Latest news with #TheDescendantsProject
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Advocates call for Tulane's president to step down following researcher resigning
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — News of former Tulane University researcher Dr. Kimberly Terrell's resignation is causing an uproar, putting pressure on President Michael Fitts. 'Instead of standing up for the law clinic, and instead of standing up for the research, he has decided to cave. We encourage him to be part of us, part of the team in this country and on this campus that is standing for democracy,' said Founding Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade Ann Rolfes. Rolfes claims Fitts is being pressured by donors and politicians to censure Dr. Terrell's research on pollution and job disparities in local communities. NOPD officials release footage from officer-involved shooting incident 'Dr. Terrell was prohibited from participating in interviews about her research, and also forbidden from talking with people like us about her expertise at every attempt to make her case for the law clinic and to challenge the gag order. Dr. Terrell was silenced,' said Rolfes. Many of the protestors, like co-executive director for Inclusive Louisiana, Barbara Washington, credit Terrell and the Tulane Law Clinic for educating the community about the potential adverse health affects from industrial plants. 'We had chronic illnesses, people were dying from cancer. We contacted again Tulane Law Clinic. The work that Dr. Terrell did help us with the scientific information,' said Washington. 'We can no longer stay silent as our rights and freedoms are being trampled upon. We believe in the value of our work, and we've committed our lives to the pursuit of knowledge. Our conviction is unwavering, and we call upon our university leaders to stand with us,' said Tulane Professor Michelle Lacey. Advocates plan to continue to fight for Terrell to be reinstated and continue her research uncensored. 'The law clinic invites criticism. That's what we do is follow the institutions. But to attack the truth, then that means that you are not standing up for integrity. It means that you already have a truth. You have decided that you don't want inconvenience,' said The Descendants Project Co-Founder and Co-Director Joy Banner. Two arrested after 17-year-old fatally shot in St. John the Baptist Parish Rolfes says this is not the first attack on the clinic to silence their findings, as the university has brought in consultants tasked with evaluating if and how the clinic checks for potential controversies. In a statement Tulane University says: 'Tulane is fully committed to protecting academic freedom and the strong pedagogical value of law clinics. We have not limited or hindered the clinic from pursuing its mission to promote student learning and development. This is the fundamental purpose of all of the university's law clinics. Debates about how to best pursue the teaching mission of law clinics have occurred at law schools throughout the country and at Tulane for years. This is not something new. We have been working with the leadership of the law school for the past several years to better understand how the clinics can most effectively support the university's educational mission. This effort includes recent input from an independent, third-party review. Our goal is academic excellence for the benefit of our students that meets and exceeds the best practices of clinics at law schools nationwide.'Florida man booked 120 free flights posing as a flight attendant $4.3 million on the line as Shreveporter competes in U.S. Open Smugglers still active on the outskirts of El Paso Donrelle Sanford arrested for smuggling contraband in prison Timeless classic, 'Grease' now showing at Beau Rivage in Biloxi Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Environmental groups sue over Louisiana's ban on community air monitoring
Six grassroots environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit this week that takes aim at a 2024 Louisiana law that essentially crippled community-based air monitoring in the state. The suit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, calls the law an 'industry-friendly ban' that bars groups from using their own independent air monitoring systems to warn residents living in fenceline communities about potential health risks. 'Our legislature and officials should do everything in their power to stop industry from polluting our air in the first place,' said Joy Banner, co-founder of The Descendants Project, one of the six plaintiffs in the lawsuit. 'To attack our First Amendment rights instead is arcane, illegal and dangerous.' The coalition's lawsuit argues that Louisiana's air monitoring law suppresses evidence collected by more affordable air quality monitoring equipment that they use to help 'fenceline' communities better understand the quality of the air they're breathing. The lawsuit alleges the law does this by preventing the use of this data to allege air quality violations, with penalties of up to $32,500 a day, plus $1 million for intentional violations. The plaintiffs argue this violates their right to free speech. The lawsuit comes at a time when a new report from a special legislative task force is urging Louisiana lawmakers to invest millions more in monitoring and real-time notification of hazardous emissions in communities hardest hit by pollution. The Bayou State is one of the most industrialized in the United States, with 476 major air pollution sources — including petroleum, chemical, plastics and sugar facilities — as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The recommendations from a special legislative task force come nearly a year after lawmakers crippled Louisiana grassroot organizations' efforts to do their own analysis of air quality. The law they passed prohibits data collected from community-run air monitoring programs from being used in enforcement, lawsuits or regulatory actions. The task force was made up of state environmental officials, industry lobbyists and representatives from the nonprofit environmental group that was a target of the new law, which set standards for air