Lewis Reed

Francis Slay is Longest Serving Mayor After 4,394 Days; A Look Back at Past Record Terms

This past Saturday, April 27, was St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay's 4,394th day in office, which, by his staff's calculations, officially makes him the longest serving mayor in the history of the city. He was first inaugurated on April 17, 2001. Slay received a formal proclamation signed by his sta ... More >>

Matt Teter: Arrest Record Erased for Former Democratic Party Head

It's been a long fourteen months for Matt Teter, the former executive director of the Missouri Democratic Party, who last year stepped down from his post upon news he'd been arrested for domestic assault. The alleged incident occurred in the early morning hours following the Mardi Gras parade in S ... More >>

Mayor Francis Slay Says LGBT Issues Will Be a Priority in Historic Fourth Term

It is officially official. After beating his challenger Lewis Reed in the March primary, winning against no one on the April 2 Election Day and going through his formal inauguration ceremony yesterday, Mayor Francis Slay has begun his fourth term -- making him the first mayor in St. Louis history to ... More >>

St. Louis Hot-Spot Initiative: Will Targeted Attention Help Reduce College Hill Crime?

The St. Louis Metro Police Department and the mayor's office are focusing their crime response efforts this month on the College Hill neighborhood through a "hot-spot" policing initiative. The project, promoted in a press event yesterday, is in response to recent crimes in the area including sever ... More >>

Veolia Water Contract Officially "On Hold" Says Mayor Francis Slay

Ahead of a day of action at City Hall this afternoon, Mayor Francis Slay's office has just released a statement formally declaring the consulting contract with Veolia "on hold." The contract between Veolia, the largest water service provider in the world, and the city's water division was destined ... More >>

Kevin Slaten Joining Bob Romanik To Form "Most Controversial Station In The Country"

Kevin Slaten, the fiery sports radio host, and Bob Romanik, the "Grim Reaper of Radio" have joined forces in a deal that promises to put Slaten back on the air for a whopping $275,000 salary. Daily RFT is particularly tickled with this partnership as both Slaten and Romanik have been the subject of ... More >>

Rep. Tony Dugger On His Voter ID Bill: "Most Of The Feedback...Was On The Negative Side"

Last week, we brought you news of a controversial GOP bill to mandate all voters in the state of Missouri show some form of photo identification in order to cast a ballot. The proposal sparked backlash even before a scheduled hearing on Tuesday -- with opponents slamming the ID bill as a Republican ... More >>

Abortion Debate: NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri Criticizes Tax Credits for Controversial Centers

So-called crisis pregnancy centers give out all kinds of false information in Missouri -- fueled at times by religious doctrine and designed to intimidate women from seeking abortions. At least that is the argument of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, which is speaking out against the potential public fu ... More >>

Marijuana Decriminalization Bill: How Many Cases Does St. Louis Circuit Attorney Handle?

One of the more contentious proposals making headlines this month at the St. Louis City Board of Aldermen is an initiative to decriminalize marijuana in the city -- by pushing law enforcement agencies to avoid harsh prosecutions of those caught with small amounts of pot. Some new amendments are ex ... More >>

Maria Chappelle-Nadal's Gun Proposal: Parents Must Notify Schools If They Own Firearms

Missouri made headlines last month when Colonel Tim Fitch of the St. Louis County Police Department proposed arming local school officials in the wake of the devastating elementary school shooting in Connecticut. But State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Democrat who represents University City, is ... More >>

[VIDEO] Mayor Francis Slay Releases First 2013 Campaign Spot

Mayor Francis Slay put his first campaign spot on YouTube yesterday and it's a sunny love letter to St. Louis with a prominent cameo by St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley. Tough to extrapolate much from the short video other than "St. Louis rules" and "don't change horses in midstream." Or ... More >>

"Dump Veolia" Mounts Social Media Campaign to Halt City Water Contract

A rising tide of dissent is building against a contract between the City of St. Louis and multinational water service company Veolia. Daily RFT broke news of the deal in December after insiders at the city water division leaked memos showing that Veolia, a Paris-based company, won a contract in a c ... More >>

Twitterverse Silent on Hiring of Sam Dotson as St. Louis Police Chief

Given the divisive politics of this town, Daily RFT was expecting fireworks over the weekend with the hiring of Sam Dotson as the next St. Louis police chief. Related content: - Dan Isom Retiring as City Police Chief to Become UMSL Prof - Proxy Twitter War Between Francis Slay and Lewis Reed Heats ... More >>

Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones Not Amused With Radio Host's Bribe Lobbying

KTRS (550 AM) radio host McGraw Milhaven says he has attempted to get Missouri's incoming Speaker of the House, Tim Jones, onto his program on a couple occasions. The first time was in October of last year. Milhaven says Jones (R-Eureka) declined the invite. The second attempt came this week after t ... More >>

