This week on Behind the Lens, the NOLA Public Schools district wants to pilot a so-called “early warning system,” a program designed to identify students in danger of falling behind or failing to graduate. The initiative is still in its early stages, but several charter school leaders have been in meetings with district officials about it.

The New Orleans City Council has filed a complaint against Entergy Corp. over chronic problems with the Grand Gulf nuclear power plant in Mississippi. Statewide energy regulators in Louisiana and Arkansas have also joined the complaint. According to Councilwoman Helena Moreno, reliability problems at the plant have cost Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the past several years.

And Orleans Parish DA Jason Williams’ office has vacated the verdicts of 22 people convicted by non-unanimous jury votes, part of a review of non-unanimous cases that he promised as a candidate for the office. 

Our guests this week are education reporter Marta Jewson, government and cultural economy reporter Michael Isaac Stein, and The Lens editor Charles Maldonado.

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 has been in media for 35 years, most recently as Executive Director at an NPR member station in Colorado where she was responsible for new multi-platform content initiatives, strategic...