS BURGELMAN

Nova, left, an endangered southern white rhinoceros born in January, stands next to her mother Elie at Paira Daiza Zoo in Brugelette, Belgium, Wednesday.

Musk gets star turn at Trump’s Cabinet meeting

BY ZEKE MILLER AP White House correspondent

WASHINGTON Elon Musk took a star turn at the first Cabinet meeting of President Donald Trump’s new term, holding forth in a black “Make America Great Again” campaign hat on Wednesday about his role as “humble tech support” for the federal government and laying out dire stakes if his costcutting efforts fail.

“If we don’t do this, America will go bankrupt,” Musk told department heads assembled around a large wooden table in the Cabinet Room. Trump, not one to easily share

the spotlight, seemed happy to turn the top of the hour-plus meeting over to Musk for a “little summary” of what the Department of Government Efficiency has been up to, saying that Musk’s team had found evidence of “horrible things” afoot in the government

“He’s sacrificing a lot,” Trump said of Musk, referencing the time the world’s richest man is taking away from his many business ventures. “He’s also getting hit.” Musk for his part, said his lightning-fast efforts to right-size the government had drawn death threats and he jokingly knocked his fist on his “wooden head” as he said he hoped to find $1 trillion to

trim from the federal budget, an effort that has caused extensive disruption among federal workers and those who rely on their services Musk defended his weekend attempt to require government workers to justify their prior week’s work under penalty of termination — a move that drew pushback from many in the room on national security and privacy grounds — as merely a “pulse check” to ensure that those working for the government have “a pulse and two neurons,” adding that “this is not a high bar” for workers to meet. Speculating that some workers

are either dead or fictional, Musk added that the goal was to see that workers are real, alive and can “write an email.” Musk did volunteer that his efforts to slash government spending would “make mistakes.” He cited as an example that, while hustling to dramatically shrink the U.S. Agency for International Development, “One of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention.” Musk insisted that “there was no interruption” in services before the funding was restored. But a USAID official said Wednesday that no funds for the agency’s Ebola response had been

released under President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 funding freeze for foreign aid, including for efforts to combat the spread of the deadly virus.

After about 15 minutes of focus on Musk and DOGE, Trump shifted the spotlight of the Cabinet meeting back to his own accomplishments in his first weeks in office. The Cabinet sat mostly silently for more than an hour, as Trump opened the floor to questions from an invited group of reporters. Asked if he expected his Cabinet to follow his directives without exception, Trump initially scoffed at the question before answering, “of course, no exceptions.”

Memo sets stage for large-scale layoffs of federal workers

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The U.S. government is facing a generational realignment as President Donald Trump directs federal agencies to develop plans for eliminating employee positions and consolidating programs.

Senior officials set the downsizing in motion on Wednesday with a memo that dramatically expands Trump’s efforts to scale back a workforce described as an impediment to his agenda. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and now the Republican administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection.

“We’re cutting down the size of government. We have to,” Trump said during the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. “We’re bloated. We’re sloppy We have a lot of people that aren’t doing their job.”

The ripple effects will be felt around the country.

Roughly 80% of federal workers live outside the Washington area, and government services — patent approvals, food inspections, park maintenance and more

— could be hindered depending on how cuts are handled.

Labor unions, Democratic state leaders and other organizations have tried, with some success, to slow Trump down with litigation, while Republicans are growing more concerned about how a slash-and-burn strategy could affect their constituents.

“Once you do this damage, it’s going to be incredibly hard to rebuild the capacity of these organizations,” said Don Moynihan, a public policy professor at the University of Michigan. “It’s not like you can turn the switch back on and everything is going to be the way it was before.”

Agencies are directed to submit by March 13 their plans for what is known as a reduction in force, which would not only lay off employees but eliminate the position altogether The result could be extensive changes in how government functions.

No specific targets for cutbacks were included in the memo. However, as an example, Trump said the Environmental Protection Agency could reduce its staff by 65%.

More plans are due on

April 14, when agencies are expected to outline how they will consolidate management, become more efficient and potentially relocate offices to parts of the country that are less expensive than Washington. The memo said agencies have a Sept. 30 deadline for implementation.

Administration officials framed their effort as a costsaving measure with a clear ideological goal.

“The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt. At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public,” said the memo from Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, which functions as a human resources agency “Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hardworking American citizens.”

Vought was an author of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term, and he has advocated for centralizing power under the presidency

and dismantling federal bureaucracy

Moynihan described the memo as a “backdoor way” of reducing the size of government since Congress hasn’t passed any legislation to cut programs.

“There’s a fundamental realignment of power here,” he said. “This administration is saying we have much more power than any previous administration when it comes to deciding how government works.”

Trump foreshadowed the effort in a recent executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who oversees the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. The order said agency leaders “shall promptly undertake prepa-

rations to initiate large-scale reductions in force,” or RIF

Some departments have already begun this process

The General Services Administration, which handles federal real estate, told employees on Monday that a reduction in force was underway and they would do “everything in our power to make your departure fair and dignified.”

Law enforcement, national security, public safety, military positions and U.S. Postal Service positions are exempt.

The memo was released shortly before Trump convened Cabinet officials as well as Musk. Musk has caused turmoil within the federal workforce, most recently by demanding that employees jus-

tify their jobs or risk getting fired. OPM later said that the edict was voluntary, although workers could face similar requests in the future. Before the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “all of the Cabinet secretaries take the advice and direction of DOGE.” Musk’s operation became more powerful on Wednesday with a new executive order signed by Trump. He directed agencies to develop new systems for distributing and justifying payments so they could be monitored by DOGE representatives. Employee travel is being limited and agency credit cards are being frozen unless they’re used for disaster relief or supervisors create an exception.

It’s anew look forthe Southern JaguarsBaseball team this year,with26new playersonthe roster Theteamincludes14freshmenand nineseniors

“We’ve gotstrongpitching, good offense and soliddefense,” said Baseball CoachChris Crenshaw.“We hadagoodopeningweekend andare lookingforward to exciting baseball.”

TheJaguars startedoff theyearwithbig wins againstTexas Southernand PrairieViewA&M during the2025CactusJackHBCUClassic at Minute Maid Park in Houston. As theseason progresses,Coach Crenshaw said he hopesthe team canbuild on that momentum andonceagain rely on itsspeed,which helped Southernleadthe nation in stolen baseslastyear.

OneseriesCoach Crenshaw hascircled on the calendar is April4-6 againstGrambling,which willalsobeAlumniWeekend on campus

“I like forthem to come back around andbe back around theprogram so guys understand why they’rehereand what they’replaying for,” Coach Crenshaw said TheSouthernLadyJaguars Softball team is also taking thefieldthisyear. CoachBrittneyWilliams said sheisrelying on thefourseniors on theteam, whoalsoserve as captains,toleadthe way. Having that experience helped theplayers reboundfrom arocky starttothe season by reelingoff three straight wins as they preparefor conference play

“I wasblessed with theopportunity to have a D-1headcoachingjob in an area Iamfrom,”said CoachWilliams, anative ofBatonRouge.“I’mreally passionate aboutgrowing thesoftballprogram here My coachesalsoplayed

here. It’s afullcirclefor me,and I’mexcited to help propel theprogram forward.”

CoachWilliamsalsomakes sure her players have funwhenthey’re at theballpark. TheLady Jags areknown forcheer-offsbetween innings, in whichtheyhaveafriendlycompetition with their opponents to seewho canpulloff theloudest and most elaboratecheers.

“Not only do youhavetowin thegames,you have to winthe cheering contests too,”she said.“We additintothe practice schedule.Everyonemust know thecheersand everyone hastoparticipate It’s alittleteambonding as well.”

CoachWilliamssaidone series she’seying is againstGrambling on March28and 29

“It’salwayssuchacompetitive game.It’sgoing to come down to thenitty-gritty,”she said The2025Jag-A-ThonisalsoonMarch 28, from 9a.m.to6 p.m. Thecampaignisachance forSouthernJaguars supporters to invest in student-athletes throughfinancialcontributions Thefunds go toward awidearray of needs, includingacademicsupport,facilities, recruitment, personal needsand more

Donationsmay be made on March28in-person on thethirdfloorofthe A.W. MumfordFieldhouse by calling225-771-2436,

Policies and procedures are inconsistently applied throughout the agency, and a lack of internal coordination “frequently results in fragmented decision-making that delays projects,” the report says.

Many issues stem from a failure to comply with legal mandates “out of a desire for expediency, political considerations, or a gradual departure from established practice,” the study says

For example, “at some point the agency abandoned efforts to comply with the Administrative Procedures Act,” which sets rules for how departments make decisions that will have impacts outside the agency The department changes its processes without public or legislative input, the report found.

A lack of attorney involvement in projects has led to a variety of problems according to the report.

One example: “Execution of construction contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars prior to the completion of adequate design work or the receipt of necessary approvals.”

DOTD also lacks a “clear, transparent framework for evaluating and selecting projects.”

What DOTD is doing

To fix the problems, DOTD is creating a transformation office charged with a slew of tasks: “Transform project management, undertake organizational structure analysis, deliver program delivery process improvement, encourage leadership and staff development, enhance performance management and accountability improvement, provide legislative support and elevate communications.”

Under a contemplated restructure of the agency, officials have proposed merging some separate departments into the others.

Changes include:

n Creating of a new Office of Public Works that will house flood protection functions.

n Creating a new “district construction engineer position” that will serve as a single point of contact for construction projects in each district.

n DOTD General Counsel would report directly to the secretary DOTD is working with a con-

Motorists travel recently on Interstate 12 near the Satsuma Road overpass in Livingston. An internal review of the state Department of Transportation and Development found it too often allows construction to go past deadline and over budget, has flawed internal communication and lacks a good process for selecting projects, among other problems.

sultant to improve its project bidding and permit application procedures, and it’s planning to roll out a new website this year It also engaged a consultant to help win more federal grant money

The agency is looking into ways it can outsource project development and project management and opportunities to outsource maintenance work.

It’s also working with the state human resources agency to develop key performance indicators, which can serve as benchmarks to track and evaluate agency performance. And it’s undertaking a comprehensive review of its rules, manuals policies, and procedures.

In addition to Landry’s executive order, legislators have also pushed for changes at DOTD. They commissioned a separate study by private consulting firm BCG, which found that the department would need to expand its annual budget by more than $1 bil-

ernment retirees to receive the full amount of Social Security benefits The bill was finally passed after midnight on Dec. 21.

What changed for retirees

Some state and municipal governments, including Louisiana’s, did not pay Social Security taxes on the pensions for their public service workers. Many of those employees held jobs before or after their public service, or worked second jobs like those that teachers often take at night and during the summer and contributed to Social Security The Windfall Elimination Provision, passed in 1983 and called WEP, reduces Social Security benefits by up to half the pension amount for people receiving pension income from jobs that didn’t contribute Social Security payroll taxes. The Government Pension Offset, passed in 1977 and called GPO, reduces benefits for survivors if the spouse had a pension that wasn’t taxed for Social Security The Social Security benefits can be cut by up to two-thirds of the public employee’s pension. Both provisions were added to the law to help shore up ailing Social Security finances. The Social Security Fairness Act repealed those rules, allowing some gov-

The bill was signed into law on Jan. 5 by President Joe Biden shortly after Graves and co-sponsor Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., had left Congress. Biden said the 3.2 million affected public workers would receive an average of $360 more per month in Social Security payments.

“These folks have waited years for this day,” U.S Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said in a statement “The fight took too long, but let’s focus on the victory.” Cassidy, who had pushed for the repeal since 2009, was in charge of getting the Senate to pass the legislation over vociferous opposition from senators who argued that the repeal amounted to a windfall for public employees at the expense of private industry workers who paid into Social Security throughout their careers. The change will cost about $196 billion through 2034 and will continue to rise, which could hasten insolvency of the fund that pays Social Security. If the fund goes insolvent in nine years, which is predicted if nothing is done to prevent it, then everyone will see a 20% to 25% reduction in benefits even if their employers paid

lion to accomplish goals like eliminating a project backlog worth billions of dollars and completing four “megaprojects.”

DOTD Secretary Joe Donahue met with state lawmakers on Wednesday to discuss his agency’s roadmap for reform.

“It was a very collaborative effort, I would say, between BCG and DOTD,” he told lawmakers.

Donahue said that while the consultant’s analysis centered on funding, the agency is focused on “efficiencies issues” — in particular transparency and project delivery

Funding and pay

Employee pay continues to loom over discussion of improving DOTD.

Transportation committee Chair Rep. Ryan Bourriaque, R-Abbeville, has a background in project management and infrastructure planning.

He said Wednesday that he

the taxes throughout their career

A faster timeline

The Social Security Administration began depositing retroactive payments into bank accounts Tuesday, and plans to complete nearly all retroactive payments by the end of March. Adjustments to ongoing monthly benefits will begin in April.

Graves said the Social Security Administration initially told him that its workers would have to manually review the cases of each of the 3.2 million people impacted to determine eligibility and calculate how much each would receive.

The agency under President Donald Trump’s administration used automation to speed the process, Graves said.

Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of Social Security, said in a statement: “The agency’s original estimate of taking a year or more now will only apply to complex cases that cannot be processed by automation. The American people deserve to get their due benefits as quickly as possible.”

The complex cases will be handled manually

Some need to apply

In general, public retirees already receiving Social Security will need to do nothing more.

knows of highly skilled workers who have elected to take lowerskill jobs with better pay He asked Donahue about plans to address staffing challenges. Donahue said past salary studies have found that DOTD engineers are underpaid, but the agency doesn’t have funding to address that “at a large scale.”

And while pay bumps aimed at recruiting appear to be moderately effective, they end up turning into “a terrible retention tool,” he said. “Loyalty is not rewarded. It’s punished.”

The transportation chief acknowledged a recent attempt by Landry to remove engineers and attorneys from the state civil service system and designate those as unclassified positions — at-will appointments not subject to the pay hiring and firing rules that must be followed with classified jobs in the civil service system.

“Whenever you do have the civil service system, you have to

But thousands of workers and their spouses never applied for Social Security when they learned that their benefits would be docked because of their public pensions. Those people will need to apply to Social Security for retirement or spousal or surviving spouse’s benefits.

play by the rules,” said Donahue.

“You are very limited in how you can equalize pay across an entire agency.”

But Donahue said that, whether DOTD addresses pay-scale challenges within the constraints of the classified civil service system or otherwise, “there needs to be additional funding.”

“The funding, I think, is the underlying, primary issue,” he said. Other states designate certain pots of money specifically for infrastructure projects, and they pay for staff salaries with state general funds.

But in Louisiana, transportation infrastructure project funds can be used for both project costs and for salaries.

“Every dollar that you pay your employees more, is a dollar less that you have in construction,” he said.

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse.pfeil@ theadvocate.com.

For additional eligibility information, visit www.ssa gov/apply. However, the survivor benefit application is not available online.

Call 1 (800) 772-1213 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday When the system asks, “How can I help you today?”, say “Fairness Act.” Then, you’ll be asked a few questions. Your answers will lead you to a WEP-GPO trained representative to take your application. Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Louisiana is one of nearly 20 Republican-led states that have created scholarships, also called education savings accounts, that give families public money to pay for private education. Champions of this approach, including President Donald Trump, say parents should decide whether the tax dollars allocated for their children go to public, private or home schools.

Gov. Jeff Landry made the scholarships his top education priority last year, pushing the LA GATOR bill through the Legislature despite opposition from public-education advocates, Democrats and some Republican lawmakers who said the program would divert money from under-funded public schools to loosely regulated private ones.

Last week, Landry proposed spending $93.5 million on LA GATOR scholarships next fiscal year about double what the state spends annually on privateschool vouchers. In the coming months, the Legislature will debate whether to grant Landry’s budget request or propose a different amount. The outcome will determine how many students will receive scholarships this fall. For parents planning to apply — or taxpayers tracking state spending — here’s a complete guide to LA GATOR.

What is the process?

Families can apply to participate in LA GATOR from March 1 to April 15.

They’ll apply through an online portal operated by Odyssey, the company Louisiana is paying to manage the program. Parents will need documents proving their residency and income, such as driver’s licenses, utility bills and tax forms.

Eligible families who receive scholarships must apply separately to their chosen private schools, which control their own admissions Many private schools consider applicants’ test scores grades, attendance and behavior records.

“This does not mean acceptance into the school,” Gilson said about applying for LA GATOR. “All schools have their own application, registration and admissions

cumstances. Students with disabilities will receive up to $15,253, but the exact amount depends on the student’s needs. For example, children with multiple disabilities will receive more than students with speech impairments, and students with disabilities from low-income families will get extra funding.

Families at or below 250% of the poverty line will get $7,626. Other eligible families, including those with entering kindergartners or children in public school this year, will get $5,243.

you would be able to type that in the search feature of the marketplace, and then the eligible laptops could be purchased.”

By pre-approving items for the marketplace, the state aims to streamline the process for families (no searching for service providers or submitting reimbursements) and prevent misuse. In other states, some families have used ESAs for questionable purchases, such as ski resort passes and video game consoles.

But this approach also limits spending to the goods and services available in the marketplace. If families want an item to be considered for inclusion, they’ll be able to submit a request, state officials said.

Expanded eligibility

The most urgent question for many families is when they’ll be eligible for scholarships.

process.”

Who is eligible?

Students who received school vouchers this year and children from families with a total income at or below 250% of federal poverty guidelines ($80,375 for a family of four) are eligible for scholarships next school year

So are incoming kindergartners and public-school students from families with any level of income. If applications exceed available scholarships, then the state will give priority to voucher students, followed by low-income students and students with disabilities.

The LA GATOR law says scholarships eventually will be available to families at or below 400% of the poverty guidelines and then to all families, but it doesn’t set a timeline for expansion.

