“We knew it was the breath of this city | And it was the confirmation that we were looking for,” writes Chuck Perkins. We chose this poem to kick off The Lens’ week of Katrina20 stories, essays, photography, and poetry.
Posted inOpinion
Power out, profits gone: how Louisiana’s grid failures harm local businesses
Lost Coyote restaurant in Treme was on track for its first record-profit day during Memorial Day weekend, when a sudden blackout brought it all to a standstill.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 281 part I: ‘Completely inadequate’
Longtime Times-Picayune environmental reporter Mark Schleifstein on the federal flood after the U.S. Army Corps’ levees failed and flooded 80 percent of the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Posted inEntergy
Entergy gets green light for three controversial new gas plants
Public service commissioners voted 4-1 for Entergy’s proposal for three gas plants to power new energy-hungry Meta AI data center.
Posted inEnvironment
Trump-fueled gas boom has fenceline Gulf Coast communities on edge
Residents cite pollution, loss of fishing and diminished tax revenue as liquefied natural gas production accelerates here, feeding demand from Europe and Asia.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 281: ‘Crumbling’
Reporter Marta Jewson, educator Deborah Richardson and advocate Ashana Bigard on John McDonogh High School’s demise after a Los Angeles-based charter group took control.
Posted inOpinion
Let’s acknowledge the Alabo Wharf’s place in history
In a lawsuit about a slaughterhouse that once stood at the Alabo site, the U.S. Supreme Court first interpreted the 14th Amendment, which later became pivotal in civil rights rulings, and led to four little 9th Ward girls desegregating the first public schools in the Deep South.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 280: ‘The licensing of Essence’
Bernard Smith on conditions at Angola as heat alerts persist across the country. Gus Bennett on Essence Fest’s rapid expansion — and questions about who it’s serving.
Posted inOpinion
The Cry That Wasn’t Heard Could Be the Cry That Lights the Awakening
That day, I could hear the baby crying. I could hear Nicholas unraveling. Then the phone went dead. Looking back, I see the baby’s death as an indictment.
Posted inOpinion
No Papers! No Fear!
Artist and poet José Torres-Tama created his new Katrina @ 20 exhibition: No Papers! No Fear!, which opens on Friday, to commemorate the immigrants who contributed to an epic New Orleans rebirth — despite the city’s extreme cruelties.