2005

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

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…

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…

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…

Here's the right-leaning National Review's John J. Miller's assessment of the Talent/McCaskill Senate race:The Democrats didn’t recruit their best candidate to challenge GOP senator Jim Talent -- that probably would have been secretary of state…

Alderman Dionne Flowers (D-2nd Ward) will be hosting a summit on crime on Thursday, Dec. 15. It will take place at 7:00 p.m. at Northpark United Methodist Church, 1525 Orchid Ave. Police Chief Joe Mokwa…

[The following editorial, published in last week's print edition of PUB DEF Weekly, was the focus of some discussion on 'Collateral Damage' on KDHX Monday night. In the interest of public discourse, we are making…

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…

By Peter DownsSt. Louis Mayor Francis Slay yesterday unveiled his first major moves to retain control of the school board. He announced the resignation of Vincent Schoemehl from the board a mere four and a…

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…