CITY HALL – People should be able to play in a park in peace. That’s the idea behind a bill officially declaring city parks as gun-free zones that passed the…
Author: Jim Merkel
southsidemerkel@gmail.com
Born and raised in St. Louis, Jim Merkel covered communities throughout the area from 1991 to 2013 for the old Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis. He is the author of four books about the Gateway City published by Reedy Press. He and his wife, Lorraine, live in the Bevo Mill neighborhood of south St. Louis. For more about Jim, visit www.jimmerkelthewriter.com.
Aldermen give initial approval to bill banning conversion therapy for minors
CITY HALL – St. Louis aldermen spent an hour on Friday in emotional condemnations of a therapy that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation. Then, in the first of…
City adds beds, warming buses for homeless this winter
ST. LOUIS – Passengers boarding a bus early each evening at a downtown street corner aren’t heading for a place to shop or work or a trip home. They don’t…
Christmas on Candy Cane Lane is monthlong block party
ST. LOUIS HILLS – In all of his Decembers, Peter Dunphy has known endless lines of crawling automobiles in front of his house, along with mounds of Christmas lights on…
Bill would keep handguns out of the hands of minors
CITY HALL – Backers of a bill now before the Board of Aldermen say they hope to take advantage of a loophole in state legislation to keep handguns away from…
St. Louis mulls returning red light cameras to city streets
CITY HALL – Red light cameras may be returning to St. Louis city streets, but with a different face. Or, at least, a face. The cameras brought tickets in the…
Calling on higher power at aldermanic meetings pleases some, ruffles others
CITY HALL – Most of the time, the Rev. John Watson Jr. is co-pastor of the Maple Temple Church of God in Christ in the Academy neighborhood. But for exactly…
Electric buses are heading for Grand Boulevard Metro route
ST. LOUIS – In a little more than a year, some travelers on the busiest route in the area’s bus system will have quieter and smoother rides than they ever…
Muhammad delays criminal history bill for more work
CITY HALL – By all indications, the Board of Aldermen is solidly behind 21st Ward Alderman John Collins-Muhammad’s bill prohibiting employers from putting questions about criminal histories on job applications.…
St. Mary Magdalen Church celebrates a century of service
SOUTHAMPTON – In the second decade of the 20th century, the city of St. Louis was growing to the southwest. The establishment of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church to…
Committee wants yet more changes to freeholders slate
CITY HALL – To overcome a committee’s failure to approve Mayor Lyda Krewson’s list of nine potential members of the Board of Freeholders, some aldermen want to remove the names…
Committee delays action on new freeholders nominees
CITY HALL – With four new black nominees, an aldermanic committee seemed ready Tuesday to break a logjam and approve a package of nine city nominees to the Board of…