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Today is the last day to raise cash in time for the April 15 campaign finance reports. Do you know where your candidate is? Probably hustling up some dough.
The day is significant because many campaigns have made last-minute pushes to raise money in an effort to make their campaigns look as strong as possible on the next quarterly report. Many campaigns have also been holding off on paying out money for the same reason.
Come tomorrow, political consultants and vendors will be lining up for those checks like it's "chow time."
State Rep. Sherman Parker (R-12) says he has sent a registered letter to Congressman Todd Akin (R-2) requesting a series of four debates prior to the August primary.
"With the primary taking place in a little over four months, the voters deserve to know how we stand on issues important to the second district and nation. I look forward to hearing from the Akin campaign soon," said Parker.
Parker recently shocked many in his party -- not once, but twice -- by filing against Akin in the primary election, and then announcing that he had already raised over $100,000.
Mayor Francis Slay was joined yesterday by a group of elected and appointed officials from St. Louis City and County, along with representatives from Amtrak and Greyhound, to mark the start of contruction on the new Multimodal Terminal Building downtown.
"After much negotiation and planning, the Multimodal Center will now become a reality," said Slay.
The home of the Amtrak train service for nearly three decades has been known as "AmShack" because of its small size and, shall we say, "less than grand" appearance to visitors arriving in St. Louis.
"All bad things come to an end and the AmShack is coming to an end," said Board Pres. Jim Shrewsbury.
When the last train pulled out of Union Station in 1978, the "AmShack" was built as a "temporary" train station. After decades of planning and re-planning, The mayor said that bidding would begin on the necessary track modifications within 90 days.
In this week's "Political Eye" column in The St. Louis American, the paper's editors responded to observations we made last week about the relationship between political advertising and newspaper endorsements.
"Political ads in the Black Press... tend to be small and not very lucrative," said the Eye. "Shredding one's credibility over them simply wouldn't be worth the meager payday, especially when there are far more steady and nourishing revenue streams." (Click here to read the full column.)
We agree with this observation. We don't think it's worth it in the long run either. But the reality is that political season is for small newspapers (black-owned or otherwise) what Christmas is for retailers.
Publishers of small newspapers are often faced with this question: "Why back a loser?"
But the American is in a different situation. As one of the most successful black newspapers in the country, the paper's publisher doesn't face that question while staring at a stack of bills on his desk.
No, Dr. Donald Suggs, the publisher of the American, and the paper's editorial board make the decision to boldly slant their coverage in support of one candidate over another in the comfort of the knowledge that their decision won't mean the difference between being around next year or not.
When we say "slant," we are are not talking about editorials. The editorial page is traditionally the free ground for opinion and wild ideas. We mean the week-after-week of non-stories that are manipulated into front page news.
If they choose to slant their coverage based on ideology, rather than profit, is that selling out?
Well, maybe not if the coverage was slanted in the favor of the poor and disenfranchised, which was the founding mission of the Black Press dating back over a century. But too often, that is not what happens at the American.
As we told editor Chris King in our "civil exchange of emails," in our view, the American used to be the vehicle for black people to communicate with one another and the rest of the world. Now it is the tool with which the rich and powerful communicate their message to black people. The message used to go up and out. Now it flows downward.
One's ideology tends to change when you are surrounded by elites. One's point of view tends to take on the characteristics of those you socialize with and depend on for "nourishment."
The new way is more profitable, if not as a goal then as a serendipitous consequence.
Whether the paper's coverage is slanted in favor of the powerful out of ideology or profit, the end result is the same: black St. Louis has one less place to turn for fair, unslanted coverage.
Clinkscale says the district isn't focusing on academics
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, March 30 at 8:28 PM
Sharon Stevens, Channel 5's education reporter, has compiled a profile of the 5 candidates running for 2 seats on the St. Louis board of education next week. Click here to view it.
In their answers to what they think are the biggest problems facing the school district, James Buford and Peter Downs both focused on the violence plaguing the schools. "I think #1 is the violence that's coming in from the community as a whole. That's the reason I joined this board," said Buford.
"Teachers can't teach and children can't learn if they're dodging chairs being thrown at them or they're dodging fights," said Downs.
Most interesting was the response of Darnetta Clinkscale. Clinkscale, who has been a "lightning rod" in this campaign, said the biggest problem facing the district today is the "lack of emphasis on academics."
"The focus must be academics. That's the business of a school district, teaching and learning," said the 3-year school board president. But despite observing a continuing failure to educate students, Clinkscale still voiced her strong support for Superintendent Creg Williams.
"I think he has matched my hope 100-percent," said Clinkscale.
St. Louis City Recorder of Deeds Sharon Carpenter and Joe Edwards, the "King of the Loop," announced their support today of Dr. Jeff Smith for State Senate.
"Jeff demonstrated his dedication to our City long before he decided to run for office," said Carpenter. "Now, as a candidate, he has shown a tireless work ethic that will serve us well when he is elected."
"Jeff will be a breath of fresh air in the Capitol," said Edwards. "And he’s exactly what this City needs." Smith said he hopes to be as innovative in Jefferson City as the businessman has been in the Loop expansion.
"Just as Joe Edwards has erased the line between St. Louis City and County in the thriving Delmar Loop, we are seeking to bridge the age-old divide between North and South in city politics," said Smith.
Obama says Senate "reform bill" passed today makes few actual reforms
By Antonio D. French
"Ironically, after learning today that Jack Abramoff will spend nearly six years in prison, the Senate passed a lobbying reform bill that does little to change the culture that allowed him to abuse the system in the first place," said U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today in a press release issued after the Senate passed a lobbying reform bill.
"The Senate has missed a once-in-a-decade opportunity to clean up the way we do business in Washington," said Obama, who recently appeared in St. Louis at a fundraiser for State Auditor Claire McCaskill.
"This bill fails to create an independent enforcement mechanism to investigate misconduct by members of Congress. It fails to stop lobbyists from currying influence by flying lawmakers on private jets. And it does nothing to prevent members of Congress from negotiating for jobs with the very industries they’re supposed to regulate."
...everybody's problem. Sylvester Brown, who recently joined the St. Louis blogosphere, has posted a long response to a recent New York Times article about the challenges facing young black American males.
"America sends more black men to prison than college. Why? Because that's what we've always done," wrote Brown. "We have a criminal justice system geared to house, feed and contain people, so we use it -- liberally, it seems, as it pertains to young black males."
"How many more studies do we need before it sinks in that it's not such a good idea to lock up 25 percent of any male demographic -- as misguided as they may well be?" he said.
Mayor Francis Slay today vetoed the compromise bill recently passed by the Board of Aldermen seeking to create civilian review board in the City of St. Louis.
"Board Bill #69, recently approved by the Board of Aldermen, has legal flaws so fatal that it could never be implemented," said Slay on his blog. "As a result, I am vetoing BB #69 and will immediately begin work to implement a civilian review board that will stand up to a court challenge."
Slay said he would ask the state-controlled St. Louis Police Board to create, implement, and fund a civilian review board -- apparently to replace the one that they formed a couple of years ago which was never implemented
The Mayor also said he would issue an executive order to "establish a CRB appointment process consistent with BB #69."
"I am going to ask the Board of Aldermen to recommend individuals to me for appointment from seven sub-districts as recommended in BB #69. This will ensure diversity and community input," said Slay.
UPDATE: An Aldermanic override of Mayor Slay's veto is unlikely. That's according to Board Pres. Jim Shrewsbury.
PUB DEF caught up with Shrewbury this afternoon at an event marking the death of the notorious "AmShack" (check back later for the full story and photos). He said that he doesn't think there are enough votes for an override, but even if there were, Shrewsbury said the Mayor's executive order would probably "take the steam out of the effort to override."
District tries to forbid teachers from volunteering on Election Day
By Antonio D. French
Superintendent Creg Williams, who has been given the benefit of the doubt my many in his first year at the head of St. Louis Public Schools, is now drawing criticism from many teachers for some of his recent decisions.
Some teachers believe that Williams is putting politics ahead of education in these last few days before the April 4 school board election. A memo was sent to teachers at Vashon High School today informing them that they would not be allowed to take any time off during the week before Election Day.
"Please be advised, that, per Dr. Clive Coleman, no vacation or PTO days can be approved during the MAP testing window. Black-out days are March 27 – April 28, 2006. There are no exceptions to this decision," said the memo.
The MAP testing date was recently moved up at several large schools, giving students and teachers less time to prepare for the test. With the support of Williams, several principals actually made Election Day the testing day, making it a very difficult choice for teachers who were planning to take a few hours off work to volunteer at the polls for parent candidates Peter Downs and Donna Jones. Both Downs and Jones were endorsed by the teachers union.
The memo also instructed teachers to have their students on their best behavior tomorrow morning -- "hair should be neat and your face clean," the memo said -- because Robbyn Wahby, an assistant to Mayor Francis Slay, will be escorting eleven "key supporters of Superintendent Creg Williams and St. Louis Public Schools."
PUB DEF endorses parents Peter Downs and Donna Jones for school board
By Antonio D. French
While it is newsworthy that local corporations are putting large amounts of money behind the two incumbent school board candidates running in next week's election, it is by no means scandalous or wrong. But there is another angle to this story.
The names of two public school parents will also appear on Tuesday's ballot. They are clearly taking an interest in the direction of the district. They are both more involved and articulate than the prevailing stereotype of SLPS parents and they both are smart, well-intentioned people. And the response they have received from the district, the Mayor's office and apparently many in St. Louis' business community is "Go home. You are not wanted."
This was most clearly demonstrated last week with the attack piece that was sent out to the City's voters targeting Peter Downs.
That piece stated that electing Downs (and presumably the other parent running, Donna Jones) would be turning back the clock. "Peter Downs is a frequent critic of the St. Louis public schools," it said under a blurry photo of Downs.
As a SLPS parent, it is his right to be critical of the direction of the district. To say that parents who are critical of the Board's decisions are somehow "unsupportive" of the district is just wrong. It makes about as much sense as saying that people who don't support the Bush Administration's handling of the Iraq War are unpatriotic.