Erin Bendily, senior vice president of the Pelican Institute, a Louisiana think tank that promotes the scholarships, said the program’s growth will depend on how much money the Legislature allots it Parents can help build support for it by signing up, she added.

“This is your way to communicate to lawmakers your demand and desire for this program for your child,” she said.

Homeschoolers exempted Registered homeschoolers cannot participate — but there’s a

loophole of sorts.

Homeschool families were excluded from the LA GATOR bill partly at the insistence of advocates who didn’t want homeschoolers to face additional oversight or regulations.

However if a family is eligible for the program (for example, if they meet the income threshold), they can choose to no longer apply for state homeschool approval. The family could still educate their children from home but would register them as LA GATOR participants rather than state-approved “home study” students.

“Your legal status will change,” Bendily said. But “practically speaking for the child, it might not look very different.”

Families could spend the scholarships on textbooks, instructional supplies like pens and notebooks and fees for individual courses in subjects like chemistry or career training, which students could take online or at a local school, Bendily said.

But homeschoolers should be aware that the money comes with strings attached, she added. Families must give their children annual standardized tests and submit to possible financial audits — regulations that don’t apply to traditional homeschoolers.

Amounts vary

Each family’s scholarship amount will depend on their cir-

Students in the voucher program will continue receiving the same amount they got this year, but now the money will come through LA GATOR.

What can they spend it on?

Families can spend the scholarships on a whole host of education expenses — but they must be state approved.

More than 240 private schools have signed up for LA GATOR to date according to the state Education Department. Scholarships can go toward tuition and fees at the participating schools, though families must pay for any portion not covered by their award.

Other eligible expenses include textbooks and technology, such as laptops; career-training programs and summer school; fees for the Advanced Placement exams and other tests; special-education services, including behavioral, physical and speech-language therapy; college courses available to high school students; individual classes or extracurricular activities offered by participating public schools; private tutoring; and school uniforms.

Families will make purchases through an online marketplace run by Odyssey, the state vendor “I liken it to Amazon,” said Ken Bradford, the state Education Department’s chief of staff, during a webinar hosted by the Pelican Institute. “If you’re looking for a particular laptop to do your work,

For now, most middle and upper-income families with children in private schools can’t participate. But Landry has promised to expand the program until all families are eligible, regardless of financial need.

“I believe that within the next four to five years we can get to full implementation,” he told supporters at a Catholic high school in Metairie last year, adding that the state will move “as fast as the Legislature will appropriate the money.”

Eligibility is one thing, but funding is another The $93.5 million that Landry proposed for LA GATOR next school year is expected to cover just over 11,000 scholarships — nearly 6,000 for current voucher students and 5,300 for other eligible students.

In 2023, more than 110,000 Louisiana students attended state-approved private schools. If those students become eligible for scholarships, costs would skyrocket. Funding might never match demand. But proponents of the scholarships, Landry being the most prominent, still plan to push hard on lawmakers to finance the program.

“This has been his signature education legislation,” said state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley, “so it’s hard for me to believe that he’s not going to fight for funding for GATOR.”

Email Patrick Wall at patrick. wall@theadvocate.com.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

Nvidia sales surge in the fourth quarter

Nvidia on Wednesday reported a surge in fourth-quarter profit and sales as demand for its specialized Blackwell chips, which power artificial intelligence systems, continued to grow

For the three months that ended Jan. 26, the tech giant based in Santa Clara, California, posted revenue of $39.3 billion, up 12% from the previous quarter and 78% from one year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, it earned 89 cents a share.

“Demand for Blackwell is amazing as reasoning AI adds another scaling law — increasing compute for training makes models smarter, and increasing compute for long thinking makes the answer smarter,” Nvidia founder Jensen Huang said in a statement.

Wednesday’s earnings report topped Wall Street expectations. Analysts had been expecting adjusted earnings of 85 cents a share on revenue of $38.1 billion, according to FactSet. The fourthquarter earnings are the company’s first report since Chinese company DeepSeek boasted it had developed a large language model that could compete with ChatGPT and other U.S. rivals, but was more cost-effective in its use of Nvidia chips to train the system on troves of data.

Amazon unveils

AI-powered Alexa

Amazon on Wednesday unveiled a generative-AI infused Alexa that it says will allow the popular voice assistant to have more personality, check a user’s tone and even plan romantic dates.

But unlike before, when Alexa was offered for free on any Alexa-enabled devices, customers will have to pay Amazon a monthly fee of $19.99 for the revamped voice assistant, which it calls “Alexa+.” However, the generative-AI powered Alexa will be free for Prime members, who pay the company a monthly or annual fee for free delivery and other perks. The company says Alexa+ is able to have conversations with a more natural, humanlike flow and can learn more about a user — such as dietary preferences or allergies — the more it’s used.

Amazon says it will kick off “early access” of Alexa+, currently only available in English, in the U.S. next month.

BP to slash spending on net zero ventures

British energy company BP confirmed Wednesday that it would slash spending on green ventures and increase its oil and gas production, a change in direction that it hopes will bolster its flagging share price but has been met with incredulity from climate action campaigners. In a statement titled “Reset BP,” the company said it will reduce its spending on net zero transition businesses by $5 billion a year to up to $2 billion. By contrast, it said it would increase its investments in oil and gas production by about 20% to $10 billion.

CEO Murray Auchincloss said that the company is focusing its spending on BP’s “highestreturning businesses to drive growth” and that it will be “very selective” in its investments in renewables.

Trump’s bird flu plan unveiled

BY JOSH FUNK and JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Agriculture Department predicts the current record prices for eggs could soar more than 40% in 2025, as the Trump administration offered the first new details Wednesday about its plan to battle bird flu and ease the cost of eggs. With an emphasis on tightening up biosecurity on farms, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA will invest another $1 billion on top of the roughly $2

billion it has already spent battling bird flu since the outbreak began in 2022. Officials had hinted at the plan earlier this month. It’s not clear how much more farmers can do to keep the virus out.

Egg and poultry farmers have already been working to protect their birds ever since the 2015 bird flu outbreak by taking measures like requiring workers to change clothes and shower before entering barns, using separate sets of tools and sanitizing any vehicles that enter farms.

The challenge is that the virus is spread easily by wild birds as they migrate past farms.

And the main reason egg prices have soared to hit a record average of $4.95 per dozen this month

is that more than 166 million birds have been slaughtered to limit the spread of the virus after cases are found — with most of those being egg-laying chickens. Last month was the worst yet for egg farmers with nearly 19 million egg-laying chickens slaughtered.

The USDA now predicts that egg prices will increase at least 41% this year on top of the already record prices. Just last month, the increase was predicted to be 20%.

And the average prices conceal just how bad the situation is, with consumers paying more than a dollar an egg in some places. The situation is hurting consumers and has prompted restaurants like Denny’s and Waffle House to add surcharges on egg dishes.

Egg prices also normally increase every spring heading into Easter when demand is high.

Rollins acknowledged that it will take some time before consumers see an effect at the checkout counter. After all, it takes infected farms months to dispose of the carcasses, sanitize their farms and raise new birds. But she expressed optimism that this will help prices.

“It’s going to take a while to get through, I think in the next month or two, but hopefully by summer,” Rollins said.

The high egg prices, which have more than doubled since before the outbreak began, cost consumers at least $1.4 billion last year, according to an estimate done by agricultural economists at the University of Arkansas.

EPA urges reconsideration of climate action

BY MATTHEW DALY Associated Press

WASHINGTON In a potential landmark action, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency has privately urged the Trump administration to reconsider a scientific finding that has long been the central basis for U.S. action against climate change.

In a report to the White House, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin called for a rewrite of the agency’s finding that determined planet-warming greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, according to four people who were briefed on the matter but spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the recommendation is not public.

The 2009 finding under the Clean Air Act is the legal underpinning of a host of climate regulations for motor vehicles, power plants and other pollution sources.

A spokesperson for the EPA on Wednesday declined to reveal Zeldin’s recommendation, which was made last week under an executive order from Republican President Donald Trump. The order, issued on Trump’s first day in office, directed the EPA to submit a report “on the legality and continuing applicability” of the endangerment finding.

The Washington Post first reported that Zeldin had urged the White House to strike down the endangerment finding.

The Obama-era finding “is the linchpin of the federal government’s policies for what the president and I call the climate hoax,” said Steve Milloy, a former Trump transition adviser who disputes mainstream science on climate change.

“If you pull this (finding) out, everything EPA does on climate goes away,” Milloy said.

Trump, at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, said Zeldin told him he is moving to eliminate about 65% of the EPA’s workforce “A lot of people that weren’t doing their job, they were just obstructionist,” Trump said.

Environmental groups and legal experts said any attempt to repeal or roll back the endangerment finding would be an uphill task with a slim chance of success.

“This would be a fool’s errand,” said David Doniger, a climate expert at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. “In the face of overwhelming science, it’s impossible to think that the

EPA could develop a contradictory finding that would stand up in court.” Trump, who has repeatedly denounced what he calls a “green new scam” pushed by Democrats and environmentalists, may view a repeal of the endangerment finding as a “kill shot” that would allow him to make all climate regulations invalid, Doniger said.

“But it’s a real long shot for them,” he added, noting that courts repeatedly have upheld the EPA’s authority to regulate pollution from greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK U.S. stock indexes

drifted to a mixed finish on Wednesday after climbing in the morning but then running out of steam.

The S&P 500 finished an iota higher, after surrendering virtually all of its early gain of 0.9%. But that was just enough to break a four-day losing streak that had knocked the index off its all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell and the Nasdaq composite rose

The stock market has generally been struggling following some weaker-than-expected reports on the economy, including a couple that showed U.S. households are

getting more pessimistic about inflation and tariffs pushed by President Donald Trump. Some of the harshest drops hit Big Tech and other high-growth stocks, whose incredible momentum had earlier seemed unstoppable.

Super Micro Computer, one of the stocks that’s soared in the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, lost nearly a quarter of its value over four days, for example. But it jumped 12.2% Wednesday after filing its annual report for its fiscal year that ended in June.

The company, which sells servers used in AI, had delayed filing its annual report and other required forms after its former accounting firm raised concerns

about some of its financial reporting and governance. Super Micro then had to get extensions from Nasdaq to file the financial reports as it conducted a review and hired another public accounting firm.

NRG Energy jumped 10.6% Wednesday after announcing it’s joining with GE Vernova and a subsidiary of Kiewit on a venture to generate more electricity for generative AI data centers. GE Vernova rose 5.5%.

NRG also reported results for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. Most of the other companies in the S&P 500 have likewise been delivering better profits for the end of 2024 than analysts expected.

Off-price retailer TJX rose 1.8%

after joining the parade. The company behind TJ Maxx and Marshalls additionally said it plans to increase its dividend 13% and announced a program to buy up to $2.5 billion of its stock.

Worries have been rising about whether U.S. shoppers may cut back on their spending given stubbornly high inflation and jitters about the economy’s prospects. But TJX CEO Ernie Herrman said his company has benefited from its offprice model and sees opportunities to grow over the long term.

General Motors revved up by 3.7% after the automaker announced a program to buy back up to $6 billion of its stock. It will also send more cash to its shareholders by increasing its dividend.

How administration has advanced fossil fuels

BY MICHAEL PHILLIS and JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press

President Donald Trump began dismantling his predecessor’s climate change and renewable energy policies on his first day in office, declaring a national energy emergency to speed up fossil fuel development — a policy he has summed up as “drill, baby, drill.”

The declaration calls on the federal government to make it easier for companies to build oil and gas projects, in part by weakening environmental reviews, with the goal of lowering prices and selling to international markets.

Democrats say that’s a sham.

They point out that the U.S is producing more oil and natural gas than any other country and the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act boosted renewable energy at a critical time, creating jobs and addressing the climate change threat 2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record amid the hottest 10-year stretch on record

“It would also set a horrible precedent, that a president of either party can invent a sham emergency and then grab away from Congress powers that Congress has” in the Constitution, said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.

Kaine spoke Wednesday in support of a Senate resolution from Democrats to terminate Trump’s declaration, a move likely to be only symbolic given the party’s minority status. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has already made the U.S. an even friendlier environment for fossil fuels. Congress is helping, too, with the House set to vote on a measure to repeal a Biden administration-era methane fee on oil and gas producers.

Here are some ways the Trump administration has moved to advance fossil fuels:

Lifting a pause on LNG exports

The Biden administration last year paused evaluations of new

liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals. That pleased environmentalists concerned that a big surge in exports would contribute to planet-warming emissions. The pause didn’t stop projects already under construction, but it delayed consideration of new projects.

Trump reversed that pause.

On Tuesday, oil and gas giant

Shell said global LNG demand is forecast to rise by around 60% by 2040.

The United States is expected to play a major role in meeting that demand with its export capacity expected to double before 2030, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“I think investors have become much more comfortable that they can move toward final investment decisions without the concerns that they had over the last four years about potential roadblocks,” said Christopher Treanor, an energy and environmental attorney at the law firm Akin.

Drilling expansion

Trump has opened more land for oil and gas lease sales, shifting

away from Biden’s efforts to protect environmentally sensitive areas like Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuge and to prevent large swaths of ocean from being available for offshore drilling, including major areas off coasts in the Pacific, Atlantic and parts of Alaska. Environmental groups are suing to stop Trump’s moves.

Expanding the area available for companies to lease and drill doesn’t necessarily mean that more oil and gas will be produced. When leases were made available in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, for example, only smaller companies bid and there were no buyers for a second lease sale.

Sidestep Clean Water Act

The Army Corps of Engineers marked hundreds of Clean Water Act permits for fast-tracking, citing Trump’s order on energy, then removed that notation in its database. The agency said it needed to review active permit applications before publishing which ones will be fast-tracked.

“They don’t seem to be backing off,” said Tom Pelton, spokesman

with the Environmental Integrity Project. “They are just going to refine the list.”

Many of the permit applications that had been listed for expediting are for fossil fuel projects, but some others have nothing to do with energy, including a housing subdivision proposed by Chevron in southern California, according to the Environmental Integrity Project.

David Bookbinder, the organization’s director of law and policy, said the Trump administration is using the “pretext of a national energy emergency” to ask a federal agency to circumvent environmental protections to justify building more fossil fuel power plants. Bookbinder said there’s no shortage of energy

Slashing the federal workforce

Pat Parenteau, professor emeritus at Vermont Law & Graduate School, said Trump’s policy changes aren’t nearly as important as the deep cuts to the federal government that eliminate vital expertise.

At a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, for example, Trump said the

head of the EPA should ax roughly two-thirds of its employees.

“I think they are going to accomplish what no other administration has been able to do in terms of crippling the institutional capacity of the federal government to protect public health, to conserve national resources to save endangered species,” he said. “That is where we are going to see longterm, permanent damage.”

Trump’s energy emergency calls, for example, for undermining Endangered Species Act protections to ensure fast energy development, even assembling a rarely used committee the socalled “God Squad” — that could have authority to dismiss significant threats to species. That move was coupled with recent deep cuts to the Fish & Wildlife Service, which administers the law

Parenteau said some species are likely to go extinct.

Orders take aim at renewables

Trump also targeted wind energy with an order to temporarily halt offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pause federal approvals, permits and loans for projects both onshore and offshore.

In another order he listed domestic energy resources that could help ensure a reliable, diversified and affordable supply of energy Solar, wind and battery storage were omitted, though solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity generation in the United States. Trump has vowed to end tax credits for renewables as well, which would push up prices.

Substantially slowing renewables could leave the U.S. wedded to coal and gas for far longer as coal plants are extended and new gas plants are built, said David Shepheard, partner and energy expert at the global consultant Baringa. Shepheard said the U.S. is facing unprecedented growth in electricity demand largely to meet needs from data centers and artificial intelligence, and increasingly the deck is stacked against renewables to meet it.

A Baringa analysis found Trump’s policies will drive up emissions and put the agreed-upon international climate threshold further out of reach.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall Oct. 14 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds

BR council mulls budget options

City grapples with $52M deficit

BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER

Staff writer

Though officials’ discussions over the past couple of weeks have framed the city-parish’s financial options as choosing between police or the libraries, and the mayor’s plan or massive job cuts, some East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council members remain open to

exploring alternative solutions to address the city’s woes as it grapples with a $52 million deficit.

At a council meeting Wednesday night, the city’s finance director Angie Savoy told the council that city-parish departments have been asked to estimate how a 14.6% reduction to their budgets would impact the services they provide to residents.

That figure falls in lin with East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Ed wards’ comments Tuesday when he said that about 600 jobs may have to be cut his plan isn’t approved by the Metro Council in two weeks. And while the clock is ticking the council’s vote, members like District 3 council member Rowdy Gaudet and District 12 council member Jen Racca think there

other alternatives available to tackle the deficit.

“I think there are other substantial options, and we have to evaluate all of them,” Gaudet said.

Gaudet gave Edwards credit for the conversations he’s started regardn Rouge’s budget shortfall, which was prompted by the transfer of sales tax revenue to St. George, but said he wasn’t ready to panic.

“I think he was advocating for, ‘We need to avoid these harsh cuts,’” Gaudet said. “He’s seen the reality of the budget.”

Though some might think the mayor doubled down on his plan Tuesday, after an hourlong presentation and news conference explaining his pitch, Gaudet thinks other options could present themselves during the next two weeks.

Edwards’ plan would move the

See BUDGET, page 2B

GREEN NOT GRAY

ABOVE: The Walls Project’s Agroforestry Apprenticeship Program apprentices dig holes for the trees being planted in the Capitol Square area through the Walls Project and Baton Rouge Green partnership to plant trees on Wednesday. LEFT: The Walls Project’s Agroforestry Apprenticeship Program apprentices Skye Davidson, left, and Renauta McClay prepare the roots of trees being planted on Wednesday.

