Delaney Dryfoos on what the Alabo Street Wharf development may mean for neighbors. Matthew Wollenweber on NOPD’s use of surveillance, including 5,000 cameras and partnerships that use facial recognition technology.
Posted inOpinion
Red flags at the levee board
It seems that the governor-appointed board chair was overly involved in day-to-day operations. Because of the Flood Authority’s crucial purpose, the public cannot afford to have it run by a board chair who acts recklessly.
Posted inOpinion
Entergy wants to use power it creates. That led to the May blackout.
Entergy is a part of MISO, a regional grid operator. But – unless it is ordered by regulators – Entergy leaders are not interested in fully participating in a competitive, cooperative grid that transmits power on a regional level. To do that, Entergy might have to rely on other utilities’ power supplies – and charge less to Entergy customers.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Hell on Earth
Men incarcerated within Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola want relief from the prison’s extreme heat and overcrowding.
Posted inIn the N.O.
Police
Regardless of how nervous this might make a kid, everything intensifies when your family is Black and big, white, tobacco-spitting cops approach your car in the middle of nowhere.
Posted inSchools
Despite early LEAP results, state needs four months to create School Performance Scores
This year, LEAP scores came back from the state of Louisiana in record time. Do parents understand the scores? Do kids? Now, the state begins to crunch school statistics to create School Performance Scores, which could lead to charter-school closures later this fall.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 278: ‘Failed to file’
Matt McBride on a controversial candidate for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans. Marta Jewson on how state standardized test scores should serve the children who take the tests.
Posted inOpinion
Louisiana’s ban on community air monitoring is an attack on science and free speech
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.
Posted inHurricane Season
Weather watchdog silenced
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.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Unlocking opportunity:
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