Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum, located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.

Pregnancy and childbirth can be challenging.

I'll take you behind the scenes of a new facility aimed at ensuring women have the mental health support they need.

Crews are using new technology to protect Louisiana's coastline and create new habitats for marine life.

And a New Orleans restaurant owner stepped up in a big way to help hungry kids.

And their mission isn't over.

Plus, we're taking you into the kitchen of an historic eatery in Shreveport to check out their trademark sandwich.

So if you're ready, we're ready.

Let's get started.

Let's do it.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Dorothea Wolff, and Karen is taking some much deserved, well-deserved time off.

And hopefully she is relaxing.

And I'm Victor Howell.

Hi, everyone.

Much more on those top stories and more coming up in a moment on this week's edition of Louisiana The State We're In.

But first, everybody, I've got to do this.

Happy birthday victory, which I did in the script I did though.

Yes.

Thank you very much I appreciate that.

Will be a nice day to celebrate, but I'm enjoying being here doing the show with you.

That's right.

First things first.

That's right.

Absolutely.

All right.

Well, 1 in 5 women will become pregnant.

We'll deal with mental health related complications, either during pregnancy or after childbirth.

The conditions can be tough to recognized and can linger for years.

Women's Hospital in Baton Rouge recently opened their first maternal mental health board in Louisiana.

I spoke with one mom who says it makes a huge difference to new parents.

There were periods of times where I would be very, very high, very productive, closer to my typical self.

And then there would be several days, little pockets of time that I just needed to be in a room by myself.

And she just engulfed herself to where it felt like she didn't have to deal with her emotions.

I know she was dealing with them because I was there every day.

That was Caitlin Daniel and her husband, Alden.

After two traumatic pregnancies, they realized something was wrong and that she needed more support.

It was just rough.

so it's just been a lot of ups and downs, and I feel like if I'd had a pocket of time in the correct facility, the correct help, just to have, like, even three days with some professionals just to regroup and and really just get back on track.

Of those affected by mental health challenges.

75% of women are left untreated.

If I had had the, the tools like this mental health facility at the time, I just think that could have, benefited me so much, you know?

In fact, Women's Hospital in Baton Rouge experienced such a major increase in patients experiencing pregnancy or birth related complications like anxiety, perinatal and postpartum depression, and PTSD that they realized new resources were needed.

A women's hospital, you know, was able to see that they had, in fact, over 40 patients, I think, at the number was around 46 patients that were needing to get, inpatient psychiatric care.

And unfortunately, they got sent out to other facilities sometimes that separated patients from their families or when they were pregnant, they weren't able to get all the obstetrical care that they needed.

Hospital officials like Doctor Kelly Cannon, director of inpatient psychiatry, emphasized that these unique challenges can impact not just the mother, but the entire family group.

When we're talking about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, we're talking about patients that struggle with major depression, postpartum depression, perinatal depression, perinatal anxiety, and even things like postpartum psychosis.

And these are things that, of course, are not only important for mother wellbeing, but for baby and for families.

So we know how important a mother's mental health is, not just for the mother themselves, but also for the family.

From there, they took immediate action.

And the very first inpatient maternal mental health unit in the state was born, making it only the fourth facility of its kind in the country.

That's always been the mission of Women's Hospital is to really help improve, women's care and infant care.

And that's really what we're doing.

And that's what our focus is.

And it's just a very exciting thing.

And we're hoping that by having this facility now, we are again bridging that gap to where we're just able to treat the patient and address all of these needs altogether.

The new facility at woman's includes ten rooms geared towards peace, healing and treatment, along with additional support things like art, music, yoga, and more individualized and personalized attention.

Each patient will have a specialized team focused on their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

While Katelynn Daniels did not have access to the new facility as she battled through her own struggles with maternal mental health, she is grateful that now there are resources available to others so they don't have to walk through this crisis alone.

Now, Victor, let's talk about what's trending now.

I thought last week was interesting, but this week we've got some really cool things going on.

There's been a lot happening this week, and we're going to start in the sports world with the big announcement and the big reveal for the 2025 class of inductees for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

It is another tremendous class with a lot of big names being honored in Natchitoches next summer.