Funds from St. Louis' corporate community have and will continue to play an essential role in building a stronger district. Most people realize that. What some people are upset by is the vicious attack that their money is being used to fund right now on two respectable members of the parent community.
Board members Darnetta Clinkscale and James Buford, Superintendent Creg Williams, and even Mayor Francis Slay himself, always say that parental involvement is needed to turn the St. Louis Public Schools around.
You know who sends their kids to SLPS? Poor people. Public school districts don't get to pick their parents. But if they did, we think they could do a lot worse than Peter Downs and Donna Jones.
These are two parents who are involved and who both feel like this district remains closed to parents and operates out of the public eye. These are not people who talk about public education in purely academic terms. They are betting a lot more than any St. Louis corporation or even Mayor Slay with his $40,000 loan to a PAC called Educate St. Louis. They are betting the futures of their own children on this system. They want this district to succeed for reasons far more important than workforce competency or population sustainability.
Downs and Jones are not rich and their campaigns have only a fraction of the cash as the incumbents. But while they may not have the phone numbers of millionaires programmed in their cell phones, parents like these have made a commitment to this school district and this city that has lasted longer than the last 4 superintendents selected by this board majority.
On Tuesday, April 4, VOTE FOR PETER DOWNS AND DONNA JONES for St. Louis City School Board.
If you want to put this video on your website or blog, just email us.
In an effort to continually deliver more information about the local political scene, PUB DEF is proud to present St. Louis' first and only Video Voter Guide.
Kind of as a kick of the tires or a quick spin around the block, we begin with a small two-person race in a close suburb.
The race for Mayor of University City will be decided on Tuesday, April 4. The candidates are Mayor Joe Adams, a ten-year incumbent, and Shelley Welsch, a 4-year City Councilmember.
We met seperately with both candidates on Monday in the popular U-City Loop. We sat down with Adams at his campaign headquarters. We met with Welsch at the St. Louis Bread Company on Delmar.
We asked both candidates the same five questions. In this Video Voter Guide you can see their answers to four of them (like true politicians, both really didn't answer our question on what a mayor can do to address the city's largest problems, given U-City's City Manager form of government).
Group of residents organize to put an end to Mardi Gras in Soulard
By Antonio D. French
A group of long-time Soulard residents have formed an ad hoc committee to address neighborhood concerns about Mardi Gras with the hope of cancelling the 2007 event.
The group will read a statement at Mardi Gras Inc.'s annual Mardi Gras Forum to be held on Thursday, March 30, at 7:00. The forum will be held in the Boilermaker's Union Hall, 1547 South Broadway.
In an email to the media, organizers say the group came together and formed the committee "when several residents, fearful for their safety and that of their neighbors, outraged at the destruction of their private property, and discouraged by the general disrespect of the neighborhood by Mardi Gras planners and attendees, decided it was time to join together and speak out against the event."
They claim the annual event has become "overly promoted, dangerous and out-of-hand" and would like to see it permanently removed from the historic Soulard neighborhood.
On Tuesday, the Judiciary Committee of the Missouri House of Representatives conducted a public hearing in the State Capitol on a bill that seeks to reform the use of eminent domain in the state. One of those testifying against the bill was Barb Geisman, St. Louis City's Deputy Mayor for Development.
State Rep. John Burnett (D-40), from Kansas City, asked Geisman why the St. Louis City government seems to use eminent domain much more "willy-nilly" than K.C.
State Rep. Michael Vogt (D-66), from south St. Louis, asked Geisman about the Ronnoco Coffee Company and whether she feels that the Board of Aldermen uses blight and eminent domain powers responsibly.
Click here to download this week's issue of PUB DEF Weekly. As always, feel free to make as many copies as you like and pass them out on campus, at City Hall, or in the State Capitol -- which is where we are headed today.
Educate St. Louis, the committee which has spent tens of thousands of dollars over the last few weeks to support the two incumbents running for St. Louis school board, has been raising thousands of dollars over the past 30 days from local corporations.
Schnucks Markets, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Laclede Gas, Brown Shoe Company, Emerson Electric, Energizer, and Monsanto are just a few of the names appearing on the committee's latest campaign report released today. Click here to download it.
Emerson tops the list of corporate donors with $18,750. Enterprise and Monsanto come in next with $12,500 and $10,000 respectively.
But the largest single donation came from another committee called People Working for Excellence in Public Education. On Feb. 28, that committee, whose treasurer is Tom Schlafly, contributed $29,000.
As we reported earlier, Mayor Francis Slay's campaign committee made a no-interest loan of $40,000 to the Educate St. Louis committee last week.
The committee has paid out over $118,000 to defeat the three remaining independent candidates, Peter Downs, Donna Jones and Joe Clark. It is in debt for another $79,000.
State Rep. Sherman Parker, who recently filed to run against Congressman Todd Akin, said today that he has already raised $100,000.
In an email to supporters, Parker wrote: "I want everyone – Republican/Democrat leaders and journalists to know, beyond any shadow of doubt, that I've assembled a team of grassroots supporters who are 100% committed to promoting empowering, conservative ideas for the 21st century, ideas that will make our country stronger."
Three candidates are now seeking the State House seat being vacated by State Rep. Yaphett El-Amin as she looks to move to the State Senate.
Karla May, who ran against El-Amin for 1st Ward Committeewoman in 2000, today joined 26th Ward Committeeman Joe Palm and Talibdin El-Amin (Yaphett's husband) in a race that is sure to get hot this summer.
Click here to read about who has made the trek to Jefferson City to file for office.
The City Council of University City today announced that they had ended their year-long search for a replacement for City Manager Frank Ollendorff, who is retiring in July after 26 years on the job.
The new City Manager will be Julie Szymula Feier. For the past four years, she has been City Administrator for Salida, Colorado. She had been the Assistant City Manager in University City for 15 months before moving to Colorado. She also previously served as the Assistant to the City Manager in Ferguson, MO and the Acting Village Administrator in Swansea, Illinois.
University City Mayor Joe Adams told PUB DEF the news during an exclusive interview this morning.
For those of you not familiar with a City Manager form of government, Councilwoman Shelley Welsch, who is running against Adams in next week's mayoral election, told PUB DEF how the system works in U-City.
Come back tomorrow to see the full interviews with both of these candidates.
The Downtown St. Louis Partnership and Downtown CID have launched a new website touting the growth of the number of businesses and residents in downtown St. Louis.
Downtownstl.org features an interactive map and databases to search for downtown attractions, restaurants, parking, and housing. Visitors can also submit an event to the online calendar.
Slay loans $40,000 to committee backing school board incumbents
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Sunday, March 26 at 8:34 PM
With just days left in the campaign for two seats on the St. Louis City school board, Mayor Francis Slay is betting big money on the two incumbent candidates.
The Mayor's campaign committee made a $40,000 no-interest loan on Friday to the committee responsible for several mailers appearing in local mailboxes supporting School Board President Darnetta Clinkscale and appointed board member Jim Buford
Educate St. Louis, a committee organized in January 2005, had just $100 in the bank last month. But in just one day, on Friday of last week, the committee raised nearly $60,000. All of that money came from just two sources; the loan from Slay and a single contribution from AmerenUE of $18,750.
Just as interesting is that fact that most of that money was spent just as fast as it was raised.
The same day that Slay and AmerenUE wrote their checks, the committee wrote a $51,000 check to a PR firm in Austin, Texas. According to campaign finance reports, the firm, Gold Communications, was responsible for direct mail and PR on behalf of Clinkscale and Buford.
Slay's loan brings the Educate St. Louis' total debt to $79,000. The committee also owes $39,000 to a Washington, D.C. research firm for work performed since January.
There was no mention of the St. Louis landmark by name, but tonight's episode of "The West Wing" started off with the Democratic Presidential nominee at Lambert Airport asking if there was time to stop off and have some frozen custard. We know he could only mean Ted Drewes.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has accepted the apology of Dave Lenihan, of St. Louis' own KTRS 550AM. Lenihan was fired this week after he used the racial slur "coon" when discussing the Secretary. He quickly said it was an unfortunate slip of the tongue.
From the AP: On his show, Lenihan said: "She's been chancellor of Stanford. She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football. She's African-American, which would kind of be a big coon. A big coon. Oh my God. I am totally, totally, totally, totally, totally sorry for that."
He said he had meant to say "coup" instead of the slur. KTRS president and general manager Tim Dorsey agreed that the remark was accidental but announced the same day that Lenihan had been fired.
"My understanding is that he apologized, said he didn't mean it," Rice told "Fox News Sunday." "I accept that because we all say things from time to time that we shouldn't say or didn't mean to say."
Click here to read Jake Wagman's story from earlier this week. STLToday.com also has the actual audio of Lenihan's remarks. Look to the right of Wagman's story.
Are Slay's school board candidates playing North/South politics?
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Saturday, March 25 at 5:25 PM
Tipsters are reporting that southside voters have received five full-color glossy campaign pieces from the two incumbent SLPS school board candidates being backed by Mayor Francis Slay. Most of the mailers feature prominent photos of the mayor and at least one attacks one of their parent opponents.
The brochures reportedly feature messages such as "(Students) deserve a winning team," "Tough Choices," and "I need your help for St. Louis Schools," featuring a photo of a smiling Mayor Slay. But the one that caught the eye of most of our tipsters, and best demonstrates how much of a threat Slay and his candidates see candidate and SLPS parent Peter Downs, is the one that says "Peter Downs can't tell us how he'll get results - just more finger pointing about what is wrong."
Supporters of Downs and Donna Jones, the other SLPS parent running in the race, allege that the Mayor is engaging in dirty politics, pitting southside voters against northside voters.
"It's time for St. Louis voters to rise, stand up, and raise a fist to say 'No' to election campaigns designed to further polarize and divide our city," said school board member Bill Purdy. Purdy supports both Downs and Jones.
Most political observers believe that Downs' supporters, who have fallen short of winning a seat on the board in two previous elections, have their best shot on April 4 at winning one for the longtime schools watchdog. Downs' campaign has won strong endorsements from the City's teachers union, as well as the St. Louis Labor Club.
Downs is also the only white candidate in the race, something that the Slay camp must feel warrants the southside media blitz in these last two weeks of the campaign.
