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Author Archives: Michael Isaac Stein
Michael Isaac Stein covers New Orleans' cultural economy and local government for The Lens. Before joining the staff, he freelanced for The Lens as well as The Intercept, CityLab, The New Republic, and Pacific Standard. He was recently awarded a fellowship from the Heinrich Boll Foundation, which he used to report on water scarcity, division, and colonialism in Cyprus.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Council members begin process to renew French Quarter sales tax for state trooper patrols
City officials are considering using the tax revenue for a patrol of off-duty NOPD officers instead of State Police troopers.
Posted inNews
About 3,800 people apply for Entergy bill relief program in first ten days, company tells City Council
The program has enough funding to serve about 50,000 customers. Moreno asks Entergy to push public awareness.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City Council considers ordinance to ban facial recognition and create a public review and approval process for surveillance technology
Council members were supportive of broad aspects of the ordinance, but some remain unconvinced on certain restrictions.
Posted inCoronavirus
New Orleans lost over $50 million in potential federal relief funding due to move by legislature, official tells council
City sales tax collections lag 2019, but are not as low as projected earlier in the crisis, according to Cantrell official.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Council seeks to strengthen enforcement of city’s Living Wage Ordinance with new reporting requirements
Ordinance requires annual reporting, inflation adjustment provision in multiyear contracts.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
‘Text me!’ Mayor’s new direct-text service is run by her campaign, raising questions about how data is being used
Cantrell recently urged residents to text about a city commission, but the texts are not going to the city government.
Posted inCoronavirus
Evictions resume in New Orleans
In first day of eviction hearings at First City Court after three-month suspension, judge urges landlords to give their tenants some extra time.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
City employees cannot ‘engage or respond to negative or disparaging posts’ about city government under new policy
Attorney says the policy appears to be overly broad.
Posted inCoronavirus
Racial reckoning at the Ace Hotel, Krewe and other local businesses sparked by Black Lives Matter movement, coronavirus and social media
Former and current workers from the Ace accused the company of using the identities of its Black and LGBTQ employees to sell their brand, while standing idle as employees were harassed and held back over those very same identities.