Mayor pulls nomination for ethics-plagued former Sewerage & Water Board member, pledges to reappoint at later date
Kimberly Thomas, who served a decade ago on the S&WB, was given nod by a council committee last week and was slated for Council approval on Thursday
Recent Posts
From prison to justice
Calvin Duncan’s fight to free himself and others from a broken system — an interview by Bernard Smith.
‘We helped each other. We taught each other the law.’
Calvin Duncan, one of the finest inmate counsels to ever file a writ from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, releases his autobiography today, July 8. The Lens is honored to publish an excerpt from this highly anticipated book, The Jailhouse Lawyer.
Air pollution questions linger over Alabo Street Wharf
Sunrise Foods released air-quality assessments scant in detail. But early last month, LDEQ accelerated the company’s approval for its air-permit application.
‘Ride for Peace’ Brings New Orleanians together to interrupt violence and build community
Under the towering concrete pillars of the Claiborne Overpass, a different kind of parade rolled through the city—a protest on two wheels. On Saturday evening, dozens of New Orleans residents came together for the inaugural Ride for Peace, a community-driven bike rally organized by Ubuntu Village and the NOLA Peace Ambassadors Program. Part protest, part…
Council pushes mayor to institute a 60-40 city-school split for school-zone ticket revenue
A state law passed last year required cities to share a portion of school-zone camera tickets with the schools themselves. But the City of New Orleans and local schools have not yet agreed on how to split the money.
Fannie C. Williams School suspended child; told her to come back with “mental health” eval
It’s unclear how the school’s order affected the student, who did return, but sporadically. But the school district sent Fannie C. Williams administrators a serious ‘notice of noncompliance’ in the case, which is still under investigation.
opinion
Essence isn’t just facing organizational problems—it’s having an identity crisis
When Essence Communications rebranded its flagship event as the Essence Festival of Culture, it may have seemed like a harmless update. But in a city like New Orleans, where culture is lived—not marketed—that change said more than they likely intended. It marked a shift—away from something rooted and spiritual, toward something packaged, curated, and increasingly…
‘I saw this coming.’
“The escapees didn’t run because the sheriff opened the door for holistic healing,” writes Henderson-Uloho, who taught decarceration classes in the jail. “They escaped because the people hired to provide custody, care, and control neglected their care and weaponized the control.”
NOPD is using images of you from more than 5,000 cameras across the city
“After years of FOIA requests and research, I know that NOPD is lying about their unlawful use of Project NOLA and facial-recognition software,” says the writer. The surveillance-camera issue is slated to be discussed at 10 a.m. today (Monday) at the City Council’s criminal-justice committee meeting.
Dan Bright was my brother. Death Row didn’t kill us, but it tried.
We can’t keep losing our brothers to the aftermath of injustice. We can’t call it “freedom” if we’re still dying from what they did to us.
PODCAST
Behind The Lens episode 277: ‘Hotter, hotter and hotter’
Bernard Smith on New Orleans’ notorious House of Detention and protections for Angola’s Farm Line workers in summer heat. Marta Jewson on a student’s suspension pending a mental health eval — a flagarent violation of special education law.
About the Lens
The Lens aims to engage and empower the residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. We provide the information and analysis necessary to advocate for more accountable and just governance.