Riverfront Times, October 27, 2020

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OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 3, 2020

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THE LEDE

“Every time coming out to an event like this I’m always angry, but it’s for a reason.

But today I feel good. I feel calm. Surprisingly. It just feels good to be out here. I want everyone to have this calm spirit. I don’t want anything to go wrong today. Really just sharing the spirit and love with each other today. As good as you can be in this situation, in these times.”

PHOTO BY THEO WELLING

SARA KIM, PHOTOGRAPHED OUTSIDE THE ST. LOUIS POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION HEADQUARTERS ON THE NATIONAL DAY OF PROTEST AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY ON OCTOBER 22 riverfronttimes.com

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GO VOTE

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his is our last issue before Election Day. By next Wednesday, it’ll be all over but the counting (and maybe, probably the lawsuits). So we wanted to make sure to give you everything you needed to get those ballots in. If you’ve already voted, thanks. Maybe check out our story on the Rev. Darryl Gray and his long fight with the city after he was pepper sprayed, body slammed and arrested in 2017.

Or make your Halloween plans with a special edition of our events calendar. Or read about the latest in pandemic-era dining in Cheryl Baehr’s Side Dish.

If you’re still headed to the polls or dropping off absentee ballots, we’ve collected tips, answered questions and tried to point you to the resources that will help take some of the guesswork and anxiety out of the wildest election in years. Make your plan, cast your vote and then hold on as everything gets sorted out. We’ll see you on the other side.

— Doyle Murphy, editor in chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS CAN’T

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Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy

E D I T O R I A L Digital Editor Jaime Lees Interim Managing Editor Daniel Hill Contributors Trenton Almgren-Davis, Cheryl Baehr, Eric Berger, Jeannette Cooperman, Thomas Crone, Mike Fitzgerald, Judy Lucas, Noah MacMillan, Andy Paulissen, Justin Poole, Christian Schaeffer, Theo Welling, Danny Wicentowski, Nyara Williams, Ymani Wince Columnist Ray Hartmann Interns Steven Duong, Riley Mack, Matt Woods A R T

& P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Editorial Layout Haimanti Germain, Evan Sult Production Manager Haimanti Germain M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Advertising Director Colin Bell Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Multimedia Account Executive Jackie Mundy Digital Sales Manager Chad Beck Director of Public Relations Brittany Forrest

COVER VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE THIS MEANS YOU!

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INSIDE The Lede Hartmann News Feature Short Orders Culture Savage Love 6

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Founded by Ray Hartmann in 1977

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HARTMANN Missouri’s Anti-Abortion Extremist Sen. Andrew Koenig is the man who would force victims to bear their rapist’s baby

BY RAY HARTMANN

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bviously, next week’s election is the most important in the lifetime of anyone living. There’s really nothing much left to say, at least not in this space.

Either you have decided to vote against the psychotic racist narcissist with the dictatorial dreams or not. I’m not going to change any minds.

Donald Trump shall, however, possess one enduring legacy no matter what happens Tuesday: History will remember him as the predator who ended nearly half a century of national protection for women’s reproductive freedom.

Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominees, especially the most recent one, will see to that by overturning Roe v. Wade.

I see no point in waiting for the post-Roe world to discuss the forbidden topic of abortion in substance and not just slogan and labels, the preferred currency of both sides of the non-debate. If I’m an outlier, so be it.

We’ve got the perfect guy to focus on, right here in St. Louis County, in state Senator Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester. Koenig is locked in a tight reelection race with state Representative Deb Lavender, DKirkwood.

At 37, Koenig is viewed as a charismatic rising star by the extreme right an of his party. nd by extreme, I mean he’s part of

the creepy Conservative Caucus, six state senators who planted their ag in apparently out of concern that their eighteen fellow right-wing conservative Republican senators were not sufficiently zealous. Yikes.

By contrast, Lavender is a prochoice centrist whose air of moderation and studiousness harkens to a bygone era in which actual facts mattered. It’s hard to imagine two more contrasting personas than those of Koenig and Lavender.

Koenig is the proud author of one of the most fanatical antiabortion laws in America, passed in and presently under challenge in the judicial system. Koenig’s bill would outlaw abortion at eight weeks — with no exceptions for rape and incest — and would impose criminal sentences of five to fifteen years for doctors.

Koenig has left famed anti-choice warrior John Ashcroft in his dust.

For her part, Lavender is solidly, but noiselessly, a NARAL-supported pro-choice candidate who, as

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is the custom of her party, hasn’t made the abortion issue the centerpiece of her case for election.

Whether that’s the best strategy remains to be seen, but let’s savor this irony The th district lies almost entirely in the congressional district once held by a very famous man: very former Congressman Todd Akin.

Yes, Koenig’s senatorial district is in Todd Akin country. And so is Koenig. More important, Koenig’s actions are worse than Akin’s words with regard to the crime of rape.

To refresh your memory, Akin disgraced Missouri on the national stage in ugust to a degree the Marauding McCloskey’s could only dream of. Akin’s weirdness captivated the nation just thirteen days after he won the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Interviewed on KTVI-TV by journalist Charles Jaco about whether he believed abortion was ustified in cases of rape, Akin responded that rape doesn’t result in preg-

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nancy. Here are his famous words: “ t seems to be, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, it’s really rare. f it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down. mmediately, Twitter exploded with rage, and the reelection of Senator laire c as ill was assured when Republicans were unable “to shut the whole thing down with respect to in’s candidacy. “ ’ve never spo en with ongressman in, said all doctors.

We can loo bac on with a smile. ut there’s nothing lighthearted about loo ing forward to a nation governed by a law as despicable as the one oenig authored.

Let’s be clear about what oenig, the “conservative champion of less government would impose upon the women of issouri. nd let’s do something unusual state the law affirmatively for what it would impose, rather than negatively for what it would oppose. f a young girl or grown woman is raped even by a relative big government will force her to endure a pregnancy and carry the rapist’s seed to childbirth, without her consent or that of her parents, loved ones, spiritual advisers, doctors or anyone else. eriod.

This tyrannical edict will be carried out in the name of life as defined by certain hristian religions, in callous disregard for a forgotten irst mendment provision that says, “ ongress shall ma e no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

The definition of life beginning at conception is not universally held. wide range of established religious groups differ on the question, publicly and officially. oenig’s religiously informed definition of life should never be imposed by a secular government.

Whether it’s the Talmud defining the fetus becoming a human being at days of pregnancy or a wide range of rotestant hristian denominations and all manner of non- hristian faiths or people of no faith disagreeing with “pro-life religions, those viewpoints have equal standing under our laws.

The irst mendment clearly protects the rights of those of oenig’s faith to practice their religion freely. t does not protect their right to write it into law for the rest of us. s a father of a teenage girl, cannot imagine anything more

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immoral than a government coercing a child li e her to bring a rapist’s spawn into the world if God forbid she were impregnated by such a monster. ust imagine it our precious child has ust had her world shattered twice. irst, with the assault, then with the trauma of learning that the spawn of the rapist is growing inside her. nd she turns to you to ma e it all go away. ot in issouri you don’t. o, the state of issouri does not see a role of government in caring about your little girl, much less you. t has a much higher purpose, you see: It needs to protect the unborn life that can be created by the rape. nd let’s not forget The horror of this despicable abuse by government is hardly limited to young girls. o woman, of any age, should be persecuted so horrendously by government.

The enters for Disease ontrol states that “almost million women in the .S. experienced raperelated pregnancy during their lifetime. That might be news to in and irrelevant to oenig.

On October , oenig posted the following on his aceboo page “Of my many legislative accomplishments, the one of which am most proud is Senate ill . t addresses the bac log of rape it testing in issouri and allows for perpetrators of sexual crimes to be more swiftly held accountable for their actions. t has been an honor to see this bi-partisan legislation through on behalf of our state’s sexual assault survivors who are loo ing for ustice.

To be fair, it’s a fine bill, although he didn’t mention that perhaps its strongest point a requirement that rape its be free to all women was an amendment by Senator ill Schupp, who happens to be the Democratic candidate for in’s old congressional seat. oenig isn’t bragging currently on his aceboo page about his bill for state government to force rape victims to bear their attac ers’ spawn. t’s such a horrible idea, no one wants to thin about such a thing, especially at election time. ut than s to Donald Trump’s anti-choice ustices, we might need to get ready for conversations li e this. opefully with as little participation as possible from the li es of ndrew oenig. n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhartmann1952@gmail.com or catch him on St. Louis In the Know With Ray Hartmann and Jay Kanzler from 9 to 11 p.m.

Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).

NEWS

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The Lawyers Working to Protect Your Right to Vote Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

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f things get weird when you try to vote, a small army of Missouri attorneys is ready to help.

The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, a year-round effort, has been staffing up with volunteers for November 2 and 3. They’re actually available right now. Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE (6878683), if you want help creating a voting plan or have any other voting-related questions.

But they’re expecting big numbers of calls on Election Day. Combine one of the most contentious general elections in generations with a variety of pandemic-related changes, such as consolidated or relocated polling sites, and people can’t help but have questions.

That doesn’t mean you should freak out. The attorneys are there to take the anxiety out of casting your ballot (well, they can’t help with the outcomes of the races; they’re non-partisan). Denise Lieberman, general counsel for Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, has been working on voter access for two decades and is widely considered the go-to source for what’s happening at the ground level.

“This year, the program is larger and more robust than ever,” she says.

Lieberman says they divide the operation into teams. They’ll have their hotline team of attorneys who answer the phones and can answer a variety of questions — anything from info about polling locations and curbside voting to what to do if you’ve decided to forego your mail-in ballot and vote in person.

There is also a ground team.

The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition has signed up more than 1,000 poll monitors to keep tabs on what’s happening in real time.

That includes people assigned to

Attorneys from Mound City Bar Association working on voter issues during a past Election Day. | COURTESY MISSOURI VOTER PROTECTION COALITION

specific sites, but there will also be rovers, ready for a rapid response if they need eyes and ears at a spot they’re not already covering.

New this year are social media monitors who can direct people to verified, accurate information online, which is more of a challenge than ever with a ood of misinformation directed at voters.

“They’re also being trained on how to identify and respond to misinformation online without amplifying it, which is also incredibly critical,” Lieberman says.

At the top of the structure is the “escalation team,” which includes captains of the various units. If there is a question that is particularly tricky or an issue that is popping up repeatedly among any of the teams, Lieberman and the escalation team can take it on and direct resources.

For example, if attorneys working the hotline hear about voter intimidation at a polling loca-

tion, they would let the escalation team know. Lieberman and the captains could then contact poll workers on the ground to check it out or dispatch a rover to observe and report back. If needed, ground team members can take voter statements and document what’s happening right there.

Once they’ve verified a problem, the escalation team can move swiftly on a solution. That may involve contacting local election officials or even law enforcement.

Lieberman says that because the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition does the legwork (often literally) to verify information, they have a lot of credibility with outside agencies.

“We’ve already sat down with the election directors of St. Louis city, St. Louis County, St. Charles County. We’ve sat down with the FBI, the cyber crimes task force, the nited States ttorney’s Office, Lieberman says. “We’ve talked

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through protocols for Election Day, and we all have each other’s cell phones. We’ve already discussed, ‘If this issue comes up, here’s who’s going to call you. Here’s how we want you to handle it.’”

For most issues, the coalition can handle it themselves or with their contacts. But if they need to get the courts involved, they’re ready for that, too. Lieberman has been involved in the dramatics of Election Day litigation, including helping with a suit in 2000 that kept polls open in St. Louis and ensured voters weren’t wrongly turned away.

Part of the coalition’s prep for this year has been trying to anticipate potential issues and do the research early so they can be ready with emergency litigation if needed.

One tip from Lieberman: Don’t expect results on election night.

There are likely to be delays. That just means the votes are being counted, she says.

In normal years, attorneys gather in a huge conference room to staff a command center and interface with the various teams.

Lieberman says it’s a group

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Your Voting Questions, Answered

usage at polling places, Missouri and Illinois are not on that list. You are allowed to have your phone out in the polling location and even in the voting booth. Last-minute research on candidates and ballot measures is better than no research, just don’t be disruptive or try to film or photograph others.

Written by

RILEY MACK

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lection Day is less than a week away. If you haven’t already, now is the time to make your plan. We’re here to help with answers to those nagging questions.

Election Day is almost here. Make sure you’re ready. | PAUL SABLEMAN

What do I need to bring to my polling location?

In Missouri, you only need to bring one piece of identification with you to your polling location. You must have one of the following: • an ID issued by the state of Missouri • a U.S. passport • an ID issued by a local election authority • an ID from a Missouri university, college, vocational, or technical school • A current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other government document that states the name and address of the voter How are “poll watchers” different from “poll workers”?

At your poll location, you can expect to see both poll watchers and poll workers. Despite their similar titles, their roles are different in very specific ways.

Poll workers are citizens who make sure the voting process goes smoothly for all voters in attendance, answering any questions that they may have and giving ballots to registered voters. Each poll wor er is affiliated with a political party, or some may be designated

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effort, with help from the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, Mound City Bar Association, Jackson County Bar Association, St. Louis University and Washington University.

The Kansas City, Missouri-based law firm Stinson LL has hosted a call center since 2018, handling calls from Missouri and Kansas.

That’s more of a challenge during the pandemic. Attorneys from the firm are still helping to coordinate

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What are Missouri’s laws on electioneering?

In Missouri, you could unintentionally get in trouble for electioneering, and the consequences could be serious. You could earn

yourself a misdemeanor by conducting an exit poll, survey, campaign, canvas, by sampling of voters at a polling location, or for distributing election literature at a polling location.

What may be surprising to some voters is that posting political signs or vehicles bearing political signs near the polling location may be considered electioneering. A sign with respect to any candidate or question to be voting on in the election cannot be within twenty-five feet or the building’s outer door closest to the polling location. Any of these offenses could earn you a year of ail time or a fine of , .

Just to be on the safe side, make sure your vehicle does not bear any political signage before heading to the polls on ovember .

Can I have my phone out in the voting booth?

The answer is yes! While some states have odd rules about phone

volunteers, answer phones and facilitate the hotline, but the command center is virtual this year.

The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition is part of a national organization, which staffs up with state-specific attorneys. So if you call the hotline from Missouri, you’ll speak with a Missouri attorney who knows the difference between St. Louis and St. Louis County.

Stinson attorneys Brittany Barrientos and Ashley Crisafulli both serv as captains for the coalition.

The call center handled 1,200 calls during the general election

in , and they’re expecting a surge this year.

They’ve increased the number of volunteer slots to 300, which translates to 50 or so attorneys at a time wor ing four- or fivehour shifts on the phones on ovember and about double the number on hand for previous elections.

“There’s a lot more confusing issues that are new,” Barrientos says. “You have a lot more mailin ballots. You have absentee ballots from people that haven’t traditionally cast those. You have curbside voting issues. You have

as “unaffiliated, and there are an equal number of representatives for each political party at a polling location.

Poll watchers, on the other hand, are representatives of a candidate, party, or ballot issue committee at a polling location that ensure their interest has a fair chance of winning the election. Poll watchers are identified and approved wee s prior to election day and may keep track of voter turnout for their individual or committee. Poll watchers can keep a lookout for voting machine malfunctions, long voting wait times, or errors made by poll workers. In many states, poll watchers are not allowed to directly interact with voters at all.

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Do I have to wear a mask to vote?

While voting locations will be socially distanced, masks are still required in many counties around St. Louis. Although, as Missouri itself doesn’t have a statewide mask mandate, counties are allowed to be exible with their mas policies.

St. Louis County is enforcing strict mask policies on election day. Voters must wear a mask to cast their ballot and will be provided one at their polling location if they don’t wear one in. St. Louis city’s poll workers will be wearing masks, but for voters, masks are only (highly) encouraged. The city Board of Elections won’t refuse an eligible voter the right to vote, so if they do not wear a mask to a polling location and won’t accept the offer of a mask then “an isolated location will be provided to the voter to cast his or her ballot separate from other voters wearing masks.”

Some counties, on the other hand, have already decided masks aren’t necessary for poll workers, let alone voters. We’re looking at you, St. Charles.

Can I wear my political party’s apparel to my polling location?

The answer is yes! Missouri and Illinois are not part of the 21 states that have restrictions on what you can wear to the polls. While Missouri has electioneering restrictions on political signs posted on your vehicle, you are allowed to wear any sort of attire into a polling location that you see fit. This means that you can rock your “MAGA” or “Ridin4Biden” shirt to vote on ovember . n sanitation and hygiene questions coming up, so a lot of new issues ust because of O D. We expect it to be really busy on ovember 2nd and 3rd.”

It can sound like a lot, but the attorneys can help you make a plan and walk you through any issues that pop up.

“There’s nothing better than on Election Day when you have a voter on the phone who is frustrated and just wants to participate in their basic right and being able to help them make sure their vote gets cast,” Crisafulli says. “It’s such a rewarding experience. n

Here’s Where to Find Your Sample Ballot Written by

JAIME LEES

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e’ve all been that unprepared voter who was standing in line at the polls on Election Day while furiously searching on our phone for information about the propositions and judges that might be on our ballot.

But not this year, St. Louis. This year you’re going to walk in with a smile behind your mask knowing that you, yes you, are more prepared than ever for all of the options you are about to face. ou’re going to fill all of your bubbles with confidence and exit your polling location knowing that you’ve done your part for democracy. For freedom. For America.

Read on to find the sample ballot for your location.

City of St. Louis If you live in the city, it’s super easy to find a sample ballot. ere are the three steps:

government/departments/ board-election-commissioners

County is very easy.

1. Visit this site: sccmo.org/410/ Election-Authority

2. Scroll past the dark blue section and loo for the white box on the right, labeled “More Info.”

. Scroll down to the “ ov. General Election Sample Ballot” and click.

