Behind The Lens episode 97: ‘There are still these gaps’

Disappearing COVID-19 data. An apparent suicide at the New Orleans jail. And taking attendance without a classroom.

This week on Behind the Lens, in two weeks young students in New Orleans public schools will be back in classrooms. Most local colleges and universities are open now, and some are already seeing rising COVID numbers, but last week, public data on all school outbreaks was removed from the Louisiana Department of Health website. We will examine why.

The New Orleans jail saw its third death in recent months. To some advocates, those incidents are continuing to raise questions about the conditions at the jail.

Also on the criminal justice front, the city just completed renovations on a facility meant to temporarily house detainees with acute mental illness currently being held in a state prison, but it’s unclear when they will be transferred back to New Orleans — nor what a permanent housing solution might look like. 

And the NOLA Public Schools district is asking its schools to take attendance of  virtual learning students so the district can establish a baseline rate, and determine whether it needs to intervene to ensure more students are actually participating.

Behind The Lens is available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle Play and Stitcher. And we broadcast the show on community radio stations 102.3 FM WHIV LP in Mid-City and 90.3 FM WAMF-LP in the Marigny.

Carolyne Heldman

Carolyne Heldman Rovira has been in media for 35 years, and is currently the podcast host and producer for Behind The Lens. Heldman served as executive director at Aspen Public Radio, an NPR affiliate, where she launched four weekly news, public affairs, and cultural affairs programs. She has been a guest lecturer at Tulane University, is a frequent guest and moderator for the Aspen Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute.