April 9th, 2020 Edition

St. LouiS AmericAn

All 12 City of St. Louis COVID-19 deaths were black

‘We

must all work together like never before,’ urged St. Louis health director

By Dr. Fredrick Echols

Louis American

The St.

For

For the past few weeks, as COVID-19 spreads throughout the world and the United States, a rumor has also persisted in the black community: that we are more resistant to the novel coronavirus. We are learning more about the coronavirus every day, but let me tell you this in no uncertain terms: It doesn’t care if you are black, brown, white, red, yellow or some other shade.

Dr. Fredrick Echols

The idea that African Americans are somehow resistant to it is both untrue and dangerous to the health of our community.

Many of the pre-existing conditions that make the coronavirus more dangerous for some people — like heart conditions and diabetes — disproportionately affect the black community. This is why everyone in the City of St. Louis — especially African Americans — must take precautions against spreading this disease. The coronavirus pandemic has brought to light what many healthcare providers in the St. Louis region already know: the communities with the highest health disparities and lack of

Jeremy Ferrell and Chante Bass with Better Family Life’s Neighborhood Outreach Program loaded groceries for a community member at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ drivethrough food distribution event Thursday, April 2 at the agency’s Jennings location. The line of cars extended down Jennings Station Road to Highway 70 by 9 a.m., though the event was not scheduled to start until noon.

n Many of the pre-existing conditions that make the coronavirus more dangerous for some people — like heart conditions and diabetes — disproportionately affect the black community.

Transit workers want more protection as first worker dies from COVID-19 Feeding the community

By Sandra Jordan

Ferg-Flor suspends food service

Decision made after two bus drivers die of COVID-19

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

The Ferguson-Florissant School District is suspending food distribution for the week of April 6 after one of its bus drivers who had been supporting food distribution at McCluer North High School died of COVID-19 on Sunday, April 5.

Another district bus driver, who had symptoms consistent with COVID-19, passed away after a prolonged illness on Saturday, April 4. That driver supported food distribution from Cross Keys Middle School prior to spring break.

The district also learned that a McCluer North staff member tested positive for the novel coronavirus on April 4.

Joseph Davis

“We were not aware of any employee experiencing symptoms while working,” Superintendent Joseph Davis wrote to district families on April 5 after reporting this news.

The district previously reported that the principal of Duchesne Elementary School tested positive for the virus on March 30. She was exposed to an individual who tested positive while the district was on spring break and has not been in contact with students or staff since that time, the district stated.

“None of the employees have worked since spring break,” Davis wrote, and they only learned of their positive results late on Saturday.

“It has been more than 14 days since they worked, and anyone exposed would likely

Blacks being infected at much higher rates, getting far sicker

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Of The St. Louis American

n “Everybody is afraid, because people are dying from this.”

– Reginald Howard, president of the Amalgamated Union Local 788

Bi-State Development, which operates Metro Transit, reported the death of a worker from COVID-19 on Tuesday, April 7. “The impacts of this horrible disease are devastating, and today’s loss is a stark reminder of the serious threat COVID-19 poses to our families, friends, and communities,” Bi-State said in an unsigned statement. To date, 14 Bi-State Development Metro Transit workers from six different locations have tested positive for COVID-19, the statement said.

“In response, anyone who had close contact with these team members was identified

14 Bi-State workers from six different locations have tested positive See TRANSIT, A6

Residents in the Ville neighborhood boarded and exited a Metro bus from the back at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Whittier Avenue on Tuesday, April 7 so as not to pass the driver because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

It’s eerie. In October, Dr. Alex Garza, chief medical officer for St. Louis-based SSM Health, sat down to write an article titled “Guns, Germs and Health Care: Lessons Observed and Learned.”

It was a chilling foresight into what our region is now facing.

“In many ways, however, infectious diseases are similar to gun violence,” Garza wrote. “They affect the poor and vulnerable disproportionately and can span from small intense episodes, such as a case of meningitis or sepsis, to full-blown disasters, such as the H1N1 pandemic or recent Ebola virus outbreaks.”

He wrote the article before the first novel coronavirus case was reported on November 17 in China.

Now Garza is the face of the St. Louis region’s medical response to COVID-19. He is the incident commander for the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, which includes four major health care systems: BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St Luke’s Hospital.

Every day, he gives a briefing on the See COVID-19, A6

Photo by Wiley Price

See DEATHS, A6

Photo by Wiley Price

Judge denies R. Kelly’s latest request for release, singer cited COVID-19 fears

motion for bail that Kelly filed in Chicago.

Kelly’s Chicago trial on the charges of producing child pornography and enticing minors to have sex with him had been set for June, but will likely be postponed because of Illinois’ social distancing restrictions as a response to the pandemic.

Grandmother of ‘SNL’ star Michael Che dies from COVID-19 complications

wrote. “I’m just frustrated, cause there’s so much we still don’t know about it.”

Yaya Mayweather arrested for alleged stabbing

According to Page Six, singer R. Kelly filed requests with federal judges in Chicago and Brooklyn to release him from Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Center, arguing that both his age, 53, and his recent hernia surgery put him at high risk for catching the coronavirus.

His death was confirmed on the musician’s

But a Brooklyn federal judge disagreed in a ruling issued Tuesday, noting that there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 among Kelly’s fellow inmates in Chicago.

“While I am sympathetic to the defendant’s understandable anxiety about COVID-19, he has not established compelling reasons warranting his release,” Judge Ann Donnelly said, according to Page Six.

Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, would have needed approval from both Donnelly and Chicago federal judge Harry Leinenweber to grant his request to live with girlfriend Joycelyn Savage in her Chicago loft while awaiting trial.

Leinenweber has not issued a ruling on the

Saturday Night Live star and writer Che revealed in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday that his grandmother died after con tracting the viral illness.

“Hi. I’m Michael Che, from TV. Last night my grandmother passed away from the corona virus,” he wrote. “I’m doing ok, considering. I’m obviously very hurt and angry that she had to go through all that pain alone. But I’m also happy that she’s not in pain anymore. And I also feel guilty for feeling happy. Basically, the whole gamut of complex feelings every body else has losing someone very close and special. I’m not unique. But it’s still scary.”

Iyanna “Yaya” Mayweather the daughter of boxer Floyd Mayweather, was arrested early Saturday in Houston on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to court documents. She is allegedly accused of stabbing the mother of (her boyfriend) rapper

I’ve been self-quarantined is in self-quarantine

Che then wrote about his frustra tions with the coronavirus out break, which was officially cat egorized as a global pandemic in March.

“I don’t know if I’ll lose someone else to this virus. I don’t even know if I’ll be lost to this virus. Who [expletive] know? I shouldn’t curse,” he

Mayweather, according to TMZ, which first reported the arrest. According to Bossip.com, Iyanna Mayweather appeared in a Texas courtroom via video conference on Monday for a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The urban celebrity news and gossip site said that her attorney confirmed to them that she will plead not guilty, Jeezy proposes to Jeannie Mai

Yaya Mayweather

According to NBC News’ Houston affiliate, Mayweather, 19, was taken to a jail in Harris County, Texas, around 1:30 a.m. after a 25-year-old woman was stabbed and hospitalized. The woman reportedly suffered non-life threatening injuries and underwent surgery, he

An altercation between Mayweather, rapper NBA Youngboy and the woman turned violent Friday night, prompting law enforcement to show up at the rapper’s home and arrest

Atlanta rapper Jeezy popped the question to Jeannie Mai, a co-host on the daytime talk roundtable “The Real.”

“I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life loving you,” Mai said in an Instagram post announcing the couple’s engagement.

NOW HIRING TEMPORARY TEAMMATES

confirms she too, has tested positive. “I wanted to be with him. That’s the in Sabrina told Winfrey. “I don’t feel anything that and we’ll keep everyone updated, but it is worrisome that we’re sitting here, two people, and… we’re asymptomatic.”

According to People.com, Jeezy (born Jay Wayne Jenkins), 42, was originally planning to propose to Mai, 41, sometime in April during a previously planned trip to Vietnam. But because of restricted travel due to the coronavirus outbreak, he decided to surprise her with a proposal during a special date night at his home in Los Angeles.

The couple began dating in 2018.

“Thank you, everyone, for celebrating this journey with us,” Mai continued. “We are praying love over everyone from here.”

Sources: People.com, Bossip.com, Instagram.com, Page Six.

Deputy sheriff tests positive for COVID-19 in City of St. Louis

Betts praises custodial workers for enabling his staff to return to work

By American staff

A deputy sheriff for the City of St. Louis tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, March

31. The deputy had last been in contact with staff a week before on March 24, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The deputy works in the Outside Services Unit, which is responsible for serving summons and ex parte orders of protection. All deputies working in that unit, and other staff members who may have come into contact, have been ordered to self-quarantine for two weeks.

“I am deeply concerned about this deputy, their fam-

ily and the rest of my staff and their families,” stated Sheriff Vernon Betts in a statement on April 2. “We are working with our cleaning services to make sure any exposed areas in the courthouse are sanitized. I want to thank the cleaning staff for their professional response and acknowledge how essential our custodial workers are during this crisis.”

Betts said he is working directly with the City of St. Louis Department of Health Director Dr. Fredrick Echols on all protocols and orders.

“The Sheriff’s Office is on the front lines of this pandemic,” Betts said. “We have deputies out in the community

serving court orders, working in area hospitals, handling prisoners, and guarding the courthouses risking exposure every day. Thanks to the professionalism of my deputies, we are

Love your neighbor: stay home on Easter

By Pastor B.T. Rice

and with

your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Worshippers attend church on Easter to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, which I would think is love for our Lord. The appeal for staying home at Easter, on the other hand, is a way of fulfilling the

prepared to face this crisis.”

Betts is re-assigning staff to make sure the essential orders of protection continue to be served, he said, and his office’s functions will not be affected

Columnist

B.T. Rice

other half of our commitment, namely: love for our neighbor. We need not recite here the critical statistics of sickness, suffering, and death from COVID-19 and the coronavirus. Staying at home on Easter is merely another way to help assure victory over our

or diminished. Due to a court order on March 20 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the only summons currently being served are ex parte orders of protection, he said.

common enemy to human life. Unprecedented times demand unprecedented measures.

Let’s consider a few suggestions on how we might celebrate Easter at home in the spirit of love for our neighbor.

Share with somebody else via telephone what Jesus’ resurrection means to you.

Compliment someone who in your estimation models biblical faith.

As we do for Christmas, send Easter cards to others –maybe even within your own home.

St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts (seen here in a 2017 file photo) thanked the cleaning staff for their professional response in response to a positive COVID-19 tests in his department and acknowledged “how essential our custodial workers are during this crisis.”

“I want to stress to the public that this deputy did not work in the courthouse and there is minimal exposure to the buildings,” Betts said.

“I can assure the public and employees who visit or work in these buildings that it is safe to conduct business here using the precautions of social distancing and hand washing.”

Reach out to at least one homeless person, and try to meet his or her practical and/or spiritual needs. Be creative and assist in resurrecting someone or even some animal from misery. Remember, Easter is just one day. By God’s grace and providence, the next Easter should not be very long away.

Pastor B.T. Rice is pastor of New Horizon Seventh Day Christian Church.

If you could do one thing for your community, what would it be? More daycare centers? More funding for Head Start? Completing the 2020 Census is a safe and easy way to inform how billions of dollars in funding flow into your community for hundreds of services. Respond online, by phone, or by mail.

Photo by Wiley Price

Editorial /CommEntary

The COVID-19 surge in St. Louis and the black community We must wage warfare for welfare

In his first public remarks after taking leadership of the region’s newly announced COVID19 pandemic task force, Dr. Alex Garza said that a surge is coming in the next two weeks. Then the surge began. On Tuesday, April 7, St. Louis County reported the most COVID-19 deaths (10) and the most new cases (188) in one day in the county or in any other jurisdiction in the region since the onset of the pandemic.

Public officials have been reporting very little information relative to these cases, citing patient confidentiality. However, when St. Louis County and city began to provide maps for incidence of COVID-19 by ZIP codes, it became obvious that the racial disparities typical of the region are true of the pandemic as well. The largest raw number of cases (reported by the city) and largest proportion of cases per capita (more helpfully reported by the county) tend to be concentrated in the north of the region, which also, under St. Louis’ de facto apartheid, has the largest concentration of black residents. This was consistent with data from other regions. In Chicago, for example, black people represent just 30 percent of the population but 72 percent of deaths from COVID-19. Dr. Will Ross and community advocates Kayla Reed and Brittany Farrell foresaw this crisis in these pages last week and called for immediate action. Dr. Ross’ call for testing sites in North City was answered almost immediately, though that was only at the end of the second week that Mayor Krewson’s Stay at Home order had been in place. Reed and Farrell also called for more testing sites and more aggressive outreach in black communities, while framing the problem more broadly. “The pending catastrophe that black communities face,” they wrote, “is due to the failure of decision makers to act and intervene in a growing gap in health disparities that has existed for decades.”

We are reminded of the landmark 2013 report “For the Sake of All,” reported by a team of black researchers at Washington University and St. Louis University led by Jason Q. Purnell – who has been tabbed by St. Louis County Executive Sam Page to consult on racial

equity in pandemic response. (Page, himself a medical professional, has shown the most proactive crisis leadership in the region.) We previously have called “For the Sake of All” the canary in the coal mine of the Ferguson unrest that followed a year in its wake. Even more obviously, it was the canary in the COVID-19 coal mine. The “growing gap in health disparities” that Reed and Farrell mentioned was documented definitely in that report seven years ago.

“Differences in social and economic factors by race play a significant role in explaining the differences in health,” Purnell and his colleagues introduced their report in 2013. “There are very real ways in which these differences in health and life outcomes affect everyone in the St. Louis region. Of course, the most important and immediate impact is the loss of our neighbors, co-workers, family, friends — our fellow St. Louisans — to deaths that could have been prevented.” After discussing the negative economic consequences – for all – in these racial disparities in health outcomes, they implored, “We cannot afford to continue like this. Something has to change in order for everyone in the St. Louis region to be able to thrive and contribute to its growth and vitality.”

The premise of the report title, “For the Sake of All,” is more dramatically relevant during this pandemic than ever. The premise is that a less healthy and weaker Black St. Louis is a less healthy and weaker St. Louis region, and conversely a healthier and empowered Black St. Louis would be a healthier and empowered St. Louis region. Long before the publication of “For the Sake of All” in 2013, that was our value proposition to regional leadership in advocating for our community. Don’t do the right thing for our sake; do it for your sake. Do it for our sake. This was never truer than in a pandemic. As long as COVID-19 spreads in any part of the St. Louis region, every part of the St. Louis region is in danger and will suffer, physically, socially and economically.

We cannot afford to continue like this. Something has to change.

St. Louis must prevent COVID-19 catastrophe in its jails

By Mike Milton For The

St. Louis

American

Certain moments define a society and its leaders. And this is one of them. How we treat human life in the face of this unprecedented health crisis, will be the measure of who we really are as a people.

