By Nicholas Chrastil | The Lens | March 18, 2021 Years after previous efforts were scrapped due to poor oversight, lack of clear procedures, technological failures, and funding disputes, city officials in New Orleans are once again looking to set up an electronic monitoring program run by public agencies — in partnership with a private…
By Liz Reyes | WVUE | March 17, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – The spike in violent crimes has many more women in the metro New Orleans area worried about their safety and the safety of their families. They cite the media reports of burglaries, robberies, and carjackings; the most recent fatal…
By Matt Sledge | NOLA.com | March 12, 2021 While his predecessor made do with a $152,500 annual salary, newly elected Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams has given himself a 22% pay bump that puts his compensation in line with other top prosecutors in Louisiana. Williams now earns $185,000, less than north shore District…
By Mike Perlstein/WWL Staff | WWL-TV| March 12, 2021 CHARLES PARISH, La. — Ever since construction worker Brady Ortego was struck by a hit-and-run driver on the Hale Boggs Bridge and sent flying into the river, his widow Adele has been waiting for a phone call from the State Police. After waiting nearly eight weeks,…
By Mike Perlstein | WWL-TV | March 5, 2021 LULING, La. — The driver in the Jan. 14 fatal hit-and-run accident on the Hale Boggs Bridge has been identified in a wrongful death lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of the victim’s widow and stepdaughter. The suit filed names Hunter Johnson, 22, of Reserve as the…
By ArLuther Lee | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | March 5, 2021 A New Orleans judge will take another week to decide whether the man who shot and killed former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith will be granted bond after an emotional virtual court hearing Thursday. Cardell Hayes, who gunned down Smith in 2016 after…
By Natasha Robin | WVUE | March 4, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – When police arrested a juvenile on Tuesday, they say they found a stolen black Glock, a rifle and several rounds of bullets. “Something is definitely wrong if a juvenile can have his hands on those types of weapons,” says…
By Olivia Vidal | WVUE | March 4, 2021 CLICK FOR VIDEO NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – An emotional day in court today as a bond hearing took place for the man convicted of killing former Saints player Will Smith. The hearing comes after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the manslaughter conviction for Cardell Hayes, as the jury was not unanimous…
By Tommy Tucker | WWL Radio | Occasionally stories pop up that run parallel to each other. Sometimes its coincidence; sometimes its cause and effect. That was the case today as we discussed raising the curfew age in Orleans Parish. The parallel story to curfew age concerned a teenager whom, according to the Advocate, was…
By Sam Hanna Jr. | The Ouachita Citizen | March 3, 2021 Editor’s Note: This column was first published the week of Feb. 3, 2020. Twelve years ago in Gov. Bobby Jindal’s first year in office, the newly elected governor called a special session for lawmakers to entertain a package of reform bills to improve…