Centreville

No Smoking: New Ban for St. Clair County Public Housing Units, Likely Start of a Trend

In St. Louis County, elected officials and business owners have been fighting over a proposal to ban smoking inside most establishments -- even ones that were previously exempt. But across the river in Illinois, St. Clair County is successfully pushing forward with a different kind of smoking poli ... More >>

East St. Louis rapper Fresco Kane is on the cusp

Romanik's Interlude: An ex-con finds his second calling as the "Grim Reaper of Radio"

Illinois Strip Club Owners Will Not Challenge Amended "Pole Tax"

The Illinois Club Owners Association will not mount a constitutional challenge to the amended "pole tax" bill should it become law, according to Michael Ocello, president of VCG Holdings (which owns Roxy's, PT's and Penthouse in Metro East).The adult industry has been lobbying hard against the bill ... More >>

Norman Tammons: The Carjacker Who Couldn't Drive Straight

Norman Tammons​Norman Tammons has been charged with four counts of robbery and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident after he allegedly stole three cars Saturday in St. Louis and crashed all three vehicles within minutes. According to authorities, the 31-year-old from Centreville approa ... More >>

Illinois Bureaucrat Tries to Fix Ticket, Mistakenly Faxes Request to Newspaper

People fax the darndest things.​Whoops! The Belleville News-Democrat has a funny story that landed right in its lap -- almost literally. The paper recently received a fax from Joann Reed, the records clerk at the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department, that was supposed to go to Centreville village ... More >>

Stripper Kicks Man in Mouth, Prompting Lawsuit

Don't lean too close.​Many patrons of strip clubs appreciate the long, svelte limbs of the performers onstage. But for one disgruntled ogler on the Illside, there's such a thing as too much leg. Especially when that leg is connected to a platform shoe. A man named Andrew Deluca has filed a l ... More >>

The Miles Davis Festival to Debut This Year in St. Louis

wikimedia commons​The estate of the late jazz trumpeter Miles Davis will team up this summer and fall with several St. Louis area organizations and venues to present the Miles Davis Festival, a series of concerts, exhibits and celebrations of Davis' musical legacy that organizers hope will bec ... More >>

East St. Louis Loses Only Hospital; Kenneth Hall Closing After 120 Years

The Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis will close within the next three to four months.Kenneth Hall Hospital should close by end of summer.​The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted to shutter the hospital yesterday. The facility -- founded in the 1890s -- had op ... More >>

Cops believe Reggie Allen mowed down an unarmed black man outside an east-side club more than a year ago. So why isn't he behind bars?

The 2010 RFT News Challenge

Woman Believes God Saved Her From Armed Burglars in East St. Louis

​A Christmas miracle in -- of all places -- East St. Louis?That's the story you get when listening to the tale of Tabitha Moore. The 29-year-old was asleep on the couch of her East St. Louis apartment around 5:45 a.m. Friday morning when burglars broke through the door carrying assault rifles. In ... More >>

Ass Clown of the Week: Detergent Thiefs, Female Pimps, Snack Cake Bandits, Angry Vets

​It's that time of the week again. Time to vote for the person whose words/actions brought them the most shame and humiliation this week. And the nominees...1. Anthony Minor: The recently released ex-prisoner stole laundry detergent from a Hazelwood Dollar General this week with his girlfriend and ... More >>

Old Dude Shot During Quarrel Over Which Branch of the Military is Better

Image viaC'mon guys, we're in this together!​Psssst...fellas...we're grateful for your service. But weren't you trained to fire at foreigners?This from the Belleville News-Democrat this morning:A 57-year-old Centreville man is in police custody for allegedly shooting a 55-year-old man in the leg.. ... More >>

Alderwoman Accused of Stealing Body Bags Has A Political Problem Too

Image sourceA symbol of Donna Myers' political career?​Remember Donna Myers, the supervisor for the St. Louis County Medical Examiner who was arrested for stealing body bags from the office (along with cleaning supplies and a corpse's diamond earring) and re-selling them to local funeral homes? We ... More >>

Billionaires, Yo-Yo Shamps, Bitter Breeders and Politicos: Who is Ass Clown of the Week?

