CITY HALL – Four years after Missouri stopped the city’s attempt to raise the minimum wage in St. Louis, the Board of Aldermen returned to pressure the state to move…
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.
Conversion therapy bill stirs sharply different claims
CITY HALL – Witnesses at an aldermanic hearing Wednesday on a bill to ban a therapy that attempts to change a child’s sexual orientation made sharply different claims about the…
New list of potential city freeholders could resolve logjam
CITY HALL – Officials hope a logjam in naming nine city members of the new Board of Freeholders for the city and county will break at a committee meeting of…
Freeholders hold first meeting, with no city members
CITY HALL – Members of the new Board of Freeholders for St. Louis and St. Louis County held its first meeting on Tuesday and spent much of their time hearing…
Ban on 'conversion therapy' sought in St. Louis
CITY HALL – A move is on in the Board of Aldermen to ban a form of therapy meant to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LBGTQIA children.…
Freeholders start meeting on Tuesday, with no city members
CITY HALL – The new Freeholders Board for the city and county meets for the first time Tuesday in the Board of Aldermen’s chambers at City Hall, but without any…
Bill seeks distribution of syringes for drug users
CITY HALL – As a step toward cutting the spread of infectious diseases, the city of St. Louis may be providing free and clean syringes to drug users by the…
Bill would prohibit asking most job applicants about criminal history
CITY HALL – John Collins-Muhammad thinks it’s time to make it easier for people who have run afoul of the law to find work. The 21st Ward alderman is promoting…
Municipal courts' warrants target African-Americans, expert says
ST. LOUIS – It’s one thing to suspect that St. Louis municipal courts target African-Americans when they issue warrants. It’s a different story when cold numbers prove the case. Numbers,…
South City Family YMCA celebrates new look, new ways to play
SOUTHWEST GARDEN – The swimming’s great at the South City Family YMCA. The fitness center’s as good as ever, and so is the child care. Still, the people in charge…
Aldermen pass mandatory reporting of failed gun background checks
CITY HALL – Some St. Louis officials say a newly passed law could tip off police about potential perpetrators of gun violence before they act. The Board of Aldermen passed…
Seniors yearn for a Steakburger, or fries, as Steak 'n Shake's future seems shaky
BENTON PARK WEST – Back in the 1950s, Carol Schultheis recalls, teenagers had more in mind than fries and steakburgers when they sat in their cars on the parking lot…