Since Ferguson, communities of color and allies in St. Louis have forced a reckoning with the shameful legacy of our criminal justice institutions — systems that have incarcerated our families for generations, sinking us deeper into poverty and creating conditions of trauma, addiction, and unemployment where violence can spread like a disease. These very systems now stand to hold thousands of women and men, disproportionately black, helpless in jail cells as the COVID19 pandemic sweeps over our state.

The majority are there without conviction and before trial, because they cannot pay bail. Under these circumstances, bail has literally turned poverty into a potential death sentence.

This situation is only going to get worse before it gets better, and while many of us can follow the CDC recommendations, shelter in the safety of our homes, and hope for the best, some of our poorest and most vulnerable community members are trapped in jails, where adequate healthcare is nonexistent and safe social

distancing nearly impossible. Unless city and county officials take action now, this pandemic will create a humanitarian disaster in our jails, putting lives at risk and adding even more pressure on our hospitals and medical professionals. Fortunately, people like St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner and District Defender Matt Mahaffey have risen to the challenge, acting with the courage and urgency that this moment demands. City and county officials should complement these actions by facilitating community-led efforts that can help further reduce the jail population before it’s too late.

Since 2018, The Bail Project – St. Louis has provided free bail assistance and support to nearly 3,000 low-income residents of St. Louis city and county. We stand at the ready to bring more people out before this health crisis intensifies in St. Louis. All we need is the ability to conduct interviews with people at the jail over phone or video to minimize the risk of bringing the virus into the jail, and a way to pay bail online for the safety of court staff and our teams.

By Art McCoy For The St. Louis American

We are not worriers. As a people, we are warriors. This is a war for wellbeing. Let us not confuse wellbeing with wellness. Wellness is about mental and physical health. Wellbeing is about all things related to being well or welfare—health and wellness, money, services from housing to water, education, rights, liberty, and access, equity.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a unique and needed form of warfare for the wellbeing of all or warfare for welfare. It is biological, political, educational, psychological, societal, and spiritual.

Many people are responding as if there is an active shooter, everywhere: running, hiding, and fighting. That is not enough. Even the most privileged are learning that such actions alone are insufficient, in this life or death matter, for defeating this global threat.

America has the most COVID-19 cases in the world, and we have not peaked yet. America has the most privilege and wealth. Also, America has some of the most inequities.

During this global pandemic, America and people across the world are learning more about general welfare. Many people are learning how to wait, our connectivity and how the actions of one can affect billions, proper sanitization and personal hygiene, how to cook and eat in, how much our first responders are needed and must do, how critical health professionals and healthcare are to society, the importance

LWe have partnered with organizations like Places For People, Mission: STL, Center For Women In Transition, Criminal Justice Ministries, and Arch City Defenders, Horizon Housing, The Coalition of Continuum Care and more, that are also ready to offer support for those coming out, be it access to mental health or substance use treatment, job training, transportation assistance, housing/shelter resources, or referrals to social services in the region. This type of community intervention provides wrap-around support for individuals released, addressing some of the basic needs that might be driving someone into contact with the criminal justice system in the first place.

But we need the city and county to heed our call for action and join this effort.

I believe St. Louis will make it through this crisis, and I hope that when our grandchildren ask us what we did in this moment, we can say proudly that we came together, rising above political differences, to protect all human life. I hope we can say that we acted from a place of compassion, rather than fear and racism. I hope we can say that we worked together for our city’s most vulnerable people.

Mike Milton is The Bail Project’s Statewide Policy and Advocacy manager and a longtime community organizer.

of public schools and education institutions, to work from home or creatively make ends meet, how to work on our wellness and mindset, and the risks of traveling, touching others.

Some good is always present, even amid warfare.

Thankfully, during this political season, the speeches have stopped, temporarily; and now it is all about actions. Stop arguing and lead. Do something!

There has been no school shooting in the U.S. anywhere for weeks.

Thankfully, we see no evening news only focused on crime in urban communities. We see no looting and rioting in the streets. We see unity, even among many enemies. Crooked places are being made straight. Even our national government showed bipartisanship with $2 trillion of pubic treasure going to the people.

People in each socioeconomic class can access additional private funds and services for various safety nets from housing, water, utilities, food, to technology.

There have always been many reasons for war. As an education leader with decades of service, warring against ignorance is my vocation.

Our district and many others were able to flip an entire school or district in two weeks from physical to virtual acad-

etters to the editor

How city workers are being treated and exposed

Mayor Lyda Krewson’s directive to Stay at Home to deal with COVID-19 apparently does not apply to city government workers but should. City Hall and 1520 Market St. (which houses many government offices, including the Health Department, Citizens’ Service Bureau and SLATE) are now closed to public entrance.

At this time SLATE is not able to provide job services, job training services, or funding due to the public not being able to access it. Yet the SLATE director/mayor is mandating city government SLATE workers to work on-site. Many of the SLATE contract workers and many of the state government workers also at SLATE are not being required to work on-site.

Adding to the stress is that city employees understand that four city government employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and two city employees are self-quarantining at home because of possible exposure to the virus. Not knowing where or in what office those city employees work only adds to the stress.

In this pandemic when the mayor talks about how much she cares for city workers, those words don’t match up with the actions of how employees are being treated and exposed.

James Sahaida, St. Louis

If Trump were a paratrooper

When in doubt, whip it out! I learned that phrase while in the U.S. Army’s Parachute Training course at Fort Benning, Georgia. The instructor told his students to think of parachuting as parallel to a life plan. In life, he said, things go better with a plan, but occasionally plans go awry. So, we should also have a back-up (a reserve) plan.

In parachuting, the plan is for the main parachute to deploy after exiting the aircraft, then provide a safe descent to the ground. If we experienced main parachute failure, we were instructed to shed our main parachute and activate our reserve (back-up) parachute. The reserve ‘chute would take us safely to the ground. When in doubt, whip it out!

Donald Trump’s many failures as president have occurred because he had no main plan or reserve plan to whip out. The threat posed by the COVID19 virus should have triggered Trump’s main plan to combat the threat. But Trump had no plans to address the most serious problem of his presidency. He even refused to implement a comprehensive response plan developed during the Obama administration and handed to him.

If Trump were a would-be paratrooper in a parachute training course, he would refuse to wear a main or reserve parachute. That would be pure idiocy! And Trump’s

emies for distance learning. Regionally, many leaders are warring against inequities and charitably serving others. Thanks to our corporate donations and supporters, computers, thousands of meals and groceries have been provided to our families and students. As a people, we know that this too shall pass. As we engage in warfare for wellbeing and general welfare, it is my hope and the desire of many that things do not return to normal. We would rather things be forever better than before. Every bit of individual and collective wisdom, sacrifice, care, collaboration, charity, action, and leadership required to overcome this situation must last far beyond this decade and our lifetime.

The oppression from COVID-19 currently applies to all, not just people of color, different ethnic origins, religions, creeds.

Through this pandemic, all of America and the world are learning that our creeds must become deeds to meet everyone’s needs if we plan to succeed.

When we do this well, we will win.

Historically, we have the power and opportunity to birth a 21st century reconstruction period. This pandemic will reveal and shape our character. It will also define us and all humanity in this decade, century, and era throughout all ages. It will form our future. Together, we shall overcome. Then it is up to us to remain better than before.

Art McCoy is superintendent of the Jennings School District.

response to the COVID-19 virus, like his presidency, is pure idiocy. Good presidents have a plan. When in doubt, whip it out!

Michael K. Broughton Green Park

Congress must pass moratorium on evictions

The economic fallout of COVID-19 is huge. Millions of low-wage workers have been laid off, making it virtually impossible to pay the rent or mortgage. This can quickly lead to eviction and homelessness. I am grateful Congress has passed emergency legislation to help people experiencing housing instability and homelessness. However, the crisis is far from over, and more action is needed. In the next COVID-19 response bill, Congress must pass a national moratorium on evictions and foreclosures and provide substantial resources for emergency rental assistance. We must also look ahead.

Creating a refundable renters’ tax credit to help lowincome renters cover rising housing costs will give people the financial security to know that when the next crisis comes, we will be ready.

I urge our members of Congress to promptly pass measures to help struggling workers and families secure stable housing to get them through this crisis and beyond.

Greg Campbell St. Louis

Guest Columnist Art McCoy

Guest Columnist Mike Milton

Emergency diapers and period supplies at St. Louis County Library

Starting Friday, April 3, families can pick up a supply of 25 diapers each Friday between 10 a.m. and noon at four St. Louis County Library branches: Florissant Valley Branch, 195 New Florissant Rd., S., Florissant, MO 63031-6796

Lewis & Clark Branch, 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63136-5322 Natural Bridge Branch, 7606 Natural Bridge Rd. St. Louis, MO 63121-4905

Weber Road Branch, 4444 Weber Rd. St. Louis, MO 63123-6744.

Diapers from the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank will be distributed in the branch parking lots. Supplies and sizes may be limited. Appropriately sized diapers will be provided to children ages 3 and under. A child must be present to receive a supply of diapers. Donations of diapers will also be accepted during this time.

Period supply kits will also be available from the St. Louis Alliance for Period Supplies on Fridays.

To learn more about the partnership between the St. Louis County Library and the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, visit www.slcl. org/drive-thru-diapers.

Violence Prevention grant buys books for kids

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start program received a $78,000 Violence Prevention grant from the Illinois Criminal Justice Authority.

The program and Children’s Home & Aid Society in Belleville are partnering to provide social emotional classroom kits for students, which will include books to be taken home for family use.

The classroom kits contain a collection of materials and books about emotions and feelings, instructions on how to designate an area for children to be safe and self-regulate, sensory items to promote calm, dolls that represent such emotions as happy, scared, sad and angry, mirrors for children to observe their emotions, and posters relating to emotions and feelings.

“Because of the increased level of trauma that our families are experiencing, we see the need for more behavioral supports,” said Tammy Wrobbel, SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start special services program coordinator.

Some of the books included are: “The Feelings Book,” “My Many Colored Days,” “Duck and Goose,” “How are you Feeling?” “I Feel Happy,” “I Feel Sad” and “I Feel Angry.”

Taking Brownie for a walk

Gelende Anderson walked her dog Brownie in Tower Grove Park on Friday, March 27. As St. Louis city and county remain under Stay at Home orders to stop the COVID-19 pandemic and other recreational options are limited, dog walkers are finding more pedestrian traffic than usual in the area.

The COVID-19 pandemic through 7th grade eyes

By Lyia Gainey For The St. Louis American

How is COVID-19 affecting me?

COVID-19 is affecting me in more of a mental way than physical. I say this because the thought of not being able to see my friends, favorite teachers and lots of family members is horrible. Even though I can Facetime most of them, I feel as if I’m literally trapped in a house with nothing to do after I finish my school work.

Watching T.V. and sleeping all day is very mentally draining. You can’t even go outside unless you really have to, and when you do go outside you have to be really cautious of your surroundings. Because once you get caught with COVID-19, whoever you live with is in danger of getting sick and getting others sick.

COVID-19 is also making lots of people paranoid because a lot of people have died over this disease, and the thought of not knowing when this pandemic is going to get better is scary.

n Lots of people haven’t made their mark in the world, and dying before even getting that chance takes you to a whole different mental state.

Lots of people haven’t made their mark in the world, and dying before even getting that chance takes you to a whole different mental state. It makes you determined to do everything you can to not help spread this disease.

What happens to that world after all of this has happened? It will, of course, be damaged, and we will have to use a lot of money for repair and refills. A lot of what-ifs fill your brain. What if everyone becomes poor? What if I get sick? What if we can’t repair all of the damage?

So, the only thing that keeps me from thinking about these things is God, my family and friends. So, this is how this pandemic is affecting me.

Lyia Gainey is a 7th grade student at Jefferson School in the Normandy Schools Collaborative.

Lyia Gainey

Photo by Wiley Price

task force’s COVID-19 statistics that represent 2.8 million people in the larger St. Louis region.

“It’s weird because it’s now playing out,” Garza told The American, regarding the October article.

Unlike their colleagues in Illinois, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services officials have not released data on race in COVID-19 statistics — though elected officials can confirm that the department is collecting it. In Illinois, groups of color accounted for 48 percent of confirmed cases and 56 percent of deaths, while only making up 39 percent of the state’s population, according to the Kaiser Foundation. Missouri is expected to follow this trend.

Based on conversations with his fellow healthcare leaders, Garza told The American on April 7, “Our largest share of patients have been coming from North County. That is concerning. That shows the disease does disproportionately affect those that are disadvantaged in society.”

Race and ethnicity are boxes that medical providers must check on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 reporting forms that go to state and local health departments. Health departments in the St. Louis region have not released race data because officials said many of the CDC’s forms — called Persons Under Investigation (PUI) forms — were incomplete and often didn’t contain data related to race and/or ethnicity.

Deaths

But on Wednesday, April 8, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page provided The American with some preliminary data that confirms what Garza is seeing in the hospitals. The county doesn’t know the race or ethnicity of about 40 percent of its cases. But of the other 60 percent, 54.6 percent were African American compared to 36.9 percent white.

According to the county’s calculations on rate per 100,000, African Americans were being infected at a rate four times higher than white county residents. This data is now also posted at stlcorona. com.

Dr. Fredrick Echols, director of the City of St. Louis’ health department, said the city’s rate could potentially be worse than this, but wanted to finalize the data before releasing it. He did share in a commentary the stunning fact that all 12 deaths in the City of St. Louis from COVID-19 to date were African Americans.

“The COVID-19 situation highlights the health inequities and disparities that pre-existed in our community,” Dr. Echols told The American Page said he “understood” this situation a month ago at the outbreak of the pandemic locally.

“That’s why we made the decisions we made before we had the data to prove it,” Page said. “My administration looks at every complex policy through a lense of equity and applies it aggressively and directs resources to where they are needed. And in this COVID-19 infection, they are going to be needed in our minority communities.”

Jason Q. Purnell, a professor at Washington University who is advising Page’s pandemic

response team on racial equity, announced on April 8 the creation of a regional task force on social services to direct more resources in the areas hardest-hit by the pandemic. The COVID-19 Regional Response Team will address social needs in the bi-state area.

African Americans getting sicker

Dr. Laurie Punch, a trauma surgeon with BJC HealthCare, has been working on the frontlines in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Christian Hospital in North County.

“The hospital has experienced a rapid influx of patients with COVID-19, and the overwhelming majority of them are black,” Punch said. “That fits with two sets of numbers that we have.”

Last week, the city and county released data maps that show COVID-19 cases based on zip code. They show that North City and North County have three times higher inci-

Continued from A1 access to health care will be hit the hardest by COVID-19. In fact, as of April 8, all 12 COVID-19 deaths in the City of St. Louis were African Americans. At the City of St. Louis Health Department, we have one job: protecting the physical and mental wellbeing of our residents. Part of this is ensuring as many residents as possible have access to testing, which is a key component in tracking and slowing the spread of the disease. Obviously, for many of us in the black community, this access is more easily said than done. This week, CareSTL Health opened its second appointment-only COVID-19 testing site in North St. Louis, at 2425 N. Whittier St., near Homer G Phillips Senior Apartments.

kidneys, heart or liver, you’re more likely to get really sick,” Punch said. “If you have something that compromises your lungs, you’re more likely to get really, really sick.”

