Aggregator

King and I has been nestled on South Grand near Juniata Street since 1993, making it the first local Thai restaurant.

Jean Kuczka was killed Oct. 24, after a former student broke into Central VPA High School and began to fire off rounds.

by Hannah Dreyfus

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week.

The Colorado courts have suspended a well-known custody evaluator and launched a review of the entire state-approved roster, following a ProPublica investigation that found some evaluators had continued to work after being disciplined by state regulators and accused of domestic violence.

Jaime Watman, of the State Court Administrator’s Office, confirmed the audit of all custody evaluators and said that Mark Kilmer, who has served for decades as an evaluator in Colorado family courts, has been suspended while his “continued suitability” is reviewed. Kilmer was arrested and charged with assault in 2006 after his then-wife said he pushed her to the bathroom floor, according to police reports.

Kilmer pleaded guilty to harassment in 2007; the charge was dismissed by the court after Kilmer successfully completed domestic violence counseling and 24 months of probation.

In an interview with ProPublica, Kilmer denied the allegations and said his guilty plea was a result of poor legal representation.

Watman noted that because judges appoint evaluators to the cases they preside over, her office “has no authority to terminate an appointment” that is currently underway. Any action on “current appointments,” she said, will be determined by “the judicial officer presiding over the case.”

Kilmer, who was suspended last week, did not respond to a request for comment on the suspension.

In an interview with ProPublica, Kilmer said he does not believe 90% of the abuse allegations he hears during the course of his work.

ProPublica found that Kilmer is one of four parental responsibility evaluators, or PREs, on the state roster who have been charged with harassment or domestic violence. In one case, the charges were dismissed. In the two others, it is unclear how the charges were resolved.

ProPublica also found that 1 in 5 PREs, including Kilmer, has been publicly sanctioned by the Colorado State Board of Psychologist Examiners, six times the rate of discipline for all psychologists with active licenses in the state. Evaluators were sanctioned for misrepresenting their credentials, failing to keep client’s information confidential and, in one case detailed by the Gazette, of Colorado Springs, failing to disclose a conflict of interest that is alleged to have contributed to the death of a 10-year-old, according to a complaint filed by the child’s mother with the state board. (In his response to the complaint, the PRE said he never perceived threats to the child’s safety.)

None of the sanctioned or arrested PREs lost their licenses or had them suspended.

ProPublica spoke to 45 Colorado parents who were involved in custody disputes with allegations of child and domestic abuse. In cases evaluated by a PRE with a criminal or disciplinary record, the parents said they only learned about their evaluator’s background after the court had appointed them.

Multiple parents who alleged they had experienced abuse in their relationships said evaluators downplayed or omitted the abuse from their reports to the court.

Judges are not obligated to follow evaluators’ recommendations, but PREs acknowledge their opinions are very influential. “At this point in my career, sometimes the judge just cuts and pastes all my recommendations and puts it into the court order,” Kilmer told ProPublica.

The State Court Administrator’s Office, which is responsible for vetting PREs and other court-appointed custody evaluators, said a criminal misdemeanor conviction older than 15 years does not disqualify a custody evaluator from family court appointments. The office also said that discipline by the State Board of Psychologist Examiners does not disqualify an evaluator unless it currently affects their license.

A Colorado law that took effect in January placed court evaluators under the supervision of the State Court Administrator’s Office. Before then, evaluators were not formally vetted by the court and operated with little to no supervision. Watman said the court does not have authority “to consider complaints arising in cases filed prior to” Jan. 1.

The new law also requires court evaluators to receive additional training on how to identify domestic violence and child abuse and on how abuse should be weighed in custody recommendations.

Rep. Meg Froelich, the bill’s sponsor, told ProPublica she will push for additional family court reforms in the next legislative session, including requiring additional education for family court judges.

Froelich said she will model legislation after a Pennsylvania measure, known as Kayden’s Law, that mandates judges and court personnel receive training about child abuse and domestic violence and adds to the evidence judges must consider in custody decisions.

In March, President Joe Biden signed a law that adds language from Kayden’s Law to the reauthorized federal Violence Against Women Act, allocating additional federal funds to states that update their child custody laws to better protect at-risk children.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 8, and there’s no reason for you, very smart voter, to be worried that you won’t have what you need to vote. You’re going to be prepared and have everything you need to make sure that your voice is heard. So what do you need to bring on election day to make sure that you can cast your vote at the polls?

