This week's Entergy vote. A troubling warning about the wastewater situation in St. James Parish. And The Lens' new series on school closures in New Orleans.
The vote on a settlement with company automatically cancels proposed resolutions to repeal the City Council's March 2018 power plant approval. Plant opponents criticized council members for taking contributions from the company.
The Orleans Parish school district is closing five schools this spring. In the first part in a series on school closures, The Lens talks to experts, advocates and parents about how a decision to close a school is made, and how it should be made.
Slight lateral movement continued to be reported along the north perimeter, crest and slope of Mosaic Fertilizer's Gypsum Stack No. 4, which holds back hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater. But the company says the overall rate of movement has slowed substantially.
CIty denied a public records request from the defense attorney last summer, claiming it would reveal sensitive information related to terrorism prevention. But civil rights groups representing her say the cameras are, in fact, normally used for routine law enforcement and criminal prosecution.
The council scrapped its plan to revote on the plant earlier this week.
Michael Isaac Stein covers the City Council hearing on Entergy's $5 million fine. Tom Wright updates the Mosaic wastewater crisis. Audubon's Kara Lankford promotes a new vision for Gulf restoration.
In an ongoing lawsuit, plant opponents say a 2015 council resolution shows that the approval of a new plant may have been predetermined. But City Council utility advisers say opponents are misinterpreting the resolution.