State Rep. Sherman Parker, the lone black Republican in the state house, bucked his party today and filed to run against a fellow Republican, Congressman Todd Akin.
"After careful deliberation with my family and friends, I have decided to seek the Republican nomination for Congress from the second district," said Parker in an email to supporters. "I am running for Congress because our current member of Congress is not responsive to these public policy concerns and lacks the influence in Congress to further our goals."
Parker said he would provide new ideas and leadership that is "unwavering in the face of criticism and steadfast when confronted with adversity."
Parker's website outlines his campaign platform. It also carries an unauthorized photo apparently taken from PUB DEF's photo page without permission.
UPDATE: Parker has apologized for the faux pas and promised to have his webmaster correct it ASAP.
Joyce P. Lea, of Kansas City, filed against Sen. Jim Talent in the Republican primary yesterday. She joins Isaiah Hair, Jr. as longshot candidates against the incumbent Republican. [Update: Add one more: Roxie L. Fausnaught, of Granby, MO]
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II, a Democrat, picked up a Republican challenger in Jacob Turk, of Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Henry Iwenofu filed against State Rep. Esther Haywood (D-71) today for the Democratic nomination.
State Reps. Rodney Hubbard, Jeanette Mott Oxford, Connie Johnson, Rachel Storch, Fred Kratky, Michael Vogt, John L. Bowman, Margaret Donnelly, Ted Hoskins, and Jake Zimmerman are among the lucky ones with no opposition.
More Updates: Congressman Lacy Clay picked up a Libertarian opponent in Robb E. Cunningham, of St. Ann.
Seven people want Congressman Todd Akin's job. Five Democrats, 1 Libertarian, and one fellow Republican in State Rep. Sherman Parker.
HAND IN THE COOKIE JAR? The Missouri House Democratic Campaign Committee was fined $104,000 this week for campaign violations. The AP reports that the Missouri Ethics Commission found that the Dems failed to report how much direct support it gave to which candidates. It also did not correctly report some contributions and expenditures, mixed money with another campaign committee, was controlled by candidates for office and didn't keep proper records.
Congressman Russ Carnahan, a former state House member, was fined $600 for signing checks for the committee that he wasn't authorized to sign.
A spokesman for the Democrats said that they simply failed to maintain proper record-keeping. But Republicans charged that this was a deliberate attempt to circumvent the rules. "Democrats will stop at nothing to try and manipulate our state's campaign finance laws," Republican Party spokesman Paul Sloca said.
DARN SCIENCE! A recent editorial in the Eugene, Oregon Register-Guard noted that Sen. Kit Bond and the Bush Administration might have gotten something other than they expected when they pushed for a recent emissions study.
According to the editorial, with the blessing of the White House and automobile manufacturers, Bond inserted language into a 2003 Environmental Protection Agency spending bill commissioning the National Academies' National Research Council's study of California's air pollution controls.
Bond's expectation, shared by the Bush administration and its allies in the automotive and energy industries, was that an NRC review would produce ammunition for efforts to thwart the move by California and other states to set vehicle pollution standards that exceed federal benchmarks.
"But that strategy backfired like an old pickup truck," said the newspaper. "Last Thursday the council gave its scientific blessing to California's air pollution controls, and also to efforts by other states to adopt similar standards."
EVERYBODY HATES HILLARY After pissing off many St. Louis Democrats for coming to town to raise money for herself, Sen. Hillary Clinton spread the piss across Missouri as she landed in Kansas City this week.
The AP reports that Clinton spent 90 minutes Monday at the home of Kansas City lawyer Herb Kohn, an adviser to Mayor Kay Barnes. Clinton walked away with about $40,000 for her Senate re-election campaign, but Democratic critics wonder at what cost to others running for office.
"The timing is bad," Democratic activist Woody Overton said. "We have a U.S. Senate race going on in Missouri. Claire McCaskill needs every dime she can raise right now."
IT'S JUST THE GAME You know our motto around here, "Don't hate the players, hate the game." So our friends at the St. Louis American and the Arch City Chronicle know that it's not personal when we point out these recent examples of how well selling-out pays.
Within the last two weeks, both the American and the ACC gave glowing endorsements of the two incumbents running in the April 4 school board election. And while it may be pure coincidence, both papers seemed to be rewarded with pages of advertisements from the campaigns and their allies.
On the back page of this week's issue of the ACC is a full-page ad from the Buford and Clinkscale campaigns. Inside, another half-page ad.
The back page of this week's issue of the American carries a full-page color ad from Sodexho, a controversial SLPS vendor. Inside is a quarter-page ad from the Clinkscale-Buford campaign and on the front page the second headline in as many weeks touting an endorsement for the duo. Hmmmm.
If only Peter Downs and Donna Jones, the two parent candidates endorsed by the teachers union and others, had access to a few hundred-thousand dollars, we might be able to afford a new iMac around here.
William C. Lhotka, of the Post-Dispatch, is reporting that Edmon Burns, the man whose beating by police officers was caught on tape by local television cameras, confessed to violating his probation by using illegal drugs.
From the article: In a hearing this morning in St. Louis County Circuit Court, Edmon Burns, 33, of north St. Louis County, admitted he violated conditions of probation by using drugs.
Judge John Ross allowed Burns to remain free on bond and ordered the defendant to appear in his court for sentencing April 13. The three-year sentence for the drug violation was the result of an agreement between Burns' attorney, Andrew Hale, and prosecutor John Quarenghi.
Jim Roos, of the Missouri Eminent Domain Abuse Coalition, sat down with PUB DEF a few weeks ago to discuss why he and the Coalition oppose the use of eminent domain in most cases. While we were at his office, Roos called the City's Building Inspection Division to discuss comments made that day by Ald. Joe Roddy.
Click here to view this video using QuickTime. As always, this video is also available as a video podcast. Go here to subscribe to our podcast and to view past videos.
These men say that the City and the LRA "stole" their property [UPDATED]
By Antonio D. French
Last week, men dressed in suits were spotted protesting outside of the downtown offices of the City's Land Reutilization Authority (LRA). The men were carrying signs and passing out fliers which claimed that the LRA "stole" their property.
"How would you like it if you had just bought your home for $100,000, the City comes to your home while you were at work, take (sic) your fence down and tell you they condemned it?" read the flier.
It continued, "Next, when you go to pay your taxes, they tell you that you don't own your home, the City and the LRA own it because they foreclosed on it with a 'Fencing' demolition fee of $800."
The property the men were apparently speaking of was 5900 West Florissant, in Ald. Greg Carter's 27th Ward.
"It takes four years to lose a building," Carter told PUB DEF. He said the property owner disregarded certified letters from the City for all of those four years.
Carter said that the property in question was taken due to unpaid taxes and liens. He said that the owner of the property, a denist named Dr. Raphael Williams, did not do anything to maintain his building for nearly 20 years. He said the building has been in disrepair since the days the 13-year alderman attended high school.
"He has been holding the community hostage," said Carter. Though he said he has no plans yet for the property, he is happy to know that the busy corner is now available for redevelopment.
PUB DEF made several attempts to contact the protestors. One of the men wrote his name and number of the back of one the fliers, but has not answered messages left at the number.
State Auditor Claire McCaskill picked up another opponent yesterday in her campaign for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Mikhail S. Tsukerman, of St. Louis, joined Bill Clinton Young, of Kansas City, as longshot candidates to spoil McCaskill's chance to take on Sen. Jim Talent, who has his own longshot challenger in Isaiah Hair, Jr., also of St. Louis.
Michael Allen, from the Ecology of Absence blog, is reporting that at Monday's school board candidate forum at Harris-Stowe State University, candidate James Buford said that the City needs to end tax increment financing (TIF).
Allen reports that Buford said that TIFs hurt public schools by denying them needed funds to accommodate a growing population. We reported in January that this is also the position of Comptroller Darlene Green, one not shared by Mayor Francis Slay.
Slay, who is backing Buford for the school board, is firmly against rolling back tax breaks for developers and new downtown loft-buyers. Slay has said that it is too soon to reduce TIFs and that doing so would hurt future development.
Click here to download this week's print(able) edition of PUB DEF Weekly.
REMEMBER: Copy, Print, Share! Copy it onto your computer, print it out on your home printer, and share it with others when you're done reading it.
As always, for those of you feeling like true activists, make dozens -- or even hundreds -- of copies and distribute them in City Hall, your office, your apartment building, your dorm, your neighborhood, or just drop a stack at your neighborhood coffee shop.
Here's a tip: We look best on a single 17x11 sheet of paper folded (and incolor, if you're feeling super fly!).
Here are the last three candidate forums for the April 4 St. Louis City School Board election:
Dutchtown South Forum at Carnahan School, Monday, March 27, at 7:00 p.m. Parent Assembly Forum at Metro High School, Tuesday, March 28, at 6:30 p.m. Missouri State Teachers Association Forum at Heritage House, 2800 Olive, Wednesday, March 29, at 6:00 p.m.
Tom Finkel, editor of The Riverfront Times, called PUB DEF yesterday to apologize for an omission made in one of the paper's recent stories.
Last week, we called Finkel to complain that their story on the decision to move the Annie Malone Parade from north St. Louis to downtown ("Parade Charade" by Chad Garrison) clearly quotes comments from one of our exclusive videos without making mention of the source.
Finkel asked Garrison about his source and upon confirmation that it was indeed our video, Finkel apologized, saying that Garrison believed it was a public video. He said a link would be provided to the original video on the RFT's website.
We appreciate Finkel's quick response to this issue and take Garrison on his word that it was a simple mistake. Maybe they'll make us "Blog of the Week" one day soon to make up for it? To tell you the truth, we'd be just as fine with some free passes to one of their back section advertisers -- for our cousins, of course.
We would like to remind all of our readers that PUB DEF operates under a Creative Commons "Some Rights Reserved" policy. That means that all of you are completely free to copy, distribute and display our stuff -- as long as you give fair attribution (Click here to read the full license).
So fellow bloggers, journalists and activists, feel free to use our stuff -- stories, photos and videos (you can even add most of our videos to your own site via YouTube). Just please give us our props.
Dennis McClin-Shireff has dropped out of the school board race. His name will remain on the ballot, but he told supporters this morning on Lizz Brown's "The Wake-Up Call" radio show that he will no longer campaign for the seat.
