@veritenews.org published part 1 of an investigative series looking at lead levels in the soil of playgrounds and water of homes in New Orleans. Reporters @tristanbaurick.bsky.social and @halleparker.bsky.social actually ran tests on the soil and water for the series. veritenews.org/2026/02/05/p...

Europe gets ‘green energy’. These Southern towns get dirty air.

A big thank you to the National Press Foundation for supporting our lead contamination investigation. Their Kozik Environmental Justice Reporting Grant enabled us to collect more than 500 soil samples across 84 New Orleans playgrounds. veritenews.org/2026/02/05/p... @nationalpress.bsky.social

Reporting by @tristanbaurick.bsky.social & @halleparker.bsky.social at @veritenews.org reveals dangerously high levels of lead in New Orleans public playgrounds. They took more than 500 soil samples & made an interactive map that shows the results. veritenews.org/2026/02/05/p...

What do Brits think about powering their grid with Louisiana trees? I headed over to North Yorkshire to find out: veritenews.org/2026/02/06/d...

The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Among the anticipated changes? No longer calling his murderer a “racist.” veritenews.org/2026/02/05/m...

The long legacy of soil lead continues to burden children-particularly horrifying that this occurs in children’s playgrounds! veritenews.org/2026/02/05/p...

Cool, the playground behind my house ranked #4 in highest lead levels in New Orleans https://veritenews.org/2026/02/05/poison-at-play-playgrounds-lead-levels/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social

We tested lead levels in every public playground in New Orleans. Here's what we found: veritenews.org/2026/02/05/p...

I had a feeling we'd hear this today... Breaking: Washington Post gutting its climate team -- @sammyroth.bsky.social www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/washington...

A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."

A ‘green’ energy giant promised these Southern towns prosperity, so why are they still dying? veritenews.org/2026/01/30/d...

The opening of wood pellet mills in small towns in Louisiana and Mississippi came with promises of jobs and economic growth. More than a decade later, prosperity has yet to arrive. veritenews.org/2026/01/30/d...

A Gloster resident sent me this video of a fire at Drax's wood pellet mill yesterday. No injuries reported. Most of the smoke was from burning wood products (chips, etc.) but the fire likely damaged the mill's dryer. www.mississippifreepress.org/drax-biomass...

All but four of St. James Parish’s 32 petrochemical plants are located in the 4th and 5th Districts, both of them majority Black. veritenews.org/2026/01/28/s...

The biomass industry promised these Southern towns prosperity. So why are they still dying?

The biomass industry promised these Southern towns prosperity. So why are they still dying? #Climate

“They sell you hopes and dreams, but they don’t tell you the stuff they’re producing will make you die.” - Krystal Martin, Gloster, Miss. grist.org/accountabili...

A British energy giant offered dying timber towns an economic lifeline. A decade later, many residents say it was a 'false solution.'

Alongside the mills, in communities of mostly poor, Black residents, the air is tainted with cancer-causing gases and tiny particles that can burrow deep into people’s lungs and trigger a long list of health troubles. veritenews.org/2026/01/23/d...

Important story from @tristanbaurick.bsky.social @veritenews.org In Louisiana and Mississippi, people living near wood-pellet mills say they’re getting sick. veritenews.org/2026/01/23/d...

Today, the New Orleans City Council banned data centers for a year after community uproar over a proposed facility in New Orleans East. The city will seek to clearly define data centers in its zoning regulations in the mean time. More @veritenews.org. veritenews.org/2026/01/28/d...

British energy giant Drax is turning Louisiana & Mississippi trees into “sustainable biomass” to power the UK's grid. But alongside Drax's Southern mills, rural communities must contend with noise, dust, and toxic air. veritenews.org/2026/01/23/d...

Verite is hosting a meet & greet at the Tchoup Yard on Wednesday. Stop by to talk about the stories shaping New Orleans, and share what you’d like to see us cover next. RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/off-the-re...

Trump says the FCC should revoke broadcast licenses of TV networks with show hosts who are critical of him. “The networks were 97% against me ... 97% negative,” he said. “I would think maybe their license should be taken away." www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

"A lot of the responsibility for taking care of the seniors (during disasters) isn’t on the individuals running the independent living centers, it’s back on the seniors.” - Howard Rodgers, New Orleans Council on Aging

Regulators approve energy plan for massive Meta data center in north Louisiana Entergy plans to build three gas-fired power plants to supply energy to Meta's $10 billion data center.

