People arrested and held on simple marijuana possession became nearly non-existent in New Orleans in the year since the City Council passed an ordinance that allowed police to issue summons instead of using a custodial arrest. City Councilwoman Susan Guidry shared data on Tuesday (March 27) showing that just 1 percent of encounters between police and someone accused of possessing marijuana resulted in an arrest between June 2016 and May 2017. A year before, 15 percent of people were arrested for simple possession. [continues 317 words]
When Len Bias died in his Washington Hall dorm room 20 years ago this week, a sea of questions emerged. Some wondered about the university's future and many said college athletics had to change. But whatever reforms at this university that would take hold over the next several years would be dwarfed by what members of Congress would steamroll through the House of Representatives in Washington that summer, part of a legislative frenzy in the wake of Bias' shocking and tragic death. [continues 638 words]