Here's a look at the 2025 class A names you might be familiar with, including head coach Danny Broussard, boys basketball at Saint Thomas More.

He's been coaching for 41 seasons, is the seventh all time in the nation for career wins and third among active coaches.

How about LSU gymnast April Burkholder, a 14 time All-American, she won 108 individual titles, the second most in school history and in the WNBA.

A two year All-Star, Vickie Johnson out of Louisiana Tech, who played 13 seasons as a pro in the WNBA.

Yeah, that's right, Victor.

And don't forget about Joe Sherman, who is Louisiana's all time winningest college baseball coach with 34 seasons as Delgado's head coach, Dale Winer 35 years as a football or a high school football coach.

Best known as head coach at Catholic High in Baton Rouge until his retirement, and he led the school to 18 district titles and ranked sixth all time for Louisiana coaches and former LSU standout Andrew Whitworth, who played 16 years in the NFL for the Bengals and the Rams, winning the Super Bowl with Los Angeles.

A big congratulations just to all of them, and all the names that you saw on your screen for being the new inductees, and you'll definitely see and hear more about them next year here on LPB.

When we once again covered the purple carpet and the induction ceremonies from Natchitoches, I'd like to say go.

Damon's idea graduate from North.

And how about those saints?

Who dat?

They're going into their third game this weekend against the Eagles.

They led the NFL.

Are the NFC South going into week three.

And Alvin Kamara this week was named the NFC Offensive Player of the week after scoring four touchdowns against Dallas.

Now about that win against Dallas.

Maybe you heard about that.

Speaking of the Saints, FEMA had a little accident this week.

They sent out a press release declaring a, quote, major disaster following the Saints 44 to 19 win over the Cowboys.

Cowboys fan said it was a disaster, but not to FEMA.

It went on to say that federal disaster assistance was available to the areas affected by the game.

Well, afterwards, FEMA officials say the alert was sent accidentally while training new employees.

Wow.

Talk about a blooper.

I got lost a little heavy, a little bit, just a little bit mad.

All right.

Now stepping away from sports, cane, founder of Raising Cane's founder Tom graves is headed to TV.

Graves is joining season 16 of ABC Shark Tank.

How cool is that?

He hopes to use his restaurant and business experience to help guide contestants as they build their brands for the new season.

Featuring graves premieres in October and he will do a great job.

Everything he's done with canes, he'll do a great job there on the set.

I'm switching gears now.

Louisiana faces a never ending battle to protect our coastline and maintain our status as the sportsman's Paradise.

Now, companies are using new 3D printing technology to rebuild and improve popular fishing spots and vital wetlands.

Karen Albaugh takes us to Grand Isle to show us how it works.

Cranes place stackable concrete cubes underwater in what looks like a game of underwater Tetris.

What you're watching is the latest technology and techniques to restore Louisiana's coastline and marine life.

Habitat using Cajun coral.

These 3D printed cubes are creating a new artificial reef off the coast of Grand Isle at a popular fishing spot.

Coastal Conservation Association's Reef Louisiana program partnered with Raising Cane's founder, Todd Graves to fund the New Reef, which replaces a decommissioned oil and gas platform known as hotel CID, located just east of the Barataria Waterway.

With every one of those artificial reefs going in, this is going to create a whole marine ecosystem.

People are going to be catching fish.

Countless species will live on here, and their local businesses will will benefit because anglers come in, they spend money.

This is a project that people in Grand Isle have been clamoring for since this, since this platform was removed a couple of years ago.

More than 500 3D printed concrete modules form the artificial reef in less than eight months.

Marine and plant life will blanket these kids, which is part of the magic and mystery of Cajun coral.

So now that you've seen Cajun coral going into the water, we're going to show you how it's made behind the scenes.

We're here at Matrix Center of Excellence, here at demos with the matrix CEO Leonard Nelson.

What you're seeing here is an 3D printed artificial reef that's used for two purposes coastal protection and beneficial habitat.

What we do is we start with technology that allows us to understand what are the needs from an engineering and environmental perspective, to both provide habitat for fish and other marine life, and also to protect the coast.