. n this white box, clic on “ ovember 3, 2020 Sample Ballot (pdf),” and you’ll be directed to a PDF version that you can look over or print to take with you to the polls.

St. Louis County n the county, finding your sample ballot isn’t quite as easy as in the city. The information page is complicated to navigate, and the options are a bit hard to find you’re going to want to do this on a computer, not your phone. ere’s the easiest way to get to your personalized sample ballot.

1. Go here: stlouiscountymo.gov 2. Click the “Government” tab at the top and then choose “Board of Elections.” . hoose the white box that reads “Sample Ballot & Polling Place Lookup.”

4. The page will load and you will see a map. ere’s where it gets weird The text on the Sample Ballot & Polling Place Lookup page says “select ‘Your Sample Ballot’ above,” but the “above”

Jefferson County ou can find your sample ballot in JeffCo in just two easy steps: 1. Visit this site: jeffcomo.org/386/ County-wide-Sample-Ballot 2. Click on the red link that reads “View My Sample Ballot (PDF).”

Don’t make voting a pop quiz. is the confusing part. The gray bar at the top right doesn’t look like it, but it is actually a menu option. Click the right arrow at the very top right of the page to get to the sample ballot page.

5. Once you’re on the sample ballot page, you’ll be tempted to find yourself on the detailed map at the left. Don’t. It’s crazy complicated. Instead, just enter your address in the empty bar at the right, and you’ll be rewarded with an easy link to your sample ballot.

St. Charles County Finding a ballot for St. Charles

1. Visit this site: stlouis-mo.gov/

You Can Track Polling Place Wait Times Online in St. Louis County

Is It Legal to Take a Ballot Selfie?

Written by

Written by

JAIME LEES

RILEY MACK

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ven with the huge amount of early voting happening, polling places will still be extremely busy on Election Day. Many people still want to vote in the most traditional way (in person, on Election Day), and if you’re one of them, St. Louis County is hooking you up.

Instead of playing a guessing game to try to figure out which is the easiest time to show up and vote (super early morning? post lunch rush? during commute time?), you can just go to the county’s website, click on the Board of Elections icon (top right of page) and navigate to the county’s interactive map to look up the current wait time at your polling location.

The county is hoping that this map will make the experience more convenient

Plan your trip to vote. | PAUL SABLEMAN for voters and also help keep the polling locations from getting overcrowded.

To find out how long the line is at your polling place on Election Day, just pull up the map, click the arrow at the top right in the gray bar until it reads “Nearby Polling Places” and then enter your address.

At that same link, you can also find a sample ballot for your area so you can research all of your decisions prior to Election Day and get in and out quickly.

If you want more information about the many ways you can vote this year, we have answers to all of your voting questions in our Ultimate Guide to Voting in St. Louis on our website, riverfronttimes.com. n

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arlier this month, Kanye West tweeted a picture of his ballot with the write-in candidate bubble scribbled in with black ink. On the line next to it, he wrote “Kanye Omari West” and “Let’s Goooooo!!!!!!” While this stimulated many different reactions from Twitter users, the main concern for many was the legality — is it even legal to post a picture of your marked ballot?

The answer for West, from his Wyoming mega-mansion, is yes. The answer for you, though, may not be the same.

Around the St. Louis area, taking a picture of your ballot is discouraged, or could even be illegal depending on your county. What may begin as an innocent selfie in your polling booth could turn into a costly mistake.

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East St. Louis, Illinois For our neighbors in East St. Louis, you can find your sample ballot like this: 1. Visit this site: eslelections.org 2. Click on the “Elections” tab near the top right and choose “Upcoming Election Information.”

3. On the election information page, click on the option in blue text that reads “ ovember , 2020 Publication Specimen Ballot,” and a PDF of your sample ballot will load.

All other locations in Missouri, Illinois and across the entire country nformation on where to find a sample ballot can usually be found through your secretary of state’s website or at ballotpedia.org. n

In the majority of states, it’s either legal or legally unclear to take a picture with your ballot. But in others, including Missouri and Illinois, there are laws that state it’s illegal to take a picture of your ballot with the intent of showing others how you voted.

In many Missouri counties, taking a photo with a marked ballot could mean a fine of up to $2,500 or jail time of one year. In Illinois, showing anyone your marked ballot is a felony resulting in one to three years of jail time. Any photos inside a voting booth in Illinois are similarly considered illegal. Both states enacted these laws in order to avoid voter coercion and vote-buying.

Still, many people post ballot selfies to convince or remind their online followers to vote. And studies show that this may actually be a convincing argument.

According to research by Nature, posting a picture of your ballot on Facebook might actually inspire your friends to vote. Close associates on the platform may feel social pressure after seeing your ballot photo, prompting them to head to the polls as well.

But the risk is not worth it. Save yourself some possible fines or jail time and take a selfie with your “I Voted” sticker instead. n

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Curious about that ballot you mailed? Track it online. | DANNY WICENTOWSKI

How to Track Your Ballot in the St. Louis Area Written by

JAIME LEES

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f you’re voting by mail and you haven’t sent off your ballot yet, do that. Like, today. It’s so important to give your ballot plenty of time to arrive by Election Day, especially because of what has been happening with the U.S. Postal Service. As we creep closer to Election Day, more and more people are deciding to s ip the post office entirely and vote early in person at one of the many early voting locations around town. Also if you have your absentee ballot all filled out but are unsure about dropping it in the mail, you can deliver it in person to a voting site near you either before or on Election Day. For more information about that, consult our Ultimate Guide to Voting in St. Louis on the RFT’s website. But if you’ve already sent out your ballot in the mail and you want confirmation that it has arrived, there are many ways to track your ballot this year.

Read on to find out how to trac your ballot no matter where you live in the St. Louis area.

City of St. Louis You may track your ballot at STL-

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CityBallotTracking.com. Just visit the site and enter the Ballot Track ID from your ballot stub. You may also scan the square QR code on the stub and the code will take you right to the results. Once the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners has received your ballot, they’ll let you know by updating your ballot tracking page with a third green check mark.

St. Louis County In St. Louis County, you can track your ballot very easily by entering your Ballot Track ID at MyBallotTracking.com.

St. Charles County There are a few steps to tracking your ballot in St. Charles County.

First, visit sccmo.org/410/ElectionAuthority and then scroll down just a little to the subheading about the November 3 election. Click the second option there, which is “Track your Absentee by Mail ballot.” Then enter your information in their tracking system, and you should be able to track your ballot from there.

Jefferson County If you live in Jefferson County, ballot tracking is a more personal experience. They don’t have a website set up where you can do it on your own, but if you call the county cler ’s office and give the staff your name and address, they’ll loo you up and confirm that your ballot has been received. Their phone number is 636-797-5486 — once you get the voice recording, press “2” on your phone for the Voter Registration and Elections department. n

Maryland Heights Cop Sued for Gunpoint Traffic Stop Written by

DANNY WICENTOWSKI

O

n December 1, 2019, a Maryland eights police officer conducted a traffic stop that produced what the department’s chief would later describe as a “most unfortunate incident” for Demetrius Biggs.

According to details in a recently filed federal civil rights lawsuit, that Sunday was the day that officer dam uno and a second cop detained Biggs at gunpoint and forced him into the back of a police vehicle to question him. owever, the officers didn’t arrest or even cite iggs. They let him go with his passenger still seated in the bac a passenger identified in the lawsuit as “A.B,” Biggs’ sixyear-old daughter.

Attorney Allison Stenger, who is representing Biggs and his daughter, said the father and child “were both very traumati ed by this occurrence.” She added that the lawsuit, which is seeking damages, is also intended to “ensure no one else goes through what he and his daughter went through.”

The lawsuit alleges that uno had turned on his emergency lights and “sped alongside” Biggs’ vehicle before “sharply and violently pulling in front,” nearly causing a crash.

“Officer uno incorrectly believed his vehicle was struc by Plaintiffs’ Vehicle, prompting him to report a ‘10-50’ and call for bac up from every available officer employed by the Defendant City of Maryland Heights,” the suit contends.

The next thing iggs saw, according to the lawsuit, was uno and a second officer approaching his car and aiming their firearms “directly at” him. “ lthough he was never accused of, or charged with, any crime, Mr. Biggs was forced from Plaintiffs’ Vehicle at gunpoint, handcuffed, placed in the bac seat of Officer uno ’s squad car, and interrogated,” the lawsuit alleges.

Maryland Heights’ police chief apologized to a driver in frightening car stop. | CREATIVE COMMONS iggs was able to leave the scene, but he didn’t leave the incident in the past. is official complaint to the Maryland Heights police triggered an internal investigation into uno ’s actions. While it’s not nown what evidence the investigation uncovered such as audio or video recordings , whatever the investigation did find led to disciplinary action less than three weeks later.

In a letter dated December 18, 2019, Maryland Heights police Chief Bill Carson informed Biggs that the internal investigation had been completed. The letter was filed as an exhibit in the recent lawsuit.

