For more than a century, the St. Claude Avenue lift bridge over the Industrial Canal has withstood life-altering floods and record-breaking hurricanes. Last November, it became a national historic landmark. But it faces an uncertain future because of expansion plans proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a 14-year construction process that will destroy […]
Category: Top Story
Posted inKatrina20
Rust and corrosion threaten levee steel pumps and supports
A permanent fix is still on the way for corrosion found in the massive lakefront pumps – and there’s likely more corrosion on the underground steel supporting certain floodwalls, because the Army Corps only painted a fraction of it with protective coatings
Posted inKatrina20
20 years after Katrina, New Orleans schools are still ‘a work in progress’
New Orleans schools show improvement from pre-Katrina days, but families have had to weather the growing pains of the charter movement, including too many school closures, “no-excuses” discipline, and an inordinate focus on academics and not on the extracurriculars that help create well-rounded students.
Posted inKatrina20
No & yes, post-Katrina
No, the East’s rebuilding wasn’t limited to tall apartments on top of three or four levels of parking garages, despite what was proposed. And, yes, homes in neighborhoods built on former marshland were rebuilt, despite the Green Dot Plan. A reminder of what did and did not happen after Hurricane Katrina by journalist Jed Horne.
Posted inKatrina20
We Ain’t Dead Yet
“We knew it was the breath of this city | And it was the confirmation that we were looking for,” writes Chuck Perkins. We chose this poem to kick off The Lens’ week of Katrina20 stories, essays, photography, and poetry.
Posted inEntergy
Entergy gets green light for three controversial new gas plants
Public service commissioners voted 4-1 for Entergy’s proposal for three gas plants to power new energy-hungry Meta AI data center.
Posted inEnvironment
Trump-fueled gas boom has fenceline Gulf Coast communities on edge
Residents cite pollution, loss of fishing and diminished tax revenue as liquefied natural gas production accelerates here, feeding demand from Europe and Asia.
Posted inIn the N.O.
The gospel of Chuck
Blessed are the ones who live with vigor | Despite life’s tragic comedy.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Hell on Earth
Men incarcerated within Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola want relief from the prison’s extreme heat and overcrowding.
Posted inIn the N.O.
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.