Behind The Lens episode 162: The ‘clickbait’ special

Millions of dollars in New Orleans property owned by Folgers is missing from the tax rolls. The legislature considers two bills on prison medical services. And a proposed tax for early childhood education could be a financial boon for the NOLA Public Schools district.
(April 2018 photo by Jo Naylor, via Wikimedia Commons)

On this week’s episode, the Orleans Parish Assessor has once again inaccurately granted property tax exemptions to Folgers Coffee Company, this time for over $140 million worth of property. (While staff writer Michael Isaac Stein was reporting this story — which, to be clear, is about a state property tax exemption program — he was accused by a spokesperson for the Assessor’s Office of trying to generate “clickbait.”)

The Louisiana Legislature will consider two bills this session that seek to address the troubled state of health care in Louisiana prisons.

And a proposed property tax dedicated to early childhood education could also result in a hefty payout to the NOLA Public Schools district under a contract approved by the Orleans Parish School Board this week.

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

You can listen to Behind The Lens on Apple PodcastsSpotify and other services.

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.