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Reporters' BLOG |
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November 2009
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November 2009 ArchivesA few years ago we were reporting on meth labs in the city. It was something new at the time. Neighbors were stunned when DEA agents or police would be hauling away the meth lab equipment from a home in their neighborhood. These days the news of a meth lab operating in the city doesn't raise many eyebrows. But they're still out there and they're dangerous. Not only because of the chemicals that are involved, but also because ... Manchester Road could get something of a makeover. We're talking about a five-mile stretch from Missouri route 109 to 141. The East-West Gateway Council of Government is looking for your input. It's the sponsor of the Manchester Road Great Streets project. If you've driven on Manchester you know what a pain it can be. Many drivers we talked with say it's next to impossible to take a left turn through oncoming traffic. It's one of the ...
The state of Illinois is peddling a prison. The buyer it's hoping will kick the tires, check out the cup-holders, take it for a test-run and say, "I'll take it"...? The Federal government. The Thomson prison was built in 2001. Since then it's sat there, mostly empty. It's a Level 1, adult male, maximum security prison. The facility has 8 housing units, with 1,600 cells but now houses about 200 minim... The St. Louis premiere of "Up In The Air" was Saturday night at the Tivoli theatre on the Loop in University City. It's filled with St. Louis connections. Obviously, much of it was shot here so it has not only parts of the St. Louis area as backdrops for the movie, but it's also filled with St. Louis extras and actors. There's even a song from a U-City man that plays during the film's credits. Kevin Renick wrote a song calle... A woman we interviewed today said this weekend is going to be "hell." Danielle Biship lives in Jefferson County and is now facing possible Child Endangerment charges. Her 3-year-old daughter was found along Highway C in rural Jefferson County Thursday morning by a passing motorist. The girl was naked and alone. The girl has high functioning autism. Biship is a psychology student and had been up late Wednesday nigh... When Express Scripts announced their expansion of a new facility in North St Louis County, it was good news that is long overdue. The St Francois State Park covers some 2700 acres in Northern St Francois County. An alert News 4 viewer sent us an email informing us about a scam sweeping through the area. According to the viewer, and we've confirmed through local police, someone is stealing debit card information and then withdraw large sums of money from people's checking accounts. To date O'Fallon, Missouri and Chesterfield Police tell us they are investigating several of these cases. The common thread with all of the victims is at some point they...
I got an urgent call this afternoon from the newsroom while I was preparing to put together my Veteran's Day story. I needed to drop everything and head over to the St. Louis Science Center. There was a problem with one of the dinosaurs at the "Dinosaurs Unearthed" exhibit. "Did a giant replica dinosaur fall on someone?" I worried to myself. Not quite. It turned out someone had damaged the Apatosaurus (I grew up learn... There are hundreds of rape kits sitting on shelves in Missouri. Some may be there because of prosecutorial disinterest, but the majority are there because there are too few lab technicians. Another budget issue. It is a complicated issue with a simple solution. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children's Hospital is spreading awareness about premature births this month. November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Children's Hospital treats about 70 premature babies a month. If you would like to find out more about Children's Hospitals NICU department check out their website at In order to save an estimated $5 million a year, Illinois is releasing about 1,000 non-violent offenders (with less than a year to serve on their sentence) early. The first wave of early releases started on Tuesday and the state's Department of Corrections plans to release a total of 62 inmates by Friday. Once released, the parolees will be monitored by electronic ankle bracelets and parole agents. Who Will Go Home Ear... By this Thursday many in St Louis County will be getting their tax bills in the mail and the news may not be good. We all know by now about the sinking housing market and many may believe that at least it can mean lower taxes. Think again. The county tells us, on average, the taxes this year will be slightly higher. Chief Dan Isom has a big job. He assumed control of a department riddled with scandal from its previous administration. Today he sat through more than an hour of Missouri State Auditor Susan Montee outlining where the department's procedures fell short and allowed dishonest employees to help themselves to the taxpayers' money and resources. These are always delicate assignments... Honoring the life of a fallen soldier by sharing details of the soldier's life and sacrifice while not getting in the way of grieving loved ones. In tackling this story I contacted anyone BUT the family of Sgt. Christopher Cooper who died in a non-combat incident while serving in Iraq October 30th. I talked to the Missouri Captain of the Patriot Guard, military veterans who show up to fa... We're in Trenton, Illinois, right now putting together a story for Monday's 10pm newscast. A 4-year-old girl was strapped into her school bus seat on Friday for the six-mile ride home from Trenton to New Baden. The girl's family says during the trip the pre-schooler in the seat next to her bit her several times. They have pictures of the bite marks. Some appear to be severe. She also lost the fingernail on her right pinky fi... Shortly after 5:40pm Monday, East St. Louis Police were called to begin investigating the fourth woman murdered in three days. Three women were killed in a car outside a convenience story Saturday night. This latest murder happened about a block or two away on North 6th Street. A police captain tells me the woman was in her early 20s. There was rampant speculation at the scene that this deadly shooting was somehow rela... Today Pfizer leaders announced massive job cuts at almost all of its facilities worldwide. In all, the company will reduce staffing by 35 percent. Locally, 600 Chesterfield employees will lose their jobs. As of this morning 1,000 people worked at the west county location. The 400 remaining employees will continue to work in research and development field. All of the cuts will not officially take place until after the New Year. Homeless advocates are meeting with city officials to make sure Park Rangers never do what they did on Thursday - clear out a homeless camp and throw all their belongings in the trash. It wasn't only heartless, it was in violation of a court order that prevented officers from destroying the belongings of the homeless.