“The result of that investiga-

Cops: Thief Stole Dying Woman’s Phone Written by

DOYLE MURPHY

S

t. Louis police say they’ve arrested the man caught on video stealing a cell phone from a dying jogger.

Brian Davenport, 35, of the Patch neighborhood has been charged with a felony count of stealing.

On October 18, surveillance cameras filmed 64-year-old Jacquelyn “Jackie” Olden collapse on a sidewalk while on a run near Anheuser-Busch Brewery in the 1200 block of Lynch Street. She tried to get up and use her phone but fell again, according to court records. While she is unconscious on the ground, a red minivan is seen driving past before it makes a U-turn and parks along the curb. The driver — a man in a black jacket — gets out and walks back and forth in a half circle around Olden.

He eventually leans in and plucks

tion disclosed sufficient evidence to support the allegation in your complaint,” Carson wrote to Biggs. “As a result, disciplinary action has been taken against Police Officer uno in compliance with the personnel rules of the City.”

Carson told the RFT that he was familiar with the incident but that he could not comment without approval from the city’s legal department, which had not yet reviewed the lawsuit. e did confirm that uno is still employed in the department where he’s served since 2018. owever, in arson’s December 2019 letter, the chief had pledged that “corrective action would be ta en to prevent “a reoccurrence

Officer Adam Munoz and a second cop detained Biggs at gunpoint and forced him into the back of a police vehicle to question him.

However, the officers didn’t arrest or even cite Biggs. of this most unfortunate incident.” Carson did offer an apology to Biggs, but did so without stating in any way what manner of misfortune had visited the father and his young child when uno pulled them over.

“The department ta es great pride in the manner in which our officers serve this community, arson wrote. “ apologi e for the conduct of the Officer and for the inconvenience to you. n

The seeming callousness of the act outraged St. Louis, but the thief was at first a mystery. Police now say they traced the minivan to Davenport and he admitted to being in possession of the stolen phone. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office issued charges on Monday, and he was booked into the St. Louis Justice Center.

Olden was an Air Force vet, who worked as a kitchen assistant at Rossman School for seven years before retiring in May. She had recently visited the elementary school to be honored for her service.

“For seven years, her bright smile and positive spirit were an encouragement to all who entered the Dining Room, and Brian Davenport. | COURTESY ST. LOUIS POLICE she modeled strength of character and bravery to our students when she shared stories of her her phone off the ground, goes back to service in the Air Force during last year’s the minivan and drives off, leaving her Veterans Day assembly,” the school alone on the sidewalk. Someone eventu- posted on Facebook. “Mrs. Olden was ally called for help, and Olden was taken a true role model, a dear friend and an by ambulance to a hospital but was pro- esteemed colleague. She will be missed tremendously.” n nounced dead.

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The Exhausting Prosecution of the Reverend Darryl Gray

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The Rev. Darryl Gray was pepper sprayed, body slammed and arrested in 2017. The City of St. Louis is still trying to make him pay

BY DOYLE MURPHY

T

he case against the Rev. Darryl Gray is a curious tale in the often hard-to-comprehend system of criminal justice in St. Louis.

In the past three years, city attorneys have devoted untold hours to the prosecution of the 66-year-old pastor for allegedly interfering with police duties during a protest in 2017 — a charge they have sought to minimize, arguing in court papers that it falls somewhere below a misdemeanor and shouldn’t result in jail time even if it didn’t. If they prevail against Gray, the payoff for their hard work and the expenditure of city resources would be a fine of maybe a couple hundred dollars.

“This is not benefiting the taxpayers, because this is costing more money,” Gray’s attorney Javad Khazaeli says. “They’re not taking dangerous people off the streets.”

But the city continues to pursue Gray, nonetheless. It won a conviction last year in municipal court against Gray and another conviction in January against 37-year-old protester Calvin “Cap” Kennedy, who was arrested during the same incident. Attorneys from the city counselor’s office are now battling appeals from Gray and Kennedy in state court, arguing in filings that they don’t have the right to a jury trial.

In a brief statement, the city pointed out that both Gray and Kennedy were convicted and that it is they who have “chosen to spend more time [in the circuit court] seeking an appeal.”

Adding to the curiously dogged pursuit of Gray and Kennedy is the way the city has handled hundreds of other arrests made during weeks of protests in the fall of 2017 after white ex-St. Louis

cop Jason Stockley was acquitted of murder in the killing of a 24-year-old Black man named Anthony Lamar Smith. Police had responded to demonstrations with force, fogging whole blocks with tear gas, firing pepper balls from military-style armored vehicles and rounding up protesters by the dozens during mass arrests. But if the police department’s response was aggressive — a federal judge criticized their uses of pepper spray as retaliatory and ordered them to change their tactics — that of the counselor’s office during the following months was less so. Hundreds of protesters were informed their initial court dates were being pushed off and then heard nothing else as the oneyear deadline for filing charges came and went.

Now, as the clashes of 2017 fade into a jam-packed history of St. Louis protests, others have moved on, but Gray is still grappling with a violent confrontation and a battle that never ends.

“There’s been no vindication on this,” he says. “I’ve been living with this for three years. I don’t want to be angry, but there are moments I think about this, I get angry.”

O

n September 29, 2017, protesters pulled off a highprofile caper on St. Louis’ biggest stage.

It was two weeks after the Stockley verdict, and so far, demonstrations had consisted largely of marches and moves to occupy city roads and highways. This was different. Gray was among a small number of activists who bought tickets to that night’s CardinalsBrewers game at Busch Stadium and took seats in the stands. During the second inning, they stood

and whipped out a large “Stop Killing Us” banner and hung it from the upper deck.

Police ushered them out, where they joined a larger band of jubilant protesters for a march around downtown.

The scene was streamed live on Facebook, and it made national headlines. As a bonus, no one was hurt or arrested.

With the main action of the night completed, the march proceeded with little drama. The role of Gray and several other pastors during the march was to trail along at the back, acting as a buffer between police and protesters. It was a strategy they had routinely deployed to reduce violence, but there seemed to be little risk as they strolled easily through downtown.

Police trailed the group, blocking traffic at intersections for them, but otherwise hung back.

“Everything was totally calm and, to be honest, this was actually one of the times that, up until this moment, that police were actually reacting more rationally,” Khazaeli of Khazaeli Wyrsch, LLC, says.

Shortly before 10 p.m., the marchers looped back toward the stadium, where they planned to wrap up the night’s action. Gray and other witnesses say the easygoing mood of police changed as the protesters crossed Walnut Street at the northeast corner of Ballpark Village.

“It felt like us coming back was more than they had stomach for,” the Rev. David Gerth says.

The Rev. Erin Counihan later told reporters that police suddenly released traffic on Walnut, cutting off part of the group, and when she complained, she was grabbed and shoved by officers.

Gray was a few steps ahead but

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hustled back across the street.

“I asked, ‘What are you doing?’

And my other words were, ‘We don’t touch police.’ I made that clear,” Gray says. “We’re not out here for a confrontation. We’re not out here to be physical with y’all.”

But the interaction did turn physical almost immediately.

Gray and Counihan say that when Gray questioned cops, an officer, later identified as Detective Ronald Vaughan, shoved him and pepper sprayed him in the face from inches away. A second officer bear-hugged Gray from behind, yanked him off his feet and slammed him to the street.

Gray’s glasses and hat bounced into the roadway. Two or three more cops pounced, mashing him down with their knees and hands, pulling his arms behind him for handcuffs. Gray says he looked up from the pavement to see an officer step on his glasses, busting them under his boot.

“I’m clergy. I got my collar on,” Gray says, still incredulous today as he recounts the incident. “You know that I’m clergy. So why?

Why get violent with me?”

Within seconds of Gray hitting the ground, Calvin Kennedy rushed forward, banging into Vaughan before he seemed to realize his mistake and turned to sprint away.

Officers chased him down, pepper sprayed him and shot him with a Taser, sinking the barbed metal dart into his upper left arm.

By the time most protesters realized what was happening, Gray and Kennedy were in cuffs. Video of the scene shows officers dragging Gray across the sidewalk until he can finally get his feet underneath him. A small cluster of demonstrators angrily demanded

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REV. DARRYL GRAY Continued from pg 19

to know what was going on and were treated to a long stream of pepper spray. Even people at the edges of the crowd were sprayed.

Cardinals fans, having just watched the home team’s lategame rally fall short, filed out of the stadium to find lines of cops, people shouting and protesters and journalists trying desperately to clear pepper spray from their eyes.

“It was surreal,” Gerth says. “It was really surreal.”

Gray and Kennedy spent the night in the city jail. Kennedy still had the Taser’s barb in his arm when he emerged the next morning. Gray wore the paper bracelet from booking on his wrist for days as a reminder.

was the aggressor or in any way a threat to a line of police officers who were all larger, armed and more than 30 years younger than the rail-thin pastor. The cop who body-slammed Gray was 31-yearold Larry Wentzel, a former college All-American defensive lineman who was listed at six foot two, 240 pounds during his playing days at Missouri Valley College.

