June 22nd, 2017 Edition

U. City sewage tanks

At the June 20 public meeting between Metropolitan Sewer District and University City residents, Sonya Pointer asked Metropolitan Sewer District representatives if they had ever proposed raw sewage tanks for affluent residential areas in St. Louis.

By Sandra Jordan

The

raw sewage storage tanks in the residential area near Hafner Place and Olive Boulevard. The proposed tanks would have a combined capacity of more than nine million gallons of raw sewage. The MSD plan calls for an odor control system as well. Rather than being above-ground, MSD

Philando Castile’s St. Louis family reacts to verdict

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Philando Castile’s family in St. Louis was watching on June 16 as a Minnesota jury acquitted the police officer who fatally shot Castile, a 32-year-old black man, during a traffic stop last year in a suburb of St. Paul, Minn.

“Everyone’s heart fell to the ground,” said Stacy Castile, Philando’s uncle who lives in St. Louis. “We just lost him all over again.” Philando was a beloved cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill

took into consideration the feedback from residents and made the commitment to put the two 30-to 40-foot tanks below ground, with about five feet above ground, to be covered by berm and landscaping.

“We have identified that it shouldn’t be a problem,” Lance LeComb, spokesperson for MSD told The American. “There’s going to be a lot of work that needs to be done with

The gravesite of Philando Castile who was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop last year in a suburb of St. Paul, Minn.

Respected physician ColbertThreats,

Final services Friday at St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church

colleagues, staff, residents, students and friends. Dr. Susan Colbert-Threats was a native of north St. Louis and a proud graduate of Rosati-Kain High School and Northwestern University. After completing her residency in internal medicine, Dr. Colbert-Threats returned to St. Louis and joined the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine. In 2000, she opened a private practice in the Central West End, which allowed her to serve a diverse patient population. She joined Esse Health in 2010. She was married for more than 25 years to Travis Threats, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Saint Louis University, and they have two adult children, Matthew and Mary. Dr. Threats was the sister of the Honorable Nicole Colbert Botchway, a past president of the Mound City Bar Association. She enjoyed spending time with her

Helping students mature past ‘girl-drama’

‘Ladies of Distinction’ take pride in their history, gain support from each other

By Sophie Hurwitz

Halfway through the school year, an eighthgrade girl at Mason/Clark Middle School in East St. Louis, Illinois learned that she was pregnant. Immediately, her friends in the group they call “Ladies of Distinction,” a support group for select eighth-grade girls at the school, got to work in organizing a “pregnancy drive” to get her the

gear she would need. Najjuwah Walden, the Washington University social work student who started the support program, said the school initially worried that the drive would send the wrong message about the benefits of pregnancy. But Walden said the girls stood strong in their mission, saying, “This is my friend, and she needs

Photo by Wiley Price

Susan ColbertThreats, M.D.

Beyoncé reportedly gave birth to twins prematurely

According to TMZ.com, Beyoncé and JAY-Z’s twins were born premature and are hospitalized with “minor issue.”

Sources told the celebrity news and gossip site that the twins are “under the lights” and have been in the care of doctors since their birth last Monday.

TMZ said that their source would not be specific, but the “lights” are to treat elevated bilirubin levels. The lights are designed to lower bilirubin in the blood to eliminate the jaundice.

Bow Wow says SoSo Summer 17 tour is acting funny with his money

Rapper Bow Wow claims that he is yet to be paid for his participation in the So So Summer 17 Tour that has hit select cities around the nation – including St. Louis.

According TMZ, the condition is common among babies born prematurely and is not dangerous in most cases.

The twins, whose names have not yet been released, are the second and third children of Beyoncé and husband JAY-Z. The couple’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is five years old.

“Worst tour ever businesswise,” Bow Wow wrote as a caption beneath a picture of his name as part of the tour. “Just give me money. If it wasn’t for the rap game kids and the fans and Jermaine I woulda been off this [expletive].

