They’ll discuss the latest plans to divert water from the Mississippi River to rebuild the coast.
Criminal Justice
Stretched thin, NOPD downgrades some calls to respond to emergencies
The New Orleans Police Department has reduced response times for emergencies. They’ve done that in part by lowering the importance of some 911 calls. Department leaders say they need to prioritize life-threatening situations in order to manage the workload. But are they overlooking some true emergencies?
Environment
As coastal money flows to parishes, advocates keep wary watch on spending
Continuing revenue sharing from offshore oil development and money from BP fines will bring more than $1.5 billion to coastal parishes in the next four decades. State officials hope strong regulation coupled with the prospect of matching money will have parish leaders proposing projects to benefit coastal protection.
Schools
Most charter boards didn’t comply with or know about open-meetings law
Until The Lens investigated last month, only one charter school board in New Orleans may have been fully complying with a two-year-old state law that requires public bodies to post their minutes online, or an older law that requires the same for their agendas.
Schools
How Lusher’s board shut out the public during teachers’ union drive
State law says the public is entitled to observe how government bodies make decisions. But Lusher board members privately discussed how to respond to the union, using a boardwide email group. And they set up several private meetings that appear to have circumvented the Open Meetings Law.
Opinion
Saving St. Augustine: a spiritual memory from the Katrina recovery
Worth remembering: When NOPD drew on community culture to fight crime
Charter Schools
New Beginnings approves $175,000 annual contract for new CEO
Lusher Charter School drags feet on public-records requests
Investigations
Mayor disregards diversity in Ethics Board appointments; members fail in disclosures
Despite a city law demanding that the mayor consider demographics to ensure that boards and commissions reflect the city’s population, Mitch Landrieu appears to have passed over female and Hispanic nominees to the city’s Ethics Review Board. Separately, some Ethics Board members haven't disclosed possible conflicts of interest.