The Wall Street Journal

SLU Law School Drama! A Roundup

Annette Clark resigned in fury yesterday from her position as dean of SLU's School of Law, and on her way out, issued a scathing letter to Fr. Lawrence Biondi, accusing him of essentially plundering the law school for about $1 million after saying he wouldn't. Oh, and this too, she writes: From the ... More >>

Warren Buffett Buys Lee Enterprise Debt, Now Owns 4% of the Company

Matt Wirz of the Wall Street Journal reports that famed investor Warren Buffett, "the Oracle of Omaha," has purchased $85 million of Lee Enterprise's debt through his Berkshire Hathaway investment company. The purchase translates to a four percent ownership of the company,  which itself owns th ... More >>

Ayad Akhtar Talks About American Dervish, The Invisible Hand, Bacon and Seinfeld

Ayad Akhtar is a lucky man. His first novel, American Dervish, came out in January and has received extravagant praise from the likes of the New York Times and NPR; you can hear him read from it this Wednesday, February 29, at Left Bank Books. Next month, for a few days anyway, he will have two play ... More >>

The Inverted Forest -- New Novel by St. Louis Author John Dalton -- Hits Stores Today

St. Louis author John Dalton's second novel comes out today to advance praise from critics.​Somewhere in the next room, John Dalton's two daughters are watching Curious George cartoons as he explains his next project, a book that he frequently refers to as "strange and dark." It took the St. L ... More >>

Advice for Novice Cooks on Avoiding Thanksgiving Food Poisoning

If you're serving Thanksgiving dinner to loved ones this week, the Los Angeles Times offers a handy guide on how to not kill them with food poisoning. Beware the once-a-year cook and the bacteria-ridden leftovers. Not washing the veggies with bleach is also recommended.Feeding some not-so-loved ones ... More >>

Food and Fashion Get Friendly

First Gwyneth went to Spain with Mario. Then Barney's New York unveiled their chef-filled holiday window display. What's up with the marriage of fashion and food? The Wall Street Journal explores the connection that's leading to Momofuku's David Chang attending Fashion Week parties, designers like R ... More >>

Blessed are the Cheese-Makers; They are Keeping Their Farms

The rough economy has led many dairy farmers to artisan cheese-making. The Los Angeles Times interviews several farmers-turned-cheese-makers who faced losing their farms, but have found success in embracing traditional cheese-making. With all the talk about how horrible school lunches are, has any ... More >>

Food Packaging Labels Are Misleading

They fixed the nutrition labels on the back of food packages, now let's fix the front, says the National Academy of Sciences. The Los Angeles Times reports that the independent research group found that nutritional claims on the front of packages are often misleading. An upcoming study will report o ... More >>

Giant Organic Egg Farms Come Under Fire

Not all organic eggs are created equal. Mother Jones looks at organic factory egg farms, which have been investigated by the Cornucopia Institute, an organic foods advocacy group. They've filed a complaint against farms for violating organic standards, and exposes the eleven major organic egg produc ... More >>

Like Soulard Oktoberfest, Tarts in Revealing Outfits Now the Bane of Munich Celebration

Soulard Oktoberfest: Got milk, er, beer.​A few weeks ago Daily RFT reported about Soulard Oktoberfest (going on this weekend) and the controversy surrounding the organization's racy advertisements, featuring buxom frauleins stuffed into kitschy German folk costumes. Well, turns out that St. Louisa ... More >>

Authorities Seize $58,000 in Stolen Candy

flickr.com/photos/tinfoilraccoonWhat the hell do we do with THIS?​Last week, law enforcers in western Missouri area sniffed out a huge trove of hot merch: about four tractor trailers worth of car batteries, lampshades, pillows and, yes, $58,000 in assorted Halloween candy. Candy? you ask. Is there ... More >>

Israeli Doctor Publishes the Country's First Pork Cookbook

An Israeli pork cookbook? The New York Times says it's a real thing. Despite over 50 years of laws banning the sale and farming of pork in Israel, enough legal loopholes exist to get pork to the non-kosher residents of the country. Dr. Eli Landau has published "The White Cookbook", which is thought ... More >>

