Last year, Louisiana legislators passed a “million-dollar muzzle,” which barred the use of community-gathered air-quality data to advocate for pollution control and enforcement, with fines as high as $1 million per violation.
This administration is placing vulnerable communities at greater risk when severe weather strikes, says the writer, who helped to craft key forecasting legislation that’s now been undone. She points to the harms done through lapsed weather-data contracts, draconian proposed cuts to the Weather Service, and undermined public confidence in severe weather alerts.
It’s a familiar scenario. Potential employers see criminal histories and don’t hire. In New Orleans, improvements to the city’s “Ban the Box” ordinance could better challenge employment barriers. An Oct. 11 ballot amendment could expand that protection to include housing
In Louisiana, more than 200,000 people could lose coverage under Healthy Louisiana. Many don’t even realize that Medicaid is the coverage they rely on: for themselves, their kids, their aging parents, or their disabled loved ones.
Calvin Duncan’s unfinished mission for justice moves to his political candidacy
Bernard Smith on New Orleans' notorious House of Detention and protections for Angola's Farm Line workers in summer heat. Marta Jewson on a student's suspension pending a mental health eval — a flagarent violation of special education law.
Kimberly Thomas, who served a decade ago on the S&WB, was given nod by a council committee last week and was slated for Council approval on Thursday
Calvin Duncan, one of the finest inmate counsels to ever file a writ from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, releases his autobiography today, July 8. The Lens is honored to publish an excerpt from this highly anticipated book, The Jailhouse Lawyer.
Calvin Duncan’s fight to free himself and others from a broken system — an interview by Bernard Smith.
