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For starters, the storm we're experiencing is not a blizzard.

Elon Musk keeps trying to tell people that he’s saving Twitter. But, he may have just accidentally admitted how much he’s screwed it up. In yet another Twitter Spaces where he spoke about things happening at the site, he actually provided some numerical details, as covered by the Financial Times. He said that the platform […]

Snow cancels more than school in St. Louis. And when a big storm comes, we all flip out.

This is Monet's cottage in Giverny. I didn't go inside because I'd already seen it and it was jammed with busloads of tourists (like me). However, I did carefully scout out a spot that made it look nice and peaceful, as it should.

Brian May is teasing fans with some new music. The Queen guitarist shared a video on social media of him playing the guitar, writing, “This is a tease for something nice which is coming in…

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COLLINSVILLE - Illinois Department of Transportation workers are out with other city street crews salting and clearing the roads Thursday afternoon. IDOT and the others started the salt process early Thursday in preparation for a winter storm that landed in the area Thursday morning. IDOT District 8 posted that current conditions Thursday around the region showed it was snowing hard and in some places drifting. “Conditions at the Jersey-Madison County line along the Greater River Road (Illinois Route 100) shows snow covering all four lanes. Please be alert. These changes occurred in the last 30 minutes between noon and 12:30 p.m.” IDOT continued and said: “We are mobilizing trucks in the remaining counties of IDOT District 8. In addition to traditional plow trucks, you will likely see these massive brine units active in the Metro East. Please give all emergency equipment room.”

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CLAYTON, Mo. - You will see more St. Louis County Police on patrol over the next few days. More officers have been assigned to help people during the extreme cold weather Thursday and Friday. Contact St. Louis County Police if you need help getting to a warming shelter. Call "211" or St. Louis County Police [...]

Traffic data showed the backup was six miles long.

“In 1998, I nearly lost custody of my three young children. It wasn’t because I was a bad mother. It was because I’m gay.” So begins a recent essay by in the Huffington Post from former St. Louis Public Radio arts and culture reporter Nancy Fowler. Fowler discusses the wrenching decisions she made during the divorce, how Missouri law equated being gay with being an unfit parent, and why she’s speaking out publicly about her experiences now. Nancy’s daughter, Jamie Larson, also shares her perspective on her mother’s perseverance.

“In 1998, I nearly lost custody of my three young children. It wasn’t because I was a bad mother. It was because I’m gay.” So begins a recent essay by in the Huffington Post from former St. Louis Public Radio arts and culture reporter Nancy Fowler. Fowler discusses the wrenching decisions she made during the divorce, how Missouri law equated being gay with being an unfit parent, and why she’s speaking out publicly about her experiences now. Nancy’s daughter, Jamie Larson, also shares her perspective on her mother’s perseverance.

ALTON - With the increasingly colder temperatures throughout the day, Overnight Warming Centers in Alton will open their doors tonight beginning at 5 p.m. Overnight Warming Centers is located at Deliverance Temple at 1125 E. 6th St. in Alton. Follow Overnight Warming Centers Alton on Facebook for updates.

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The LA Times reports that Los Angeles posted a record-high high school graduation rate last year: For the high school class that graduated in 2022, the percentage of students who earned a diploma in four years in Los Angeles Unified — the nation’s second-largest school system — was 86%....There was about a 4.5 percentage point ...continue reading "Los Angeles sure has improved its high school graduation rate"

SPRINGFIELD - Pursuant to a provision of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, a comprehensive study by the Illinois Commerce Commission (“Commission” or “ICC”) has concluded that low-income discount rates for electric and natural gas customers are appropriate for Illinois. On Dec. 15th, the Commission approved the report summarizing the study and offering recommendations for the implementation of discount rates. The Commission further requested that large electric and gas utilities identified in the report file low-income discount rates in their next rate design case, using the recommendations and issues raised in the report to shape their filings. The report has been sent to the members of the Illinois General Assembly in accordance with CEJA. “At the Commission, utility affordability is always top-of-mind for us as we consider decisions impacting consumers. As we move through the CEJA implementation process and the transition to a greener, cleaner grid,

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Today on TAP: As is not the case in other advanced economies, life expectancy in the USA continues to fall.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion funding package Thursday that carries emergency aid for natural disaster recovery and the Ukrainian war effort, pushing past disputes over immigration policy and barely meeting a Friday deadline when current funding runs out. The bill, supported by both Democrats and Republicans, now goes to the U.S. House, […]

The post Huge $1.7 trillion spending package passes in U.S. Senate, backed by both parties appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers are working extended shifts to provide around-the-clock protection on slick roads during wintry storm

A 38-year-old Florissant woman was struck and killed by a car Wednesday evening as she attempted to walk across New Halls Ferry Road.

