In Louisiana, one of the nation’s most impoverished states, recipients could easily lose food stamps through the work-requirement red tape, advocates say. The sponsoring legislator says that “work provides lasting value we can give back to our families, our community, and God.” The post Thousands of food-stamp recipients may face more strict work requirements appeared first on The Lens ..read more

La'Shance Perry on St. John Parish's vote on rezoning for Greenfield. Delaney Dryfoos on Gov. Landry's Task Force for Sewerage and Water Board. And Katy Reckdahl on union organizing at Tulane University. The post Behind The Lens episode 234: ‘Rabble-rousing at the Big Green’ appeared first on The Lens ..read more

On Tuesday, St. John the Baptist Parish Council voted to rezone nearly 1,300 acres of land on the rural West Bank of the Mississippi River from residential to heavy industrial use. The land is currently leased to Greenfield Louisiana, LLC, which plans to build a massive grain-export facility in the historically Black community of Wallace.  […] The post Greenfield wins in St. John, for the moment appeared first on The Lens ..read more

New Orleans and South Louisiana have a rich tradition of gathering, and food plays a major part in bringing people together. When people gather and eat, they inevitably talk about the issues of the day. For many people that means what is happening in their own backyards. Local news as it were.  We will bring […] The post Join us April 18 for a new event: Breaking Bread, Breaking News appeared first on The Lens ..read more

At the top edge of the Bywater, where Royal Street crosses the railroad tracks, a plaque marks a moment that changed our nation’s history.  A shoemaker named Homer Plessy was arrested here in 1892 for sitting in a passenger railcar designated for “whites.”  The arrest was planned; Plessy’s friends, the Citizens Committee, called ahead to […] The post There’s healing to be done in New Orleans, say descendants of Homer Plessy and John H. Ferguson appeared first on The Lens ..read more

On Thursday, The Descendants Project faced off again against Greenfield Louisiana, LLC in the 40th Judicial District Court in Edgard. At the hearing, The Descendants Project asked Judge J. Sterling Snowdy to block the St. John The Baptist Parish Council from hearing a proposed zoning ordinance at its next scheduled meeting, on Tuesday. The ordinance […] The post St. John the Baptist Council could sanction ‘dangerous formula’ appeared first on The Lens ..read more

On the Tulane University campus, everything seemed in motion this week: leaves were sprouting on big live-oak trees, students in Tulane t-shirts were milling around on the big grassy lawn or scrolling through their cell phones on the campus’ signature-green Adirondack chairs. Meanwhile, some of the historic university’s instructors were restless in a different way. […] The post Let the bargaining begin appeared first on The Lens ..read more

Recommendations for fixes to the city’s chronically troubled Sewerage & Water Board come from Gov. Jeff Landry’s task force and the Water Justice Fund, which warns that, without revenue shifts, smaller customers could bear the financial burden for citywide problems. After focusing on “the frequent failures” of the city’s Sewerage & Water Board of New […] The post Flood of suggestions appeared first on The Lens ..read more

Recently, I attended a showcase at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center, where this city’s arrested youth are held pre-trial. I was invited by artist Journey Allen, who directs youth education for the Young Artists Movement (YAM), the citywide mural initiative that I helped to found eight years ago. To present the showcase, JJIC set up […] The post Paintbrush, iPad, or Glock? appeared first on The Lens ..read more

We both started working at Grow Dat because we needed jobs. We knew very little about gardening and didn’t know how we’d fit in. We found a crew of people who supported us and helped us to appreciate the natural setting within Grow Dat’s corner of City Park. Now, that magical place is endangered, by […] The post Let’s make plans together about the future of our beloved City Park appeared first on The Lens ..read more