2005

Jeff Smith, the young college professor who almost beat Russ Carnahan for Congress and is now running for state senate, is very good at raising money. In the last quarter alone, he has raise more…

Peter Downs, publisher of St. Louis Schools Watch and a parent of SLPS students, will be announcing his candidacy for a seat on the St. Louis School Board on Saturday, Dec. 10.Downs' supporters hope the…

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…

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…

St. Louis School Board member Bill Purdy called the program "a national scandal" and "a travesty" and refused to vote for it at the school board meeting on October 11. Fellow school board member Ron…

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 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,…

December 13, 2005 -- The St. Louis Board of Education tonight gave the go ahead to Superintendent Creg Williams' plan to revamp high schools and middle schools in St. Louis.Williams plans to create up to…

October 31, 2005 -- According to Deb Peterson's column in Sunday's Post-Dispatch, State Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman is still "waffling on the decision" to run in the Democratic primary for state auditor.As we reported…

November 16, 2005 -- Derio Gambaro has formed a campaign committee to run for the state senate seat being vacated by the term-limited Sen. Pat Dougherty.The former state representative and St. Louis Board of Elections…