Nineteenth Ward Alderman Mike McMillan, who is running for License Collector, will be having a fundraiser on Wednesday at the "Fabulous" Fox Theatre. The event's host committee boasts more names of area big shots than a Deb Peterson column on crack.
Here are a few (in alphabetical order): Joyce and Martie Aboussie, Walle Amusa, Richard E. Banks, Freeman Bosley, Jr., Richard Callow, C.W. Gates, Darryl T. Jones, Mark H. Levison, Linda M. Martinez, Tim Person, Darryl Piggee, Mike and Steve Roberts, Vince Scheomehl, Wayman F. Smith, John R. Steffen, Steven Stogel, and Kim J. Tucci. Just to name a few.
A reception for hosts and sponsors ($1,275 per person) will be at 5:00 p.m. The general reception ($600 per person) starts at 6:00.
A really good way to get St. Louis' political bloggers to mention your website is to have someone interview us and then reprint our words like what we have to say matters.
You are a clever man, Mr. Shrewsbury. Clever indeed.
As we reported earlier, a bill being considered by the state legislature would change the way Missourians are allowed to vote.
Republicans say Senate Bill 1014 is designed to target "widespread voter fraud," a phrase often followed by a mention of the strongly Democrat-voting City of St. Louis. But several rural counties are also being targeted by lawmakers who say they are fearful of fraudulent votes.
Sen. Delbert Scott (R-28), the bill's sponsor, said the voter registration of 29 rural counties exceeds the number of people over age 18 in those counties.
“The bill has been very positively received from the general public who realizes that there is cheating going on,” Scott recently told the Columbia Missourian. “Most county clerks do an excellent job of having a fair election. This is certainly not a reflection of the clerks, but the Democratic Party particularly has opposed this. The folks on the street are very supportive. The general public has high expectations that this is going to solve a lot of voter problems.”
Boone County Clerk Wendy Noren told the Missourian that the bill might be well intentioned, but good intentions sometimes “get made into bad laws.”
“I think it’s very well intentioned,” Noren said. “They really believe there are roaming bands of people out there doing this, but those of us who have spent our lives studying this know it’s not true.”
“If there are fraudulent ballots cast, it might cancel out my vote,” she told the paper. “But there isn’t much difference between people committing fraud and people being disenfranchised.”
Francis R. Slay, Sr., father of the St. Louis City mayor, will be hosting a fundraiser on Tuesday, Mar. 21, for State Senate candidate Dr. Jeff Smith. The event will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at The Cedars, 939 Lebanon Dr. Suggested donations range from $25 for "Supporters" to $650 for "Hosts."
Smith, as well as the 4 other candidates running for the 4th District seat, is looking to raise as much money as possible before the end of this quarter's financial reporting period, on March 31.
Reverend Douglas Parham, pastor of Community Church of God in Black Jack, Mo, has been elected president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition. He will serve a three-year term and replaces outgoing President Rev. Sammie Jones.
The St. Louis Police Board unanimously voted to reverse a decision it made just two days ago to allow its civilian employees to live outside of the City.
"It is my hope that on this issue and others, the Board will work more closely in the future with the Police Chief, the citizens, and me before making major decisions," said Mayor Francis Slay.
EXCLUSIVE: Did election politics edit U-City Mayor's comments from film?
By Antonio D. French
PUB DEF EXCLUSIVE
University City's Commission for Access and Local Original Programming (CALOP), which last year commissioned a documentary on the City's first 100 years, recently screened the film for locals at a gala event. But the process that got the film to that point may raise some eyebrows.
The commission, which includes Mayoral candidate (and current 2nd Ward Alderman) Shelley Welsch, required the producers of the documentary to cover or remove a clip of current Mayor Joseph Adams at the end of the film, effectively denying the Mayor the last word on this era in the city's history.
One of the film's producers, Margie Newman, declined to comment on the edit, other than to say that the filmmakers were required to make the edit at CALOP's request due to the terms of their contract. Her co-producer, Lynn Josse, was out of the country and unavailable for comment.
But PUB DEF did obtain a copy of an email correspondence between officials of CALOP and the filmmakers in which CALOP chairman Cameron Sanders writes: "We'll be within a month of an election and it just seems so inappropriate to have him so overtly featured under such circumstances. You indicated you want this film to have a shelf life. How can it, if it so clealry (sic) features a mayor that is quite likely to be out of office in 32 days of the premier...and 5 months before it is offered to the public?"
The filmmakers later received a letter from the commission confirming that CALOP was requesting the change.
Welsch, who is seeking to replace Adams as mayor, denied requesting that Adams' screen time be edited. "That would be unethical," she told PUB DEF. "I don't do unethical things."
Welsch said that the commission did not discuss such a request at any meeting she attended. But records show that Welsch was copied on the email message which ordered the filmmakers to make the changes. She was also copied on another email from Sanders to Dennis Riggs, director of HEC-TV, in which Sanders refered to the current political climate in U-City.
"I would love to see Joe's final comment covered," Sanders wrote. "This is an election year and it will be shown to 400 folks less than a month prior to the vote."
In the same email, Sanders said his position was not influenced by Welsch. "It is just from my sense of fair play. I'd say the same thing (but with a little less personal enthusiasm) if the roles were reversed," he said.
UPDATE:
Sanders said the decision was his alone to request that Adams' comments be edited. "It wasn't a celebration of the Mayor. It was a celebration of the City," he told PUB DEF. He said politics was not a factor in the decision and that other commissioners were informed "after the fact."
"Shelly had no idea," said Sanders. "She found out the same way, the same time as other members." But his statements run counter to what he wrote back in February. Politics clearly seemed to be on Sanders' mind in emails he wrote to Riggs and Welsch.
In the email obtained by PUB DEF, which contained a longer thread of earlier emails between the three, Sanders replied to a request by Welsch to make another unrelated edit to video. It is in that reply on February 11 (which seems to have been sent only to Riggs and Welch), that Sanders reminds the two that "this is an election year" and that many people will see the video close to Election Day.
Congressman Lacy Clay (D-MO) is co-sponsoring a bill with Republican Rep. Jon Porter, of Nevada. The bill would convert federal employee health records to electronic files that employees would keep for life and that would transfer among doctors.
According to Karen Rutzick, of GovExec.com, Clay said making health records electronic would save money and prevent medical errors.
Clay and Porter, who is chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization, invited former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who now runs the Center for Health Transformation, to make the case at a hearing Wednesday.
"I start with a very simple premise: Paper kills," Gingrich testified, citing statistics that 98,000 Americans die as a result of medical errors each year. He offered several anecdotes, including one about the Central Utah Multi-Specialty Clinic, which built electronic health records and will save an estimated $14 million over five years as a result of efficiency and automation.
Porter cited a RAND Corp. study estimating that $162 billion could be saved annually if the country launched widespread health-care automation.
Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) continued to defend the Bush Administration's warrantless domestic wiretapping program yesterday during a panel discussion in the U.S. Capitol.
Bond: "I have been fully briefed on the program. It is constitutional and legal. Some people have decided to make politics out of it. I talked to (CIA Director) Porter Goss and he told me that our intelligence has been weakened as a result."
State Democratic legislators were unsuccessful in their fight to increase funding to Medicaid yesterday. They had proposed putting even more money, in addition to some earlier gains, into the program, which aids the state's poor and elderly, by slashing spending on computers and some farm programs.
"Don't choose megabytes over moms and programs over people," said State Rep. Yaphett El-Amin.
The Associated Press reports that the proposed $21 billion budget restores some benefits, such as eyeglasses and wheelchair batteries, eliminated in last year's cuts to the Medicaid health care program for the poor.
It resumes funding for programs axed because of budget woes in years past, such as the lunch subsidies for school-age Special Olympics participants dropped in 2003.
And it spends money on things never-before funded by the state, such as the $483,000 to aid the boll weevil eradication effort paid for thus far by cotton farmers and the federal government.
Is Slay suggesting Mokwa and Williams are endorsing his candidates?
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, March 16 at 1:04 PM
A photo accompanying a recent post on MayorSlay.com seems to suggests that Police Chief Joe Mokwa and SLPS Superintendent Creg Williams have endorsed the Mayor's picks for two open seats on the school board. Something that, to the best of our knowledge, is untrue.
The post, with the headline "Metro Clergy Back School Reform," quotes Rev. Sammie Jones, of the Metropolitan St. Louis Clergy Coalition. "Darnetta (Clinkscale) and Jim (Buford) are the only candidates in this race who enthusiastically support our new superintendent Creg Williams’ plans to reform our schools," said Jones. But there is no picture of Jones, or Clinkscale and Buford. Instead Dr. Williams is pictured flanked by Mokwa and Mayor Francis Slay. The bottom of the post reads, "That’s Dr. Creg Williams at a different event."
Board member Veronica O'Brien was one of those confused by the photo. "Never knew a [superintendent] could get involved in an election. Wow!!!!" she wrote in an email.
The post does not mention that the St. Louis Teachers Union snubbed the Mayor's candidates and endorsed the two SLPS parents who are running, Peter Downs and Donna Jones. The St. Louis Labor Council also went with Downs and Jones.
Retiree writes his own controversial amendment to the Missouri Constitution
By Antonio D. French
From the Suburban Journals: Herman L. Kriegshauser, a 73-year-old retired funeral director from Chesterfield, said he rewrote parts of the Missouri Constitution dealing with education funding on his own. If he is successful in gathering about 145,000 signatures over the next few months, voters across the state will have a chance to adopt his amendment, which, among other things, would allow the use of public money for religious purposes and institutions.
The amendment would also take funding decisions out of the hands of local school boards and make it "the sole responsibility of the state legislature."
Click here to read the full story. Click here to read our earlier post on this subject.
Sandi Colquitt filed yesterday against State Rep. Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D-72). Nadal defeated Colquitt two years ago by just 196 votes.
State Rep. Juanita Head Walton (D-81) will also be in a rematch with a recently defeated opponent. Jerome Wallace, who lost two years ago in a landslide of more than 35 points, has filed to run again.