We were in East St. Louis today covering a triple homicide. Three women and three children were in a car at a gas station when a man opened fire. The three women in the car were killed. The children survived. The family of one of the victims says this is all the result of a domestic situation. An enraged, ex-boyfriend. One woman who is a frequent customer at the gas station said she believes that too many peop... We sat down with the co-founder of a non-profit organization that's based here in St. Louis called "The Mission Continues." Greg Greitens is a Navy Seal now serving in the reserves. A couple years ago he realized that several of the wounded and disabled veterans that were returning from Iraq and Afghanistan still wanted to serve their communities. But their physical and emotional wounds would not allow them to continue to serve in the m...
I'm always angered, frustrated but mostly saddened when I hear about stories like what happened at Project Inc.... a non-profit that helps train and find jobs for adults with developmental disabilities. A trusted colleague and friend of all who worked there, allegedly ripped them off right under their noses... all the while seeming to be a top-notch employee everyone likes. According to a... The mother of a soldier based at Fort Hood sat down and talked with us today about how "maddening" it was not knowing if her son was one of the shooting victims from Thursday. Dorian Herring has been in the army for about 10 years. He's from East St. Louis but has been stationed at Fort Hood for several years now. Kate Johnson's sister called her on Thursday to ask if she'd heard about the shootings and if Dorian was okay. Joh...
This afternoon, on the eve of a possible vote on the House Democrat Health Care Bill H.R. 3962, I called congressmen who represent local districts with a question: are you voting yes or no? Representatives Todd Akin and Blaine Luetkemeyer (both Republicans from Missou... The Saint Joachim & Ann Care Service is offering help to people struggling to make ends meet. St. Joachim offers a variety of services. Including housing, food, and employment. If you would like to find out more information log onto their website at Bunker Farms located in Maryland Heights has a cornfield maze open for business. Adults pay 8.00 and children over the age of five will pay six dollars. If you would like more information log onto their website at
As one detectiv told me, they believe they had this one wrapped up fairly quickly. The problem has made national news and led to a 3.8-million vehicle recall by Toyota. A still unexplained surprise acceleration Toyota suspects is the result of improperly installed or poor-fitting floor mats. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is investigating for a mechanical defect but hasn't found one. This brings us to Todd Dior of Chesterfield who in September 2007 bought a brand new 2008 Toyota Camry. >> Continue reading: Chesterfield man shares Toyota accelerator horror story Coyotes prefer to make their homes in semi-open country, but it's not that uncommon to see a few in the suburbs or city. This week, a family in Alton was startled to find a coyote in their garage at their home on Alby Street. Their 11 year old walked to the garage to feed a stray cat the family adopted, then spotted what she thought was another "big cat." Mom was right behind her and saw that "big cat" was actually a coyote. <...St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger says the CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment, Daniel Lee, tried to influence his vote on a county issue on Tuesday. Stenger tells me that Lee walked into his office on Tuesday and told him it would be in his favor to vote against a rezoning proposal in North County that would allow for the development of a new casino in the area. Lee flew in from Las Vegas that day to be in Clayton in time for the vote. L... One year ago tonight, St. Louis Firefighter Leonard Riggins, Sr. was killed. He was driving home and stopped to help a motorist who'd just struck a tree. He had no idea that motorist was a carjacker in a stolen car. When Riggins, who was in his firefighter's uniform, walked up to the car to help, the carjacker shot him in the chest. Riggins died at the hospital, leaving behind a wife and son. He will be remembered tonight with a candlelig... There is a little controversy brewing tonight in Tilden, Illinois. Tilden is about an hour and a half south of St. Louis, near Sparta. A concerned viewer emailed us with this story idea. According to him, the music teacher's attempt to diversify the holiday program this year is not going over well. He says the teacher would like to mix Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Los Posados songs in the holiday play; and some parents are having it. ...
