Behind The Lens episode 180: ‘Time to go back to the drawing board’

A DOJ official warns the state against transferring juveniles to Angola. A judge cancels state permits for Formosa. An alleged staff assault on a New Orleans public schools student. And the latest in transparency from the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office.

On this week’s episode, an administrator with the U.S. Department of Justice cautioned the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice about the proposal to house juveniles at a facility on the campus of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Several detainees at the New Orleans jail allegedly suffered injuries after a shakedown at the facility involving officers brought in from the state Department of Corrections. This comes on the heels of another incident last month in which jail detainees sustained injuries during a joint DOC-Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office operation.

The company behind a proposed $9.4 billion petrochemical plant in St. James Parish was dealt a major blow Wednesday when a court vacated more than a dozen state permits for the facility.

And the NOLA Public Schools district has issued its most serious warning to Foundation Preparatory Academy after the school allegedly failed to report an alleged assault on a special education student by an employee of the school last month. 

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