Mayor Francis Slay said he believes the St. Louis City Police Board may have violated the state’s Sunshine Law yesterday when they unexpectedly voted to waive the residency requirement for civilian employees.
"Under the Sunshine Law, you have to post an item on the agenda at least 24 hours in advance before you can vote on it. They did not do that," Slay said on his blog.
"As an ex officio member of that Board, I attended the first part of the Police Board meeting, but left in the middle of it to attend another event," said Slay. "Obviously, I would have stayed had this matter been properly posted on the agenda. In fact, it was not."
Slay said he is going to ask the Board to reconsider its decision. "Then, unless Chief Joe Mokwa tells me that the rule change is vital to the operation of his Departent [sic], I am going to ask the Police Board to reverse it," he said.
UPDATE: Slay says the Police Board will meet on Friday to reconsider a decision to end the residency requirement for the Department’s civilian employees.
The following is a statement from Comptroller Darlene Green on the St. Louis Police Board changing the department’s civilian employee residency rule:
"City taxpayers fund the police department and deserve local control of its operations. The decision on the residency requirement, civilian review and the department’s budget belong to St. Louis, not Jefferson City."
Questions are circulating as to whether Police Commissioner Michael J. Quinn was "paying back" St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay by amending a request from Police Chief Joe Mokwa to grant residency waivers to fill some department positions.
Quinn motioned to amend the request to include all civilian employees. Slay had already left the meeting early and some think Quinn's move was, at least partly, meant to get back at Slay for not supporting him for board president earlier in the meeting. The Post-Dispatch is reporting that the measure was approved 3-1, with Freeman Morrow voting against it.
The end result is that now 500 more people are free to move from St. Louis City, while still drawing City paychecks. Mayor Francis Slay is the only member of the St. Louis police board selected by St. Louis residents.
UPDATE: Another take on this situation is also making its way around the rumor mill: That Slay knew the measure was coming up and left the meeting early so he wouldn't have to vote on it.
Ed Rhode, the Mayor's spokesman, has not yet replied to a request for comment.
The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners will be meeting this morning at 8:30 a.m. They will start their meeting off by electing board officers.
Chief Joe Mokwa is scheduled to present meritorious service citations to the following officers: Ronald Hasty, Sean Mallon, Sean Wade, Larry Davis, David Koeller, John McClanahan, and Matthew Greco. Mokwa is also expected to request $75,000 from Asset Forfeiture funds to use for recruitment advertising.
UPDATE:Johnson Lancaster, from our sister site STLObserver.com, reports that Chris Goodson, a recent appointee of Gov. Matt Blunt to the St. Louis Board of Police Commisioners, is now the board's president as of a vote by the commisioners this morning.
It was the first meeting attended by another Blunt appointee (and former television news anchor) Julius K. Hunter, who was sworn in 30 minutes before the meeting started. Hunter was elected treasurer of the board. While Hunter abstained from voting, the other board members all voted for him.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, an ex-officio member of the Board, nominated Goodson for president while JoAnn Freeman-Morrow nominated acting president Michael Quinn. Quinn called for the vote but was interruupted by Slay who pointed out that the nominations had not been seconded. Quinn said that was not neccessary and proceeded with voice vote. The final vote was three to one with Quinn abstaining, Goodson voting for himself along with Hunter and Slay. Freeman-Morrow voted for Quinn.
Freeman-Morrow was unanimously elected vice-president of the board and Quinn was elected the board's purchasing agent. There was no opposition to his election for the post and Quinn abstained from that vote as well.
UPDATE 2:Bill Bryan, of The Post-Dispatch is reporting that, "In a sudden, unexpected development, the St. Louis Police Board on Wednesday approved waiving the residency requirement for the department's 500 civilian employees. Those employees are now permitted to live wherever they choose, and are not confined to the city's boundaries."
Police officers vent on CopTalk about Civilian Review Board, aldermen
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Tuesday, March 14 at 1:41 PM
Someone recently posted a link to one of PUB DEF's videos on the controversial website, CopTalk. The spike in recent traffic caught our eye. That's when we came across a disturbing discussion.
People identifying themselves as St. Louis City police officers have been voicing their concerns on the website about the creation of a Civilian Review Board to investigate reports of police misconduct. They have also lashed out at the aldermen that voted in favor of the bill.
"Where do they get the idea that some shitbag should have the right to investigate a police officer?," wrote one person on the St. Louis CopTalk electronic bulletin board.
They then went into a slanderous attack on two aldermen that voted for Board Bill 69. "I love how they point out the black aldermans [sic] votes. Hey OL Shelton, hows [sic] your son in-law [sic], you know, the one you posted bond for that comitted [sic] a home invasin [sic] and then was caught with a sawed off [sic] shotgun, and just got sentenced to federal time?," he wrote.
The same person then targeted Ald. Freeman Bosley, Sr. "How's your daughter and her drug dealing fiance?" They finished with, "If this thing makes it past the police board, I'm outta here."
Someone replied later, "Let's not forget the rampant voter fraud that abounds in the northern wards." In another post, someone reminded his or her fellow officers, "Don't forget folks, this board has NO AUTHORITY over SLMPD officers, none whatsoever. They are akin to an activist group, that's all. We are not employed by the city, remember? We are employees of the Board of Police Commissioners and only they, and they alone, can exercise authority over us."
State Rep. Yaphett El-Amin has picked up some union support in her campaign for state senate. According to Jo Mannies, of the Post-Dispatch, SEIU, Local 2000; AFSCME, Local 2730; and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) are now supporting El-Amin.
[UPDATE: Mannies is now reporting that AFSCME has not endorsed El-Amin.]
One of El-Amin's four opponents, former Congressional candidate Jeff Smith, also picked up some labor support recently. The Smith campaign reported that local branches of the Iron Workers, Painters, Elevator Constructors, Glaziers, and Insulators and Asbestos Workers, all declared their support for Smith.
There's only two weeks left in this fundraising quarter. Two weeks after that, campaign finance reports must be submitted to the state Ethics Commission. Local political watchers will be looking for answers to a few important questions in some high-profile races.
In the 4th District Senate Race: Will Jeff Smith have another near-$40,000 quarter and will he break the $150,000 total raised mark? Will Amber Boykins have another report pocked with small donations and a low total raised? If so, will that put more pressure on her to drop out of the race? And what about Derio Gambaro? Did he peak in his first quarter since entering the race or did his impressive fundraising continue into 2006? And last, but definitely not least, how serious in the candidacy of former alderman Kenny Jones? Only time (and money) will tell...
In the 60th District State Rep. Race: Speaking of serious candidates, just how serious in Sharon Tyus about this state rep run? Her upcoming financial reports might give a clue. Many expect to see Tyus loan her campaign money as she did in her unsuccessful run for 1st Ward alderman last year. But it will be interesting to see how much in donations Tyus will raise, and from whom? And can she catch up to the lead of Jamilah Nasheed, who led that race with $10,000 on hand in January?
Other 60th questions surround the candidacies of the Shaun Simms, the current state rep (Amber Boykins)'s husband, and former state rep. Robert Bartlett. Collectively, the two had raised less than $1,000 on their last reports. If they don't show some signs of life on this next report, this 4-person race will quickly become a 2-woman race.
License Collector Race: For the same reasons we enjoy picking up Forbes' annual listings of billionaires just to see where Oprah stands, we also look forward to admiring the campaign finance reports of Mike McMillan. Now that he's running for a citywide office, we can only imagine the numbers.
Click here to download PUB DEF's latest print(able) edition.
REMEMBER: Copy, Print, Share! Copy it onto your computer, print it out on your home printer, and share it with others when you're done reading it.
As always, for those of you feeling like true activists, make dozens -- or even hundreds -- of copies and distribute them in City Hall, your office, your apartment building, your dorm, your neighborhood, or just drop a stack at your neighborhood coffee shop.
Here's a tip: We look best on a single 17x11 sheet of paper folded (and incolor, if you're feeling super fly!).
Steve Patterson, of UrbanReviewSTL.com, and PUB DEF editor Antonio French will be guests tonight on "Collateral Damage" with hosts DJ Wilson and Fred Hessel (pictured below).
Tune in to listen live at 7:00 on KDHX 88.1 FM or check the station's website in a couple of days for the podcast.
Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder issued the following statement today regarding the damage caused by the weekend's deadly storms:
"Missourians state-wide, were affected by storms that crossed our state this past weekend. I saw the devastation firsthand in Perry County where two people where killed, ten people were hospitalized and nearly a dozen homes were destroyed. Few areas of our state were not touched by these deadly and costly storms. Governor Blunt is also touring storm damaged areas, and I will support him in his efforts to help those affected by the storms."
San Franciscans have strong feelings on Ackerman, wage debate over weekend
By Antonio D. French
Last week we reported that the St. Louis Public School District had agreed to pay $75,000 to Dr. Arlene Ackerman for a part-time job related to the district's desegregation settlement agreement.
Ackerman is the former superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District. As we reported, her departure from Frisco was controversial at best, nasty at worst.
As it turns out, people in San Francisco read PUB DEF and folks on both sides of the Ackerman controversy duked it out in the comments section of that post. Click here to go there.
"Your implication that she was dismissed over questions about her credit card use is entirely, 100% inaccurate," wrote a blogger named Caroline. She said the real story was that extreme leftists from the city's Green Party pushed her out.
She also took a few swipes at this website. "Your report is completely inaccurate, with just enough whiff of 'truthiness' to carry credibility with the uninformed," she wrote. "You need to do your homework next time and employ some scruples, ethics and concern for accuracy."
We responded by pointing out that there were no errors of fact in our report relating to Dr. Ackerman's time in San Francisco (although we, like the Post-Dispatch, did originally err in reporting that she was hired as an aid to Dr. Creg Williams, a mistake pointed out to us by board member Bill Purdy. We posted Purdy's message as an update to the original post as soon as we received it).
Several other comments came from others who identified themselves as San Francisco parents and political watchers. It all made for an interesting weekend debate.
If nothing else, it showed that San Franciscans have strong feelings about their schools and a lot of time on their hands on a Saturday.
KMOV Channel 4 is reporting that a warrant has been issued for one of the men wanted for vandalizing the Soulard Soap Laundromat and Cleaners during Mardi Gras.
