St. Louis News Blog

Mr. Schmitt goes to Washington, err Jefferson City.

​Attention State Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Glendale): The Missouri Capitol may look like the U.S. Capitol. (Indeed, the building in Jefferson City is modeled after the one in Washington D.C.) But let us remind you of one little thing:

You're a state senator from Glendale, elected by a couple ten thousand people in west and south St. Louis County to represent their interests in state government. You're not a U.S. senator, elected by hundreds of thousands of Missourians to represent our interests in Washington.

So, ahem, about those two non-binding (ie. feckless) resolutions of yours concerning federal policy:

Last week Scott Cohen was all smiles.

​In case you were one of the millions of people watching the Super Bowl last night and didn't hear the news, Illinois' Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, Scott Lee Cohen has quit the race.

Cohen made the announcement at a Chicago bar last night during the Super Bowl's half-time performance -- a fitting farewell for a politician whose sleaze factor seems extraordinary even for Illinois politics.

Since winning the Democratic primary last Tuesday to run as his party's nominee for lieutenant governor, Cohen has been hounded by a 2005 arrest report that he held a knife to a prostitute's throat. (The prostitute -- whom he met at a massage parlor -- also happened to be his live-in girlfriend at the time.)

That same year, Cohen's ex-wife filed a restraining order against him claiming his admitted use of anabolic steroids caused him fly into rages.

Cell phones dangerous? Whatever!

​The Post-Dispatch yesterday fronted a cover story about FocusDriven, a group that wants every state to outlaw cell phones while driving -- à la the way Mothers Against Drunk Driving pressured states to crack down on intoxicated drivers in the 1980s.

In making its case, the article highlighted a few horrific accidents allegedly caused from drivers distracted by their cell phones. Some how, though, the article failed to mention perhaps the biggest transportation-related story of last week.

According to a report released by the Highway Loss Data Institute, cell phone bans have no impact on reducing accidents.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33776076@N00/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

​At 17 cents a pack, Missouri's cigarette tax is the second lowest in the nation. Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis wants to almost double it to 33 cents.

Here's the bill, which hasn't been discussed in committee yet.

Nasheed, who's also proposed bringing the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department back under city control, claims the ciggie tax hike would bring in an extra $90 million to the state.

Between this measly 16-penny tax hike and a toothless smoking ban, we don't want to hear any guff from the so-called "persecuted smoker"! (Although we suspect we might...)

​A Senate bill aimed at regulating sexually oriented businesses moved one step closer to becoming law yesterday.

Senators in Jefferson City gave initial approval to the bill, clearing it for final vote next week and passage to the House.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator Matt Bartle (R-Kansas City), restricts sexually oriented business from operating within 1,000 feet of a pre-existing school, house of worship, state-licensed day care, public library, public park, residence, or other sexually oriented business.

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Melanie Shouse

​Melanie Shouse died last Saturday after a four-and-a-half year battle with breast cancer.

Shouse, 41, spent much of her last years fighting for health care reform. When first stricken with cancer, she put off getting treatment because she couldn't afford to pay her insurance policy's $5,000 deducible. Later she found it difficult to get her insurer to pay for procedures that might have saved her life.

Yesterday the Post-Dispatch published a moving obituary recounting Shouse's life and causes -- she also owned an organic meat business, advocated for clean energy and public transportation and volunteered diligently for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Too late to include in the newspaper's tribute to Shouse yesterday was Obama's speech last night that used her work as an example for others.

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Group wants state senators to support Sour Diesel

​Next Wednesday, February 10, members of the group Sensible Missouri -- self-described as "patients having a diagnosis that could be ameliorated through the use of cannabis" -- will travel to Jefferson City and lobby state leaders to support a new bill legalizing medical marijuana in the Show-Me State.

The bill, HB 1670, was introduced last month by Kate Meiners, a Democrat from Kansas City. It would permit physians to prescribe "an adequate supply" -- defined in the law as up to three mature plants and an ounce of dried buds -- to patients diagnosed with "debilitating medical conditions."

According to the group's event page on Facebook, there are plans to meet with Meiners,  several of the bills co-sponsors and their own state senators.

As for Ron Richard, the Republican House Speaker, who helped kill the last few prescription pot bills in committee --well, don't expect him to be passing the peace pipe with the activists any time soon...

Photo Via Boeing

The Boeing C-17 is slated to be retired, but around 1,000 jobs in St. Louis are tied to the project.

​ The Boeing C-17 is on the chopping block. It is supposed to be retired according to the Department of Defense budget for 2011.

But Missouri senator Claire McCaskill is among those who don't want to let the plane go without a fight. In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday (video below), the Missouri Democrat criticized the military for wanting to ax the plane.

Justice Price: Don't throw the book at criminals, read it to them.

​The chief justice for the Missouri Supreme Court, William Ray Price Jr., delivered his "State of the Judiciary" speech to the General Assembly yesterday.

Price used the time to berate legislators over laws they've made that incarcerate non-violent offenders.

