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Posted inCriminal Justice

Judge tells sheriff, public defenders to negotiate solution to privacy complaint

by Tom Gogola

Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s attorneys were told to work with the Public Defender’s Office to find a solution to complaints over attorney-client privacy. Photo by Tom Gogola Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s attorneys were told to work with the Public Defender’s Office to find a solution to complaints over attorney-client privacy. Photo by Tom […]

Posted inCriminal Justice

One OPP escapee still being sought after slipping under fence Saturday night

by Tom Gogola

By Tom Gogola, The Lens staff writer | One of two inmates who escaped from Orleans Parish Prison Saturday is back in custody, though authorities were still searching for the other earlier today, the Sheriff’s Office said. Sherrick Brumfield, 27, who was awaiting trial on second degree battery charges, remains free.   Reginald Young, 22, was […]

Posted inCriminal Justice

City Council seeks to expand CeaseFire to include more social-outreach services

by Tom Gogola

By Tom Gogola, The Lens staff writer | New Orleans Crime Commissioner James Carter was called before the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee Wednesday to talk about the implementation of the city’s new CeaseFire initiative in crime-ridden Central City. He didn’t have much to talk about because the program is just getting underway, so lawmakers […]

Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics

NOAH contractor changes plea to guilty; stole post-Katrina federal funds for blight removal

by Karen Gadbois

Yes, but was the work actually performed? By Karen Gadbois, The Lens staff writer | Appearing Thursday in federal court before Judge Nannette Jolivette-Brown, former New Orleans Affordable Homeownership contractor Earl Myers changed his plea from not guilty to guilty of conspiring to commit theft of federal funds. Until the city agency was shut down […]

Posted inCharter Schools, Schools

It's official: second grade to be added next semester; new board chairman takes charge

by Jed Horne

By Amy Holiday, The Lens charter school reporter | Lycée Francais is adding a second grade, a move approved by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and ratified at a special meeting of the school’s board, April 24. Thirty students were accepted conditionally by lottery from a large pool of applicants on April […]

Posted inCharter Schools, Schools

Two playgrounds are on the way; new board members seated; utility bills coming down

by Yomi Akinyemi

KaBoom will begin construction of two playgrounds at Edward Hynes next fall, its board announced at its April / May meeting. Principal Michelle Williams said KaBoom, a national non-profit dedicated to creating community play spaces, will build a smaller playground in a dedicated space for the school’s pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students and a larger one […]

Posted inCharter Schools, Schools

Finances in surplus despite enrollment uncertainties at some schools

by Conor Monahan

Budget projections have held up and each of the five schools in the expanding FirstLine  network are operating with a surplus of roughly $30,000, finance committee chairman Stephen Rosenthal told fellow board members at their monthly meeting, April 24. The strong balances have been realized despite unpredictable drops in attendance and related revenue, especially at […]