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Hitting the right notes

Submitted Photo
Donna Thibodaux, vice president at Patterson State Bank, presents a donation to band director Charles Whitten for the Patterson High School Timberland Regiment. Sponsors such as Patterson State Bank help grow the expanding Timberland Regiment band program.

Shooting on Chitimacha Trail

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported that St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s deputies responded to a shooting Wednesday afternoon on the 1000 block of Chitimacha Trail.
Detectives leading the investigation learned that a male subject had been shot by a homeowner during an attempted home-invasion.
The intruder remains under medical care, and the homeowner, Martin Willis, 39, of Baldwin, was arrested on the charge of possession of an unregistered illegal firearm.
He was transported to the parish jail where he was released after posting a $2,500 bail amount.
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are said to be pending.
More information will be made available as the story develops.

Rotary Club happenings

Submitted Photo
Morgan City Rotary Club members heard from Morgan City High's athletic director and football coach, Chris Stroud, at a recent luncheon. Pictured from left are Morgan City High Principal Mickey Fabre, Stroud and Casey Shannon, president of the Morgan City Rotary. In a video at StMaryNow.com, Stroud talks with The Daily Review's Geoff Stoute about the upcoming E.D. White game.

Arrest Reports 9-27-18

St. Mary Parish Sheriff Scott Anslum reported the following arrests:
Brandon Givens, 21, of 121 Emy Lane, Patterson was arrested Tuesday at 4 p.m. on a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of possession of marijuana and a warrant for failure to appear on the charge of unlawful use of an ID to gain access to a gaming establishment.
Givens turned himself in at the St. Mary Law Enforcement Center on the active warrant. Bail has not yet been set.
Jeffery Turberville, 55, of 12440 Country Rd 17, Franklin, Ala., was arrested Tuesday at 11:51 a.m. on the charge of domestic abuse battery.
A deputy assigned to patrol Amelia responded to an establishment in the area. Upon investigation, the deputy learned that Tuberville struck a female victim multiple times in the face. The victim did not require medical assistance at the time and Tuberville was arrested and transported to the parish jail for booking. Tuberville was later released after posting a $2,500 bail amount.
Joshua Cleveland, 17, of 101 Three B Lane, of Patterson, and Juvenile male, 16, of Patterson, were both arrested Tuesday at 9:41 a.m. on the charge of disturbing the peace by fighting.
Deputies responded to an establishment in Patterson and learned that Cleveland and a juvenile male were involved in a fistic encounter.
Cleveland was transported to the parish jail for booking. He was later released after posting a $1,000 bail amount. The juvenile was released back to the custody of a family member.
Darren Jackson, 34, of 104 Todd Lane, Bayou Vista was arrested Tuesday at 10:37 p.m. on a warrant for failing to appear on the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.
A deputy patrolling the Bayou Vista area encountered Jackson at a boat landing. The deputy later learned of Jackson’s active warrant and he was arrested and transported to the parish jail. Bail is set at $1,300.
Cherie Hazel, 26, of 716 Main St., Patterson was arrested Wednesday at 12:53 a.m. on a warrant for failing to appear on charges of possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Patterson Police Department located Hazel and learned of her active warrants through the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office. She was transferred to the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office’s custody and was arrested and transported to the parish jail.
Franklin Police Chief Tina Thibodeaux reported the following arrests:
Melvin Jackson, 47, of La. 668, Jeanerette, was arrested Tuesday at 6:33 p.m. on charges of possession of Schedule I narcotics marijuana—second offense, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of Schedule II narcotics cocaine—second offense.
Jackson was additionally arrested on a warrant for 16th Judicial District Court for failure to appear on the charge of failure to return leased movable.
Jackson was booked, processed, and transported to the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center.
Morris Thibeaux, 62, of Franklin, was arrested Tuesday at 11:52 p.m. on the charge of remaining where forbidden. Thibeaux was booked, processed, and held on a $500 bond.

Franklin city council settles in lawsuit

Franklin’s City Council called to order a special meeting Wednesday to address the resolution of Ebony Wise v. City of Franklin.
The mayor and council, except Councilman Joseph H. Garrison who was absent, retired into executive session, and following their return after 30 minutes behind closed doors, returned to regular session.
A proposed resolution was read by City Attorney Russel J. Cremaldi, “That the mayor of the city of Franklin is authorized to settle, on behalf of the mayor of the city of Franklin, in the case of Ebony Wise v. City of Franklin, according to those terms in the compromised settlement agreement provided by the city attorney.”
The resolution was accepted and the meeting was adjourned, forthwith.
The case file containing the details of the settlement, terms and conditions, was marked confidential and is publicly inaccessible at this time.

National 4-H Month proclaimed

St. Mary Parish 4-H Club members told St. Mary Parish Council members what their involvement with the organization has meant to them. The parish council proclaimed Oct. 7-13 as National 4-H Week in the parish, as requested by parish chair and County Agent Jimmy Flanagan and 4-H Agents Adriana Drusini and Ashley Punch. The members thanked the council for their support of the 4-H Club over many years, below.