The black population experiences higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, among other compromising chronic conditions, so it’s “no mystery” that African Americans are getting sicker from COVID-19, she said.

dence of COVID-19 than West and South County, Punch said.

On April 7, Washington University and BJC provided Punch with some “very” preliminary data to share with the media. It showed that African Americans have a 2.5 times higher odds of being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19. They are 2.2 times as likely to be transferred to the ICU once they are admitted and four times as likely to end up on a ventilator. They do not yet have data on the deaths, she said.

“There are two very different but specific things going on,” Punch said. “There is a higher incidence overall in North City and North County, and once (black) people get the disease, they’re getting sicker.”

COVID-19 is not just a “viral pneumonia,” Punch explained. It’s a whole body infection that causes tremendous organ damage to the kidneys, heart and liver.

“So if you have anything that would compromise your

It also provides testing at the 5471 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. location. On April 2, Affinia Healthcare opened the city’s first mobile testing site, at 1717 Biddle St., at no cost to patients. Registration by phone is required prior to arriving. Because we know we can’t treat the disease or prevent its spread without testing, the Department of Health has played a key role in getting supplies to these testing centers. We will continue to do so on behalf of the residents of the City of St. Louis.

Many of us have been impacted very hard and very fast during this time. Closing schools has been hard on many, especially for those who rely upon school for meals. Many children are

However, because family members are not allowed to visit and the public is not allowed to “see” the disease, Punch believes it is important to describe it. From the first day she got to Christian Hospital — she normally works at Barnes-Jewish Hospital — she noticed an eerie emptiness in the halls.

“Patients are in rooms closed off, so we can keep the air circulating inside the rooms and reduce the transmission,” Punch said. “The patients are behind these glass windows and doors, on ventilators, on dialysis machines, with IVs pumping adrenaline into their bodies to keep blood pressure up. They are so sick.”

Because people are not able to witness this, it’s very easy for this to not feel real, she said.

“It’s easy for young people to not understand the role they have in spreading it and being around older family members who are vulnerable,” Punch said. “It’s easy to be upset about the impact this social, physical distancing has created and not recognize that it’s being done so that less people die.”

She wants people to know that at the hospitals, it’s “full on.”

“Multiple doctors, nurses,

home-schooling while their parents go to work. We also know that many businesses have closed and some folks are no longer receiving a regular paycheck, or their paychecks have been reduced, because of this pandemic. All of these closings are about saving lives through a global strategy called “flattening the curve.” When a disease causes millions to get sick at one time, the total number or curve grows higher and higher. But if we can practice social distancing — keeping people at home and healthy, away from those with the virus and allow them to recover — the curve, or number of folks who have it, flattens and there is a lower chance others get sick. We’re basically trying to starve out the disease by reducing trans-

technicians and therapists are literally risking their lives to be on the frontline of this virus,” Punch said. “If people could see that, I think they would be like, ‘Oh, damn.’”

Failure of society

Garza reported on April 7 that there were 586 people currently hospitalized in the St. Louis region. Of those, 239 were in the ICU and 186 were on ventilators. He anticipated that the region will see its peak in COVID-19 cases in two to three weeks — where anywhere from 1,300 to 3,000 people could be hospitalized at any one time. At the peak, about 80,000 of the region’s 2.8 million people could be infected with the virus — though about 30 percent will be asymptomatic.

Garza said the disease will be felt most by those who are disadvantaged, and the pandemic is shining a light on the failures of society.

“The issue is: how do we help everybody make a living wage to support their families, have access to good food, access to good education and access to good health care?” he said.

Punch and Garza have met in the past about finding ways to address the gun violence pandemic.

“What’s happening right now is wildly different from anything I’ve experienced, but at the same time just like everything I do around the issue of violence anyway,” Punch said. “What we understand about violence should completely help us understand what we are seeing when it comes to the virus. The virus and the bullet are both vectors of structural racism.”

mission. In the meantime, the City of St. Louis is working to give you tools to carry on during these unusual times and connecting residents with agencies that provide financial assistance and other services. St. Louis Public Schools are also offering to-go meals for children several times a day, and both the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County have issued orders to halt evictions until April 22. We can’t flatten the curve without you. Dr. Fredrick Echols is the director of the City of St. Louis Department of Health. Visit stlouis-mo.gov for updates on the City of St. Louis’ response to COVID-19, including information about picking up to-go meals through SLPS.

The first COVID-19 testing site in North St. Louis was opened on Biddle Street on Friday, April 3, at the end of the second week of Mayor Krewson’s Stay at Home order.

Photo by Wiley Price

Ferg-Flor

have experienced symptoms; however, we are honoring our commitment to clear communication and want you to be informed.”

David advised anyone experiencing fever, cough or shortness of breath (even mild symptom) to contact their physician’s office “and tell them that you were possibly exposed to someone with COVID-19.”

Davis said the district is seeking other alternatives for food distribution and will provide an update to when a plan is in place.

“These are incredibly difficult times especially as we are more isolated from one another,” Davis wrote. “Even though we are apart physically, I know that together we will get through this crisis.”

Riverview Gardens suspends food service

Transit

Continued from A1

Continued from A1 and reached out to directly,” it stated. “Those individuals were asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. In addition, the facilities and areas where potential exposure occurred have been sanitized and disinfected using CDC guidelines.”

As of this week, Metro said its operators are equipped with N95 masks. Jessica MeffordMiller, executive director of Metro Transit, said the agency also conducts temperature screenings on all employees and contractors each day. However, fever is only one symptom of COVID-19 and the CDC reports many positive tests of people with no symptoms.

Bi-State workers want the agency to do more to protect them. A quarantined Bi-State worker spoke to The American before the COVID-19 death

Though noting that no COVID-19 case had been reported in the district, the Riverview Gardens also suspended its food service on Sunday.

“Effective immediately, our student meal and assignment packet distribution events have been cancelled,” the district wrote to famuilis. “As a district, we remain commited to serving the needs of our families; however, recent developments around the country related to the coronavirus pandemic have made the risk associated with continuing distribution events too great. The safety of our community is our top priority.”

U. City Schools serving food Tuesdays and Fridays

The School District of University City is now offering to-go meals 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays, families can pick up breakfasts, lunches and dinners to last each student

was announced, requesting anonymity out of fear of reprisal.

Plexiglass barriers would offer further protection for bus operators.

“There’s no way to block a person from coming up here,” the worker said. “We’ve had several passengers approach operators, and we had to tell them to stand back behind the double yellow lines.”

By that point, the worker could have been exposed.

Metro painted double lines at least six feet away to separate commuter space and operator space. In addition, drivers have personal protective equipment, Metro is not collecting fares on buses, and it has passengers boarding and leaving the buses via the rear door.

Mefford-Miller said Metro Transit is having conversations with the transit union daily during this pandemic. Though she has not received a request for plexiglass barriers personally, it’s complicated.

three days. On Fridays, families can pick up four breakfasts, lunches and dinners to last each student four days. Meals are available for all children of district families.

The pick-up locations are Barbara C. Jordan Elementary, Jackson Park Elementary, Pershing Elementary and Brittany Woods Middle Schools. Flynn Park Elementary is no longer a pickup site. Flynn Park families should go to nearby Jackson

“Any barriers onboard our buses have to be moveable, because the operator does not have an exit door on the driver’s side,” Mefford-Miller said.

“It has to be something that is able to easily, in an emergency, open and close. It has to be something that does not inhibit their view of their right side-view mirror. And it has to be something that can attach, given all the equipment that we have, including a farebox that is adjacent to the right of the operator cabin.”

Metro does have barriers right now on 104 of its 409 buses.

“These barriers, just like plexiglass barriers that you’re seeing at grocery stores, are not vapor barriers. They would be spill barriers,” she said. “So, if someone would spit or sneeze or something like that on an operator, they would presumably be a barrier to that transmission of fluid.”

Reginald Howard, president of the Amalgamated Union

Normandy Schools Collaborative is now distributing meals on Monday and Thursday, with bus drop-offs and pick ups at the schools. This bus drop-off served a district family on March 30.

Park Elementary School to pick up their meals.

Those picking up meals should bring a grocery bag or a small cooler to take food home. All meals will be delivered curbside to vehicles and at marked sidewalk locations for walkups to follow public health recommendations on social distancing.

Residents are advised to stay in their vehicles when picking up meals. Let the staff member know how many meals are

Local 788, which represents transit workers, said deep cleaning of buses, trains and work areas has been a major concern.

“They work in that bus eight to 10 hours a day,” Howard said. “They want, basically speaking, their home cleaned to make sure they are sanitized so they don’t get no germs or something from all the people who ride the buses.”

Mefford-Miller said that bus service was adjusted so the buses can be cleaned at least twice a day, at night and midday.

“We are also deep cleaning all of our operator facilities at our divisions each night,” she said. “And we are also implementing fogging – which is using airborne chemicals at night – about every four days at every facility to try and address airborne transmission of the coronavirus.”

She said they brought in union reps to visit two of the facilities so see what the

needed by either writing the number of meals needed and making it visible through the passenger side windshield or rolling down the window and verbally letting the team member know. However, note that CDC studies indicate the novel coronavirus has been transmitted through droplets emitted when speaking, and the louder one speaks the further such droplets are projected. After opening the trunk, the requested number of meals will be placed inside the vehicle.

Accommodations for food delivery can be made for families who are without transportation or unable to leave their homes. Please contact Gary Spiller at gspiller@ucityschools.org.

For more information, visit https://www.ucityschools.org/ GrabandGo.

Food service continues in other districts with some changes

Normandy Schools Collaborative is distributing

agency was doing and what chemicals it was using to clean and sanitize. B-State also was deep cleaning customer-facing areas, before public areas at its transit centers were closed late last week.

Howard said that union members also are concerned about buses carrying more passengers than they should, which can bring people into unsafe proximity. They want Bi-State to rope off the first two seats on busses to keep the public further away from operators.

Mefford-Miller said Bi-State is concerned about staffing shortages to continue to provide transit services.

Due in part to medical, self-imposed or company quarantine, Metro Transit reported absenteeism rates of 52 percent for bus and rail operators last week and is now operating on a weekend schedule seven days a week.

“We simply don’t have enough people coming to work

meals on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday on the week of April 6 due to Friday being a district holiday. Next week it will move to two days a week, Monday and Thursday, with bus drop-offs and pick ups at the schools. The schools will be open 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. See www.normandysc.org/ covid19.

Jennings Public Schools is now only distributing meals on Monday from 8:30 a.m. to noon, giving out five meals for the whole week. It eliminated the Wednesday meal give-away days. The district still distributes groceries on Fridays. Though there were reports on social media that the Hazelwood School District also suspended its meal delivery program, the district is continuing food service with additional safety precautions for staff preparing and serving. See https:// www.hazelwoodschools.org/ Page/7455.

St. Louis Public Schools also is continuing its food service. See www.slps.org/meals.

every day to support our full complement of service, and many of our routes have much lighter than normal ridership,”

Mefford-Miller said. “All of our resources are out there. We are deploying everything that we’ve got, every day.” Metro has asked that only essential workers and passengers traveling for essential services ride public transit at this time.

“Frankly, there are too many people out traveling, and we are encouraging our leaders to encourage greater compliance in order to inhibit the spread of this pandemic,” Mefford-Miller said. “We would ask that people who are not making critical employment trips or critical trips to seek health care or groceries would refrain from using our system at this time.”

Howard said that the lives of his union members depend on it: “Everybody is afraid, because people are dying from this.”

Photo by Wiley Price

St. Louis County, city seek to enforce Stay at Home orders on businesses

County Executive Page: public health orders have the force of law

By Chris King

Of The St. Louis American

Since Stay at Home orders went in effect in St. Louis city and county on March 23, there has been much public discussion of which businesses are and deserve to be classified as “essential” and allowed to remain open, which businesses appear to remain open in violation of the orders, and what authorities are doing to enforce compliance.

St. Louis County began to address this situation on Thursday, April 2 when it mailed letters to about 50 businesses in the county that have continued to operate despite a public health order to close warning them to shut their doors. The types of businesses in violation of the order, according to the county, include nail salons, bookstores, craft stores, gyms, dinein restaurants, beauty supply stores, bars and tanning salons. None are considered essential businesses under the public health Stay at Home

n St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said those that do not comply risk losing access to potential grants from the CARES Act, the $2 trillion relief package.

order.

As for teeth to the enforcement effort, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said those that do not comply risk losing their designation as a business in good standing and access to potential grants from the CARES Act, the $2 trillion relief package approved by Congress.

Those who continue to operate also could be charged with a misdemeanor or the county could seek a temporary restraining order to force the business to close, though the county

stopped short of threatening to file such an order in a sample letter provided to media (with redactions). The letter does point out the penalty for conviction of the misdemeanor could run as high as a $2000 fine or a year of imprisonment.

The letter also invites the accused who think they should be classified as essential to state why in a written reply.

“Everyone must do their part to save our community from further harm during this crisis,” Page said in a statement. “Those who are not designated as an essential business must follow this public health order. It has the force of law.”

Read the county’s Stay at Home order at https://tinyurl.com/County-order-COVID. The county has a form on its stlcorona.com website to report businesses violating the order. Also, complaints can be sent by email to: countycounselorcovid19@stlouisco.com.

See ORDERS, A10

Public safety protections in city parking extended

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones continues to adapt operations of the city’s Traffic Division to help limit the spread of COVID-19 by limiting public interaction with her staff and with parking meters, surfaces that can harbor the novel coronavirus.

On Thursday, April 2 she extended the period when parking meters will be free and no parking tickets will be written through April 22, the current sunset date for Mayor Lyda Krewson’s Stay at Home order for the city. Parking penalties will be frozen through May 15, Jones announced, and all hearings for parking ticket adjudication will be rescheduled.

“This is in direct response to the region’s order to shelter in place and the national social distancing guidelines,” Jones in a statement.

“Therefore, I am extending the freeze on park-

Treasurer Jones: ‘These efforts will limit human contact and the spread of coronavirus’ See PARKING, A10

St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones extended the period when parking meters will be free and no parking tickets will be written through April 22, the current sunset date for Mayor Lyda Krewson’s Stay at Home order for the city.

‘St. Louis now has a framework for

By Chris King Of The St. Louis

Better Family Life, Inc. may be losing perhaps its most public face, but it remains open to the business of community service.

James Clark, longtime vice president of Community Outreach for BFL, has accepted a position as vice president of Community Engagement and Public Safety for the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, as was reported here last week. A new statement from BFL now places his start date there at August 1.

“He grew our Community Outreach department to become one of the most respected and important institutions in the country, with a goal of making our neighborhoods and streets safe,” Malik Ahmed, founder and CEO of BFL, said of Clark in a statement,

“The work of BFL’s Community Outreach Department has helped to restore hope for hundreds of families that have been the victims of violence and

See BFL, A10

‘We want to make sure that people are protected’

By Eli Chen Of St. Louis Public Radio

St. Louis-area advocates for housing equality demand that private banks and other lenders put a temporary stop to foreclosures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The St. Louis Equal Housing and Community Reinvestment Alliance called on financial institutions to help people keep their homes while the region is under a stay-athome order on Thursday, April 2. The requests include moratoriums on evictions for mortgage-backed properties and halting reports of past-due payments to credit bureaus.

