Behind The Lens episode 154: We’re sorry. There are no rapid tests in stock at this location.

School's out again for some students due to omicron. A City Council vote on pedicabs raises concerns about fairness. And a four-year old class-action suit over conditions at a state prison finally goes to trial next week.

On this week’s episode, COVID cases are way up with the rise of the Omicron variant, prompting some New Orleans schools to go to remote learning again. COVID isn’t the only reason schools are being shuttered. This week, the New Orleans school district announced the upcoming closures of some under-enrolled schools in its effort to “right-size” the system.

Also, the New Orleans City Council takes a vote on a permanent pedicab limit, despite objections from a newly formed company seeking to operate in the city.

And a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of prisoners at David Wade Correctional Center, a Louisiana state prison, claims the facility doesn’t provide adequate mental health care and keeps people with mental illness in solitary confinement for months or years on end. After nearly four years, the case is finally going to trial next week.

This week’s guests are Lens reporters Marta Jewson, Nick Chrastil and Michael Isaac Stein and editor Charles Maldonado.

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 planning, research, branding, and non-traditional revenue generation. During her tenure she also created and launched four weekly news, public affairs and cultural affairs programs and monthly live Town Hall broadcasts. Heldman moved to New Orleans last summer with her husband and canine companion and they live happily in The Marigny.