2005

October 24, 2005 -- Looks like The Smith Campaign is the first out of the gate -- with a little help from some young friends.Instead of having their regular Monday meeting, Washington University Young Democrats…

National opinion has finally turned on the Bush Administration. The Iraq War is now seen by most Americans as a failure and, perhaps more importantly, as unnecessary. The question is now being publicly debated whether…

November 9, 2005 -- St. Louis Schools Watch has a redesigned blog. Stories from the newsletter published by Peter Downs, parent and former school board candidate, can now be seen online at www.SLSWatch.PUBDEF.net

In case you missed it, below is an op-ed by Senators Barack Obama (D-IL) and Mel Martinez (R-FL) on comprehensive immigration reform. The op-ed ran in today’s (Dec-15) Wall Street Journal, Page A18.Like millions of…

by Peter DownsNovember 9, 2005 -- The regular monthly meeting of the St. Louis Board of Education, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was moved to Tuesday on a day's notice. Here are the highlights:>> In-School Suspension:…

A new textbook committee began meeting October 17 to evaulate social studies textbooks for middle school. As of October 12, district administrators were still looking for parents to sit on the committee, but as one…

October 27, 2005 -- The last meeting of the year for the 26th Ward Democrats is tonight. The ward organization, which meets every last Thursday of the month, will not be meeting in November, because…

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…

There was no comeback in the cards for former alderman Tom Bauer. The not-too-long-ago recalled Bauer was unsuccessful in his attempt to get his old job back yesterday when more than half of the voters…

October 17, 2005 -- Kudos to the staff at Shaw Visual and Performing Arts Elementary School for moving away from group punishments, and for trying new techniques for maintaining order in the lunchroom, and kudos…