Police have identified the 19-year-old as Mark Krueger, of Wentzville, MO. Another suspect is still wanted for breaking windows at the shop.
Click here to see our earlier post and help to identify the second idiot.
Jake Wagman, of the Post-Dispatch, is reporting that Mayor Francis Slay may not sign Board Bill 69, which was passed by the Board of Aldermen yesterday.
"Slay said Friday that he would not sign the plan because it contains 'inflammatory anti-police' language," wrote Wagman. It was that same language that Ald. Stephen Gregali refered to in an on-camera interview with PUB DEF yesterday.
Slay has the option of vetoing the bill, which would further damage his already-strained relationship with the City's black population, or he can sit on the bill and allow it to become law without his signature. If that was to happen, the bill would still face the even larger hurdle of adoption by the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners.
This sets up a political stand-off between the city's black aldermen and the state-controlled police board.
Ald. Terry Kennedy, the primary sponsor of the bill, spoke of this potential situation a couple of days ago in an exclusive interview with PUB DEF. Click here to see that exclusive video.
YouTube, the service we use to display video on our site, is super convenient and works for most of our visitors. But for some with slower Internet connections or older computers, the video is choppy and takes forever to download. So we are now offering another way to view our exclusive videos. Just go to www.pubdef.net/videos.
And don't forget you can also download our videos at the iTunes Music Store. CLICK HERE to subscibe or just open iTunes, go to the Music Store and search for "Pub Def".
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen today passed a bill creating their own version of a civilian review board to investigate claims of police abuse. The bill now heads to the desk of Mayor Francis Slay. To take effect, it would still have to be adopted by the state-controlled police board.
The bill, which was the subject of an unsuccessful filibuster last week by Ald. Stephen Gregali, was passed by a vote of 17-12.
Those voting for the bill included all of the board's black aldermen (Troupe, Flowers, Bosley, Shelton, Griffin, Reed, Kennedy, McMillan, King, Boyd, Williamson, and Carter), four white aldermen (Young, Florida, Roddy, and Schmid), and Board President Jim Shrewsbury.
Those voting against the bill were Aldermen Conway, Ortmann, Vollmer, Villa, Heitert, Wessels, Gregali, Baringer, Hanrahan, Waterhouse, Kirner, and Krewson.
After the meeting, Ald. Gregali talked to PUB DEF about why he opposed the bill.
UPDATE: Comptroller Darlene Green issued the following statement today in support of the civilian review board:
"I want to thank Alderman Kennedy, the bill's co-sponsors and everyone in the community who fought tirelessly for a civilian review board. Although the approved bill falls short of its original goal of elected members, this compromise is a huge step forward for the entire St. Louis community.
"I call on the mayor and the police board to follow the will of the people and adopt this review plan."
We're changing things up a little bit here at PUB DEF. In the six months since we launched this version of our website, traffic has grown exponentially each month, much to our satisfaction. What has not grown is our subscriber base for our weekly print edition. And since we only lost money on printing and mailing the damn thing anyway, we will no longer print and mail a weekly print edition. You will.
From now on, we will be making print(able) editions available to all our online readers for free as PDFs. You can then copy it onto your computer, print it out on your home printer, and share it with others when you're done reading it. Copy, Print, Share.
And for those of you feeling like true activists, the copy and print part can be done at a Kinko's or a locally-owned copy shop like Hi-Tec Copy. Make dozens -- or even hundreds -- of copies and distribute them in City Hall, your office, your apartment building, your dorm, your neighborhood, or just drop a stack at your neighborhood coffee shop. (We look better in color, by the way -- but whatever.)
It's a whole new world we live in, full of opportunities for empowerment. It costs us next to nothing to publish this site. That allows us to get important and exclusive information out to the world and make it free to you. And now it'll cost us very little to produce the print edition, so we're making that free too. You gotta love the Internet.
Now get started.Click here to download last week's issue. Click here for this week's.
VIDEO: Board expected to pass Civilian Review Board bill tomorrow
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, March 9 at 3:39 PM
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is expected to vote to approve board bill #69 tomorrow. The bill, introduced by Ald. Terry Kennedy (18th Ward), was the subject of much discussion and an unsuccessful filibuster at last week's meeting. But after perfecting the bill by a vote of 16-8 last week, backers of the bill believe that they will again have the votes needed tomorrow for its final passage.
Ald. Kennedy sat down with PUB DEF this afternoon to answer a few questions on BB 69. Here are three videos from that interview.
ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE COMPROMISE BILL THAT WILL BE VOTED ON TOMORROW? HOW DOES THE C.R.B. THAT IT CREATES DIFFER FROM THE ONE CREATED BY THE POLICE BOARD TWO YEARS AGO?
EVEN IF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN DOES PASS THE BILL, IT WILL STILL BE UP TO THE POLICE BOARD TO PASS A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THIS NEW BOARD. WHAT IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO?
WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS A SHOWDOWN BETWEEN THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN AND THE BOARD OF POLICE COMMISSIONERS OVER THIS BILL?
Mary Ann McGivern is the new executive director of Project COPE, a St. Louis-based community re-entry program for ex-offenders. She started on March 1 and succeeded Linda Schroeder, who is retiring after nearly twenty-one years in the job.
McGivern, who ran for a seat on the St. Louis school board in 2003, was most recently the peace and justice coordinator for the Sisters of Loretto in New York City. She has also served as director of the St. Louis Economic Conversion Project and long-time radio commentator on KWMU-FM. She has been a member of the Catholic Worker community since 1977.
McGivern was an elections watcher at the historic Palestinian elections in January. At that time, PUB DEF published some of her letters detailing the event. Read them here and here.
Project COPE assists selected ex-offenders in making the transition to life outside prison through one-year partnerships with congregational teams from a broad religious spectrum. The program also provides transitional housing in three apartment buildings on Marcus Avenue in north St. Louis.
Want the earnings tax eliminated? Then either expand the City's boundaries or spread the cost of services, says Mayor Francis Slay.
On his blog, the mayor said today that he agrees that the City’s earnings tax, a one percent local tax levied on those who live or work in the City, is a "disincentive to some residents and businesses."
"Expand the City limits and tax base to — say — 270, and the need for the earnings tax would disappear," said Slay. "Conversely, spread the costs of social services evenly throughout the region, and the need of the earnings tax would disappear."
Slay goes on to admit that these things are unlikely given the present political realities. But he said he and other city officials are taking a hard looking at the tax.
"At this point, I can’t tell you that the earnings tax will or will not survive our scrutiny," said the mayor.
Clay to host forum on workplace discrimination later this month
By Antonio D. French
Congressman Lacy Clay (D-MO) will host a community forum on employment discrimination on Saturday, Mar. 25, at 10:00 a.m, at the New Northside Family Life Center, 5939 Goodfellow.
"Discrimination in the workplace is widespread and often goes unreported in our community. This forum will present experts from all three levels of government to help citizens fully understand their rights if they feel that they have suffered discrimination on the job," said Clay.
Joining Congressman Clay at the event will be staff from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Missouri Human Rights Commission and the St. Louis Civil Rights Enforcement Agency. They will provide information and be available to help citizens take action to report alleged workplace discrimination.
The privacy of individuals who may wish to file a formal complaint will be maintained at all times. For more information, please call Clay's St. Louis County Office at (314) 890-0349.
State Auditor Claire McCaskill formally filed for U.S. Senate yesterday at 12:15 p.m. Her opponent in the Democratic primary is Bill Clinton Young, of Kansas City, MO.
Sen. Jim Talent has not yet filed. Frank Gilmour, of Manchester, MO, is currently the only Republican running.
Controversy follows Ackerman back to St. Louis, accepts $75K part-time job
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Wednesday, March 8 at 8:30 AM
Dr. Arlene Ackerman's return to St. Louis has generated controversy even before the dust has settled from the larger controversy she is leaving behind in San Francisco.
Yesterday, the St. Louis City school board voted to give Ackerman a $75,000 part-time job as an adviser to Superintendent Creg Williams, responsible for raising student achievement. Some board members voiced concern over Williams selection of Ackerman, who Williams said has served as his mentor over the past year.
But the small controversy over Ackerman's new well-paying part-time job barely compares to that of the even better paying full-time job she recently left in California.
Ackerman, who used to work in the University City School District, was effectively relieved of her duties as superintendent of the San Francisco schools after questions arose regarding her use of the district's credit card.
The San Francisco Chroniclereported on Feb. 6, that someone in the district's central office apparently told one of the school board members that the district should look into Ackerman's use of a school credit card. "Suddenly there was talk at a closed session about wanting to see Ackerman's receipts," the paper said.
"It all came to a head [in February] when Ackerman learned, out of the blue, that a reporter had asked the district for copies of her credit card receipts as well," the paper reported.
"Obviously, someone had leaked the credit card request to the press," said Waukeen McCoy, an attorney for Ackerman. "We felt it was a harassment tactic in an effort by some board members to further ridicule her."
"If she were not an African American woman, she wouldn't be going through this," McCoy said.
But even before the credit card incident, Ackerman's relationship with the board was strained. After she announced on Sept. 6, 2005 that she would be resigning her position effective June 30, 2006, calls began for her to decline the huge severance package stipulated in her contract.
In a private meeting the same day of her retirement announcement, the school board and Ackerman agreed that they were "incompatible." This triggered a "compatibility clause" in Ackerman's contract, allowing her to walk away with severance pay of $375,000, plus a $50,000 per year pension. She will also continue to receive her $250,000 annual salary through June.
In January, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolution requesting Ackerman not accept the generous severance package. According to local news reports, some board members pointed out that it was the previous "lame duck" board that granted her the severance package when it renewed her contract in Nov. 2004.
Some board members say her severance package is inappropriate when the district had just been forced to close, merge, and relocate 14 schools. Sound familiar?
"$375,000 is approximately what it would take to keep one school open for a year," said one board member. Another member pointed out that that money could almost pay for ten teachers for an entire year.
To her credit, many have called Ackerman a very effective educator. The San Francisco Chronicle said her tenure in that city was "noted for rising student achievement and renewed fiscal health in the public school system." But the paper also said her time was "marred by charges that she was autocratic and excluded parents and teachers from important decisions."