Now run mines. Don’t go texting me either…y’all got four days to run it!

Y’all don’t wanna listen no other way, so maybe y’all will listen now.*

Jesse wants joint custody

Back in April, actor Jesse Williams filed for divorce from his wife of five years, Aryn Drake Lee.

According to reported legal documents revealed by E! News, Williams is seeking joint custody – and accuses his soon-to-beex of restricting his visitation with their two daughters.

“Aryn restricts my time with the children

and decides when, and for how long I may have them,” The documents allegedly read.

“She has rejected, without any reason, each and every request I have made to have the children sleepover at my residence.”

The document say that his visits with the children are limited to weekdays only – and of a duration of approximately two-and-a-half hours per day – despite his requests for more time and overnight visits.

“I am therefore requesting a court order for a joint physical custody parenting plan…”

Christian Keyes comes for Harvey over Flint water jab

Actor/singer Christian Keyes known as a veteran of urban stage plays, let comedian and talk show host Steve Harvey have it after Harvey told a Flint, Michigan native who called in to “enjoy his dirty glass of brown water” on The Steve Harvey Morning show after the two bumped heads . Keyes posted an open video to Steve Harvey regarding the comments.

A transcription of the video reads as follows:

“I gotta say; I’m

kind of disappointed man that you find that joke worthy – making jokes about the water situation in Flint. [There are ] 9,000 cases of lead poisoning three and four year old kids who are yet to speak because the lead has left them disabled to a certain extent and they haven’t been able to develop properly. We have supported you through a lot of stuff, man. And if you did a show in Flint, I guarantee people would come out by the thousands – spending money they don’t even have to come see and support you, and take their minds off of what they’ve been going through. And you are out there cracking jokes about the dirty polluted water – telling the Flint native to enjoy his dirty glass of brown water. You should be ashamed of yourself. You are setting a terrible example. I know accidents happen, so this is a perfect time to lift up that heavy [expletive] mustache of yours and apologize to the city of Flint. Have some class man.”

*Spelling and grammar as it appeared in the original post.

Beyoncé

Jesse Williams

Town hall meeting airs community concerns

Forum addresses dangers of St. Louis city’s abandoned buildings

By Melinda Oliver For the St. Louis American

Responding to an outcry from local community members and leaders, State. Sen. Jamilah Nasheed hosted a town hall meeting on June 12 to address the issue of community redevelopment. The main focus was on creating a plan to tackle the large number of abandoned houses and buildings that have become a nuisance for residents.

The O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex was bursting at the seams with community members who said that the vacant and oftentimes dilapidated buildings were not only unattractive, but also worsened neighborhood security and marketability.

The majority of the empty buildings lining St. Louis streets are not up to code and are dangerous to those who enter, Nasheed said.

“These vacant lots and buildings are an eyesore in the community – a magnet for violence and crime,” Nasheed said. “There are a number of ways these buildings can be put to better use, and that is what we are here to discuss today. We cannot just forget about these areas.”

This past spring, a coalition of residents and grassroots organizations came together and got a proposition on the ballot to address this issue.

Proposition NS was a $40-million bond issue to stabilize vacant, cityowned residential properties and make them rehab-ready. The proposition failed, and now Nasheed is trying to keep that momentum going.

Porter Mills, who lives only 10 minutes from the recreation center, stated that this problem is extremely prevalent in his neighborhood.

“People who I believe are not residents of my neighborhood congregate

a town

and hang out in front of vacant homes at all hours of the night,” Mills said. “I have called the police to report the incidents numerous times, but that only scares them away for so long.”

Mills is concerned that it will soon become unsafe for his two young daughters to walk home from school alone in the fall like they are accustomed to doing. He does not want to move out of his neighborhood, but believes community revitalization is imperative. Mills was happy to hear community leaders address the problem and begin to talk about solutions on Monday night.

“I believe with the right leadership we can turn these areas around,” Mills said. “I heard a lot of great ideas tonight, and I saw a lot of good leaders in the room. I’m hopeful that we can get this accomplished.”