While police in Webster Groves and Brentwood are looking for a man flashing children in and around that area, they do not believe a recent arrest in Hazelwood will help close their cases. Hazelwood Police arrested Kevin Hake, 30, and accuse him of flashing a 19 year old woman and 15 year old girl in separate incidents in September and October. Hake faces misdemeanor sexual misconduct charges. Hake was arrested Tuesday night. P...
Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed says for the most part St. Louis is a clean city but it could be cleaner. One of his pet-peeves is the amount of wrappers, lids and bags he sees blowing around fast-food restaurant parking lots. He's introduced a bill requiring restaurants with drive-thrus to place at least one trash can accessible to drivers in the drive-thru lane between the pick-up window and the street. The idea is th... Any relief that residents in Pacific, Missouri may feel over an arrest in the murder of an26 year old woman this week, seems to be replaced by the horror of possibly stumbling across a discarded body part. Nearly three dozen judges, prosecutors, police officers, administrators, and victims' advocates gathered in Jefferson City today to talk about how the state handles drunk drivers. The governor noted it is a very complex issue... cutting across socio-economic lines and social acceptabilities. Some talked about the dangers of doing more harm than good if they rush. The Governor wants legislation on his desk by next year. ...Even late into the evening, the crime scene tape still surrounded a large area of the Monroe Woods Apartments in Pacific, Missouri. Police stood watch over a trash bin area, near the front entrance of the complex. Around noon, a body was found in a fenced, trash bin area of the complex. The Major Case Squad was activated and responded to the scene, but did not release any official statements regarding the investigation. <..."Astronomical" is the word Gasconade County Sheriff Randy Esphorst used to describe the odds of what happened in a farm field Monday afternoon. A man firing his gun at a target on his property (which is totally legal) sends a stray bullet more than three-and-a-half football fields away, traveling through brush and strikes a three-year old child in the head, ultimately killing her. The little girl was with a couple of friends wa... Such an amazing statistic! That's the finding of a Washington University/Cornell study just released. Local food banks were surprised at the high figure, but they also say they know children comprise the greatest segment of the poor. There is a program which distributes a backpack of food to 16 hundred local school children every Friday so they'll have something nutritious to eat over the weekend. The experts warn of dire consequences if t... The use of mace by security guards inside Sumner High School on Tuesday has students upset and school officials investigating. I think parents will have to have some patience as we all get through the H1N1 influenza situation. School districts are having a difficult time because of the vaccine shortage. I'm told the vaccine comes from the county health department which gets it from the Centers for Disease Control. But because of the shortage there's no real way to know exactly when school districts will get the vaccine and how much of it they'll receive. Th... Initially, the call came in as a woman screaming for help. St. Louis County Police dispatchers heard from residents living near Cliff Cave Park who reported they could hear a woman screaming "help me" in the woods. Turns out, the woman was Pam Buchanan and she was calling out for her lost dog "Murphy" not yelling "help me." While on a walk late Sunday afternoo... Chances are you've seen these lady-bug like insects on and around your home. Attorneys for Sheri Coleman's relatives today said they intend to call Joyce Meyer and her son to the witness stand in the civil suit against Christopher Coleman. They believe the Ministries could have/should have done more to prevent the deaths of Sheri, Gavin and Garett. They say JMM should have investigated the email death threats better and possibly, possibly been able to prevent the deaths. Of course attorneys for JMM absolutely disagr... Randy Grimm has rescued thousands of animals over the past several years. He's the guy who's dedicated his life to helping abandoned and feral animals through his foundation, Stray Rescue. As a reporter, I've gone along with him on some of these rescues. I've followed him into burned-out, abandoned homes in some of the roughest parts of the metro area, on both sides of the river. He's traipsed through weeds that are waist-high and... |
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