PHOTOS By APRIL BUFFINGTON

State court upholds former Baton Rouge officer’s conviction

Steele was defendant in case with erroneous ruling

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

staff reports

The Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the conviction of former Baton Rouge police officer Donald Steele Jr. for felony malfeasance in office. Steele,

Her erroneous the end of a trial, during accused of a 19-year-old sity student predawn traf June 2021. On April three weeks ing Steele guilty nonexistent meanor legal Johnson Rose him of the feasance for which h the East Baton Attorney’s her change Circuit Cou turned the ruling Steele guilty dictment on In unanimously Steele’s request

Court apbrought finality been in limbo year. The desustains the First decision last meaning the exs felony stands for disappointed Supreme Court’s not to review of the appelSteele’s atKathryn Jakustatement. continuing case.” second-degree kidmalfeasance from a traffic a.m. June pulled over a

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

Council votes down Gulf of America adoption

Van Vrancken resolution called ‘divisive’

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

A resolution to adopt President Donald Trump’s Gulf of America on Jefferson Parish’s maps failed Wednesday after receiving sharp opposition from the Parish Council for being highly partisan and “inherently divisive.”

The resolution, authored by atlarge Council member Jennifer Van Vrancken, would have replaced the name Gulf of Mexico with Gulf of America on all digital maps and newly printed maps

in the parish, after an executive order issued by Trump titled, ”Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness.” Jefferson Parish’s southern border ends at Grand Isle on the Gulf Coast.

The measure was largely symbolic, as most of the maps produced by the parish’s engineering department don’t include the Gulf’s name in them, according to department director Angela DeSoto. It failed by a 6-to-1 vote, even though all but two of the council members are Republican. Van Vrancken said she didn’t intend the resolution to be partisan, but rather a celebration of the oil, seafood and trade industries in the Gulf.

The vote signals further political isolation for Van Vrancken, whose

colleagues have banded together against her on several occasions after multiple feuds over the past year

The six council members criticized Van Vrancken for bringing national partisan politics to the local council, which they rarely touch. Others called the resolution a waste of time and feared it would set a precedent for them to address future federal actions. Some took direct jabs at Van Vrancken.

“I don’t have the luxury in my schedule or the desire to involve myself in something that is literally beyond the control of this parish just to score party points,” said council member Arita Bohannan, a Republican. “We have no authority to name an international body

of water.”

Google and Apple maps have already adopted the new name and Gov Jeff Landry told the Shreveport Times he would implement the name change in Louisiana as quickly as possible. In an interview Tuesday, Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle said he also supported the Gulf of America and would happily change any signs in Grand Isle if directed by the state or parish to do so.

Van Vrancken has been outspoken on Republican politics outside of the parish. She endorsed Nikki Haley last year before she suspended her campaign, and months later wore a gown covered in Trump campaign logos saying “Save America Again” to a com-

NEW ORLEANS

Seized opossum Saffron released to wild, officials say

Pet was confiscated at Mardi Gras last year

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Remember Saffron the opossum? After the rat-tailed pet marsupial was seized by Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries officers during Carnival 2024, he seemed to vanish as completely as Amelia Earhart. Finally after a year the department has officially announced the fate of the creature.

“The opossum that was confiscated in the French Quarter last year was released into the wild by a licensed rehabilitator,” department spokesperson Taylor Brazan wrote in an email Tuesday

Operation Exotic

It was Feb. 10, the Saturday night before Mardi Gras 2024, and the French Quarter was the usual maelstrom of madness. A contingent of Wildlife and Fisheries officers had been dispatched to the streets of the Vieux Carré to help the New Orleans Police Department keep the peace. While patrolling the inebriated masses, on the lookout for illicit firearms and drugs, the state officers confiscated whatever examples of illegal wildlife they encountered According to state records, that part of their mission was titled “Operation Exotic.” An albino python as big as a fire hose was the most striking critter seized. But it was the much less dramatic, tame possum that would eventually become a citywide sensation.

William Voiles said that he adopted the opossum as a palmsized baby that had been orphaned when its mother was killed in city traffic. He’d raised Saffron as if it were a lap dog. Voiles said he didn’t realize that, in doing so, he was breaking the law.

Saffron was in the basket of Voiles’ cargo bike, wearing a knitted pet sweater, when Wildlife and Fisheries agents appeared, caged the opossum and carted it away on a four-wheeler

The agents gave Voiles a ticket for violating a state statute that prohibits owning a wild quadruped (four-legged animal) without a permit, and a New Orleans city ordinance that prevents anyone from keeping “any wild, or exotic animal as a pet.”

According to the agents’ report, “there was a tip jar with

STEELE

Continued from page 1B

Southern University student as she drove out of her apartment complex near Burbank Drive. He accused the woman of drunken driving, but told her he wouldn’t ticket her because she was cute, according to the former officer’s police report.

Prosecutors sought to prove Steele threatened to arrest the woman if she didn’t follow him to an abandoned warehouse in the 600 block of Chippewa Street

PHOTO PROVIDED By THE LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES

Saffron the opossum is shown in an animal carrier on the night it was confiscated by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents in the French Quarter

an unknown amount of cash and a flyer advertising Voiles’ Instagram and Venmo (cash sharing) accounts, affixed to the bicycle handle bars.”

The agents asserted that “Mr. Voiles was accepting donations towards any photographs that were taken by the public.”

The law vs. laissez-faire

Saffron was examined by a state biologist, who determined that the possum suffered from fleas, worms and malnutrition caused by his pet-food diet. The biologist’s prognosis was that, despite his acclimation to captivity, Saffron could probably eventually be rehabilitated and returned to the wild, as per Wildlife and Fisheries policy

Opinions among New Orleanians were split. Some felt the state agents had rescued the animal, which would be much better off in a forest somewhere. Others didn’t see the need to take the creature away from the caring man who’d saved it from the street.

Beady-eyed Saffron became a symbol of the balance between the rule of law and New Orleans’ laissez-faire attitudes. The juncture of wildlife and wild life, you might say

In Municipal and Traffic Court on Aug. 27, a New Orleans assistant district attorney proposed a deal to drop the $450 fines against Voiles for illegally owning a wild animal in exchange for a plea of no contest to the charges against him.

During the court proceedings, Voiles’ pro bono attorney, Walter Unglaub, learned that Saffron was in the care of a wildlife rehabber, and the attorney hoped

Once there, he groped the woman’s breasts, tried to kiss her against her will and asked to come to her apartment later that morning to have sex, prosecutors alleged.

After Steele and the woman parted ways, and while he was still on police duty, he continued to send her sexually explicit text messages and even offered to give her money to get her hair and nails done, according to trial testimony

Judge Johnson Rose found Steele not guilty of the kidnapping charge on March 26, 2024, after listening to two days of testimony.

to arrange for Voiles to visit the animal.

But Voiles never saw his beloved Saffron again.

The folks at Wildlife and Fisheries provided no information about Saffron’s ultimate fate, until The Times-Picayune made a public records request on March 9, 2024, that eventually brought forth 161 Saffron-related documents, which were received Dec. 9, 2024.

Trouble was, by late summer 2024, one office memo indicated the creature had been released and one insisted he had not After that, mention of Saffron in the trove of documents ceased.

As of Tuesday, the Wildlife and Fisheries spokesperson said that “we cannot confirm the date of when the opossum was released.”

‘I didn’t get any kind of closure’

Voiles said that after his court case was settled, he’d heard from a trusted source that Saffron had been released. But he’d never been officially notified.

“I didn’t get any kind of closure,” he said. “I didn’t even get to say my goodbyes.”

On Wednesday, when he was told by a reporter that the state had announced that Saffron was set free, Voiles said he doesn’t “feel good” about the outcome, but “it’s better than hearing he was euthanized.” Which was an outcome he feared.

Asked how he felt about all that had taken place since Saffron was taken, Voiles said “I just wish it never did happen.”

Since Saffron was confiscated, the laws governing rescued wild animals have changed. Louisiana House Bill 854, which was signed by Gov Jeff Landry on June 19, 2024, makes it legal to possess injured or orphaned animals, with certain stipulations.

Asked if Wildlife and Fisheries agents would patrol the French Quarter during the final days of Carnival, as they did in 2024, a spokesperson wrote: “In regards to Mardi Gras this year, at the direction of Gov Jeff Landry, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agents have been working alongside Louisiana State Police, the New Orleans Police Department, and other state, local and federal agencies to provide added safety for the public and enforce game warden laws at large events including the Mardi Gras season.”

Reporter Jeff Adelson contributed to this story

Email Doug MacCash at dmaccash@theadvocate.com.

Proceedings in the case have remained dormant at the trial court level since October 2024, while parties awaited the state Supreme Court’s decision. Barring any further appeals, presiding judge Michael McDonald will now need to set a court date for Steele’s sentencing. The former policeman is next scheduled to appear in court for a status conference Sept. 8. No sentencing hearing was scheduled as of Tuesday afternoon, according to court records.

Email Matt Bruce at matt bruce@theadvocate.com.

edy show featuring a Trump impersonator at the Jefferson Parish Performing Arts Center.

She’s also clashed repeatedly with her colleagues on a number of issues over the past year, like when she posted to social media that “the fix is in” on a bus advertising contract, or when she fought to pause a project to build a brewpub in Gretna with parish funds after the inspector general released a report admonishing the project.

The conflicts have created a rift between her and her counterparts, who last December decided to forego a tradition of handing off the chairman role to her Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate.com.

BUDGET

Continued from page 1B

Baton Rouge library system’s dedicated funding into the general fund, giving control of about $92 million in fund balance to the city-parish According to the mayor’s presentation Tuesday, the library would receive $38 million in recurring revenue to operate when the plan goes into effect. The library system budgeted $61.1 million for its operational costs this year {span}Though Racca said she wasn’t prepared to share details yet, she and{/span} District 6 council member Cleve Dunn Jr have been looking at other ways to provide relief to the city-parish government, though it wouldn’t happen as quickly “Cleve Dunn and I have been ex-

BLOTTER

Continued from page 1B

Conley, lived. This incident, stemming from the juvenile’s disapproval of his mother dating Richard, marked the beginning of a series of events involving Da’Sean Conley; his mother Coshelia Conley, 36; and his grandmother Cathy Conley, 55, who were reportedly the last people to see Richard. According to new arrest records, witnesses say Darius Conley held Richard at gunpoint with an assault rifle while Da’Sean Conley punched him with his fists. Then witnesses saw the two Conley men drag Richard into a Chevrolet Tahoe before he was shot and killed. Later that night, Richard’s body was found mangled on the old Mississippi River Bridge, next to a bloody blanket and kettlebell, tied up and run over multiple times.

Da’Sean Conley, his mother and grandmother were all arrested on Sunday, Feb. 16, for their part in covering up the murder, after investigators connected a burned Chevrolet Tahoe to the family Investigators later found bloodstains and bleach in the apartment, and camera footage of the grandmother disposing of bloodstained towels.

After obtaining a search warrant, East Baton Rouge homicide detectives also discovered Darius Conley’s fingerprints in a GMC 1500 pickup, the same truck that followed the Chevrolet Tahoe before it was burned.

STORE

Continued from page 1B

from a Walmart. The publicly traded chain bought the 4-acre tract on Walker South Road for $795,000 from an ownership group that included Baton Rouge-based Talbot & Talbot Inc., according to court records.

Tractor Supply and its construction contractor WIMCO Corp. are spending almost $5 million to build the store. The building contract signed at the beginning of February says the contractor will meet “substantial completion” of the work no later than 360 days following the official start date. Walker Mayor Pro Tem Scarlett Milton Major shared news on Facebook of the Tractor Supply coming next year Crews can be seen digging on the property as construction got underway Tractor Supply has two other

ploring those other options based upon what we know so far,” she said. “They don’t get us to the same position that the mayor’s plan gets us to. The mayor’s plan moves us forward quicker, faster and with less pain and fewer layoffs.”

If the mayor’s plan fails to secure the seven votes needed from Metro Council on March 12, Racca warned that alternative solutions must be considered, or the public will soon experience the effects of the budget shortfall firsthand.

“We have to explore all options if it doesn’t get approved,” she said.

“The parish as a whole is in jeopardy of losing services These services aren’t just germane to the city of Baton Rouge; you still have a parish that serves everyone. And regardless of what city you’re from, you still rely on those services. Without them, we’re going to have a lot of unhappy constituents.”

Reality star arrested for allegedly driving drunk

A Louisiana reality star known for appearing in multiple seasons of MTV’s reality shows “Real World” and “The Challenge” was arrested after allegedly driving drunk, according to the Ascension Parish Jail’s inmate roster Tony Raines, 36, was booked into jail by Louisiana State Police at 4 a.m. Sunday on one count of driving while intoxicated, one count of reckless driving and four counts of negligent injuring, according to the jail inmate document. He was released Sunday night on a $7,500 bond. Raines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from an Advocate reporter sent to his business email. A spokesperson for Louisiana State Police did not immediately respond to questions for additional information about the incident.

Raines was born in Metairie and raised in Loranger, according to a 2014 interview with The Times-Picayune.

He said he was living in Baton Rouge and working for Dow Chemical in Plaquemine when he was first cast for the 30th season of the “Real World.” That show brings seven to eight people to live together in a major city, with the 30th season taking place in Chicago.

He most recently appeared in the 40th season of MTV’s “The Challenge,” which concluded in January, according to his IMDB page.

locations in the Capital Region, in Central and Denham Springs, which opened in 2013. Tractor Supply sells farm supplies, pet and animal feed, clothing, lawn and garden tools, and more. At the end of 2024, the 85-year-old company operated 2,296 stores in 49 states and employed more than 50,000 workers. The retailer generated $14.9 billion in sales last year

Pevey, Reggie St Joseph Catholic Church at 11:00 am Obituaries

Bergeron Jr., Lawrence

Lawrence Emile "Bud" Bergeron, Jr. passed away on February 24, 2025, leaving behind to cherish his memory his loving wife and best friend of 67 years -Joyce Grisaffe Bergeron. He is also survived by four children: Henry A. Bergeron (Louise), Barry J. Bergeron (Anne), Lawrence E. Bergeron, III (Donna), and Mary Bergeron Cronin (Dale); seven grandchildren: Adriane Faulkner (Brandon), Alison Bergeron (Darren Nelson), Mary Catherine Boudreaux (Taylor), Lauren Viguerie (James), Alexander Bergeron, Christopher Cronin, and CamilleCronin; and four great-grandchildren: AddysonFaulkner, Hunter Faulkner, Lillian Viguerie, and Jack Nelson. He was preceded in death by his parents: Lawrence Emile Bergeron and Thelma "Tute" Dupre' Bergeron, and his siblings: Donald Joseph Bergeron and Julia Marie Bergeron McGuire. Bud grew up in Belle Rose, Louisiana and worked with his grandfather startingat the age of ten, milking cows and feeding chickens before and after school He also worked in his family's grocery store in Donaldsonville. Bud graduated from CatholicHigh School in Donaldsonville, which is now Ascension Catholic. He earned aBachelor of Science from Louisiana State University, specializing in Science &Math Education. He completed a Master's Degree in Administration and Supervision, as well as aPlus 30 certificate from LSU. Bud completed ROTC at LSU and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He began his military career by completing the Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning,Georgia. Upon release from active duty, Bud joined the Louisiana National Guard as Platoon Leader for the 770th Signal Company in Donaldsonville. Due to promotions, Bud then completed the Signal Officer Basic Course and the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses. He also completed the Command and General Staff College Bud's last assignment was as Battalion Commanderof the 769th Engineer Battalion in Baton Rouge Louisiana and he retired as aLieutenant Colonel in 1982. His civiliancareer began with the Assumption Parish School Board in Napoleonville where he taught Chemistry and Physics at Assumption High School before becoming Assistant Principal. Upon retirement from education, Bud worked as office manager for Richard Oil Company in Donaldsonville for four years. In 1984, Bud ran for and was elected Assumption Parish Clerk of Court and was re-elected four consecutive unopposed terms. Bud served as president of the Louisiana Clerk of Court Association and served on many committees. He was instrumental in the formation and growth of the Clerk of Court Risk Management Agency. Bud was active with St. Jules Catholic Church, serving as President of the Parish Council, chair of the Auction Committee for the Allons Manger, and an usher as well as amember of the Knights of Columbus. Bud

active with St. Jules Catholic Church, serving as President of the Parish Council, chair of the Auction Committeefor the Allons Manger, and an usher as well as amemberofthe Knights of Columbus. Bud lovedcooking, working in his vegetable garden and giving his family and friends its bounty. More than anything, he cherished being involved with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He also enjoyedcheering on the LSUTigers in every sport, especiallyfootball. Visitation will be at St Jules Catholic Churchin Belle Rose on Saturday, March 1, 2025, starting at 8:30 am with aFuneral Mass at 11:00 am. Interment to follow in the church mausoleum. Father Matt Dupre will be officiating. Pallbearers: Alexander Bergeron, Christopher Cronin, ThomasMcGuire, MichaelBergeron, Sammy Bergeron, Brandon Faulkner, James Viguerie, and Marvin Robinson. Honorary Pallbearers: Donald Bergeron, Ricky Bergeron, Taylor Boudreaux, Anthony Grisaffe,Jr.,Anthony Grisaffe,Sr.,Rogers McGuire, and Darren Nelson. The family wouldlike to thank all of Bud'smedical providers, Amedisys Hospice,and especially his caregivers: Catherine Smith, Losonna Truxillo and Carolyn Landry, who helped bring him, and them, comfort at the end In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Bud'sname to St. Jules Save Our Treasures Capital Campaign, P.O. Box. 38, Belle Rose, Louisiana 70341.