Nasheed cited that there are almost 10,000 buildings that have been abandoned in the area. The city owns most

of them, but has remained stagnant on improving them or selling them. Nasheed hoped to get information out to potential homeowners about how to actually go through with buying these properties. “Redeveloping these areas, particularly the north side, is going to take mutual cooperation,” Nasheed said. “That’s why we are all here. It can’t just be passed off to one group. We all need a hand in this.”

She also encouraged community members to speak out in the face of high crime rates and look out for their own neighborhoods. She believes that if everyone does their part and contacts authorities when they see something suspicious or criminal, the community could potentially become a safer place to live for everyone.

“Imagine you are a young person walking by these areas every day,” Nasheed said. “Imagine what kind of mindset you would have.”

Political pig, public trough

By James T. Ingram For The St. Louis American

If East St. Louis politician LaToya Greenwood were a pig and her source of income was the Illinois public trough, then she’d be a morbidly obese hog or, more correctly, sow.

And the symbolism is apropos, given her shameless and gluttonous consumption of political jobs and salaries, with no sense of guilt or propriety.

Here is a politician, following the April 4 elections, who holds the positions of Illinois state representative for District 114 at $67,836 per-year, ESL City Councilwoman at $15,000 per-year and ESL School District 189 director of Human Resources at $93,400 per-year.

Greenwood has admitted that wearing multiple hats will force her to be absent for over 50 percent of the time from her school district gig. She will also miss some City Council meetings (she’s missed six since January). Her solution: pay deductions for meetings missed and days absent from the school district. That’s only because the Illinois Constitution prohibits state senators and representatives from receiving pay from any public position at the same time that they are “in attendance as a member of the General Assembly.”

How is that possible, you may ask? Well you can thank the apathetic and lethargic voters of East Boogie who only had a 28 percent turnout in the April 4 elections, with a whopping 72 percent choosing to sit on their backsides and allowing it to happen.

This anemic voter participation allows Greenwood and other “political serpents” of her ilk to exploit the moment and seize multiple political positions and salaries with little thought to the ethics or feasibility of doing any of these jobs well.

For nearly 40 years, my father worked grueling, long, 16-hour days in two blue-collar jobs, out of the need to feed, clothe and shelter his wife and four children. The LaToya Greenwood’s of East St. Louis and Illinois “poli-tricks” hold multiple political jobs, not out of need but, rather, out of greed; collecting multiple salaries, pensions, benefits and perks irrespective of their ability to perform or even be present for their concurrent responsibilities.

Then there’s the potential of conflicts of interest in which her votes in the General Assembly may be advantageous to ESL School District 189, while punitive to the residents of East. St. Louis or vice versa. So why not have three different individuals, in these positions, who can dedicate their full attention to doing an exemplary job for the citizens of ESL?

Well, that’s not the concern of “Greedy” LaToya Greenwood. She’s got money to make and vacations to take! Forget how unethical it is. Who’s going to hold her accountable? What about the Illinois Legislative Ethics Commission? No luck there; especially with the likes of State Senator James Clayborne, Jr. as a member. Between hooking up his female friends with political jobs and his international travel and limo rides, courtesy of campaign donors, he’s as blind as Stevie Wonder when it comes to ethics.

This is why elections matter and why ESL voters have to shoulder the blame for, once again, sending yet another political pig to the public trough for fattening.

Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo. com Twitter@JamesTIngram.

Photo courtesy of Sen. Jamilah Nasheed

State. Sen. Jamilah Nasheed hosted

hall meeting on June 12 to address the issue of community redevelopment at the O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex.

Columnist

James Ingram

Editorial /CommEntary

Philando Castile’s black life mattered

The verdict in the police killing of Philando Castile, a St. Louis native killed in suburban Minneapolis last July, triggered more pain and anger in those of us who went through Ferguson and, indeed, most of Black America. When a Minnesota jury decided that Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez was not guilty of second-degree manslaughter, many of us were reminded again that black victims do not experience equal justice under the law in this county, especially when the aggressor is a police officer.

