EAST ST. LOUIS - United Congregations of Metro East, an organization that works to address social, racial, and economic issues in southeastern Illinois, has joined the New Leaf Illinois network to help people clear past cannabis and other eligible arrests or convictions off their records. New Leaf Illinois is a statewide network of nonprofit organizations, funded by the State of Illinois, that provides free expungement legal services. United Congregations of Metro East received a $25,000 grant from the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation to provides legal information, resources, and help navigating the justice system to people who are struggling with career advancement in the East St. Louis community and surrounding areas. “Transformation begins by prioritizing people and equipping them with the resources they need to thrive,” said Darnell Tingle, Director of United Congregations of Metro East. “Supporting record expungement empowers individuals to move beyond their pas
GODFREY - The Village of Godfrey is considering a ban on the sale or possession of kratom, which would impose fines for each violation and criminal penalties under certain circumstances. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Kratom “commonly refers to an herbal substance that can produce opioid and stimulant-like effects.” Most users report using kratom to manage pain or opioid addictions. “While there are no uses for kratom approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, people report using kratom to manage drug withdrawal symptoms and cravings (especially related to opioid use), pain, fatigue and mental health problems,” the NIDA states. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) notes kratom “is not controlled under the Controlled Substances Act,” leaving regulation to state and local governments. Kratom products can legally be sold in Illinois to individuals over 18 years old, but local municipalities have
EDWARDSVILLE - The Edwardsville Arts Center is already looking ahead to an exciting year. Beth Browne, executive director of EAC, explained that their recent move to 340 Montclaire Avenue in Edwardsville was a big adjustment, but they still managed to increase their programming by 18% in 2024. Now, as 2025 gets underway, the center has big plans for the coming months, with several events lined up already. “Art just brings so much joy,” Browne said. “We’ve got lots of great programming coming forward, so we’re very excited about that.” EAC will kick off the year with ARTini, a night that “celebrates the fusion of art and mixology,” Browne said. On Saturday, March 8, 2025, community members are invited to the Leclaire Room at N.O. Nelson to enjoy art-inspired cocktails from 18 restaurants around the Edwardsville area. Artists will also be creating pieces onsite, which will then be auctioned off at the end of the night. You
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Seizing one of downtown’s biggest vacant buildings will cost city officials more than they hoped. A court-appointed panel said Friday that the Railway Exchange building and its accompanying parking garage off Olive Street are worth $7.3 million, $2 million more than the city bid for the property. The news could complicate […]
From Urban Land: LONG AGO, places such as museums were solely for admiring art, libraries were for reading and borrowing books, and offices were for work. These days, the boundaries between places and their purposes are blurred. Architects, city planners, and developers have taken note and now intentionally design “third spaces” for unexpected places. For […]
From St. Louis Business Journal: A year ago, the city of Kirkwood issued a request for proposals seeking developers’ ideas for two separate city-owned parking lots on Jefferson Avenue, near the historic train station that serves as the center of the suburban city’s downtown. Some of the most prominent developers in St. Louis responded with […]
Every New Year’s Eve, the Chief Justice releases his year-end report, which used to include things like what the court would like to see Congress do. However, Justice Roberts now uses it more as a way to blog post whatever is on his mind. His latest is particularly tone-deaf, which is impressive, given how John […]
Lenny Kravitz, Pretenders and Jackson Browne are among the artists set to play the 2025 edition of the BeachLife Festival May 2-4 in Redondo Beach, California.Kravitz will headline opening night, with…
From West Newsmagazine: Two developments proposed for Ellisville are targeting some of the last available large vacant parcels of land in the city, both on Old State Road. At its Dec. 18 meeting, the City Council reviewed the Regal Pines development from McBride Berra Land Company LLC, which will consist of 49 single-family detached residential […]
President Joe Biden signed into law the "Stop Campus Hazing Act" over three years after a former University of Missouri-Columbia student was left wheelchair-bound, blind, and unable to speak from fraternity hazing at the university.
GODFREY - The Madison County Sheriff's Office is investigating a fatal traffic crash involving a bicyclist that occurred on Dec. 29, 2024, in unincorporated Alton. The incident took place in the evening hours at the intersection of Humbert Road and Randolph Street. The victim, identified as 58-year-old Steven J. Coryell, was struck by a blue pickup truck while riding his bicycle northbound on Humbert Road. Preliminary investigations indicate that the driver of the truck was also traveling northbound when the collision occurred. Following the crash, the driver fled the scene, continuing north on Humbert Road. First responders, including deputies from the Madison County Sheriff's Office and personnel from the Godfrey Fire Department, attempted life-saving measures on Coryell, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Madison County Coroner Nicholas Novacich later identified the preliminary cause of death as blunt head and chest trauma. The Metro East Crash Assistance Team (MECAT) assisted
Managing St. Louis radio stations for 40 years, Beck now will spend most of his time as a political lobbyist for the radio and television broadcast industries.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s system for rating schools came under fire Tuesday morning as the State Board of Education looked at the accreditation status of districts.
Questions about the department’s system arose as Kerry Casey, a board member from Chesterfield, pushed for St. Louis Public Schools to be demoted from fully accredited to provisional accreditation.
“I’m very concerned as I read the paper daily here in St. Louis about the failures of the…
When I was out in the desert last week taking a picture of the Heart Nebula, I also did another test run of the Milky Way with my regular camera. To give you an idea of what I photographed, here's a diagram of our galaxy: During the summer, Earth is pointed toward the galactic core ...continue reading "Lunchtime Photo"
For fuck's sake. Another four years of this? Here are the highlights of Donald Trump's press conference this morning. The Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the Gulf of America. Fact check: Too late. Mississippi already proposed this a decade ago as a joke. He might seize the Panama Canal with military force. Fact check: ...continue reading "Trump blathers inanely at press conference"
Light pillars appearing in the sky early Tuesday morning in Kansas City were caused by tiny ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere, and are a product of the recent winter storm.
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday his “intention” is to address the country’s debt limit through the reconciliation process, pushing aside the possibility of negotiating a bipartisan compromise with Democrats. The GOP is planning to rely on the complicated budget reconciliation process to pass sweeping changes to immigration and border security as […]
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