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STL on the Air 📻

With Aerial Surveillance Bill On Hold, Alderwoman Pushes For Privacy Protections

4 years 3 months ago
Last Friday, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen was prepared to vote on a plan that would have compelled the mayor’s office to contract with Persistent Surveillance Systems, an Ohio company that hopes to use planes equipped with high-resolution cameras to monitor the city in a bid to solve violent crimes. Alderwoman Annie Rice of the 8th Ward discusses what’s next for that proposal, as well as a plan she introduced that would provide some oversight to surveillance used by the city and its police department.

School Bus Drivers Got Unemployment During Shutdown. Now Missouri Wants It Back

4 years 3 months ago
As a local union rep, Dan Thacker isn’t accustomed to dealing with unemployment processes. But when the COVID-19 crisis started hitting St. Louis hard 10 months ago, that changed. Thacker, the principal officer with Teamsters Local 610, encouraged the public-sector school bus drivers and monitors the union represents to apply for unemployment when schools shut down. They did so, and were approved. Now those same workers are receiving letters from the state demanding the money back.

St. Louis Public Schools Will Close 8 Schools, Sparing 3

4 years 3 months ago
Education reporter Ryan Delaney joins to discuss the move by St. Louis Public Schools to reduce the number of schools in the district — closing at least eight schools and giving three others a reprieve — in an effort to put more funding toward support services and academics, rather than facilities costs.

Challenges — And Hope — Loom Large For Doorways’ Cooper House Amid COVID-19 Crisis

4 years 3 months ago
Ever since it opened in 1997, Cooper House has prided itself on offering a vibrant quality of life to people who are unable to live independently as a result of HIV/AIDS. The residential facility, located in St. Louis’ Central West End neighborhood, typically serves 36 individuals. But in 2020, that community dwindled to 27 people. We talk with Pat Plumley, chief program officer for Doorways, the nonprofit that oversees Cooper House, and medical director Dr. Jim Hinrichs, an infectious disease specialist.