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.
Recent Posts
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.
Judge extends safeguards for Angola’s Farm Line for 90 more days
Order requires that officials monitor temperatures every 30 minutes. If heat index hits 88, Farm Line workers get regular breaks, ice, water, and shade.
‘Sometimes we forget our own majesty’ — capturing the cadence of New Orleans on Juneteenth
On Juneteenth this year, one elder spoke of freedom still being unfinished. A young teacher reflected on what it means to shape free minds in a system that often feels bound. A mother talked about raising Black sons with love and fear in equal measure.
The towering legacy of the House of Detention
“This building’s architecture tells one story. But its human history tells another— and we need to confront both,” said Loyola Law School professor Andrea Armstrong
Louisiana’s new bill would codify gas as “green energy”
A bill on its way to the Governor’s desk—with connections to gas industry allies—could enshrine hydrocarbons as Louisiana’s future.
‘No Kings Day’ draws 6,500 into New Orleans streets
Protesters carried handmade signs, chanted slogans, voiced concerns about mounting threats to democracy and billionaire-first politics, and — because it’s New Orleans — they blew bubbles.
opinion
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.
Maintaining independence in levee-board appointments
As legislators debate changes to levee boards, it’s worth remembering why the levee boards were reformed, what remains undone – AND that all evidence shows that the pre-Katrina Orleans Levee Board was not at fault.
Louisiana can’t afford a mirage
“We must stick with real plans for our future,” the writer contends about the recent halt to the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. “Every delay means more land lost, more families unprotected, more risk from rising seas and stronger storms. We don’t have that kind of time.”
Nothing is ever black and white on a plantation
The recent fire at Nottoway Plantation, which reduced the “big house” to ashes, serves as a stark reminder of the complexities we navigate to uncover the truth of our history.
PODCAST
Behind The Lens episode 276: ‘Breathing poison air’
Delaney Dryfoos on Louisiana’s decidion to classify natural gas, a fossil fuel, as “green energy.” Brian Bienkowski on air pollutants effects on pregnant women and findings about early labor.
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.