2005

St. Louis Board of Education member Veronica O'Brien says she was denied access to district records per instructions from district lawyers.In an email to Board President Darnetta Clinkscale, which was forwarded to the media by…

The Public Safety Committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen will be hearing public testimony regarding the need (or lack thereof) for establishing a civilian board to review allegations of misconduct against police officers…

According to the Missouri Ethics Commission, Steve Brown, treasurer for Jeff Smith 2006, has "bad PM". For some struggling to read Brown's chicken scratch on Jeff Smith's latest campaign finance reports, bad PM means bad…

Creg Williams has clearly demonstrated a passionatecommitment to overhauling the SLPS, but he has alsodemonstrated a lack of appreciation for problems caused bythe misguided policies of the past few years, which,if reversed, might resolve some…

The New York Times is reporting that prosecutors in Texas have subpoenaed records of transactions between Tom DeLay's national political action committee and a political committee run by Roy Blunt (R-MO).The Times reports: The subpoena,…

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…

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…

The Washington Post today reported that the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee dropped $500 million in proposed food stamp cuts, thanks in part to the protests of Jim Talent (R-MO) and Rick Santorum (R-PA). According to…

Chris Wright, the superintendent of Hazelwood Public Schools, has written a sharply-worded letter to the chief executive officer of Applied Scholastics rejecting her claim that the company is working with Hazelwood Public Schools to tutor…

December 15, 2005 -- Congressman William Lacy Clay (D-MO) joined his collegue Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) to introduce legislation to abolish the federal death penalty yesterday.Kucinich's bill, The Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act of 2005, is…