monitoring so high that grassroots groups can't meet them. The report submitted last month to the House and Senate legislative environmental committees recommends that lawmakers spend at least $13 million to establish a more robust and localized air monitoring and notification system within the state's Department of Environmental Quality. LDEQ's current system consists of 29 continuous monitoring sites that report annually to the EPA and track real-time data on emissions — including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. It also operates seven non-continuous monitoring sites that help the agency track long-term trends in air quality. And it has four temporary monitoring sites that can be strategically placed in areas of concern, generally collecting a year of data in each location. The report recommends that LDEQ place additional air monitors near the top polluting industrial facilities in the state based on the volume and toxicity of their emissions and their proximity to 'fenceline' communities. The committee estimated these regulatory monitors would cost nearly $800,000 per site and between $150,000 to $200,000 in annual operating and maintenance expenses. It suggested the state could locate them near 10% to 20% of Louisiana's major air pollution sources — which would mean tens of millions of dollars just in capital costs. In addition to more monitoring, the task force recommends a notification system capable of blasting out real-time text and phone call alerts about possible air quality dangers to nearby residents. Such a notification system has an estimated price tag of $5.2 million for initial set up and annual maintenance. The recommendations would require LDEQ to hire 48 new people, to join the team of seven currently dedicated to overseeing the data collected by the existing network of monitoring sites, at an annual cost of about $8.2 million. But there's no indication yet from state leaders or LDEQ that money will be allocated to implement the report's recommendations. The Republican chairs of Louisiana's Senate Environmental Quality Committee and House committee on Natural Resources and Environment did not respond to questions from Floodlight about the report. Inquiries to officials with LDEQ also went unanswered. 'I would hope that the Legislature would believe that having information that affects people's health, affects workers' health and affects communities would be an important priority for them,' said Marylee Orr, executive director of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN). LEAN had a seat on the 11-member task force that drafted the report. The organization received $500,000 in federal funding allocated for community-run air monitoring programs in former President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). LEAN used the money to deploy a fleet of mobile air-monitoring vehicles that collected samples along the Mississippi River area in southwest Louisiana known as 'Cancer Alley.' The group also has partnered with a bulk storage facility for liquids — including ethanol, diesel and other petroleum products — in St. Rose, Louisiana, to monitor air quality in nearby neighborhoods. Localized, coordinated air monitoring efforts like LEAN's have been a tool marginalized communities overburdened by polluting industries have tried to demonstrate air quality problems and push state leaders for tougher regulations and enforcement of the Clean Air Act. Orr said LEAN favors this latest step urging the Legislature to act but, 'I don't know where the money's going to be coming from.' Environmental advocates have long criticized Louisiana's existing air monitoring system, calling it insufficient to accurately measure pollution since there aren't enough monitors located where air quality is the most compromised. The state ranks fourth highest among 56 states and territories for toxic emissions per square mile, according to EPA's Toxic Release Inventory. Roughly 400 Louisiana facilities emitted 132 million pounds of toxic pollution in 2022. Chet Wayland, former director of the EPA's Air Quality Assessment Division, said most states' air monitoring systems are designed to meet the minimum standards for ambient air. That means not necessarily putting them near industrial facilities, but rather in more densely populated places to measure air pollutants including particulate matter, ozone and sulfur dioxide, he said. Wayland said states can increase air quality oversight through community-based air monitors. He said such localized air monitoring, as California and New York use, is the best way to track the emissions of the more dangerous air toxins like benzene, toluene, heavy metals and industrial solvents. 'We all would love to see more data available. Clearly we can't monitor every single place that we should be monitoring. The resources aren't there from the federal standpoint and — I get it — they're not there from the state standpoint as well,' Wayland said. He said a 'smart strategy' would be to place monitors in places where people are more likely to be exposed to harmful air pollutants, adding, 'It would be nice to have some indication of what the air quality is in those areas.' The task force report also suggests supplementing new monitors with air quality sensors that are cheaper and could detect pollutants wafting through communities. The report acknowledges these air sensors are 'prone to inaccuracies' and are most useful for offering general insight into air quality — not as a resource for enforcement. Nationally, approximately $117 million was earmarked in the IRA for state, local governments, tribal nations and community groups to implement, upgrade and continue various air monitoring programs in fenceline communities. But Romany Webb, deputy director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, noted that Congress is currently considering a budget proposal that seeks to repeal a lot of those funds and clawback any unobligated money across all IRA-funded initiatives. 