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St. Louis County police are asking for the public's help in locating a man wanted in connection with a shooting and standoff in Glasgow Village that left the victim with several injuries, including a brain bleed.

From Construction Dive:  St. Louis-based McCarthy has tapped Joe Jouvenal as its next COO, the contractor announced on Jan. 10. He will replace current executive Scott Wittkop, who is retiring in April. Jouvenal joined McCarthy in 1998 as a project engineer, and became the company’s first chief administrative officer in 2022, per the release. As […]

From HOK:  Chris DeVolder, AIA, LEED AP, currently managing principal in Kansas City, will shift to a new role as a director of HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice with an emphasis on the soccer market. DeVolder brings more than two decades of experience leading project teams on complex professional and collegiate sports facilities. […]

While the president of Missouri Botanical Garden, among the St. Louis region's biggest tourist attractions, is stepping down, he'll continue to support its "international commitments and priorities in the St. Louis community," officials said.

Reps. Cori Bush, at left, and Rashida Tlaib, center, spoke at a vigil in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, 2024, for journalists killed in Gaza.

Office of Rep. Tlaib

Palestinian journalist Wael al-Dahdouh had already buried his wife, two children, and grandson, and been wounded himself when, on Jan. 7, 2024, his eldest son Hamza al-Dahdouh was killed by an Israeli airstrike in south Gaza. Hamza — a journalist, like his father — now appears on the grim list of the more than 80 journalists and media workers who, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, have been killed since the Israel-Gaza war began.

Last week, Defending Rights & Dissent held a vigil outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., to honor and remember those journalists. Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) co-sponsored the vigil, where speakers included Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush, and journalist Townson Cocke.

More journalists have been killed in Gaza than in any other conflict since CPJ began keeping track of journalists’ deaths. At the vigil, Defending Rights & Dissent Policy Director Chip Gibbons acknowledged that covering war is dangerous; however, he noted that media and press freedom organizations have found evidence that the Israeli military has intentionally targeted journalists. And Israel has not committed to taking any steps to prevent inadvertent killings of journalists, despite news organizations’ attempts to clearly identify their reporters and inform the Israeli military of their locations.

In the face of these horrific deaths and apparent war crimes, the United States’ response has fallen shamefully short. Earlier this month, a coalition of leading press freedom and human rights organizations, including FPF, sent a letter to the Biden administration demanding that it do more to protect journalists’ ability to safely and freely report on the conflict.

At the vigil, FPF Deputy Advocacy Director Caitlin Vogus reiterated those calls. As Vogus explained, “Protecting journalists matters not only because all civilian life should be protected during wartime. It matters because protecting journalists also protects the world’s right to know about what’s happening in Gaza.”

Vogus also urged the Biden administration to allow the international press to enter Gaza independently of the Israeli military, so journalists can freely and fully report on the war. At a recent State Department briefing, spokesperson Matthew Miller refused to commit the U.S. to supporting independent journalists’ access to Gaza, stating only that it’s “not a decision for the United States to make.” It’s outrageous that the U.S. won’t even express support for international press access to Gaza, let alone do something about it.

As Rep. Bush explained at the vigil, “The role of a journalist, particularly in the face of conflict, is to capture the stories, the raw emotions, and the overlooked realities that often go unseen, unheard, untold. …. This role is significant when it comes to the journalists, particularly the Palestinian journalists, who set out to share the stories and perspectives of Palestinians.”

Added Rep. Tlaib: “The Israeli government’s brutal attacks have made Gaza the deadliest place in the world for journalists and their families. . . . We call on the international community, please come together to investigate the Israeli government’s war crimes for its repeated attacks on journalists.”

Finally, Cocke called on reporters to do more to tell the human stories of Palestinians in Gaza and offered to help connect reporters in the U.S. to sources in Gaza and other Palestinian communities.

