2005

The campaign of State Rep. Yaphett El-Amin (D-57) is getting off to a slow start, but contrary to earlier reports she has raised some money. Her campaign has raised $5,225 since announcing her candidacy for…

State senate candidate Jeff Smith reported a contribution of $2,400 from Marcus and Amber Raichle on his Oct. 15 campaign finance report. The limit for contributions in a state senate race is $1,200. In an…

PUB DEF Weekly is pleased to announce it is now hosting a blog for Peter Down's informative St. Louis Schools Watch.The URL is http://slswatch.pubdef.net and it will be updated often, so check it regularly.This continues…

October 26, 2005 -- Members from Health and Environmental Justice St. Louis picketed in front of City Hall today before attempting to deliver to the mayor a progress report on the city's efforts in preventing…

The St. Louis Schools Watch is reporting that the St. Louis Board of Education gave the go ahead last night to Superintendent Creg Williams' plan to revamp high schools and middle schools in St. Louis.Williams…

According to campaign finance reports electronically filed by Amber Boykins' campaign for state senate, the four-term state representative (D-60) made a $15,000 no-interest loan to her campaign.It's not uncommon for candidates to do this to…

Future of Gifted Education, Magnet Schools in DoubtBy Peter DownsNovember 22, 2005 –– Last Friday, David Welch, director of gifted education programs for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, gave representatives from metropolitan…

October 24, 2005 -- The Washington Post reports that Phoenix-based New Times Media, the nation's largest publisher of alternative weekly newspapers (including the Riverfront Times), is buying the owner of the Village Voice and its…

November 9, 2005 -- Alderman Jennifer Florida (15th Ward) was the target of Elliot Davis' "You Paid For It" segment on Channel 2 Monday night.The southside alderman spent 58,000 taxpayer dollars to install some pretty…

I'll be chatting it up tonight on Collateral Damage with hosts DJ Wilson and Fred Hessel at 7:00 on KDHX 88.1 FM. I'll be joining Steve Patterson from UrbanReviewSTL.com to discuss the latest happenings in…