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ACADIANA
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T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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T h u r s d ay, M a r c h 20, 2025
Lafayette leads state in population growth
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La. Supreme Court tosses amendment challenge Lawsuit questioned validity of proposal on March 29 ballot BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Lafayette Parish had an increase of 3,755 residents between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024.
Parish also recorded third-largest gain in jobs BY ADAM DAIGLE
Acadiana business editor Lafayette Parish was the fastest-growing parish in Louisiana last year while most other parishes lost people, according to U.S. census data released last month. The parish had an increase of 3,755 residents between July 1, 2023, and July 1, 2024, edging out Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge and Livingston as the parish with the biggest overall gain in population, according to data. The parish gained jobs during that span, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the second quarter of 2024, the parish reported gaining 1,403 over the previous 12 months, the third-largest gain in the state. That gain was mostly due to the surge in leisure and hospitality jobs. Lafayette reported a gain of just under 1,000 jobs in that sector,
Change in population from 2023 to 2024
After the Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday ended a lawsuit challenging the validity of one of four proposed constitutional amendments on the March 29 ballot, it is now up to voters whether to approve the mass of changes to state tax law that are part of the measure. The lawsuit filed in February argued the ballot language for Amendment 2 was biased and misleading in violation of state law and that it didn’t comply with constitutional requirements for proposed amendments. The plaintiffs, two teachers and a pastor, asked the court to block Amendment 2 from taking effect. But the Supreme Court dismissed their case, and it barred them from any future attempts at suing over the issues they raised. The ruling affirms that Louisiana’s election procedures “will be upheld,” said Secretary of State Nancy Landry, the state’s chief election officer and named defendant in the suit. “We continue to remind voters that Amendment 2 will be on the ballot,” she said. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who spearheaded the appeal, applauded the decision, saying the court sided with her “office’s defense of the ballot language.” At a broad level, Amendment 2 asks voters to decide if state lawmakers should have more power and flexibility to decide which revenue streams fund government and how to spend that money. It would also lower a constitutional cap
ä See COURT, page 5A
Nearly two-thirds of parishes lost population, according to new Census estimates.
Webster
DeSoto
MAP LEGEND:
East Carroll
Lincoln
Ouachita
Caddo Bienville
West Morehouse Carroll
Union
Claiborne
Bossier
Richland
Jackson
Red River
Caldwell
Franklin
Winn
Loss of more than 2%
Madison
Loss of 1% to 2% Loss of less than 1%
Tensas
Gain of less than 1%
Catahoula Natchitoches
Grant
Sabine
Beauregard
Calcasieu
Concordia
Rapides
Vernon
Avoyelles
Allen Jefferson Davis
Cameron
Gain of 1% to 2%
LaSalle
Evangeline
W. Feliciana E. Feliciana
BY FATIMA HUSSEIN
Acadia
EBR WBR
Associated Press
Tangipahoa
St. Helena Pointe St. Landry Coupee
Livingston
Washington
St. Tammany
St. John Lafayette St. Martin Iberville Ascension Jefferson St. James St. Iberia Assumption Charles Vermilion St. Mary
Staff map
Social Security to impose tighter identity checks
Lafourche
Orleans St. Bernard Plaquemines
Terrebonne
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
ä See GROWTH, page 4A
WASHINGTON — In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, the Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures — which will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with the agency over the phone. Beginning March 31st, people will no longer be able to verify their identity to the SSA over the phone, and those who cannot properly verify their identity over the agency’s “my Social Security” online service will be required to visit an agency field office in person to complete the verification process, agency leadership told reporters Tuesday. The change will apply to new Social Security
ä See IDENTITY, page 5A
Hoffman’s final minutes in execution chamber observed Witness attends execution at Angola
BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
A waft of spring flowers and a low chant filled the entryway to Louisiana’s execution building on Tuesday as seven designated witnesses filed inside. The source of the chanting soon became apparent: The condemned man’s spiritual adviser, dressed in
WEATHER HIGH 68 LOW 48 PAGE 6A
a black robe, appeared through a side window as prison officials led him into the death chamber. It was 6:17 p.m. inside Camp F at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, where no one had been executed since 2010. Laminated signs on the walls cautioned: “Nitrogen hypoxia system is active and pressurized.” A pair of meters on a wall in the viewing room put the air at a healthy 20.7% oxygen, though it was quiet and heavy as a pair of curtains rose on Louisiana’s first
execution using nitrogen gas. Jessie Hoffman Jr. appeared through the pict u r e w i n d o w. He was already strapped onto the execution table and draped in a plush gray blanket. A blue, industri- Hoffman al-grade respirator covered his face, leaving little of Hoffman to see as he lay at an incline facing the window, arms
splayed on the cruciform table. Only a portion of his neck and his hands were visible, thumbs touching forefingers in a sacred Buddhist pose, as Angola Warden Darrel Vannoy reached for a microphone. “Would you like to make a last statement?” Hoffman, 46, tossed his head to the side and seemed to say nothing. He’d also declined a last meal, a prison official said later. Vannoy adjusted a valve on the mask covering Hoffman’s face.
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ä Arizona executes man convicted of 2002 murder. PAGE 4A “The state will now carry out the execution of condemned inmate Jessie Hoffman,” he said. There would be no signal for when the ultrahigh grade nitrogen called for in Louisiana’s new execution protocol would begin to enter the mask and kill Hoffman. Officials said in a briefing later
ä See EXECUTION, page 4A
100TH yEAR, NO. 263