Palestinian journalists deserve our protection and the world’s attention, Gibbons explained, quoting Wael al-Dahdouh, “We feel that we are being killed twice: once by the bombs and once by the silence.” Gibbons told the crowd at the vigil, “We are breaking that silence.”

The firm entered the St. Louis market a year ago through a merger with a local architecture business.

Beloved University City coffeehouse and bike shop Cursed Bikes & Coffee (7401 Pershing Avenue, University City) is soon to be no more. The business announced yesterday on Facebook and Square that Sunday, February 4, would be its last day in business.

GRANITE CITY – The Illinois Department of Transportation announced today that repairs on eastbound Interstate 270 between Illinois 3 and Riverview Drive in Missouri will require lane closures starting, weather permitting, at 9 p.m., Friday, Jan. 26. One lane will always remain open. All lanes will reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 29. Motorists should expect delays and are encouraged to use alternate routes during this closure. Drivers are urged to reduce speed, be alert for changing conditions, obey all construction signage, and refrain from using mobile devices while approaching and traveling through the work zone. For IDOT District 8 updates, follow us on Twitter at @IDOTDistrict8 or view area construction details on IDOT’s traveler information map on GettingAroundIllinois.com.

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A far-right state lawmaker in the Oklahoma state legislature has started his first term on the civil liberties shortbus. Sen. Dusty Deevers, a Republican lawmaker and Southern Baptist pastor, introduced a complete ban on consensual pornography despite its First Amendment protections. Senate Bill 1976, sponsored by Deevers alone, features fascistic language looking to completely ban the viewing, […]

BioSTL plans to hire a new leader for its startup creation and investment arm BioGenerator after the departure of President Charlie Bolten in November 2023.

GODFREY – Lewis and Clark Community College will honor Martin Luther King, Jr. during its annual MLK Commemoration event at 12:30 p.m., this Thursday, Jan. 25, in the Ahlemeyer Atrium (TR 141) on the college’s Godfrey Campus. “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership toward racial justice laid down the framework for what we are still working toward today,” said L&C Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusive Excellence Mya Lawrence. “He showed us how to speak up during a time when people did not hear his words. His tenacity and contributions to American history is why we continually acknowledge all that he did throughout his life. We invite everyone in the LC community to honor his legacy with us.” This free public event will honor King’s civil rights work by showcasing select signature speeches performed by Lewis and Clark students, live music by the Blancas (led by Brenda Lancaster, of the L&C Music Department), free refreshments,

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Today on TAP: In getting repeatedly blown off by Bibi, Biden looks as ineffectual as he did when he was repeatedly blown off by Joe Manchin.

The St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues are among supporters of the plan.

Frontier Airlines is launching new nonstop flights from St. Louis to Phoenix later this year.

A St. John man broke into a relative's home last week with the intent of attacking them, police and prosecutors said.

The Chevron rules says that if a law is ambiguous, courts should defer to any reasonable interpretation of the agency charged with enforcing it. Jonah Goldberg doesn't like this: The question of whether the judicial or the executive branches should be the final word on regulatory policies misses the elephant in the room: Congress should ...continue reading "Congress should not pretend to be a homeowners association"

Letter To The Editor: The Madison County Board approved lifetime appointments to two individuals at its January monthly meeting. Bob McClellan for the Agricultural Areas Committee and Matt King, a sitting county board member, to the Southwestern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission. All lifetime appointments. Lifetime appointments are not only illegal, but they are a relic of nobility and the giving of titles. They are contemptible and go against every value of representative government. Should anyone be given a free pass from public oversight? The concept of lifetime appointments, outside of the US Supreme Court, has been clearly and fully eliminated throughout the nation, except in Madison County, where the law never seems to totally apply. Lastly, county board members with 2- and 4-year terms are making decisions they will not be around to answer for. Everyone should insist on these gentlemen being reappointed with a defined 2- to 4-year term. Douglas Hulme Edwardsville - Madison

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