One interpretation of the First Amendment has been found by the federal courts (both levels) to be far more interesting than meritorious. But the plaintiffs have at least made the court (and the city of Everett, Washington) admit that an ordinance expanded solely for the purpose of preventing baristas from wearing bikinis while serving, treats […]

ALTON - Candy L. Spraggs submitted decorations at their home at 4912 Second Street in Alton. The Halloween spirit is high throughout the region for the Alton Halloween Parade which is at 7 p.m. Monday along Broadway. "This is our second year at this house that we bought last year and we decided to decorate for Halloween," Spraggs said.

Continue Reading

The 2022 Ultimate Adobe CC Beginner to Advanced Training Bundle has 9 courses to help you master all things Adobe. Courses cover Premier Pro, Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Animate, XD, and more. It’s on sale for $20. Note: The Techdirt Deals Store is powered and curated by StackCommerce. A portion of all sales from Techdirt […]

The shooting happened just after midnight in the 8900 block of Riverview Boulevard, in the city's Baden neighborhood.

Today the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a pair of cases that could spell the end to affirmative action in university admissions. Conversation around the case has been almost entirely about elite universities, which enroll a small fraction of all college kids, but there's good reason for that even so. I'm going to use ...continue reading "Just how effective is affirmative action, anyway?"

Dia de los Muertos honors and celebrates the lives of loved ones who passed away each November.

Nearly 60 heavy hitters from business, politics and media — from a former president to business TV celebrity Jim Cramer — recorded video tributes memorializing Centene's former CEO and chairman, who died earlier this year. Here are some of those videos.

EAST ALTON — United Way’s annual Community Christmas drive is looking for businesses, organizations, schools, churches and stores to host donation boxes and collect items for those in need during the upcoming holidays. A business can serve as a donation drop-off location by requesting one or more boxes to place within their location, accessible for customers, visitors or employees. Those interested in receiving a box should call 618-258-9800. The boxes are provided courtesy of Phillips 66 Wood River Refinery and are of no cost. Boxes will be delivered to locations in mid-November and picked up from businesses in early December. This year, Community Christmas will support dozens of local nonprofits in the Southwest Illinois area. This summer, Freer Auto Body held its annual Christmas in July event that raised a over $52,000 for Community Christmas to purchase needed items for local families. About United Way of Greater St. Louis United Way of Greater St. Louis

Continue Reading

After nearly three decades in South City, the beloved restaurant will move to the former Blaze Pizza location at the corner of Hanley Road and Dale Avenue in Richmond Heights.

O'FALLON - Senior wide receiver Daion Gaston had a big game in Edwardsville's 43-36 win in the first round of the IHSA Class 8A football playoffs on Oct. 29 at OTHS Panther Stadium, catching three touchdown passes from quarterback Jake Curry and taking a kickoff back 85 yards for another touchdown to help the Tigers advance to the second round. It was a very happy Tiger sideline when the time ran out, and like his teammates and coaches, Gaston was ecstatic after the game. "I'm feeling great right now," Gaston said during a postgame interview. "I'm just happy we get to move on to round two in the playoffs." Gaston is an iCAN Clinic Male Athlete of the Month for the Tigers. Gaston also talked about his kickoff return for the touchdown, which gave the Tigers the lead back at 21-14 with 8:51 remaining in the second quarter. "I'm feeling good," Gaston said. "I just saw that hole and I cut it back and I was gone. I know that last game (against CBC), it was like three times I could have

Continue Reading

Take a load off and take in the views on a relaxing daytime cruise that shows St. Louis from the river that built it. Narrated by the captain or a

The post St. Louis Riverfront Cruise appeared first on Explore St. Louis.

The downsizing plan will reduce the number of parishes from 178 to between 71 and 90, according to the latest figures from the archdiocese.

COLLINSVILLE – Cooler temperatures have arrived and most of us have turned on our natural gas furnaces for the first time this fall. As an important safety reminder, Ameren Illinois is encouraging residential and business customers to have their furnaces inspected by a professional HVAC technician to check for potential natural gas leaks. Natural gas in its pure form is odorless and colorless. Ameren Illinois adds an odorant to create the distinctive rotten egg smell that makes it easier to identify and detect gas while better protecting public safety. “A customer should never smell natural gas in or around their home or business. If they do, they need to leave the premises immediately and call Ameren Illinois at 1-800-755-5000,” said Leonard Singh, President of Ameren Illinois. “Our crews will respond immediately no matter what time of day, seven days a week, and there is absolutely no charge to the customer.” Natural gas leak response is a high

Continue Reading

A Mega Millions player is $2 million dollars richer after picking up a ticket at the Circle K on Elm Avenue.

"Nothing could have prepared me for this. I’ve seen one spirit, but felt countless," one worker said.