Though its score climbed a little, the NOLA Public Schools district received the same grade, a C, from the state of Louisiana for the third year in a row. The state’s A-F letter grades are particularly high-stakes for 12 charters, who could face closure at the end of the school year.
Posted inCriminal Justice
To prevent suicide, New Orleans daughter urges states to let people ban themselves from buying guns
Donna’s Law, which allows people to ban themselves from gun ownership, has proven one of the few areas of gun policy where Republicans and Democrats can agree. But it has made little headway in Louisiana, home of the bill’s namesake.
Posted inSchools
School Board seizes $20 million cash settlement, future funding, amid financial crisis
The Orleans Parish School Board settles a years-long lawsuit against the city, to provide financially strained schools with help that includes a swift, $20 million cash infusion and $70 million for education over 10 years.
Posted inEnvironment
As Mississippi River towns experience whiplash between drought and flood, mayors look to new insurance model
At least two New Orleans agencies tested parametric insurance policies during Hurricane Francine – with mixed results.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 256: ‘A Tricky Endeavor’
Delaney Dryfoos a federal rule to eliminate lead pipes in the next decade. Nick Chrastil on changes to federal welfare money. Jay Marcano on the call for Tulane University to divest from fossil fuels.
Posted inEnvironment
‘Cajun Coral’ could reshape former oil and gas platforms along the Gulf Coast
A decommissioned oil rig site off Grand Isle offers a new shallow-water template for the Louisiana Rigs-to-Reef programs. Where rigs once stood, the 3D-printed concrete could create bustling coastal reefs.
Posted inSchools
‘Catastrophic’: Superintendent resigns amid district’s $36 million gaffe
School leaders worried that the budget gap may grow further, as officials tally final numbers.
Posted inEnvironment
Louisiana could be out billions, if controversial coastal-restoration stalls
The feds threaten to withhold $2.2 billion from the massive effort to save and restore the state’s diminishing coastline if leaders don’t act soon.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 255: ‘Civil rights at risk’
Delaney Dryfoos on a wharf redevelopment in the Lower 9th Ward. Marta Jewson on Louisiana AG’s decision to join a lawsuit targeting transgender men and women, and broader civil rights.