Carrie Williams Cole de‐parted this life on Sunday, February 16, 2025, at her residence in Gonzales, LA She was 82, a native of Paincourtville, LA. Visita‐tion on Friday February 28 2025, at Williams and Southall Funeral Home, Donaldsonville, LA from 9:00 am to religious ser‐vices at 11:00 am. Inter‐ment in First Israel Baptist Church Cemetery Arrange‐ments by Williams & Southall Funeral Home 5414 Hwy. 1, Napoleonville, LA (985) 369-7231. To sign the guest book or offer condolences, visit our web‐site at www williamsand southallfuneralhome.com

Lee

It is with profound sorrow and solemn reverence that we announce the passing of Ms. Johnie Lee Dukes, who departed this earthly life on the 20th of February, in the year of our Lord 2025, at the distinguishedage of ninety-four. Apublic viewing shallbe held in herhonor on Friday, the 28th of February, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at Winnfield Funeral Home. A second viewing will take place on Saturday, the 1st of March, commencing at 9:00 AM at GreaterKing David Baptist Church, 222 Blount Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The celebration of life services shallfollow at 11:00 AM. Her earthly remains shall be laidtorest at at Southern Memorial Gardens. The distinguished &solemn arrangements have beenentrusted to the care of Winnfield Funeral Home of Baton Rouge &C D. Slaughter, FDIC.

Dukes, Johnie Lee Entered into eternal rest on February20, 2025, at her residence in Baton Rouge, La. at the age 94. She was anative of St. Joseph, La. and aresident of Baton Rouge,La. Mrs. Johnie Dukes was a34year employee of Southern University A&M College There will be aviewing on Friday February28, 2025, from 3:00 p.m.-5:00

and aresident of Baton Rouge, La. Mrs. Johnie Dukes was a34year employee of Southern University A&M College. There will be aviewing on Friday February 28, 2025, from 3:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. at Winnfield Funeral Home, 7221 Plank Rd. BatonRouge, La. The viewing will resume on Saturday, March 1, 2025 at Greater King David Baptist Church 222 Blount Rd. Baton Rouge, La. Survivors includeher children, Charles E. Thomas, Olympia fields, IL KennethL.Dukes(Carrie) Baton Rouge, La., Cheryl A. Dukes, Baton Rouge, La., Shelia M. Dukes, Atlanta, Ga., Winsley D. Dukes(Geanniece), Baton Rouge, La.,One granddaughter, April S. Bell(Ronnie),SantaFe, NM.

Linda Hodgeson passed away peacefully in Chattanooga, Tennessee on January 15, 2025 in the presence of her twosons and daughters-in-love. She was 84 years old

Linda was born May 29, 1940 in Baton Rougeand lived most of her life in Central. She moved to Signal Mountain, Tennessee in 2018. Linda was a1958 graduate of Central High School and a1962 graduate of Northwestern State College. She was aRegistered Nurse, retiring from the Baton RougeGeneral Medical Center in 2005. Linda loved sewing, camping, fishing, and tending to her yard in Central. She was astrong,hardworking, fiercely independent woman, who for many years excelled at being asingle Mom providing awonderful home life for her family. Her greatest joy in life was being a Granny. She is survived by her three children, Steve Raborn and wife Donis of Central; Tracey Raborn Napolitano and husband Chuan of Monument,Colorado; and Kevin Raborn and wife Genette of Hixson, Tennessee; her 7 grandchildren, Ethan Raborn, Matthew Raborn, Kate Napolitano,Jonah Napolitano, Addie Napolitano, Genna Raborn, and Thomas Raborn. She is also survived by her sister Sue Hodgeson York of Houston, Texas, and many nieces and nephews.

Linda was preceded in death by her parents, William Wesley (Bill) Hodgeson and Augusta Marie Law Hodgeson; five sisters, Bobbie Hodgeson Forbes Kimbrough, Nita Evelyn HodgesonSides, Jean Hodgeson Nauman, JudithAnn Hodgeson, Elaine Hodgeson Gardner; and one brother,Jimmie Hodgeson.

Visitation will be held at Zoar Baptist Church, 11848 Hooper Road,onSaturday, March 1st from 9:30 am until memorial service at 11:00 am conducted by the Rev. Glen Miers. Interment will immediately follow at the Zoar Baptist Church Cemetery.

In lieuofflowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to theZoar Baptist Church Cemetery Fund 11848 Hooper Road, Baton Rouge LA 70818 or online at https://www.zoarbaptist.o rg/give

Charles "Ray" Johnson, aresident &nativeofAddis and Baton Rouge, La., passed away peacefully on February 23, 2025 at the age of 53. Visitation& Religious services Friday, February 28, 2025 at St. John The Baptist Church, 31925 Lacroix Rd., Dorseyville, La., 9amuntil 11 am religious services. Conducted by Pastor Gregory Coates. Interment Grace Memorial Park Cemetery. Charles was employed at Iberville Parish School Board until his retirement.Hewas a die hard fan of the 'Who Dat Nation', New Orleans Saintsfootball team. Mourning his loss yet rejoicing in his purposeful life asupportiveloving wife, Charlotte Johnson of Addis, La.; three daughters, Jennifer Davis of Baton Rouge, La., Meagan Bethly of Baker, La., and Monique (Eric) Nelson of Prairieville, La.;two sons, James Bethly and Devin

Addis, La.; three daughters, Jennifer Davis of Baton Rouge, La., Meagan

Bethly of Baker, La., and Monique (Eric) Nelson of Prairieville, La.; two sons James Bethly and Devin Washington all of Baker, La.; one sister, Patricia A. Johnson; two brothers, Michael Johnsonand Mitchell Johnson; two sisters-in-law, Lutricia Washington of NewYork and Tammy (Darian) Pierce of Bayou Goula; two brothers -in-law, Sherman (Mary) Washington of White Castle and Marcus (Heather) Washington of Addis, La.; one bonus sister-in-law, Shalonda Delone; two aunts, Rosalea Butler of Zachary, La. and AnnTaylor of Baton Rouge, La.; two uncles, Edward (Audrey) McGuffie of Baton Rouge, La. and Pastor Leon McGuffie of Zachary, La.; mother-in-law, Dorothy Washington; eleven grandchildren; adevoted friend/ brother, Hendrick Hayes; other great aunts, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. He was preceded in deathbyhis parents; three brothers, RichardL Johnson, Felten D. Johnson, Mark A. Johnson; one uncle, Terry Johnson; one aunt, Fannie Johnson; paternal and maternal grandparents, George and Lucille McGuffie and Fluker and Emma Johnson. Professional services entrusted to Wesley Funeral Home of Plaquemine, La.

Cynthia Shaw Myers transitioned to her heavenly home on Friday, February 21, 2025 at the ageof 72. Celebration of Life: Thursday, February 27, 2025. New St. John Baptist Church, 1455 South Boulevard, Baton Rouge, LA. Visitation starts at 8AM9:30AM, Jack &Jill Services at 9:30AM, OmegaOmega Services at 10:00AM, Final Viewing at 10:30AMuntil Religious Service at 11:00AM conducted by Rev. Dr. W. Marshall, Myles. Interment at 1PM, Louisiana National Cemetery, 303 W. Mt. Pleasant Zachary Road, Zachary LA 70791. Survived by her husband, IsaiahMyers III, daughter, Tiffani Ephrom, son, Isaiah Myers IV, granddaughter, Ahmari Whitehead,siblings, Brett Shaw, Michelle Fulton and Seneca Jones, other relatives and friends. Preceded in deathbyher parents, Lionel and Helen Quiet Shaw, brother, Lionel Clarence Shaw, and other relatives awaiting her heavenly arrival. Professional Services Entrusted To A. Wesley Funeral Home Maringouin, La.

Ricks, Beverly Claire Davis

Beverly Claire Davis Ricks lovingly known as GranClaire, passed away at the age of 92 on February 22, 2025 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she resided the past several years She was born on March 07, 1932 in St. Fran‐cisville, Louisiana Claire was preceded in death by her parents William Joseph Davis and Mamie Lee Copeland Davis, her hus‐band Fred Ricks her broth‐ers James Calvin Davis and Charles Joseph Davis. She is survived by her son Thomas Joseph Escher (Pa‐tricia), grandchildren Cody Escher (Crystal) and Shon‐dell Havard (Kenny), greatgrandchildren Davis Havard, Jack Havard Olivia Wilson, and Ruston Slaugh‐ter She is also survived by nephew Alan Ray Escher and niece Diana Lee Gar‐land, along with numerous others She retired from the United States Postal Service after thirty years She enjoyed being a part of the Tuesday night Bowling League in Baton Rouge for 40 years, going to dinner with her supper club watching the Tigers play and decorating for every holiday. Getting together with family and friends came first on GrandClaire’s li

League Baton Rouge 40 years, going to dinner with her supper club, watching the Tigers play and decorating for every holiday. Getting together with family and friends came first on GrandClaire’s list, and of course doing whatever the “the boys wanted. Pallbearers will be Cody Escher, Davis Havard Jack Havard, Kenny Havard, Jody Smith, and Brennon Moon Honorary Pallbearers will be Randy Ritchie, Wayne Anderson, Addison Dwyer Bill Parker‐son, John Emory Walker, and Jarrod Standridge Ser‐vices will be held on Friday February 28, 2025 at Charlet Funeral Home Inc in Zachary from 12 pm until service at 2 pm. Burial will be in Grace Episcopal Cemetery St Francisville Share sympathies, condo‐lences

Willie Collier Smith was born in Baywood Louisiana on January 16, 1929, to Charlie & Winnie Collier. At the age of 96, she peacefully went to be with her Lord & Savior leaving behind quite a legacy of love. She was raised by her hard-working father & mother, along with her 7 other siblings Willie married Kenneth Smith of Baywood, Louisiana Together they built a wonderful life, bought land, and raised two children showing us “hard work pays off" Mom taught Sunday school at Bethany Baptist Church, sharing the love of Jesus Her family was her pride and joy She showed her love in giving time, always willing to listen Grandchil‐dren & great grandchildren were her favorite. Willie is survived by her son, her daughter and spouse, 4 grandchildren and their spouses, & 6 great grand‐children Each one knew they were loved deeply by Ma Willie She is preceded in death by her husband Kenneth Smith, father & mother, Charlie and Winnie Collier, 3 sisters, 4 broth‐ers and a daughter in lawnow at last they are all to‐gether. “I will praise my God to my last breath! Let all that I am praise the Lord" Psalm 104:35 Visita‐tion will be held at Bethany Baptist Church in Bay‐wood, Friday February 28 2025 from 10 am until her celebration of life service at 11 am Burial will imme‐diately follow at Naul Cemetery conducted by Brother Granger In lieu of flowers memorial dona‐tions may be made to Bethany Baptist Church of Baywood, where she was a lifetime member We want to express a special thank you to Grace Health and Rehab for their special care and love!

Entered into eternal rest on February 10, 2025 at the age of 60. Survived by her husband, Ronald Kelley; daughter, Chelsea Kelley; mother, GeorgianaJones; 3 sisters; 3brothers; host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. Preceded in death by her father, Benit Walker, Jr. grandparents, Benit and Mary Walker, Sr. Visitation Saturday, March 1, 2025,

Julie BurroughsWright passed away surrounded by

loving family on Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at the age of 72. Julie's hobbies and interests included artwork, gardening, cross stitch, cooking, dance, calligraphy, LSU sports, Pokeno, scrapbooking, and aholiday decorator supreme. She wasa devoutCatholic and amember of St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Sheenjoyed playing sports including badminton,tennis, golf (12 handicap). Julie was very family oriented, dedicated to her children and grandchildren.Never meeting astranger, Julie was loved andadmired by so many. Shenever had a negative thought, always the positive. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frankand Mary Burroughs. She is survived by her loving husband of 42 years, David Wright; children, Jordan Wright (Jill Wright) and CarolineMcCauley (Aaron McCauley); grandchildren,Collins McCauley, Major McCauley, and Vincent Wright; siblings, Gail Boucvalt (Chris Boucvalt), Gerry Burroughs, and Richard Burroughs; and nieces and nephews, Gabe and Megan Boucvalt, Emma and Alden Boucvalt. Visitation will be held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 12424 Brogdon Ln, Baton Rouge, LA 70816, on Friday, February 28, 2025 from 9:00 a.m. until Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Resthaven Gardensof Memory. The family would like to extend their thanks to Pinnacle Hospice, Griswold, The Crossing at Clarity Hospice, and Bon Jour Social Center. Family and friends may sign theonline guestbook or leave apersonal note to the family at www.resthavenbatonroug e.com.

Hodgeson,Linda Faye

Lowe, Edith Rabenhorst East Funeral Home

Myers, Cynthia

Smith, Willie Collier

Emile 'Bud'

Myers, Cynthia Shaw

Cole, Carrie Williams

Wright Sr., Charles Edward

Dukes, Johnie

Walker Kelley, Debra

Johnson, Charles 'Ray'

Cuts to federal workforce disturbingly careless

We were not amused when the cost-cutting agency created by President Donald Trump took the acronym DOGE inspired by a silly internet meme. We weren’t laughing when billionaire Elon Musk described what he and his Department of Government Efficiency are doing as feeding agencies “into the wood chipper.” And we are certainly not yukking it up now that we are beginning to see the effects of those federal cuts on Louisiana jobs and workers. There is broad agreement that government spending needs to be reined in. Taxpayers expect and have voted for greater scrutiny over the federal budget. But that’s not what’s happening here. Let’s be clear: What Musk and DOGE are doing is nothing less than a wholesale dismantling of all that our tax dollars have built over decades. And they are doing so indiscriminately — and arguably without constitutional authority

In Louisiana, which has around 19,000 civilian federal workers, that has translated into firings of workers in our forests, in our fields and in our cities. So far, we have heard of layoffs from employees at the National Finance Center in New Orleans; the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans; the Southwest Louisiana Wildlife Refuge; the Kisatchie National Forest; and the New Orleans federal immigration court.

The sheer mindlessness of some of these cuts is evident when you hear from the employees themselves. One interviewed by this newspaper said that she was an auditor whose job it is to root out waste, fraud and abuse. Another said her job was funded by fees and fines paid by the oil and gas industry, not the federal purse Yet another let go was a military veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, whose boss wrote a letter begging for him to be rehired. In a state that boasts a House speaker and majority leader, you might think our representatives in Congress could shield us from the worst of this insanity You would be wrong. They have been strangely silent amid a deepening crisis. We call on them to do what we sent them to Washington to do. Congress holds the power of the purse and any time now could stop this madness.

We believe that cost-cutting can happen without this outrageous assault on our institutions. In fact, we have seen it happen before Under President Ronald Reagan in the ‘80s and then again in the ‘90s, with Louisiana Rep Bob Livingston leading the charge, the size and scope of the federal government was reduced dramatically but in legal and constitutional ways. But perhaps the cruelty of these chaotic cuts is the point. Government workers have become everyone’s favorite punching bag However, we know that many perform vital functions that keep our society running smoothly Their jobs and their lives are not a joke. Except to DOGE.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’s city of residence The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

Trump’s plan is to keep citizens on edge, exhausted

President Donald Trump is pushing forth with an agenda to create fear and chaos, to divide the people of this country regardless of whether his agenda is constitutional or legal. He hopes that as we scurry to sort out those constitutional and legal problems, we will be grateful for any scrap we recover It is time to remember the words of Martin Niemoller, a German pastor speaking of the Nazi takeover, and how silence is complicity:

“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because

I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me.”

It is time for all of us to speak up and to urge our representatives, both state and national, to slow down all the president’s changes unless we can be assured beforehand that they are both constitutional and legal. Each of us deserves more than the mere scraps the president is willing to leave us.

DWIGHT DOSKEY Covington

Rampant anti-Christian bias is a myth

A task force to root out “anti-Christian bias?” That’s a reasonable way to spend taxpayer dollars and cut excess government staff under the new regime? I am repeatedly stunned by the conservative right, which espouses less government interference, yet continually tries to force its beliefs onto everyone else’s life.

I don’t care if or how my neighbors pray or worship as long as it doesn’t impinge on my life, my beliefs or lack thereof.

Federal agencies don’t discriminate against Christians; they protect the access/rights of all, including nonChristians you know that freedom of religion thing. Anti-Christian violence?? Might that really be antiBlack, anti-Muslim, anti-Semite, antigay, anti-Wiccan, etc.? For believers, God is always with them; they shouldn’t need god to be brought back; others should not be forced to have someone else’s god

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE

I am dismayed by Mike Johnson and the Republican Party allowing Elon Musk to single-handedly shut down USAID without doing a formal audit of this $40 billion agency USAID feeds many of the most distraught infants and children around the world, and in particular, Africa. These same evangelical Christians, who put the Republicans in office, claim in the abortion issue that every life is a “gift from God,” even those conceived violently through rape or incest. Yet they allow a man who could fund this program by himself to kill it. This is a clear betrayal of the Christian principles. Personally, I can’t think of a worse way to die than from starvation.

GREG

TENHUNDFELD Baton Rouge

brought into their lives. I think that’s what happens in the Middle East. Nonbelievers and non-Christians should be free also to “exercise their faith without government intrusion in school, in the military, in the workplace and in the public square,” to quote a recent guest column by Kelly Shackelford. I wonder how it feels to ultra-conservatives to see his words used for the benefit of everyone? Methinks ’twas not his intention. Religious liberty should mean homes, churches and churchbased schools can do all the indoctrinating they want; but public schools, public events and the public domain should be off limits to their control, influence or prejudice. If the president meant what he said, that religious liberty is part of the bedrock of American life, and calls for protecting it, let’s see if he meant everybody’s liberty

ROSANNA MARINO Baton Rouge

Trump’s immigration policies beginning to work

I am thrilled to see the policies of President Donald Trump starting to take hold.

