Operating capital
As Louisiana restarts executions, stories about the state’s death penalty — from condemned men, victims, families, and those who work in the death chamber.
Category: Government & Politics
The Lens Carnival Edition 2025
Our reporters stayed on their beats, covering how Carnival affects the way New Orleans works - and doesn't work.
Who will end up paying for Gov. Jeff Landry’s temporary Super Bowl homeless shelter?
State officials are asking the federal government to reimburse $20 million in costs for the 200-bed shelter as part of a Super Bowl-Mardi Gras security package. The state is also tapping leftover COVID-19 rental assistance funds.
Great River Road dropped from consideration as a National Historic Landmark, for now
The head of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the president of St. John Parish said the West Bank is “now open for business.”
True Terror: New Orleans Likely Not Prepared for Much
"As a researcher who has closely observed, personally experienced local struggles," says the writer, Bethany Garfield, "it’s with a heavy heart that I say that investigations into the state of our city’s protective plans and systems will likely garner the following conclusion: New Orleans isn’t ready for much of anything.."
Behind the scenes of Super Bowl shelter planning
Emails show that state officials considered creating a shelter in a barge moored in Industrial Canal — and that prominent local developers knew about the shelter long before some city officials.
Super Bowl planners: ‘Anticipate any features of the [Lower 9] neighborhood which could be used by media to substantiate Katrina narrative’
Embracing Katrina narratives
After an insinuation made by a Super Bowl planning committee, reporters from The Lens asked Lower 9 residents what Super Bowl visitors should see, plotted the points on a map, and documented the Katrina narratives that go with each landmark.
St. John the Baptist Parish cleared in First Amendment lawsuit
A jury found that the defendants didn’t violate Joy Banner’s right to free speech or the Louisiana Open Meetings Law. But testimony revealed a hatred the Parish President harbors against the co-founders of The Descendants Project.
Trial begins in First Amendment suit against St. John the Baptist Parish
Joy Banner of The Descendants Project brought the lawsuit after the Parish Council chairman threatened her with prosecution and imprisonment for speaking during the public comment period of a 2023 meeting.