"We may have been tough on crime, but we have not been smart on crime," Price told the lawmakers.

The chief justice particularly singled out Missouri's drug and alcohol laws, such as a current bill to crack down on drunk drivers.

Courtesy of Teri Davis Newman

Newman will have to unseat Jerry Costello, a Congressman since 1988.

​It's official: the Riverfront Times' Ask A Cougar! columnist also-ran Teri Davis Newman is one rreeow! closer to Capitol Hill!

Newman yesterday clawed her way past Theresa Kormos and onto the GOP ticket in the 2010 Congressional election. The women, both conservatives, were battling for the nomination in Illinois' Twelfth Congressional District.

​ ​Picture this: an American country with no foreign debt, no credit-card debt and no income tax. A nation that didn't dope up millions of school children with Ritalin, yet a place where cannabis would be the president's specialty. 

Skelton: Wants to keep the military ol' school.

​Yesterday Daily RFT poked fun at Missouri legislators tripping over themselves in Jefferson City to support (or oppose) the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy toward homosexuals serving in its ranks.

These state lawmakers essentially have no bearing on the debate this week in Washington D.C. to allow openly gay men and women to serve in the armed forces. That said, there is one Missouri politician who does play a crucial role in the discussion.

The water is warm, and Missouri legislators are jumping in with abandon.

​St. Louis Public Radio reporter Marshall Griffin has an amusing story today on Missouri legislators attempting to make themselves relevant to a national debate currently underway.
 
In Washington D.C. this morning, the Senate Armed Services Committee held hearings to review the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy towards homosexuals in its ranks.

And in Jefferson City, state lawmakers rolled out resolutions both in support and opposition to gays serving openly in the military. 

The contest between Gov. Pat Quinn and Dan Hynes has grown increasingly acrimonious.

Another dark blue state is in play today, coming on the heels of last month's Democratic disaster in Massachusetts, a special election that probably still has Ted Kennedy turning in his grave.

The big story is whether Gov. Pat Quinn can survive the challenge from hard-charging Dan Hynes, the state's comptroller. The campaign for the Democratic nomination has grown increasingly bitter -- and tighter. Recently, Hynes took to the airwaves with a TV ad that showed 1980s footage of Harold Washington, Chicago's first African-American mayor, calling Quinn "a totally and competely undisciplined individual."

Hyne's attack came after Quinn -- who last year took over for the disgraced Gov. Rob Blagojevich -- accused Hynes of showing a callous disregard for the dumping of human remains at a historic black cemetery.

Truants shouldn't be driving, according to Gatschenberger.

​Corporal punishment in schools is a no-no. Detention? So passé.

Here's a thought: Let's take away the teenagers' driver's licenses!

State representative Chuck Gatschenberger, a Republican who represents St. Charles and Warren counties, is pushing that idea in Jeff City this year.  

Gatschenberger has introduced House Bill 1801, which aims to cut down on truancy.

Mmm, yummy! The building blocks of meth.

​Missouri state representative Scott Lipke (R-Jackson) wants to limit the sale of medications such as Sudafed and Clairtin-D only to consumers with a doctor's prescription.

Lipke's bill (H.B. 1210), introduced to the General Assembly last week, aims to curb the supply of drugs containing the active ingredient psuedoephedrine -- one of the main ingredients for methamphetamines.

Cougar and conservative Teri Davis Newman: Can she claw her way to Congress?

​GOP voters in Illinois' 12th Congressional District get to vote in a primary tomorrow to select the nominee who will try to unseat Democratic congressman Jerry Costello in the November general election.

As we told you a week or so ago, vying for the nomination are two women of a certain age: Theresa Kormos, a nurse, and Teri Davis Newman, a Riverfront Times Ask A Cougar! columnist also-ran.
  

No more coke orgies up in the dome! Lame.

​Buzz kill! Our very own Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, has proposed a bill in Missouri's House that would require her elected colleagues throughout state government to undergo drug testing.

Here's a summary of the bill; here's the actual text.

Should the bill pass, an official would submit to screening both before assuming office and every couple years thereafter. Yesterday, Chappelle-Nadal reportedly told her chamber's special committee on ethics and government reform that she might tweak the language to render the testing voluntary.

According to the House website, the bill is not on the calendar yet, nor has any hearing been scheduled.

Dennis Engelhard

​On Christmas morning last month, Missouri Highway Patrol trooper Dennis Engelhard said goodbye to his partner of 15 years and left for work, never to return.

While assisting a stranded motorist on Interstate 44 near Eureka, Engelhard was struck and killed by an SUV that lost control in the ice and snow.

Left out the news stories that followed was that Engelhard, 49, was gay. He and his partner Kelly Glossip lived together in Franklin County, where they helped raise Glossip's son from a previous marriage.

Glossip tells Daily RFT that the two men lived an open and committed relationship.

"There were no problems with Dennis' sexual orientation within the Highway Patrol -- at least not in Troop C (Engelhard's post that incorporates St. Louis and surrounding counties)," says Glossip, 43.