'But, as I'm sure you know, the bill still has to pass the Senate and is likely to change (perhaps significantly) before that happens,' Webb said. EPA spokesperson Shayla Powell said the agency is 'reviewing all of its grant programs' to gauge whether they are an 'appropriate use of taxpayer dollars' and 'align with' the current administration's policies. She added, 'Maybe the Biden-Harris administration shouldn't have forced their radical agenda of wasteful DEI programs and 'environmental justice' preferencing the EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment.' Jay Benforado, board chair for the Association for Advancing Participatory Sciences, said all signals from the current administration lead him to think that community air monitoring won't survive. As for the task force report, Benforado said its recommendations failed to factor in the valuable role that community members, volunteers and academics could play in monitoring air quality. 'I felt the (task force) report…missed the mark somewhat in terms of garnering the full value of community air monitoring,' Benforado said. 'Their definition of community air monitoring was how a state government runs community air monitoring. There was less emphasis on engaging the community as equal participants in an air monitoring program.' Floodlight is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powers stalling climate action.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jury rules in favor of St. John Parish officials in case involving environmental advocate
St. John the Baptist President Jaclyn Hotard, pictured in front of the property where a massive grain terminal with 56 silos was proposed. (LAI photo illustration) NEW ORLEANS — A jury reached a verdict Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 29) on a First Amendment case filed by environmental justice activist Joy Banner against St. John the Baptist Parish President Jaclyn Hotard, Parish Council President Michael Wright and the parish. The nine jurors found three things to be true in their verdict: that Wright, Hotard and the parish did not restrict Banner's speech, that the three defendants did not engage in First Amendment retaliation and that they did not violate Louisiana's Open Meetings Law. As a result, Banner will not receive compensatory or punitive damages. The jury took more than three hours to deliberate in the U.S. Eastern District of Louisiana courthouse in New Orleans where the trial took place. Hotard and Wright were not in the courtroom for the verdict. Cam Owens, one of the jurors, said that the video of the 2023 council meeting that set this case off was the deciding factor for the jury. He said that he felt the testimonies were a bit muddled and that the video helped to clarify what occurred. He also said that he felt Banner had the chance to speak at the meeting. 'We broke down her amount of time, and when she was stopping, when she was interrupted, and she had three minutes [to speak], and even though they were interrupting her, she did get out what she was trying to say,' he told reporters. 'I think at the end of the day, they did try to stop her, but she did actually say what she had to say.' Owens said he thinks Banner was not fully able to say what she had to, but that it would still be inaccurate to say that her First Amendment rights were violated because she did get to talk. In Nov. 2023, Banner attended a council meeting and attempted to make a public comment about the council's potential decision to hire an attorney for Hotard to represent her in an ethics investigation related to the now-canceled Greenfield grain terminal project. Hotard interrupted Banner at that meeting and told Wright to stop Banner's comment. Wright read off a statute that implied that Banner could be fined or imprisoned for continuing to speak. After trying to speak several times, Banner eventually walked away from the podium. Banner and her twin sister Jo Banner founded The Descendants Project, an organization dedicated to telling the history of and advocating for Black communities within the River Parishes. They opposed the Greenfield development because they believed it would have negative environmental effects on their Wallace community. Both Banner sisters commented on the verdict outside of the courtroom, along with Joy's attorney William Most. Joy Banner said that wished the outcome was different, but that the case shined a light on transparency issues within St. John. In this way, she said the case was a win. St. John president's mother-in-law admits she would have benefited from land deal 'A win would have been nice, but it was honestly making the parish president [and] Michael Wright, our public officials have to answer for the decisions that they've made,' Joy said. Joy said that she knows she made the right decision to go forward with the trial and said that this was an eye-opening process. Text messages that surfaced as evidence in the case had revealed that Hotard had kept her mother-in-law, who stood to benefit from a rezoning measure tied to the Greenfield project, updated on the project, though Hotard had previously claimed no such communications existed. 'I think that President Hotard took a lot of effort to keep a lot of things hidden, and now it's out there,' Jo Banner said. 'It's a matter of public record.' Joy also described an accusation by Hotard's attorney that she and her sister are trying to be social media influencers as 'inaccurate' and that social media helps amplify their activism. Most said that there may be future legal repercussions with regard to Hotard. He said that this trial revealed that Hotard's husband had a financial stake in the land where Greenfield would have been. 'The parish president has not committed to recusing herself from decisions about that plan [about Greenfield], so there may be future legal repercussions,' Most said. Verite News reached out to Hotard and Ike Spears, Hotard's attorney, for a comment on potential future legal repercussions resulting from what was revealed in the case, but they did not immediately respond. Joy Banner said that she will 'absolutely' continue her advocacy at St. John meetings and that the problems with transparency among parish leadership have become a 'rallying cry.' 'We will continue to do the work,' Joy said. 'They see us fighting.' This article first appeared on Verite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. .