Ackerman holds a doctorate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Urban Superintendents Program. She also holds a Master of Arts in Education from Harvard University, a Master of Arts in Educational Administration and Policy from Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education from Harris Stowe Teachers College.
She is the former principal of Brittany Woods Middle School in University City and has received numerous honors and awards, including Uniquely University City Award for Outstanding Service, Apple for the Teacher Award (Iota Lambda Sorority), Distinguished Alumni Award (Harris Stowe Teachers College), and the McDonnell Douglas Fellow (Harvard Urban Superintendents Program).
UPDATE: School board member Bill Purdy sent us the following message:
It is incorrect to report that Arlene Ackerman is being employed to advise either Creg Williams or the city school board on anything. The agreement between the city board and the plaintiffs in the desegregation case defines the role of that position as to gather data and report to the plaintiffs (Liddell plaintiffs, US Justice Department, State of Missouri, NAACP) on the progress or lack thereof of the city district in efforts to improve academic achievement, reach accreditation and meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind. Although the school district is to pay for this service from the general operating budget the report is to be made to the plaintiffs and the plaintiffs must formerly approve of the person who fills that position. As far as I know, the plaintiffs have not yet approved the appointment of Dr. Ackerman. The previous person who filled that position has resigned. There are other requirements in that agreement including conducting regular public meetings with the plaintiffs to discuss the issues of academic achievement, accreditation and NCLB.
A petition is circulating that seeks to ask Missouri voters to change the state constitution to allow for the use of public money for religious purposes and institutions.
The initiative petition, submitted by funeral home owner and Educational Freedom Foundation chairman Herman L. Kriegshauser, of Chesterfield, would also seek funding of school vouchers for private school students. But even though public tax dollars would go to pay for private and religious education, the state and area school districts would be prohibited under this proposal from imposing additional testing standards on these schools.
The initiative also asks for the following:
> changing the dedicated minimum amount of the state revenue from 25% to 33% > allowing tax credits for school donations > reducing the amount of lottery and gaming revenues available for public education by dividing those funds equally among public and non-public students > take the matter of funding for all public & non-public K-14 schools out of the hands of school boards and making it the the sole responsibility of the state legislature
The Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office estimated the impact on state taxpayers exceeds $3.5 billion annually. "Because public K-14 schools shall no longer assess local taxes, the impact on local government is unknown, as they are subject to funding from the state legislature," Carnahan's office noted.
To get on the ballot this year, supporters must gather approximately 145,000 valid signatures.
Supporters of school board candidate Peter Downs are alleging that a board member got physical with their candidate at a recent event.
In an email to PUB DEF, they say that on Saturday March 4, at a candidate forum in north St. Louis, Downs was "bullied and baited by present School Board member Ron Jackson in a blatant attempt to push Downs into a physical altercation."
According to the email, as they were leaving the forum, Jackson confronted Downs, who is still recovering from a broken ankle and wearing a walking cast. They say Jackson "got in Downs' face, shaking his finger and yelling at him." They say their candidate walked away rather than escalate the situation.
Jackson said that it is a stretch to say he "confronted" Downs. "It wasn't a confrontation, it was a conversation," Jackson told PUB DEF. He said he asked Downs, who publishes a regular newsletter on St. Louis public schools, not to write about his 14 year-old daughter anymore. He said he told Downs he was out of line for publishing a quote last year from a conversation overheard between Jackson's daughter and another person.
"I didn't threaten him," said Jackson. "I didn't raise my voice."
Downs' campaign also alleged that Jackson once had to be restrained from assaultinganother critic, George Cotton, during a community meeting at a church back in 2003. Jackson denied that characterization as well.
He said Cotton falsely stated that Jackson's children never attended public schools at a forum in August 2003. "That's not true," Jackson told Cotton. After the exchange, Jackson says Cotton admitted privately that he was just trying to bait him.
Jackson said he volunteers his time with the district to help children, not fight with people. "I'm in this to hopefully improve the outcome for St. Louis public school students," he said.
Jackson is not currently running for re-election. Downs is one of seven candidates, including current board members Darnetta Clinkscale and Jim Buford, running for two seats on the school board.
State Rep. Sherman Parker, who is running against Congressman Todd Akin in the Republican primary, has been named by the St. Louis Business Journal as one of the region's "Most Influential Minority Business Leaders."
3 easy things Metro could do to improve pubic transportation in the City
By Antonio D. French
In an article in today's Post-Dispatch, Metro officials say they are ready for the challenge of a possible rider increase due to construction on Highway 40 and gas price increases.
"We see the highway construction as a marketing and education challenge, as well as an opportunity to introduce Metro services to a new market of people who may not be familiar with the system to get east to downtown," said Adella Jones, Metro's vice president for government and community affairs.
But we don't see how Metro could possible be ready for more riders when they don't know how to treat the few they have now.
But we don't just bitch and moan here at PUB DEF. We try to offer solutions too. So we propose three things that could be done in 30 days to help Metro improve its service:
1. BUS STOPS SHOULD ACTUALLY TELL WHEN THE BUS IS COMING -- This is a no-brainer. If you actually did wake up one sunny day and say to yourself, "I think I'll leave the car in the garage and travel on foot today," you'd quickly say, "screw it!" after walking to your nearest bus stop and realizing you have no idea when this thing is coming.
That Metro has no kind of schedule or map (or any other useful information) on its bus stops says to the average non-daily user, "Fuck you, take it or leave it." Posting the schedule for bus riders, like they do MetroLink riders, is really the least Metro can do.
2. SCHEDULES FOR BIKE RIDERS -- As spring and summer approach, Metro should publish (and post on all City bus stops) information saying when buses with bike racks will be coming by. That will make it 10 times easier for people serious about public transportation and personal fitness (either out of choice or necessity) to travel this city without a car.
3. WEBSITE SHOULD BE ABOUT GETTING OUT USEFUL INFORMATION, NOT P.R. -- Look, people go to Metro's website for only a few reasons: to get schedule and route information (which isn't posted at bus stops), info on where to buy passes, or Metro's contact info. To find that information, a hurried traveler must now dig through a bunch of crap about riverboats, the Arch, and "How Much Money You Can Save" public relations bull.
That stuff is all swell. But stick it on Page 2. The front page should just have three big icons: "Maps & Schedules," "Buy Passes," and "Contact Metro."
And one more thing about the website; if they're going to make a PDF of a bus schedule available for download, it might make sense to have it printer-friendly.
Betty Anne McCaskill gives her daughter "elderly cred" in Joplin
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Sunday, March 5 at 1:39 PM
State Auditor Claire McCaskill, who is campaigning to replace Jim Talent in the U.S. Senate, has been touring the state with her mother, Betty Anne, speaking with Missouri seniors about the controversial Medicare Part D program. On Friday, the duo was in Joplin, MO.
Betty McCaskill's role was to describe her own medical issues and the frustrations she encountered when trying to contact the bureaucracy handling the new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. Calling the plan "as far as you get from Missouri common sense," Betty claimed to be the catalyst for her daughter's involvement in the issue.
McCaskill took a page out of the book of Scott Howell, the Republican media guru who will be working on the TV ads for the re-election of Sen. Jim Talent. Howell let slip that his secret for success includes surrounding the candidate with family.
We reported earlier on the McCaskills' visit the the Livingston County Multipurpose Senior Center in Chillicothe, MO.
VIDEO: CEO Richard King defends Annie Malone parade move
By Antonio D. French
PUB DEF EXCLUSIVE
In this video, Richard King, who has been the CEO of the Annie Malone Center less than a year, defends his organization's decision to move its nearly 100 year-old parade out of north St. Louis.
King argues that the parade is just a fundraising activity to help kids. "At the end of the day," he says, it is about raising money to support that effort. This is something that King also voiced last week in the Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Argus, and other media outlets. But just what percentage of the organization's annual revenues come from the May Day Parade?
The organization's latest tax documents, obtained by PUB DEF, show that Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center received revenues of $2.7 million in 2004. Of that amount, just $180,493 (6.7%) came from the parade. After expenses, the event brought in a profit of $127,618.
This lines up with what King and other Annie Malone officials told this reporter a few weeks ago at a meeting in the organization's office in The Ville neighborhood. At that time, King said that the event did not represent much of Annie Malone's revenue at all and so it was preposterous for Committeeman Talib El-Amin, who was also in attendance, to suggest that the decision to move it downtown was about money.
Despite the profitability of the annual parade, the organization still posted a deficit for the fiscal year 2004. Annie Malone's expenses were more than $500,000 greater than the center's income -- and $450,000 of that extra expense came from salaries.
In 2004, the salaries of the Center's three top executives totaled $241,346. Add that to the $90,020 paid to Malik and Associates, of Ladue, for accounting services, and four individuals took away more than twice as much as the parade profits.
"It's water under the bridge," King said about the parade. He told a committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen that there is nothing anyone can do to change his decision to move the parade.
"Yes there is," Ald. Bennice Jones King replied. The next day, the Board of Aldermen unanimously passed a bill voicing their "regret and displeasure with the decision to move the Annie Malone Parade out of the Ville Neighborhood."
Since then, some northside residents and officials have announced their plans to boycott the parade this year.
Click here to see an earlier exchange between Ald. King and Annie Malone's board president Aaron Phillips.
VIDEO: Dueling Katrina videos show a disorganized government
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Saturday, March 4 at 12:15 PM
The Associated Press released a video this week showing President George W. Bush being briefed on the seriousness of the still-approaching Hurricane Katrina. In the briefing, Bush and officials from the Department of Homeland Security are warned that New Orleans' levees are in danger of breaking. Four days later, Bush told the American public that he didn't think "anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
The day after the Bush video was shown, another video was released. In that video, the voice of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco "hesitantly but mistakenly assured the Bush administration that New Orleans' protective levees were intact," according to the AP.
"We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees," Blanco said shortly after noon on Aug. 29. "We heard a report unconfirmed, I think, we have not breached the levee. I think we have not breached the levee at this time."
In fact, the National Weather Service received a report of a levee breach and issued a flash-flood warning as early as 9:12 a.m. that day, according to the White House's formal recounting of events the day Katrina struck.