WWOZ, WYES, WWNO AND Antigravity are critical parts of our community and need financial support asap www.nola.com/gambit/comme...

1—In 2021, Jefferson Parish Deputy Julio Alvarado was caught on video dragging Shantel Arnold, a Black woman, by her hair and slamming her head into the ground. Four years later, that incident has resulted in a $300,000 settlement and a new police accountability law. THREAD

Trump quietly shutters the only federal agency that investigates industrial chemical explosions. Hazardous chemical accidents happen in the U.S. about every other day. Who will investigate them now? grist.org/energy/trump... #Chemicals #Policy #Politics #Climate #Environment #Policy

“A majority of folks that we’ve heard from have been specifically service industry workers who use the ferry service and feel that it is an absolute necessity." -- Courtney Jackson, RIDE New Orleans veritenews.org/2025/07/17/c...

When Robert Smith and his girlfriend broke up, she accused him of breaking a Louisiana law criminalizing the intentional exposure of a person to HIV. —in partnership with @kffhealthnews.org veritenews.org/2025/07/18/l...

Inside New Orleans’ plan to fix its energy-hogging buildings. The city's climate goals include cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2035. grist.org/buildings/in... #Energy #NewOrleans #Buildings #Climate #Policy

For @grist.org, my story on New Orleans' long-stalled plan to cut energy use from its largest buildings: grist.org/buildings/in...

New Orleans lost a $1.2 million flood mitigation grant after the Trump administration began cutting FEMA's budget. By @madhri.bsky.social veritenews.org/2025/07/08/d...

A new study estimates the North Atlantic contains 27 million tons of plastic particles. That's 10 times higher than previously thought. By @jbwinters.bsky.social grist.org/science/ocea...

It took more than a decade, but New Orleans' energy benchmarking rule passed today: veritenews.org/2025/07/10/n...

Over a decade after being praised for its plans to track building energy use, New Orleans is poised to consider an ordinance that would actually require some buildings to monitor and report their consumption. New for @veritenews.org from @tristanbaurick.bsky.social. veritenews.org/2025/07/01/n...

In 2014, New Orleans was “paving the way” for other cities with an innovative program aimed at making buildings more energy efficient. More than a decade later, the 'energy benchmarking' ordinance still hasn't been approved. That could change this month... veritenews.org/2025/07/01/n...

The Trump administration’s proposal to decommission the agency charged with investigating chemical accidents will hurt employers’ safety compliance efforts in handling highly hazardous materials, safety professionals say.

I can't get enough of the Ben Carson solar farm drama, and readers can't either. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/economy/grow...

A newly identified species is already in danger of extinction. A proposed massive data center in Alabama would “nuke” its habitat, scientists say. insideclimatenews.org/news/1606202...

New Orleans will have a new natural gas company after a recently formed company takes control of Entergy New Orleans’ gas business. By @kjfernelius.bsky.social veritenews.org/2025/06/16/e...

This is really a BIG DEAL! Chemical Safety Board to disappear under Trump's orders | Grist grist.org/energy/trump...

“Closing the CSB will mean more accidents at chemical plants, more explosions and more deaths.” - Beth Rosenberg, former Chemical Safety Board member grist.org/energy/trump...

The Trump administration has quietly proposed closing the Chemical Safety Board. “Closing the CSB will mean more accidents at chemical plants, more explosions and more deaths,” a former board member said. veritenews.org/2025/06/13/t...

Recent blackouts raised questions over the vulnerability of New Orleans' power systems, especially as Louisiana contends with increasing risks to the grid from more intense storms and growing power demands from AI data centers. By @kjfernelius.bsky.social veritenews.org/2025/06/04/e...

Lawsuit alleges Louisiana law undermines community air monitoring Environmental justice groups say the state law has a chilling effect on their work.

Environmental groups are suing over a new Louisiana law that makes it harder for residents to share data collected about air pollution near refineries and chemical plants. By @halleparker.bsky.social veritenews.org/2025/05/23/l...

Politico union members allege these tools violated their contract in several ways, and are taking the dispute to arbitration this July.