Quilt winner announced

Rumpled Quilts Guild of Patterson held a quilt raffle fundraiser recently. Winning the quilt was Carl Thornton. From left are guild members Woody Carlin, President Sue Williams, Jackie Couture and Kathy Primeaux-Carlin, Thornton and guild members Sue Legendre and Pat Gray.

What’s yogurt? Industry wants greater liberty

NEW YORK — If low-fat yogurt is blended with fatty ingredients like coconut or chocolate, is it still low-fat? Is it even yogurt?
The U.S. government has rules about what can be called “yogurt,” and the dairy industry says it’s not clear what the answers are. Now it’s hopeful it will finally get to use the term with greater liberty, with the Trump administration in the process of updating the yogurt definition.
The industry push to open up the yogurt standard illustrates how fraught it can be to define a food, especially as manufacturing practices and consumer tastes change.
Timothy Lytton, a professor of law at Georgia State University, notes the economic and political factors that determine food standards. “These are social constructions,” Lytton said.
Government standards exist for a range of packaged foods, mostly for one-time pantry staples such as bread, jam and canned peas. The standards were supposed to ensure a level of quality as mass production took hold decades ago.
But writing those rules sometimes turned into a bureaucratic nightmare — peanut butter’s definition took more than a decade — and regulators eventually stopped setting new standards. That’s part of the reason foods like ketchup have rules, but others like mustard don’t.
The ongoing dispute over yogurt offers a taste of how sour things can get.
The Food and Drug Administration established a standard for foods labeled as “yogurt” in 1981 that limited its ingredients. The industry swiftly objected. The following year, the agency suspended enforcement on various provisions and allowed the addition of preservatives.
A never-finalized 2009 proposal offered a unified standard and allowed emulsifiers as well. The yogurt industry says that has cultivated confusion and left it vulnerable to lawsuits.
“What’s the rule? I mean, make a rule,” said Bailey Wood, spokesman for the International Dairy Foods Association, whose members include Chobani, Danone and Yoplait.
Adding to the confusion, the association says yogurt makers can opt to follow the 1981, 1982 or 2009 provisions in the absence of a final rule.
STANDARDS REVIEWED
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is reviving the matter with plans to “modernize” the standards. Milk producers take it as a sign the agency will crack down on soy and almond drinks that call themselves “milk,” which the standards say comes from a cow.
Gottlieb has also called out yogurt as a category where there have been “innovations.” An FDA email from June obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request includes “rulemaking action” for yogurt, though the attachment with the details was not released.
In addition to finalizing a yogurt standard, the International Dairy Foods Association is renewing its push to get rid of the requirement that regular yogurt have at least 3.25 percent milkfat. It says that causes confusion over products that mix low-fat yogurt with ingredients like coconut that push up the fat content.
The resulting product can be called neither “low-fat” nor “yogurt,” the association says.
Instead, the association says regular yogurt should simply be required to have more than 3 grams of fat — whether it’s from milkfat, coconut, chocolate or other ingredients. If the overall product has 3 grams of fat or less, then it could be labeled low-fat in line with the broader definition of “low fat,” the group says.
THE PEANUT BUTTER RULE
Industry complaints about the standards aren’t new. It’s one reason finalizing the rules for peanut butter was such an ordeal.
The FDA proposed a peanut butter standard in the late 1950s after investigating Jif for having just 75 percent peanuts, according to Angie Boyce, a fellow at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics who researched food standards.
The Peanut Butter Manufacturers Association objected, saying ingredients like oils and sweeteners make peanut butter tastier and easier to spread. Disagreement over exactly when a peanut spread turns into peanut butter spiraled into a yearslong fight.
It wasn’t until 1970 that the FDA drew a line: Peanut butter needs to be at least 90 percent peanuts.
The Association for Dressing & Sauces has also been calling for the repeal of the standard for French dressing, given the proliferation of dressings like Ranch and Italian that do not have standards. The FDA appears to be preparing to grant that wish, according to an April email .
Over the years, the FDA moved away from trying to establish new standards in favor of requiring products to list ingredients and nutrition information, said Xaq Frohlich, a professor of food labeling at Auburn University.
The policy shift was partly a response to the rise of low-fat diets, he said. Products that may have once been considered cheap imitations were suddenly desirable because they didn’t conform to the standards for fat.
LASTING DEFINITIONS
Debate around what foods can be called is popping up again as startups develop alternatives to meat and other products. It’s a reminder of how messy it can be to spell out food meanings.
“Even if they seem right at the moment, they can very quickly become outdated,” said Stuart Pape, an attorney who previously worked for the yogurt industry and vegan alternatives.
Food-makers can also get around existing standards with a little creativity.
A product named “Bred-Spred” once defied expectations for jam. Cool Whip skirts the milkfat requirement for whipped cream. And in the yogurt section, there’s now a nondairy product called Cashewgurt.
Such newcomers may be why the dairy industry still wants some guardrails around yogurt.
“You can’t make something completely out of the line and call it yogurt,” said John Allan of the dairy foods association.

