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packages/backend/src/cache/faiss_index_general.dvc

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packages/backend/src/cache/faiss_index_in_depth.dvc

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packages/backend/src/news_directory/At lincoln beach volunteer caretakers plead for help from new orleans city hall.json

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+{
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+        {
+            "page_content": "Skip to main content\nHomes\nCalendar\nStore\nPublic Notices\nE-Edition\nNewsletters\nSubscribe for $1\nAt Lincoln Beach, volunteer caretakers plead for help from New Orleans City Hall\nResidents, officials try to cooperate as redevelopment unfold\nBy BEN MYERS | Staff writer\nSep 4, 2022\n3 min to read\n1 of 3\nReggie Ford takes a picture from a sailboat that washed up at Lincoln Beach in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022.\nSTAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER\nFacebook\nTwitter\nEmail\nPrint\nCopy article link\nSave\nWhen it comes to Lincoln Beach, the long-neglected New Orleans East recreation spot that\u2019s recently had a quiet revival, city officials and the volunteers who tend to it say they want the same thing: a newly restored, pristine Lake Pontchartrain beachfront for everyone to enjoy.\nBut in recent months, as City Hall has begun developing plans to rehabilitate the area, Lincoln Beach advocates say they\u2019ve been frustrated by the slow pace of government action.\nSick of the lack of progress over four mayoral administrations, residents adopted the beach in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. They took it upon themselves to clear thickets, build tables and walking trails, gather thousands of bags of garbage and even install a rudimentary drainage system.\nA pipe that is part of the draining and irrigation system helps move water under a walkway at Lincoln Beach in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022.\nSTAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER\nOfficials in Mayor LaToya Cantrell\u2019s administration, meanwhile, say they are pursuing a development plan filled with contracting procedures, permitting requirements and grant applications. Cantrell has set aside $5 million in money borrowed via bond issues, and the Department of Public Works has submitted a formal proposal for money from the BP oil disaster settlement.\nAmid the plodding bureacratic process, garbage continues to accumulate on the 15-acre site. Volunteers have hung signs directing visitors to dispose of waste properly, in strategically placed bins, and warning that glass is not allowed. They have pleaded with City Hall to clear a massive pile of garbage bags - large enough to fill a small apartment - that they have collected under a pavilion.\nBut officials have resisted. They are quick to point out that, technically, nothing is allowed at Lincoln Beach: Setting foot on it is trespassing.\nSpace is cleared of debris at Lincoln Beach in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022.\nSTAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER\n\u201cLincoln Beach is closed. It\u2019s not a safe place to be right now,\u201d Cheryn Robles, the Cantrell administration\u2019s project manager, said during a City Council committee meeting on Wednesday. \u201cIn terms of priorities of how we should be addressing illegal dumping, I would say it's more important for us to be addressing it on roads that are open.\u201d\nThe latest plans \nThe Cantrell administration\u2019s Lincoln Beach revival plans are the latest in a succession of fitful efforts dating from the 1990s. Plans call for a natural recreation environment, and roughly half of the needed money has been committed. The administration produced a site assessment in April 2021, and Robles said designs are in the works. A request for proposals for a master planner could be issued soon, and a construction timeline ready by spring.\nBut residents have grown frustrated with the lack of visible progress and clear information, especially as they continue to maintain the site on their own time and dime.\nReggie Ford walks along a wall next to a ramp that has crumbled in the past few years at Lincoln Beach in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022.\nSTAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER\n\u201cI just bought a $600 lawn mower, and it broke in a week because it hit some old rebar. said artist Reggie Ford, who has worked with community activist Michael Pellet on the site\u2019s upkeep. \"I\u2019m about to buy another one. This is like my fourth lawn mower,\u201d \nFord said he spends as many as six hours a day working at Lincoln Beach, and has spent more than $20,000 on it. Pellet, who also goes by Sage Michael, said he started organizing volunteers in March 2020 so New Orleans East could \u201chave something.