According to Minnesota law, second-degree manslaughter is death by “culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another.” From the evidence presented to the jury that has since been released, we believe beyond reasonable doubt that Yanez was culpably negligent in his handling of the traffic stop that ended with his shooting and killing Castile.

Evidence presented to the jury shows that Castile was asked to present his driver’s license and, when reaching for his license, he pointed out to the officer – presumably, so the cop would not overreact if he saw it – that he had a gun in his possession. Castile offered this warning in the most polite and compliant terms: “Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me.” This is not something said by someone before they pull a gun on a cop. Yet Yanez interpreted Castile’s compliance with the order to produce the driver’s license with his reaching for his gun to open fire, and Yanez shot seven times and killed him. This is dangerous, culpably negligent police work that merits a conviction for second-degree manslaughter, a felony that carries a penalty range of up to 10 years in prison. Apparently, reasonable doubt crept in the jurors’ minds because no video evidence provided Yanez’s viewpoint, but regardless, it was culpably negligent for Yanez to open fire, given Castile’s compliant tone and explicit warning to the officer that he had a gun, which is the last thing someone intending to ambush a cop would do. It was also viewed as relevant that Yanez radioed in before the shooting that Castile resembled an armed robbery suspect because he was a black man with a “wide-set nose.” In fact, that’s more evidence of racial profiling by the cop than of possible guilt in the citizen, given that “wide-set nose” is not a very helpful differentiator when identifying a black man. The message this sends to black men is incredibly enraging and discouraging and further erodes the trust in law enforcement for a demographic that has a disproportionately high

degree of interaction with law enforcement. You can protect yourself by carrying a firearm, properly registered; when pulled over for some meaningless infraction – a broken taillight, in this instance – you can speak politely to the officer and warn him that you are carrying a firearm, so that if he sees it he does not overreact; yet when you reach for your driver’s license, as ordered by the officer, you can be shot dead and the officer absolved of any wrongdoing.

What advice are we supposed to offer black men, in the wake of this verdict? Don’t drive? Don’t legally carry a firearm? If you are legally carrying a firearm, then don’t warn a police officer that you are? Don’t comply with a police officer if any motion you make could be interpreted as reaching for a gun? Don’t be black? Don’t be alive? It’s that last notion – the way the disputation of these cases suggests that black people don’t deserve to be alive – that spawned a movement with the slogan Black Lives Matter. When will our criminal justice system begin to function in a way that suggests black lives do, in fact, matter? And – to bring this matter back to Castile’s hometown – how can we prioritize hiring more police officers over providing police officers with better training in implicit bias and threat assessment?

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

Mission of uplift in Jennings Schools

By Art McCoy Jr. Guest columnist

As I shared at the Jennings 100th Commencement, the Class of 2017 achieved 100 percent college or career placement. Of the 160 Jennings Senior High graduates, these students have received nearly $2 million in scholarships. Overall, Jennings Senior High School’s College and Career Prep Academy has increased the talent pipeline with a strong workforce of 10 pharmacy techniciancertified students with jobs in this field, with the help of Express Scripts and St. Louis College of Pharmacy; eight certified nursing assistant students with internships and jobs in this field; 11 power industrial forklift-certified and OSHA-certified students for the first time, with apprenticeships and jobs in this field with the help of the STLKC Carpenters Regional Council and leaders of the Construction Forum STL; two Distinguished National Academy Foundation Track Academy graduates for the first time; 40 Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) alumni and our JAG National Scholarship Awardee.

The U.S. military gave us our first honorable mention for the highest number of students this school year in the region to pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Eight percent of our graduates will serve in the U.S. military. We, the Jennings Warriors, salute our soldiers!

