Throughout the day, we’ll be making some major upgrades to the site. Please be patient. We think you’re really going to like the new site.For those wishing to pay their last respects, the old format will forever be archived at www.pubdef-is-dead.blogspot.com

UPDATE:  We’re still in the process up importing all the old posts and comments, but in the meantime, feel free to start a new discussion or let us know what you think about the new look.As always, thanks for visiting. 

If endorsements were as good as votes, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, armed with the largest host committee of current and former elected officials that anyone can remember, would have already won her 2008 election by a landslide.

Most of those hosts were on hand Wednesday night (we doubt all of them could’ve fit in one room) at Sqwire’s restaurant in Lafayette Square as Joyce kicked off her campaign for a third term as the city’s top elected law enforcer.

Click To Play

Here’s State Rep. Robin Wright-Jones‘ full 30-minute speech from her campaign announcement Tuesday.

Among her supporters in attendance: state rep candidate Rev. James Morris, Slay recall leader Rev. Douglas Parham, radio personality Hank Thompson, and political operative Harold Brown.

*Wright-Jones’ opponent, Rodney Hubbard, is a client of A D French & Associates

We’re about to launch our new homepage design — PubDef 2.0!

Today is your chance to take a sneak peek and offer feedback.

Take a peek here: www.pubdef.net/new.html

Leave feedback in the comments section here or email to antonio@pubdef.net

The Governor is looking for Missourians to serve on state boards and commissions.

“I encourage Missourians to explore our state’s boards and commissions and apply for an appointment that allows them to use their God-given talents to help enhance the services we deliver to Missourians each and every day,” Gov. Matt Blunt said in a statement today.

The governor has appointment authority to more than 200 boards and commissions. Some boards require specialized skill sets, sponsorship by their state senator and advice and consent of the Missouri Senate. 

For an application and more information on Missouri’s boards and commissions visit www.gov.mo.gov/boards/boardsapp.htm.

Since PubDef.net started 18 months ago, it has basically been a one man operation. The facts you read are as I know them to be true. The opinions expressed here have been my own.

But starting next week, the reports, opinions and views of a few new contributors will be added to the mix.

These invited guests will bring their own unique perspectives to this expanding discussion of local (and soon national) politics, media, education, race, economics, and much more — all while maintaining Pub Def’s reputation for accuracy, honesty, speed, and relevancy.

The fun begins Monday.

Since a few weeks before Election Day, one or more people have been basically spamming the site with ignorant comments. So until further notice, no one will be allowed to post comments anonymously anymore.

If you don’t already have one, you need to register for a Blogger or Google account (it’s free) to post a comment on this site.

The group of St. Louis Public Schools students engaged in Day 5 of their sit-in demonstration at City Hall has sent out a press release announcing a press conference this afternoon.

Superintendent Diana Bourisaw is scheduled to join the students for the event which may, as we reported yesterday, announce an end to the City Hall sit-in and a re-targeting of the students’ efforts from the now-vacationing city mayor to state education officials who are expected to meet Thursday to strip SLPS of its accreditation.

Press Release

Who: St. Louis Public Schools students and Dr. Diana Bourisaw

What: The students of St. Louis City Public Schools will hold a press conference.

Where: Downtown City Hall – Room 208 “The Kennedy Room”

When: March 18, 2007 promptly @ 2:30 p.m.

Topic: “Deconstructing the Myth: Why Our Scholarships and College Admission Are Still At Risk”

St. Louis Public Schools will hold another public forum tonight regarding the preliminary recommendations for additional school closings and reconfigurations.

Tonight’s meeting will be at Carnahan High School of the Future, 4041 S. Broadway, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

In an effort to make Pub Def even better, we recently announced two new internships that will allow two important and exciting things:

1) Expansion of coverage. If you think it sometimes seems like we’re in two places at once, wait until we actually are!

2) Pass on our tools and techniques to a new generation of citizen journalists. We can’t do this forever and someone’s going to have to take the baton.

Last week Pub Def received its first donation ever via that little “Make a Donation” button to the left. It was for $75 (15% of an intern’s monthly stipend). A few days later we received another unsolicited donation. This one was for $25. Together, that $100 is going to pay for about a week of coverage from a Pub Def intern! So thank you very much.

Without sounding too much like NPR, let us just point out that the Kansas City Star has just launched a for-pay political blog (subscriptions are $395 a year). We want to keep Pub Def free, but we also want to keep Pub Def around. So if you value our content, think about making a donation every now and then. Even if it’s just $5 (that’s 1% of an intern’s stipend!), it helps.

Thanks for visiting Pub Def.