\u201d\n\u201cFor this community that's been suffering from disaster after disaster, after false promises after lack of investment,\u201d Michael said.\nClashing priorities \nThe Cantrell administration formed the Lincoln Beach Community Advisory Committee to encourage the volunteers\u2019 commitment, even as officials tiptoe around the appearance of inviting liability. The idea is to consult with residents and report on the latest developments in planning.\nBut there hasn\u2019t been much to report over the last 1\u00bd years, said Blyss Wallace, the group\u2019s president. Getting clear information has been \u201clike pulling teeth,\u201d she said.\nA sign asks visitors to dispose of trash at Lincoln Beach in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022.\nSTAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER\nStill, Wallace said she is hopeful for renewed momentum, and better relations with city officials, after the City Council committee meeting on Wednesday. That will start with clearing the trash, which officials finally agreed to help with this month.\nFollowing through on that promise will show good faith, Wallace said.\n\u201cEverybody's so zoned in on [the garbage], and with every right to be,\u201d Wallace said. \u201cRemoving that will show that they're actually working with us.\u201d\nFears of getting left behind\nPart of the reason for concerns about Lincoln Beach\u2019s progress relates to the news last month that Pontchartrain Beach had been turned over to a nonprofit for redevelopment, with plans for a wetlands preserve, dog park and a small marina near the University of New Orleans.\nPontchartrain Beach was a popular attraction but was off limits to Black residents during the Jim Crow era. Lincoln Beach, located far from where most people lived at the time, was offered up as a consolation prize. It was hard to reach, but it hosted a full-fledged amusement park, with a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, swimming pools and a performance venue that drew big-name artists.\nReggie Ford picks up concrete blocks so visitors do not hurt themselves near a sailboat that washed up at Lincoln Beach in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022.\nSTAFF PHOTO BY SOPHIA GERMER\nCity Hall left Lincoln Beach to nature once Pontchartrain Beach was desegregated with the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But even with the end of legal segregation at Pontchartrain Beach Black residents were never entirely welcome there.\nSome Black New Orleanians worry that Lincoln Beach will get left behind again, said Dawn Hebert, president of the East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Commission.\n\u201cLincoln Beach is more of an African American historical site that the community wants to restore,\u201d Hebert said. \u201cThe city just decided to abandon Lincoln Beach completely.\u201d\nEmail Ben Myers at [email protected]. Follow Ben Myers on Twitter, @blevimyers.\nFacebook\nTwitter\nEmail\nPrint\nCopy article link\nSave\nThis Day in History\nSponsored by Connatix\nRecommended for you\nRecommended by\nSECTIONS\nHOME\nNEWS\nOPINION\nSPORTS\nENTERTAINMENT/LIFE\nNEWSLETTERS\nGAMES\nSERVICES\nCLASSIFIEDS\nSEARCH\nSUBSCRIBE | GROUPS\nDIGITAL ADVERTISING\nHELP/CONTACT US\nRSS FEEDS\nMEDIA KIT\nEEDITION\nCAREERS\nTEACHER'S LINK\nREVIEWING THE RECORD\nOUR SITES\nOBITUARIES\nJOBS\nCELEBRATIONS\nNIE\nCLASSIFIEDS\nHOMES\nPETS\nARCHIVES\nSTORE\nCONTACT INFORMATION\nnola.com\n840 St. Charles Avenue\nNew Orleans, LA 70130\nPhone: 504-529-0522\n\nNews Tips:\[email protected]\nOther questions:\[email protected]\nNeed help?\nReport a delivery issue\nCreate a temporary stop\nSign up for recurring payments\nPay your bill\nUpdate your billing info\n\n\u00a9 Copyright 2023 NOLA.com 840 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA  | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy\nPowered by BLOX Content Management System from BLOX Digital.\n  This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential website functionality, marketing, personalization and analytics. By remaining on this website you indicate your consent. See updated terms and conditions.",
+            "url": "https://www.nola.com/news/politics/at-lincoln-beach-volunteer-caretakers-plead-for-help-from-new-orleans-city-hall/article_2cd4c6e4-2b98-11ed-b0b7-1b46c1cb095d.html",
+            "title": "At lincoln beach volunteer caretakers plead for help from new orleans city hall"
+        }
+    ]
+}