Federal lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took action in March to protect consumers by temporarily stopping foreclosures. But some private lenders have not done so for homeowners in St. Louis, said Elisabeth Risch, assistant director

See FORECLOSURE, A10 – Malik Ahmed, founder and CEO of BFL n “The work of BFL’s Community Outreach Department has helped to restore hope for hundreds of families that have been the victims of violence and heinous crimes.”

The Hi-Pointe Theater got the memo and closed its doors temporarily after St. Louis city and county issued Stay at Home orders that went into effect on March 23 in an attempt to stop the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.

Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Photo by Wiley Price

American

By Ari Lazarus Of The FTC

Want to get your COVID-19 relief check? Scammers do too.

You’ve probably heard the news by now – the government is sending out relief checks as part of the federal response to COVID-19. Scammers heard the same thing, and they’re hoping to cash in on yours.

n Do not give anyone your personal information to “sign-up” for your relief check. There is nothing to sign up for.

The details of how this will all work are still coming together, but we do know a few things about how this will – and will not –work. For now, here are some things to know. You don’t need to do anything. As long as you filed taxes for 2018 and/ or 2019, the federal government likely has the information it needs to send you your money. If you haven’t filed taxes recently, you’ll need to submit a simple tax return to get your check. (For more on who’s eligible, visit https:// tinyurl.com/COVID-IRS.)

Do not give anyone your personal information to “sign-up” for your relief

IRS at irs.gov/coronavirus. And you only need to do this if you didn’t give the IRS your bank information on your 2018 or 2019 return. In the coming weeks, the IRS will be setting up an online form available through irs.gov/coronavirus. But share your personal information nowhere else and never in response to an email, text, or call.

No one has early access to this money. Anyone that claims to is a scammer. The timeline for this process is not exact, but it looks like funds will start going out in the next few weeks. Scammers are using the lack of detail to try to trick people into giving their personal information and money. To get official updates and more information, visit https:// tinyurl.com/COVID-IRS. To set up direct deposit of your check, communicate only with the IRS at irs.gov/coronavirus. And if you come across a scammer trying to take your check, report it at ftc.gov/complaint. Ari Lazarus is a Consumer Education specialist at the FTC.

ing payments and tickets for the health and wellbeing of my staff and all St. Louisans. I had a long career in public health before I ran for public office, and I believe suspending this activity contributes to flattening the curve and Parking

Continued from A9 preventing the spread of the coronavirus.”

Jones earned a Master’s degree in Health Administration from the Saint Louis University School of Public Health. Jones is taking additional precautions for other aspects of her office as well. All departments have implemented skeleton crew and workfrom-home plans. Offices and

garages are being thoroughly cleaned with numerous precautions. All in-person Office of Financial Empowerment events through April are postponed, including College Kids events.

“These efforts will limit human contact and the spread of coronavirus, while also helping people through an economically difficult period,” Jones stated.

Jones began to take precautions before Krewson and St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced the Stay at Home orders that took effect in the region on March 23. On March 16, five days before those orders were announced, Jones first suspended ticketing people for parking infractions “to limit the spread of COVID19,” she stated.

For taking this proactive move, the St. Louis PostDispatch attacked Jones in an editorial.

“Regardless of the motive, where was her legal authority to make this unilateral declaration?” the Post-Dispatch editorialized. “Her spokesman, Benjamin Singer, was unable to cite a specific statute but

Orders

Continued from A9 City also enforcing compliance

The City of St. Louis also is trying to enforce compliance with its Stay at Home order.

A spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson said the city has issued warnings to at least three businesses, including a beauty

Foreclosure

Continued from A9

of the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council.

“We want to make sure that people are protected, that they have options and that they’re able to stay in their house,” Risch said.

Wells Fargo, Bank of America and other large banks are allowing customers to defer payments on loans and

BFL

Continued from A9 heinous crimes. In this work he has brought together families of victims, community leaders, civil and business leaders, pastors, and the corporate community to coordinate a joint response to the escalation of street crime. From his tireless efforts the St. Louis metropolitan area now has a framework for community engagement and activism.”

However, the work at BFL will continue in Clark’s absence. Ahmed said that

n “I believe suspending this activity contributes to flattening the curve and preventing the spread of the coronavirus.”

St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones

asserted that ‘prosecutors, judges, police, etc. exercise discretion within their authority.’ Jones, he added, ‘has discretion, and these are extraordinary circumstances.’ Judges, police, mayors and, yes, even treasurers are bound by the laws as written. They might

shop and two churches.

“First we encourage all businesses to read our order and reach out if they still have questions,” the spokesman said. That order is posted at https:// tinyurl.com/STL-order-COVID.

“Secondly, we require that they comply because it’s not only good for their health, but for the health and safety of the public at large,” the spokesman said.

He noted that violating a public health order is a Class A

mortgages. Regional lenders Red Dough and Midwest BankCentre are offering emergency loans for people who have suffered financial losses from the pandemic.

The Equal Housing Opportunity Council has gotten some calls from concerned residents about making mortgage and rent payments, Risch said.

“We anticipate as this continues, as people really start to feel financial strains, that this is only going to get worse,” she said.

n “We are equally excited for the new opportunities it creates for further collaboration and expansion of our mission.”

– Etefia Umana, chairman of the board

its Housing Department, Workforce Department, Youth Family and Clinical Services Department, Cultural Arts Department and Community Outreach Department continue to distribute food to those who

have the best of intentions, but the coronavirus outbreak is not a license for officials to do as they please.”

The Post-Dispatch has not yet attacked Jones for extending her public health precautions.

“We are in uncertain times,” Jones stated, “and the last thing people should be concerned about right now is feeding a meter or paying a parking ticket.”

Jones is broadcasting on Facebook Live every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30 p.m. to provide information on financial resources and more at Facebook.com/STLTreasurer. Several pandemic resources are also available online at www.stlofe.org.

misdemeanor punishable by up to $2,000 in fines.

“We hope we don’t have to go that route,” he said. “We want compliance first. But we’ll take any action necessary to hold businesses accountable.” The city continues to encourage individuals who see a business or organization or entity not complying to call the Citizens’ Service Bureau at 314-622-4800.

Small businesses can apply for zero-interest loans that the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership is offering to those who have been adversely affected by COVID-19. Commerce Bank, Busey Bank and eight other St. Louis-area banks announced on April 2 that they are giving the partnership $500,000 to help fund those loans.

Follow Eli on Twitter: @ StoriesByEli.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

are food-insecure, work with schools to provide lesson plans, provide clients with necessary resources to equip them with their careers during and after this crisis along with many other services.

“While we are saddened by the loss of such a valued employee,” stated Etefia Umana, chairman of the board of Better Family Life, “we are equally excited for the new opportunities it creates for further collaboration and expansion of our mission.”

For more information on BFL, visit https://www.betterfamilylife.org/ or call 314-3673440

Ignore the hysteria of those who think empty jails signal the end of civilization

The St. Louis Prosecutor Accountability Roundtable – a coalition of advocacy groups undersigned at the end – submitted the following guest Political EYE.

Guardians of the status quo – like Missouri’s Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the reactionaries at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and St. Louis Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards – are doing what they always do when their systems of power are called into question: they are resorting to scare tactics.

In the 1970s, it was “welfare queens” robbing you of your hard-earned money. In 1988, it was Willie Horton lurking around the corner. And, now, it’s the scourge of hardened “criminals” roaming the streets. These headlines sell papers, they win elections, and they concentrate power. If only the headlines weren’t a lie.

We have questions. Why are their attacks so narrowly focused on St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner? According to both the Post’s “reporting” and the attorney general’s letter, the outcomes they found so unacceptable were orders of recognizance bonds and reduced bond amounts. As one would hope the Post-Dispatch, the attorney general (a licensed lawyer), and the Public Safety director (a former judge) would know, those final decisions are made by judges, not prosecutors. Why shouldn’t judges use their discretion to release those

“presumed innocent” but too poor to pay the bonds that a wealthier person would have paid long ago? Are Jimmie Edwards and Eric Schmitt writing angry letters to the judges, too? Or does that not suit their political purpose?

Another question.

Why so much talk about “fears of” danger? A PostDispatch editorial decries “ramp[ing] up public fears even more.” Schmitt lectures that government shouldn’t be “creating either the perception or the reality that violent offenders are being released unmonitored into their communities.” If this danger were a reality, he wouldn’t be talking about perception at all.

And the perception is one that he and others are manufacturing. We have a suggestion: stop it.

One more question. Why is it that this crew of unelected public officials and commentators feels emboldened to give lectures on criminal justice policy to the prosecutors that we elected? Say what you will about our prosecutors in the city and county of St. Louis—and we do have things to say—they were both democratically elected by landslides.

Their critics? A Public Safety director whom no one elected. The unelected and virtually anonymous editorial board of a newspaper. And an attorney general who was appointed when his predecessor landed a better gig. Simply put: when it comes

lap and filed it under “Sent for You Yesterday, and Here You are Today.” On Thursday, April 2 The American called upon Parson to issue a statewide Stay at Home order (undersigning a letter sent to Parson on March 23 by the Missouri Foundation for Health and other state health leaders); the governor issued the order the next day.

But, on closer inspection, Parson’s order effectively does nothing his previously issued social distancing guidance had done.

“Under Parson’s order, even businesses that are deemed non-essential can remain open as long as they adhere to certain social distancing requirements, such as having few than 10 people gathered at a time,” the Kansas City Star reported. “And those businesses can still seek a waiver from the Missouri Department of Economic Development to allow it to violate those social distancing requirements.”

Notice that the waiver process is routed through the Missouri Department of Economic Development – not the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. To Parson, this is still about business, not health.

responsibility for imposing stricter measures to local officials. Until the Parson administration takes the strong action the situation requires, COVID19 will continue to spread in Missouri at an alarming rate.”

The only good news about Parson’s Stay at Home (if you feel like it, or go to work if you feel like it, or make people go to work if you feel like it, or make people work in groups of larger than 10 if you are going to make money) order is that it does not supersede more stringent local orders that are already in place or that could be enacted in the future.

Quade squeezed off a good shot at the former sheriff a few days before. While still dragging his feet on the statewide Stay at Home order, Parson suspended late penalties for renewing concealed-carry permits in the state on the laughable date of April 1.

to criminal justice policy in the St. Louis region, we didn’t ask you. We believe that prosecutors have a responsibility, especially at this crisis moment, to do everything they can to release people from the cages we call jails—not only for the safety and health of the people behind bars but for the safety and health of every single one of us who face a common enemy in a presently untreatable and incurable virus. To the extent that prosecutors are doing that, we fully support and appreciate their efforts. To the extent they are not, we should all be calling on them to do more.

But we should not give any credence to the predictable hysteria of people who think empty jail cells signal the end of civilization.

The St. Louis Prosecutor Accountability Roundtable is a collective of advocacy organizations focused on accountabil-

ity for the elected prosecutors of St. Louis city and county. These organizations include: Action St. Louis, ACLU of Missouri, ArchCity Defenders, Close the Workhouse Campaign, Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, Color of Change, Metropolitan Congregations United, Missouri Faith Voices, Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, Missourians Against the Death Penalty, Movement Voter Project, Organization for Black Struggle, and Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center.

Parson issues Stay at Home (if you want to) order

When Missouri Governor Mike Parson finally declared a statewide Stay at Home order, at first the EYE took a victory

One is reminded, again, that this man was not elected governor. Also, that he is the former sheriff of Polk County, population 32,149, according to U.S. Census estimates, only a whopping 1 percent of them black.

The statement issued by House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D-Springfield) is precisely accurate.

“Honesty and transparency from government officials is essential during a public health emergency. In announcing what was billed as a statewide stay-at-home order, Governor Parson failed to provide either,” Quade stated.

“The order is not at all what was advertised and what health care professionals and Missouri residents had been demanding for weeks. It is so riddled with exemptions that it differs little from the weak and ineffective social distancing directive the administration previously issued, and it formally punts

“If the governor had issued his executive order on concealcarry permits a day earlier, I would have thought it was a bad April Fools’ Day joke,” Quade quipped. “The fact that the governor thinks this is a priority is beyond disappointing and gives further ammunition to critics who say he isn’t doing what needs to be done to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Missouri.”

This being an election year, Quade’s good sense on behalf of our public health, tragically, will be dismissed as partisan axe grinding. It is notable that Quade has been issuing more statements attacking Parson on public health than state Auditor Nicole Galloway, who is running against Parson as a Democrat. No doubt, this is a strategic choice to try to minimize the election year partisan axe grinding thing.

Speaking of “Sent for You Yesterday, and Here You are Today,” note that Galloway called on Parson to issue a Stay at Home order on March 31. It only took the former Polk County sheriff three days to get where she told him to go, and even then he was only bluffing for the headlines, not actually protecting public health.

“TakingCareofYou”

Socially distanced –but active

Darlynn Bosley, a retired educator and 2005 St. Louis American Foundation Stellar Performer in Education, works out with BKM Fitness Boot Camp in Ferguson remotely at home in St. Louis. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced gyms across the metropolitan area to use the internet to help keep its members in shape during the Stay at Home orders in St. Louis city and county, which currently are in effect through April 22.

Catching COVID-19 from someone who doesn’t seem sick

CDC report on presymptomatic transmission in Singapore has lessons for all of us

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

They went to church. They sat in the same seat where someone else sat at the previous service. They went to dinner. They sat across the table from someone. They went to church. They sat one row back from someone. They went to a vocal lesson. They sang in

the same room with someone. They went home to their families. They went home to their housemates. They infected them. Many of them got sick.

Some died.

This is the plot summary of the latest publication in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, dated April 1.

Written by six authors, the article (titled “Presymptomatic Transmission of SARS-

CoV-2 — Singapore, January 23–March 16, 2020”) gives very plain and convincing evidence that backs up the guidance that public health officials are giving in the United States and the St. Louis region.

Stay home, especially if you feel sick, but even if you don’t feel sick. Just because you don’t feel sick does not mean you are not infected with the novel coronavirus (more

See COVID-19, A13

Lessons for St. Louis from a global pandemic

By William F. Tate IV and Kally Xu For The St. Louis American

Many restaurants operate on a firstcome, first-served basis. Shoppers in the United States expect this; however, this orderly approach to gaining access to service lost standing in Italy. As COVID-19 spreads throughout the Italian countryside, the demand for respirators and ICUs exceeds the supply. In this case, if demand exceeds supply, it increases the risk of death, especially for the elderly.

Evidence from the outbreak indicates older adults experienced higher death rates from the virus. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Italy’s population is the second oldest in the world behind Japan. Combined with a strong family culture where young persons engage with their grandparents and older relatives, it creates a condition ripe for the spread of the virus.

The Washington Post reports that in the midst of the shortfall of intensive care capacity, the Italian Critical Care Society endorsed using age guidelines regarding access to oxygen-generating machines. Specifically, the group supported doctors that assign priority ICU access to individuals with greater life expectancy. Enter triage and young adults first; exit first-come, first-served.

The experiences in Italy and in other countries represent important lessons learned for residents of this country and the St. Louis region.

