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M o n d ay, J u ly 14, 2025
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Officials announce fixes in inmate releases Advocates skeptical overdetention errors are resolved
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER
Bryan Lagarde watches live views of people walking the streets of downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter from the offices of Project NOLA.
Debate over access to facial recognition technology raises tensions between New Orleans, private network BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
Bryan Lagarde, the architect of the Project NOLA crime camera network, says New Orleans can keep its hands off his facial recognition system. The shopkeepers, schools and residents who signed up to host a high-resolution camera on the nonprofit network didn’t buy into government watch, Lagarde said. At least not this government. Lagarde said officials with Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration recently proposed an agreement that would give the city’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness direct access to a system that can match faces on the street against uploaded images from a few blocks away.
recognition. But more so, we also believe it might be best practice not to allow any police department to have direct access to our platform.” That platform, and what Project NOLA has been doing with it for more than two years across New Orleans, has the city at the forefront of a much wider public debate over artificial intelligence in law enforcement, the power to surveil and its implications for privacy and policing. With the City Council poised next month to considA portable tower loaded with cameras is used by Project er loosening restrictions on NOLA for special events around New Orleans. facial recognition and other high-tech tools, Project NOUntil April, officers could further, Lagarde said. LA’s stance on transparency “That’s when we said, ‘No, and oversight could prove receive text alerts on their phones from Project NOLA, we’re not doing that,’ ” he key to the outcome. flagging facial recognition said. “It’s a trust issue. We New Orleans Police De“hits” on wanted people. The don’t trust this administraä See FACE, page 5A city’s proposal went even tion with access to our facial
‘We had to step away’ Hospitality entrepreneur says post-pandemic N.O. ‘the toughest development environment’ BY ANTHONY McAULEY
in the Marigny with a pool and outdoor bar. Through his firm Angevin & Co., Robert Thompson came he teamed up with GBX to New Orleans four years Group, a Cleveland-based ago with big plans in the firm in which Saints great Drew Brees is a partner, to city’s hospitality sector. In short order, the suc- buy the historic Whitney cessful restaurant entre- Hotel on Poydras Street for preneur bought up several $16.9 million. Later, Angevin bought properties, starting with the Frenchmen Hotel, a 27-room hipster lodging ä See TOUGHEST, page 6A Staff writer
Thompson
WEATHER HIGH 93 LOW 78 PAGE 6B
PROVIDED RENDERING By FAM DESIGN
French Quarter Boulangerie was a breakfast and lunch restaurant planned for the former home of K-Paul’s on Chartres Street. It never opened due to funding issues.
Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Nation-World................2A Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
In some cases, Louisiana has taken so long to convict defendants, calculate their sentences and then let them out of prison that they end up spending more time behind bars than their sentence requires. For years, this overdetention has drawn criticism from federal judges and investigators and spurred multiple lawsuits. But now, state officials say they have made big strides toward fixing the issue. “This is not going to be an issue going forward,” Jonathan Vining, general counsel at the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, said during a May meeting of the House Civil Law Committee. “I don’t believe it’s an issue. I really don’t. And you won’t find anybody in our agency to say otherwise.” The agency set up an online portal where clerks of court and sheriffs can electronically submit an offender’s sentencing information, speeding up the calculation process.
ä See RELEASES, page 4A
Louisiana prepares for new Medicaid work rules Mandates still 18 months away
BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
Louisiana health officials said they will spend the next 18 months preparing for a new federal mandate that requires many adult Medicaid recipients to work, study or volunteer if they want to stay insured. The new rules, part of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” will require Medicaid recipients ages 19 to 64 to work, study or volunteer at least 80 hours per month. People who are pregnant, disabled or caring for children under age 14 are exempt. The law requires states to check eligibility every six months, though states can perform the checks more frequently. In Louisiana, people depend on Medicaid more than almost anywhere else in the country, with about onethird of the state enrolled. The state Health Department expects “very few current enrollees would lose eligibility,” according to a statement sent by spokesperson Emma Herrock. But outside experts and Demo-
ä See MEDICAID, page 6A
12TH yEAR, NO. 336