Locavores Get What They Pay For

When food activist Michael Pollan put a price tag on some local foods ($8/dozen eggs, $3.90/lb. peaches), he came off as a locavore elitist. The Wall Street Journal investigates to see if this is true, and finds that consumers often get what they pay for. The Chicago Tribune investigates the true ... More >>

Carrot Vending Machines Arrive at Schools

The baby carrot takeover marches on, with schools receiving carrot vending machines. The Middletown (Ohio) Journal reports that Bolthouse Farms in Bakersfield, California, is test marketing the machines in Mason, Ohio, and Syracuse, New York, for two months. Seventy New Yorkers made a pizza run in ... More >>

Lagging Floral Industry Leads to Farming Innovations

What to do with all those vacant greenhouses? A California man turns them into aquaponic farms. The San Jose Mercury News talks to Chris Newman, who's taking spaces vacated by bankrupt nurseries and using them for aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants in water). Tennis won't b ... More >>

Cupcakes Apparently No Longer Trendy, But Essential Economic "Drivers"

Image via​In October of 2007, I wrote a review of two new cupcake-centric bakeries: the Cupcakery (soon to be renamed the Cup) and Jilly's Cupcake Bar.I marked this as the moment when the cupcake craze finally reached our fair city. As part of my review of the two bakeries, I traced the history of ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 6.22

Marie Callender's frozen meals yanked for possible salmonella tainting. Reuters reports that eight people have contracted the illness from the products. Healthy diets and the medicinal properties of some foods are causing drug interaction issues. The Wall Street Journal takes an extensive look at ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 5.27

Sold! Pabst Brewing Company, the maker of PBR and Schlitz, is finally sold. The Wall Street Journal reports that food investor C. Dean Metropoulos has purchased to company for $250 million. Metropoulos has built his fortune on buying small food companies, like Vlasic Pickles and Bumble Bee Tuna, th ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 5.27

Sold! Pabst Brewing Company, the maker of PBR and Schlitz, is finally sold. The Wall Street Journal reports that food investor C. Dean Metropoulos has purchased to company for $250 million. Metropoulos has built his fortune on buying small food companies, like Vlasic Pickles and Bumble Bee Tuna, t ... More >>

Kit Bond Falls Asleep During Intelligence Briefing

"Kit and I sometimes have trouble staying awake during those boring intelligence briefings."​Seems everyone is asleep at the wheel these days. Oh well, these are troubled and tiring times, after all. We could all use a good nap. Take Ken Griffey Jr., for one. The Seattle Mariner's ce ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 5.5

It's Cinco de Mayo - how many pickled jalapenos can you cram down your gullet? Eat Me Daily reports that a new world record in pickled jalapeno eating was set last weekend by some poor fool willing do down 275 of the vinegar heat bombs during double overtime. But he's a professional eater. The amat ... More >>

I Stand Corrected: This Could Redeem Dunkin' Donuts Coffee

Ian FroebStill swill, but now redeemable?​Last month, prompted by the hysteria surrounding the return of Dunkin' Donuts to St. Louis, I ventured to the new location to try the supposedly awesome coffee. My verdict? Dunkin' Donuts coffee is irredeemable swill.I was wrong. An article in yesterday's ... More >>

What Will You Do for $5? Website Offers You the Chance to Boast Your $5 Services

​The value of $5 seems to decline as we grow older. A crisp $5 bill in a birthday card represented near infinite possibility (candy? a lot of candy?!) but as we age, it might be just enough to cover "value" meal at a fast food restaurant. Still, the idea of five bucks still carries weight with fo ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 3.17

​Genetically-altered beets will be harvested, orders a federal court judge. In a suit filed in 2007, a collection of environmental groups and organic farmers sued to stop the use of the Monsanto-developed beet seeds in 2010. Due to the plaintiffs filing suit too late in the harvest season, the ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 3.15

​Arabic food arrives at the U.S.'s biggest Marine base. A combination of veterans returning from the Middle East with a taste for the cuisine outweighs the fear wrought by the Fort Hood massacre, making a Lebanese-American's shawarma stand a hit. (Wall Street Journal) Lower prices on healthy ... More >>