For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Response Team reported that in China the vast majority of severe cases and fatalities occurred among the older populations. In contrast, people 19 years old and younger have had milder symptoms, and this age

FDA says don’t take Zantac – it could cause cancer

Ask manufacturers to withdraw drugs from market, consumers to dispose of them

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

Don’t take Zantac – it could cause cancer.

That was the message sent by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on April 1 when it requested that manufacturers withdraw all prescription and over-the-counter ranitidine (brand name: Zantac) drugs from the market immediately.

The FDA is also advising consumers taking ranitidine to stop taking any tablets or liquid they currently have, dispose of them properly and not buy more. Patients taking prescription ranitidine should speak with their health care professional about other treatment options before stopping the medicine, as there are multiple drugs approved for the same or similar uses as ranitidine that do not carry the same risks from NDMA.

To date, the FDA’s testing has not found

n “We decided that it should not be available to consumers and patients unless its quality can be assured.”

– Janet Woodcock, M.D., FDA

NDMA in famotidine (Pepcid), cimetidine (Tagamet), esomeprazole (Nexium), lansoprazole (Prevacid) or omeprazole (Prilosec).

This is the latest step in an ongoing investigation of a contaminant known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) in ranitidine medications. The FDA has

See ZANTAC, A13

Photo: Healthcare for Missouri

Kally Xu

Photo by Wiley Price

“TakingCareofYou”

Zantac

Continued from A12

determined that the impurity in some ranitidine products increases over time and, when stored at higher than room temperatures, may result in consumer exposure to unacceptable levels of this impurity.

Older Adults

Continued from A12 group only makes up 0.1% of deaths. This suggests that age is directly related to the severity of COVID-19’s impact on individuals in the United States and the rest of the world. Many commenters jumped to the wrong conclusion, insisting that the virus did not harm young people while ignoring the potential for longterm damage to vital organs. Furthermore, too many failed to take seriously the role that children, teenagers, and young adults play in transmitting the virus to older adults. Pictures of beaches filled with young adults affirm the lack of understanding of their role as virus transmitters.

The CDC study provides insight into the United States’ context. Officials analyzed COVID-19 cases in China by age group and severity in the period between February 12 and March 16, 2020, with a total of 4,266 cases reported in the United States. Of the deaths reported, 80% of the people were at least 65 years of age. Only 5% of the reported cases occurred in people between 0 and 19 years old. Additionally, 65 plus-year-old patients made up 31% of cases in the United States at the time—45% of the hospitalizations and 53% of the ICU admissions. The CDC report acknowledges the lack of data in some areas, such as information related to underlying health conditions. This limitation is important as older patients with diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, and other chronic illnesses have higher risk of more severe outcomes if infected with the virus.

The total number of St. Louis city residents at least 65 years of age equals roughly the enrollment of 15 Marquette High Schools, 20 Mehlville High Schools, 39 Clayton High Schools, or 2.6 St. Louis Universities. None of these communities would consider it acceptable to place their students at higher risk of virus contraction.

County

American Staff

St. Louis County wants faster reporting on COVID-19 test results – positive and negative – and wants people who have tested positive to obey quarantine orders. The county Department

COVID-19

Continued from A12

technically known as SARSCoV-2). Just because someone does not appear to be sick does not mean that they are not infected and cannot infect you and get you sick. Stay home, for now, especially if you plan on doing any of the things that these people in Singapore did. And they did the most basic things. They went to dinner, to church and to singing lessons. They ate, prayed and sang with people who did not appear to be sick. But one of them was infected with the novel coronavirus, and within days that person would

As a result of this immediate market withdrawal request, ranitidine products will not be available for new or existing prescriptions or over-the-counter use in the U.S. “We decided that it should not be available to consumers and patients unless its quality can be assured,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA recommends patients and consumers not take their medicines to a drug takeback location but follow the specific disposal instructions in the medication guide or package insert or follow the agency’s recommended steps, which include ways to safely dispose of these medications at home.

The FDA continues its ongoing review, surveillance, compliance and pharmaceutical quality efforts across every product area, and will continue to work with drug manufacturers to ensure safe, effective and high-quality drugs for the American public. The FDA encourages health care professionals and patients to report adverse reactions or quality problems

St. Louis Population Pyramid 2020

To limit the severity of virus outcomes within this age group, we must understand their behavior. The National Health and Aging Trends study offers insight into the favorite practices of older adults. Many of these practices do not align with social distancing. For example, some sports, socializing in person, many forms of travel, shopping in stores, dining out, volunteering, and attending religious events in person increase the risk of acquiring the virus. However, with modification or imagination, these activities can continue in different forms. Continue to golf, jog, and walk. Socialize using social media platforms. Shop online. Order carry-out. Serve as a virtual volunteer. Move religious gatherings

online. Virtual strategies offer opportunities to socialize for many in our community. Others lack internet access. According to the American Community Survey, over 33,000 households in St. Louis city don’t have internet access. This represents 23% of the households in the city. Most of these households reported annual income less than $20,000. And nearly half of the households without internet access reside north of Delmar. This health crisis reveals cracks in our society.

n Pictures of beaches filled with young adults affirm the lack of understanding of their role as virus transmitters.

Social distancing is highly

with any human drugs to the agency’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program. Complete and submit the report online at www.fda.gov/ medwatch/report.htm; or Download and complete the form, then submit it via fax at 1-800-FDA-0178.

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by

assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

The pyramid at left shows the the number of people in age groups up to age 80 in St. Louis.

The chart above ranks different activities that older adults engage in from most to fewest.

recommended for people of all ages in order to protect those who are especially vulnerable. Older adults should have at least 30 days’ worth of essential and necessary medications, avoid crowds, stop nonessential travel, end cruise excursions, and stay home whenever possible to decrease exposure potential. Longterm care facilities such as retirement and assisted-living homes should especially be cognizant and intentional in preventing the virus from spreading further among highrisk individuals. It is important that everyone, regardless of

age, participates in social distancing. Italy and China provide invaluable lessons. Italy’s overwhelmed healthcare system applied a triage strategy that prioritized its young persons. We submit that now is the time to prioritize our older adults before it is too late. Let’s help our healthcare professionals by flattening the curve. If we put others first now, it will position us to provide needed ICU treatment in a fashion that honors and supports people of all ages. And that is the American way. William F. Tate IV is dean and vice provost for Graduate Education; Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences; and faculty scholar, Institute for Public Health, at Washington

University in St. Louis. Find him on Twitter @WFTate4.

Kally Xu is John B. Ervin Scholar and Gephardt Institute Civic Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis, where she is a candidate in the 3-2 Masters of Public Health in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and the A.B. program in International and Area Studies and Asian American Studies. For more information, see “Severe Outcomes Among Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) — United States, February 12–March 16, 2020.” MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020; 69:343-346. DOI: http:// dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr. mm6912e2.

orders ‘immediate’ notification of COVID-19 test results

of Public Health issued a Rapid Notification Order on Thursday, April 2 requiring “the immediate receipt of test results for COVID-19, the immediate notification of hospitalizations of individuals testing positive for COVID-19, and the immediate notification

be sick. The people they ate, prayed and sang with would be sick – and some of their loved ones would soon be sick too. The guidance for church leaders (and choir directors) from this study should be especially clear. “Speech and other vocal activities such as singing have been shown to generate air particles, with the rate of emission corresponding to voice loudness,” the authors report. Literally, the louder you sing, the further you project the virus if you are infected. The louder you sing, the more people you will infect. The authors studied all 243 reported COVID-19 cases in Singapore during January 23 and March 16 of this year. They had an advantage that

of deaths caused by COVID19.”

The order, signed by Dr. Emily Doucette, acting health director, applies to labs, hospitals and healthcare providers. If both positive and negative results are being reported in a systematic fashion, the health

public health officials in the St. Louis region do not have when reporting on COVID-19 in real time. Whereas public health officials are rightly limited by federal protections against disclosing details of someone’s health, these researchers were able to obtain and share valuable personal details about what the infected people did before and after they got sick.

department will eventually be able to report the number of tests being administered with confidence.

The further also points at a criminal penalty for those who violate a public health order like a quarantine order.

The order states that any

n The guidance for church leaders (and choir directors) from this study should be especially clear. Literally, the louder you sing, the further you project the virus if you are infected.

Looking at the numbers, 157 of the 243 cases reported

in Singapore during the time frame studied were locally acquired rather than picked up while traveling. Of those, 10 (or 6.4%) were attributed to presymptomatic transmission –the person got sick from someone who did not appear to be sick. While that number is statistically significant and should alert everyone to the very real danger of catching COVID-19 from someone who does not appear to be sick, their findings appear

person who leaves any “quarantined house or place without the consent of the health officer having jurisdiction, or who evades or breaks quarantine or knowingly conceals a case of contagious, infectious, or communicable disease, or who removes, destroys, obstructs

from view, or tears down any quarantine card, cloth or notice by the attending physician or by the health officer, or by direction of the proper health officer, shall be deemed guilty of a class A misdemeanor.”

to be in the low range. They point to a similar study of Chinese cases where twice as many (12.6%) of the people were infected by people who were presymptomatic. The time frame for presymptomatic transmission, according to this report, is one to three days before the source patient develops symptoms. Presymptomatic transmission occurred in precisely the ways public health officials have been warning us: through respiratory droplets or indirect transmission. Someone breathed or coughed or sang. They sat in a pew. They handled a dinner plate. They handled a collection plate. They shook a hand. They went to church. They sat in the same seat where someone had sat at the previous service. They went to church. They sat one row back from someone. They went to dinner. They sat across the table from someone. They went to a vocal lesson. They sang in the same room with someone. They went home to their families. They went home to their housemates. They infected them. Many of them got sick. Some died. The corresponding author for the study is Vernon J. Lee, PhD, of the National University of Singapore (Vernon_Lee@ moh.gov.sg).

NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION

Planting the Seeds for Success!

The weekly Healthy Kids page provides health tips on nutrition, exercise and more.

PRESENT:

Healthy Kids Healthy Kids

have health problems like diabetes, lung disease, heart disease or suppressed immune systems.

Budget

Human coronaviruses have been around a long time. They cause the common cold which I’m sure many of you have had. Symptoms are typically mild fever, runny nose, cough and last for a few days.

In December 2019 a new coronavirus, called COVID 19, was discovered. In most people, including kids, it causes mild symptoms but some people get very sick from it. People who can get very sick are older, like grandparents or people who already

One Strategy to Ease

Pandemic Anxiety COVID

Anxiety can be high during this unpredictable time and children can have a hard time expressing that emotion. Anxiety can present itself in a number of ways like, difficulty going to sleep, defiance, avoiding activities, feeling worried, crying and the desire to control events and people. As children are at home from school and watching the news or listening to adults talk about this difficult time (because they hear

The virus is spread by coming in contact with respiratory droplets (like the fog you see when you breathe on a mirror) from someone coughing or sneezing near you.

There are 4 important things you and your family can do to protect yourselves and your friends and neighbors from getting sick:

1. Stay at home - except to go outside to play, enjoy nature, and exercise with the

everything!), let’s be mindful of their fears. COVID-19 has changed life as we know it, but children can manage their anxiety and come out better than ever! Here is one strategy to help with anxiety.

5-4-3-2-1 Method

This is lengthy but definitely worth it! This is a grounding technique that helps during stressful situations and puts you back in the present. It also gets your mind to focus on something other than the

people that live in your home. Always stay 6 feet away from other people.

If your family need groceries, medicines or other important things - send only one person who should stay 6 feet away from other people.

2. Wash your hands often - Use soap and water and wash for 20 seconds (sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice) after blowing your nose, going to the bathroom, or coming in from outdoors

3. Sneeze and cough into your elbow or tissue (then throw it away and wash your hands).

worry. Start by sitting down, with eyes close and taking some deep breaths (inhale for 4 seconds and exhale for 4 seconds). Open your eyes and start.

5 – Acknowledge FIVE things you SEE around you. Say them out loud with a small description. “I see a tall dresser with clothes hanging out the second drawer.”

4 – Acknowledge FOUR things you can TOUCH/ FEEL around you. “I feel my feet on the floor.”

3 – Acknowledge THREE things you can HEAR around you. “I can hear the dog

4. Call your child’s doctor for advice if you or your child are experiencing fever, cough, or other symptoms that concern you. Keep your family routine as normal as possible. Use this extra time together for some fun family activities and stay in touch with other family and friends by telephone and social media.

For more information be sure to go to credible sources: Healthychildren.org or CDC.gov.

Alison C Nash, MD WUCA Nash

Pediatrics

Medical Director, Healthy Kids Express

barking next door.”

2 – Acknowledge TWO things you can SMELL. “I smell chocolate chip cookies!”

1 – Acknowledge ONE thing you can taste. It’s okay to get up and taste something pleasant like chocolate chip cookies.

This can be completed with an adult or the child can do it on their own. Repeat if needed.

Melissa Webb, LPC, BC-TMH Owner/Clinical Therapist Purposeful Counseling

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides newspapers and resources to more than 8,000 teachers and students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com or 314-289-5422

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Barrington Elementary School

5th grade teacher

Paris Bouchard

shows students Lauryn Becton, Ethan Shim, Raymond Like and Delaney Bell use Legos to do an experiment they got from the newspaper’s NIE page.

Louis American

SCIENCE CORNER

Social Media Safety

While the COVID-19 virus has many adults working from home, and many students e-learning their lessons, it is even more important to follow these guidelines.

First, set limits. Use your computer or device in a central location where your parents can see what you are doing. This will keep you accountable. As a family, set a limit to screen time—phones, TV, and computers. Adults and kids should follow this rule. Save time for reading, exercise, homework, clubs, family activities, etc.

Second, keep all information private. Do not

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

give out your first and last name, location, phone number, or address. If any site asks for this information, tell your parents. Do not tell this information to any friends you make online. As an added precaution, add your parent as a “friend” so they can see your interactions.

Finally, remember to use your manners. What you say and do online can be hurtful to others. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Learning Standards: I can read a nonfiction article for main idea and supporting details. I can make text-to-self connections.

Tie-Dyed Milk

In this experiment using simple ingredients, you will observe milk as it takes on a tie-dyed appearance. This experiment uses surface tension.

Materials Needed:

• A Shallow Dish (such as a pie pan)

• Milk (for this experiment it works best if the milk is room temperature) • Food coloring

(4 different colors is a good combination)

• Liquid dish soap • Toothpick

Process:

q Poor the room temperature milk ½ inch deep in the shallow dish.

w Put one small drop of each color of food coloring in the dish, spreading the colors out as wide as possible.

e Place one drop of liquid dish soap in the center of the bowl.

r You may want to dip a toothpick in the dish soap so that

MATH CONNECTION

Try these fun math games with your family at home.

Race for $1

a small drop of soap remains on the end of the toothpick, then touch the drop to the surface of the milk.

t Observe what happens.

Think of the following questions: What happens to the food coloring when you first put it in the milk? Why do you think that happened?

What happens when you add the drop of soap? What direction does the food color move when you first add the drop of soap? What direction does the food color move after the experiment has been running for a while? How long does the movement last? Does it slowly fade or stop suddenly? What happens if you add another drop of soap after the colors have stopped moving?