Despite Aggressive Home Defense, Help from Slay, Woman Forced from Home of 21 Years

What do you say to a woman who is losing her home of 21 years, watching as strangers drop all of her possessions in trash bags on the curb? "If anyone interferes with our movers, we're taking all of your things to the dump," a sheriff's deputy told Angelia Williams, who stood outside her Penrose h ... More >>

Cuts to Firefighter Pensions Pass City, Firemen Take Fight to Court

The Board of Alderman finally voted today to pass Mayor Francis Slay's firefighter pension overhaul, a bill that eliminates benefits that the city has deemed unaffordable. Demetris "Al" Alfred, a firefighter and union representative to IAFF Local 73, said he was disappointed by the vote but that t ... More >>

St. Louis Firefighters' Pension Argument Fails Bullshit Detector

​Earlier this week Chris Molitor, president of the firefighters' union Local 73, wrote a guest commentary in the Post-Dispatch criticizing Mayor Francis Slay's push to reform the firefighters' pension. The pension, btw, now accounts for a third of the fire department's total budget, has more than ... More >>

Aldermanic Candidate Rose Green Seeks to Defeat a St. Louis Political Dynasty

​Down St. Louis Avenue, a few slanted blocks past North Grand Boulevard, there is a large green lawn sign promoting Rose Mary Green for 5th Ward Alderman. The sidewalks here are a bit dark, more reminiscent of the neighboring 3rd Ward than the livelier streets of Old North St. Louis at the eastern ... More >>

Anyone Wanna Guess the Biggest Name to Attend Tammika Hubbard's Fundraiser?

​Updated 11:55 a.m. to show that the last day to register to vote for this election is tomorrow. Also with correct spelling of attribution. With less than a month before the special election, Tammika Hubbard remains the front-runner in the Fifth Ward Alderman race. She has deep political ties-- ... More >>

City Approves Funding for New Animal Shelter on North Side

City leaders are taking steps to curb St. Louis' stray dog problem.​The city's Estimates and Appropriations Committee unanimously approved yesterday a proposal to use $170,000 from last year's budget surplus to build a new animal shelter in north St. Louis. The plan is to lease and renovate a va ... More >>

Meet the Candidates for the Fifth Ward Alderman Special Election

Image viaThe race for April Ford-Griffin's seat is underway.​Hey political junkies, barely able to wait the twelve months for the rush of the 2012 elections? Well, like Matthew McConaughey said in the drive-in scene in Dazed and Confused: Not to worry. There's a new fiesta in the making as we spe ... More >>

North St. Louis has a people problem, not a dog one, says Randy Grim

St. Louis: A Dog-Eat-Mailman World and City Health Director Wearing MilkBone Underwear

​Remember one those classic intros to Cheers when Norm walks into the bar and Woody asks him how he's doing? Norm responds: "It's a dog-eat-dog world, Woody, and I'm wearing MilkBone underwear." I recalled that scene this morning when reading the latest dust up regarding St. Louis' problem with st ... More >>

Animal Neglect Rampant in North St. Louis, Says Stray Rescue

Photo courtesy of Stray Rescue"Our Little Boy" moments after being pulled from a dumpster in north St. Louis. The dog would die that same day.​Whom to believe? St. Louis politicians who say their communities are overrun with feral canines? Or the man who's been left the task of managing stray dogs ... More >>

Board of Aldermen Public Safety Committee to Investigate Jail Breaks

​The Board of Aldermen passed a resolution today to investigate the city's corrections division, particularly the string of four jail breaks in the past fifteen months. The investigation will be handled by the Board's Public Safety Committee, which is chaired by 27th Ward Alderman Greg Carter.The ... More >>

North Pointe Residents Say No to Crime

"The neighborhood itself is a nice neighborhood," says Simril. "It's got a few bad apples in it, but the citizen's patrol is trying to calm down the scene, and the last couple of months we've made progress." ​Most days for the past fifteen years, 57-year-old Tommy Simril has climbed into his 1 ... More >>

Jailbreak Timeline: Suspended Correction Commissioner's Memos Warned of Jails' Vulnerability for Months

Image via"We have a major public safety responsibility and jails can become a dangerous place to live and work without an appropriate managerial staffing pattern," Stubblefield told Bryson in April.​It's easy to understand why Division of Corrections Commissioner Gene Stubblefield wants the public ... More >>

Blame for Jail Breaks Climbs All the Way Up to Mayor Slay

Image viaWill the appointment of director of Public Safety Charles Bryson come back to bite Mayor Slay?​Mayor Francis Slay took some heat when he appointed Charles Bryson director of the Department of Public Safety in 2007. Critics claimed that Bryson was unqualified for the job: he had little to ... More >>

