St. Louis News Blog

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Butterflies or bees? Either way, that's gotta sting.

​In January, as part of our preview of the novice division of St. Louis' Golden Gloves tournament, we wrote that the 110-year-old South Broadway Athletic Club was struggling to make ends meet.

Now, two months later, we can happily report that the Soulard institution is doing just fine. Don Cavesey, the president of the SBAC, says the club did very well on the hall rental and bar sales from the sold-out Golden Gloves in January and their income remains steady thanks to their popular Sunday-night bingo contests.

Brezill will be able to play Wii on probation!

​A rookie St. Louis cop was spared jail time today for stealing electronics from an arrestee -- who happened to be carting the loot around as part of her "work" as an informant for the feds.

U.S. District Judge Donald Stohr today sentenced 25-year-old Christian Brezill to two years' probation and ordered Brezill to pay $1,480.34 in restitution. Brezill had faced up to ten years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine for the crime.

This week saw some of the least-productive days for office workers (with Internet access) of the year, according to various studies. The reason? The NCAA tournament. Even fickle fans of college basketball turned into jabbering stat-regurgitators this week, coughing up quotes from the likes of Billy Packer, Steve Lavin and Dick Vitale.

With that in mind, InsideSTL brings out this list of the seven least-productive office work days of the year, and yes, the NCAA tournament takes the top spot.

Read the rest of the list here.

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If you don't see your show listed, please leave the information in the comments (and drop a note to calendar@riverfronttimes.com so we can list it in the online calendar). All art openings are free unless noted. For a full list of all ongoing art shows in the St. Louis area, please click here.

Rakhi Peswani

Seductive Myths of Lightness (Sightscapes of an Insomniac) I, 2009. Image courtesy: Vadehra Art Gallery

​18th Annual Grape Arts: Benefiting Art St. Louis, Grape Arts features four silent auctions, a mini live auction, formal and informal wine tastings. Sun., March 21, 2-6 p.m., $60-$1200, www.artstlouis.org. Windows Off Washington, 701 North 15th Street, St. Louis, 314-241-5555, www.wowbanquets.com.

Lots more art openings follow...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scubabix/ / CC BY 2.0

​Someone was shot in the face yesterday in Madison, Illinois. It was a two-year-old boy. He was sitting on his grandfather's lap around 5:45 p.m. when it happened. The bullet apparently came through the window, randomly, from two blocks away.

From two blocks away.

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Is this Tiger Clemson's or MU's?

​Tigers fans across America will be tuning into CBS this afternoon to watch Mizzou take on Clemson in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. That's because both teams have Tigers for mascots.

If you're a Mizzou fan, word on the World Wide Web is that the local alumni association is gathering at The Corner Pub and Grill in Kirkwood to watch today's game. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:35 p.m.

If you're a Clemson fan, well, be prepared to spend a lonely afternoon in St. Louis because there probably aren't many like you.

Quick preview of the match-up after the jump...

That time of the week again. Time for you to elect this week's ass clown.

And the nominees...

​1. Tom Dempsey: The Missouri state rep (R - St. Peters) enraged many this week when he proposed a measure that would require doctors to ask women for a list of reasons as to why they want an abortion.

2. Unknown Teenager who Punched RFT Staffer in the Face: I feel obliged to nominate the teenager who punched my colleague Keegan Hamilton in the face (for no reason) in the Delmar Loop this week.

3. Carnell Reed: Arrested this week and charged with raping two women in separate incidents in north county this winter.

4. Joseph M. Bentley: The Hannibal man accused of stomping to death a seven-pound dog this week.

Vote after the jump!

On Monday sometime, we'll roll out a top-to-bottom redesign of this here Web site. We've heard the gripes (and share them, believe us) with the current design. We're happy to say the feedback about the new layout has been generally positive (bigger photos! deeper social media integration!), and we're still tinkering with some areas to enhance your user experience.

So check here on Monday (in the afternoon, most likely) and please poke around. Leave us your feedback as well! Expect the same amount of content in news, music and dining that you've come to expect daily from us, but in much prettier wrapping.

So after Monday, say goodbye to this image:

​But of course. The CityArchRiver 2015 Foundation competition has announced a briefing for Joe Public on the nine designs that are in the running to remake the Arch grounds, and who else but a sports commentator will moderate it: Joe Buck. 

​The Better Business Bureau is out with a scathing report on the dog-breeding industry in Missouri.

According to the BBB, Missouri is home to 30 percent of federally licensed dog breeders in the United States. That's four times the number of dog breeders found in the next highest state.

State law requires that all of Missouri's 1,800 dog-breeding facilities be examined once a year, but the state has only 13 inspectors who must juggle their inspections with other duties. As a result many of the breeders go unchecked.

A survey by the BBB suggests that Missouri officials must inspect twice as many kennels as their counterparts in other states.

The lack of oversight allows for haunting tales such as that of a mega-breeder in southwest Missouri said to buy and sell 90,000 puppies a year.