Learning Standards: I can follow sequential directions to complete an Family Game Night

In this game, you will practice your money skills. You will need 30 pennies, 10 nickels, 20 dimes, 1 quarter, a dollar, 2 dice and 2 players. The youngest person will go first. Roll both dice. Add the sum. Take that number of pennies. Once you have 5 pennies, trade for a nickel. Once you have 10 cents, trade for a dime. Players will continue taking turns rolling the dice. The first person to reach $1 wins!

Place Value Race

In this game, you will practice place value skills. You will need a deck of cards and 2 or more players. The object of the game is to collect all the cards. First, remove all cards from the decks that are not numbers. If two people are playing, divide the cards evenly between them. Each player turns over a card at the same time. Player 1 represents the 10s place and Player 2 represents the 1s place. The first player to say the number represented, gets to keep

both cards. For example, player 1 turns over a 6 and player 2 turns over a 3, the first person to say “63” gets to keep both cards. If you have 3 players, you will have the 100s, 10s, and 1s place represented.

Salute

In this game, you will need a deck of cards (only the cards with numbers) and 3 players. You will have Player A, Player B, and a Judge. Divide the cards evenly between Player A and Player B. Player A and Player B will sit facing each other, will draw a card, and will place it on their forehead. The judge will state the sum of these two numbers out loud. The first player to guess their number wins both cards. Keep playing until one of the players has won all of the cards.

Learning Standards: I can add, subtract, multiply, and divide to solve a problem. I can identify place value.

DID YOU KNOW?

SCIENCE STARS

African American Chemical Engineer and STEM Educator Tokiwa Smith

Tokiwa Smith grew up in Florida. She graduated from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University with a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. She taught in Atlanta public schools, Georgia State University, Atlanta, and Spelman College. She has over 12 years’ experience working with STEM education.

Smith founded a group to expose urban youth to STEM called Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Link, Org. (semsuccess.org). She is also the CEO of Kemet Educational Services, which specializes in STEM educational activities. She writes for HBCU Lifestyle, which is a website for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. She is the Oakland contributor for the blog www. blackgivesback.com which focuses on African Americans who give back to their community. Her personal blog, entitled the Science Socialite can be found at www. thesciencesocialite.wordpress.com. Finally, she is also a member of the Coalition for the Public Understanding of Science (CoPUS).

In 2013, she appeared on Ebony Magazine’s Top 10 Twitter Tweeps to Follow. In 2014, she wrote the book “A Guide to Hosting STEM Events.” She also appeared on NPR’s Women Digital Thinkers Tweet for a Day.

To read an interview with Smith about her experience in STEM, visit: https://blogs. scientificamerican.com/urban-scientist/tokiwa-t-smithexposing-an-encouraging-urban-youth-in-science-and-math/. Learning Standards: who has made contributions in the fields of science, engineering, technology, and mathematics.

MAP CORNER

Enjoy these activities that help you get to know your St. Louis American newspaper.

Activities — I Want That: Look through the items for sale in the newspaper advertisements. Choose an item you would like to have. Write a paragraph persuading your parents to buy the item for you. Make sure you include the point you want to prove, three or more supporting details, and a concluding statement.

Thinking Out

Loud: Identify and explain the message conveyed in a news story by sharing your thoughts. Read the story aloud. Pause occasionally to take turns sharing what you are thinking with your family. Your thoughts can be in the form of a question, comment, or feeling about what is being read.

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can write for a specific purpose and audience. I can make text-to-self connections.

Photo by Wiley Price / St.

THANK YOU to our heroes on the front lines, providing care and hope to our communities

No matter what anxiety or uncertainty we have felt facing the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are two things we are certain of:

FIRST, we know that we will make it through this difficult time, together.

SECOND, our BJC, Mercy, SSM Health and St. Luke’s patient care teams are truly inspiring.

THANK YOU, HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

To say that our team members have risen to the occasion in extraordinary fashion would be an understatement. Our patient care teams are on the front lines of the outbreak, providing exceptional care and hope to our patients and our communities.

These teams include a range of individuals, from doctors and nurses to techs, therapists and other clinical professionals to patient transporters, housekeepers, dietary and other support staff who are steadfast in the face of adversity and dedicated to giving their best to our patients.

For all the hours they work, for their expertise, compassion and resolve in an ever-changing environment and for their patience and understanding as situations change daily, both on the job and in our world — we say: Thank you. We are inspired by your demonstration of your calling. You are our heroes and we are extremely proud of you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COVID-19 AND RELATED ISSUES, CALL OR VISIT: Missouri Department of Health 877-435-8411

Illinois Department of Health dph.illinois.gov/covid19 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov who.int/emergencies/diseases/ novel-coronavirus-2019 bjc.org/coronavirus mercy.net/covid19 ssmhealth.com stlukes-stl.com

KEEPING TEAM MEMBERS HEALTHY WHAT WE ALL MUST DO

REMEMBER, OUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS GO TO WORK FOR YOU.

Rich Liekweg President and CEO

Soul music’s poet passes at 81

Music legend Bill Withers mourned and celebrated

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

It is clear when listening to the timeless catalog of Bill Withers that he was a poet first and a musician second.

Withers, who penned and soulfully crooned such classics as “Lovely Day,” “Lean On Me” and “Just The Two of Us” passed away on Monday, March 31 of heart-related illness. He was 81.

“A solitary man with a heart driven to connect to the world at large, with his poetry and music, he spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other,” The family said in a

An ode to black dance

The COCA Dane Ensembles, under the direction of Antonio and Kirven Douthit-Boyd, delivered a beautifully moving tribute to the depth and range of African American movement with their concert “Winter Rep: A Movement in Color,” last December.

‘God’s got me’

DJ Kut and 95.5 FM part ways

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

A collective gasp took place among listeners of black radio in St. Louis Tuesday night. DJ Kut, a legend on the turntables and evening personality for the Urban One St. Louis station 95.5 FM The Lou, announced yesterday was his last day as their evening personality. Kut broke the news of his departure from the station, which has been his on-air home since 2011, via Facebook.

“I am humbled and grateful for the long run that I had, and I thank you all for an amazing experience,” Kut said of his time at 95.5 FM. Kut was one of several Urban One St. Louis employees – including on air personalities Ms. Sinita, Meghan O and Miss Pooh – that were dismissed as a cost saving measure to offset economic strain faced by media and countless other industries in the wake of revenue losses due to COVID-19. The outpouring by fans responding to his message with memories and vows of support regarding his future endeavors was overwhelming, even for a 30-year-veteran of radio.

“It’s hard to see the picture inside the frame, so you really don’t know how people feel about you until they actually show you,” said Kut, who is also known for keeping the party hype on the tables at large and small scale concerts and events. Thousands chimed in as they shared and

tenure at Urban One St. Louis radio station 95.5 FM The Lou. He broke the news via Facebook that Tuesday, April 7 was last day on their airwaves.

Cleanse, condition, moisturize

Marie Simone recommends simple at-home hair care during social distancing

By Kenya Vaughn

Marie Simone made it clear to her clientele that she will not be putting her hands in anyone’s hair in the immediate future because of COVID-19. The calls, texts, emails and DMs didn’t stop after the internationally renowned stylist and owner of Shi Salon made the announcement that Shi would be suspending services to comply with precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus –they multiplied.

“Women are really stressing out about their hair,” Simone said.

She spent her last few days in business assembling hair care packages and offering DIY consultations for her clients on how they can manage their hair. They won’t be able to sit in her salon until orders are lifted – which could be as far away as early summer.

n “Don’t panic, It’s okay for your hair to rest.

- Marie Simone

Three weeks in, they are already reaching out for advice on how to apply their own relaxers and color their own hair.

Simone has a universal suggestion for them; don’t.

She had one client who was ready to go to the store and get a relaxer kit, but she didn’t know that she needed neutralizing shampoo to offset the chemical reaction – and would have surely burned her hair to the scalp.

“Don’t panic,” Simone said. “It’s okay for your hair to rest – and for you not to put a chemical on there for a couple of months. The main objective is to keep the hair on your head healthy.”

The most important practice for at home hair maintenance is to keep the hair properly cleansed, conditioned and moisturized.

“I’m all about taking it back to the basics,” Simone said. “The less you do to your hair at this time, the better off you will be when you are able to get back to your stylist.

This is bittersweet, but I know God has something better in store for him.” Kut is taking it all in stride. He knows the industry he’s in. No one is ever 100 percent

in the “here today, gone later today” climate – magnified as the world awaits the full scope of the financial fallout from the coronavirus. Kut has a six-month non-compete clause, which is standard operating procedure when

The last thing Simone and other stylists want upon returning to their salons is having to nurse their client’s hair back to health.

“Why not take this time to give your hair a rest and let it breathe?”

Simone also strongly suggests that women stay away from DIY haircuts, color, excessive heat, relaxers or any other type of chemicals.

See Hair, B2

Singer and songwriter Bill Withers passed away on Monday, March 31 at the age of 81.

Withers,

Photo by Wiley Price/St. Louis American

radio personalities part ways with media companies. He’s been preparing for this for nearly five years.

A proud provider, Kut went about creating a safety net for himself and his family in recent years – almost prophetically – based on what he saw while working at the top of the nation’s radio market, in New York City.

“I saw Ed Lover get let go from Power 105 and couldn’t get a job,” Kut said. “I was like, ‘Mr. Yo MTV Raps, the icon?’ It ain’t going to happen to me.” He earned his license to sell life insurance in 2016 and his real estate license in January.

“Let me have some other things outside of music and radio that I can control,” Kut said.

Does that mean he’s done with radio? Absolutely not.

“Radio is in my blood, so there is no way that I will walk away,” Kut said.

FM origins

Already a respected DJ on the local hip-hop scene, Kut’s began his radio career exactly 30 years ago this year at KCFV 89.5 FM. It was the campus radio station for St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, where Kut took classes.

“Man, who knew?” Kut said. Plenty of the heavy hitters on the local hip-hop and club scene had an idea after seeing him blaze the tables as the featured DJ for rap duo The Chill The Posse. In 1992, DJ G-Wiz saw his potential and asked him if he wanted to become a resident DJ for the popular Saints roller rink.

“I wasn’t thinking down the road, but was living by myself and I was like, ‘Okay, Saints is paying $60 a set - three sets a week – and my rent is $250. That will help knockout my rent,” Kut said. He didn’t know that by saying yes to that gig, he was reshaping his own future – and still feeling the ripple effect.

“You had an average of 800-1,000 teens coming there partying with me,” Kut said. “And these are the people in 2020 that these people who were listening to me at Saints and follow me to the club this very day.”

Already a respected DJ on the local hip-hop scene, Kut’s began his radio career exactly 30 years ago this year at KCFV 89.5 FM, the campus radio station for St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley

Saints is where he earned his reputation as “the club rocker.” He became a mix master at live hip hop shows and the notoriously competitive radio market paved the way for him to ultimately reach the pinnacle within the field.

“Coming through St. Louis radio, at one-point Majic 108 was the only game in town,” Kut said. “You had Tossin’ Ted, Doc Love, who were there before me. I had to wait my turn. Getting to a place like New York, it was like “I’m already used to these types of obstacles.”

Before he landed in New York, Kut played to audiences around the nation as the DJ for Nelly and the St. Lunatics for MTV’s “Total Request Live Tour.”

Nelly became a superstar and Kut landed a job on the top-rated radio station in the nation, Power 105 in New York City. He stayed there for eight years and became famous in his own right on a national scale and established relationships with some of the biggest names in the music, media and entertainment industries.

“I love Kut. He is the best at what he does,” legendary rapper MC Lyte said when she was paired with him for The St. Louis American Foundation

Jazz patriarch Ellis Marsalis Jr. passes at 85

Father of Wynton and Brandford, teacher of music greats, succumbs to COVID-19

By American staff

Jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis Jr. died on Wednesday, April 1 after complications from the coronavirus. He was 85.

His death was confirmed on Twitter by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who called him the “prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz.”

“Ellis Marsalis was an icon — and words aren’t sufficient to describe the art, the joy & the wonder he showed the world,” Cantrell continued.

Salute to Excellence in Education Budweiser Black Crown Afterparty in 2013. Kut jumped over to WBLS 107.5 FM for a year, before heading back home to Foxy 95.5 in 2011. Those teens who rocked with him as they made their way around the rink at Saints, were now the grown and sexy radio listeners and became his instant devotees.

He credits the mentorship he received in St. Louis as the foundation for his long-term success within the field, particularly with how legendary local personalities like Dr. Jockenstein, Doc Wynter, Kevy Kev and Captain G (who got him in the door at Majic) engaged with fans.

“As we see with this, [in radio] it’s here today, gone tomorrow,” Kut said. “And what people are going to remember is how you treated them.”

What’s next? Like so many in this unprecedented time, he’s not sure. But he’s extremely confident that things will shake out well for him – just as they always have – thanks in large part to his resourcefulness.

“I want all the listeners and all the people to know that it ain’t over. God’s got me,” Kut said. “And Nothing is going to stop me from doing what I’m meant to do.”

He was an acclaimed pianist who helped bring the bebop style south to New Orleans, played alongside some of the biggest names in jazz and recorded 20 solo albums. But he was most celebrated as a teacher. Training among his students were multiple Grammy-winning artists Harry Connick Jr. and Terence Blanchard.

“This man is the beginning and the reason I am who I am,” Blanchard said in a Facebook post.

“I owe everything to this man. My first records to listen to were given to me by him in an effort to open my mind. He wanted ALL of us to be BETTER and know what you’re doing with no guess work.”

Also among his students were his six sons. Four of them went on to become successful musicians.

“My dad was a giant of a musician and teacher, but an even greater father,” Branford Marsalis said in a statement. “He poured everything he had into making us the best of what we could be.”

Branford Marsalis said his father was originally admitted to the hospital on Saturday under suspicion of having contracted the virus.

Louisiana officials have

Withers

Continued from B1

“If your hair grows out, try twisting it or rolling it,” said Simone. “If your bangs are too long, tuck it behind your ear. We are in a global health crisis; we don’t want to be too vain at this time.” If you already have a chemical on your hair, Simone says it is essential to keep your hair moisturized – and the less heat the better, to minimize wear and tear.

And if you have a sew-in, taking it out to give your hair a rest is the best option.

“You’re not supposed to be going anywhere or doing anything,” Simone said. “And anything you cover up, you smother. Let your scalp breathe in these six-to-eight weeks [of social distancing] we are in. Let your hair rest.” If a woman is unable to take the sew-in out herself, Simone says be sure to keep the scalp and the hair under the sew-in thoroughly moisturized.

“The key is your scalp and your hair follicles, because the weave is just weave.”

She recommends lemongrass oil, olive oil – or her own product, No. 7 Pixie Elixir, which includes seven essential oils. If the weave grows out,

Simone says the best thing is to consult with a stylist via phone, FaceTime or Zoom so they can be walked through the removal process to minimize tension and other trauma.

“Go ahead and take it out and embrace your natural hair,” Simone said.

She also says that there are stylists offering tele-consultations at reduced rates to help ease the process of self-haircare.

Heat should be kept to a minimum for those who won’t be able to refrain from tuning up their style with a curler or flat iron.