Trump has a mandate to rid the United States of those who entered the country illegally

As many as possible should be deported, and if they choose to follow the rule of law and gain entry into the

country legally, congratulations to them. Welcome to our country They should have never been allowed to come here in the first place. Shame on the Democrat Party and progressive liberals for giving them false hope.

BRYAN HALE Metairie

The cartoon depicting Elon Musk making a Nazi salute to a veteran is entirely accurate. To call it anything else is being willfully ignorant or is a limp-wristed attempt to hide personal Nazi sympathies. Even if I wanted to be generous and say that it was not an intentional salute, his attitude and actions afterward showed no remorse Did he say, “I denounce Nazi ideology, and I apologize to anyone that may have been confused?” No, he went on X and made jokes about it. Serious accusations such as being a Nazi should be responded to seriously not with flippancy and joke tweets.

This shows that he doesn’t care if it is or isn’t a Nazi salute He’s happy to have the support from anyone, even the Nazis that are in our country right now who were in hiding but are now emboldened by his display

They retweeted their support of his salute. And others have started marching and flying their flags openly We’ve seen it in Texas. And they got chased off of a bridge in Ohio

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck and sieg heils, it’s a Nazi. CHARLES AXELRAD New

La. should stand with Ukraine

Eleven years to the day after Russian forces moved to steal Crimea from Ukraine, three years to the week after Russia began its murderous attempt to conquer Ukraine entirely, it behooves Louisiana’s House and Senate delegations to stand with Ukraine despite executive branch lies about who started the war Solidarity with Ukraine is not only the right thing to do, but also the one most likely to keep service members from Louisiana’s Barksdale Air Force Base from being forced into combat The key Louisiana players are all Republicans For three years, Sens. John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy consistently have supported Ukraine During those same three years, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and especially Speaker Mike Johnson have ping-ponged back and forth on providing Ukraine with material support The latter three, along with their other Louisiana colleagues, should join Kennedy now in publicly pushing back against the false message from the Trump administration that Ukraine is responsible for starting the war and that Ukraine needs to make major concessions in negotiations with thuggish Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Let’s set the record straight: Russia has been the aggressor all along at times verging on genocidally so. And in 1994, the United States signed an agreement providing “security assurances” for Ukraine’s territorial borders in exchange for Ukraine relinquishing large stores of nuclear weapons with which it otherwise could defend itself. That obligation, especially against Russia’s perfidy, is important. Ukraine not only lived up to the 1994 bargain, but diligently worked to operate as a pro-Western, representative republic. Russia repeatedly used

pressure to try making Ukraine a puppet, but repeatedly was rebuffed by Ukraine’s voters. On Feb. 27, 2014, after Ukraine’s Russian-puppet president, Viktor Yanukovych, defied the overwhelming majority of his nation’s elected parliament and used deadly force against peaceful protests before absconding in fear and shame, Russia took advantage of the unrest to send tanks into Ukrainian Crimea. The Russian seizure of Ukrainian territory was utterly unprovoked

For the next eight years, Ukraine did nothing to Russia but merely asked to be left alone while building peaceful trade agreements with Western Europe. The Kremlindirected attack on Feb. 24, 2022, however was an attempt to obliterate Ukraine as a separate nation. Russia deliberately bombed hospitals, tortured civilians, used rape as a method of subjugation and abducted many thousands of Ukrainian children.

In fighting off Russia for three years against all odds, Ukraine has tremendously degraded Russia’s economy and its military strength, hobbled its offensive Black Sea fleet and made clear to Russia that territorial adventurism carries a terrible cost to Russia’s own lives and fortune. It also has forced Europe to rely less on Russian oil supplies, thus diminishing Russia’s ability to use economic blackmail against the free West.

Pulling the rug from under Ukraine, though, would be devastating not just for Ukrainian nationalism and its magnificent cultural legacy — Odesa particularly is known for its historical, artistic and architectural bounty but for U.S. interests as well. People may tire of hearing this, but it’s true: Any sort of de facto defeat of Ukraine

MARDI GRAS LOGISTICS

would embolden Putin in his stated aims of retaking Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia and perhaps attacking our magnificent Polish allies.

Those who think Europe’s security doesn’t matter to us do not appreciate the importance of European stability for American commerce — or for the U.S.’ ability to protect its citizens and interests throughout the world while countering Chinese, Iranian or jihadist aggressions. And, either way, a Russian attack on a NATO nation (such as those four mentioned above) solemnly obliges the U.S. to use our own arms and personnel to repel it.

That is where the Barksdale air base comes in.

Its airmen in the 2nd Bomb Wing and its status as home to the Air Force Global Strike Command make it so important to potential war-fighting efforts that North Korea identified it as one of its four key U.S. targets for nuclear attack. Its pilots would surely be among the first to fight, and potentially die, if war broke out between Russia and NATO.

For all those reasons, Kennedy last week spoke out (mildly, but clearly) against Russia. All of his Louisiana colleagues should do likewise. Scalise should reprise his helpful refrain in years past that more than two-thirds of aid for Ukraine actually is spent here in the U.S. North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis, up for reelection in 2026, made a fiery speech last week against the damnable lie that Ukraine is at fault for this war If he can do it, so should Louisiana’s House leadership, all while working to ensure the aid continues — not just for Ukraine’s benefit, but for our own.

Email Quin Hillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com.

Getting to and from parades is an art form around here. It’s anticipated and planned out year after year like a beloved family tradition.The real pros take great pride in knowing how to manage the chaos without a dreaded parking ticket or worse getting TOWED! So, what’s going on in this cartoon? you tell me. Be witty, funny, crazy, absurd or snarky — just try to keep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries. The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and run on Monday in our print editions and online. In addition, the winner will receive a signed print of the cartoon along with a cool winner’s T-shirt! Some honorable mentions will also be listed. To enter, email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate com. DON’T FORGET! All entries must include your name, home address and phone number Cell numbers are best. The deadline for all entries is midnight Thursday. Good luck, folks! —Walt

President Donald Trump is moving quickly with his plan to end the war in Ukraine. What, exactly, that plan involves is still not publicly known But given the current status of the conflict, along with what Trump and others have said about it, the short version is that it appears likely Russia will keep some of the territory — roughly 20% of the country — that it seized after invading Ukraine three years ago, Ukraine will reclaim some of the territory it lost, there will be some provisions designed to prevent future conflicts, and the fighting will end.

want to abdicate to be the leader of the free world,” McFaul said. “They didn’t say we want to get in bed with Putin. They didn’t say we wanted to pull out of NATO.”

Many Democrats, along with their activist and media allies, and some Republicans, too, would like to stop Trump. But the president has a broad constitutional authority to conduct foreign affairs. That, of course, hasn’t kept the opposition from trying. A recent podcast gave the public a peek into the opposition’s thinking. The podcast is “Talking Feds,” hosted by Harry Litman, a law professor and senior Justice Department official during the Clinton years. In an episode about Ukraine, Michael McFaul, the Stanford University professor who was U.S. ambassador to Russia for a couple of years during the Obama administration and is a staunch supporter of the Ukrainian war effort, argued that Trump’s plan to end the war, whatever it is, does not represent the will of U.S. voters. “I just want to emphasize that the American people, they voted for the price of eggs, folks, they didn’t say we

Just for the record, you might remember that during the campaign, candidate Trump often discussed international affairs, including ending the war in Ukraine. He also talked about the U.S. relationship with NATO — remarks that sometimes caused controversy — and he talked about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Now McFaul said Trump is “overreaching” on a wide range of issues and will pay a political price at home. McFaul is helping the opposition prepare for that. “I’ve been spending a lot of time with Democrats in the Congress over the last couple of weeks, and I think they have not got their act together yet,” he said. “But just last night, with a group out here in California and I won’t name names, but we have some prominent people who have been in leadership positions from time to time out here their feeling is we just got to get the guy [Trump] down to below 45. And once he’s below 45, then all of our feckless Republican friends who are just scared to death of doing anything might start pushing back.”

By getting Trump below 45, McFaul was referring to the president’s job approval rating, which currently stands at 49.3% in the RealClearPolitics average of polls. Some have argued that 49.3% is not particularly high for a president at this point in his term,

which would be true if Trump were in his first term. Since Trump is in his second but nonconsecutive term, it’s hard to compare, but according to Gallup, former President Barack Obama’s approval rating was 49% at this point in his second term. So Trump’s 49% is certainly not unprecedented.

“I kept saying to my European friends and my Ukrainian friends last week, you know, hang in there,” McFaul said. “We just got to get to the midterms and then things will change. I’m not confident predicting that, but I’m trying to achieve that.”

Now, an influential American traveling abroad, speaking with high-ranking foreign officials in an effort to undercut an American president’s positions, is not particularly admirable. But McFaul appears to have concluded that he and his colleagues speak for more American voters than does Trump, who after all was elected on the price of eggs.

Trump’s job now is clear, if not simple to come up with the best possible agreement to end the war Make it stick. Then move on. None of that will be enough to satisfy his domestic political adversaries, who, if Democrats win in 2026, will try to undo Trump’s work, and, if they win the House, might well try (yet again) to remove him from office. Trump has seen all that before. His task in the area of international affairs is to stay focused on trying to restore some of the order in the world that collapsed in the years he was out of office.

Byron York is on X, @Bryon York.

Musk

How unhinged and irresponsible is Elon Musk?

So much that even President Donald Trump’s newly confirmed and MAGA-certified Cabinet members are pushing back.

Musk’s email blast to 2.3 million federal workers — ordering each to submit by Monday “approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week,” with failure to respond constituting the employee’s resignation was nothing but an exercise in contempt. And in many agencies, it was promptly countermanded.

Employees at the Defense Department, under Secretary Pete Hegseth, were told to ignore the government-wide email from the Office of Personnel Management, now being run by Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service minions. Workers at the State Department under Secretary Marco Rubio were also told to pay it no mind. So were staffers at the nation’s spy agencies under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; those at the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Kristi L. Noem; and those at the FBI, which is part of the Justice Department under Attorney General Pam Bondi. At some other agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., many workers were told by their supervisors to wait for further guidance. Thus begins the inevitable power struggle at the court of Mad King Donald, between his various ministers of state and his billionaire Lord High Executioner For the past month, with Trump’s nominees making their way through the confirmation process and then learning their way around the agencies they now lead, Musk has run rampant. His approach toward the federal bureaucracy is the same he used when he bought Twitter: smash the place to bits, then rebuild as necessary As technically a “special government employee” who serves as an adviser to the president, it is unclear in my view doubtful that Musk has the legal authority to do any of what he is doing. But by the time the courts decide that question, much irreparable vandalism will already have been committed.

Musk was clever to begin by seizing key nodes of the bureaucracy — OPM, which is the closest thing to a government-wide human resources department; and the Treasury Department’s payments systems, through which all federal money flows and to use them as chokepoints. He was Machiavellian in choosing a relatively defenseless first victim, the U.S. Agency for International Development, to slay and hang on the wall as a demonstration of his power But now that Cabinet members and agency heads are in place, things are different. Hegseth, Rubio, Gabbard, Bondi and the rest of Trump’s appointees now have large bureaucracies to run — bureaucracies with important work to do. However fervently they agree with the goal of shrinking the federal government’s headcount, they will be less able to fulfill Trump’s agenda, let alone any goals of their own, if their employees are constantly being bashed and menaced by the erratic Musk. As anyone who has successfully run any organization knows, morale matters. Authority matters, too. Cabinet members have the right to insist that they, not Musk, run their departments. They wouldn’t be where they are if they were eager to challenge Trump’s judgment including his ongoing support of Musk and DOGE — but I doubt any department head could possibly be happy taking orders from a mercurial plutocrat via snarky posts on his social media site X. And anyway, who is supposed to read 2.3 million emails reporting what every federal worker did last week? According to The Post, one U.S. Geological Survey employee defiantly told his supervisors that “anyone who replies is likely to have their responses fed into some AI woodchipper and used for goodness knows what purpose, legal or illegal.”

On Monday Trump said the bullet points email was “great because we have people that don’t show up to work” or that “don’t even exist.” At the same time, however, Trump did not overrule the orders of Cabinet members who told employees to ignore the email. As he now fancies himself a king, Trump may enjoy the sport of combat among his courtiers.

Pressure is mounting, however for Trump to bring Musk’s escapades under control — or to an end. This weekend, Republican members of Congress who held town halls with their constituents got an earful about the impact of Musk’s arbitrary cost-cutting. Capriciously halting USAID foreign aid programs, for example, may be consistent with Trump’s “America First” agenda — but it harms the farmers who provide the food that USAID distributes overseas.

Musk and his DOGE bros act as if they are playing a video game in which federal workers and programs are mere pixels on a screen. Pressure should and will mount for Trump to tell them: “GAME OVER.”

Eugene Robinson is on X, @Eugene_Robinson.

Byron York

Eugene Robinson

Quin Hillyer

LATE NIGHT BASEBALL

LSU vs. Dallas Baptist ended after this edition went to press For complete game coverage, visit theadvocate.com

SPORTS

Carr likely to return with Saints in ’25

New Orleans’ GM, coach suggest quarterback’s return

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

INDIANAPOLIS

One of the biggest ques-

tions the New Orleans Saints are facing this offseason appears to have an answer: Derek Carr is likely to return in 2025 as the team’s starting quarterback.

While new coach Kellen Moore did not strongly commit to Carr in his introductory press conference, both he and general manager Mickey Loomis suggested Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine that Carr will be

back with the team next season.

“We feel like we’ve got a guy we can win with, and we’re excited about it,” Loomis said. Carr is about to enter the third year of his four-year deal he signed with the Saints prior to the 2023 season. New Orleans has gone 14-13 in games Carr has started, and 0-7 in games he’s missed.

New Orleans hired Moore earlier this month after enduring a rough 5-12 campaign that resulted in the ouster of former head coach Dennis Allen. It was not clear at the time of his hiring whether Carr — and his large salary cap charge — was part of the team’s immediate or long term plans.

Kelly considering changes to LSU football spring game

BY WILSON ALEXANDER

Staff writer

Brian Kelly is considering changes to LSU football’s annual spring game as a growing list of teams alter the format or cancel the public scrimmage altogether Kelly told The Advocate there will be “live action” that gives fans a chance to see the players April 12 inside Tiger Stadium, but he has not decided what that will look like

“I don’t know if it’s going to be in a spring game format, but there’s going to be action,” Kelly said Wednesday. “I just don’t know how we’re going to put it together at this point.”

LSU begins spring practice March 8. Though some programs attract tens of thousands of people to their spring games, LSU typically hosts a smaller crowd because of interest in other sports and springtime festivals Nebraska, Texas, Southern Cal and more have called off their public scrimmages for various reasons. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian pointed to workload concerns and said he would hold NFL-style organized team activities. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule feared other teams would poach players after seeing them on television.

“The word ‘tampering’ no longer exists,” Rhule told reporters “It’s just absolute free, open, common market. So I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world I don’t want these guys all being able to watch our guys and say ‘Wow, he looks like a pretty good player Let’s go get him.’” Elsewhere in the SEC, Ole Miss stopped holding a spring game last year, replacing it with a day of activities like a dunk contest and tug-of-war Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer told On3 this week that the Crimson Tide will have a “modified” event instead of their typical scrimmage

Not everyone is following the trend Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks told reporters the Bulldogs would keep their

ä See SPRING, page 3C

While Moore gave a non-committal

answer in his opening news conference about whether Carr would be his opening day starter, he more clearly got behind the idea when asked about it Wednesday. Moore also said he has recently spoken to the veteran quarterback.

“We feel fortunate to have Derek here, the experience he has, and he’s a big-time quarterback in this league,” Moore said.

The apparent decision to stick with Carr as the team’s starting quarterback should serve as a signal of what direction the franchise is taking in its first year under Moore.

Carr currently counts $51.5 million

ä See SAINTS, page 3C

LSU star Morrow close to reaching historic milestone

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Kim Mulkey is running out of words to describe Aneesah Morrow and her accomplished career which is close to winding down now that only two games separate the LSU women’s basketball team from its first postseason action.

At the end of her weekly radio show on Tuesday, Mulkey took a moment to discuss the Tigers’ four seniors and the ways they’ve contributed to her program. But she breezed right by Morrow, the star forward who transferred from DePaul to LSU in 2023 and cemented her status as one of the nation’s best players.

JIM KLEINPETER

“Do I have to say any more about her that hasn’t been said?” Mulkey asked.

Morrow’s next double-double will be the 100th of her career Only one woman has ever posted that many in NCAA Division I history: Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris. Morrow could become the second as soon as Thursday, when the No. 7 Tigers face No. 20 Alabama on the road at 8 p.m. on the SEC Network. For Morrow, that feat will be simply the latest in a season and a career full of them.

The LSU star stands only 6-foot-1, yet she’s on pace to finish her career ranked third on the NCAA’s all-time

ä See LSU, page 4C

LSU forward Aneesah Morrow looks to pass the ball against Northwestern State on Nov. 8. Morrow is on pace to finish her career ranked third on the NCAA’s all-time rebounding leaderboard. STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU coach Brian Kelly walks on the field before kickoff against Baylor on Dec 31 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Kelly is considering making changes to the Tigers’ spring football game.

New lineup boosts Pels rebounding

Olynyk’s addition making a difference

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

The glaring need was as noticeable as the 7-foot-tall, long-haired guy who has helped fill it Rebounding has been a problem for the New Orleans Pelicans all season. So much so that executive vicepresident of basketball operations David Griffin had this to say about it two weeks ago.