At least a dozen students with STEAM internships from UMSL and other institutions, including our first music scholarship and internship students. Thank you, Dr. Pat Parker, for speaking at the commencement and supporting our students with great opportunities.

Mr. Dan Lester served as a keynote speaker and did an excellence job and recognized Kevon Larkin, who received the first Construction Career Development Initiative scholarship of $50,000 to attend Washington University and an internship at Clayco.

We had over 120 students involved and recognized by WE Schools for the first time. The Jennings Education Training School (JETS) was a national WE Schools Leaders in community service learning and leadership for cleanup efforts, seat-belt awareness and more.

The 2017 Jennings Student Council received the highest honor from the Missouri Student Council Association.

Our varsity basketball team won the Class 4 District 7 Championship. Our students were recognized on the floor of the Missouri House of Representatives this school

Letters to the editor

Clean energy cuts

are bad for Missouri

In his first 100 days, President Trump has gambled with Missouri’s economy. His dirty energy agenda is atrocious for small business owners and jobs in our state.

By Eugene Robinson Columnist

The Republican gospel of cutting taxes and government services to the bone doesn’t lead to economic growth; it leads to crisis and decline. Just ask the people of Kansas, who finally have seen the light.

If House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell don’t heed the Kansas lesson, they deserve to have their majorities stripped away in next year’s midterms. And they won’t be able to claim they weren’t warned.

The states are supposed to be laboratories for testing government policy. For five years, Kansas’ Republican governor, Sam Brownback, conducted the nation’s most radical exercise in trickle-down economics -- a “real live experiment,” he called it. He and the GOPcontrolled Legislature slashed the state’s already-low tax rates, eliminated state income tax for most owner-operated businesses and sharply reduced vital government services. These measures were supposed to deliver “a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy,” Brownback said. It ended up being a shot of poison. Growth rates lagged behind those in neighboring states and the nation as a whole. Deficits mounted to unsustainable levels. Services withered. Brownback had set in motion a vicious cycle, not a virtuous one.

Last week, finally, the Legislature -- still controlled by Republicans – overrode Brownback’s veto of legislation restoring taxation to sane levels. The nightmare experiment is coming to an end. The return to sane taxation will go a long way toward erasing a billion-dollar deficit. More revenue-raising mea-

sures may be needed, however, since education funding under Brownback was reduced to levels that the state Supreme Court recently ruled unconstitutional. It is unclear whether a $488 million increase for the schools over the next two years -- which Brownback may still veto, or try to -- is enough to satisfy the court.

Republican leaders in Congress will probably try to ignore the Kansas fiasco or say Brownback’s implementation was flawed. But that would be unfair. It just didn’t work. It never works. Republicans cannot point to an instance in which this prescription has led to the promised Valhalla of skyrocketing growth.

Eliminating business income taxes for owneroperated companies was supposed to induce entrepreneurs to move to Kansas from other states. It didn’t. It turned out that business owners take more than taxes into account when they decide where to locate. They want good health care and first-rate schools for themselves and their employees. They want modern, well-maintained infrastructure. In short, they want a healthy, functioning public sector. It also turns out that business owners do not decide whether to expand capacity or add employees based solely on the tax rate they must pay. Much more important is whether there is enough demand to justify such growth. If there is not -- and the Kansas economy under Brownback was woefully sluggish -- then

tax savings will not be put to productive use.

The Kansas Republicans who voted to abandon Brownback’s dead-end policies have been described in news stories as “moderate,” but many are actually quite conservative. They just decided to put reality before ideology.

President Trump and the Republican-led Congress, however, threaten to run Brownback’s experiment on a national scale, with predictably disastrous consequences. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney proposes amputational cuts to the social safety net and bureaus such as the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. And Trump’s “tax reform” plan proposes, among other cuts, to slash the top tax rate for “pass-through” businesses -- basically, owner-operated firms such as the Trump Organization -- from 39.6 percent to 15 percent. Claims that such action will lead to a surge in economic growth never had much credibility. Now, after the Kansas experiment, they have zero.