“I’m 150 pounds, 63 years old [at the time], wearing my clergy collar,” Gray says, adding that he wasn’t a stranger to police. “I’m one of the most recognizable protest leaders out there. They know me.”

Vaughan wrote that Kennedy

Observing this, Detective William Olsten, DSN 7866, discharged his department issued pepper spray to disperse the group from converging on us all.”

There are at least two videos of that, and they show Olsten jawing with one protester, taunting the man with, “Come fuck me up then, as other officers try to usher him away. Olsten then blitzed everyone in range with pepper spray, sweeping a long arc across the crowd.

In the end, he ended up like Gray, in that he is one of the few people still dealing with the repercussions of that night. He was

T

he case against the Rev. Darryl Gray and Calvin Kennedy rests in large part on the word of police officers involved in the takedown.

In his police report, Detective Ronald Vaughan described the confrontation leading up to Gray’s arrest much differently than the pastors. He wrote that cars were backing up on Walnut Street behind three people in the intersection and that he and other officers “respectfully asked for the three subjects (two of which were females) to exit the roadway … ” “As I was making an ushering motion with my arm to continue their movement toward South Broadway (no contact), I continued politely asking the three to move out of the roadway. At this time I was met by a subject, who was later identified as Darryl G., who stated he did not like the way my arm was motioning the ‘ladies,’ out of the roadway and how I was talking to them. I informed Darryl G. I was speaking to them in a polite manner and just asking them to exit the roadway.”

In Vaughan’s telling, Gray rushed him and he was forced to react in self defense: “Fearing for my immediate safety, I placed my hand out to stop his advancements and he pushed into my hand with his chest and began shouting in my face. Upon making contact with my hand, Darryl G. two-handed pushed me in the chest causing me to fall off balance backwards.

As I was re-gaining my balance, I discharged one burst of department issued pepper spray to his face to stop his attack and to assist in affecting his arrest.”

Gray and other clergy there that night scoffed at the idea that he

The Rev. Erin Counihan and the Rev. Darryl Gray in 2017 talk about the arrests. | DOYLE MURPHY shoved him in the back while they were making the arrest and then fought with Detective Kyle Chandler, who had chased him down.

Vaughan pepper sprayed Kennedy — and Chandler, by accident — in the face during the struggle and then tased him.

A video from the arrests that night shows Gray immediately before his arrest, but he walks out of the frame. The camera soon pans over and finds the pastor again as Wentzel lifts and slams him. The video then shows Kennedy collide with Vaughan and run, struggling and failing to get away from Chandler as he is pepper sprayed and shocked with the stun gun.

Whatever happened in the gap between Gray walking out of frame and Wentzel’s tackle happened within a few seconds, casting doubt on Vaughan’s description of a polite conversation leading up to the takedown.

“It’s insane,” Khazaeli says. “It’s just an insane description of what happened. It’s utterly illogical.”

Vaughan’s report goes on to describe other protesters swarming in, “advancing toward us on all sides shouting profanities and advancing in a menacing manner.

indicted in state court with felony assault and has been terminated by the police department. His charges are still pending.

M

ore than two dozen people have filed federal civil suits against police and the City of St. Louis in cases tied to the 2017 Stockley protests.

Six of those are from the clash outside Busch Stadium and include suits filed on behalf of the Rev. Darryl Gray and Calvin Kennedy. The lawsuits detail a history of incidents in which city police responded to protests with tear gas and too much force. The list includes a protest in 2015 in response to police killing a Black eighteen-year-old name Mansur all- ey. Officers serving a warrant at a house in Fountain Park claimed Ball-Bey ran out of the back with a gun and pointed it at police before he was shot to death.

An autopsy revealed he had been shot once in the back.

The two officers who fired on Ball-Bey were Ronald Vaughan and Kyle Chandler. Chandler, who would later chase down Kennedy in in allpar illage, fired the fatal shot.

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either officer was charged in Ball-Bey’s death.

Vaughan previously made the news in 2013 when a judge tossed out evidence in a drug case amid claims the decorated officer had planted evidence, saying that he found “the credibility of the officer is questionable …” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Continuing to put him out in public to deal with protests is a mistake, Khazaeli says.

“This is a guy who was a target of protests,” the attorney says.

Other plaintiffs in the suits from the Busch Stadium incident include Heather DeMian, a disabled livestreamer who was in her wheelchair to the far side of Olsten when she caught a blast of pepper spray, and state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, then the 5th Ward committeeman, who was also sprayed. Khazaeli represents them as well. He’s an attorney for a majority of plaintiffs in the Stockley protest civil suits.

He suggests the longrunning, low-reward criminal cases against Gray and Kennedy make more sense in the context of the civil suits. Vaughan and Olsten are both named in civil litigation.

It’s harder to prove wrongdoing on the part of the city if the courts in the criminal case find that Gray and the others were in the wrong.

The city didn’t respond to a question about whether there was a strategy to undermine the civil cases with the criminal prosecutions, but it’s worth noting that if it did factor in, it’s not a strategy that has been universally applied. There are others pursuing lawsuits over protest arrests who were not criminally prosecuted.

Mostly, Gray says, he’s ready for it all to be over. He’s continued to go to protests, often taking a visible role. But the memories of his arrest outside Busch Stadium continue to wear on him, sucking away energy as worries creep in about what could happen as he continues to go against police.

“It’s draining,” he says. “It’s exhausting.”

He says he never looks for Vaughan or Wentzel or Chandler or any specific officer when he’s out on the street. e figures any officer in the current system could be a danger, and that’s one of the main reasons he and the others were protesting on that night three years ago. However, he says, he still remembers what Vaughan told him right before everything went crazy.

“He looked me right in the face and said, ‘We’re tired of this shit,’” Gray says. “And then he pushed me.” n

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[SIDE DISH]

Keep Calm and Carry Out More than anything, Elmwood’s Chris Kelling misses the buzz of a packed house Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

C

hris Kelling will never forget the looks he got from his staff at Elmwood (2704 Sutton Boulevard, Maplewood; 314-261-4708) when he called them together the night of March 14 to tell them they’d better prepare for uncertainty. With family in California and New York, Kelling had been watching the news from the coasts for a few weeks prior and knew that the precautions being taken there — shutdowns, mask mandates and so forth — were headed to St. Louis sooner rather than later, and he wanted his staff to be prepared.

They thought he’d lost his mind.

“I knew that, just like with trends, stuff starts on the edge and pushes inward, so I called everyone together that night,” Kelling recalls. “I told them, ‘Save your money, don’t go out after work.

It’s bad, and please know this is going to happen here.’ I was met with blank stares. Someone even walked up to Adam [Altnether, chef/co-owner] and said, ‘Old man Kelling’s lost it.’ The last time I saw half of them was to give them their last paychecks.”

An industry veteran who has worked at some of the most prestigious restaurants in the country, even Kelling might not have believed something like this could happen had he not seen it coming with his own eyes. A little more than a year out since Elmwood’s grand opening, Kelling and Altnether felt like they were just hitting their stride and were optimistic about the future. Once COVID-19 came along, however, they, like every other restaurant owner around, had to completely reimagine not only their concept, but hospitality

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Elmwood’s Chris Kelling looks for every chance he can find make a genuine connection with his guests. | HOLLY RAVAZZOLO in general. It’s been jarring.

“When we reopened the dining room back in June, we were at 25 percent capacity, and everyone was happy to be out but also really nervous,” Kelling says. “We did Thursday, Friday and Saturday night services for two weeks, and we are a 3,500 square-foot restaurant — 2,000 of that is dining room — and there were fourteen people in the restaurant. There’s an energy people want in a dining room, and it just wasn’t there. That next weekend, I knew we just couldn’t do this again.”

Kelling and Altenether knew they had to alter their vision for Elmwood to accommodate the changes in the world, but they did not want to do so in a way that took away from the experience they’d worked so hard to create.

Instead of simply packing up their food to-go, they decided to go in a completely new direction with a pizza concept. Though Kelling admits it’s totally different than what he expected to be doing with Elmwood when it opened last January, he’s grateful that he and Altnether have found a way to serve guests in the best way they can during this moment in time.

“We do whatever we can do,”

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Kelling says. “For us, we want to be able to provide for the guest, but what a lot of people don’t realize is how much we love what we do. This is the only thing I’ve ever been really great at, and I love talking to people, saying hi, making people feel special — that’s why I continue to do this. It’s not to balance our books in QuickBooks for however long in the day that is. It’s to talk to people. The curtain rises, and we go on. Stealing those little moments is important to me. t fills me up.

Kelling took some time away from the restaurant to share his thoughts on what it’s like to be in the industry during such a challenging time, how much he misses the buzz of a full dining room and how simple acts of kindness give him and his team hope.

As a hospitality professional, what do people need to know about what you are going through?

So many of us doing carryout only — Adam and I very much included — wake up every single day and think, “Is today the day they stop ordering?” Every. Single.

