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Behind The Lens episode 176: ‘Plaintiffs look to the court to bring this nightmare to an end’

Gulf Coast 'dead zone' smaller this year, but still larger than it should be. Council tries to rein in facial recognition. And a lawsuit over the 2019 JFK High graduation scandal is still ongoing.
by Carolyne Heldman

On this week’s episode, the New Orleans City Council approved new measures that could provide greater oversight of the recently re-approved use of surveillance technology.

The “dead zone” — a hypoxic area where the Mississippi River dumps into the Gulf of Mexico — is smaller in size than last year, but not due to much-needed pollutant reduction efforts upstream, according to scientists.

A lawyer for John F. Kennedy High School’s graduating class of 2019 is asking a judge to find the Orleans Parish School Board and the charter group that ran the school liable for negligence and educational malpractice after mismanagement resulted in half the class being unable to graduate on time.

Our guests this week are Lens reporters Marta Jewson, Joshua Rosenberg, 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