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Author: Carolyne Heldman

About Carolyne Heldman
Carolyne Heldman Rovira has been in media for 35 years, and is currently the podcast host and producer for Behind The Lens. Heldman served as executive director at Aspen Public Radio, an NPR affiliate, where she launched four weekly news, public affairs, and cultural affairs programs. She has been a guest lecturer at Tulane University, is a frequent guest and moderator for the Aspen Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute.

Behind The Lens episode 225: ‘If there’s an accident, it’d be hard to evacuate’ ‘

December 28, 2023 Updated January 2, 2024
Delaney Dryfoos on new land growing along Louisiana's coast. Sara Sneath on Venture Global's tax incentives in Plaquemines Parish and parallels to the mining town of Port Sulphur.

Behind The Lens episode 224: ‘Holding power to account’

December 21, 2023 Updated December 19, 2023
Delaney Dryfoos on St. John Parish's President cutting off advocate Joy Banner during public comment. Now, she's suing for the violation of her First Amendment rights. A judge again barred the parish from changing the zoning on the Greenfield Property.

Behind The Lens episode 223: ‘History and art everywhere you look’

December 15, 2023 Updated December 15, 2023
Nick Chrastil and La'Shance Perry on the NOPD's plans to use drones which concerns privacy advocates. Some of the city's iconic crescent and star water meter covers are being replaced by generic looking lids to make way for “smart meters” which could, if they work properly, help resolve the agency’s notorious inflated bills.

Behind The Lens episode 222: ‘A safe space’

December 8, 2023 Updated February 5, 2024
The OPSB voted to close the Living School at an emotional December board meeting and the Buttermilk Drop scrambled to pay bills after its Uber Eats account was hacked.

Behind the Lens episode 221: ‘A force multiplier’

November 17, 2023 Updated November 17, 2023
The Orleans Parish DA's office is using new predictive analytics software they say can help combat crime. Some critics are concerned. And annual A through F letter grades are in — what that means for schools.

Behind The Lens episode 220: ‘Mothers want their kids out of there’

November 10, 2023 Updated November 14, 2023
This week on Behind The Lens, Jackson Parish’s is housing kids awaiting adjudication in a detention center unlicensed to do so and state A through F letter grades are due out soon.

Behind the Lens episode 219: ‘A community that depends on us’

November 3, 2023 Updated November 3, 2023
This week on Behind The Lens, a historic drought at the root of ‘superfog’ causing a massive wreck on I-55 and small non-profit news outlets, like The Lens, speak up in the ever-changing media landscape.

Behind The Lens episode 218: ‘They need stability … this does not bode well for that’

October 27, 2023 Updated February 5, 2024
This week on Behind The Lens, a $9.5 million private security contract for Louisiana youth prisons raises eyebrows.

Behind The Lens episode 217: ‘Wetlands may be severed from that historic protection’

October 20, 2023 Updated October 20, 2023
A new judicial interpretation of the Clean Water Act leaves more than half of the country’s 118 million acres of wetlands unprotected, including the swamps of Acadiana and key waterfowl habitat.

Behind The Lens episode 216: ‘It’s torturous’

October 6, 2023 Updated October 6, 2023
This week on Behind The Lens, Calvin Cains died in police custody in June and his mother sought body camera footage from on-scene officers through a lawsuit. Those recordings, she hopes, can show her sons final moments, before he was killed by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

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About The Lens

The Lens fights to reveal and report on issues that impact the community and the region.

Staunchly defending the public's right to know, we are deeply committed to sharing our knowledge with the community at large. We center human impact in all our work.

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The Lens
The Lens fights to reveal and report on issues that impact the community and the region. Staunchly defending the public's right to know and deeply committed to sharing our knowledge with the community at large. We center human impact in all our work.
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Our reporting has more urgency than ever.


For more than a decade, we have reported on issues as well as public policy meant to address the needs of residents. The Lens seeks to focus on the inherent inequality that has created a multi-tiered system. We, at The Lens seek to uncover, illuminate, inform and take part in a forward-looking community. Join us.

 
 

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