Investigations
Watchdog finds police training firm taught cops offensive and ‘likely illegal’ tactics
TRENTON, New Jersey — Instructors at a police-training conference in Atlantic City that drew 1,000 officers — including hundreds from New Jersey — glorified violence, encouraged insubordination, and promoted unconstitutional policing tactics that undercut a decade of police reform, a state watchdog said in a blistering report released Wednesday. Speakers at Street Cop’s six-day forum […]
Jefferson Parish to vote on tax break for company that crawfished on 100 jobs
The Jefferson Parish Council and its school board will both consider a multi-million dollar tax break next week for a Texas fertilizer company that reneged on its promise to bring more than 100 six-figure-salaried jobs to the parish. Both are scheduled to meet Dec. 6 and will likely call for a vote on a $3.6 […]
‘Tapped Out’: Investigation finds deeper issues with New Orleans drinking water
Emails and interviews with Sewerage and Water Board officials, combined with an extensive analysis of their data, have revealed deeper, more extensive problems within New Orleans’ drinking water testing and sample collection programs than the Illuminator and our investigative news partners at WVUE-TV Fox 8 previously reported earlier this month. For example, GPS data show […]
St. Tammany coroner fires employees who report ‘toxic’ workplace
A supervisor with the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office secretly watched and laughed at a woman’s emotional screams and cries while identifying her dead son’s body two months ago, according to former employees with knowledge of the incident — including the new coroner-elect who will take over next year. The supervisor was promoted to an […]
Tapped Out: New Orleans drinking water testing procedures don’t follow gov’t regulations
NEW ORLEANS — Dr. Stephen Giepert, his wife Alathea, and their two energetic young children live and thrive in the Lake Terrace neighborhood. They were relieved recently when it became clear an encroaching saltwater wedge in the Mississippi River would not threaten the city’s water supply. But that relief was short lived when the Louisiana […]
Tapped Out: Investigation reveals S&WB employees skipped, falsified drinking water tests
NEW ORLEANS — Records the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans sent to the state health department show plant worker Louis Pierre Jr. traveled to five locations Feb. 17 in neighborhoods on the city’s west bank to collect and analyze drinking water samples. The samples, required under state law, measure the amount of chlorine […]
New Orleans’ drinking water supply remains at risk
Forecasts for saltwater intrusion along the lower Mississippi River have grown more encouraging. While plans are in motion to safeguard the water supply from excess salt, the slow-motion crisis has raised public awareness of the various water intakes along the river. The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans has four such intake structures, two […]
Police beating outside bar 20 years ago reveals entrenched BRPD Internal Affairs flaws
The good Samaritans at Southdowns Lounge managed to break up the one-sided beatdown in the parking lot. The victim stumbled to his car and drove off, never to resurface or be named in any official records. But it wasn’t over. The men involved in the attack had moved to the nearby Sonic Drive-In that shared […]
Lack of oversight on transmission spending leads to higher electric bills, consumer advocate says
Electric customers have fallen into a “regulatory gap” that’s allowed billions of dollars of transmission construction to happen without oversight of need, prudence or cost effectiveness, according to a complaint filed with federal regulators by the Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel. And though the complaint to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was made on […]
Does Venture Global’s Louisiana LNG plant profit from pollution?
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass liquid natural gas (LNG) export terminal is in the longest ever commissioning period for a plant of its kind. The 19-month duration has enabled the company to sell LNG on the spot market at a much higher price than if the plant was fully operational. Now, experts say the unprecedented delay […]
Wrongful deaths, beatings, false arrests alleged in lawsuits against Rapides law enforcement
A string of lawsuits lays out allegations of death, violence, negligence and unwarranted arrests, stops and searches against Rapides Parish law enforcement in recent years. Plaintiffs point fingers at leadership for permitting a climate of misconduct. A Louisiana Illuminator review of federal and state court records since 2020 found multiple complaints against the Rapides Parish […]
Large donors to Landry paid millions to settle allegations of public health care overcharges
When Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry first took office in 2016, he emphasized his role in combating fraud in Medicaid, the government-backed health insurance program for people who are poor, pregnant or living with a disability. Landry, now the Republican frontrunner in the governor’s race, highlighted the work of the state’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. […]