This morning at city hall, Mayor Tishaura Jones announced Robert Tracy as the new chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. Tracy is currently the police chief of Wilmington, Delaware, a city that Tracy said went from being dubbed "Murder Town USA" to "turn-around town" during his tenure as chief. Prior to being chief of the Wilmington force, Tracy worked in Chicago as a Crime Control Strategist and in the New York Police Department.
In one big swoop, the Hazelwood School District Board of Education radically changed its approach to dealing with radioactive contamination that might be lurking on school properties: moving from ignoring it and hiding information as to its whereabouts from the public for years — to now practically shouting about it from the rooftops. Yesterday night, the school board voted unanimously to ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to test nearly 30 district schools and support buildings, and the land surrounding them, for radioactive waste particles emanating from North County dump sites linked to America’s nuclear weapons programs in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.
Late last month, Sharon Branham died, apparently of natural causes. A Lindbergh High graduate and former secretary for Brown Shoe Co., Sherry spent recent decades panhandling at the corner of Forest Park Parkway and Skinker Boulevard.
A disgruntled former Sauce on the Side employee pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to throwing Molotov cocktails at the restaurant in attempted arson. Rashaad Cotton, 25, of St. Louis County admitted that in the early evening of April 30, 2021, he threw his first Molotov cocktail of the night on a suburban street in St. Charles.
It’s like stepping straight into a Hallmark movie, circa the 1850s. A horse-drawn carriage brushes past, clippety-clop, clippety-clop. The smell of roasted chestnuts fills the air.
Matt McGuire and Cary McDowell may have opened Wright's Tavern (7624 Wydown Boulevard, Clayton; 314-390-1466) just a little over a week ago, but the restaurant has been in the making for much longer — about 23 years. "I met Matt 23 years ago at King Louie's; I met my wife, Holly, there, so my love affair with Matt began with my love affair with Holly," McDowell says. "I started holding court there, and we became best friends.
A bill to give $500 in monthly payments to about 440 St. Louis households received its final OK  from the St. Louis Board of Aldermen today. The bill backed by Mayor Tishaura Jones now heads to her desk for her final approval. Based on the bill’s plan, $5 million in pandemic relief funds would be distributed to families in poverty-stricken households for 18 months.
You may be enjoying this balmy St. Louis December, but the area's ski industry is ready for some snow — or at least some seasonably cold temperatures. Eureka's Hidden Valley Ski Resort, located just a 30-minute drive from downtown St. Louis, announced yesterday that it was delaying its annual opening. "We have just not had cold enough temps to support snowmaking efforts," General Manager Tony Santora wrote on Facebook.
A St. Louis KFC employee received a gunshot to the abdomen Monday afternoon after a disgruntled customer began arguing with employees over how the restaurant had run out of corn. St. Louis Metropolitan Police say an unknown man entered the drive-thru at KFC's Central West End location on Monday evening when, to the man's horror, he was told KFC had run out of corn. The man began to hurl threats at employees through the drive-thru speaker box.
Dearly beloveds, we gather here today to pray that the Christmas gods or Santa himself, whoever, may finally unleash a White Christmas upon us. It’s been several years since we’ve all been able to claim that one Christmas song that plays over and over on radio waves, despite the timing never being quite right (yes, we’re only ever dreaming of a white Christmas) but now, our prayers may finally be answered. As we brace for some bitterly cold temperatures, according to the National Weather Service of St. Louis, some weather services are also predicting heavy snowfall for our area next week.
A Kia Sorento damaged by would-be thieves was stolen from the lot of a south county dealership. Yesterday, police in St. Louis County released surveillance video of the alleged October 2 theft from Suntrup Kia on South Lindbergh in hopes that the public can identify the suspect. A man in jean shorts and a white shirt walks through the lot before approaching the red Kia Sorento.
On March 25, 2023, Chaifetz Arena won’t be full for basketball or a concert. It will be full for something even better: tacos and margaritas. That’s right — on March 25, St. Louis will host the inaugural Taco & Margarita Festival, Chaifetz Arena announced on Monday.
Opening arguments began in federal court yesterday in a lawsuit being brought by a woman who alleges she was pepper-sprayed and rammed to the ground by police amid a 2017 protest. The civil case centers on the interaction between members of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's Civil Disobedience Team and Laura Jones, now 68, on September 15, 2017, during protests stemming from the acquittal of former police officer Jason Stockley. Video shows Jones at Clark and Tucker avenues in the early evening when, confronted by a line of police officers marching forward, Jones hits the pavement.
On Monday, Bobby Bostic drove on a highway for the first time in nearly 30 years. He was on his way to the Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis. There, 27 years ago, he received a 241-year prison sentence for a crime he committed when he was 16.
Fenton residents may have to drink room temperature beer thanks to some copper thieves who struck the Friar Tuck Beverage store in the Gravois Bluffs Plaza in Fenton. Friar Tuck Assistant Manager Jason Zebrowski tells the RFT that the thieves stole all the copper from the cooling condensers that store uses to run its refrigerators. The thieves didn't break into the actual building as the condensers are behind the store, Zebrowski says.
Life in the Hazelwood School District just got potentially more complicated for its nearly 17,000 students and their families. That’s because, in a memo released Monday, the district’s assistant superintendent for finance is recommending that the Hazelwood Board of Education ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to test all district properties for radioactive contamination. The district is home to 3 high schools, 6 middle schools, and 13 grade schools, plus several ancillary service providers.
There are superstars, and then there's Janet Jackson. The global icon took to social media to announce a new North American tour kicking off in the spring, with a stop in St. Louis. The "Together Again" tour is Jackson's first in four years and celebrates several milestones for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
Jon Maness admits he was an unlikely proselytizer of the benefits of juicing — all he needs to do is point to his initial chat with his wife, Jen, about getting involved with Hello Juice & Smoothie (multiple locations including 1000 South Newstead Avenue, 314-376-4135) to drive that point home. "When we had our initial conversation about it, I was sitting outside smoking a cigarette, and Jen comes out and says, 'Hey, we need to meet with these people about buying a juice bar,' " Jon recalls. "I said, 'Are you fucking crazy?
One of America's least-favorite senators just received a much-needed swipe. In a recent episode, Fox's Family Guy poked fun at Missouri Senator Josh Hawley for his cowardice during the Capitol insurrection. Remember the viral moment that so satisfactorily displayed the senator's true colors after the January 6 committee played a clip of Hawley running from the very mob he cheered on minutes before?