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Nonprofit news for New Orleans elevating voices from communities that have been historically dismissed or ignored to create thoughtful, solution-based coverage on crucial topics. Sign up for our newsletters here: https://veritenews.org/newsletter-signup/
Press freedom nonprofit expands legal initiative to Louisiana
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is adding four new states, including Louisiana and Mississippi, to its local legal initiative, which provides attorneys for journalists to consult.
Valena C. Jones was a Black school facility before its time
As plans emerge to repurpose the Valena C. Jones Elementary School building, its history is a reminder of what it once meant to this community.
Appellate court limits options for immigrants to seek release from detention
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals eliminates the pathway to release from detention that freed a Salvadoran man in Jackson Parish Correctional Center in Jonesboro, La. in October 2025.
In Louisiana, Bill Cassidy faces the music for voting to confirm Kennedy and impeach Trump
A year after Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, warily cast the vote ensuring Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ascension to health and human services secretary, his life’s work — in medicine and in politics —…
Redevelopment of historic school, originally opened for Black students and shuttered after Katrina, must include educational component
The Orleans Parish School Board wants a developer to take over the Valena C. Jones Elementary building. A legal analysis by the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority…
News: In 2019, the New Orleans City Council capped the population of the city's jail system at 1,250 people. A new data analysis from @veritenews.org finds that excluding the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the jail has largely exceeded that cap—especially in 2025.
veritenews.org/2026/03/04/n...
Mocktail Mondays: Succotash NOLA
Welcome back to Mocktail Mondays, a series dedicated to taking a break from alcohol with fun, non-alcoholic drink recipes from some of New Orleans’ best restaurants. Dr. Robert Spears Jr., DDS, talks about how alcohol affects teeth and gums (acid wear, dry mouth)…
The N.O. jail’s population limit is 1,250. It was above that throughout last year.
New Orleans’ jail population remained well above its legally mandated cap in 2025. Is a recent decline progress—or an outlier?
Federal funding for people in poverty heading to anti-abortion centers instead
Louisiana has redirected $12.3 million in TANF funds to crisis pregnancy centers since 2017.
Freedom Rider Betty Rosemond fought for civil rights
In 1961 in Poplarville, Miss., Rosemond hid in a phone booth as a group of white men dragged three Freedom Riders from a bus station, put them in the back of a truck and sped away.
Norman C. Francis eulogized as ‘institution‘ builder, civil rights leader and family man’ at funeral mass celebrating the life of the longtime Xavier University president
Francis, who led Xavier for nearly 50 years, died last month at the age of 94.
New Orleans News Quiz: Plans to expand city recycling program at risk
Test your knowledge of New Orleans news with our latest quiz on the city's recycling program.
Very important service journalism by @halleparker.bsky.social for @veritenews.org:
veritenews.org/2026/03/02/m...
The Unbroken Line: Golden Grain — West Africans and rice in Colonial Louisiana
Rice cultivation can be traced back to 1500 B.C. in West Africa.
From @veritenews.org Wilmer Guevara Brito was in the country on a humanitarian parole program that covered hundreds of thousands of immigrants. But Trump pulled the plug on it last year. And Guevara Brito was picked up during operation Catahoula Crunch. veritenews.org/2026/02/27/c...
Reddit AMA recap: What does immigration enforcement in New Orleans look like post-Catahoula Crunch?
Reporter Bobbi-Jeanne Misick answers questions from readers about everything from who profits off immigration detention centers to who is being detained in Louisiana.
Dorothy Prevost was a courageous civil rights matriarch
When her 6-year-old daughter walked past white mobs on Nov. 14, 1960 to desegregate McDonogh 19 Elementary School, Dorothy Prevost was terrified.
Norman C. Francis, the New Orleans civil rights leader who died Feb. 18 at the age of 94, will lie in state on Monday, March 2, at the Xavier University Convocation Center. https://ow.ly/EWHg50Ynprq
Full program details below.
Environment reporter Tristan Baurick joined Verite News in 2024 and has covered everything from chemical plants and offshore wind energy to a rare Gulf of Mexico whale and lead contamination in New Orleans parks.
Have questions for Tristan? Drop them in the comments.
Ruling: the Louisiana State Supreme Court should decide whether a recently enacted state ban on “sanctuary policies” requires the Sheriff’s Office to dissolve its pre-existing policy. https://ow.ly/BE8k50Ynpuz
🔎 Happening now: Reddit AMA with immigration reporter Bobbi-Jeanne Misick. https://ow.ly/M8gl50YmaWb
Could these approaches to lead reduction work in New Orleans? veritenews.org/2026/02/25/h...
The success of these efforts were due in part to pressure from federal enforcement orders, the enactment of city and state laws and access to federal funding.
Most of Rhode Island’s homes were built before lead paint was banned in 1978. For years, compliance and enforcement of inspection requirements were low, with less than 15% of rentals certified “lead-safe.” In late 2025, that had increased to 40%.
Indianapolis Parks & Recreation and Indiana University tested soil at city parks and found one hot spot under an old bench. They added concrete, a thick layer of mulch and plants over the contaminated soil so kids wouldn’t play directly in the dirt.
Benton Harbor, Michigan residents concerned over corroding pipes leaching lead into their drinking water petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency in 2021. By the end of 2023, the city had replaced all of its lead pipes.
Reporter @halleparker.bsky.social spoke with experts in other parts of the country to learn about successful lead reduction efforts that could serve as a roadmap for New Orleans. veritenews.org/2026/02/25/h...
T.J. Smith suit desegregated St. Tammany schools
T.J. Smith walked 12 miles to school every day in St. Tammany Parish. And every day, a yellow bus passed him by taking the white students to school.
‘It’s a nightmare’: Kenner family fights to reunite, clear name in the wake of Catahoula Crunch
Wilmer Guevara Brito was in the country on a humanitarian parole program that covered hundreds of thousands of immigrants. But Trump pulled the plug on it last year. And he was picked up during…