Day. And then we work our asses off trying to make sure it isn’t, all the while knowing that it is not

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entirely in our control.

What do you miss most about the way things were at your job before COVID-19?

Working a full, bustling dining room. Every part of it — helping people celebrate, putting out proverbial fires, getting luc y and having a party get up twenty minutes after their meal when you thought they were going to stay forever, watching the team work and move as one — you name it and I miss it. It’s the one thing in life at which I consider myself to be great, and I haven’t been able to do it in seven months and have literally no idea how long it will be until I can do it again. We try hard to provide a genuine level of hospitality through our text exchanges with our guests, but it’s akin to comparing apples and moonrocks — just totally not the same.

What do you miss least?

The hours. Right now, I go to bed every night well before the time I used to arrive home from work.

It’s great because my two-and-ahalf year-old daughter wakes up at 7 a.m. with total disregard for what time I went to bed.

What is one thing you make sure you do every day to maintain a sense of normalcy?

Going to work. “The job won’t save you” is a powerful mantra in which I fully believe, but right now, as long as Elmwood is serving something, going to work and being a part of making it happen is the most normal thing I can do.

What have you been stress-eating/ drinking lately?

I’m almost always snacking — now that I’m getting older, I’ve switched from baked goods to peanuts and/or almonds. And pizza — I’ve of course been eating so much pizza. I’ve actually been drinking far less since March than any other seven-month period in my life since I was a young teenager. Without the social aspect, the appeal just isn’t there for me right now.

What are the three things you’ve made sure you don’t want to run out of, other than toilet paper?

Sparkling water, coffee and hand sanitizer.

You have to be quarantined with three people. Who would you pick?

Cheating here, but Elmwood is owned by three families (the Kellings, the Altnethers, and that of our silent partners), and we all created a bubble very early on in this. I could think of no people with whom I’d rather be in such a situation. And I’d make sure all of our dogs were with us.

Once you feel comfortable going back out and about, what’s the first thing you’ll do?

Travel to California and jump in the acific.

What do you think the biggest change to the hospitality industry will be once people are allowed to return to normal activity levels?

Wow. Good or bad? Bad, the pool of employees will continue to shrink. Good, I think there will be a push to make hospitality more of a reciprocal relationship and less of a transactional/subservient relationship.

What is one thing that gives you hope during this crisis?

People. The amount of kindness and support shown to us over the past seven-plus months has been nothing short of humbling. From friends and colleagues from all over the country buying gift cards without any plans to come visit, to the entirely new group of “regulars” we’ve collected, people continue to give me hope that good will prevail in this world. We’re all we’ve got. n

[SHORT ORDERS]

A Friend in Knead Knead Bakehouse is now shipping its delicious bread nationwide Written by

CHERYL BAEHR

F

ans of Knead Bakehouse & Provisions (3467 Hampton Avenue, 314-376-4361) far, wide, and even just around the corner have reason the celebrate: The beloved bakery is now offering nationwide bread delivery, bringing joy directly to the tables of its sourdough fans, no matter how far away they may be.

As Kirsten Brown, who co-owns Knead with her husband AJ, explains, delivery is something the bakery has been thinking about offering for a while, but it took the pandemic to give them the push they needed to take the leap.

“We have a lot of customers who’ve asked us if we could ship, or who would comment about shipping on Instagram,” Brown says. “One has a mom who is gluten-free, but she can eat our bread, and he’d always say, ‘Man, if only I could ship this to my parents, that would be awesome.’ We also had customers who were extremely loyal when they were in St. Louis, but they moved away.

We started asking ourselves if we could integrate it into the online ordering because we were selling everything that way anyway. Finally, we were able to say yes to people rather than telling them, ‘Oh, that’s a great idea. Let us get back to you on it.’”

The Browns launched delivery earlier this month after testing out packaging and nailing down their bread’s shelf life. According to Kirsten, the bread will remain fresh for four days, allowing them to get an optimal product to customers no matter where they live in the continental U.S. The cost of the delivery package

Wherever you are, Knead Bakehouse & Provisions has you covered. | AJ BROWN

“This is really pushing business owners to think about why we aren’t doing something, and making room for new things.” is $25 plus shipping and includes three loaves of bread.

But it’s not just out-of-towners who are benefiting from nead’s ability to deliver. According to Kirsten, the service is just as useful for people who either live across town and do not want to make the trek to the bakery’s Hampton storefront or those who might not be able to make it to the shop during business hours. She urges people to think of it like a milk delivery service.

“We started out at the Lake St. Louis farmers market, so when

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we got our brick and mortar on South Hampton, it wasn’t necessarily in the neighborhood for them anymore,” says Brown.

“Now, we have a lot of people from St. Charles County ordering bread. They’re paying for ground shipping, but they are getting it next-day.”

Bread delivery is just the latest way the Browns, like so many restaurateurs, have gotten creative during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upended business as they knew it. Between pizza kits, gourmet baskets, individually portioned catering and now bread delivery, Brown is optimistic that Knead will be able to weather the storm — and even grow from it.

“This is really pushing business owners to think about why we aren’t doing something and making room for new things,” Kirsten says. “Some people are doing everything they can; we’re just so grateful we are able to stay open. It hasn’t been easy, and it’s not glamorous, but we just have to figure out new ways of doing business and just dive in. We’re going to stay as long as Knead can be Knead.” n

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CULTURE [CLOSURES]

Venice Cafe Has Closed For Winter Written by

DANIEL HILL

B

eloved Benton Park mainstay Venice Cafe (1903 Pestalozzi Street, 314-772-5994) has temporarily closed its doors, with an eye toward reopening in the spring.

The eclectic bar and performance space made the announcement last week on social media.

“Officially closed for winter.

Thanks for the great times, all.

See you after hibernation,” reads a post on the bar’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, accompanied by a photo of a sign that says, “We will be closed until spring 2021.

Be safe, love each other, and may the god of your choice bless you.”

The news isn’t exactly a surprise. In late September, staff

[CLOSURES]

The Monocle Has Closed For Good Written by

DANIEL HILL

T

he Monocle (4510 Manchester Avenue, 314-932-7003), a Grove destination for cocktails and nightlife since 2015, has closed its doors for good.

The news came Wednesday via an announcement on the venue’s Twitter and Instagram pages.

“The show is over say goodbye!” reads the post, quoting Madonna. “We will always remember the love, the laughs, and the amazing moments we shared with you all. Effective immediately we are closed.”

Accompanying the message is an image with a note of its own, making very clear that the closure is not a temporary one.

There’s no business like slow business. | PHILIP LEARA/FLICKR announced on Facebook that the business would be closing for the winter months. Its spacious patio served it well throughout the COVID-19 crisis, allowing the bar to play host to a variety of musical acts while offering plenty of distance between patrons. But with temperatures dropping, the bar’s owner made the decision to shut down for winter.

“Sorry folks, we have no idea what late fall and winter will be like but we do know that the skip“Last curtain call. To our patrons, friends, performers and family, thank you for all your love and support during these difficult times. We are now and forever closed,” it reads.

The Monocle had built up a reputation over its five years in business as a performing arts venue whose Emerald Room regularly played host to drag shows, live music, karaoke and burlesque, as well as open mic nights and DJs. The popular Fresh Produce Beat Battle was headquartered at the Emerald Room for some time, and its charming, small performance space would often overflow during well-attended events.

The Monocle’s closure means three celebrated St. Louis drag venues have shut down in the past three months. Late September saw the permanent closure of the St. Louis location of Hamburger Mary’s, and in August St. Louis’ oldest gay bar, Attitudes, closed after some 32 years in business.

The end of the Monocle is also another hit to the Grove, where a series of shakeups (some pandemic related, some not) continue to rock the bar district.

In June, arcade bar Parlor and vinyl

per has decided not to open for winter and, in his opinion, winter starts October 1st,” reads a post from September 27. “Our staff is ready to leap to action on the event of a warm evening or three but, as it stands right now, Venice will be mostly closed October-April.”

The bar managed to make it nearly three weeks into October with that approach, opening only when the weather was favorable — but now they say the doors will stay shut until spring.

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enice afe isn’t the first in the area to try this strategy during these unprecedented times. In early October, Bogart’s Smokehouse and Southern, two eateries in the Pappy’s Smokehouse family of restaurants, both closed their doors for the colder months as well.

“We have been managing our financials very closely, and based on year-to-date numbers and projections as we move into our slowest season, we believe we’ll be in a better position to reopen Bogart’s and Southern in March/April 2021 if we temporarily close them this fall and winter,” co-founder John Matthews said at the time.

It’s reasonable to assume this could be a trend going forward, as bars and restaurants continue to see less business than they would in pre-pandemic times and cold weather drives customers into a less-crowded interior setting than they are used to. Both the city and county have set limits on businesses, allowing only 50 percent of their usual capacity, in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus — it’s easy to see how that could be a financial hardship on an already hamstrung industry.

