Grassroots groups sue over Louisiana law that censors air quality data

For several years, Amy Stelly has been partnering with the Louisiana State University School of Public Health in New Orleans to monitor air quality next to the Claiborne Expressway, a busy highway that runs northwest of the city’s iconic French Quarter.

At a community meeting in April, Stelly, who runs an organization called the Claiborne Avenue Alliance Design Studio , was excited to unveil some of this data in a new interactive tool on the alliance’s website. People would be able to see hot spots for particulate matter — a pollutant generated by heavy traffic and associated with health risks like heart attacks and aggravated asthma — near their homes, schools, and workplaces. The data would support her push for the expressway’s removal and could be used by other neighborhood groups