St. John the Baptist Council could sanction ‘dangerous formula’
On Thursday, The Descendants Project faced off again against Greenfield Louisiana, LLC in the 40th Judicial District Court in Edgard. At the hearing, The Descendants Project asked Judge J. Sterling Snowdy to block the St. John The Baptist Parish Council from hearing a proposed zoning ordinance at its next scheduled meeting, on Tuesday. The ordinance…
Recent Posts
Let the bargaining begin
On the Tulane University campus, everything seemed in motion this week: leaves sprouting on big live-oak trees, students in green Tulane t-shirts milling around on the big grassy lawn. Meanwhile, some of the historic university’s instructors were restless in a different way. On Thursday afternoon, a few hundred non-tenured-track Tulane faculty members began sending individual…
Flood of suggestions
Recommendations for fixes to the city’s chronically troubled Sewerage & Water Board are now flowing from Gov. Jeff Landry’s task force and from the Water Justice Fund, which issued a report earlier this year. Advocates warn that, without a new revenue structure that includes tax-exempt properties, customers could shoulder the financial burden for citywide problems.
St. John Parish vote opens door to controversial grain terminal
Commissioners approve rezoning of Greenfield property for heavy industrial use, despite a prolonged community push to keep the land’s residential zoning in this largely rural part of St. John.
Peanut in Limbo
Big 6 Brass Band leader Thaddeus “Peanut” Ramsey has been stuck in Bermuda for nearly a year, fighting an invisible adversary: possible criminal charges. “If it’s something illegal, we should know that by now,” said his cousin, tuba player Walter Ramsey.
New Orleans criminal-justice leaders grapple with entering the Landry era
Sheriff Hutson says increased jail population, addition of juveniles, could exacerbate staffing issue to “unmanageable levels.”
Climate-weary Mississippi River delegation lobbies for help in D.C.
Mayors from Louisiana and advocates from the Water Collaborative, Healthy Gulf, 1Mississippi, and the National Audubon Society asked Congress to invest in better water infrastructure and increase federal funding for farmer-led conservation.
PODCAST
Behind The Lens episode 233: ‘A Black hamlet’
Delaney Dryfoos on St. John the Baptist Parish’s voted to allow heavy industrial uses on the parish’s rural West Bank after years of contentious debate. Nick Chrastil on Gov. Jeff Landry’s seismic changes to the criminal justice system.
opinion
There’s healing to be done in New Orleans, say descendants of Homer Plessy and John H. Ferguson
At the top edge of the Bywater, where Royal Street crosses the railroad tracks, a plaque marks a moment that changed our nation’s history. A shoemaker named Homer Plessy was arrested here in 1892 for sitting in a passenger railcar designated for “whites.” The arrest was planned; Plessy’s friends, the Citizens Committee, called ahead to…
Paintbrush, iPad, or Glock?
Recently, I attended a showcase at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center, where this city’s arrested youth are held pre-trial. I was invited by artist Journey Allen, who directs youth education for the Young Artists Movement (YAM), the citywide mural initiative that I helped to found eight years ago. To present the showcase, JJIC set up…
Let’s make plans together about the future of our beloved City Park
We both started working at Grow Dat Youth Farm because we needed jobs. We knew very little about gardening and didn’t know how we’d fit in. We found a crew of people who supported us and helped us to appreciate the natural setting within Grow Dat’s corner of City Park. Now, that magical place is…
Entergy’s quiet power moves
Lately, public scrutiny has shined a bright spotlight on Entergy New Orleans’ $1 billion Operation Gridiron. The New Orleans City Council has been rightfully cautious, given the fees that would hit residents and the recent evidence of company deceit in pitching their plans to the council. Operation Gridiron is highly visible, taking center stage. But…
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.