“A lot of these are based on analytics, but we’re one of the worst rebounding teams in the last 15 years in the NBA,” Griffin said. “It doesn’t take a great deal for me to tell you we need to get bigger and more physical. I think that’s fairly obvious.”

Six days before that, Griffin had made the Brandon Ingram trade, a deal with the Toronto Raptors that brought 7-foot center Kelly Olynyk to New Orleans.

It’s a small sample size, but the trade so far has yielded some positive results. Olynyk has started three games since joining the Pelicans, inserted into a lineup with 6-foot-11 rookie Yves Missi, 6-foot6 Zion Williamson, along with Trey Murphy and CJ McCollum.

The Pelicans have outrebounded their opponents in all three of those games. Prior to that, the Pelicans had outrebounded their opponents just 16 times in the first 55 games of the season.

“We like the big lineups so far,” said coach Willie Green. “After many games of not being able to win the rebounding margin, we’re winning that and that’s giving us extra possessions. It’s allowing us to get out and play in transition.”

The Pelicans grabbed nine more rebounds than the San Antonio Spurs in Tuesday night’s win. When the two teams played on Sunday, the Pelicans outrebounded the Spurs 69-46, a whopping 23 rebound differential. The 69 rebounds were the third most in franchise history It helped that the Spurs missed 36 3-pointers in that game And it also helped that the Pels didn’t have to face Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio’s 7-foot-3 center who the Spurs have

shut down for the remainder of the season because of a blood clot in his right shoulder The game before that, they grabbed more rebounds than a Dallas Mavericks team that was missing centers Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively as well as forward Anthony Davis.

“We were playing with a lot of energy, a lot of effort and some bigger lineups,” Olynyk said. “They were playing with some smaller lineups, which helps. Just playing the right way taking the right shots and knowing that guys are going to take shots and so you’re in position to rebound. On the defensive end, it’s just limiting them to one shot.”

The new look Pelicans have taken advantage, getting season-best rebounding performances from the tallest and smallest guys on their roster

Olynyk’s 15 boards against the Spurs on Sunday was a season-high stat for him The 12-year veteran followed that up with 12 boards Tuesday, marking the first time he’s had back-to-back games with 12 or more rebounds in his career

Missi also grabbed a season-best 15 rebounds on Sunday Even 6-foot point guard Jose Alvarado got in on the action, snatching a career-high nine rebounds in the win.

It’s been refreshing for Green, who has had to answer questions about the rebounding woes all season. “I don’t have to come in here (after games) and y’all say ‘you all lost the rebound battle and how are you going to get better?” Green said jokingly “We’re doing that right now.”

But, as Trey Murphy pointed out, there’s still work to be done

“Basically, I would still say there were a few rebounds that we should have gotten that they got as far as offensive rebounds,” Murphy said. “It’s getting better, but we still need to tighten the rope. That (rebounding) has lost us games in the past So if we want to keep building forward in the future, we have to keep rebounding the ball at a high level. I only had four rebounds (Tuesday), so I have got to be better on that end.”

ä Pelicans at Suns.

8 P.M.THURSDAy, GSN

PELICANS SIGN

BOSTON

TO STANDARD CONTRACT

The Pelicans signed Brandon Boston to a standard NBA contract, the team announced Wednesday. Boston, who has played in 42 games for the Pelicans this season, was on a two-way contract

The former University of Kentucky player started 10 games for the Pelicans and is averaging 10.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists. The 6-foot-6 wing played his first three seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers before signing a with the Pelicans in October

His best game as a Pelicans came in November when he scored a season-high 26 points against the Orlando Magic. He grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder five days later

The Pelicans had an open roster spot after waiving Javonte Green last week. Green has signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Pelicans also announced that they signed Jalen Crutcher to a twoway contract. Crutcher a 6-2 guard who played collegiately at Dayton, has appeared in 34 games this season with the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate. He is averaging 18.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists for the Squadron. Rod Walker

Rebounding doesn’t guarantee wins, especially when battling injuries like the Pelicans have this season. But it sure gives them a better chance. The Pels are 8-11 this season when they’ve outrebounded their opponent They are 7-32 when they haven’t. “(Coach) emphasized it all season,” Williamson said. “(Credit) the new guys, especially K.O.”

LSU gymnast Chio wins yet another SEC award

Four straight all-around titles, four straight Southeastern Conference freshman of the week honors for LSU phenom Kailin Chio. Chio won the all-around Friday in the Tigers’ 197.200-197.075 victory at Kentucky and Tuesday took top SEC freshman honors once again. It was her sixth freshman of the week award this season. The Henderson, Nevada, native beat out LSU senior Haleigh Bryant for the all-around title 39.57539.500. She also earned a share of first place on vault (9.925) and uneven bars (9.875). She now has 13 individual titles this season. Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez was named SEC gymnast of the week. LSU takes on George Washington at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the Podium Challenge at the Raising Cane’s River Center

Matildas condemn radio host’s offensive comments

SYDNEY — The Matildas joined in the heavy criticism Wednesday of a commercial radio host’s misogynistic and crass comments about Australia’s national women’s soccer team. The host has since been taken off-air

The Matildas, coming off losses to Japan and the United States in the SheBelieves Cup, were the subject of a bizarre and offensive rant by comedian and host Marty Sheargold on his Triple M radio program Among other things, he described the players as high schoolers with “all the infighting and all the friendship issues” and asked his co-hosts if they had “any men’s sports” to talk about. Field hockey player, Rosie Malone, described Sheargold’s comments on social media as “disgusting” and “horrendous.”

Sooners hire Senior Bowl executive Nagy as GM NORMAN, Okla. — Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy has been hired as Oklahoma’s general manager for football, the school announced Wednesday Nagy will lead the Sooners’ roster management and talent acquisition, including player recruitment, evaluation, retention and compensation. He also will oversee name, image, and likeness, the transfer portal process, revenueshare allocation, scholarships and player eligibility Since 2018 he has been executive director of the Senior Bowl the college all-star game that showcases draft-eligible players. Nagy previously worked 18 years in NFL scouting with Seattle, Kansas City New England and Washington.

Ohtani to make training debut against Angels

J. TERRILL

Woodland receives PGA Courage Award

By Associated Press PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. —

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani will make his first spring training appearance of the year on Friday night against his old team, the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani, 30, will be the designated hitter Roberts has not given a timetable for Ohtani’s return to the pitching mound Roberts has ruled Ohtani out for the opening series in Tokyo against the Chicago Cubs on March 18-19.

felt ‘so weird’ on other end of the court in Mavericks reunion

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

LOS ANGELES Although Luka

Doncic speaks four languages, he struggled for the words to express just how strange it was to play against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Just 23 days after his world was upended by Dallas’ shocking decision to trade him, Doncic was on the Los Angeles Lakers’ home court to face those same Mavs. His feelings of betrayal and uncertainty are still fresh, and they affected a performance that was inconsistent, occasionally brilliant and altogether fraught with anxiety

“It was just a lot of emotions

know what I was doing. I’m just glad it’s over, honestly.”

Doncic’s game was all over the place — just like his head.

He posted his first triple-double in a Lakers uniform but he also missed 11 of his 17 shots and was wild from 3-point range.

He made a dozen sublime passes and at least that many big defensive plays, yet he could only score two points in the fourth quarter of a tight game.

“It was so weird,” Doncic said.

“There were moments I felt like I don’t know what I was doing.

I’m glad we got a win.”

Fortunately for Doncic, he now has LeBron James for a teammate — and the top scorer in NBA history simply wouldn’t let Luka lose.

James can become.

James took over the game, scoring 16 of his 27 points in the final period — including three key buckets on passes from Doncic to cap his superb playmaking performance.

Doncic finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in the 81st triple-double of his career

His teammates would have known it was an important night even if they hadn’t seen Doncic take a few meaningful looks at the Mavs’ bench, and they helped to sand off the rough edges on Doncic’s cathartic evening.

mer U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland was honored Wednesday with the PGA Tour Courage Award as he comes back from brain surgery to remove a lesion that was causing him to have unfounded thoughts that he was dying.

Woodland, who won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach to go along with three other PGA Tour titles, had a hole the size of a baseball removed from his head so doctors could remove the lesion in a September 2023 surgery He returned last year and continues to make strides toward restoring his game and his life at home with wife Gabby and his three children.

“Receiving this is a testament to the people around me because there’s no way, one, I’d be back playing or no way I’d be sitting here today if it wasn’t for them,” Woodland said at PGA National, where he is playing the Cognizant Classic. “It means everything for me to receive it.”

Ohtani injured his left shoulder sliding into second base during the World Series, when the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in five games He did not pitch last season, his first with the Dodgers as he recovered from surgery repairing a ligament in his pitching elbow

FIA confirms two pit stops requirment for Monaco PARIS Formula 1 drivers will have to make at least two pit stops at the Monaco Grand Prix in an attempt to inject some jeopardy into a glamorous race where overtaking is almost impossible.

F1’s governing body, the FIA, confirmed Wednesday that it would mandate using at least three sets of tires “with the primary intent of improving the sporting spectacle of this race.”

The overtaking challenges for wide modern F1 cars has seen recent races in Monaco often decided largely by grid positions from Saturday qualifying.

I was feeling,” Doncic said. “I can’t even explain. It was a different game. Sometimes, I don’t

“We understood as his teammates that we wanted to try to get this win for him,” James said. “Obviously, we know what transpired not too long ago. As his teammates, we wanted just to back him in any way shape or form. Doncic

In that fourth quarter, the Lakers’ eager fans saw another glimpse of what Doncic and

The Courage Award is presented to a person who overcomes extraordinary adversity, such as personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness, to make a significant and meaningful contribution to golf.

Last year’s race was red-flagged after first-lap crashes and resumed with a standing restart. There was little action after that as Charles Leclerc took the victory without stopping again.

STAFF PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell is defended by New Orleans Pelicans center Karlo Matkovic, left, and forward Kelly Olynyk on Tuesday at the Smoothie King Center

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis talks about the Saints’ 2024 season at the team’s training facility in Metairie on Jan. 13.

By CHRIS GRANGER

Saints expect to be ‘active’ during NFL free agency

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

INDIANAPOLIS When the NFL informed teams last week that next season’s salary cap was expected to fall between $277.5 million and $281.5 million, the projection was even higher than the New Orleans Saints anticipated internally

“So that’s good news for us,” general manager Mickey Loomis said with a smile. And the Saints plan to take advantage of that higher number

Loomis said Wednesday that he expects the Saints to be active in free agency, a change of course after the team took a milder approach last offseason. The Saints are currently more than $50 million over the salary cap, but New Orleans can clear space with various contract restructures, as has become a yearly occurrence.

“I think we’ll be able to add a few pieces,” Loomis said. “It just depends upon the who, the where and the cost. I expect us to be active.”

Asked if that meant more than last year, Loomis replied, “Yeah.” Loomis said it was too soon to tell whether active would mean by the sheer volume of players signed or by the dollar amounts handed out. He noted some of the best free agent signings are the ones that are perceived to be under the radar, pointing to the Saints’ 2018 pursuit of linebacker Demario Davis and the Philadelphia Eagles’ signing of former Saints linebacker Zack Baun last year

Baun signed a one-year deal for $3.5 million, had a breakout season and finished as a Defensive

Player of the Year finalist en route to winning the Super Bowl with the Eagles.

“It’s a sore subject with me,” Loomis said. “But that was a fantastic signing that wasn’t on anyone’s radar. ‘Active’ is relative to how the performance turns out more so than the volume or even the amount.”

At last year’s owner meetings in Orlando, Florida, Loomis said he anticipated the Saints taking another quieter approach to free agency in 2025. That offseason, New Orleans made more than a dozen free-agent signings, but Chase Young’s deal was the only addition considered to be a conventional splash. Even then, that was a one-year, $13 million contract.

But circumstances change.

After going 5-12 in 2024 and overhauling the team’s coaching staff, Loomis acknowledged his shift in approach was determined by those outcomes. Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s new scheme, for instance, could cause New Orleans to seek players in free agency suited more for it.

Loomis said the Saints are still in the process of evaluating last year’s roster, wanting to hear the input of new coach Kellen Moore and his staff. That evaluation has progressed more on the offensive side of the ball than on defense, given the Saints are still fleshing out their defensive staff.

Those evaluations will determine how aggressively the Saints try to bring back any of their own free agents. Young and cornerback Paulson Adebo — coming off

a broken leg — headline the team’s pending free agent class of 19 players, a group that also includes tight end Juwan Johnson, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and safety Will Harris

“Now is the time we get to team up on this thing and build it,” Moore said. “There’s a lot of attractive pieces on this roster coming into it.”

If the Saints are indeed active in free agency, one of the fascinating ripple effects will be how it impacts their cap for future seasons. New Orleans has taken steps to have a cleaner cap sheet, even in years like 2023, when the Saints made a big splash with Derek Carr’s five-year $125 million contract.

But Loomis said there’s “nuance” to the salary cap and that the Saints are still “moving in that direction” of feeling more comfortable about the cap. The situation is a line that the Saints have become accustomed to walking. But as they do, Loomis and Moore made clear the team is still chasing to win the NFC South.

“We’re going to try and win every game we can,” Loomis said. “That’s what our players expect That’s what our fans expect, what our coaches expect That’s what I expect.”

“You can’t ever walk into a team in the locker room and say, ‘We’re not competing,’ ” Moore said. “We’re competing to win our division. That will always be the goal and we feel like we’ve got really good pieces to do that.”

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

Kelly optimistic about LSU’s O-line

despite losing four

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

When LSU opens spring practice March 8, it has to begin an overhaul of its offensive line after losing four starters, but coach Brian Kelly feels good about the position group. LSU brought back three younger players with some experience and signed two veteran transfers.

It also has former highly rated recruits who could step into key roles, especially at tackle.

“I think that’s where this spring is going to be fun to see three guys that got some experience, two transfers that have a ton of experience and then some young players that bring incredible promise to an offensive line,” Kelly said.

“We feel good about where we’re at there, but it’s going to have play itself out.”

Kelly said Virginia Tech transfer Braelin Moore would play center, which means redshirt sophomore DJ Chester will compete for the one of the guard spots after starting every game at center last season. Chester struggled at times in his first year as a starter Moore has played center and guard, but LSU viewed him as a center

“We feel like he brings that high football IQ, athleticism to the position that we’re looking for,” Kelly said.

LSU’s other transfer, former Northwestern starter Josh Thompson, could end up at guard or tackle, depending on who else steps up. Kelly compared him to former LSU offensive lineman Miles Frazier, who spent the past three seasons at right guard but could kick out to tackle LSU wants someone else to play tackle. Redshirt sophomore Tyree

Adams will likely fill one tackle position. LSU has a few options for the other, including redshirt freshmen Weston Davis, Ory Williams and Ethan Calloway It also signed top 50 recruit Solomon Thomas

“We’re, quite frankly, looking for one of the younger players to emerge at the tackle position,” Kelly said. “We’re in a good position that no matter what happens, we’ve built some insurance there with Josh.”

Star LBs recovering from injuries

LSU linebackers Harold Perkins and Whit Weeks won’t participate in spring practice as they recover from injuries, but Kelly said they are expected to be cleared in time for summer workouts in June.

Perkins is doing football-related movements after tearing his ACL in September, Kelly said. Weeks has gotten out of a walking boot after having surgery to repair a broken fibula.

“He’s got a little bit of a limp, but he’s made incredible progress,” Kelly said. “He, too, will be cleared for June, which gives us eight weeks of great physical conditioning for those guys leading into preseason camp.”

Kelly said senior defensive tackle Jacobian Guillory will be “involved in some football activities” this spring as he recovers from a torn Achilles. He may participate in individual drills but he likely won’t see real snaps.

It’s uncertain if freshman quarterback Colin Hurley will return for spring practice. Hurley is still at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, after suffering undisclosed injuries in a January car crash.

“I talked to him last week,” Kelly said. “He was doing weight training. I had a long conversation

Saints improve in annual survey

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

The grades are in — and the New Orleans Saints earned higher marks than last year.

The Saints jumped seven spots in the NFLPA’s annual report card survey, clocking in at No. 12 after ranking No. 19 in 2024. The report card, based on the feedback of players, grades teams on categories such as ownership, coaches, treatment of families, team travel and areas in the facility (locker room, weight room, dining area).

The Saints received As in four of the 11 categories, with their highest rankings coming in team travel (fifth league wide), locker room (ninth), ownership (10th) and strength coaches (10th).

The Saints again received poor marks for their cafeteria — graded a D-minus but the report card notes that the survey was taken before the team’s construction of the area was completed and that the grade will likely see “significant improvement” next year

The Saints also graded poorly at head coach, where the team received a B-minus.

“The team moved on from Dennis Allen midway through the season, and players hope new head coach Kellen Moore will bring

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

against the Saints 2025 salary cap, though that number is likely to change, as he represents the biggest chip the Saints can play when it comes to clearing cap space.

A contract restructure, in which the Saints convert the majority of Carr’s $30 million base salary and $10 million roster bonus into prorated signing bonus, would provide nearly $31 million in immediate cap relief for New Orleans. For a team that is expected to need to clear roughly $40 million just to be compliant with the salary cap by the first day of the new league year, that is a significant chunk.

“It’s tight,” Loomis said, describing the team’s position relative to the salary cap. “There’s no secret to that, and his is a big number, so we’re going to hopefully be able to maneuver.”

Carr has already stated he does not intend to take a pay cut.

And while restructuring Carr would ease this year’s salary cap burden, it would also push some of it into 2026 — when

starters

with him on the phone. I just think he’s making really good progress. We’ve very optimistic that he’s coming back to us, but there’s no real timetable.”

A running QB package?