“Even if your curler goes up to 400, that level of heat is for professionals,” Simone said. “Keep it at 250. And make sure that before any heat is administered that the hair is properly cleansed, conditioned and dry.”

Knowing the difference between cleansing and conditioning products and maintenance products is essential to at-home hair care.

“Conditioning products are your shampoo and conditioner,” Simone said. “Maintenance products are your hairsprays, oils, gels, edge control and that just help you maintain your style. The type of shampoo and conditioner that is best for you will depend on your hair type, but our hair tends to lack moisture, so get into deep conditioning products as you

maintain your own hair to keep it healthy.”

Aveda and Davines are her go to product lines, and Simone wants everyone to be mindful that healthy living and healthy hair go hand in hand.

“It also matters what you are putting into your body,” Simone said. “The best beauty booster is drinking water, eating fruits and vegetables and getting rest.”

Hair should be tied up at night - or at least have a silk pillow to sleep on, because cotton pulls moisture from the hair.

This social distancing period is the perfect time for women to get reacquainted with their own hair and what products work for them – but keep products to a minimum so that you can isolate which products work best.

And be mindful of the internet as you seek direction and variety.

“They go on YouTube and look at a lot of the vloggers,” Simone said. “I love the vloggers, but what I find is that a lot of them are not licensed stylists – and they are talking about their hair and what works for their hair. Take this time to get to know your hair.”

Marie Sinone is owner and stylist for Shi Salon, for more information, visit www.mariesimone.com.

Continued from B1

statement announcing Withers’ passing. “As private a life as he lived close to intimate family and friends, his music forever belongs to the world.”

He wasn’t a vocal powerhouse, but his steady and soothing tone made it easier to tune into the most delicious part of his music – his way with words. With his music he transported listeners straight to the apex of a compelling story. In “I Can’t Write Left-Handed” he details the horrors of the Vietnam War from the perspective of a wounded soldier. Once excited about the prospect of battle, the soldier must ask for help writing home after being shot in the shoulder.

He spoke unapologetically about being caught up in an unreciprocated relationship in “Use Me,” and the power of a mutually adoring partnership in “Lovely Day.” His “Grandma’s Hands” spoke to the healing wisdom of his family matriarch that anyone with a loving, God-fearing grandmother can connect with.

His biggest hit “Lean On Me,” was a rarity in that it is a ballad that speaks to the comfort and need for platonic love. Withers wrote the now iconic hit to soothe his own loneliness while longing for the comfort of his home community of the

reported more than 6,400 cases of coronavirus in the state, and at least 273 people have died.

His son Wynton Marsalis became the first jazz performer to win the Pulitzer prize for music. Branford Marsalis, a saxophonist, would go on to play with Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie and crossed over into pop, playing with Sting and recording the saxophone solo for Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power.”

“My daddy was a humble man with a lyrical sound that captured the spirit of place-New Orleans, the Crescent City, The Big Easy, the Curve,” Wynton Marsalis said via Facebook. “He was a stonecold believer without extravagant tastes. Like many parents, he sacrificed for us and made so much possible.”

According to Wynton Marsalis, his father set an example for all of his students to be patient,, to want to learn and to respect teaching and thinking and to embrace the joy of seriousness.

“He taught us that you could be conscious and stand your ground with an opinion rooted ‘in something’ even if it was

coal mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia while living in Los Angeles.

William Harrison Withers Jr. was born on Independence Day 1938 in Slab Fork. He was the youngest of six children born to coal miner William Withers and domestic worker Mattie Withers.

At 17, he joined the Navy and served for nine years, where he received training as an aircraft mechanic. After his discharge, he settled in Los Angeles and earned a living working at aircraft assembly plants.

He bought a guitar from a pawn shop and spent his own money recording demos in the effort to land a record deal.

He signed to Sussex Records in 1971 and released his debut album “Just As I Am,” which included the classics “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Grandma’s Hands.” His follow up album “Still Bill,” which included “Lean On Me,” “Use Me” and “Who is He (And What Is He to You).”

He went on to record eight studio albums and a live album before walking away from making new music altogether in 1985.

“I became very interested [in the question], can I still stay in this business and be effective and make a living, and not have to play this fame game? I wasn’t any good at it. The fame game was kickin’ my [expletive],” Withers said in the documentary “Still Bill,” which

overwhelmingly unfashionable. And that if it mattered to someone, it mattered,” Wynton Marsalis said, “He was my North Star and the only opinion that really deep down mattered to me was his because I grew up seeing how much he struggled and sacrificed to represent and teach vital human values that floated far above the stifling segregation and prejudice that defined his youth but, strangely enough, also imbued his art with an even more pungent and biting accuracy.”

Two more of Ellis’s six sons also became jazz performers: Jason Marsalis, a drummer, and Delfeayo Marsalis, a trombonist.

“My friend and Harvard Law professor David Wilkins just sent me the following text: ‘We can all marvel at the sheer audacity of a man who believed he could teach his black boys to be excellent in a world that denied that very possibility,’” Branford Marsalis said. “‘And then watch them go on to redefine what excellence means for all time.’”

Information from the New York Times, USA Today and NPR contributed to this report.

premiered in 2009 at South by Southwest Film Festival. Two years after he stopped recording music, the Club Nouveau remake of his hit “Lean On Me” earned him another Grammy. He was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame by Stevie Wonder in 2015 – and into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

“We’ve got to show a lot of love to Bill’s wife and children and keep the legacy of what he left behind going ever strong,” Wonder told Billboard.com. He revealed that Withers had reached out to him just weeks prior to his passing about recording new music together. “I think every artist, at some point, should record one of his songs on their projects.” His music has been covered by some of the biggest names in music – and featured in countless films, including “The Hangover,” “Jerry Maguire,” “Crooklyn” and “Flight.” His song “Lean On Me” has seen a surge in popularity as individuals have sought out inspiration, optimism and a sense of solidarity in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones,” Withers’ family said. He is survived by his wife, Marcia and his children, Todd and Kori.

Ellis Marsalis Jr., music educator, New Orleans jazz great and father of Wynton and Branford Marsalis, passed away on April 1. He was one of hundreds who have died in Louisiana due to complications from COVID-19.

Hair

Photography/Graphics by: Michael Thomas, Wiley Price and Davisproject.com

Celebrations

Reunions

Beaumont High Class of 1965 has scheduled its 55-year reunion celebration for the weekend of Sept 25-26, 2020. The Meet and Greet (9/25) and Dinner/Dance (9/26) will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn St. Louis Airport, 4450 Evans Place, St. Louis, MO 63134. Cost is $100 per

person. For additional info contact Geraldine Reid (314) 868-8284.

Beaumont High Class of 1970 has scheduled its 50-year reunion celebration for the weekend of 10/16/2010/18/20. The banquet will be held at The Embassy Suites (downtown), 610 N. 7th St. We are currently working on finalizing plans to make this our best reunion yet! Please forward your current contact info to: beaumontclassof1970@gmail. com, so that we can keep you informed.

Beaumont High Class of 1975 is planning its 45-year reunion for August 14-16, 2020. For information contact Gale Bailey at 314-838-8493, Brady Colvin at 314-954-7537 or Cynthia Parham at 314-8694049.

Central High Class of 1970 is in the process of planning its 50-year reunion in 2020. We are trying to locate former classmates. If you would like to receive additional information as we plan this momentous occasion, please provide your contact information to either Lillian

Birthdays

Happy 50th Birthday to Samuel Hudson on April 1st. Welcome to the 50 Club young man! Love Always, Carla, Dainielle, Kisha, Ashley, Mario and Snickers. Celebrations will be held at a later date.

McKinney at mamajoyce314@ icloud.com or (314) 335-9760, Eric Armstrong at elarmstr@ yahoo.com or (918) 6503385, Sabra Morris-Pernod at Saboots@centurytel.net or (314) 703-0812.

Calling All L’Ouverture School Graduates of June 1962. Our class is hosting an event celebrating our historic L’Ouverture Elementary School. Please join us at our next meeting: March 21, 2020 (Saturday), 2:00pm at 3245 Geyer Ave, 63104. For information, contact: Evelyn at (314) 773-8702 or Valerie

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO., 63103

at (314) 664-6270, email: valeriemiller06179@att.net. Also: Help us make contact with any person who served as staff member at L’O, any time period, up through 2013.

Northwest High Class of 1975 is planning its 45-year reunion and requests all 1975 classmates to update their contact information at nwhs75@gmail.com to get additional details. Please save the dates of Friday, October 9 - Sunday, October 11, 2020 in St. Louis, MO. We will see you in October.

Willie and Cecelia Holloway celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on March 21. They are pastors at Gospel Power Christian Church in Northwoods. They have six children and 12 grandchildren. They are proud graduates of Sumner High School.

82nd Birthday to Mrs. Alversia Martin. Thank you for your leadership and guidance. Love you always! From, your grandson Mike

SportS EyE

Rockets shock Lakers, go on to claim fantasy NBA title in one-and-done format

In a major (mythical) upset, the 10th-seeded Houston Rockets stun LeBron James and the second-seed Los Angeles Lakers in a quarterfinal matchup in the NBA Championship Tournament concocted by yours truly.

The Rockets, whose lineup featured four guards and a forward throughout the tournament, outscored and outhustled the Toronto Raptors in the semifinals before topping Boston in the title game. Sounds crazy? Hear me out.

The Rockets could have won the title the previous three seasons, but the team just isn’t built to win two or three best-ofseven series in succession. The reliance on three-point shots and suspect defense found a way to drag them down. Instead of finding ways to win critical games, the Rockets invented ways to lose. Remember the 27-consecutive missed threes in the 2018 Western Conference Final Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors.

But with James Harden and Russell Westbrook now on the same team, the Rockets could find five separate wins in a single elimination tournament. An overconfident Lakers team learns this the hard way. In the real world, the Lakers’ James is still whining about fan-less games. I carried that attitude into my tournament. He, teammate Anthony Davis and other superstars could be worried about everything other than winning this crazy once-in-a-lifetime NBA tournament.

Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum and the Celtics would take it seriously – or seriously enough to reach the championship game against the Rockets.

The Celtics, the tournament’s fifth seed, would do the Rockets a big favor by beating the second-seed Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks’ center/forward Giannis Antetokounmpo

NBA Championshp Tournament

would single-handedly destroy the Rockets, but that’s the beauty of the single-elimination tournament. The best team doesn’t always win. The same pattern would play out if the NBA played the same style tournament to determine its crazy 2020 champion. While the Rockets over the Lakers stands out, the tournament features several other upsets.

Bradley Beal poured in 51

points and his Washington Wizards, the lowly 22nd seed, topples 11th seeded Dallas. Owner Mark Cuban is livid and announced he will run as an independent for president. Beal would be quieted by the defensive-minded Denver Nuggets in the next round and outplayed by Missouri one-and-done Michael Porter Jr. With the season complete, Beal would be eligible to be traded and he would demand

that the next day. I tipped my hand last week on the San Antonio Spurs beating the Philadelphia 76ers. That shouldn’t be considered an upset. Gregg Popovich’s Spurs would then lose in overtime to the L.A. Clippers, the tournament’s only game to go past regulation time. As much as I wanted to take the New Orleans Pelicans over the Lakers, I just couldn’t do it. But Zion Williamson and his teammates take the Lakers down to the wire, setting the stage for the Rockets’ upset in the next round. So, there you have it. The Rockets are champions. God help us all.

The Reid Roundup returns next week

Alvin A. Reid was honored

St. Louis American Boys Fab Five Boys Basketball

By Earl Austin Jr Of The St

The members of the 2020 St. Louis American Boys “Fab Five” All-Star Team are a collection of talented perimeter players that have experienced a lot of winning during their stellar careers. The team is led by star guard Caleb Love of CBC, who became the area’s latest McDonald’s All-American. The Vashon High duo of Cam’Ron Fletcher and Phillip Russell followed up a Class 3 state championship in 2019 with a Class 4 Final Four berth this season.

Junior guard Mario Fleming led Cardinal Ritter College Prep to the Class 3 state championship while metro east standout Ray’Sean Taylor finished his career as one of the best in the school’s history. Here is a look at the first team members of the St. Louis American Fab Five.

Mario Fleming (Cardinal Ritter) - The powerful junior guard led the Lions to the Class 3 state championship. Fleming

averaged a team-high 19 points a game while shooting 57 percent from the field and 36 percent from the free throw line. He has the low post game of a power forward while developing his perimeter game to become one of the most difficult players to match up with in the city.

Cam’Ron Fletcher (Vashon) - The multi-skilled forward was one of the most dynamic and exciting players to watch in the state of Missouri. When he wasn’t throwing down high flying slam dunks, he was knocking down 3-pointers. As a senior, Fletcher averaged 20.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. He led the Wolverines to a 24-5 record and a Final Four berth. Fletcher is headed to perennial national

power Kentucky next season.

Caleb Love (CBC) - The St. Louis American Player of the Year, Love concluded a stellar career by leading the Cadets to a Final Four berth in the Class 5 state tournament. Love averaged 27 points, 6.4 rebounds, three assists and two steals. He had the ability to score from anywhere on the court and do it with flair and athleticism. He was capable of dropping 40 points at any time. Love was selected to The McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit. He will be taking his talents to North Carolina next season.

Phillip Russell (Vashon) - The sweet shooting, slick ball handling combo guard had a big hand in the Wolverines winning a lot of

games over the last three seasons. When it came to filling it in from long distance, he was one of the best as he made 63 3-pointers. He also averaged 15.7 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field.

Ray’Sean Taylor (Collinsville) - The talented lefty point guard finished his career as the all-time leading scorer of this storied metro east program. Taylor averaged 23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field and making 50 3-pointers. He also averaged five assists a game in leading the Kahoks to a 31-3 record and the Southwestern Conference championship. He had an epic 53-point performance in a victory over Trinity in the championship game of the Belleville East Tournament. He signed with SIU-Edwardsville.

Other St. Louis

American All-Stars

Second Team

Kobe Clark 6’6” Vashon (Sr)

Lamontay Daugherty

6’7” Mehlville (Sr)

Ryan Kalkbrenner

7’0” Trinity (Sr.)

Tarris Reed, Jr 6’8” (Soph.)

Sam Richardson

6’5” Hancock (Sr)

Third Team

Davion Bradford

7’0” Mehlville (Sr)

Dylan Branson

6’5” Mehlville (Sr)

Garry Clark

6’7” Cardinal Ritter (Sr)

Luke Kasubke

6’5” Chaminade (Sr)

Matt Schark

6’4” Francis Howell (Sr)

Fourth Team

Devon Barshow

6’6” McCluer (Sr)

Alvin A. Reid

HANDS ON PROPERTY MANAGER

Must be able to bring vacant rental units back to top rental condition and show. No large renovations but must have good skills with drywall, painting, light plumbing, roofing and HVAC a plus. Salary plus commission with opportunity to grow into ownership position. Respond with qualifications and experience to propertymgr2020@gmail.com

The State of Missouri is accepting applications for a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in the Cape Girardeau area. Starting salary is $40, 728-$42,744. View job description and application instructions at https://mocareers. hiretrue-prod.com/hiretrue/ce3/ job-board/5effe9b2-4b89-494b-ac76c45e25190768/09c18441-e563-4cb68de6-0911100aacf9

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Missouri Health Care for All is hiring a Communications Manager based in St. Louis. Apply at https:// missourihealthcareforall.org/ mhcfa-is-hiring/

at St. Louis Lambert International Airport

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service, Room 208, City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 63103 until 1:45 PM, CT, on May 12, 2020, then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stl-bps.org (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly throughthe BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City and State laws (including DBE/MBE/WBE policies). Mandatory prebid meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at 10:00 A.M. in the Ozark Conference Room (AO-4066) at the Airport Office Building, 11495 Navaid Rd., Bridgeton, MO 63044.

