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New data raises water concern Salt may creep into BR pump station
BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS
The Rev. Cary Bani blesses the St. Joseph’s Altar at the noon Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral on Wednesday.
Celebrating St. Joseph
The St. Joseph’s Altar is a tradition born in Sicily, thanking St. Joseph for relief from drought. The traditional St. Joseph’s Altar is constructed in the shape of the cross, with three levels honoring the Holy Trinity. A statue or picture of Joseph, often seen holding the baby Jesus, stands at the center of the highest tier with flowers surrounding him.
In 2013, Baton Rouge Water Co. spent $3 million to drill twin wells along North Street to intercept underground salt water creeping north toward an important drinking water pump station. Water company officials said the new “scavenger” well system would buy 30 to 50 years of additional life for the Lula Avenue station, where rising chloride levels were approaching federal drinking water limits for taste. Now, more than a decade later, data from one of the scavenger wells show chloride levels — which reflect how much salt is in the water — have increased 16% in three years after having been being relatively stable. Though company officials say the Lula station is safe, the Capital Area Ground Water Conservation
ä See WATER, page 5A
Court rejects suit challenging Amendment 2 ABOVE: Ladies of the Cathedral volunteer Karen Rimes, right, smiles as she serves parishioner Rose Marie Pizzolato at Wednesday’s celebration. RIGHT: Parishioners line up to donate and look at the St. Joseph’s Altar after Mass on Wednesday.
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
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
ä See COURT, 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
WEATHER HIGH 66 LOW 37 PAGE 6B
man’s spiritual adviser, dressed in 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 Hoffman strapped onto the execution table and draped in a plush gray blanket. A blue, industrial-grade respira-
tor 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 noth-
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ä Arizona executes man convicted of 2002 murder. PAGE 4A ing. He’d also declined a last meal, a prison official said later. Vannoy adjusted a valve on the mask covering Hoffman’s face. “The state will now carry out the execution of condemned inmate Jessie Hoffman,” he said. There would be no signal for
ä See EXECUTION, page 4A
100TH yEAR, NO. 263
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REGGIE ABRAHAM
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EXXONMOBIL BATON ROUGE AREA OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR
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SU SYSTEM BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
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SU HARDWOOD CLUB