Jim Merkel
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Coronavirus
Estimate board approves $168 million COVID-19 relief package
CITY HALL – Mayor Tishaura Jones relented Friday in her opposition to a $168 million COVID-19 spending package and voted…
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News
Lawyer’s opinion backs Board of Aldermen’s COVID relief bill
CITY HALL – Debate continued Friday over a $168 million COVID-19 funding package, with a lawyer specializing in local government…
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News
Lack of workers forces cut in alley pickup of recyclables
CITY HALL – It’s suddenly become harder to do the right thing with recyclables, for an unexpected reason. The city…
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Coronavirus
Page keeps mask mandate despite county council rejection
CLAYTON – The St. Louis County Council notwithstanding, County Executive Dr. Sam Page says a new indoor mask mandate for St.…
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Coronavirus
Opposition arises to county, city mask mandates
CITY HALL – St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and County Executive Dr. Sam Page said Monday that they were reinstating…
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Art
Miniature Museum makes it big by thinking small
BEVO MILL – In one display, teensy people prepare for a little banquet at tiny, tiny tables set with bitsy…
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Coronavirus
Lab tests of sewer water help search for COVID-19
In a lab at the University of Missouri-Columbia, vials of chilled raw sewage from treatment plants throughout the state will…
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Education
Educational pioneer Dr. Henry Givens Jr. dies at 90
ST. LOUIS – When Dr. Henry Givens Jr. became president of Harris-Stowe Teachers College in 1979, many thought his main…
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Politics
$168 million for COVID-19 relief stalls over wording
CITY HALL – Two key city officials failed to reach agreement Friday on changes that would have allowed distribution of…
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Coronavirus
Officials warn of major surge in COVID-19 cases here
ST. LOUIS – With new cases of COVID-19 surging, an official of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force stressed…
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News
In marathon meeting, aldermen give preliminary OK for American Rescue Plan spending
CITY HALL – After a 10-hour slog, the Board of Aldermen gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a $168 million federally…
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Politics
Direct payments, homeless encampments spark controversy
CITY HALL – The issues of $5 million in direct payments to individuals and of encampments for the homeless brought…
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News
Screening service gives leeway on ‘iffy’ tenants
ST. LOUIS – To weed out problem tenants, landlords use services that screen them for such warning signs as criminal…
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Crime
Alderman wants to make checking successive car doors illegal
CITY HALL – A guy who goes from car to car in the middle of the night pulling the door…
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Politics
Panel rejects using $5 million of COVID relief for $500 payments to individuals
CITY HALL – An aldermanic committee dealt Mayor Tishaura Jones a defeat Wednesday, when it refused to reinstate $5 million…
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News
Official bills go missing in mayor’s office
CITY HALL – Two bills recently passed by the Board of Aldermen were delayed from going into effect after official…
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News
Workhouse closing went smoothly, Isom reports
CITY HALL – On the day St. Louis’ Medium Security Institution was officially without funding, interim Public Safety Director Dan…
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Politics
Jones, Reed again bicker at board meeting
CITY HALL – Once again, Mayor Tishaura Jones and Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed spent much of a meeting…
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News
Voting rally to feature dancing feet
DOWNTOWN – At most rallies for a cause, rousing speeches and maybe one or two songs are enough to stir…
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Art
Modern-day Michaelangelos cover St. Louis with art
CARONDELET – One year, mural artist Ray Harvey heard an announcement on KMOX that civic leaders in Carondelet were holding…
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Politics
Committee action settles new city budget
CITY HALL – A committee Thursday effectively settled sharp differences over how to cover a $5.7 million shortfall in the…
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Crime
Police surveillance bill is put on hold
CITY HALL – A bill to regulate new police surveillance technology is on hold, after some Black aldermen expressed concern…
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Politics
Mayor’s office kept out of committee meeting on COVID relief
CITY HALL – An aldermanic committee held on Tuesday the first of several meetings to discuss how to spend $80…
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News
Justice Center capacity now at about 95 percent capacity, Isom says
CITY HALL – Now that St. Louis’ Medium Security Institution is officially empty, the City Justice Center is at about 95…
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News
Black bookstore marks Juneteenth as special day for nation, own anniversary
UNIVERSITY CITY – Jeffrey and Pamela Blair have two reasons to celebrate on Juneteenth. It’s the day the last slaves…
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Politics
Sparks fly over budget shortfall as city estimate board meets
CITY HALL – The three members of the city’s top budgeting board spent more than an hour Wednesday in a…
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Coronavirus
Jones’ stimulus plan will face scrutiny from Board of Aldermen
CITY HALL – Mayor Tishaura Jones’ plan to spend $80 million in federal relief funds may encounter different ideas when…
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News
Original LGBTQIA events are vivid in participants’ memories
ST. LOUIS – Back in 1973, Dan White didn’t like it when a friend told him he wanted to hold…
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Coronavirus
Sharp drop in COVID-19 cases brings ‘new phase,’ end to task force briefings
ST. LOUIS – The tone at the last regular news briefing of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force was…
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Politics
Reed demands list of cuts to balance short budget
CITY HALL – Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed is demanding that Mayor Tishaura Jones come up with ways to…
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