After the season ended, LSU’s coaches met with freshman Ju’Juan Johnson and asked what position he wanted to play Johnson played quarterback in high school, came to LSU as a defensive back and ended up moving to running back last year

“I want to give quarterback a shot,” Kelly recalled Johnson saying.

LSU’s coaches agreed to work with him there for the next year, and it may let the team develop a package for a dual-threat quarterback to complement senior starter Garrett Nussmeier

Kelly said LSU plans not to play Johnson or Mississippi State transfer Michael Van Buren for more than four games in the regular season, letting them preserve a redshirt. But with Hurley in the fold as well, LSU could potentially use all of them without exhausting their extra year of eligibility by spreading their appearances over the entire season.

Kelly said the running quarterback might help in the red zone, short yardage situations and on third and fourth down. Johnson gained a Louisiana-high school record 14,451 total yards at Lafayette Christian Academy, and Van Buren rushed for five touchdowns as a freshman last season.

“Now you’ve got 12 games of really athletic quarterbacks that could be part of a comprehensive second package, if you will,” Kelly said. “That’s how we see all of those guys being able to assist without using up a year of eligibility.”

“The team moved on from Dennis Allen midway through the season, and players hope new head coach Kellen Moore will bring positive change.”

NFLPA

positive change,” the NFLPA wrote.

Players felt Allen was only “moderately receptive” to locker room feedback, ranking him 28 of 32 coaches in the league. Allen also ranked 23 out of 32 in terms of being efficient with players’ time.

Saints owner Gayle Benson ranked eighth for “perceived willingness to invest in the facilities,” 12th for contributing positively to team culture and 15th for building a competitive team though for the latter players still felt Benson was “extremely committed.”

The NFLPA said 77% of the league’s players participated in the survey which began in 2023.

The Dolphins, Vikings, Falcons, Raiders and Chargers made up the top 5, while the Steelers, Jets, Browns, Patriots and Cardinals ranked at the bottom.

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

Carr is already set to count $61 million against the cap A full conversion would push that number near $70 million. The veteran quarterback is coming off an injury plagued season, during which he played in a career-low 10 games. He suffered an oblique injury that forced him to miss three games in the middle of the season, then a concussion and broken left hand sidelined him for the final four weeks of the year His replacements in the lineup, rookie Spencer Rattler and secondyear quarterback Jake Haener, both struggled.

When Carr was on the field, he performed well statistically His 101 passer rating was a near career high and ranked 10th in the NFL, and Carr also finished 11th in the league in Expected Points Added per dropback, slotting just behind MVP finalist Joe Burrow But Carr also struggled to deliver against some of the Saints’ premier opponents New Orleans went 0-3 against playoff teams in games Carr started, scoring 12, 13 and 14 points in those games.

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

SPRING

Continued from page 1C

spring game this year Kelly questioned canceling spring games as a way to prevent other teams from evaluating rosters on television, saying “I’m not buying that one.” But he did think there was merit to the idea of changing spring games in an attempt to slow down transfer portal activity The transfer portal opens again April 16-25.

“I think that there’s more of, ‘Why don’t we just keep our business a little bit more closely guarded than being so public about it, especially with the ability to transfer so easily?’” Kelly said.

“I think that there’s much more of a sense of that.” Kelly also said coaches are “getting ready” for spring practice to be replaced by NFL-style OTAs in late spring or early summer, an idea he supports.

FBS coaches discussed a proposal to transform the 15 spring practices into OTAs at the American Football Coaches Association meeting in January, according to CBS Sports. Kelly thinks the concept is beneficial for training, recruiting and development.

“I think we’re getting closer to maybe an NFL model in terms of what makes sense,” Kelly said.

“I think it’s always been on the academic model, and I think we might be getting closer to what works best for the student-athlete outside of academics and much more on portals and revenue sharing and preparation for the season.”

At the AFCA meeting, Kelly and the other coaches in attendance reportedly approved a

proposal to shorten the transfer portal to 10 days in early January, an idea that will have to be passed by the NCAA. This offseason, the transfer portal was open for 20 days in December and will open again for 10 days in April.

“I think the game was under attack with the portal being open in December,” Kelly said.

This past season, LSU’s staff managed the signing of its 2025 recruiting class, the transfer portal, NFL draft decisions and the Texas Bowl within one month.

Though the early signing period was moved to the beginning of December for the first time in an attempt to alleviate some problems, Kelly still thought there were issues.

“When I went back out on the road, the group that felt the most as if they were disregarded was the ‘26 class,” Kelly said. “They were like, ‘Hey, did you forget about us?’ We’re like, ‘No, we’ve got five balls up in the air.’ This would really help and keep kids on your team.”

Eventually, Kelly thinks one transfer portal window will get pushed further into the spring, similar to the timing of NFL free agency He is generally supportive of adopting elements of the professional model as college football evolves.

“When we met as head coaches, I think our path was much more about progress over perfection,” Kelly said. “We wanted to make progress, but to be perfect with this would have required so many changes. Let’s make some progress right now and begin to look at what the next step is.”

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

STAFF PHOTO

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

‘Triangle’ region schools vying for host sites

BY AARON BEARD

Kara Lawson is focused on the immediate challenge, the task of preparing her 16th-ranked Duke team to host eighth-ranked North Carolina. Yet a win would reach beyond merely taking a backyard scrap with the Blue Devils’ nearby rival.

These days, that’s true of every Atlantic Coast Conference game in the 919 area code, for that matter The Blue Devils, Tar Heels and No. 9 N.C. State — all located within a 30-minute drive of one another in North Carolina’s “Triangle” region — have made their home state the only one in the country with three different programs cracking the top 10 of the AP Top 25 this season. That has them all within reach of being seeded highly enough in the NCAA Tournament to host opening-weekend games together for the first time in more than a quarter-century

“I think that’s just what makes this area unlike any place in the country,” Lawson said. “You think

about Power Four schools within a 30-minute radius of one another and how much this area loves basketball the environments in each of those venues on the men’s and women’s sides are great College basketball is not like this anywhere else. It’s just not.”

They all made the cut when the committee that selects the NCAA field released its preliminary top16 seeds on Feb. 16. The committee updates that list again Thursday night, shortly before the Blue Devils and Tar Heels tip off in Durham.

The three schools have hosted in the same year only once since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1994. That came in 1998, when the Wolfpack made the Final Four under late Hall of Famer Kay Yow, while the Tar Heels and Blue Devils each reached a regional final. It could happen again depending on how things fall in the final week of the regular season and next week at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Greensboro. In the committee’s previous reveal, N.C. State was a regional

2-seed, while Duke and UNC were both 3-seeds. As of Wednesday, the Tar Heels are the nation’s only unbeaten team on the road at 9-0. The Blue Devils are the highest ranked of the trio (ninth) in the NET rankings used by the committee as it sorts through bid candidates. Then there’s the Wolfpack with six Quadrant 1 wins that top a postseason resume; only No. 1 Texas (11), No. 2 UCLA (10), No. 4 USC (nine) and No. 6 South Carolina (11) have more. N.C. State (22-5, 14-2 ACC) is coming off Sunday’s win against then-No. 1 Notre Dame in a double-overtime classic, a game with 21 lead changes, elite guard play and a few highlight-reel plays to double as a showcase moment for the entire sport.

It also came in front of a packed Reynolds Coliseum, where fans lined up for hours to get in — prompting the Wolfpack team to bring them doughnuts — with ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcasting on site.

“If we can play here at home in

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SCOTT THRELKELD

UNO coach Stacy Hollowell gets the attention of his players during a game against Tulane at Devlin Fieldhouse on Nov. 22.

UNO men’s basketball team under investigation for sports gambling

BY SPENCER URQUHART

DUNCAN

and JEFF

Staff writers

UNO and the NCAA are investigating unspecified improprieties in the school’s men’s basketball program, athletic director Vince Granito said Wednesday.

Four of UNO’s top five scorers in James White, Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and Jamond Vincent last played Jan. 27 in a 74-58 loss vs. Incarnate Word and have been out since.

TheFieldof68.com, a website that covers college basketball, reported Wednesday that the suspensions were “due to an investigation into sports gambling.”

Granito confirmed that the four players had been suspended since January for a team rules violation but declined to comment when asked if the suspensions were gambling related.

“It’s part of our policy that a student-athlete, no matter what the sport is, signs off on at the beginning of the year,” Granito said. “When you break a rule, specifically something that you signed off on, then you have consequences. That’s why we’re in

this limbo state.”

The news comes one day after a Sports Illustrated report about a widespread gambling ring in pro and college basketball that is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. The report described the investigations findings as “one of the most pervasive point-shaving scandals in North American sports history.”

When asked Feb. 15 about the missing pieces of his starting lineup, first-year UNO coach

Stacy Hollowell declined to comment.

UNO debuted a new-look starting lineup without the four players against Southeastern on Feb. 1 and have played short-handed ever since, with only seven players seeing the floor most nights. White was averaging a teamhigh 19.2 points per game along with 7 rebounds. Short was third on the team in scoring at 9.2 points per game followed by Hunter with 8.2 and Vincent at 7.8.

UNO was 4-17 before the four players’ absence and has lost all eight games without them.

Freshmen MJ Thomas, Leland Coleman and New Orleans na-

tive Kohen Rowbatham have averaged over 30 minutes a night for UNO during the eight-game stretch, along with sophomore JR Jacobs.

“Have you seen our guys lately, how hard they’ve been playing?” Hollowell said. “Come out and watch these guys play because they’re busting their tail.”

Senior Luke Davis and juniors

Theo Grant and Grant Kemp have also seen significant minutes for UNO.

Thomas is averaging 11 points per game and a team-high 7.9 rebounds. UNO held a news conference Wednesday at Lakefront Arena to announce New Orleans music icon Percy “Master P” Miller as president of basketball operations.

Granito addressed the suspended players report at the beginning of the press conference.

“I understand that there’s an interest in the status of our four suspended basketball players that happened earlier this year,” Granito said “It’s an internal investigation for a team rules violation. Today’s press conference was planned in advance (of the report) and is about the future of UNO basketball.”

the first and second round, we’ve got a pretty nice homecourt advantage,” Wolfpack coach Wes Moore said afterward.

Yet only a week earlier, the surging Wolfpack lost for only the second time since November That came in Chapel Hill to the Tar Heels (25-4, 13-3), who survived losing fifth-year forward Alyssa Ustby early to injury and won on two clutch free throws by Grace Townsend in front of a sellout crowd.

It wasn’t long after that win, which pushed UNC into the top 10 a day later, that sixth-year coach Courtney Banghart pointed to that buzz in the building to weigh in on the hosting question.

UNC — which is still awaiting Ustby’s return hasn’t hosted NCAA games since 2015, while N.C. State (four) and Duke (twice) have done it multiple times since.

“This is a place where basketball is adored,” Banghart said. “I don’t care that we’re all so close. If the teams are good enough to host they should host. If we’re all trying to save money, great, ESPN can just

send one crew down and they can do all the games.”

Now it’s Duke’s turn to make its own statement.

The Blue Devils (21-7, 12-4) have had two separate stints inside the top 10 this year They’ve lost two of three going back to a road loss to the then-No. 1 Fighting Irish before last week’s home loss to Louisville, and they’ve lost both road meetings against their Triangle neighbors.

This is the only time one of those teams visit Cameron Indoor Stadium, and Duke is battling to stay in the mix for a top-four seed in the ACC Tournament and the doubleround bye that goes with it.

Do that, and Duke could be in good shape, too.

“You want to get as high in the standings as you can,” Lawson said. “You want to get as high in the NCAA Tournament committee’s rankings as you can. And that that puts you in a good position to have homecourt.

“If they’re going to be giving it to 16 teams, why not be one of the teams that that tries to go after it?”

Auriemma, Martelli headline Lapchick Character Awards

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writer

NEW YORK Geno Auriemma and Phil Martelli headline this year’s recipients of the Joe Lapchick Character Award.

Joining the two coaches will be longtime men’s basketball official Gene Steratore and former Fordham athletic director Frank McLaughlin. Auriemma is the winningest coach in women’s basketball history, leading UConn to 11 national championships, and has won an NCAA record 1,239 games in his 40 years at the school. Off the court, the Huskies boast a perfect 100% graduation rate among his fouryear players.

The Hall of Fame coach has a long-standing bond with Martelli back to when Auriemma was an assistant coach for him at Bishop Kenrick High School. Martelli recommended Auriemma for an assistant position at Virginia with Debbie Ryan, a job he held before getting the UConn position in 1986.

Martelli led Saint Joseph’s for 24 seasons as the head coach, guiding the Hawks to seven NCAA Tournament appearances. His 2004 team made the Elite Eight after going undefeated in the regular season Martelli’s squad lost in the conference tournament

to Xavier and then was beaten by Oklahoma State in the East Regional Final. He was the AP Coach of the Year that season and won 444 games in his career Steratore was a Division I men’s basketball official from 1997-2018, working in the Big East, Big Ten and Atlantic 10 conferences. He also worked two Sweet 16 games in the NCAA Tournament. Steratore also has been on CBS broadcasts during March Madness providing rule explanations It’s a role he’s also done in the NFL Steratore was an NFL official for 15 seasons. McLaughlin served as Fordham’s athletic director from 19852012 before being promoted to the role of associate vice president of student affairs for athletic alumni relations and external affairs/athletic director emeritus. He retired in 2023.

Before becoming an AD, McLaughlin was a college coach, leading the Harvard men’s basketball team from 1977-85. The team went 15-9 in his final year there. This is the 17th year the award will be presented to those who have shown the character traits of Lapchick, who coached at St. John’s and with the New York Knicks. The quartet will be honored at a luncheon on Sept. 19 in New York.

rebounding leaderboard. Morrow began her senior season already on that track, but then she started grabbing 14.3 boards per game, the best average of her career and the highest in the country this year Morrow has also pulled down more rebounds in her career than any other active Division I player As of Thursday she has 1,628 boards to her name, over 250 more than the active player with the second-most career rebounds, Illinois fifth-year senior Kendall Bostic. Think that’s impressive? Also consider the fact that Bos-

tic has actually appeared in 12 more games than Morrow who’s grabbed at least 10 boards in 101 of the 131 contests she’s played in her career Bostic has 75 doubledigit rebounding games, also the second-most among active Division I players. What’s more striking is that Morrow has grabbed at least 15 rebounds in 46 career games — twice as many as any other active Division I player, according to Stathead. And she’s also on track to become the first qualified woman since 1995 to finish a Division I career with a scoring average of at least 20 points, a rebounding average of at least 12 boards and a field-goal percentage of at least 45%.

“When you’re undersized,” Mulkey said. “I would think you have to understand the game. You have to have a tremendous IQ to understand, ‘How am I gonna guard somebody bigger than me. How am I gonna outrebound them?’ Losing Angel Reese could’ve hurt LSU’s chances of rebounding at one of the top rates in the country But in large part because they still have Morrow, the Tigers are — just like they were last season — leading the Southeastern Conference in both total rebounds (43.6) and offensive rebounds (17.9) per game since league play began. Last year, Morrow grabbed 23% of the boards LSU grabbed against SEC opponents.

This season, her share is up to 30%, and she needs to pull down only 13 more rebounds to equal the number she snared across the 19 league games that the Tigers played a year ago. The road matchup with the Crimson Tide will be Morrow’s 14th SEC game of the season. And it’ll give the star senior another chance to make more history before her eligibility runs out at the end of the year “She never gets tired,”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NELL REDMOND

UConn coach Geno Auriemma watches his team play against South Carolina on Feb 16 in Columbia, S.C.

THE VARSITY ZONE

Top area girls team eager for quarterfinals

U-High, Parkview, Walker, MPA eyeing state tournament berths

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

Can advancing to the LHSAA girls basketball tournament be as easy as 1,2,3?

That’s certainly the plan for three local teams who know the tournament dubbed “Marsh Madness” well.

“We’re excited to be in the quarterfinals,” University coach Bonita Johnson said. “More than anything else, we need to control the controllable.

“That’s limiting turnovers, sharing the ball, running our offense and being patient. Those are things

we can control.”

U-High (21-3) is the top seed on the Division II select bracket. The Cubs host No. 9 Buckeye (24-9) at 6 p.m. Thursday U-High was the Division III runner-up to District 6-3A rival Parkview Baptist (20-6), the No. 3 seed and another quarterfinalist of note in Division II select The Eagles host No. 6 Hannan (18-7), also at 6 p.m

Second-seeded Walker (30-2) of Division I nonselect hosts No 19 Sulphur (24-3) in another 6 p.m. game. Walker has been a semifinalist the past three years. There are 14 quarterfinals involving Baton

Matchup problem

LSU football commitment Martinez making life tough for EAHS’ basketball opponents

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

Many teams enter the boys basketball playoffs with a player they see as a matchup problem for opponents.

Few if any have a player like East Ascension junior Brysten Martinez.

At 6-foot-7, 280 pounds, the recent LSU offensive lineman commitment is not a prototypical high school post player

“Basketball was my first sport and it’s really what got me into sports,” said Martinez, a four-star football prospect by 247Sports who is rated the state’s No. 7 player in the Class of 2026 “I started working on basketball skills when I was 3 dribbling the ball and shooting.”

The seventh-seeded Spartans (24-4) host No. 26 Barbe (13-14) at 6 p.m. Friday to tip off the Division I nonselect playoffs with Martinez set to play a key role. He leads a balanced team with averages of 15 points and eight rebounds per game and teams with 6-9 senior Labron Napoleon to give EAHS a size advantage few can match.

“I think he really loves basketball and enjoys playing it,” coach Troy Green said. “The big difference I see in him this year is the maturity He doesn’t lose his composure.

“He understands his role is hard. I find myself talking to officials a lot. Because he is 280 pounds, other teams try to flop on him to draw a foul when he catches the ball because of his size. When there’s pushing back and forth inside, he’s the bigger stronger player. Other teams want to frustrate him to take him out of his game.”