We can make them larger, smaller, interlocking and various form factors.

Matrix designs the 3D printed Cajun coral using AI powered geospatial software to analyze environmental conditions.

Each design is customized to respond to the site's unique wind, wave and habitat dynamics.

So this technology really had its, start right here in Louisiana.

So for LSU graduates actually developed this proprietary and patented technique that is injection based, which we're seeing here are custom control boards that allow us to precisely dose the mix with water in order to create a custom shape.

Danfoss makes the Cajun coral at its site in Amelia.

Here, large tanks hold the XO form mixture of sand and cement, which is shipped directly to the site via the Intercoastal Waterway.

We have been looking for an opportunity to help the Louisiana coast, and we knew that there was a problem with our coast eroding and hurricanes were having a more intense effect, and so we were looking for an opportunity to deploy our resources and our capability and our standing here in South Louisiana.

So this partnership with nature was just a perfect opportunity to take some of the men and women who work for us, who live here, have capabilities to do this kind of work and deploy them to do something that we're really passionate about because we want to save and protect this region where we live.

Each block of Cajun Coral is 3D printed using a patented drive forming process.

So what we're doing is we're actually now injecting and printing a shape.

So we take the 3D file, which we we dropped down from the cloud.

And that goes here to the, to the to the machine.

Once we once we hit start, the reservoir of our of our water is injected to create the Cajun core.

And how long does it take to create one piece of Cajun coral?

So for each one of these print heads, we can produce up to a 4,000 pound structure in about an hour.

Each 3D printed cube of Cajun coral cures in a box mold before taking its final shape.

This is dramatic, so that just that we vibrate away.

Okay, so that and then what you have left.

It's almost like a toy in the cracker box.

Cracker Jack box, right.

You have the the at the Cajun coral is remaining Dan and stalls the Cajun coral and matrix monitors the product's performance using satellite data, and we're able to look at things like vegetation health if we're protecting wetlands.

And that allows us to continue to refine the approach and extend the life and the performance of these projects over time.

Collections of Cajun coral fill the yard outside the manufacturing facility, ready to ship off to coastal projects throughout Louisiana, including Port Fourchon and other coastal areas of the United States.

So we can deploy.

The units are either as a reef that we can fish at, or as a shoreline stabilization opportunity to protect the wave action as it comes onshore and help save that coastline so that we we stop the erosion and we stop the encroachment of water to the places that we're living.

So I think the potential for us, firstly, is the entirety of the coastal United States.

And then as we move out beyond that, we've got coast opportunities all over the world, and we're excited to pursue that from right here in Amelia.

The Cajun coral artificial reef and Grand Isle has four areas spanning 10,000ft².

The Living Reef will foster biodiversity and restore essential habitat for trout, redfish and other fish species, making hotel said again a popular and fruitful fishing spot.

A New Orleans restaurant owner stepped up this summer when it looked like Louisiana lawmakers would cut funding for a summer food program.

The family delivered more than 70,000 meals to food insecure families, and now they plan to expand to another vulnerable group in Louisiana.

Karen sat down with Amanda Tubes to learn more about their mission.

We stopped by Toups Meadery in New Orleans to meet up with co-owner Amanda Toups towards the restaurant with her husband, Chef Isaac, and this summer they have been doing some good deeds and that is feeding those in need.

So Amanda, how did the summer feeding project go?

It was amazing.

I try not to get emotional about it because I learned so much, but this year we took on a massive project and that was 533 food insecure children across 200 families across 45 routes throughout the city.

And we delivered 70,500 meals since June 4th.

Why did you spring into action?

What happened at the policy level that made you take action?

Well, at first it was the legislature denying us the extra Snap benefits for the summertime.

So I had to really sit down and look at it.

The children are missing breakfast and lunch five days a week.

Across the month, that's 40 meals.

And then whenever both sides of the aisle did shamed the legislature into taking it, it was both sides of the aisle.

It wasn't just you know, Democrats or Republicans.

I sat down and read the legislation, and then I got really outraged.

And all they were offering these moms was $40 a month to replace 40 meals.

