With a new rent control law taking effect on May 1, many landlords in St. Paul, Minnesota—particularly small landlords and those who rent to low-income people—are raising rents, converting their buildings into condominiums, or selling them altogether. The Pioneer Press reports this is exactly what critics of the measure said would happen. The voter-approved referendum limits rent increases to no more than 3 percent per year and does not allow them to be raised to market rates when an apartment is vacated.
A federal court has awarded Ju'Zema Goldring $1.5 million in a lawsuit Goldring brought against the city of Atlanta and two police officers. In 2015, the two cops stopped Goldring for jaywalking, then arrested her on drug charges, claiming that the contents of a stress ball Goldring had were drugs. Goldring spent six months in jail before prosecutors had the contents tested. The results were negative. Goldring claims the officers had performed field tests that also showed the results were negative, but that the cops had reported them as positive.