The most impressive things about Martinez’s basketball skills is the one thing football coaches also look at — his footwork and hands. Those abilities make him a prototype lineman recruit in the eyes of some, including ESPN analyst Marcus Spears, the former LSU star defensive lineman, who was a football-basketball star at Southern Lab.

Spears implored LSU coach

Brian Kelly to recruit more basketball players just a few months ago. Martinez fits the mold.

“Basketball definitely helps with my footwork,” Martinez said.

“Coach (Green) has helped with my game mentally, making sure I don’t get frustrated out there when the other team tries to flop or when I get called for a foul called on me.”

Many high-profile football recruits opt to drop other sports during their final years of high school.

Rouge area teams Thursday night.

“The hay is in the barn now,” Walker coach Korey Arnold said.

“We’re as ready as we can be. You can say one good thing for us having some new players in big roles. But the bad news is we lost five seniors.

“I am proud of this group and the way we have come together They (the Tornadoes) are scrappy and they’re well coached. They’ll fight because it will be the last game of the year for somebody.”

Parkview is a two-time reigning LHSAA champion. Both those titles were won in Division III select Parkview coach Brett Shelton

describes the move to Division II as a step up postseason wise. The Eagles played in a tournament at Hannan earlier in the season, but did not face the Hawks.

“One of the things I like most about this group is the way they play together,” Shelton said. “I’m looking forward to (Thursday). I think if we play the way we did in our last game and put a lot of pressure on them we can force some turnovers and gain an advantage.”

Both Johnson and Shelton will have an eye on a third District 6-3A team, No 5 Madison Prep (18-12).

The Chargers, who were the Division II runner-up a year ago, travel to Thibodaux to face No. 4 E.D White.

Getting three teams from 6-3A

in the tourney against would be a huge accomplishment.

“Our girls understand the challenge,” Parkview’s Shelton said.

“We’re ready to play.”

By the numbers

Kennedy Aldridge leads U-High with a 17.7 scoring average. Arionna Patterson, a 6-foot UL signee, averages 20 points and nine rebounds for Walker Anna Richerson (14.4 ppg) is the top scorer in a balanced attack for Parkview Both U-High and Parkview have three players with double figures scoring averages.

Walker has two.

The six-day LHSAA tourney begins Monday at Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond.

Though he missed summer league and other offseason basketball offseason staples because of footballrelated commitments, Green said Martinez never wavered in his commitment to the Spartans.

“This is his life and his future,” Green said. “Even though he did not work out with us, every time I saw Brysten last summer he said, ‘I’ll see you after football season coach.’ He was true to his word.

D’Ron McZeal, a 5-10 guard, averages 14 points, four rebounds and four assists per game. Napoleon (eight points, six rebounds) and Lathan Dumas (eight points, four steals) are other key components in a balanced attack.

“If he decided to quit basketball, I would understand But the thing is, he loves the game. And he’s all in just like everyone else on this team. They’re a close group.”

“I started playing with these guys before we got to high school,” Martinez said. “So the chemistry has always been there and it’s gotten better now that we’re older

“I really want this group to win a state championship, not just for the seniors but for all of us. I believe in this team.”

Email Robin Fambrough at rfambrough@theadvocate.com

Springs 6-4, 6-4

Doubles Macey Dry/Halle Huddleston, Denham Springs def. Allie Jeavons/Lila Robinson, St. Amant 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3); Kendyll Davis/So-

Denham Springs 6-3, 7-5; Emma Anderson/Halle Huddleston, Denham Springs def. Camryn Accardo/Abigail Robert, St. Amant 8-6; Francess Docog/Amadia Hutchin, Denham Springs def. Carly Jeavons/Harleigh Thomson, St. Amant 6-1

Boys tennis

Dunham 3, Woodlawn 2

Singles Levi Lindsay, Woodlawn def. Cooper Eenigenburg, Dunham 6-0, 6-2; Jacobe Aime Woodlawn def.

PHOTO By APRIL BUFFINGTON

East Ascension forward Brysten Martinez tries to score between Dutchtown’s Matt Thomas, left, and Brayden Dunn on Feb 18 in Dutchtown. Martinez, a 6-foot-7 280-pound junior recently committed to LSU as an offensive lineman. The Spartans host Barbe in a Division I nonselect playoff game at 6 p.m. Friday.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

U-High guard Kennedy Aldridge drives around Parkview Baptist guard Ansley Bernhard in the second period of their Division III select championship game at the University Center in Hammond on March 1. Both U-High and Parkview are again vying to play in the state tournament in Hammond next week.

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

I was way past the threshold of adulthood before I had any idea that there was more than one kind of dumpling, but it’s true. Now I’ve tried a variety of dumplings in a handful of countries and have enjoyed most of them, but in my heart of hearts, a real dumpling is what my mother makes a thin strip of dough boiled in rich chicken broth. The thinner the dumpling, the better Saturday night, when it was cold and rainy, my mom made her chicken and dumplings. The gloomy weather was perfect for enjoying the hot soup. My mom has made chicken and dumplings all of my life, but 44 years ago, she learned a few chicken-and-dumpling tricks from a fellow teacher named Naomi Magee. Magee shared a cherished chicken and dumplings recipe from The Revolving Tables Restaurant in Mendenhall, Mississippi, which was open from 1915 until it closed on Dec. 31, 2001. It was the predecessor of The Dinner Bell in McComb, Mississippi. Looking for the perfect chicken and dumplings? Try my mom’s

ardi Gras is right around the corner, and we are in peak parade season. If you love to wander up and down the parade route on Mardi Gras, especially if you have children with you, consider bringing a simple, portable picnic. This picnic can be carried in a backpack with hand wipes and paper napkins. It’s easy to make, easy to carry and you’ll have happy paradegoers.

Oven-fried chicken is perfect finger food. There are no bones to deal with or discard on the parade route. The prep doesn’t totally take over your stove top like conventionally fried chicken does. You might want to prepare a dipping sauce or two, but this crispy chicken is delicious without it. For children, prepare individual servings ahead of time in Ziploc bags.

ä See MARDI GRAS, page 2D

Oven Fried Chicken

Makes 6-8 servings.

2 pounds of skinless, boneless chicken

or thighs, cut into

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Place the chicken strips into the buttermilk that has been placed in a bowl. Using your hands mix the chicken and the buttermilk to make sure that the chicken is fully coated. Set aside in the refrigerator, covered.

One of the last steps in Nelda Risher’s chicken and dumplings recipe is to add milk to the rich chicken broth, giving the dish its signature white color

2. Place the remainder of the ingredients into a large bowl. Using a whisk, stir the ingredients into a uniform mixture. Before beginning to dredge the chicken pieces, spread the canola oil on 1 or 2 baking sheets, depending on the size of your sheets. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator Shake off excess buttermilk and dredge each piece in the coating mixture. Be sure to completely coat each piece and place it on the oiled baking sheet. Leave a bit of space between each piece of chicken on the baking sheet.

3. Dredge each piece of chicken and place it on the baking sheet. When completely covered, place the baking sheet into the preheated oven on the middle rack. Cook each sheet for 15 minutes; then using tongs, turn each piece of chicken and return the sheet to the oven. Cook for 10 more minutes. Do this with each sheet until all of the chicken is cooked. Cool the chicken on a wire rack. When cool, place in individual servings in separate bags.

My mother’s friend explained that the legendary restaurant used cold flour and ice water to make their dumplings. The cold combination is a game changer when it comes to making dumplings, as well as any pastry dough, for that matter My mother didn’t go into the science behind the cold making better dumplings, but, in a nutshell, here’s the reasoning: lower temperatures slow down the gluten development process and allow flour particles to absorb water more gradually which creates a weaker gluten network, resulting in a dough that is easier to handle because it’s not so sticky

My mom used a solid wood, heavy rolling pin that I had received when I judged a

ä See THE DISH, page 2D STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER

Liz Williams TIP OF THE TONGUE

Liz Williams seves

Serves 6-8

2

homemade potato salad

Potato Salad

all parts of the salad with the dressing and to make the mixture uniform. Place in the refrigerator 2. Place in deli containers with lids to take to the parade.

DRESSING

1. Place all of the ingredients, except the chopped parsley, into a large bowl. Carefully and gently stir the mixture to cover

Place the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together thoroughly

Apple Peanut Butter Snacks

Each apple makes 4 snacks.

½ cup lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

1 apple 4 tablespoons peanut butter (use your favorite — crunchy or smooth)

¼ cup chopped peanuts

1. Place the lemon juice and the sugar in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

MARDI GRAS

Continued from page 1D

I save plastic deli containers and pack them with potato salad for parades. Snap the lid back on and use a rubber band or tape to attach a plastic fork to each container

The very simple but delicious apple/peanut butter snacks can be eaten for dessert or as a mid-parade snack. Make them even

2 Cut the unpeeled apple in half through the stem, then into quarters, and again into eighths. Cut off the core edge. Dip the eighths into the lemon juice coating all sides. Spread the 1 tablespoon of peanut butter on each of 4 slices. Cover the 4 spread slices with an unspread slice, like

more fun by using red and green apples, making the peanut butter sandwich with a red slice and a green slice. Add variety by using almond butter or cashew butter instead of peanut butter And I even love these snacks with pear slices a crisp variety of pear, like a Bosc or Asian. Vary the crunchy bit around the outside of the snack by using any chopped nut, sesame seeds or sunflower seeds. if you want to make it a bit more like

a sandwich. Push down on the sandwich until a slight amount of peanut butter squeezes around the peel edge.

3. Place the chopped peanuts in a small bowl. Dip the oozed peanut butter side of the sandwich into the chopped peanuts Pack 2 or 3 snacks in each Ziploc bag.

dessert, mix the chopped seeds or nuts with chopped bittersweet chocolate before crusting the edges. These snacks can be placed in snack bag-sized self-closing bags — two or three to a bag.

Liz Williams is founder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans. Listen to “Tip of the Tongue,” Liz’s podcast about food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts. Email Liz at lizwillia@gmail.com.

Mama’s Chicken and Dumplings

Recipe by Nelda Risher, adapted from a recipe by The Revolving Table Restaurant Makes 8-10 servings.

and dumplings connoisseurs appreciate a healthy dose of freshground black pepper added immediately before eating

knife, cut thin dumpling dough into strips about an inch and a half wide.

ter (Save chicken broth for another use.)

5. Bring chicken broth to a rolling boil.

6. Picking up one long strip of dough at a time, break off pieces about 2 to 3 inches long and drop into places where the broth is full-on boiling. Gradually continue this process until all dough has been broken into dumplings and dropped into the boiling broth (careful to drop each dumpling into a boiling spot).

7. Once all dumplings are in the pot, turn burner to the lowest setting possible (or off if you have an electric stove).

8. Add butter into the broth with dumplings and stir to melt. Add milk to mixture and gently stir

9. Add pulled chicken into the broth.

Dear Heloise: My design professor in college often said that problems should be thought of as sources of creative ideas! His motto was: “Turn a defect into an effect!”

When I recently found bleach spots on a couple of my dark-colored tops, I diluted a little bleach (1:10 with water) and used a child’s watercolor brush to paint this solution on the fabric and make the offending spots into a decorative leaf shape. Or one could also use a cotton swab to “paint” with. Just be sure to place something like a cookie sheet inside each garment first to collect any drips and prevent from making more spots on the other side. Allow a few minutes for the bleach to react with the dye in the fabric. You can always apply more to lighten the design, if needed, or create shaded

areas of color

Submerge the garment in a sink full of water to stop the action of the bleach when your design looks right to your eye. I prefer simple leaf shapes, starbursts or flowers. Or I look in coloring books for other easy ideas. You might even win compliments on your creativity! — Laura Allred, Retired Textile Designer in Greensboro, North Carolina Emergency information

Dear Heloise: To assist my family when I pass, I made a list of all my contacts, including friends, organizations, credit card companies, subscriptions, automatic payments, medical contacts, insurance contacts, licenses, library cards, etc. I included the account and contact number, plus the response rate. This list is on my computer and printed in a notebook,

TODAY IN HISTORY

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2025. There are 307 days left in the year Today in history

On Feb. 27, 1933, Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, was gutted by fire; Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming communists, used the fire to justify suspending civil liberties.

On this date:

In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms in office, was ratified.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique, which called for normalizing relations between

their countries, at the conclusion of Nixon’s historic visit to China.

In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children; the occupation would last for over two months.

In 1997, Ireland became one of the last countries in the world to legalize divorce. Divorce remains illegal in just two countries: the Philippines and Vatican City

In 1998, with the approval of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s House of Lords agreed to end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch’s firstborn child the right to take the throne, regardless of the

child’s sex.

In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated EastWest tensions by ordering nuclear forces put on high alert while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to talks with Moscow as Putin’s troops and tanks drove deeper into the country Today’s birthdays: Actor Joanne Woodward is 95. Football Hall of Famer Raymond Barry is 92. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is 91. Broadcast journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault is 83. Rock musician Neal Schon (Journey) is 71. Actor Timothy Spall is 68. U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., is 67. Basketball Hall of Famer James Worthy is 64. Actor Noah Emmerich is 60.

5.

THE DISH

a

Continued from page 1D

jambalaya cookoff last year at Exxon. She said it was a perfect rolling pin to use for dumplings.

“You can have a mess with a rolling pin, but the cold helps to have the dough right,” my mom, Nelda Risher, said as she was placing dumplings in the pot to boil. “And if I think they need to be thinner, as I pick them up to place in the pot, I just squeeze them down a little further with my hands.”

4. Remove enough of the chicken broth from the pot to leave about 8 cups of wa-

I stood watching her carefully find the spot in the pot where the broth was boiling the most. She has told me before that the best dumplings are made when I gently drop them into the spot where the broth is boiling best. By this point in the process, we were both getting excited about the meal to come. “You know, some people make them out of selfrising flour,” my mom said, “But I don’t like dumplings to be that puffy — puffy, puffy, puffy means bad dumplings.” Chicken and dumplings is the perfect dish for a cold,

10. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately

wintry day, though growing up, we ate them year-round. Last weekend, my mom and I enjoyed making chicken and dumplings together, but we enjoyed sitting down at the table to eat them with my family even more.

The Dish is a Thursday column by Jan Risher Each week, she tries her hand at making someone else’s signature dish — and compares notes. If you or someone you know has a signature dish that you would like Jan to try, email her at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

STAFF PHOTO By JAN RISHER Most chicken

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

up

PIscEs (Feb 20-March 20) Emotions will surface, but how you handle them will be key. You'll require discipline, resources and an ironclad plan to flourish Refuse to let a canny operator get in your way or lead you astray.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Put anger aside and get things done. You have what it takes to reach your goal as long as you refrain from allowing anyone to push emotional buttons or throw you off guard

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) A change will open your mind to a host of new ideas and people who can offer specific skills you can utilize Participate in events that interest or concern you, and you'll gain insight into the possibilities.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Fact-checking will be necessary. Do the legwork, or you'll have no one to blame but yourself if things go wrong. Learning, communicating and separating truth from fiction will be mandatory to come out on top.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) You're on a roll. Follow the rules and regulations, and take care of every tiny detail to ensure you reach your destination of choice. A positive change is heading your way.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Pressure tactics won't work. Engage in educational pursuits, network and put the right people in place to reach your desired results. A little bravado will leave a lasting impression.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept 22) Embrace whatever is new and exciting. Live, laugh

WonderWord

and learn, and you'll find your way to the winner's circle. Take control, drive a hard bargain and enjoy the ride.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Take precautions when facing situations that can affect your reputation, position or prospects. Be a good listener, consider the possibilities and take sure-footed steps

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Give high regard to those deserving of it, and you'll gain allies to help you get ahead. A change within reach will help you close the gap between standing still and moving forward.

sAGIttARIus (nov 23-Dec 21) Tread carefully and note what everyone is doing. Be shrewd and perceptive, and the success you desire will unfold. A poker face and confident attitude will pay off.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec 22-Jan. 19) You've got more going for you than you realize. Refuse to let anyone deplete your confidence. Use your imagination and outmaneuver anyone who tries to get in your way.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Stick close to home and formulate a plan to help you engage in something interesting. Moderation and simplicity will help you build a solid base and improve your self-esteem.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

toDAy's cLuE: A EQuALs u

FAMILY CIrCUS

zodIAC

CeLebrItY CIpher

better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG nAte

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

B. Cybrill wrote, “When the bold branches/Bidfarewelltorainbowleaves / Welcome wool sweaters.”

Now, in the depth of winter, we can relate to that At the bridge table, when we bid farewell to the auction, whether colorful or monochrome, we welcome hot leads. Look at West’s hand. What should he lead against four spades after the given auction?

Note North’s one-diamond response. With a good hand, bid the longest suit first. Do not skip diamonds to show a major except with a weak hand (and only then if the major is particularly strong). Then, on the second round, North makes a splinter bid, indicating four-card spade support, at least game-going values, and asingletonorvoidinclubs.South,withso muchinclubsandthreelowhearts,signs off in game. (If you do not use splinters, North should rebid four spades.)

West has two sensible lead choices: the diamond queen (top of touching honors) and the heart two (low from an honor). In general, leading an unbid suit works better than one in a suit bid by an opponent. Also, North rates to have at least five diamonds. With four diamonds and four spades, he might have responded one spade. Here, the heart lead is necessary. East, knowing West has length and strength in the suit, wins the first trick with his jack, cashes the ace, and continues with a third round. Then he awaits the setting trick with his high trump. After a diamond lead, South, aided by the club jack dropping, can win 12 tricks. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is a word riddle which creates a disguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON

sent his word, and healed them and delivered them from their destructions.”

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield