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DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
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For the second year, State Senator Jeff Smith brought his A-game to Fairgrounds Park, but this time a lot more people joined him.
While Smith showed his love for the game, others showed their love of an incumbent senator. Several faces who were not at "Candidate Smith's" event last year came out Saturday to support "Senator Smith's" 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
New faces included: Mayor Francis Slay, Attorney General and candidate for governor Jay Nixon, State Sen. Chuck Graham, License Collector Mike McMillan, Alderman Jeffrey Boyd, and Committeewoman Mattie Moore.
One of the few elected officials that did show up at last year's event (and gave us this priceless endorsement video) was 22nd Ward Committeeman Joe Palm, who again made an appearance.
Organizers estimate that over a thousand people — roughly five times the turnout last year — came out Saturday.
Nixon played referee for a game in which Smith played. His team, which included aide and rumored state rep candidate Chris "I can guard anybody" Carter, came in third place in the 17-and-over age division.
First place in each age division got bikes, second place got tickets to Six Flags, and 3rd place teams received gift certificates to area businesses. All players got either backpacks or school supplies.
St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame shortstop -- and now author -- Ozzie Smith has written a children's book and will read it to students this week at Shenandoah Elementary.
The book, "Hello Fredbird!", features the sights and sounds of a game day captured by Smith during his 19 years as a Cardinal. "Reading has always been a passion of mine, and I am happy to share this book with the children of the St. Louis Public School District," said Smith.
"We are excited that Ozzie Smith chose Shenandoah Elementary as the location to introduce his book to schoolchildren," said principal Sonya Wayne. "We have worked very hard this year to emphasize the importance of reading."
The Cardinals' interest was difficult to define. Their general manager, Walt Jocketty, said Thursday morning he had not met with Bonds and added, "I don't know where that's coming from."
Asked if the club had any interest in the tainted slugger, Jocketty said, "No."
But, it appears that another Cardinals employee did, allowing Jocketty to maintain distance from the conversation and any possible fallout.
In related news... State Rep. Talibdin El-Amin will be introducing legislation next session to rename the stretch of Highway 70 running through north St. Louis City from "Mark McGwire Highway" to "John Bass Highway", after the powerful former state senator.
Despite repeated assertions by the school board president, St. Louis Public Schools maintains that Vashon's new basketball coach does not make a $125,000 per year salary.
As late as yesterday in a "You Paid for It" segment on KTVI Channel 2, Board Pres. Veronica O'Brien repeated her claims that Anthony Bonner, the former NBA star who was recently hired to replace legendary and controversial coach Floyd Irons at Vashon High School, is receiving a salary that dwarfs that of many principals and teachers in the district.
"Anthony Bonner makes $125,000 and the man is doing three and four jobs. That will not change. So that is your answer for the public," O'Brien told investigative reporter Elliot Davis. But according to SLPS officials, that's not what district records show.
According to SLPS Communications Director Tony Sanders, Bonner, who officially started with the district on Oct. 17, earns an annual salary of $72,000 plus standard employee benefits in his position as Executive Director of Community Outreach, a position that did not previously exist and some believe was created just for Bonner.
Bonner also receives an annual stipend of $4,084 for coaching varsity basketball at Vashon, the same stipend paid to every boys basketball coach in the district.
Click here to watch Elliot Davis' report featuring a revealing ambush interview of O'Brien.
In a room on the 18th floor of Bank of America Plaza on a rainy Friday afternoon, just hours before the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Championship, the team's owners, their developer, and Mayor Francis Slay held a press conference which was as void of details as the day was of sunshine.
Maybe it was all about timing. Just seven days after saying they were "not there yet", the three sides were all smiles Friday saying they had reached an agreement "in principle" on the nearly $400 million new Ballpark Village plan.
In their own words:
Mayor Francis Slay...
Dave Cordish of The Cordish Group...
Bill DeWitt, Jr., chairman of the Cardinals...
$271.2 million of the $387 million project will be coming from Cordish directly. The remaining $116 million will come from bonds which will be paid back through the following mechanisms from new tax money generated by the project:
$56 million from tax increment financing (a TIF) from the City of St. Louis
$29 million in tax money from the Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act (MODESA)
$26 million from a special tax district created around the development (it'll add 1 percent to the existing sales tax for purchases made within the district and a extra $1 to the price of tickets to attractions within the district)
$5 million in public bonds to be bought by the Cardinals and Cordish
All of this must still be approved by several state and local boards, including the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and the three-member Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E&A).
The same day that the home team may win their first World Series in more than twenty years, the mayor, the owners of the Cardinals, and representatives of developer Cordish Company will hold an event this afternoon to formally announce plans to move forward with the new Ballpark Village.
The meeting will be at the Bank of America Plaza, 800 Market Street, in Suite 1750 at 1:00 p.m.
Two St. Louis Public School students will take center stage at the next two World Series games as the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Detroit Tigers.
Anthanisha McMiller, a 5th grader at Gateway Elementary will throw out the first pitch at tonight’s tomorrow night's game at Busch stadium, and Donald Buckner, a junior at Gateway High School will throw out the first pitch at Thursday night's Game 5.
Both students were chosen by the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club of America for the positive leadership both in the classroom and at Herbert Hoover. "This is a great honor and we are very proud of Anthanisha and Donald for their hard work and commitment to the Boys & Girls Club," said Superintendent Diana Bourisaw.
St. Louis expatriate Margie Newman, a former KETC producer and cheerleader for City living, and KWMU 90.7 FM's Tom Weber will be among the thousands of people running Sunday in the Chicago Marathon.
This is the third marathon for Weber, a Chicago native. He completed both the St. Louis and the Honolulu Marathons back in 2005. He estimates he'll finish the grueling 26.2-mile run in about five and a half hours (If it was us, try 5 and a half days!).
Newman's been chronicling her intense training on her blog, www.MargieNewman.blogspot.com. "I'm definitely excited," she wrote today. "I'm also a little overwhelmed at the concept, but at the same time it's quite simple. I'll go out there and do exactly what I've trained to do for the last six months."
Good luck to both of these athletes. Represent the Lou with pride!
UPDATE:Congratulations, Margie and Tom! They finished! From Margie's blog:
I had a GREAT time on what has got to be the longest moving party anywhere. (That's 26.2 miles, folks.)
I finished in 5:51 (Less than 5:30 if you net out the lengthy-due-to-lines bathroom breaks taken cumulatively by my group).
It was colder than cold, but we dealt. There was no Wall. I was ready to dig deep in the post-20-mile stretch, which is legendarily tough.
Amazingly, the last five miles were actually my strongest and fastest.
I never want to see another drop of Gatorade or PowerGel.
Thanks to Alan Brunettin for this photo of the two at the finish line.
UPDATE 2: Thank goodness our St. Louis runners didn't finish the race the way the actual winner did. Check out this video...
Senators Kit Bond (R-MO) and Carl Levin (D-MI) have added to the number of friendly wagers surrounding the Cardinals' post-season success.
Bond is betting Levin's favorite Detroit Tigers will go fall to the St. Louis Cardinals in their seven-game World Series match-up.
"For some, the Cardinals’ victory was the season’s biggest October surprise," joked Bond. "Missouri might make 2006 the year of the come-back, on the field and off."
At stake for Bond and Levin will be dinners for their respective Washington, D.C. staffs. Bond said that when the Cardinals prevail over the Tigers, his staff will be treated to a dinner of Michigan-made Kowalski Sausages and Black Star Farms wine.
If the Cardinals should fall to the Tigers, Senator Levin's staff will be treated to a dinner of Super Smokers St. Louis Style BBQ and Budweiser.
St. Louis Public Schools will be holding a press conference today announcing former NBA star Anthony Bonner as Executive Director of Community Outreach and new head basketball coach at Vashon High School.
The press conference will be held at 3:00 p.m. at the district's downtown headquarters, 801 North 11th Street.
BIG LEAGUE, BIG DOUGH -- Sports fans weren't the only ones holding their breaths hoping the Cardinals wouldn't blow winning their 3rd straight National League Central Division title last weekend. Business owners had their fingers crossed too.
RCGA Chief Economist Bryan Bezold estimates that each home playoff game will have an estimated direct and indirect impact of $2.8 million on the St. Louis regional economy. "This economic impact is due to fan spending in and around Busch Stadium, approximately $1.5 million per game, and the indirect benefits are due to the circulation of that money throughout the region, worth another $1.3 million," Bezold noted Monday in a RCGA briefing.
Tickets to the game for you and your kid - $75. Food and drinks - $55. Watching a home game at home on TV because you can't afford to see the inside of the new Busch Stadium - priceless.
CAN STL BE LIKE ATL? -- Speaking of the RCGA, next month Chairman Scott Schnuck will be leading a delegation of 125 St. Louis regional business, civic and elected leaders in Missouri and Illinois on a trip to Georgia to meet with more than 25 of their Atlanta counterparts. They'll be trying to find out how Atlanta has been so much more successful in the areas of economic development, transit, education, parks and trails, and race relations.
Could it be that many of St. Louis' finest black thinkers in the areas of economic development, transit, education, parks and trails, and race relations all run to Atlanta, a place where they can actually get a job?
BRINGING IN BACKUP -- Claire McCaskill's getting a little more help from the phenom to the East, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). Obama -- who told a crowd in St. Louis back in March, "I can't do it alone!" -- will be stumping for the Democatic Senate candidate again this weekend (Oct. 7) -- this time in Kansas City.
Meanwhile, her Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. Jim Talent, is having special guest of his own at a breakfast fundraiser on his birthday, Oct. 18. -- Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC). Let's hope she isn't inspired to go all "Marilyn Monroe" and sing "Happy Birthday, Mr. Senator".
The St. Louis Black Leadership Roundtable went on the record today criticizing the St. Louis City School Board for firing Vashon basketball coach Floyd Irons.
"The Roundtable is seriously concerned about the recent decision of the St. Louis Public School District to remove Coach Floyd Irons apparently without proper due process," wrote John Moten, Jr., the group's chairman, in a letter sent to the media today.
"Based on the Roundtable’s knowledge, a decision to terminate Coach Floyd Irons at this time, without apparently affording him the opportunity for due process accorded employees, may be irresponsible," said Moten.
"The termination appears particularly inappropriate in view of the fact that the District needs effective administrative and Board leadership focused first on serving the needs of the District's children – leadership that Coach Irons seems to have provided the District."
A source tells PUB DEF that former basketball coach Floyd Irons was at Vashon High School this morning when he complained of chest pains. Shortly after, he was taken away in an ambulance. Irons' condition is not known at this time.
It is not yet know what Irons, who was effectively fired by the district a few weeks ago, was doing at Vashon. He and school board president Veronica O'Brien have been battling in court and in the media since his position was eliminated.
O'Brien claimed to fear for her safety after threats she said she received from Irons supporters. After a young man who had threatened legal action against Irons for an alleged beating by the former coach in 2000 was murdered Friday (police have no suspects and have not said Irons was in any way involved), the school board voted pay for 24-hour security for the board president at a cost of up to $20,000.
Early this morning, Timothy Bacon was shot and killed while he was on his way for cigarettes. According to a story by Bill Bryan on STLToday.com, he was shot by three men -- one of whom came back to the body to fire several more shots.
Bacon, 21, was the young man who, according to the Missouri Division of Family Services, was badly beaten by then-Vashon basketball coach Floyd Irons in 2000 and whose case was recently brought up by St. Louis School Board President Veronica O'Brien, who called for a federal investigation into the matter.
Not usually our topic here, but it is interesting that tonight's Rams game against the Colts won't be seen on television because not enough tickets were sold in time.
NFL rules state that if a game isn't sold out 72 hours before kickoff, the game will be "blacked out." The Rams were even given an extra two days to sell the rest of the tickets, but with no success.