It’s tempting to say fine, go for it, let the whole country see that the policy prescriptions championed by the Republican Party lead to nothing but a world of pain -- except for the wealthy, who get to pad their bank accounts. But this is no academic exercise. Real people will suffer needlessly.

The GOP trembles before tax-cut guru Grover Norquist, who wants to reduce government “to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.” But it is failed trickle-down ideology that deserves to be snuffed out. And not just in Kansas. Eugene Robinson’s email address is eugenerobinson@ washpost.com.

Since the start of his presidency, Trump has taken steps to roll back climate change safeguards and attack clean energy. The impacts of climate change – like extreme weather, drought, and coastal flooding ¬– hit small businesses the hardest.

Meanwhile, America’s clean energy industry is growing by double digits and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. Missouri stands to reap big economic benefits by increasing clean energy. Currently, there are over 52,000 clean energy jobs in Missouri, include wind and solar jobs. Solar jobs grew 28% in 2016, according to the Solar Foundation. The Trump Administration, however, wants to force our state to rely on outdated, polluting sources of energy, like coal. Senator McCaskill knows that clean energy and climate action are good for our economy. She deserves our thanks. Clean energy is crucial to Missouri’s economic growth, and is an opportunity we can’t afford to miss.

Rajiv Ravulapati, St. Louis Jan Lancaster, Springfield, Mo.

Death with Dignity

I am an advocate for an individual’s “right to die” or “death with dignity.” Being connected to a feeding tube, trachea, catheter, and ventilator is no way to live. Quality of life is uniquely defined by individuals with incurable chronic diseases. We try to dictate when, how, and where we die through advance directives, DNR (do not resuscitate), and palliative care. Americans euthanize animals to eliminate their suffering, and we should allow the same humane choice for human beings. Currently, individuals are thoroughly screened and must have two physicians sign off before self-administering life-ending medications. Even

year for their leadership and achievement.

Jennings, World Wide Technology, St. Louis Regional Chamber and St. Louis received a new award, the National Academy Foundation President’s Award, for outstanding leadership and results at Jennings Senior High School. We will receive $5,000 in July 2017 as well as be speakers at the national conference.

We had over 10 students, between the ages 17 and 21, who enrolled in Jennings Missouri Options program at JETS and graduated.

In August 2016, we created the Jennings Adult Education Program this school year, which allowed residents over 21 years of age to enroll and receive a Jennings High School diploma. Our first (of two residents) to enroll completed this program and graduated at this 100th commencement. This was featured on CNN and many local media. Research shows that students’ success is highly connected to the mother’s education attainment, so we are on a mission to lift our entire community.

True to our mission and creed, we are transforming the community through empowerment, enlightenment and engagement in education.

Art McCoy Jr. is superintendent of the Jennings School District and was the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2013 Stellar Performer in Education.

All letters

individuals with an induced coma or long-term morphine pumps aren’t guaranteed the absence of chronic pain.

We can only endure a certain amount of pain. In society, the psychological and emotional toll pain has on an individual remains ignored. Without question a person should have the right to choose how, when, and where they die.

Natalie Halverson St. Louis

MO legislature must protect the environment

On April 12, I got the opportunity to go to Jefferson City and take part in the Sierra Club lobby day with fellow Maplewood-Richmond Heights high school students.

We spent the day talking with Missouri legislators about issues that matter to us. Being surrounded by powerful figures in the House and Senate was inspiring. Many constituents who participated in lobby day were going to face negative consequences if some of the

bills passed. For example, the HB 340 bill, if passed, would threaten the continued growth of solar energy in Missouri by allowing utilities to charge new solar owners almost twice as much in monthly service availability charges as other customers. This new “solar tax” would increase the cost of solar energy while lowering incentives for people to use it. After witnessing the many bills going through the legislature that are detrimental for human health and the environment, I found it even more horrifying to see that the EPA’s funding is getting cut by 31 percent. The EPA is responsible for keeping our water clean, our air breathable, and our communities safe from toxic hazards. Cutting funding increases the risk of getting infected by polluted air or unsanitary water. I feel confident after my experience in Jefferson City that people could make a change, but our legislators need to be on the people’s side for change to happen.

