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…

October 31, 2005 -- State Senators Rita Days and Pat Dougherty and State Reps. Yaphett El-Amin and Margaret Donnelly will be at the St. John's Heart Institute in Springfield on Wednesday for the next in…

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…

Ald. Jeffrey Boyd got a belated Christmas gift from the St. Louis Election Board today when Board Chairman Ed Martin, a Republican, announced that the recall petition submitted against Boyd fell short of the required…

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…

The Post-Dispatch is reporting that the St. Louis City elections board has gone with Diebold as its new supplier of electronic voting equipment.The selection of Diebold is somewhat controversial. The company's machines have been thrown…

Via The St. Louis Observer:26th Ward Committeeman Joe Palm plans to form a campaign committee tomorrow with intentions on running for Yaphett El-Amin's seat -- possibly against her husband. Developing...

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…

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…

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…