But to state the obvious: Better a temporary closure than a permanent one. We’ll see you in April. n

Now that crowds can’t turn out and turn up for shows like Fresh Produce, pictured, the Monocle is one more venue in the Grove to fall silent. | LINCOLN JAMES listening lounge Takashima Records both closed amid a storm of sexual assault allegations. Co-owner Sean Baltzell has said he plans to reopen the bars, but no timeline has been set as to when that might happen, and Baltzell has reportedly filed a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against his business partners

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over the allegations.

And before that, in May, the Grove’s midsize-capacity concert venue the Ready Room closed its doors and the building was put up for lease as the venue’s owners seek out a new location. No announcement has yet been made as to when or where that may materialize. n

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HALLOWEEN CALENDAR

BY DANIEL HILL

The Second-Scariest Night of the Year In pandemic times, it’s challenging to find things to do that don’t put yourself or those around you in danger. That certainly goes for Halloween as well. This year, we’re only recommending events that take precautions — but ultimately you’re in charge of your own health, so proceed with care. And keep an eye out for the full moon!

THE UNION STATION HALLOWEEN EXPERIENCE Various times through Saturday, October 31, by reservation. Union Station, 1920 Market Street. $20.

314-421-6655.

The Union Station Halloween Experience will see the whole downtown complex overhauled to offer spooky treats around every corner and fun for the whole family, with haunted trains and the St. Louis Wheel transformed into the “Wicked Wheel.” And in addition to the “Scary Sea Creatures” exhibit at the St. Louis Aquarium, there will also be a maze, hosted tours and Halloween-themed food available if your little ghoul gets hangry. Costumes are encouraged, and kids under two get free admission.

And regardless of whether your particular costume calls for it, everyone nine years old and up will be required to wear a mask as part of Union Station’s COVID-19 precautions. Additionally, the space will operate at reduced capacity in order to provide for social distancing, and all attendees will have their temperatures checked upon arrival. For more information on the event and the steps being taken to prevent COVID-19 transmission, visit stlouisunionstation.com/ halloween-faq.

—Jaime Lees

GRANT’S FARM HALLOWEEN DRIVE-THROUGH Various times Thursday, October 29, through Saturday, October 31.

Grant’s Farm, 10501 Gravois Road. $40 per car. 314-577-2626.

Grant’s Farm’s Halloween DriveThrough Experience gives visi-

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tors a chance to do something that they’ve never done before: cruise through the park in their own cars.

The farm has been welcoming visitors since , but this is the first time people will be able to drive through. The system will work much like the many drive-through holiday light shows around town, where you pay per car and roll slowly through many different scenes. The Grant’s Farm experience will feature creepy Halloween scenes, including medieval, graveyard and even a UFO landing scene. The fee for each car is $40, and kids will get free bags of candy so they can get that sugar rush while rolling through. You can upgrade your experience, too, by adding family packages that include snacks and drinks. Reservations are required. For more information and to reserve your time slot, visit grantsfarm.com.

—Jaime Lees

HALLOWEEN HAPPY HOUR AT THE MAGIC HOUSE 5:30 p.m. Thursday, October 29. The Magic House, 516 South Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood. $25. 314-822-8900.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to get blind drunk at the Magic House? Well, wonder no more, dear reader, as this year the celebrated children’s museum is sending the little ones away for a Halloween Happy Hour that’s just for the adults. Your $25 ticket will include access to wine, beer and spiked apple cider, as well as food options including hot dog pretzels, chili and s’mores — not to mention every nook and cranny of the Magic House. Live out your inner Steve Bannon cosplay dreams by getting shitfaced in the Star-Spangled Center’s Oval Of-

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City Museum has always had a spooky side. | VIA FLICKR/PAUL SABLEMAN fice, get your balls thoroughly in motion on the Ultimate Ball Ramp, and don’t forget to bring a pumpkin for the evening’s Pumpkin Decorating Contest. And though it may be spooky season, fear not: Masks will be required, and social distancing will be enforced. You must be 21 and up to attend, and proceeds will go toward helping the whimsical museum continue to educate and support area children. For tickets and more information visit magichouse.org/support-us/fundraising-events/apd.

—Daniel Hill

PUMPKIN CHUCKIN’ AT THE CITY MUSEUM 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, October 30, through Sunday, November 1. The City Museum, 750 North 16th Street. $22 to $28. 314-231-2489.

This weekend is the last of the year that the City Museum will have its rooftop open, offering mischief and fall fun for the whole family (not to mention stunning views of St. Louis from its rooftop Ferris wheel) — but it also happens to be the best one. That’s because the eclectic space will revive its yearly Pumpkin Chuckin’ event, encouraging attendees to bring their own gourds — real or otherwise to hurl off the tenth oor of the building into a dumpster appropriately label “2020.” (The City Museum will also be offering one pumpkin per person to throw, but you’re encouraged to bring more if you just can’t get enough.) Tick-

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ets to the rooftop cost just $22, and include access to either the museum or its Pinball Hall, where all the games are set to free play. Or, for only $6 more, you get all three!

There are few in town that can be expected to bring the Halloween merriment as creatively as the minds behind the City Museum — in other words, as its website states, “Expect lots o’ pumpkins and skeletons and other socially distanced mischief.” There will be safety measures in place as well, naturally — mandatory masks, social-distancing, reduced capacities and the closing of areas that do not allow for those restrictions.

For tickets and more information, visit citymuseum.org.

—Daniel Hill

HALLOWEEN AT ECKERT’S FARM Various times by reservation Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31. Eckert’s Farm, 951 South Green Mount Road, Belleville, Illinois. $5.

618-233-0513.

This year Eckert’s is keeping the kids in mind by offering a Halloween Scavenger Hunt and a Halloween Costume Parade this weekend — and both activities sound like nice, socially distanced outdoor good times. The scavenger hunt involves using clues to wind your way around the farm to find ghosts and ombies. The activity costs $5 per kid, and they get a prize when the hunt is complete.

The costume parade is the perfect

WEEK OF OCTOBER 28-NOVEMBER 4 ture Show will be projected for all to see. Costumes are encouraged, masks will be mandatory, social distancing will be enforced, candy will be provided and, of course, gender norms will be shattered by the great Tim Curry. The festivities are totally free, and bringing a chair would be a good idea.

—Daniel Hill

THE EXORCIST IN TOWER GROVE PARK Tonina is bringing live music at a safe distance — finally! | UMBERTO LOPEZ place to let your little pirate, princess or Mickey Mouse show off their fancy duds. The farm is hosting a parade at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, and it will give the kids an opportunity to strut their stuff across a stage as their name and costume are announced — so make sure those phones are charged, paparazzi parents. Each kid is required to wear a mask, and participants will be socially distanced as they wait in line to cross the stage. And when it’s done, in addition to being super famous, your kid will also get a small treat. It’s free to be in the parade and no reservation is required — just make sure to get your kid to the white tent near the restaurant parking lot five minutes before parade time.

Reservations are required for the scavenger hunt though, to make sure there is enough distance between groups. Slots run from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day, and can be booked at eckerts.ticketleap. com/halloween-scavenger-hunt.

—Jaime Lees

HALLOWEEN SIX FEET APARTY 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 31. Magnolia Avenue and Arkansas Avenue. Free.

Steve’s Hot Dogs and the neighboring Tick Tock Tavern will take over their corner of Tower Grove East for a socially distanced celebration of all things Halloweeen and hot dogs. The festivities kick

off at 11 a.m., and will include two performances by Urge frontman and Steve’s Hot Dogs owner Steve Ewing (one at 3 p.m. and one at 5:30 p.m.) as well as costume contests for dogs, kids and adults judged by local celebrities Maxi Glamour, the Astronaut from City Museum and Ewing himself. The event will also feature no-contact trick-or-treating so you can wash all them hot dogs down with sugar and chocolate. And, as the name implies, social distancing will be enforced, and masks will be required whenever you aren’t eating or drinking. For more information, visit steveshotdogsstl. com/post/halloween-six-feet-aparty-coming-up-on-october-31.

—Daniel Hill

YAQUI HORROR HALLOWEEN 5 p.m. Saturday, October 31.

Yaquis, 2728 Cherokee Street. Free.

314-400-7712.

Yaquis’ outdoor, socially distanced pop-up concerts at Cherokee Street and Iowa have been a much-needed respite from the drudgery of pandemic life throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and this Halloween will be no different. Yaquis will host a familyfriendly dance party in the street with DJ Task from 5 to 7 p.m., at which time attendees will be asked to direct their gaze to the big wall of the neighboring Earthbound Brewing Company, where the 1975 classic Rocky Horror Pic-

6:30 p.m. Saturday, October 31.

Stone Shelter in Tower Grove Park, 4490 Northwest Drive. $25 to $100.

314-771-2679.