Olivia Arias, Maplewood

Columnist Eugene Robinson

Guest Columnist Art McCoy Jr.

Illustration by Howard Barry Philando Castile

Veto HB 1194

SEIU Local 1 janitor Sierra Parker says Missouri Governor Eric Greitens doesn’t know what it’s like to walk a day in a janitor’s shoes. “We need a higher minimum wage to support our families, to put a roof over our heads.” SEIU Local 1 janitors, joined by Show Me $15 fast food workers and faith allies, rally outside St. Louis City Hall on June 15 to demand Gov. Greitens ditch dark money special interests and veto HB 1194. SEIU said should it become law, HB 1194 would take an estimated $75.6 million out of the pockets of 42,000 working people annually.

Ferguson/Dellwood free outdoor concert June 24

The Dellwood/Ferguson West Florissant Business Association (DFWFBA) presents a free outdoor concert extravaganza featuring Kwame-Binea and Lydia Brittan, on Saturday, June 24, 4:30 p.m., at Dellwood Community Center, 10266 W. Florissant Ave., Dellwood Mo., 63136. It’s will be a mix of roots rock, blues, soul and funk.

Joshura Davis, DFWFBA president said the event is to promote peace, togetherness and unity within the area.

“To show our resilience, strength and progress, we are encouraging everyone to come out and celebrate the music of these national artists on the lawn of the Dellwood Community Center,” Davis said. “Bring your lawn chairs, sun umbrellas and open minds as we enjoy a concert to restore the brotherhood/sisterhood of Ferguson one brick at a time.”

For more information call 314-761-5983 or email joshuradavis@sbcglobal.net.

Know Your Zone

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is reminding residents in its service area of the impacts of flooding with its annual Know Your Zone initiative to increase overall flood zone awareness. Floods are the most common and most costly natural disaster, with the average flood damage claim by homeowners and renters exceeding $35,000 in damages.

Overland flooding can occur anywhere, even in areas where there are no nearby waterways. Residents without insurance in low-risk flood zones receive one-third of disaster assistance for flooding. Excessive rain falls in a short timeframe can quickly cause creeks, streams, and drainage ways to overflow and cause a building or home to flood. MSD does not manage overland flooding, or cover it under any of their insurance programs.

St. Louis residents can go to KnowYourZone.org to determine the level of flood zone they live in and find out more about how to purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program. For more information go to KnowYourZone.org. If you would like to view St. Louis County flood zones go to maps. stlouisco.com/propertyview.

Using reserve funds is only a quick fix

By Tishaura Jones

There have been many conversations recently about the city’s financial difficulties, particularly around raising taxes to fund the police department. That conversation has turned to the Treasurer’s Office and using Parking Division reserve funds to help the city.

As of the 2016 Audited Financials, the Parking Division had approximately $20 million in unrestricted reserves. Like most companies, the Treasurer’s Office uses this reserve fund to insure its outstanding debt. The Parking Division’s reserve fund insures approximately $67 million of outstanding debt that was accrued for building parking garages and upgrading the parking meter system. Having a healthy reserve fund allows the Treasurer’s Office to borrow money at a lower rate and saves the city money.

Other city departments keep reserve funds on hand as well, including the Water Division with $34 million in reserves and the airport with $150 million in reserves. The city itself also has approximately $7 million in reserves.

During my first term, the decision to increase the Parking Division reserves resulted in the Treasurer’s Office receiving a credit rating upgrade. The Treasurer’s Office also consistently gives more money to the city’s general fund than is projected in our budget. We also submit balanced budgets every fiscal year, as required by state law.