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana environmental activist loses freedom of speech lawsuit against parish officials
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana parish officials who threatened to arrest and imprison an environmental activist as she attempted to speak during a public meeting did not violate her right to freedom of speech, a unanimous civil jury ruled Wednesday. Joy Banner had sought more than $2 million in damages from two St. John the Baptist parish officials — Parish President Jaclyn Hotard and councilmember Michael Wright — who she said blocked her from raising allegations of corruption tied to industrial development at a public meeting. While Banner's attorneys said the case had important implications for protecting outspoken citizens from government censorship, lawyers representing the parish said they were model officials trying to curtail disruption and keep the meeting on track. The case is part of a broader series of disputes playing out in courts and public hearings between grassroots community groups and Louisiana officials over industrial expansion in the 85-mile (136-kilometer) chemical corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, often referred to by environmental activists as 'Cancer Alley" because of its high pollution levels. Banner, co-founder of the environmental and racial justice organization The Descendants Project, gained a national reputation fighting against an $800 million grain terminal slated for her predominantly Black community in St. John the Baptist parish. The project was later aborted. In a November 2023 parish council meeting, Banner sought to oppose an agenda item introduced by Hotard to use taxpayer funds for a lawyer to defend parish officials from ethics complaints. The state ethics board had launched an investigation after Banner filed a complaint pointing out that Hotard's mother-in-law, Darla Gaudet, owned a marine transport company that owned land near the proposed site for the grain terminal. As Banner began to discuss these concerns during the public comment period, councilmember Michael Wright repeatedly banged his gavel and both he and Hotard told Banner she was not speaking on topic as she made her remarks. Wright then quoted from an obsolete law under which anyone who publicly shared testimony given to a state ethics board investigation could be subject to one year of imprisonment. A federal judge deemed the law unconstitutional years ago. 'When I heard the words imprisonment and misdemeanor, I thought, 'That's it, I'm going to jail, I've messed everything up, my business is going to be ruined, my name is going to be ruined.' I was terrified and shocked," Banner later testified. Ike Spears, the parish officials' attorney, noted that they had also interrupted and instructed to stay on topic other members of the public who spoke during the public comment period. He described Banner as a 'disruptive citizen' striving to become a 'social media influencer' and garner media attention from the litigation. 'She wants us to reward this conduct with $2 million plus,' Spears told jurors. Banner's attorney William Most countered that her intended comments at the public meeting were 'vital' to informing the parish about Hotard's potential conflicts of interest. 'Joy Banner was treated differently than anyone else: She was the only person threatened with arrest and she was also the only one to raise the issue of Hotard's family business interests,' Most said. 'She was directly on topic." Hotard also used vitriolic language to describe Banner, including fantasizing about strangling her, in text messages to her mother-in-law that were introduced as evidence. Most said the messages indicated that Hotard had a personal motivation to shut down Banner's participation in a public meeting. The state ethics board ruled last year that Hotard had not violated state ethics laws. Yet Hotard's mother-in-law later revealed during a deposition for Banner's lawsuit that Hotard's husband is a beneficiary of a trust that owned land overlapping with the planned railroad route leading into the proposed grain terminal. Spears acknowledged that Hotard would 'probably' personally benefit from the grain terminal's approval. But he said increased tax revenue and good-paying jobs were the parish president's driving motivation in supporting the project. Hotard, who was not present for the verdict, did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The jury sent a 'strong message against frivolous lawsuits,' Wright said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. 'This is a significant victory for St. John Parish and a promising sign for businesses and industries considering the River Parishes as their home.' Juror Cam Owen said he was ready to vote in Banner's favor following closing arguments. He changed his mind — and came to tears during deliberations — after closely reviewing the facts and video footage of the public meeting, which he described as the 'deciding factor" for the jury. Owen said jurors calculated the amount of time Banner was able to speak and concluded she was able to express most of her viewpoint. 'At the end of the day, you know, they did try to stop her, but she did actually say what she had to say,' Owen said. The jury also ruled that the parish had not violated Louisiana's open meetings law. Banner said she had no regrets about bringing the lawsuit and said it uncovered the parish president's hidden financial interests. 'The purpose of this case was for transparency,' Banner said. 'I think it's important to hold people accountable for the things that we feel are wrong.' 'I hope you can heal,' Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown told Banner and the parish officials after the verdict. 'This is only one part of the process.' ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on X: @jack_brook96. Jack Brook, The Associated Press
