Fifth Circuit appeals court sides with Angola’s Farm Line workers
Though the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals differed with some of the district court’s July 2 decision, the higher court agreed that Angola Farm Line workers deserve water, rest, and equipment to protect from heat
Recent Posts
Water from flooded Upper Mississippi River offers relief after two years of drought
Higher river levels might stave off intense saltwater intrusion
Judge orders Angola to provide Farm Line workers access to shade, rest, sunscreen, and water
DOC must submit plan within a week to protect incarcerated persons laboring on the Farm Line, who otherwise face “immediate threats” including death and permanent injury
Nuns Harnessing the Sun
The Sisters of the Holy Family are constructing solar panels on the order’s New Orleans East motherhouse, to create the city’s 12th solar-driven Community Lighthouse – and, over on Dwyer Road, they’re installing solar panels to reduce their neighbors’ Entergy bills.
‘It isn’t very clear who is responsible for the jail getting to that cap’
The Orleans Justice Center has surpassed the city’s jail population cap, sparking questions about how to increase releases while reducing bookings — and what the rising jail population means for the health of those incarcerated and for the city of New Orleans.
Angola prisoners ask to end field work in worst heat
For decades, Angola has forced prisoners to work in fields in extreme heat. Today, they’re urging a federal judge to halt the practice — prisoners have filed a motion as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit to end the practice of forced agricultural labor at the prison
“We should have a sense of urgency”: Drainage tile drives nutrient pollution
Agricultural drainage tile, a system used by farmers to increase crop yields, is a main contributor to excess nutrients in waterways.
opinion
Keeping Politics Out of Flood Protection
The writers, from levees.org, believe that Gov. Jeff Landry is acting against the intent of post-Katrina legislation meant to take politics out of the state’s flood-protection boards.
A Decade of Delays: Time for Consumer-Focused Transmission
Although Entergy joined the regional grid to allay U.S. Department of Justice concerns about possible anticompetitive behavior, it seems to be more focused on profits than on the type of regional transmission projects that would most benefit Louisiana businesses and homeowners, says the writer, a former commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Getting everyone’s input on City Park, our backyard
An online survey by the authors — local and national network of certified planners, architects, urban designers, and landscape architects — seems to indicate that outreach for City Park’s new Master Plan never happened, certainly not in any comprehensive manner.
Finish Renaming the Streets Now
The Juneteenth holiday serves as a reminder that the City Council should wait no longer to finish the street renaming it began four years ago.
PODCAST
Behind The Lens episode 243: ‘The solar Motherhouse’
Nick Chrastil on a judge’s order to the Dept. of Corrections requiring a plan to protect Angola inmates working the Farm line in blistering heat. Delaney Dryfoos on the The Sisters of the Holy Family nuns who are working to build a solar-powered microgrid resilience hub for their neighbors in New Orleans East.
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.