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Half of NOLA sidewalks not ADA compliant; updates on the Bogalusa Heart Study, La. wind industry

1975 Christmas card to participants of The Bogalusa Heart Study signed by staff and investigators.
Courtesy of Dr. Lydia Bazzano
1975 Christmas card to participants of The Bogalusa Heart Study signed by staff and investigators.

Three New Orleans residents sued the city in 2021, alleging that the city had failed to ensure wheelchair accessible sidewalks – which, they said, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. While the city later agreed to a settlement that required it to install ramps and curb cuts on hundreds of street corners, the city’s own data revealed that less than half of the intersections identified for accessibility are compliant with standards set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Drew Costley has been reporting this story for Verite News. He joins us to discuss the causes of the slowdown – and how residents are responding.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Bogalusa Heart Study. Started in 1972, this study looks at the impact of vascular and metabolic changes on health throughout the lifespan. And, it's one of the longest ongoing health studies of a biracial, semi-rural Southern community.

Back in January, Dr. Lydia Bazzano, who directs the Tulane Center for Lifespan Epidemiology Research, joined us to discuss what researchers have learned from the half-century of research. Today she joins us for an update on some new projects in the study that examine the connection between the heart and the brain.

Earlier this year, Louisiana opened up part of its coast to offshore wind farms. But the effort to encourage companies to establish wind farms in the state wasn’t very successful. Only two companies threw their hats in the ring during the first round of bids.

But according to a new report by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center,the state’s offshore wind industry still has plenty of growth potential.

Simone Maloz, campaign director for Restore the Mississippi River Delta – the organization that commissioned the report, joins us to explain.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our assistant producer is Aubry Procell. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Adam is responsible for coordinating WRKF's programming and making sure everything you hear on the radio runs smoothly. He is Newscast Editor for the WRKF/WWNO Newsroom. Adam is also the Baton Rouge-based host for Louisiana Considered, our daily regional news program, and is frequently the local voice afternoons on All Things Considered.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WRKF from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul and The Documentary Group in New York City.