AB-InBev to Employees: This Job Cut Is For You

Image Via An armadillo after losing his job to corporate "restructuring"​If something happens every month is it still considered news? We only ask because Anheuser-Busch InBev announced its plans to lay off another 400-plus employees from its North American workforce. That's the third time ... More >>

St. Louis Food Blog Digest: 1.9-1.15

Gut Check dishes on our favorite St. Louis food blogs.Feast: George warmed up with a list of local restaurant fireplaces and a guide to pronouncing restaurant names. STL Hops: Mike gave the latest report on St. Louis' Hopslam fever epidemic, the announcement of the 2010 Craft Beer Week and Centen ... More >>

2009 in Review: July

​Kevin Ward, Wikimedia Commons​July was a quiet month at Gut Check International Headquarters as St. Louis turned its attention to a certain Midsummer Classic. We did offer dining recommendations to our out-of-town guests -- and, for those who took a shine to St. Louis cuisine, tips on how to br ... More >>

Say Goodbye to the Mizzou "Fan Can"

budlight.com​Anheuser-Busch yesterday agreed to stop producing the black-and-gold Mizzou Bud Light "fan cans" that were a source of concern to the university's administration because they were said to promote underage drinking.In a letter to Mizzou chancellor Brady Deaton, the brewery promised to ... More >>

FoodWire: "Buycott" at Whole Foods Tonight

​Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey penned a Wall Street Journal op-ed calling for the government to stay out of health care. In response, some supporters of President Obama's health-care plan called for a boycott of Whole Foods. Now, the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition is showing its support for Ma ... More >>

Acquitted "Cyber Bully" Lori Drew Finds Herself a Victim of Online Tormenters

www.wired.com​Technically this is old news-- the judge in the case said way back on July 2 that he had "tentatively" decided to overrule the LA jury's three guilty verdicts and acquit Drew on misdemeanor charges of violating MySpace's "Terms of Service" agreement. But, as of last Friday, the judge ... More >>

Armadillo Plays Well in Peoria, So Why Not St. Louis?

www.ci.peoria.il.us/nuisancepropertyThe Peoria "Armadillo"​The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article yesterday about the way the Peoria, Illinois, police deal with nuisance properties. Their solution? An unmanned armored truck that the police park outside the homes of drug dealers and oth ... More >>

St. Louis is no fun — and that's a good thing! Plus: Obama's pants, an allegedly felonious Purina fat cat and more.

Hey St. Louis! Did Your Bling Get Confiscated in a Drug Bust? The DEA Wants to Know.

Lose your Cadillac Escalade in a drug bust, and you're a completely innocent party? The DEA wants to know!For the past several weeks the Drug Enforcement Administration has been running advertisements in the Wall Street Journal and other national publications asking people to identify thousands of i ... More >>

Busch: A Great Recession Libation

Sales of the "Blue Train" are heading for the mountains.Anheuser-Busch InBev posted strong gains yesterday for the first quarter of 2009. The results surprised some analysts who thought the weak economy and transition pains from InBev's 2008 acquisition of Anheuser-Busch could disrupt sales. Instead ... More >>

Stealth Ship Ahoy!

Russian Professor Predicts Self-Destruction of U.S. by 2010; Missouri To Go Canadian

Igor Panarin, a Russian academic and former KGB agent, predicted ten years ago that the U.S. would self-destruct through civil war in late 2009. Now, thanks to the collapse of our economy, other people are finally starting to believe him. Most of these people are Russians, it is true, and it could b ... More >>

St. Louis Stage Capsules

Bugaboo Confidential

Life as a young, hot, white, educated nanny in the city sure is a drag

It Doesn't Suck!

Breathe easy, Simpsons fans.

Christian Schaeffer Must Go!

Doesn't that dude like anything?

The Metamorphosis

Boy turns bug in redemptive kiddie-lit adaptation

Hair Today

Is the seminal '70s musical still in style?

Urbane Cowboys

News of the Weird

News of the Weird

News of the Weird