Blanco, a Democrat, is not shown in the video but is heard as a disembodied voice speaking to 11 people sitting around a table. According to the AP, she sounds uncertain about the reliability of her information and cautioned that the situation "could change."
Since the release of these videos, Democrats in Congress have renewed their calls for an independent investigation into the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
State Teachers to host forum for SLPS board candidates
By Antonio D. French
The Missouri State Teachers Association will be hosting an open forum for candidates running for the St. Louis school board. The event will take place at 6 p.m, Wednesday, March 29, at the Heritage House, 2800 Olive Blvd.
U.S. Senator Barack Obama appeared today at an event for Claire McCaskill, who is campaigning to replace Republican Sen. Jim Talent. The event, which took place at the Chase Park Plaza in the Central West End, brought out most of the elected Democrats in the region.
Attendees included St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, County Executive Charlie Dooley, Congressmen Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan, State Senators Pat Dougherty, Joan Bray, Rita Days, State Reps Connie Johnson, Rodney Hubbard, Yaphett El-Amin, Amber Boykins, John Bowman, and many, many more.
Obama pressed what he said was the importance of getting a Democratic majority elected to Congress. "I can't do it by myself," Obama told the crowd. "I need partners in the Senate and the House," he said.
The senator from Illinois said that he doesn't think President Bush or the Republicans are bad people. It's just that "their idea of America is very different than ours," Obama said. He said the GOP's vision boils down to, "You're on your own."
Ald. Steve Gregali (14th Ward) has been filibustering the bill to create a civilian review board since 11:04 a.m.
UPDATE: This reporter left the board of aldermem meeting while Gregali was still talking. At the Chase Park Plaza, where Sen. Barack Obama was stumping for Claire McCaskill, slowly a few aldermen started to stream in after about hour. One told PUB DEF that the board did eventually perfect a version of BB69. Stay tuned...
UPDATE 2:Score one for the Black Caucus! The bill was indeed perfected today after some parliamentary maneuvering by the Aldermanic Black Caucus. Gregali stopped his filibuster after Ald. Terry Kennedy put BB69 back on the informal calendar. The board's business continued and many members left the chamber, with some eager to see Barack Obama speak at the Chase Park Plaza.
Near the end of the board meeting, with all the members of the Black Caucus standing to be recognized, Board Pres. Jim Shrewsbury recognized Ald. Greg Carter, who quickly motioned for a vote. The bill was perfected by a vote of 16-to-8.
The bill will be voted on by the full board for final passage next week. According to Jake Wagman, of the Post-Dispatch, Ald. Gregali has vowed to try to kill it again.
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted this morning to take a bill creating a civilian review board off the informal calendar. The bill, introduced by Ald. Terry Kennedy and co-sponsored by all of the board's 11 other black aldermen, had been on the informal calendar since Jan. 27.
A floor substitute was offered today to address many of the concerns of Mayor Francis Slay, some St. Louis police officers, and several southside aldermen. The substitute did away with the provision calling for elected members, a point that leaders of the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression said earlier was absolutely necessary.
The new version of BB69 calls for the creation of 7 districts across the city, each composed of 4 wards. The four aldermen would submit to the mayor's office 1-4 names. The mayor would then pass one of those names on to the board of aldermen for confirmation.
Discussion on the substitute bill became heated. "Civilian Review is not an indictment of the police," said Kennedy. This bill is the culmination of nearly a hundred years of effort, he said, pointing out that the Urban League and NAACP began pushing for civilian review in 1917 following the infamous East St. Louis Riots.
Alderman Steve Conway (8th Ward) attacked the backers of the floor substitute for not including some members in the negotiations of this compromise. He said he and others had just received the new language in the last hour.
Conway said that a civilian review board could "make life miserable for each and every police officer." This bill is "the soft version of the anti-police bill," he said.
"We just want to punish police officers," is how Conway described the position of some supporters of a civilian review board. Conway said the proponents of this bill don't like police officers.
"This is a bad bill. It wasn't done in an open fashion," said Conway.
Ald. Charles Q. Troupe (1st Ward) introduced State Rep. Amber Boykins as his honored guest at today's Board of Alderman meeting. Troupe's committeewoman, Yaphett El-Amin, is currently running against Boykins in the 4th District senate race.
Rumor has it that today might be the day for Board Bill #69.
Sources tell PUB DEF to look for the St. Louis Board of Alderman to perfect a bill creating a civilian review board this morning. But the bill will fall short of some of the features that supporters have been hoing for. Look for a CRB with:
> No elected members > 7 members, each recommended by 4 aldermen > If 4 aldermen cannot agree on a member, the mayor will step in to decide > Still no subpoena power
The "4 aldermen = 1 CRB member" formula will give the advantage to the 16 white aldermen that withheld their support of the bill. We're told that the Aldermanic Black Caucus, which unanimously supported the creation of a CRB, believed that this compromise was the only way to get the bill passed.
VIDEO: Elliott Davis on moving the Annie Malone Parade
By Antonio D. French
PUB DEF EXCLUSIVE
Channel 2 reporter Elliott Davis, best known for his "You Paid For It" segments, recently let his personal feelings be known regarding the planned move of the Annie Malone Parade out of north St. Louis.
This video can also be downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. Click here to go to our iTunes page.
PUB DEF EXCLUSIVE Aaron Phillips, the president of the board of directors of the Annie Malone Center, has been active in defending his organization's plan to move the annual north St. Louis parade to downtown -- a plan, that under questioning from The St. Louis American's Alvin Reed, Phillips admitted to being the first person to suggest.
This video can also be downloaded from the iTunes Music Store. Click here to go to our iTunes page.
Why do Slay's appointees keep overruling the fire chief?
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, March 2 at 5:25 PM
In his column today, Post-Dispatch columnist Sylvester Brown explores the ever-straining relationship between Mayor Francis Slay and Fire Chief Sherman George.
From the column: Consider the $265 million Renaissance Grand Hotel project in 2002. The hotel officially opened Feb. 15, 2003, a month before receiving the Fire Department's approval. While reviewing files on the project at the Fire Department, I found a letter that Deputy Chief Charles E. Coyle sent to then Building Commissioner Ron Smith. Coyle questioned the legitimacy of the permit, issued Dec. 27, 2002.
Brown also writes: Last month, organizers of the "Mardi Krawl" applied for a "one-night" permit to hold a party Feb. 23 inside St. Louis Centre. On Feb. 16, the building division denied the permit and cited the address, listed at 515 North Sixth Street, for "life threatening" violations.
Yet, the day before the event, the organizers were given a permit anyway.
"The occupancy application at 515 North Sixth for Mardi Krawl One Night event has been issued per directive from Sam Simon . . ." read a note inside the fire department's folder.
Former 20th Ward Alderman Sharon Tyus filed yesterday to run for state representative in the 60th District. She is running against former State Rep. Bob Bartlett, activist Jamilah Nasheed, and Shaun Simms, husband to term-limited State Rep. Amber Boykins.
Corporate mergers have hit St. Louis workers and the City's tax base hard over the last few years.
There was Boeing's acquisition of McDonnell-Douglas, which moved the headquarters of the aerospace giant to Chicago. Then American Airlines’ takeover of TWA, which drastically cut the number of daily flights to Lambert Airport. And just yesterday, nearly 500 downtown employees picked up their final checks from Famous-Barr, following Federated Department Stores's purchase of May Department Stores.
The City's unemployment rate continues to hover around the 10% mark -- much higher in some parts of the City and for specific demographics -- and the effects of the closing of the Ford plant in Hazelwood won't completely show themselves for years.
The large number of unemployed and underemployed St. Louisans is a serious problem. And contrary to some headlines, most economists seem to believe that the housing market is cooling down -- not good for those that believe downtown loft developments will save the city.
There was a time when Democrats used to talk about jobs. A job for anyone that will work, that was how political machines were built in this city. But now it seems that all St. Louis Democratic politicians talk about is developing.
Rebuilding the city is great. New construction downtown is fantastic. Southside rehabs are inspiring. People moving from the suburbs back into the city limits is an absolutely necessary part of St. Louis becoming a bigger, better city.
But let's not forget about the people that never left. Many of those people will never step foot in one of these new lofts. They can never afford a rehabbed home in south or north St. Louis. Why? Because they need better jobs -- or any job!
Sometimes I think I'd trade two-hundred Clinton Democrats for one good Tip O'Neill.
The Metropolitan Police Department's South Patrol Detective Bureau needs the public's help in identifying these two men. They allegedly knocked out the windows of the Soulard Soap Laundromat & Cleaners during the Mardi Gras event on Saturday, February, 25. Anyone with information should contact the South Patrol Detective Bureau at (314) 444-0100.
Did D.C. Democrats try to 'inflate' McCaskill's numbers?
By Antonio D. French
The Hotline, the blog of the National Journal, is reporting that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) covered some December payroll and insurance expenses for Claire McCaskill's senate campaign.
Republican researchers pouring over McCaskill's year-end FEC filing could not find an entry showing that any of the campaign's staff of eleven had been paid in December. Disbursements to a New York-based paycheck company were recorded through the end of November, only.
The GOPers discovered that that the DSCC, on Dec. 22, paid $24,107 to that paycheck company and listed McCaskill as benefiting from the expense.
The NRSC [National Republican Senate Committee] did not pick up campaign salaries for any of its candidates and the DSCC did not cover the same expenses for any other Senate campaign.
That leads the NRSC to conclude that, in the words of a spokesman there, the DSCC "clearly" was doing its best to make sure that McCaskill ended the year with as much cash on hand as possible.
According to that theory, the higher the number -- even if inflated by a paltry $24K -- the more favorably the small circle of Washington's elite political analysts would treat the health of McCaskill's campaign.
According to The Hotline, the DSCC called the payments "irrelevant and significance-free." So far, the DSCC has spent about $94,000 in Missouri.
As of the last campaign finance report, Jim Talent leads McCaskill in fundraising by more than 3-to-1.
It's the game that's sweeping City Hall -- "NAME THAT POLITICO!"
Carter said that the property in question was taken due to unpaid taxes and liens. He said that the owner of the property, a denist named 
