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A26 u.s. news
Dialuna 19 Juli 2021

Louisiana public says goodbye to former Gov. Edwin Edwards

BATON ROUGE, La. traveled the 80 miles (128.75
(AP) — Mourners steadily kilometers) from New Or-
filed by the flag-draped leans to the state’s capital city
open casket of former to see the Democratic former
Louisiana Gov. Edwin Ed- governor one last time.
wards on Saturday, saying “I believe in what he stood
their farewells at a public for. He helped a lot of poor
viewing in the marble- people,” she said. “He related
trimmed main hall of the to his constituents.”
state Capitol where the Edwards died Monday of
powerful and flamboyant respiratory problems at his
politician served 16 years. home in Gonzales, a suburb
of Baton Rouge, at age 93.
Edwards was the only person “He was the best governor
elected four times as Louisi- in my lifetime. He was for
ana’s governor during a ca- the people. That’s the main
reer of remarkable highs and thing. He was for the people.
lows. The quick-witted poli- He wasn’t just a politician,”
tician dominated the state’s said Wilfred Naquin, 73, a re-
politics for decades, but a tired firefighter who lives an
corruption scandal sent him hour away in Independence.
to federal prison for about “You couldn’t help for loving
eight years after he left office. him.” Louisiana Legislature during hall where the casket rested to help as many people as I
That prison term, howev- Naquin visually demonstrat- one of Edwards’ terms, de- on the Louisiana state seal. could and I hope I did that,
er, wasn’t front of mind to ed the unusual coalitions of scribed the former governor Edwin Edwards’ wife, Trina, and I hope, if I did, that they
those who came to say their support Edwards built dur- as “just someone that you more than 50 years his ju- will help others too. I love
goodbyes to Louisiana’s most ing his lifetime. A registered could never question his love nior, and their 7-year-old son Louisiana, and I always will.”
prominent and charismatic Republican, Naquin wore an of the people of Louisiana.” Eli — the ex-governor’s fifth Edwards drew praise for
elected official since fire- Edwards campaign T-shirt Republican House Speaker child — returned to the visi- leading a push for a new state
brand populist Huey Long and a Trump 2020 ballcap. Clay Schexnayder, who lived tation area once it was opened constitution and bringing
was governor and U.S. sena- He arrived four hours be- in the same Gonzales neigh- to the public, and Edwards’ Black people into state gov-
tor in the 1930s. fore the visitation event was borhood as Edwards, person- other children, grandchil- ernment in the 1970s. But he
“I couldn’t miss it,” said open to the public, expecting ally managed the memorial dren and great-grandchildren also was frequently touched
Kevin Hagan, 30, a one-time long lines and a packed mass events, arranged the display mingled with mourners as by accusations of wrongdo-
political science student who of people waiting to get in. and stood in Memorial Hall well. ing.
drove from New Orleans But after an initial crowd of between the Louisiana House Large bouquets of flow- By his own count, Edwards
for Edwards’ public memo- a few hundred cycled past the and Senate chambers as visi- ers, a row of Louisiana and was the subject of two dozen
rial event. “You cannot study casket, visitors thinned to a tors arrived. American flags and photos investigations. He was tried
Louisiana politics without steady trickle. The mourners Gov. John Bel Edwards, a documenting Edwards with and acquitted on corruption
studying Edwin Edwards, the were diverse, including peo- Democrat who is not relat- prominent politicians, on the charges in the 1980s during
good, the bad, the indiffer- ple who never met Edwards ed to Edwin Edwards, was campaign trail and with his his third term. He was con-
ent. The history of this state personally, lawmakers, for- among the first to pay his family, lined the path around victed in 2000 for a bribery
cannot be told without telling mer elected officials and his respects to the former gov- the casket. Visitors received and extortion scheme to rig
the story of Edwin Edwards.” closest political allies. ernor’s family — before the a commemorative card with Louisiana’s riverboat casino
Angela Smothers, 65, a re- U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, a public and media were al- Edwards’ photo and bearing licensing process during his
tired substitute teacher, also Democrat who served in the lowed inside the vast, ornate one of his quotes: “I tried fourth term.

With pandemic worening in US,Surgeon general worried

The U.S. surgeon gen- that is not true if you are not have received at least one
eral said Sunday that he’s vaccinated,” Murthy said on shot, but another 90 million
concerned about what CNN’s “State of the Union.” eligible Americans haven’t.
lies ahead with cases of U.S. cases of COVID-19 last Officials are trying to over-
COVID-19 increasing in week increased by 17,000 na- come a refusal among some
every state, millions still tionwide over a 14-day peri- — particularly conservative,
unvaccinated and a highly od for the first time since late rural white people — to get
contagious virus variant fall, and an increase in death vaccinated, but it’s unclear
spreading rapidly. historically follows a spike in how to do that. So, for the
illness. Much of the worsen- meantime at least, some
Noting that nearly all corona- ing problem is being driven places have reverted to health
virus deaths now are among by the delta variant first iden- precautions that had been
the tens of millions of people tified in India, that has since cast aside.
who haven’t received shots, hit the United Kingdom and masks inside public build- about a third of the popula-
despite widespread vaccine other countries, said Murthy. In Las Vegas, some resorts ings. Around San Francisco’s tion is fully vaccinated, offi-
availability, Dr. Vivek Mur- While U.S. case numbers and and casinos are again requir- Bay Area, which has some of cials have refused to reinsti-
thy painted an unsettling pic- hospitalizations are still far ing employees to wear masks the highest vaccination rates tute statewide health rules or
ture of what the future could below levels from the worst in response to a recommen- in California, health officials use gimmicks such as lotter-
hold. of the pandemic early this dation issued by health offi- have recommended that ev- ies to boost immunizations.
“I am worried about what is year, Murthy said the wors- cials amid rising COVID-19 eryone again wear masks “I think the best thing for
to come because we are see- ening situation shows the case rates in Nevada; it ranks inside public buildings, re- us to do is just encourage
ing increasing cases among need to convince more peo- fifth among U.S. states for gardless of their vaccination everyone to use their com-
the unvaccinated in particu- ple to get inoculations. the most new cases per capita status. mon sense and practice per-
lar. And while, if you are “It is our fastest, most effec- over the last two weeks. But in conservative Alabama, sonal responsibility and make
vaccinated, you are very well tive way out of this pandem- Los Angeles County late where COVID-19 hospi- themselves and their families
protected against hospitaliza- ic,” he said. Saturday reinstated rules re- talizations have more than safe,” Gov. Kay Ivey told re-
tion and death, unfortunately About 186 million Americans quiring everyone to wear doubled in a month and only porters last week.