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.
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.
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.
The gospel of Chuck
Blessed are the ones who live with vigor | Despite life’s tragic comedy.
Behind the Lens episode 279: ‘Incompetent or lying’
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.
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.
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.
Hell on Earth
Men incarcerated within Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola want relief from the prison’s extreme heat and overcrowding.
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.
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.
