BY DEANNA B. NARVESON | Staff writer I can see Smiley Anders' house from my back porch. When I moved to Baton Rouge in 2018, it was one of the first things my landlady pointed out. Over the past six years I have fallen in love with Baton Rouge and Louisiana, and the stories my neighbor Smiley wrote captured perfectly the specialness of this place. I was honored in April when he featured one of my anecdotes about an escaped pet snake in his daily column. When the news broke Friday that Anders had died at age 86 in his home in Spanish Town, it seemed like the whole neighborhood was hushed for a while. As Features Editor Jan Risher writes, "We have to get to know our neighbors and connect to each other. We should do our best to be kind, love each other, laugh as often as possible and do what we can to make the world a better place. That is how Smiley lived his life — and we are all the better for it." The Advocate asked readers to send us memories of Smiley and what he meant to them; my opening paragraph for this newsletter is my own. The response was overwhelming: We received way more responses than we can fit. Some were from folks Smiley fondly called "regular contributors," who faithful readers of his column will recognize. Others were simply readers or neighbors, like myself. He was known and loved by so many. Here are some of our favorites, and see Walt Handelsman's cartoon about Smiley here. The 90-day regular legislative session ended Monday with successes and failures for just about all legislators and the governor. The biggest question when the session began in March was this: After eight years of a Democratic governor, how far would the Republican governor and the Republican supermajorities in the House and Senate pull the state to the right? Read more. Flood insurance: Nearly 28,700 policyholders in East Baton Rouge Parish will be eligible for an additional 5% reduction in their annual flood insurance premiums starting this fall. Read more about the discount. | 