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Category
News

Timely coverage of the people, policies, and events shaping New Orleans and Louisiana. This category delivers clear, factual reporting that keeps readers informed about local government, community issues, and stories that matter most to everyday residents.

The gospel of Chuck

Blessed are the ones who live with vigor | Despite life’s tragic comedy.
by Chuck Perkins August 4, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026

Hell on Earth

Men incarcerated within Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola want relief from the prison’s extreme heat and overcrowding.
by Bernard Smith July 29, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026

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.
by Chuck Perkins July 29, 2025 Updated January 17, 2026

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.
by Marta Jewson July 28, 2025 Updated October 8, 2025

Unlocking opportunity:

It’s a familiar scenario. Potential employers see criminal histories and don’t hire. In New Orleans, improvements to the city’s “Ban the Box” ordinance could better challenge employment barriers. An Oct. 11 ballot amendment could expand that protection to include housing 
by Bernard Smith July 22, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026
Audience members line up to ask questions during a public discussion at Dillard University in New Orleans, La., where author and criminal justice reform advocate Calvin Duncan spoke about his new memoir The Jailhouse Lawyer. The event, hosted by Baldwin & Co. Books, drew a full crowd engaged in dialogue about Duncan’s journey from wrongful incarceration to becoming a self-taught legal expert. (Photo by Gus Bennett for The Lens)

From jailhouse lawyer to clerk of court candidate

Calvin Duncan’s unfinished mission for justice moves to a race for political office
by Bernard Smith July 15, 2025 Updated January 18, 2026

Mayor pulls nomination for ethics-plagued former Sewerage & Water Board member, pledges to reappoint at later date

Kimberly Thomas, who served a decade ago on the S&WB, was given nod by a council committee last week and was slated for Council approval on Thursday
by Matt McBride July 11, 2025 Updated July 11, 2025
A four-panel collage of Calvin Duncan speaking animatedly during an interview with The Lens. He wears glasses, a checkered shirt, and a t-shirt, using expressive hand gestures as he shares his story. The background is clean and white, highlighting his emotion and energy in each frame.

From prison to justice

Calvin Duncan’s fight to free himself and others from a broken system — an interview by Bernard Smith.
by Calvin Duncan interviewed by Bernard Smith July 8, 2025 Updated January 17, 2026
Portrait of Calvin Duncan, author of "The Jailhouse Lawyer," gazing confidently at the camera with his hand resting under his chin. He wears a checkered shirt over a t-shirt, and the background is a clean, bright white, emphasizing his thoughtful expression.

‘We helped each other. We taught each other the law.’

Calvin Duncan, one of the finest inmate counsels to ever file a writ from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, releases his autobiography today, July 8. The Lens is honored to publish an excerpt from this highly anticipated book, The Jailhouse Lawyer.
by Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull July 8, 2025 Updated January 17, 2026

Air pollution questions linger over Alabo Street Wharf

Sunrise Foods released air-quality assessments scant in detail. But early last month, LDEQ accelerated the company’s approval for its air-permit application.
by Delaney Dryfoos July 2, 2025 Updated August 12, 2025

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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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