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Louisiana environmental activist loses freedom of speech lawsuit against parish officials
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana parish officials who threatened to arrest and imprison an environmental activist as she attempted to speak during a public meeting did not violate her right to freedom of speech, a unanimous civil jury ruled Wednesday. Joy Banner had sought more than $2 million in damages from two St. John the Baptist parish officials — Parish President Jaclyn Hotard and councilmember Michael Wright — who she said blocked her from raising allegations of corruption tied to industrial development at a public meeting. While Banner's attorneys said the case had important implications for protecting outspoken citizens from government censorship, lawyers representing the parish said they were model officials trying to curtail disruption and keep the meeting on track. The case is part of a broader series of disputes playing out in courts and public hearings between grassroots community groups and Louisiana officials over industrial expansion in the 85-mile (136-kilometer) chemical corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, often referred to by environmental activists as 'Cancer Alley" because of its high pollution levels. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Banner, co-founder of the environmental and racial justice organization The Descendants Project, gained a national reputation fighting against an $800 million grain terminal slated for her predominantly Black community in St. John the Baptist parish. The project was later aborted. In a November 2023 parish council meeting, Banner sought to oppose an agenda item introduced by Hotard to use taxpayer funds for a lawyer to defend parish officials from ethics complaints. The state ethics board had launched an investigation after Banner filed a complaint pointing out that Hotard's mother-in-law, Darla Gaudet, owned a marine transport company that owned land near the proposed site for the grain terminal. As Banner began to discuss these concerns during the public comment period, councilmember Michael Wright repeatedly banged his gavel and both he and Hotard told Banner she was not speaking on topic as she made her remarks. Wright then quoted from an obsolete law under which anyone who publicly shared testimony given to a state ethics board investigation could be subject to one year of imprisonment. A federal judge deemed the law unconstitutional years ago. 'When I heard the words imprisonment and misdemeanor, I thought, 'That's it, I'm going to jail, I've messed everything up, my business is going to be ruined, my name is going to be ruined.' I was terrified and shocked," Banner later testified. Ike Spears, the parish officials' attorney, noted that they had also interrupted and instructed to stay on topic other members of the public who spoke during the public comment period. He described Banner as a 'disruptive citizen' striving to become a 'social media influencer' and garner media attention from the litigation. 'She wants us to reward this conduct with $2 million plus,' Spears told jurors. Banner's attorney William Most countered that her intended comments at the public meeting were 'vital' to informing the parish about Hotard's potential conflicts of interest. 'Joy Banner was treated differently than anyone else: She was the only person threatened with arrest and she was also the only one to raise the issue of Hotard's family business interests,' Most said. 'She was directly on topic." Hotard also used vitriolic language to describe Banner, including fantasizing about strangling her, in text messages to her mother-in-law that were introduced as evidence. Most said the messages indicated that Hotard had a personal motivation to shut down Banner's participation in a public meeting. The state ethics board ruled last year that Hotard had not violated state ethics laws. Yet Hotard's mother-in-law later revealed during a deposition for Banner's lawsuit that Hotard's husband is a beneficiary of a trust that owned land overlapping with the planned railroad route leading into the proposed grain terminal. Spears acknowledged that Hotard would 'probably' personally benefit from the grain terminal's approval. But he said increased tax revenue and good-paying jobs were the parish president's driving motivation in supporting the project. Hotard, who was not present for the verdict, did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The jury sent a 'strong message against frivolous lawsuits,' Wright said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. 'This is a significant victory for St. John Parish and a promising sign for businesses and industries considering the River Parishes as their home.' Juror Cam Owen said he was ready to vote in Banner's favor following closing arguments. He changed his mind — and came to tears during deliberations — after closely reviewing the facts and video footage of the public meeting, which he described as the 'deciding factor" for the jury. Owen said jurors calculated the amount of time Banner was able to speak and concluded she was able to express most of her viewpoint. 'At the end of the day, you know, they did try to stop her, but she did actually say what she had to say,' Owen said. The jury also ruled that the parish had not violated Louisiana's open meetings law. Banner said she had no regrets about bringing the lawsuit and said it uncovered the parish president's hidden financial interests. 'The purpose of this case was for transparency,' Banner said. 'I think it's important to hold people accountable for the things that we feel are wrong.' 'I hope you can heal,' Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown told Banner and the parish officials after the verdict. 'This is only one part of the process.' ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on X: @jack_brook96.