All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www.stl-bps.org (Virtual Plan Room).(Announcements).

BIDS

CF Vatterott Construction Co. 10143 Paget Dr. St. Louis, Mo. Is seeking subcontractor bids for new home construction in Lemay. St. Louis, Mo. Section 3 Minority, Women & Disadvantaged Businesses are encouraged to bid. Plans & Specs can be viewed at CF Vatterott office.10143 Paget Dr. St. Louis, Mo 63132. Bids are due by April 15 and are subject to section 3 requirements. Intended qualified applicants for subcontractors are selected without regard to race, sex, color, age, religion, or national origin.

BIDS

DEPUTY BUILDING COMMISSIONER

Inspects residential and commercial property for code compliance, including electrical, plumbing and mechanical inspections. Performs plan reviews and issues permits. Other duties as assigned, including acts as the Building Commissioner in the absence of the Director. Must have 5 years experience as an inspector; plan review experience, some supervisory experience; valid driver’s license; no disqualifying criminal history. IBC certified. Starting salary $40,572.00 (GS16-C) NO RESUMES ACCEPTED WITHOUT COMPLETION OF OUR APPLICATION! Completed applications may be mailed, emailed to jobs@cityofjennings.org or faxed to 314-388-3999. Applications accepted until the position is filled. Please include copies of any certifications.

REQUEST FOR BIDS

PINNACLE CONTRACTING

1815 LOCUST

1815 Locust Street, St. Louis, MO 63103

Due date: 4/28/20 at 2:00pm

Pre-bid walkthroughs: 4/13 and 4/20 from 1pm-3:15pm

*Please visit the Building Connected Project page to access the sign up sheet for the walkthrough Description: Pinnacle Contracting is accepting bids for:

3-story, 70-unit historic rehab with sitework. The following trades have been awarded: Plumbing, Fire Protection, HVAC, and Electrical. Project to start 6/15/20 with an overall 10.5 month duration. Solar panels, membrane roofing, historic aluminum windows, and landscaping are by owner. Project is Sales Tax Exempt. HUD/Davis Bacon Prevailing Wage is required. NHBS Green Practices are required. MBE/WBE participation is required per Mayor’s Executive Order.

*You may view the plans/specs and submit bids on Building Connected. For any questions please contact Keana at bids@pinnaclecontracting.com, or 314-783-8000 ext. 0.

ICS Construction is seeking firms interested in bidding the tenant build-out of a “Confidential” Project at Cortex. Bids must be submitted by no later than 4:00pm on April 29, 2020. Interested bidders may contact Todd Zavaglia at 314-534-6664 or tzavaglia@ics-stl.com.

SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

OF ST. LOUIS COUNTY ACCEPTING SEALED BIDS (SSD# 110-20)

Notice to contractors, Special School District is accepting bids for Interior Upgrades at Litzsinger, Ackerman & Southview Schools. For details, please visit the website at www.ssdmo.org/rfps.html

The 22nd Judicial Circuit is currently soliciting proposals for Electronic Monitoring Services for pretrial defendants.

The request for proposals is available on the Court’s website http://www.stlcitycircuitcourt.com click on General Information, then Request for Proposals.

Proposals must be received no later than 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 1, 2020.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

City of St. Louis Choice Neighborhood Grant Section 3 Management Improvements

The City of St. Louis requests proposals from qualified service providers capable of preparing and assuring registration by Choice Neighborhood residents and other residents of the City of St. Louis as Section 3 Residents and Businesses for federally-funded programs available at both the Community Development Administration (CDA) department and the St. Louis Housing Authority. The activity will be funded over a 3-year period by a Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant (CNIG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administered by the CDA. The five-phase funding completion deadline is December 2022. CDA will award a contract to the lowest and most responsive proposal. Provider selection is subject to the availability of federal funding and is at the sole discretion of the City of St. Louis. The RFP in its entirety can be found on the Community Development Administration (CDA) website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/cda/ Proposals must be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on April 30, 2020 to Matt Moak, Community Development Administration, 1520 Market St. – Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103. Questions concerning the RFP may be directed to MoakM@stlouis-mo.gov

CDA does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, familial status or sexual orientation in the administration of the program.

CDA is an Equal Opportunity Agency Minority Participation is Encouraged

Notice To MODOT DBE Certified Businesses Advertisement River City Construction, L.L.C., 6640 American Setter Drive, Ashland, Missouri 65010, (573) 657-7380 (Phone) (573) 657-7381 (Fax) Is Seeking MODOT DBE Certified Businesses for the Columbia Airport Terminal Project in Columbia, Missouri, (RFP 17/2020) for subcontracting opportunities in the following areas: earthwork, excavation, paving, utilities, landscape, fencing, concrete, masonry, metal panels, structural steel, carpentry, roofing, doors, glazing, painting, drywall, flooring, conveying equipment, specialties, furnishings, fire suppression, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, communications, Electronic security. All interested and MODOT DBE Certified businesses should contact Martha Leahy (mleahy@rccllc.com); or Joe Seymour (jseymour@rccllc.com) to discuss the subcontracting opportunities. All negotiations must be completed prior to the bid opening date 4/30/2020 @ 2:00 PM. Proposals will be evaluated in order on the basis of low responsive bid received. MODOT DBE CERTIFICATION STATUS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH BID. BID DOCUMENTS MAY BE OBTAINED BY:

1) Email your company name, contact name and phone number, as well as the project you are interested in to bid@rccllc.com

2) You will then receive an email invitation for that project with a link to our SmartBidNet system.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

City of St. Louis Healthy Home Repair Program Appraisals

The City of St. Louis requests proposals from state licensed real estate appraisers to conduct “after-rehab” appraisals to determine the value of properties that receive assistance through the City’s Healthy Home Repair Program (HHRP). The activity is funded by an annual allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and administered by the Community Development Administration (CDA). CDA will award a contract to the lowest and most responsive proposal. Project selection is subject to federal funding and is at the sole discretion of the City of St. Louis.

The RFP in its entirety can be found on the Community Development Administration (CDA) website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/cda/. Proposals must be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on April 30, 2020 to Matt Moak, Community Development Administration, 1520 Market St – Suite 2000, St. Louis, MO 63103. Questions concerning the RFP may be directed to MoakM@stlouis-mo.gov

CDA does not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, familial status or sexual orientation in the administration of the program.

CDA is an Equal Opportunity Agency

Minority Participation is Encouraged

DRAW OBSERVATION SERVICES

The Missouri Lottery is accepting bids for the purpose of establishing a contract for draw observation services. The bid document with the specifications can be obtained by going to http://www.molottery.com/ learnaboutus/bid_opportunities.shtm or by contacting Melissa Blankenship at melissa.blankenship@molottery.com or 573-751-4050.

VACANT LAND FOR SALE OR LEASE

1014 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO

Request for Proposals: www.stltreasurer.org/ avada_portfolio/request-for-proposal-topurchase/

SEALED BIDS

BidsforRoof Replacements at Missouri Lottery Headquarters and Distribution Center, Project No. N2007-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30PM, 4/16/20 via M i s s o u r i B U Y S . Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

Advertisement for: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The City of St Louis Department of Health is seeking separate proposals for the implementation of Cure Violence in the Walnut Park and Dutchtown neighborhoods.

Requests for Proposals may be obtained beginning April 2, 2020, from the City of St. Louis Department of Health, ATTN: Harold Bailey, 1520 Market StreetSuite 4051, St. Louis MO 63103, baileyh@stlouis-mo. gov, (314) 657-1568. Proposals may also be downloaded from the City of St. Louis website at http:// www.stlouis-mo.gov/. All questions must be submitted in writing no later than April 13, 2020, to Harold Bailey at the information listed above. All questions will be addressed through addenda posted on the St. Louis City website at http://stlouis-mo.gov/.

The deadline for submitting proposals is April 22, 2020, by 5:00 P.M. at the address listed above. Interested parties should respond to each request for proposals separately for which they have an interest. The Department of Health reserves the right to reject any or all responses with or without cause.

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:

Advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, imitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial\status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.“We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the

All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.”

Swag Snap of the Week

Farewell to Kut and all the now former HotFoxy folks. I must say that I was utterly shocked when I learned Tuesday night that DJ Kut, Meghan O, Mz Sinita, Miss Pooh would no longer be on air at Urban One St. Louis stations Hot 104.1 FM and 95.5 FM

The Lou. Time has flown by this last nine years he has been on the air – and he is a sure thing when it comes to moving the crowd as a DJ. The Rona has shaken every single industry. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it wasn’t any different in the radio game. I’ll miss him for now, but I’m certain that I won’t have to miss him for long. I’m also hoping for the best for Sinita, Meghan, Miss Pooh too. They are three of the coolest, most down to earth ladies in the game. I’m keeping y’all in my prayers and claiming that bigger and better things are in store for you all.

Battle of the hits. Every time I think I’m going to get bored with social media, somebody pops up with something to tide me all the way over. This week it was the battle of the hits as songwriters and producers squared off with their biggest hits in an Instagram faceoff. Everyone was talking about the Lil Jon vs. T-Pain, which was much more entertaining than I expected, but not my favorite. Folks seemed really surprised that Scott Storch wiped the floor with Mannie Fresh. How could y’all not see that coming? Yes, Mannie Fresh has “Back That Thang Up,” which has him in the hall of fame amongst pioneering twerkers and all of us looking for Cash Money to take over the 99 and the 2000s. But Scott Storch has songwriting/producing receipts so long that they have their own separate Wikipedia page. I’m so serious. Beyoncé, The Roots, P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Chris Brown, Nelly, Lil Kim…you know what, I would need a whole separate Partyline to really hip y’all so I will leave it alone except to say Storch’s win was warranted. I’m still sad that I couldn’t put my polka dot rayon skort set and kitten heels on in front of the computer and watch Mr. New Jack Swing Teddy Riley and Babyface square off. Riley said that the reason the IG battle was delayed was because ‘Face was feeling a bit under the weather and they want to “make sure the battle is done right.” I will be waiting. Surprisingly favorite of the IG Live battles belonged to Ne-Yo and Johnta Austin. I know some of you may not have heard of Johnta, but the stone-cold cutie is responsible for some R&B fire from the 90s and 2000s. The sound on this battle made me feel like they recorded it via a flip phone speaker in the back of an extremely turbulent low-budget airline, but they brought some hits to that thing, you hear me?! I was singing along for the whole 90 minutes – which made me realize that Ciara was low-key trying to kill us with her hook on Bow Wow’s “Like You. (which was Johnta’s track).” I was like, “If I hold my breath through this whole thing after living a stint of a somewhat sedentary lifestyle due to social distancing, I will suffocate myself.” STL in on the ‘Don’t Rush Challenge’ craze. So, the past week or so, the latest global social media craze is the “Don’t Rush” challenge. Here’s how it works. It’s kind of like an instant extreme makeover meets virtual tag. The song by Young T and Bugsey – which has finally given British hip-hop some play in the U.S. – starts off with whoever is featured in the clips that are edited together to appear as one video looking a mess. They wave something in front of the camera – handkerchief, makeup brush, wine glass or whatever – and voila, they are snatched for dear life. So far, I saw three groups of St. Louis folks make their own videos. And leave it to us to make the “Don’t Rush” Challenge video and not use the song. Well one of them did. But the other two featured Nelly’s “Country Grammar” and Chingy’s “Right Thurr.” I got life from all three. But I must say that one group should have told some of the participants to make sure their phones have the capacity for hi-res video. Now if your regular phone is busted and you are in limbo with your first cell phone ever due to social distancing, I will apologize in advance. But seriously, everybody was cute. Keep it up!

Def Comedy conversations for ‘The Rona’ relief fund. Before I get into it, let me first give a shout out to St. Louis’ own Cedric The Entertainer for stepping up and giving back to aid in the effort to fight The Rona. He didn’t have to spend his Sunday night with us to use the Def Comedy Jam to raise funds, but he did. Now I would be lying if I didn’t say I was expecting a least a few little jokes from his comedy call-ins over the course of the night. I felt like I was just eavesdropping on some phone calls of folks who don’t know how to hang up from each. I’m not dry hating, I just am stating my expectations. Now I got some cackles from Cedric, and Earthquake. But I was expecting to be kicking and screaming with laughter so hard that my neighbors could hear my kee-kee tantrum all the way through their social distancing oppositional defiance. I wish there had been a tad more structure and that some of the comedians, a few known to bring the house down with their funny, had at least flung in some of their old faithful material. There I said it. It doesn’t make me any less grateful, or proud that our boy Ceddy was behind such a worthy cause.

Round two of Badu’s Quarantine concert. I paid my little two dollars to check out the second installment of Low Down Loretta Brown a.k.a. Erykah Badu’s World Apocalypse Quarantine Concert Series. Now I got my money’s worth, and I loved the concept, but I didn’t get as much life from it as the first go-round. Last time we picked the songs. This time she kept things to her “New Amerykah Part Two” album as she commemorated its 10th anniversary – and had the genius idea of having different rooms dedicated to different musical styles. They included the experimental room, the jazz-ish room and the funk room. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone every time they went to that experimental, but I wish she would have expanded the catalog so we could see how ingeniously she chopped and screwed songs we know. And the transition periods were the pits. We were subjected to Dollar Tree magic tricks from her brother-in-law and nextdoor neighbor – who both had the energy of extras from “The Drew Carey Show.” I’m still excited to see what she does for the third installment, which she hasn’t set a date for yet.

Scott Storch defeated Cash Money legend Mannie Fresh when the pair squared off with their top tracks on IG Live

Elizabeth Donielle serving a serious pop of color on a social distancing selfie she posted on Facebook

T-Pain was all smiles as he and Lil Jon squared off with their biggest hits for a Saturday night IG Live battle

Kym Dobbs looking extra cute live from her closet on Sunday

Erykah Badu doing her thing in room number two for her latest Quarantine Concert Series Sunday night

95.5 FM’s Isis Jones showing off her new specs Tuesday with a super cute bathroom selfie

Ne-Yo and Johta Austin were best in show among the IG Live music battles

Mocha Latte flooded her timeline with her favorite throwback pics from tine spent outdoors

The lovely Brendolyn hit her Facebook friends with the studious and stylish selfie

Brandon Gilliam, a nurse, is one of millions of healthcare workers that have risen to the challenge to become heroes of the COVID-19 global pandemic

St. Louis’ own Cedric The Entertainer chopping it up with comedy veteran Mike Epps as Cedric hosted “Healing Through Laughter” A COVID-19 Benefit powered by the Def Comedy Jam brand.

Photos by V. Lang