Still, Glossip says that his relationship with Engelhard has gone unnoticed when it comes to the survivor benefits and charities that assist the families of fallen law officers. 

​Conservatives planning to par-tay in St. Louis next week better also be prepared to pony up: An upcoming dinner with Glenn Beck costs $250.

Governor Jay Nixon on Thursday in St. Louis. Nixon didn't offer up his thoughts on the transfer of power of the city's police.

​When asked point-blank today whether he thought it was a good idea to transfer control of the city's police department back to the city, Governor Jay Nixon balked.

After a press conference in St. Louis, Nixon opted to keep his opinion to himself when asked about recent efforts to move control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department out of the hands of the state and into city control.

In his State of the Union speech last night, President Obama reiterated a familiar campaign refrain: public works projects such as high-speed trains are one of the best ways to create jobs and boost the economy.

"We can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow," Obama said. "From the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. There's no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products. "

To make his dream of a cutting-edge American rail system a reality, the White House pledged $8 billion in federal stimulus funds to connect 13 major transit corridors throughout the country. Take a look:

Image via

Good luck hopping a high-speed train to Wyoming.

​As Chad posted earlier today, the St. Louis-Chicago connection is slated to get $1.1 billion worth of that money.

It sounds like a great idea but inquiring minds want to know: How long would the journey from the Big Muddy to the Windy City take once the tracks are laid?

​Four-hour train trips to Chicago -- at speeds hitting 110 m.p.h. -- are one step closer to becoming reality.

President Barack Obama will be in Florida today to unveil how the government plans to spend $8 billion it's set aside in stimulus money for some 13 high-speed rail corridors throughout the United States.

Several dozen people, including Fox 2 News and Jo Mannies of The Beacon, have come to the Democratic Organizing for America office at 3407 California Ave. to gawk:

Photo by Nicholas Phillips

​
No sign of Tea Party protesters....yet.

O'Keefe posed as a pimp while visiting -- and videotaping -- at an ACORN office.

​It's the political story/scandal of the week: James O'Keefe III, who pret' near took down ACORN last year after releasing his undercover videos of eyebrow-raising conversations with the organization's staffers, faces federal charges for allegedly attempting to tap the telephone lines of the Democratic Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu.  

O'Keefe and accomplice Hannah Giles as pimp and prostitute.

​Updated at 3:07 p.m.

Last year 25-year-old James O'Keefe created an uproar when he and a friend dressed like a pimp and prostitute and videotaped themselves getting advice from ACORN on how the pair could receive housing assistance to run a brothel.

O'Keefe's clandestine videos of his conversations with ACORN led Congress to cut some federal funding for the agency. The videos also propelled Okeefe to hero status among political conservatives.

Case in point: Just last November, O'Keefe was in St. Louis serving as a keynote speaker before a crowd of some 4,000 Tea Party members at a downtown rally. (Video below.)

Sadly for O'Keefe, his latest prank didn't go nearly as well. Yesterday the young filmmaker and three accomplices were arrested in New Orleans and charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.

As the New York Times reports, the men were allegedly trying to tamper with the phone system of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat.

All of you on drugs, please step aside.

​A slate of Republican state senators have each introduced bills that would require certain welfare recipients in Missouri to be drug tested before receiving state aid.

The senators, all from rural Missouri, include:

• Jack Goodman, Mt. Vernon
• Gary Nodler, Joplin
• Bill Stouffer, Napton
• Jason Crowell, Cape Girardeau

The bills specifically target Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a federal program that provides cash assistance to the poor.

Wikimedia Commons

If the President capsizes, its gaming license could be given to a casino operating beyond city limits (and coffers).

​Following press reports that the Missouri Gaming Commission plans to vote today to shut down the President Casino by July 1, Mayor Francis Slay yesterday threw his cards on the table by circulating a sternly-worded missive (that he also fired off to the commission).

The owners of the President [Pinnacle Entertainment] have put forward ideas to improve the property and generate more revenues for the state. For example, they proposed a newer, better-equipped facility. Every proposal has been rebuffed by Staff. After throwing up obstacles to improvement, Staff now says it will attempt to pull the license because the President hasn't improved. It would be like your local government rejecting a permit to repair your house, then condemning your house because you didn't repair it. 

Horse racing fans celebrated yesterday like a gambler who just hit the daily double.

A last-minute deal was reached to allow Fairmount Park to host 52 days of live racing in 2010, as opposed to the three days the track was stuck with after a prolonged labor dispute.

It's not exactly a full schedule (just a few years ago, the track hosted 130+ days of racing) but at the very least it means the return of Horse Hooky Tuesday, the RFT's Best Sports Bargain of 2009.

The new season begins April 27 and ends August 24.

Perhaps the bigger news, though, is the bill that was introduced yesterday by lawmakers from Alton and Collinsville to prevent a lockout like the one Fairmount experienced this year from ever happening again.

Wikimedia Commons

​Lawyer Brad Ketcher has had three ballot-initiative petitions pertaining to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department approved by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, her office announced yesterday.