Missouri General Assembly

Marijuana: Poll Says Majority of Missourians Favor Legalizing Pot, Regulating Like Alcohol

When advocates of marijuana legalization in Missouri successfully get a measure on the ballot to end pot prohibition -- voters of the state will support it. So says new polling data released by advocacy group Show-Me Cannabis Regulation, which says that the legalization of pot could pass as early ... More >>

Northside Appeal Preview: Juicy Excerpts from a Boisterous Legal Back-and-Forth

​In just a few hours, lawyers of Paul McKee will be trying to convince a state appeals panel to let the developer move forward with his $8.1 billion-dollar plan to rejuvenate North St. Louis. (Click here for a primer on the situation). The stakes are high, and the issues are rather technical, what ... More >>

The 2011 Unreal News Challenge

Local Control Will Likely Have to Wait, Again

Special Session in Jeff City is not going according to plan.​Remember the scene in Juice when Bishop, Q, Raheem and Steel rob the corner store? They had everything all planned out. They timed the police patrols. They brought gloves, masks, and a gun. They knew old man Quiles, the owner, would be ... More >>

St. John's Mercy Loses Bid to Stop New Patients First Hospital

St. John's Mercy Health System lost in today's ruling, which will allow a competitor to build a new facility in St. Louis County.​The area's largest Catholic hospital system, St. John's Mercy Health System, has lost its bid to change the way new health care facilities are permitted in Missouri -- ... More >>

Your Vote Counts: Humane Society, Grover Norquist Backing Missouri Initiative

Wayne Pacelle: The Humane Society is backing a new initiative in Missouri.​As the CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle, told us last week, his organization plans to back a constitutional amendment on the 2012 ballot in Missouri called Your Vote Counts. And Pacelle wasn ... More >>

Humane Society's Wayne Pacelle Fires Back Over Puppy Mill Compromise

Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States​Governor Jay Nixon yesterday announced new measures (and $1.1 million in funding) to monitor dog-breeding operations here, in light of the "Missouri Compromise" that he signed into law earlier this year. The compromise gutted key parts of Pr ... More >>

Dos and Dont's This Mardi Gras (As Told To Us By the St. Louis Police)

A scene from last year's Mardi Gras. More photos here.​Changes made last year in the Missouri Legislature means that for the first time in recent memory, agents with the state's Alcohol and Tobacco Control won't be assisting St. Louis police in monitoring underage drinking at this Saturday's Mardi ... More >>

MO Auditor Dings Cops for Missing Asset Forfeiture Reports

​Last month, in a story about the Camp Zoe case called "Shakedown," the RFT's Keegan Hamilton detailed the shocking process by which federal and state law enforcement authorities may legally seize cash, land or other valuables from a citizen -- even in cases in which the citizen has never been cha ... More >>

Police Chief Equates Speed Cameras to Acne

Tim Fitch: Won't zit zilent.​St. Louis County's top cop had some more entertaining things to say this week about the use of speed cameras in Missouri. Speaking to KDHX's host D.J. Wilson on Monday, county police chief Tim Fitch referred to the cameras as special kind of irritant -- acne. "You're g ... More >>

Missouri's Pettis County Bans K2 Synthetic Marijuana

Image via Wikipedia​Let the fake reefer madness continue: Pettis County -- located about 75 miles southwest of Columbia -- became the first municipality in America to ban the synthetic marijuana product K2 yesterday.The AP picked up the story this morning from the Sedalia Democrat:Prosecuting Atto ... More >>

Ban Charter Schools, Says School Board Member to City

Last Friday, St. Louis Public Schools' Elected School Board member David Jackson Jr. sent a formal request to three city aldermen asking them to introduce legislation barring any more charter schools from opening in the city. "Currently charter schools in the city deflect approximately $75 million d ... More >>

Churches Coax Paul McKee Out of Hiding

MO Midwifery Bill Lives

Basketball by the Book, Part 5

Legislators call for a probe of the nonprofit that governs Missouri high school sports.

Battle Lines

Gangs keep their murderous hold on the streets of St. Louis. And kids like Lil' Robert Walker pay the price.

Off and Gunnin'

Action shooting clubs are a blast all over the Midwest. Lock and load, baby!

The Price of Innocence

Larry Johnson wants big bucks for a crime he never committed

Slayer

Could the mayor's uncanny habit of making enemies wreck the charter-reform effort?

Purple Power

In less than four years, Grant Williams has turned a weak union local into one of Missouri's most potent political forces. So why's he placing all his bets on One-Term Bob?

Best Shot

St. Louis police may be close to getting the right to live where they want

White-Trash Junction

Amtrak's station was supposed to be temporary -- a quarter-century ago

No Dancing

The climate for modern dance in St. Louis is especially chill

Slaphappy

The mayor of tony Creve Coeur and her husband found a novel way of handling political disputes -- they sue critics

Safe at Home?

At the end of a star-crossed season, Cardinal Nation still doesn't know where the Redbirds will roost after they leave Busch

Judging Mariano

The circuit clerk and the city's judges square off on the public's right to know. The clerk and the public are losing.

Empty Promises

Missouri has been pouring millions into prisons that aren't being used. But stay tuned: If politicians have their way, there will be plenty of inmates to go around.

The Worm Turns

In the '50s, St. Louis took over maintenance of state roads in the city. Now, the city can't give back that responsibility.

Bringing Home The Bacon

St. Louis 2004 has spent millions in the name of civic revival, but most of the money has gone to fatten its staff. Too bad they haven't delivered much more than buzz.

Letters

Week of February 21, 2001

Give Us Our Stadium and No One Gets Hurt

The Cards turn up the heat on Missouri with a little help from across the river

Pipe Schemes

The powerful Pipefitters union has a simple plan to provide job security for its members: It wants to take away other people's work.

True Believer

Craig Heller sees the future of downtown -- and it works

The Albatross

St. Louis has a long and tortured history with the Admiral, home of the President Casino, but the city is about to gamble another $3 million to keep it afloat. It's a risky bet.

Teenage Wasteland

They have run away from home or been kicked out, and there are about 5,500 of them in the St. Louis area. They're homeless teens -- too old for foster care, too young to live on their own.

What about Bob?

Drug courts save lives and save money. That's not good enough for St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch.

Money Walks

Did a state representative yank the purse strings in an effort to frighten off a would-be challenger to one of his closest allies?

Take the Public Out of This Ball Game

Chartering a Course Through Murky Waters

Charter-school proponents are paddling as fast as they can; plus, other St. Louis follies and foibles

The Price You Pay

Getting Springsteen tickets will cost you, one way or another

GLOBAL VIEW

Duncan Bauman is alive and well, and still trying to have the last word. Period.

COMMUNICATION SHAKEDOWN

MCI WorldCom and the state are raking in windfall profits from the captive customers in Missouri's prisons

Letters to the Editor

Hit Parade

Ballpark Frankness

The Cardinals want a new stadium. They'll probably get it. But unless baseball cures its own ills, it might be better being a no-show.

Bench Press

Milky Way

Breast-feeding is better for babies, better for mothers, better for society -- so why is the practice shrouded in shame?

The Last Picture Show

News Real