ST. LOUIS – Blacks and whites together braved frigid temperatures Monday to celebrate the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, starting with a program downtown at the Old…
Author: Bill Beene
bill.beene@thenorthsider.com
Bill Beene was born and raised in north St. Louis. He has been a journalist for 12 years. He enjoys cooking and roller skating. He lives in the historic Ville neighborhood.
Report on mass incarceration underlines need for reform
ST. LOUIS – A new report about mass incarceration of blacks in the U.S., and Missouri in particular, supports the need for the kind of criminal justice reform St. Louis…
Churches, nonprofit cure medical debt for 11,108 Missouri families
ST. LOUIS – Millions in medical bill debt for 11,108 Missouri families have been cured by The Deaconess Foundation, area church groups and RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that locates,…
Racist rant attacks circuit attorney's backers as ESOP supports federal lawsuit
ST. LOUIS – One day after six fellow reform-minded black female lead prosecuting attorneys converged on St. Louis to rally for Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner and her federal lawsuit alleging…
King's ideals, statue will be focus of Freedom March, Peace Walk
FOUNTAIN PARK – The bells have sounded, beginning the official statewide Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations. The Martin Luther King holiday kick-off celebration was held on Saturday, Jan.…
Officials' struggles with mental health put focus on suicide rate
ST. LOUIS – Suicides are on the rise in the U.S. and in St. Louis, where high-profile individuals underscore the upswing. In August 2019, then-state Rep. Bruce Franks gave up…
Family fun night brings year to a close, safely
THE VILLE – Children celebrated the New Year safely by playing games, running around and spending the night at the Tandy Community Center at 4206 Kennerly Ave. in The Ville. …
Homicides of 2019 are mourned; hard work ahead in 2020
KINGSWAY WEST – Only days ago, a church full of grieving residents remembered loved ones who were among last year’s near-record 194 homicide victims. Yet 2020 has already seen eight lives…
Brown's foundation invites families, teens to safe New Year's Eve at Tandy center
THE VILLE – In a city that has counted 193 homicides, including more than 20 youths in the metropolitan area, the firing of gunshots – illegal in the city – is…
Midwest BankCentre is honored for commitment, diversity
ST. LOUIS – In contests, someone has to win. Late this year, Midwest BankCentre won the 2019 Community Commitment Award. Presented by the American Bankers Association Foundation, the award lauds the…
Santa brings joy to families at O'Fallon Rec Center YMCA
O’FALLON PARK – Santa Claus came to town on Saturday – at the Gateway Region YMCA O’Fallon Rec Complex, to track him exactly. He delivered enough toys for hundreds of…
Teen's sentencing sparks new discussion of Missouri Model
ST. LOUIS – Last week when a judge suspended the sentence of a 16-year-old convicted of murder and placed him in juvenile detention with a chance of parole in five…