The reason some critical water gauges in outfall canals failed during Hurricane Isaac is simple: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn’t follow the installation instructions for the sensors. After the 2011 hurricane season, the corps replaced the gauge sensors in the three outfall canals with ones that work by radar. The new sensors, which […]
Posted inInside the News Room
Replay: Thursday night panel on future of media in New Orleans
Video streaming by Ustream Presented by the Press Club of New Orleans. Video provided through The Lens, in conjunction with the New Orleans Digital News Alliance
Posted inEnvironment, Opinion
Where’s the outrage over the city’s lead-poisoning problem?
The arrows point to blood cells damaged by lead poisoning. After witnessing the collective outrage over a belated water advisory, I’ve changed my mind. I no longer believe lead-poisoned children should bleed from their eyeballs. Let me explain. On Monday the Sewerage and Water Board announced that a brief power outage had caused water pressure […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Lawmakers cool on session to reverse Jindal's hospital cuts
A legislative bid to reverse Gov. Bobby Jindal’s cuts in health care services for the poor and uninsured seems likely to fail. In a survey by The Lens state legislators from Orleans, Jefferson and St. Tammany parishes expressed doubt that the political will exists to call the Legislature into special session next month to restore […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Savings will plug deficit due to higher costs, fewer students than expected
Pride College Prep expects revenues for the current year to fall short by $186,000, a deficit of about 5.5 percent in the school’s $3.4 million operating budget, board members learned at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Finance director Simone Green said administrators will dip into savings to cover the shortfall, the first time in its […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
Satellite classes pose challenge for after school activities; French courses for parents suggested
At the October 8 board meeting administrators from Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle Orleans considered partnering with the city’s French Alliance to offer French language courses to Lycee parents. “More than 150 parents (responded that they) want the classes,” Jean-Jacques Grandiere, Lycee’s General Director, told the school’s board of directors at their Oct. 8 meeting. […]
Posted inCharter Schools, Schools
NOMMA board meeting agenda released
The board meeting agenda is reprinted below: New Orleans Military and Maritime Academy Monthly Board Meeting October 11¸ 2012 6:00 PM Agenda: 1. Roll Call 2. Approval of minutes 3. Reports and Recommendations None 4. Old Business: A. Construction Update: Provide an update on the financial and administrative progress […]
Posted inEnvironment, Investigations
Failure of canal gauges, other missteps highlight flaws in New Orleans flood system
This post has been updated to reflect new information about installation of the new sensors. The conventional wisdom after Hurricane Isaac was that the post-Katrina repairs and improvements in the levee system worked well. From the floodgates that kept the surge out of the canals in New Orleans to the Lake Borgne barrier that held […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Criminal courts struggle with delays, aggressive schedule
The volunteer non-profit organization Court Watch Nola issued its annual report today, highlighting a rise in court delays that plagued the Orleans Criminal District Court in 2011 and have continued into this year. The report, compiled by volunteers from 3,000 separate court-date observations, found that two-thirds of defendants had to come back to court another […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Judge makes city a defendant with sheriff in federal lawsuit
A federal judge made the city of New Orleans a defendant today in a lawsuit that seeks to force Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman to bring his jails into compliance with the U.S. Constitution. In court papers filed this morning in U.S. District Court, attorneys for Gusman said he was “making this claim against [the city] […]