The City of The Dalles, Oregon sued a newspaper, on behalf of Google, to block the public from learning how much water Google uses to cool its data center.

Wayne Hsieh

A drought-stricken Oregon city sued a newspaper to avoid releasing records of how much water Google used to cool a data center, claiming the records would reveal trade secrets. Google bankrolled the lawsuit for more than a year before dropping it last week.

Florida child protection authorities refused to release records after the tragic death of a toddler whose family had been the subject of about 25 complaints, falsely claiming the cause of death was still being investigated. This led to litigation which ended in a $376,000 settlement payment to the Miami Herald and other media outlets.

These are just a couple recent examples of government agencies weaponizing exemptions to open records laws to avoid transparency through frivolous legal proceedings. There are plenty more.

Bad faith excuses for secrecy fuel costly litigation

These cases are not close calls. There is no legitimate argument that how much water Google uses to cool a data center is a trade secret. Trade secrets are confidential and proprietary data — formulas, algorithms, etc. — that companies develop themselves.

Google knew full-well that its water usage was not a trade secret when it orchestrated the lawsuit. The Oregon public records law also requires even real trade secrets to be released when in the public interest. The public interest is obvious, especially when Google reportedly plans to build several more data centers in the same city.

But Google likely never intended for the city to win the lawsuit — just to delay legally-mandated transparency. When it ran out of avenues to postpone the inevitable, it instructed the city to drop the suit and paid the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for its representation of the newspaper in question, the Oregonian.

Similarly, Florida child welfare authorities knowingly lied that an investigation was ongoing to claim an open records exemption and temporarily save themselves from embarrassment, at substantial taxpayer expense. Maybe they hoped to drag it out so long that the media would move on and forget about the story.

At least in Florida, citizens can hold their government directly accountable when it decides to spend taxpayer dollars denying information to the public through frivolous stall tactics. “Reverse” public records lawsuits, like the one in Oregon, remove that accountability by allowing Google or other corporations and wealthy individuals who do business with the government to bankroll anti-transparency litigation themselves.

How the secrets are kept is also a secret

Adding insult to injury, the Electronic Frontier Foundation recently reported that many agencies refuse to release their procedures for evaluating records requests. Ironically, they claim the policies themselves fall under the same exemptions they use to justify other denials.

That agencies are citing exemptions to open records laws to avoid transparency on how they administer the very same laws should leave no doubt that the laws, and their exemptions, are in dire need of reform.

EFF’s report also discusses the growing backlogs that prevent agencies from even coming close to complying with deadlines for responding to records requests. The Senate judiciary committee held a hearing earlier this year on the backlog under the Federal Freedom of Information Act but the problems persist.

Reforms are sorely needed

Open records laws are unfortunately functioning more and more like a bait and switch, enabling the government to hide behind the law while punishing journalists and concerned citizens with delays and attorney’s fees.

State and federal legislators who value transparency should:

• Reduce and narrow exemptions to open records laws.
• Ensure that anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) laws protect against baseless “reverse” public records lawsuits.
• Better yet, ban “reverse” lawsuits outright, because those who do business with the government voluntarily subject themselves to public scrutiny.
• Enact harsh penalties for frivolous objections to records requests, as well as mechanisms to ensure that objections can be resolved promptly.

They should also ensure that agencies devote sufficient staffing and resources to responding to records requests. Of course, the more information the government releases to the public without the need for a request, the lesser the need to devote resources to answering requests.

Finally, some good news

One Tennessee judge has the right idea. The city of Knoxville engaged an outside firm to conduct a search for a police chief and only shared candidates’ names and resumes during Zoom meetings, all for the admitted purpose of skirting public records law.

Chancellor John Weaver ruled last week that Knox News, which sued for the records, can question officials under oath about the search and may be able to subpoena the search firm.

It’s unfortunate that the newspaper had to resort to the courts — and that it will only be able to report on the search after the fact — but at least Knoxville residents will ultimately find out what their elected officials were hiding.