Lewis Reed Campaign Gets Big Gift; Francis Slay Campaign Gets Big Names

Slay and Reed: The election is a long way off but the fundraising isn't.​The next election for mayor of St. Louis is still some 20 months away but already the campaigns are under way. Incumbent mayor Francis Slay currently has over $611,000 of cash on hand for the 2013 election, according to the l ... More >>

Think You're Hot? Try Living In a Tent Down By the River

Photos: Rory RoundtreeReed and community activist Brian Matthews (right) stand beside Hopeville camp leader, Moe.​As St. Louis Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed explains, residents of the homeless camp "Hopeville" north of downtown can keep warm in the winter by insulating their tents and sha ... More >>

Kaldi's, Pi in Mix for the Del Taco Flying Saucer?

​The saga of the (now former) Del Taco building, a.k.a. the flying saucer, at 212 South Grand Boulevard has taken yet another intriguing turn, with two of the city's most powerful politicians tweeting competing ideas for saving the iconic structure from possible demolition.On Saturday, Mayor Franc ... More >>

"Saucer on South Grand" Developer Gets His Tax Abatement

Albert Samaha​Developer Rick Yackey will get the tax abatement he requested to redevelop The Saucer on South Grand. As expected, the Board of Aldermen passed Board Bill #118 today, by a vote of 15 to 9. Given the bill's high profile, most of this debate had already been hashed out over the pas ... More >>

St. Louis Smoking Summit a Dud

​We had imagined yesterday's "smoking summit" for St. Louis area officials would look something like this. Only instead of beer, the table would be full of ashtrays and mounds and mounds of those famously cheap Missouri cigarettes. After a bit of frank discussion, the officials would sit back and ... More >>

AUDIO: Maria Chapelle-Nadal Is "Off the Plantation" Not a "House Slave"

Chapelle-Nadal: Do I sound crazy? I don't sound crazy. No, not at all.​So, if you haven't heard by now, State Senator Maria Chapelle-Nadal earned the ire of many of her fellow elected officials on Tuesday when she compared them to "house slaves" during an interview on WGNU. Chapelle-Nadal made the ... More >>

Today's Board of Aldermen Meeting: Short and Sweet

Where nothing happens.​"Now that's the way a meeting should be!" cracked tenth ward alderman Joseph Vollmer on his way out of the weekly gathering of city leaders. "Twelve minutes has to be a new record. And if it wasn't for the announcements it would have been ten minutes."Yes, the St. Louis Boar ... More >>

Photos: Devon Alexander Greeted By Thousands at City Hall

St. Louis City Hall was transformed into something of a smooth-jazz lounge last night as Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed hosted a "Homecoming Celebration" for boxer Devon Alexander. Alexander, center, flanked by his trainer Kevin Cunningham and Cedric the Entertainer.​The 23-year-old St. Lo ... More >>

Highlights of Today's Epic Smoking Ban Debate at St. Louis City Hall

Today's meeting was a lesson in how sausage -- and cigarettes -- are made.​As mentioned on this here blog earlier today, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen approved by a 20-7 vote a bill that would prohibit smoking in most bars and restaurants should voters in St. Louis County also approve a smoking ... More >>

Mike Danton's saga continues, a mouse is found in a can of Mountain Dew, and dignitaries from Turkmenistan come here to learn (really) about St. Louis' education system. Plus: How will KMOX regain its No. 1 title?

Pray for the People of Turkmenistan; Their Leaders Come to St. Louis for Advice

Borat: Not a Turkmen. He's a Kazakh. Duh!​Sadly, this story has nothing to do with a Borat sequel, though it does have all the trappings of such a farce. As Daily RFT has just learned, St. Louis played host last week to a cadre of dignitaries from Turkmenistan. The group was here to surv ... More >>

Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough

So much art, so much partying

Prop 8 Protest Set for Saturday at Old Courthouse

Update: Coverage and photos of the protest: "Prop 8 Leaves Some Missourians in Marital Limbo" A protest against California's Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, is set for noon Saturday on the steps of the Old Courthouse. Show Me No Hate has been set up to inform people about the demonstrat ... More >>

Go! 3/14-3/16

Food Fight

Dogtown residents say the noisy Restaurant Depot has ruined their once tranquil neighborhood.

A Tizzy Over Lizzie

School board members duke it out over a no-bid contract awarded to St. Louis radio talk show host Lizz Brown.

Last Call for 3 a.m. Closings

Mediating the city's liquor-license madness is enough to drive an alderman to drink

SNAP CALL

City Hall makes a quick pick in an ugly battle over Internet and phone service. Prepare to pay the price.

Short Cuts