The former business manager of a New Orleans charter school was sentenced today to five years in jail for embezzling $660,000 from the school, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office. In February, former business manager Kelly Thompson pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to making more than 150 cash withdrawals from Langston Hughes Academy […]
Posted inEnvironment
Shaking a fist at Monkeyfister
The end is near, or at least that’s what the blogger Monkeyfister would have you believe, based on his marathon live blogging of the oil spill as seen through the video feed from the ocean floor. Witness these updates from Sunday: UPDATE 1:20pm CDT: While watching, ANOTHER major “explosion” occurred. ROV Cam now covered in […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics, Opinion
Baby you can drive my campaign (beep beep, yeah)
I’m Mark Moseley, and for past six years I’ve used the pen name “oyster” at my blog, Your Right Hand Thief. It’s a real pleasure to be the new opinion columnist at The Lens. For me, blogging serves as a therapeutic alternative to yelling at the TV. So my challenge here is to vent in […]
Posted inEnvironment
Scenes of frustration
Though St. Bernard Parish officials organized a community meeting Monday night, parish President Craig Taffaro quickly stepped out of the way and told the 100 or so audience members “this is your meeting.” They went head-to-head with representatives of BP, the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, covering an array of topics. […]
Posted inEnvironment
Despite AG's position, Corps says no decision made on creating dredged islands
Reports saying that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved an environmental permit needed to create sand barrier islands are false, Corps Public Affairs Chief for New Orleans Ken Holder. “It is correct to say it is still under review,” Holder said in an email to The Lens. Holder said there is nothing else […]
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Landrieu administration not saying who gets taxpayer-paid take-home cars, credit cards
Despite Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s pledge – and last week’s claim – to be more transparent and accommodating in fulfilling public-records requests, The Lens has yet to get an appropriate response to a trio of week-old requests. The law requires that requested records be provided “immediately” if not in active use; if in active use, public […]
Posted inEnvironment, Government & Politics
Five years after Katrina, the return of disaster capitalism?
One month after news of a giant Gulf Coast oil spill began making headlines across the country, aid organizations worry that the region may see an influx of workers seeking cleanup jobs that simply don’t exist. “People are being told they can drive here and apply for jobs and BP will pay for travel and […]
Posted inEnvironment
Boats moored by the BP oil spill, a long-threatened community of black fishers fears for its future
Headed down La. 39 on the east bank of Plaquemines Parish, a few miles down after the Belle Chasse Ferry, drivers pass a tall, white picket fence on the left with a sign that reads “Welcome White Ditch” in a circle around an outline of the state with a pelican inside. A few yards ahead, […]
Posted inEnvironment
Gulf oil spill: Too big to stop- or even watch on a live feed
Hundreds of thousands of people from across the world are logging on to see live video of oil gushing from a broken pipe that is responsible for the gargantuan petrochemical spill in the Gulf of Mexico and increasingly, the coastal wetlands that protect New Orleans. The live video feed, transmitted from 5,000 feet below the […]
Posted inEnvironment
Nungesser says Corps has rejected state’s plea for dredged oil barriers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not allow land barriers to be built to protect the state’s coastline, Plaquemines Parish Billy Nungesser told The Lens today. “They turned it down,” Nungesser said. “They denied the plan to do the barrier islands, so I don’t know, so we’ll have to come up with something else. […]