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DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
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Ending the speculation, State Rep. Sam Page of Creve Coeur will hold a press conference Monday, June 4, to announce as a Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
The announcement will be made at the Creve Coeur Government Center, 300 N. New Ballas Rd., at 3:00 p.m.
The man slated to become the new czar of the city's public schools is scheduled to meet with members of the Aldermanic Black Caucus tomorrow.
Rick Sullivan, the Chesterfield real estate developer selected by Gov. Matt Blunt to run the city schools after it is stripped of its accreditation in two weeks, has been making the rounds around town — and the country — talking to people about public education in urban areas.
With no formal experience in education of his own, Sullivan has met with school leaders here and in other cities, including Atlanta, and local elected officials, seeking input about the situation in SLPS.
PubDef has been told that members of the Black Caucus have many questions waiting for Sullivan concerning his take on the academic and financial situation of the district, as well as his stance on privatization and charter schools.
St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Diana Bourisaw has fired back at the State Board of Education that earlier this year voted to strip the district of accreditation on June 15.
In a 22-page document entitled "The Determination that the St. Louis Public Schools is Unaccredited is Unlawful, Arbitrary, and Capricious", Bourisaw argues that:
The district has met and continues to meet sufficient performance standards to be provisionally accredited.
The standards applied to SLPS by the State Board have not been applied and are not applied to other similarly situated school districts in Missouri.
The action taken by the State Board is unconstitutional.
The recent death of the Kansas City Star's "KC Buzz Blog" (in favor of a new paid subscription service) creates a new void on the west side. PubDef is seeking Kansas City area political watchers and videographers as we consider a westward expansion.
Email us if you are interested or know of someone we should contact. Thanks.
Late at night, while you are sleeping, St. Louis burns. Armed with a scanner, a couple of cameras, and nostrils full of smoke and ash, 20 year-old Ben Mazanec of south St. Louis spends his free time tracking down the flames.
KWMU reports that at its monthly meeting last night, the St. Louis School Board voted to award controversial radio host Lizz Brown a $25,000, no-bid contract.
From Adam Allington's report:
The board authorized a contract with a company called "Penetrating Urban Market Politics". The organization is controlled by Brown, a local activist and radio host who organized a five-day student sit-in at the mayor's office last March.
Brown is contracted to assist with a public service campaign about the negative impact of charter schools.
Board member Veronica O'Brien accused acting chairman Bill Purdy, who proposed the contract, of offering kick-backs.
Purdy, Peter Downs, Donna Jones, and David Jackson voted for the contract. O'Brien, Flint Fowler, and Katherine Wessling voted against.
Correction: Okay, not really. Despite Governor Blunt's assertions in his statement, the Supreme Court's ruling did not extend to teachers the right to strike, but rather just the right to collectively bargain.
FROM THE RULING: "Article I, section 29's guarantee that employees have 'the right to bargain collectively' is clear and means what it says. Agreements that the school district made with employee groups are to be afforded the same legal respect as contracts made between the district and individuals, although public employees – unlike their private-sector counterparts – are not permitted to strike.
As long as the duration and terms of such agreements comply with the limits provided by law for school districts to bind themselves, and are consistent with other statutes such as the teacher tenure act, the agreements are enforceable as any other contractual obligations undertaken by the district."
By a 5-2 vote yesterday, the Missouri Supreme Court overturned a 60-year ban on the collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Throwing yet another monkey wrench in the state's half-baked idea of taking over St. Louis Public Schools, this ruling now means that teachers, as well as other public employees, once again have the right to strike, if need be, to bring their employers to the bargaining table.
"This is yet another example of judicial activism, where a court’s action oversteps the bounds of prudent Constitutional interpretation," said Gov. Matt Blunt in response to Tuesday's ruling.
"This reckless decision could force cities and school districts to raise taxes and subject Missourians to the threat of strikes by critical public sector employees."
"Public sector employees are different than all other employees, and taxpayers should not be bound by collective bargaining agreements," said Blunt.
Obviously, the Supreme Court disagreed.
The state Constitution clearly affords collective-bargaining rights to employees. Past courts have interpreted that guarantee as not extending to public employees.
According to the Kansas City Star, in Tuesday’s decision, written by Chief Justice Michael A. Wolff, the court found that the constitutional guarantee is "clear and means what it says."
When the St. Louis Board of Education meets this evening, it will consider a motionto name the group of Elementary Schools and Middle Schools that feed into the Sumner and Turner High Schools the "John F. Bass Educational Complex."
The late John F. Bass was a St. Louis alderman, a Missouri State Senator, and the first African American comptroller in the city's history. He passed away on February 25, 2007.
According to SLPS Spokesman Tony Sanders, the rededication, to be introduced by Board Vice President Bill Purdy, is intended as an honorarium to Senator Bass and his family in recognition of his service. Several members of Bass' family are expected to be in attendance at this evening's meeting.
The Board of Education meeting tonight is to be held in Carr Lane VPA Middle School and will open to the public at 7:00 PM.
Call it taking care of their own. Or perhaps, an investment in their own futures. Whatever you call it, state legislators buried a nest egg in the controversial MoHELA bill signed into law last week.
Stuck in the center of the 52-page Senate Bill 389, which, among other things, took $350 million from the state's college loan fund and put it towards new construction projects on campuses around the state, there is also a provision that makes it much easier for legislators to get a job after they are term-limited out of office.
SB 389 also states that "no public college or university... shall reject an applicant for a faculty position based solely on the applicant having not earned a graduate degree, provided that the applicant has earned an undergraduate baccalaureate degree and has served for at least eight years in the general assembly."
So a bachelor's degree and four terms in the State House now makes you as qualified to teach in a Missouri college as a Ph.D. or a master's degree in the particular field.
Term-limits is now the tune to which self-preservation and special interests dance to in the State Capitol.
With all the uproar about the billions more dollars allocated for the Iraq War yesterday, almost completely unnoticed is that in the same bill Congress also raised the federal minimum wage for the first time in almost a decade.
The hike will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over three years. Starting 60 days after it is signed into law, the first increase will be to $5.85. In year two, it goes to $6.55 an hour. And in year three, $7.25.
As they wait to see if Governor Matt Blunt decides to sign the huge check that is House Bill 327 — which gives millions of dollars to dozens of entities, including developer Paul McKee and his "Blairmont" companies — residents of the north St. Louis neighborhoods most affected by McKee's secret plan hold their breath and look to the sky for the other shoe to drop.
And locally, did Senator Claire McCaskill forget her mandate when she and other Democrats joined with Republicans to authorize more funds for the Iraq War?
McCASKILL & BOND VOTE TO FUND WAR, CLAY & CARNAHAN VOTE AGAINST
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, May 24, 2007 at 11:03 PM
The U.S. Congress tonight passed a $122 billion emergency supplemental appropriation to continue funding the war in Iraq at least through September. St. Louis Congressmen Lacy Clay and Russ Carnahan voted against the measure, which passed the Democratic-controlled House by a vote of 280-142.
The following statement comes from Rep. Clay:
"I cannot, in good conscience, vote for a supplemental appropriation that provides $97.8 billion more for President Bush's failed policy in Iraq.
This bill imposes no real deadlines and lacks any credible thresholds of accountability for either the President or the Iraqi government.
It does nothing to move this tragic and unnecessary war towards a swift and responsible conclusion, which is what the American people expect us to do.
Very soon, Congress will revisit this critical situation. And I pray that we will finally have the courage to face the realities on the ground, let the Iraqis decide their own country's future, and bring our brave troops home."
In the Senate, Democrat Claire McCaskill and Republican Kit Bond were among the 80 votes in favor of the funding. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin also voted for it, while his colleague and Presidential candidate, Barack Obama, voted against.
Obama's leading competitor in the Senate, Hillary Clinton, also voted no.
How Missouri's Delegation Voted:
Lacy Clay (D-1st) - NO Todd Akin (R-2nd) - YES Russ Carnahan (D-3rd) - NO Ike Skelton (D-4th) - YES Emanuel Cleaver (D-5th) - NO Sam Graves (R-6th) - YES Roy Blunt (R-7th) - YES Jo Ann Emerson (R-8th) - Did not vote Kenny Hulshof (R-9th) - YES
Kit Bond (R) - YES Claire McCaskill (D) - YES
Click here for the Senate roll call vote. Click here for the House roll call vote.
Jason Rosenbaum reports that Trenton State Rep. Jim Whorton is joining the field of contenders for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.
As Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman, D-St. Louis, noted earlier this year, "everybody and their mamas" are thinking about running for the Democratic nomination for Lt. Governor. Possible contenders include Rep. Sam Page, D-Creve Coeur, Sen. Frank Barnitz, D-Lake Spring and Sen. Harry Kennedy, D-St. Louis. Mike Evans, a candidate for Congress in 2004, is right now the only announced candidate on the Democratic side.
In the face of the looming takeover of St. Louis Public Schools by the State of Missouri, the school district announced yesterday that it will offer free summer school to any Missouri student that applies to its program.
According to the district, eleven thousand students have already registered for the summer school program, and that number is expected to grow.
"Students will benefit from smaller class sizes, effective curriculum materials, and more individualized instruction – all of which contribute to a strong academic program," says SLPS Superintendent Diana Bourisaw.
Also according to the press release, the program has been structured to meet the goals of both "No Child Left Behind" and the district's own Comprehensive School Improvement Plan.
Transportation will be provided for resident students as usual, while non-resident parents must arrange transportation for their children.
State Senator Jeff Smith told the audience at Wednesday night's panel discussion on St. Louis Public Schools at the Carpenter Branch Library a story of his personal experience briefly working in the district years ago.
Smith, who introduced legislation this year to test teachers' subject knowledge, described seeing several teachers and administrators who seemed to be there just to punch a clock and collect a paycheck.
Superintendent Diane Bourisaw took exception with that characterization.
Washington University in St. Louis is planning to host a day-long public forum on Medicaid, called "Medicaid Financing: Challenges for Missouri and the Nation," on June 8th, 2007. Planned topics of discussion include healthcare accessability, cost, quality, and scope of coverage.
Among the speakers will be former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson.
Thompson, a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, has recently called for federal reform of the Medicaid system as part of his campaign. His talk is entitled "Medicaid in the United States."
Sponsors for the event include the Missouri Foundation for Health, Government and Public Policy in Arts & Sciences, the Center for Health Policy in the School of Medicine, the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Though the forum is open to the public, registration is required to attend. The event runs from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Clan or Klan? What Did a Former School Board Member Call His Critics?
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 11:34 PM
Former school board member Ron Jackson was already in hostile territory when he walked into tonight's panel discussion on St. Louis Public Schools, he could see that by the familiar faces of teachers' union members and parents who have been critical of his decisions during his four years on the board.
But he quickly made things worse for himself when he referred to those critics as either "the clan" or "the Klan".
Whether the word used by Jackson, who is black, began with a "c" or a "k", some people in the crowd were audibly offended.
Missouri Governor Matt Blunt was on the campus of the University of Missouri in St. Louis this morning to sign into law Senate Bill 389, which includes his controversial plan to take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MoHELA), which makes loans for college tuition, to pay for new construction projects on campuses around the state.
In addition to the funding of construction projects, SB 389 also included several other provisions, including State Sen. Jeff Smith's "Teach for Missouri Act".
Modeled after the national Teach for America program, Smith's plan (renamed "Missouri Teaching Fellows Program Fund") would allow certain graduates of Missouri colleges who are hired to teach in unaccredited or partially accredited school districts can have some of their student loans forgiven for each of their first five years teaching.
In a recent editorial in the Springfield News-Leader, the paper's editors call for its industry's increasingly powerful competitors, political bloggers, to unmask themselves and give up their anonymity.
First, not all political bloggers hide their identities. Obviously, here at PubDef we use our real names and even regularly show ourselves in our video reports. Other notable blogs, including ArchCityChronicle.com, UrbanReviewSTL.com, and JohnCombestBlog.com, also join us in the Fantastic Four approach to blogging, tossing aside any secret identities to protect our loved ones.
But for those Spider-Men and Supermen of the world, who in order to protect their Mary Janes and Louises (or perhaps just their jobs), do choose to hide their identities, their words and perspectives are no less real, nor do their messages speak any less to their regular readers.
Just as ironic as both Spider-Man and Superman characters' day jobs being at large urban newspapers and them both feeling that to do any real good they needed to hide their identities and dress up in colorful suits — it is also with great irony that readers of the News-Leader's anti-anonymity editorial must do their own independent investigation to find out who actually wrote it.
People have their own reasons for writing anonymously. Arguably Missouri's greatest writer, Samuel Langhorne Clemens felt the need to wrap his words in the false name of "Mark Twain". Was it because "Twain" was a name that could sell more books? Or was it a name that readers and critics could better accept the truth from?
As someone who attaches his name to everything he writes and then often gets attacked for those words, I can definitely see the attraction in hiding one's identity. Without the protection of a large news organization, telling truth to power can be damaging to one's livelihood.
But however varied the individual reasons are for blogging anonymously, the reason that we blog in the first place is the same; because the mainstream media have failed and continues to fail everyday.
Missouri's political bloggers fill a void and no matter how the mainstream media may try to copy us, they will never be able to do exactly what it is we do.
Today's information consumers are the most savvy ever. They can judge for themselves the credibility of their news sources. And increasingly, more and more readers on the Web are relying on blogs for their news than on large newspapers that, sure enough, attach bylines to each and every boring, out-of-touch, and shallow news story they print.
Just because you sign your name to it, it doesn't make it suck any less.
The Missouri Republican Party today slammed Democratic Congressional candidate Kay Barnes for comment she made supporting extending citizenship to illegal immigrants.
"I favor the opportunity for people, if they have been here for a period of time, if they have demonstrated a work ethic and so on, to be able to stay and go through eventually a citizenship process," the St. Joseph News-Press quoted Barnes yesterday speaking to about three dozen people at the Buchanan County Democrat Women's Club.
Barnes, the former mayor of Kansas City, is challenging Republican Congressman Sam Graves for his seat next year.
"It is shocking that on the same day that a major immigration raid is conducted in Missouri, Kay Barnes would stand up and say that she supports rewarding illegal immigrants by granting them American citizenship,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party.
The St. Louis Public School District is seeking input from all the owners of the school system, including teachers, students, parents, business owners, and elected officials. Today, the District launched an online survey, which will be available through June 4.
"We want to know the areas where we need to focus in order to better serve our constituents," said Superintendent Diana Bourisaw. "Our goal is to create the best choice in urban education." Click here to go to the online survey.
Once again, the best public high school in Missouri is a St. Louis Public School, according to Newsweek magazine.
Metro Academic and Classical High School was ranked #139 on Newsweek's list of 1,200 top schools in America. The next highest ranking schools from the Show-Me state is Ladue-Horton Watkins (#263) and Clayton High (#321).
Metro High has for years consistently ranked near the top of annual list and is the highest ranking Missouri public school. Last year it was ranked #40. In 2005, it ranked #48
Ironically, despite being one of the best high schools in the nation, Metro is scheduled to lose its state accreditation and be taken over by the state on June 15 along with the rest of St. Louis Public Schools.
The League of Women Voters, Metropolis St. Louis, and FOCUS St. Louis will be hosting a panel discussion and public forum tonight on the future of St. Louis Public Schools.
Speakers on the panel include: State Sen. Jeff Smith, a supporter of charter schools; school board member David Lee Jackson, an opponent of the state takeover; former school board member Ron Jackson, a supporter of the state takeover; and Superintendent Diana Bourisaw.
The Community Concerns Forum will be at the Carpenter Branch Library, 3309 S. Grand, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. tonight. All are welcome.
Gov. Matt Blunt will sign into law this morning his controversial plan to take $350 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, which makes loans for college tuition, to pay for new construction projects on campuses around the state.
Blunt will sign the bill at a ceremony at 11:00 a.m. on the campus of UMSL.
Undeterred by record high gas prices, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is taking a road trip this weekend.
Following the national outrage over the conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the Missouri Senator is taking a few days to visit some sick veterans and check on their state of health care.
McCaskill plans to take her RV on a four-day, 14-stop tour with stops in Fort Leonard Wood, Springfield, Joplin and Nevada on May 29; Kansas City, St. Joseph, Cameron and Kirksville on May 30; Hannibal, Mexico and Columbia on May 31; and St. Louis, Poplar Bluff and Cape Girardeau on June 1.
No word yet on where she'll stop for barbecue on this Memorial Day weekend.
Royston's Dad Passes, Johnson Says Residency No Longer an Issue in Race
By Antonio D. French
The father of 27th Ward Committeeman Curtis Royston III passed away over the weekend. After many months of attentive care to the needs of his dad, Royston's friends now hope the political attacks spawned by the State Rep candidate's family situation will now end.
According to State Rep. Connie Johnson (D-61), whose seat Royston plans to seek next year as she is term-limited out, said in an email to friends that the senior Royston was awaiting a kidney transplant, but his health never stabilized enough for him to receive a donor.
"During this process, which Curtis tried to keep as confidential as possible, his father was in and out of the hospital, a nursing home and also stayed at his wife's house in Jennings as her place was more handicapped accessible, etc. I gather his frequency at the Jennings house started to give intrepediations [sic] about his residency in the 27th ward," wrote Johnson.
"For informational purposes, I am writing to inform you that now that his father has passed, he and his wife will be under one roof at his house [in the 27th Ward]," she wrote.
Royston's residency had been the subject of a whisper campaign in the ward and in the comments section of blogs, including PubDef.
"I'm just tired of all of the rumors and character assassinations and I felt compelled to send the e-mail," said Johnson.
"People have to realize, that there's more to life than politics and but for the grace of God, all of us can have severe personal circumstances and tragedy in our lives."
A memorial service for Curtis Royston, Jr. will be held on Thursday at St. Louis Cremation, 2135 Chouteau. There will be a viewing from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. and a celebration of his life will begin at 3:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers the Royston family is asking that donations be made to US Bank care of Curtis Royston, Jr. The donations will go towards a college fund for his grandchild.
Senator John Loudon set off a firestorm last week when he used a, shall we say, "creative" tactic to get his legislation legalizing midwifery passed by the State Senate.
In the immediate aftermath, his colleagues from the other side of the aisle called him everything from a liar to other four-letter words not allowed on the senate floor. Even his fellow Republicans were angered when they figured out what had happened. The leadership quickly stripped him of his committee chairmanship "indefinitely" as a punishment.
But not everyone was upset with Loudon. In fact, overnight the West County legislator has become the champion of natural birth supporters all across Missouri and beyond.
The day after the story broke, flowers filled Loudon's office, sent from bandit midwives and mothers who believe in their merits.
On Monday, an interview the senator did with PubDef went from roughly a hundred views on YouTube to over 450 [Update: Make that almost 800 by Tuesday], with more than two dozen comments from midwife supporters from as far as Canada (although some of the comments were suspiciously posted by new YouTube users who registered on the same day).
The issue of midwifery, while completely foreign to most Missourians, seems to be one of those rare issues that fire up supporters like few others. Perhaps Sen. Loudon's chairmanship was a small price to pay for his new army of round-bellied moms and outlaw deliverers.
The St. Louis Public School District will hold two public hearings on the 2007-08 proposed budget. Both hearings are scheduled on Thursday, May 24 at Compton-Drew ILC, located at 5130 Oakland Avenue.
The hearings are scheduled at 11:00 a.m. and at 5:00 p.m. in the school’s auditorium. All citizens and employees are invited to attend.
It was Senator Joe Biden's fauxpaux right out the gate of his Presidential run that inspired three local black professionals to start a new website called CleanAndArticulate.com.
Just days after announcing he was running for President, Biden said about one of his Democratic opponents, Senator BarackObama, "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy ... I mean, that's storybook, man."
Like many other Americans, St. Louis attorney (and early State Rep candidate) Don Calloway took issue with Biden's backhanded compliment.
"Implicit in Sen. Biden's comments about Sen. Obama is that cleanliness and articulation are in short supply among African Americans," Calloway wrote. He said he believes that being "clean and articulate" (C&A) is the norm among black people.
According to Calloway and his partners at CleanAndArticulate.com, Miller W. Boyd III and fellow attorneyRobert Kenney, the site seeks to provide readers with news, commentary, and daily insight relevant to the African-American experience.
Light on original writing and heavy on links to news sites, by Calloway's own admission, "Clean and Articulate" is still in its infancy. But with so much news about the black community going on, and so few of the good news stories being reported, C&A should have no shortage of material to comment on.
This session of the Missouri Legislature wrapped up today at 6:00 in much the same way as it was conducted, with hard ball tactics by the majority and cries of foul from the minority.
After only being used a handful of times in the entire history of the Missouri Senate, the infamous "previous question" (or "PQ") motion was used twice in the last 24 hours to bring an end to debate and force a vote on two controversial bills — anti-abortion legislation and a largely irrelevant bill to make English the state's official language in all proceedings (was this ever a problem before?).
But even with the Republicans' control of both houses — not to mention the Governor's mansion — the legislature was still unable to wrap up all of its loose ends and a special session is expected to be called over the summer. UPDATE: Things got a little testy in the final hours. From Jason Rosenbaum of the Columbia Tribune:
The sour relations between Senate members of both parties were evident in remarks by Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman of St. Louis, who called the GOP leadership "punks … because I couldn’t use my other word that starts with a ‘P.’ "
Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White announced today that he will retire effective July 6, ending a week of speculation and rumors.
"I congratulate Judge Ronnie White for many years of service," said Gov. Matt Blunt in a statement. "I have certainly appreciated my opportunities to visit with him over the past few years. Melanie and I wish Judge White the very best in his retirement."
"I am committed to appointing a Missouri Supreme Court judge who will faithfully interpret our constitution and will not legislate from the bench," said Blunt.
The Missouri Senate has passed a controversial bill that greatly changes the requirements for sexual education instruction in public schools, bans organizations that provide abortion services from distributing information in school, and establishes a program called the Missouri Alternatives to Abortion Services Program
In addition, the bill controversially changes the definition of "ambulatory surgical center" in a manner that would require nearly all abortion clinics to operate surgery centers.
Senate Democrats largely opposed the bill, claiming that it would deny women not only information, but potentially access to legal abortions. Democrats continued to criticize the bill on the floor even after its passage.
Meanwhile, Gov. Matt Blunt issued a statement in support of the bill's passage.
"Missouri has again sent a strong message that we value the dignity of all human life and will continue to pass laws that will reduce the number of abortions in our state," said Blunt.
"I applaud the General Assembly for supporting my call to make the Alternatives to Abortion program permanent."
The governor specifically called out the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, saying it "should not be supplying our students with information about sexual health. This vital legislation ensures that our children get the information they need from their teachers, parents and physicians."
JEFFERSON CITY — The freshman senator who once proclaimed on campaign literature that if the Republican leadership was for something, he was probably against it, has now found more support on the other side of the aisle than his own.
State Senator Jeff Smith spent much of the night lobbying members of the State House to support his education legislation, which, among other things, implements mandatory testing for public school teachers and creates a system of voluntary merit pay to reward successful teachers who opt out of traditional tenure.
The measure passed the House as an amendment to a larger education bill with strong support from House Republicans who cut off Democrats wishing to debate the amendment.
Several St. Louis Democrats told PubDef.net that they felt betrayed by Smith, who often bills himself as a "progressive" Democrat. But Smith has found the progress of many of his proposals opposed by members of his own St. Louis delegation.
However, Smith did receive some support for his bill from some fellow St. Louisans, including State Representatives Ted Hoskins, Rodney Hubbard, Talibdin El-Amin, Tom Villa, and Fred Kratky. But it was only with strong Republican support that the amendment passed the House.
