Schools
$26,000 vanishes from charter group’s student activities fund; NOPD on the case | The Lens – New Foundations board replenished the account; student activities will not be impaired.
Behind The Test: The Rules And Regulations Leading To Reliable LEAP Data | WWNO – Part three of WWNO’s test series, in collaboration with The Lens, explores how state and local officials ensure test reliability.
Civil rights complaint alleges unequal treatment for New Orleans’ black public school students | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune — “A national coalition on Tuesday filed a federal civil rights complaint alleging Louisiana’s school closure policies discriminate against black children.”
Criminal Justice
Fact check: New Orleans’ ‘historic’ drop in homicides not as simple as Landrieu portrays | The Lens – Mayor Mitch Landrieu cited raw figures on one hand and the homicide rate on the other.
House advances bill to keep secret lethal drug vendors | The Advocate – A bill to conceal the identities of lethal injection drug suppliers is making its way to the House floor. For background, see The Lens’ previous reporting on this now nationwide controversy.
NOPD misclassified many rape cases, Inspector General audit says | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune
The New Orleans Police Department has an “institutional problem” classifying rapes, contributing to sexual assault statistics that are far below the norm for cities of similar size and crime rates, the city’s inspector general said Tuesday.
Land Use
Talk the beat with Lens reporters at BrottWorks Design Studio on May 22 | The Lens – The Lens wants our readers to understand exactly how we pursue investigative, public-interest journalism:
Founder Karen Gadbois will team with reporter Charles Maldonado to illuminate our approach to land use issues, including blight eradication. And most of the team will be present, including Pulitzer Prize winner Tyler Bridges, state and local governance, education writer Jessica Williams, and Abe Handler, news technologist.
Autopsy of the noise ordinance | Gambit – An examination of the two years of debate that led to the collapse of a proposed noise ordinance.
Landrieu administration considering market-based fees for use of Bayou St. John public space | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – The city has attempted to “impose a new ‘fair-market value’ system of fees for use of the bayou [St. John] and, possibly, other public spaces.”
Government & Politics
Keystone XL Failure On The Senate Floor Leaves Mary Sputtering | The Hayride – Scott McKay opines: “At the end of the day, the best argument for getting rid of Landrieu is Harry Reid. With Reid in charge of the Senate, that body runs about as well as Mogadishu.”
What Hillary Knew—In 1993 | POLITICO Magazine – Rarely does a week go by without a national op-ed by Gov. Bobby Jindal. This one looks back two decades at Hillary Clinton’s health care proposal.
Writing checks that can’t be cashed: Bay St. Louis is broke | Slabbed – Blogger Doug Handshoe presents evidence from audits indicating the city of Bay St. Louis’ general fund borders on insolvency.
Environment
Largely invisible tank cleaning industry awash in risk | Houston Chronicle – Tank and barge cleaning companies along the Gulf Coast appear lightly regulated, considering the workplace and environmental risks.
Helis Oil Co. agrees to drill vertically, study results before considering fracking in St. Tammany | NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune – Critics say the so-called compromise by Helis represents no change in plans. Some officials complain they were not consulted about the deal.