As Phase III proponents push to break ground on a new “mental health jail,” litigation is supplanting discussion, leaving critical design and staffing issues unresolved and costs ballooning.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 213: ‘Kids in solitary confinement’
Youth being held on Angola’s grounds continue to face challenges and officials have high hopes for a $2.9 billion diversion of the lower Mississippi River.
Posted inSchools
NOLA Public Schools erases serious school warnings
The district changes its practice of posting and keeping the most serious warnings on its website.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Without council approval, city appears to allocate $32 million to Phase III jail
Apparent Cantrell administration allocation adds $10 million from unknown source. Also, architects differentiate their jail design from notorious “panopticon” configuration.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Youth kept at Angola facility receive poor education and are held in cells for discipline, lawyers suggest, at first day of hearing
Federal judge in Baton Rouge hears arguments about the facility that she allowed to open a year ago.
Posted inEnvironment
Neighbors weary of oil raining from S&WB Carrollton plant
Every month for past four months, a decade-long malfunction has returned, covering nearby blocks with dime-sized drops of oil.
Posted inEnvironment
‘Addressing our coastal crisis head-on’
Though serious concerns remain about fresh water altering coastal ecology, the hope is that Louisiana ultimately could create more coastal land than it loses, with this $2.9 billion diversion of lower Mississippi River.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 212: ‘Industry spin has become reality’
Nick Chrastil on the city’s work to find $22 million for controversial Phase III jail construction. Sara Sneath on LNG export terminals belching more pollution than estimated.
Posted inCriminal Justice
City identifies $22 million for controversial Phase III jail construction
Earmarked funds were initially slated for greenspace and building improvements.
Posted inEnvironment
‘Death stars on sinking land’: How liquified natural gas took over the Gulf Coast
The U.S. is now the world’s top exporter of LNG. Towns in southern Louisiana are paying the price –through pollution, noise, and destruction of this area’s longtime way of life.