And I don't know about you, but I've done myself for a dollar a long time.

McDonald's doesn't even have a dollar value menu anymore.

It's almost impossible for them to have healthy meals for a dollar.

So and then I went back and relooked at when my children were eating school lunch.

They were charging me $4 a meal.

So it's just not possible for these children to stay fit, properly fed the way that I would like to see them do it.

So Isaac and I decided, well, we'll not be pirates this time like we were at, during Covid.

We'll start a real nonprofit.

We're real nonprofit people now.

so we started that in May, and we just got going, and that's how we did it.

The only volunteers we really used were the delivery drivers, and they're amazing.

So boots on the ground, you were out there.

What did you experience in terms of food?

I learned a whole lot.

I learned a whole lot about humanity.

Yeah.

What does it mean to give back what these children needed?

And, sorry, I don't cut that.

I get really emotional about it because I'm a mom, and I've.

I've never known what it felt like to not be able to put food on the table.

I don't know what that means, but I have seen it now.

And these children are the children of the working poor.

These moms have jobs.

They're working, but they're still not able to make ends meet.

And the other thing that I really learned, and I really know for sure now, is that food insecurity is terrible in New Orleans, but so is transportation insecurity.

That's why we approach that kind of delivery as getting the food directly to their houses.

What kind of money and resources does it take to do this?

And what are you looking for in terms of community sports?

Yes.

Of course.

we have had many generous people step in and give us money, through the summer, it was costing me to get those 70,000 meals out over the summer.

It's cost me sometimes close to $20,000 a week.

I was having to raise.

Now that covers my labor costs, too, because I can't, I can't I wouldn't be able to do it.

Go in and have Isaac there, just start cooking for them in their neighborhoods.

We want to step in for disaster relief.

Really, if I'm dreaming as big as I am doing this big that we're going to be the World Central Kitchen to New Orleans.

That's what it means.

If people will help us stay funded.

Our next prong is going to be the elderly.

so I really sat down and thought about it.

and the most vulnerable populations in our city are our babies and our elderly, the elders.

And they work their whole lives to have not, not have a social safety net.

It's not fair.

So I think if each family meal can step in and provide some nutritious meals to the elderly and as well as we can get back up and running, we're going to we're going to tackle the kids again.

We have a bunch of holiday initiatives that we're going to do for the families that we've now identified.

I want to reach.

So it's the New Orleans, Jazz and Heritage Foundation.

That's what it is.

Okay.

And so they they have they have a, I guess, a roster of elderly musicians.

So I figured that's a good place to start.

People are going to want to help the musicians.

And then I can really start talking to them and understand how the other blessed the elderly people are going to be faring and what they need.

What would you like to see happen at the policy level for the to feed Louisiana?

Yes, I believe we are the best food city in America, and that we have 1 in 3 of our children sitting below the poverty line is despicable.

There needs to be a better social safety net for our for the human beings that live in this city that we love so much.

Because what makes New Orleans great are people.

So that's what I would like to see.

If you would like to help support us, please visit our website at WW dot tubes family meal.com.

Every donation counts.

I've had someone send me a dollar that made me cry.

I've had somebody send me $1,000 that made me cry.

And that dollar just as much to me as that.

That dollars.

Speaking of food for Tina's Deli in Shreveport is more than a place to grab a quick bite.

It's a cultural and social touchstone.

Going back nearly 100 years.

Karen's back and brings us behind the counter and into the kitchen to see what makes for Titus trademark sandwich stand out from the rest.

A two story, red brick building at the corner of Sam R Fertitta Drive in Shreveport advertises home of the Muffy, a trademarked sandwich within abbreviated name, because its creator couldn't afford to spell out Muffuletta or, as some say, Muffuletta in neon lights.

Fajitas Deli is Shreveport's oldest family owned restaurant, continuously operating at the same location since 1927.

This is the island salad, and that's what I'm saying.

It's different from your New Orleans style because we chop ours, everything is chopped and we use our we use a little bit different flavor, spices and Irishmen, they do and that.

So that makes the difference.

And we call it Papa fajitas olive mix.

