Explainer: How did this year’s legislative session impact New Orleans and its residents?
Verite News reporter Katie Jane Fernelius breaks down the biggest questions coming out of this year’s legislative session.
EXPOSED:
How the toxic legacy of lead lingers in New Orleans.
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Justice
Legislature OKs bill tightening immigrants’ access to SNAP, healthcare
The bill builds on a Louisiana law that requires state agencies to report applicants without verified citizenship to ICE.
ENVIRONMENT
Louisiana lawmakers approve incentives for controversial wood pellet industry
A bill aimed at making Louisiana more enticing to the wood pellet industry has sailed through the state Legislature. House Bill 670 won unanimous approval in the Louisiana House and Senate and was granted final passage on Wednesday (May 27). It would ease regulations for pellet manufacturers while directing state support toward workforce development, financial…
government
Lawmakers give raises to some of Landry’s cabinet, with teacher pay unresolved
Nine of 14 department heads have received pay raises of $20,000 or more in the past two years
Criminal Justice Rollback:
How Louisiana Is Keeping People in Prison
The Unbroken Line from Whitney Plantation:
The people in these stories were real. Their stories are part of our shared history. Their legacy lives on through the telling.
Housing
City could begin disbursing affordable housing funds later this year
Under a plan discussed this week, the city will use bond proceeds, rather than general fund revenue, for the trust fund and dedicate nearly $20 million to help fund more than 370 affordable housing units.
Education
As Sarah T. Reed High School shutters, teachers worry that school closures will become the new normal
The historic ‘neighborhood school’ served one of the largest Hispanic populations in the city.
Health
Jefferson Parish, which has seen the most overdose deaths in the state, is getting tens of millions in opioid settlement money. But it has yet to spend much of it.
Jefferson Parish is poised to receive $65 million from legal settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. Three years after the money started flowing, the parish has only made one major announcement as to how it will be used — for a new drug court.
“Burned” is a three-part series on the wood pellet industry’s effects on the US South in partnership with Grist. Read the series.
More news
New Orleans News Quiz: How is Jefferson Parish spending its massive opioid settlement?
Take our quiz on how Jefferson Parish is spending its opioid settlement money.
Appeals court hears arguments on Louisiana’s 25-foot buffer law
A federal appeals court Monday (June 1) heard a request from the state of Louisiana to overturn a lower court’s decision to block a law establishing a so-called police buffer zone.
New Louisiana congressional map approved, litigation likely
Louisiana legislators Friday approved a congressional redistricting bill that could increase the state’s Republican representation in Congress, but litigation is likely imminent. It keeps only a single majority-Black district among Louisiana’s six U.S. House seats.
State wins suit over Angola ‘farm line’ working conditions
A federal judge said his hands are tied following a recent decision by an appeals court in a different Angola civil rights case.
T.K. Lawless defied racism, helped transform dermatology
Dr. Theodore Kenneth Lawless did not allow the color of his skin to define how he studied, healed and advanced dermatology. When Black medical students were barred from completing clinical training at the University of Kansas, Lawless transferred to Northwestern University in Chicago. When racial tensions intensified, he continued his studies in Europe. After Northwestern…
Detention before Disney: How a woman was separated from her child on the way to a family vacation
A couple and their six-year-old son were on their way to Disney World for a celebratory trip. Then U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showed up.
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