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Behind The Lens episode 274: 'Human decency'

2 weeks ago | thelensnola.org | Carolyne Heldman

This week on Behind The Lens, a brazen escape from the Orleans Parish jail in New Orleans took place last month.
Will Ascension Parish become Ammonia Parish?

2 weeks ago | thelensnola.org | Delaney Dryfoos

The air in Ascension Parish is already saturated with the pungent odor of ammonia, a scent reminiscent of strong cleaning products or even cat urine. The odor emanates from the world’s largest ammonia plant, CF Industries’ Donaldsonville Complex. Of the nation’s counties, Ascension Parish is one of the most polluted. The complex rivals a small city, stretching 1,400 acres along the west bank of the Mississippi River.
K-3 reading improves as Louisiana continues early-literacy focus

3 weeks ago | thelensnola.org | Marta Jewson

The number of Louisiana kindergarteners reading at or above grade level doubled during the 2024-25 school year, Louisiana Department of Education officials reported Thursday. That data comes from the state’s early literacy screener — a test to measure whether kindergarten through third/grade students are reading at grade level. “We’re extremely thrilled,” said Danny Bosch, the director of advocacy at The Center for Literacy and Learning.
Tracking the sediment carried by the muddy Mississippi

1 month ago | thelensnola.org | Delaney Dryfoos

Mississippi River ships and barges carry over 500 million tons of cargo through the Southwest Pass shipping channel at the river’s end to reach major ports that handle 18% of U.S. waterborne commerce. For almost 100 years, levees and other human-made flood control structures have lined the banks of the river, obstructing its land-building silt, sand and clay from naturally rebuilding land along coastal Louisiana.
Behind The Lens episode 273: 'Caught in the lurch'

1 month ago | thelensnola.org | Carolyne Heldman

This week on Behind The Lens, the largest new delta in North America is forming through a naturally occurring sediment diversion on the Mississippi River. Scientists there say the land-building power of the channel can be seen right under their feet.
KIPP and NOLA Public Schools argue over special education of a kindergartener

1 month ago | thelensnola.org | Marta Jewson

A young New Orleans child is caught in the crossfire as the city’s school district and its largest charter operator argue over the kindergartener’s special-education services. While NOLA Public Schools officials allege that KIPP New Orleans Schools failed to educate the child last school year, the KIPP charter group contends it couldn’t educate the student at home without a doctor’s note. The family wanted the child to be educated within a home setting, but was unable to make that happen.
Through a new Mississippi River channel, Mother Nature shows the land-building power of sediment diversions

1 month ago | thelensnola.org | Delaney Dryfoos

As politicians argue over just how much land the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion could build along a rapidly sinking coast, geologist Alex Kolker regularly makes the 65-mile drive down from New Orleans to document Neptune Pass, the largest new branch of the Mississippi River to form in nearly a century. As the fast-flowing river water carries sediment into the Neptune Pass channel, the water slows down just enough to drop silt, sand and clay in the bay.
Behind The Lens episode 272: 'Growing threat'

1 month ago | thelensnola.org | Carolyne Heldman

This week on Behind The Lens, the Calcasieu river’s ongoing pollution, on top of decades of hazardous waste dumping, earned it a top 10 slot on American Rivers’ 2025 list of most endangered rivers. The Orleans Parish School Board heard a settlement offer from the City of New Orleans in a years-old tax lawsuit. The school board contends the city has illegally skimmed millions of tax dollars from schools.
School leaders, board “cautiously optimistic” about city’s settlement offer in tax-skimming lawsuit

1 month ago | thelensnola.org | Marta Jewson

The Orleans Parish School Board will meet Monday morning to consider a settlement offer from the city of New Orleans in a six-year-old legal battle over property taxes. School leaders hope to add money to their strained coffers, though they don’t yet know the offer’s details, they said. Getting to this point has been a political rollercoaster.
LNG terminals threaten to push Calcasieu River pollution ‘beyond repair’

2 months ago | thelensnola.org | Delaney Dryfoos

In southwest Louisiana, James Hiatt still considers the Calcasieu River to be sacred fishing grounds. But for decades, Hiatt and other locals have been told that they can get sick from the seafood they catch in the river, which contains mercury and other toxins. As increasing numbers of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals rise up along the river, locals fear that the contamination could worsen rapidly.