Deputy AG: Wetland permit rule rolled back

Louisiana recently scored a big win rolling back a regulation that required a federal permit to do any work on a “ditch in your front yard,” said Bill Stiles, the state’s chief deputy attorney general. Stiles was guest speaker during Wednesday’s St. Mary Chamber of Commerce business luncheon at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City. State Attorney General Jeff Landry and his staff have focused on deregulation and helping the business community, Stiles said. Their efforts were successful a few weeks ago in pushing back against what Stiles says was an overly burdensome permitting regulation applicable to any project on ...

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Kors ups the glamour, buys Versace for $2 billion

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Kors is buying the Italian fashion house Versace in a deal worth more than $2 billion (1.83 billion euros), continuing its hard charge into the world of high-end fashion.
The deal Tuesday comes just 14 months after the New York handbag maker spent $1.35 billion adding to its portfolio Jimmy Choo, the shoemaker that rocketed to fame on the high heels of “Sex and the City.”
Like others in the fashion industry, Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. is trying to fire up sales by cranking up the glamour.
Tapestry, once known as Coach, acquired Kate Spade last year. Like Coach, Michael Kors is changing its name as it seeks to reframe how people in perceive it.
Michael Kors remains the chief creative director at Kors, but the expanding company will be renamed Capri Holdings Ltd., with $8 billion in projected annual sales. Versace will be a key engine of growth, executives said in a conference call Tuesday.
Bringing in Versace adds a layer of glitter to the company, which sells handbags for less than $500. Versace bags can fetch five times that figure.
Versace’s flamboyant styles have invoked collective gasps, perhaps most notably when Jennifer Lopez appeared at the 2000 Grammy Awards in a navel-baring dress.
Versace’s fall styles include midi-dresses with baroque print for $2,950, and vinyl skinny jeans for $1,250.
It becomes is just the latest major Italian fashion house to be folded into the portfolio of a foreign entity, a trend that has raised no shortage of concern about the future of the made-in-Italy marquee.
French conglomerates have been the biggest buyers, with Kering buying Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Pomelato and LVMH taking on Bulgari and Loro Piana.
The Qatari royal family owns Valentino.
Gianni Versace founded the brand in 1978, becoming a major force bringing to prominence Milan ready-to-wear and serving as a daring, sexy counterpoint to Giorgio Armani’s more subdued elegance.
Gianni Versace’s flashy, rock ‘n ‘roll designs and Medusa logo became emblematic of a generation led by Princess Diana and Madonna. He also helped create supermodels, like Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer and was the first to bring celebrities to the front row.
The family-run business was thrown into chaos with Versace’s murder 21 years ago. His sister, Donatella Versace, took over creative direction, while his brother Santo continued on the business side. It had been eyeing a public listing for several years.
The Versace family still controls 80 percent of the company. The investment firm Blackstone owns the remaining 20 percent.
Donatella Versace presented her latest collection for next spring and summer last Friday during Milan Fashion Week.
“This is a very exciting moment for Versace,” she said. “It has been more than 20 years since I took over the company along with my brother Santo and daughter Allegra.”
Donatella, who holds a 20 percent stake in the business, will stay onboard as creative director and the family will become shareholders in the larger business. Santo now holds a 30 percent stake and Allegra, 50 percent.
“With the full resources of our group, we believe that Versace will grow to over $2 billion in revenues,” said John Idol, chairman and CEO of Michael Kors. “We believe that the strength of the Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo brands, and the acquisition of Versace, position us to deliver multiple years of revenue and earnings growth.”
Kors said Tuesday that it plans to open 100 new Versace stores (there are 200 in operation) at the same time that it amplifies online sales of the brand. It also plans to increase Versace’s men’s and women’s accessories and its footwear business from 35 percent, to 60 percent of its overall brand’s sales.
Though sales at Versace have been growing stronger recently, the business had been sputtering. And despite some progress, Michael Kors hasn’t fully rebounded from its malaise. It’s trying to rebuild its reputation after broadly distributing its products to department stores and outlet malls, which damaged its image.
Keeping the family involved and Donatella as the creative engine at Versace are both good ideas, said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. The size of the company will provide Versace with a more global reach, especially in Europe and Asia, he said.
“All that said, we maintain our view that Versace is not a perfect operation,” Saunders said. “While it is iconic and high-profile, there is a lot of work to be done to position it for higher growth. This will absorb both time and money from the group and has to be done in tandem with the ongoing efforts to put Michael Kors firmly on the right track.”
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Shares of Kors rose more than 1 percent.

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