This week, the current crop of candidates for Orleans Parish district attorney all disavow the more controversial practices of the current DA, but records show it’s a bit more complicated. 

Wealthy New Orleans entrepreneur Sidney Torres has been backing the campaign of Civil District Court judicial candidate Jennifer Medley but has tried to stay behind the scenes. Her opponent, Chris Bruno, has now accused the Medley campaign of breaking the law through illegal campaign contributions from Torres. 

A five-year-old federal consent decree on special education in New Orleans could be coming to an end soon — but not before the school district and state work out more “proactive” ways to monitor areas of special education in New Orleans. 

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

Behind The Lens is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google 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.

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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...