So, it was actually my grandmother's recipe.

Inside Agatha Fertitta McCall makes the signature sandwich with its secret sauce and olive mix, and a closely guarded family recipe.

Her grandfather, an Italian immigrant, built the building in 1927 as a neighborhood grocery store.

Agatha's father, Sam, took over the store in 1949, renaming it for Tito's, and in 1960 he started selling the Muffuletta bread from New Orleans.

He made him a sandwich or on it, and we had a customer come in from the United Gas Company.

We said, Mr. Fertitta, I want to buy some imported food, some olives and some cheeses and stuff, and so daddy said, sure.

And he says, But I've made this, this sandwich.

He says, kind of like a New Orleans muffuletta, but not exactly because I had to heat it because the bread had been frozen.

So he said, why don't you try it?

So gentleman did, and he told daddy.

He said, that's the best sandwich I've ever eaten in my life.

And he said, you ought to make this muffuletta today.

He says, no, I don't want to be in the sandwich business.

I just want to sell the bread.

Word spread of the delicious Fertitta sandwich and customers came pouring in.

The Muffy became a culinary sensation, sparking an unintended business for the Fertitta family.

What is the difference between a muffy?

And a muffuletta.

Okay.

It's like apples and oranges.

The original muffuletta from Central Grocery is made cold.

They put at all Italian meats and Italian cheeses on it, and they use an olive salad that they make.

And it's mainly like big chunks of green olives.

And the jordan-hare, which is a vegetable and doesn't have any black olives in it.

And it's, a real thick olive oil base.

Ours is all chopped up, and we do use some of those products, but we also put black in ours.

But I can't tell you the complete recipe because it is a secret of the family.

We put a cut of salami in a ham and we use mozzarella cheese, and we heat ours in the oven instead of the sesame seeds on top.

They put like a corn dusting, so it's a little different.

But I have a lot of people who like the corn dusting because if they have health issues and can't eat seeds, it helps them out so they can come in and eat my sandwich.

Agatha took over for days in 1980 after her father Sam, became ill. She lives upstairs over the delicatessen, her childhood home, and where she raised her family.

The third generation of Frittatas Reverend Patrick Fertitta and Doctor Nina Fertitta Mitchell.

There's a heavy weight to running a family business has been going on for generations, and being able to carry that tradition on is important to me, but it also is a joy because you know that there's so many different generations that have been touched by this business, and now there will be more that will be touched by this business as well.

On any given day, the delicatessen is buzzing with regulars who've been coming here for decades, for the sandwich and a sense of community.

I've been coming here, over 65 years.

I came as a small child with my dad when it was just a grocery store.

So it's a landmark in the community.

I've been coming here for years, ever since.

Well, we moved here from Chicago when I was 11.

There's a feeling of family.

I don't know whether it's the Italian side or what, but when Italians get together, they always it's always like a feeling of family.

And of course, I'm Italian on both sides.

Their days that I get tired.

But when people start coming in, my customers, especially my regulars that come once a week, it makes me so happy and so proud that they steal over all these years, want to come and and eat with me.

And it's like a big family.

Everybody enjoys it.

Over the years, for Tito's menu has evolved to include Reverend Patrick's trademark creation, alligator Italian sausage, served up in his signature Godfather's sandwich.

The name Godfather is trademarked in the state of Louisiana for food products, and I also have the, trademark on the tagline for the for the alligator Italian sausage called The boss of the Bayou.

Today for Tito's Deli sits on the National Register of Historic Places.

Inside, much of the Deli's original signage and decorations remain, creating a museum like experience for patrons.

Walls, photos and newspaper clippings chronicle the family legacy, with space for the fourth generation of Fertitta family photos.

That's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch all things, anything LPB anytime, wherever you are without a LPB app, and on the app you can catch LPB news and public affairs shows, as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please take a quick second and hit that like button for LPB on Facebook on X and on Instagram.

And for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

I'm Dorothea Wilson and I'm Victor Howell.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

For.

Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together, we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Zigler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum.

Located in Jennings City Hall, the museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana.

And by Visit Baton Rouge.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

And viewers like you.

Thank you.