The lawyer for groups opposed to the Entergy New Orleans power plant in eastern New Orleans says urging recipients of foundation donations to publicly support the company violates tax law.
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
June drug bust shows potential pitfalls of citywide surveillance system, defense attorneys say
Surveillance of a drug suspect may have violated his civil rights, his lawyer tells The Lens. Police report claims an undercover officer was on the scene, but that’s not clear.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Entergy leverages charitable giving to avoid City Council fine
As City Council considers $5 million fine over paid actor scandal, council members receive letters from charitable groups supported by Entergy.
Posted inCriminal Justice
DA to use most of city budget bump for prosecutors, not diversion program
Cantrell budget proposal says the additional funds will be spent on pretrial diversion, but DA Cannizzaro says the money will be spent on prosecutor salaries.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Arts Council urges City Council to increase funding for municipal arts grants
Mayor’s budget proposes keeping funding steady at $405,000. Arts Council wants it increased to $450,000.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Cantrell traffic enforcement plan could cause problems for public defenders
Police, DA and city surveillance system get bumps in Cantrell’s budget, but public defender appropriation remains steady. Decreased camera tickets could lead to lost funding for defense.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Cantrell administration admits to inaccuracies in 2019 budget proposal
The 2019 City Council budget hearings began with an apology.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Council votes for potential $5 million fine on Entergy, some councilmembers open to revoting on power plant
Two councilmembers indicated that they are open to revoting on Entergy’s proposal for a new power plant in eastern New Orleans.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Months after end of ‘predictive policing’ contract, Cantrell administration works on new tool to ID ‘high-risk’ residents
The researcher whose work was used in NOLA for Life, Chicago “heat list” is involved in developing the new program for Cantrell’s violence reduction task force. Task force members hope the list will be used to direct residents to social services, not police.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Entergy investigation is delayed for a second time
The new deadline for the investigation into the use of paid actors at City Council meetings is Nov. 2, nearly two months after the original deadline.