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Behind The Lens episode 157: Eye in the sky

State Police monitored George Floyd protests with drones. COVID cases down in city schools. And the City Council rehires longtime Entergy consultants.
by Carolyne Heldman

On this week’s episode, violent crime is up in the city, and DA Jason Williams is asking for more money from the city to help combat it. 

Also, The Lens has learned that the Louisiana State Police utilized drones in the summer of 2020 to monitor New Orleans and Baton Rouge protests that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

The New Orleans City Council voted last week to rehire the same two utility consultants it has relied on for decades to regulate Entergy New Orleans.

COVID cases have dropped in New Orleans schools as the state appears to have passed the peak of the omicron surge, and new school vaccine mandates go into effect on February 1.

Our guests this week are reporters Michael Isaac Stein, Marta Jewson and Nick Chrastil and editor Charles Maldonado.

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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.

View all posts by Carolyne Heldman