​Whoa! Friday has almost passed us by and we're just now posting the candidates for this week's Ass Clown of the Week. So sorry. Here they are in no particular order: 1. Stan Kroenke: How 'bout it? The billionaire keeps coming up with new and villainous ways to take control of the Rams. Now this w ... More >>

Feud Between East Side Pit Bull Breeders Leads to Shooting

Think his bite hurts? Try messin' with his breeder.​There used to be a time -- not long ago -- when two pit bull breeders living in a seedy Metro East community got into an argument they'd settle the issue mano a mano (or rather "muzzle a muzzle") in the dog-fighting ring. The man with the most bl ... More >>

East Side Crook Catches Victims With Their Pants Down At Two Strip Clubs

Image via​It's one of the oldest tricks in the book for a good thief: create a distraction and strike when your victim is least expecting it.Perhaps with this in mind, an enterprising robber capitalized on a moment when his prey was very preoccupied Sunday eveningThe targets were custom ... More >>

The Big Bloody: Another Shooting at The Pink Slip Strip Club

Wikimedia Commons​For the second time this month, a man was shot at the Brooklyn strip club the Pink Slip, the Belleville News-Democrat reports. This time the shooting was not deadly. Details are scarce but here's the rub:A St. Louis man was shot inside a nightclub early Sunday.According to I ... More >>

The Big Bloody: Man Charged in Murder of Centreville Cop

Lemuel Antwan HoustonPolice have charged 22-year-old Lemuel Antwan Houston in the shooting death Tuesday of Centreville police officer Lt. Gregory Jonas. Houston allegedly killed Jonas because he did not want to get booked on a gun charge. Jonas had stopped Houston in the early morning hours outside ... More >>

The Big Bloody: Centreville Police Officer Shot and Killed

Centreville police officer Lt. Gregory Jonas was shot and killed early this morning while patrolling the Ernest Smith Senior Apartments in the Metro East city. Jonas, 58, was in uniform around 2:30 a.m. when someone came up behind the veteran officer and shot him in the back of the head. He died on ... More >>

Last Call?: East St. Louis nightclubs under siege

Lock 'Em Down, Lock 'Em Up

Did Lock 'Em Down Records exec Dewanzel Singleton lead a well-choreographed double life, or did the DEA finger an innocent man?

We Want the Funk

Underrated local talent Eddie Fisher finally sees his work released on CD, while KWUR celebrates its own week

Win Lose Die

Belleville racketeer Thomas Venezia goes out with a bang

Week of October 26, 2005

Week of October 19, 2005

Get Your Nude On

The bare essentials of St. Louis strip clubs

Best 'Ville

Belleville

Funky Town

Smokestacks, strip joints and a seriously solid tax base: Welcome to Sauget, Illinois

Best Strip Joint

Crystal Palace

Standard of Care

When a childbirth went terribly wrong, the blame game began. Dodging responsibility was everybody's first order of business.

Best Topless Club

P.T.'s of Centreville

Loving Cup

East Side jazzman Eddie Fisher's soulful classic "The Third Cup" is a hot-ticket item all over the world -- too bad it's been out of print for 20 years

Muddy Water Runs Past Them

Two cities linked by politics, sports, problems -- but not style

Best Topless Club

Diamond Cabaret

Something Has to Give

Bi-State prepares to cut suburban routes that, by all logic, should have been packed

Best Topless Bar

Roxy's

Welcome to Brooklyn

Damn the criticism -- Mayor Ruby Cook runs Brooklyn her way. But in this historic town, best known for its sex trade, she's not the biggest problem. Brooklyn is broke, divided and sinking fast.

The Marvelous Mr. Gates

You can do a lot of living in a century, especially if you get an extra five years

What Is Your Earliest Memory?

Hit Parade