This Halloween, instead of knocking on the doors of strangers and then binging on mini-Snickers and passing out, you can get out of the house and have a little fun in Tower Grove ar specifically, some scary-movie fun with an undisputed classic of the genre. Crafted Events is hosting a screening of The Exorcist at the Stone Shelter in Tower Grove Park on Halloween night, starting at 6:30 p.m. The company spent all summer creating bespoke outdoor dates for couples who wanted a romantic evening without visiting a restaurant, so they know a thing or two about social distancing, and the outdoor setting and mask requirement only add to the safety of the spooky fun. Tickets will be sold in pods of four, and arrangements can be made for groups of up to six. As locals know, The Exorcist has a special place in St. Louis history because the film was based on a story that happened right here in town — and this is a great way to bone up on the fictionalized version in one of the city’s finest par s. or tic ets and more information, visit facebook.com/ events/781150959336816.

—Jaime Lees

TONINA + MVSTERMIND’S ALL HALLOWS BASH 7 p.m. Saturday, October 31. The Lot, 714 Cerre Street. $84 to $104 per four-person pod. No phone.

For some of us, life in a pandemic is scary enough. We don’t need the

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ghouls and goblins, the mummies and monsters of Halloween — we just need to be able to safely enjoy some goddamn live music again.

And for those people, Tonina and Mvstermind’s concert at The Lot is just the ticket. Two of St. Louis’ best musicians join forces for this show. Tonina, a favorite of the last United States president we had who didn’t completely and pathologically suck, will deliver her soulful mix of R&B, folk and jazz with a side of Latin avor, while rapper Mvstermind will continue his promotional push for the trio of EPs — BE, GREAT and FOOL — that he has slated for release over the coming months. Assuredly some aspects of the show will be appropriately spooky, and it’s a safe bet some attendees will choose to wear costumes — it is taking place on Halloween night, after all — but this outdoor, socially distanced event is far more about the love of live music than the telling of ghost stories, and for that we couldn’t be more greatful.

For tickets and more information, visit jamopresents.com/the-lot.

—Daniel Hill

HALLOWEEN BASH AT THE HEAVY ANCHOR 7 p.m. Saturday, October 31. The Heavy Anchor, 5226 Gravois Avenue.

Free. 314-352-5226.

Bevo’s Heavy Anchor bar and venue has teamed up with its neighboring Arkadin microcinema throughout much of the pandemic to offer safe, socially distanced screenings of classic movies in its outdoor backlot, and for this Halloween they’ve organized a bash that celebrates some of the scariest (and oldest) of the horror genre. Silent horror classics Nosferatu (1922) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) will air on the shared patio all night, as St. Louis’ own Bruiser Queen will man the DJ booth to play “spooky tunes” throughout. Costumes are encouraged, masks are mandatory and attendance will be capped at only 60 attendees. The event is free to attend, but RSVPS are required. For more information, visit facebook. com/events/1003898100059926.

—Daniel Hill

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SAVAGE LOVE JEALOUS TYPOLOGIES

BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: I’ve been in a relationship with a wonderful guy for the past year. The only problem is that he works with a girl he used to fuck. It wasn’t just sex — they would go on dates and even went on vacation together. He kept this little “detail” to himself for six full months before giving himself away by mistake. He then apologized, said he hadn’t told me so that I wouldn’t worry for no reason, and that he no longer has any feelings for her whatsoever. Disclaimer: I’m an extremely jealous person with huge trust issues, so knowing he kept all this from me is devastating. I no longer trust him. Just thinking that he’s seeing — on a daily basis — a woman he used to sleep with is driving me nuts! I repeatedly asked him to let me meet her in person, at the very least, but it didn’t happen. So one night, after giving him a heads up, I showed up at their workplace. He had said it would be ok for me to stop by sometime but once I got there he freaked out. He accused me of not trusting him! My question: Am I being crazy and overreacting — I’ll admit I’ve been agonizing non-stop about this — or is he acting like an asshole with something to hide?

I’ve been struggling to curb my anxiety about this, and I’ve even had a few panic attacks he’s not aware of. Him changing jobs is out of the question.

I’m Terrified About Losing It And Nuking Everything How long were you dating this guy before you outed yourself as an extremely jealous person (EJP)?

I’m guessing at least a few weeks, ITALIANE, if not a few months.

Because as you’re no doubt aware — as all EJPs are aware — it’s not a desirable trait, which is why very few s disclose on the first date. (“I grew up in Milan, I have two sisters, and I’m the type of person who’ll show at your workplace and cause a huge scene if I think you might be fucking someone else or have ever fucked someone else.”) If you’re anything like EJPs I’ve dated and dumped, you didn’t show your boyfriend this side of

yourself until long after he’d developed feelings for you, making it harder — harder by design — for him to end things.

I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess he found out his new girlfriend is an EJP before you found out your boyfriend works with a woman he used to fuck. At some point before the six-month mark, ITALIANE, you blew up at him about a waitress or someone he follows on Instagram. And at that moment he realized he couldn’t tell you he works with a woman he used to fuck. Because now he feared — because now he knew — you would lose your EJP shit over it because he’d seen you lose your EJP shit over far less.

The only thing more exhausting than being with an EJP is dealing with an EJP who resents you for hiding something from them — something like working with an ex — that would set them off for days or months. I get it, I get it: he kept this from you. But if the last six months (!) are proof of anything, ITALIANE, they’re proof your boyfriend was right to keep this from you. Since changing jobs wasn’t an option and since he can’t jump in a time machine and go un-fuck this woman, what other option did he have? Given a choice between telling you and spending the next six months dealing with your bullshit or keeping his mouth shut and hoping you never found out, he quite understandably chose the path of least bullshit.

If you can’t see how your own behavior may have contributed to his omission — and if you can’t forgive him and you can’t take “No, I’m not fucking her now,” for an answer and you refuse to see this as your problem, not his — then do your boyfriend a favor and dump him. If you don’t and if you keep this shit up, if you keep saying you can’t trust him one minute and then complaining about him accusing you of not trusting him the next (?), be prepared to have your ass dumped.

Because there’s only so long a person, guilty of wrongdoing or not, will put up with an EJP’s bullshit. nd finally your boyfriend was under no obligation to disclose the current location of every girl he’d ever fucked at the start of your relationship, ITALIANE, or at any other point, for that matter. While

“I repeatedly asked him to let me meet her in person, at the very least, but it didn’t happen.

So one night I showed up at their workplace.” some people can be open with their partners about their pasts and their partners can be open with them, it’s not compulsory.

And if someone wants to try and make it work with an EJP, it’s not a good idea. I don’t know why anyone would want to make it work with an EJP, ITALIANE, but there are people out there who do. Your boyfriend might be one of them.

But don’t push your luck.

Hey, Dan: I’ve been with my partner for a year and a half and have been long distance from the start, and she’s working towards moving closer to me in a more permanent way. But I’m worried about the sex as I feel a lack of desire for her. I believe it could be my newfound awareness of “patriarchal gaze,” which I wasn’t conscious of before meeting her. I used to enjoy kink but I no longer consider it sexy. I used to have a lot of sex with my exboyfriends, and used to feel some conflict, but power games were a turn-on. Loving care has replaced dirty games and I feel wrong now if I try to watch porn, and I no longer enjoy touching myself because I cannot get off without thinking in sexist ways. I’m feeling pretty confused. Although I love my partner in a very special and deep way, it’s quite confusing. Please advise on how to feel sexy again without being destructive.

Still Horny Deep Down Somewhere There’s nothing wrong with objectifying someone who wants to be ob ectified by you, and there’s nothing wrong with being objectified by someone you want to be

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ob ectified by. That’s what you mean by the “patriarchal gaze,” right?) In addition to being threedimensional human beings with wants, needs, agency, and autonomy, we are also physical objects, SHDDS, and sometimes we want to be appreciated for the objects we are. (Or the objects we also are.) So long as the person you’re objectifying — so long as the person on the receiving end of your gaze — enjoys receiving that kind of attention from you and viceversa, there’s nothing wrong with it. To gaze at someone who desires your gaze, to touch them and play dirty games with them, isn’t inherently sexist or dehumanizing — so long as it’s consensual and mutually pleasurable — which I realize it all too often isn’t, particularly for women. But we shouldn’t let assholes (mostly men) who can make people (mostly women) feel unsafe or uncomfortable with a look ruin what isn’t just enjoyable when consensual, but affirming and at times transcendently pleasurable.

To be perfectly frank, SHDDS, I’m concerned about your relationship. If you feel so awful about your sexual desires and sexual history that you’re incapable of enjoying sex anymore — if you can’t even masturbate anymore — and those awful feelings entered your life at roughly the same time your partner did… maybe your partner is part of the problem. If you were evolving in a different direction with her sexually, if you were moving away from power games — which can be very loving — and toward something else, I wouldn’t see a problem. But you aren’t opening up to something new in this relationship, SHDDS, you’re shutting down. Even if your partner hasn’t said or done anything to make you feel ashamed of your sexual desires or history, SHDDS, I’m not sure she’s right for you. And I don’t think it would be right of you to let someone you don’t desire move across the country to be with you.

But whether you decide to stay in this relationship or not, you would benefit from spea ing with a sex-positive/kink-positive therapist about your con icted feelings. mail@savagelove.com @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.savagelovecast.com

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