While using reserve funds sounds like a good idea on the surface, the reality is it won’t work. It would be like a doctor using Band-Aids when a patient needs surgery. It’s a short-term solution for a long-term problem. What we should be doing is looking at the city’s entire financial picture and asking some tough questions. Are we operating efficiently and using the appropriate software to automate certain processes? Are we upgrading technology so our citizens can access basic city services online? Do we use typewriters and triplicate forms instead of moving toward a paperless office? Do we have the right staffing mix given recent technological advances? Are tax subsidies being used to responsibly encourage development, or are they hurting the city’s finances?

The city needs to be looking at long-term, sustainable and realistic solutions for public safety and the city’s financial difficulties, instead of looking for a quick fix.

Tishaura Jones is the treasurer of the city of St. Louis.

Tishaura Jones

LADIES

Continued from A1 something. So I’m going to ask people if they have an extra car seat or baby wipes, since where else is she going to get it?” The pregnancy drive was one of many projects the girls participated in this past year, including museum visits, support group circles, meditation and playwriting.

Walden established the Ladies of Distinction program at Mason/Clark this year, when

she was assigned to work there by Washington University as part of her social work studies. Largely a restorative circle, the group of girls meet three times a week to discuss the issues they face in their lives and come up with strategies to solve them.

“When I came here, it was originally to work in sex education,” said Walden. “But when I got here, Mr. Williams became my supervisor, and he had a group already with all boys which was called the Gentleman’s Club.” Walden noticed that there

was no equivalent support group for girls.

“So I asked him, you have this amazing group for boys, what are you doing for the girls?” she said. And thus, Ladies of Distinction began with about a dozen eighth-grade girls who were selected to meet with Walden a few times a week.

n “They picked us because we’ve had problems in the sixth grade year and the seventh-grade year. All girl-drama.”

– Tamyjah Gibson

“They picked us because,

we’ve been going to this school since sixth grade,” said Tamyjah Gibson, one of the students in the group. “And we’ve had problems in the sixth grade year and the seventh-grade year. All girl-drama.”

Dean of Students Marco Williams, who was Walden’s supervisor on the project, said, “They’ve really matured over

the past three years.”

Five of the group members who gathered in his office for an interview with the St. Louis American – Victoria Murray, Tamyjah Gibson, Damiya Brown, Brandy Johnson, and Trameria Jones – laughed and agreed.

In Ladies of Distinction meetings, the girls begin with recaps of the week. Next are “case studies” based on issues they faced that week, like conflict with teachers, or problems at home. The students come up with a story about someone experiencing that issue, then give that made-up person advice. They call it “Ask Ladies of Distinction.”

The stories might sound like this: “So you have this person, and he’s in middle school. Let’s call him Tony. He goes to Mason/Clark, and he’s having issues at home. His father is beating on him, so we’ll ask, who does Tony talk to?”

“A common theme was violence,” Walden said. “Tamyjah, for example, her father was murdered a couple of years ago. He was shot 50 times and found by the FedEx guy. So we did a case study on that.”

The capstone of the year was a field trip called “For Us By Us.” It was designed to “highlight the contributions of black women within the arts, empowering the girls to dream big without bounds while living non-apologetically as black girls,” said Walden.

“It was the Blues Museum,” enthused one student. “We sang! It’s like a singing booth, where you go in and sing.”

“And phones, you can pick up, and hear people singing,” another girl cut in. They also visited the Missouri History Museum’s “#1 in Civil Rights” exhibit because, Walden said, “I want them to be able to see them-

THREATS

Continued from A1

extended family, playing the piano, listening to jazz, and attending cultural and volunteer activities.

Dr. Colbert-Threats professional accomplishments were many. She was an attending physician at St. Mary’s Medical Center, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Missouri Baptist Hospital. She was an assistant professor of Clinical Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis and voluntary faculty for Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She was also a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

During her lifetime, ColbertThreats’ professional accomplishments were acknowledged by the many awards and recognitions she received, including being named a “Best Doctor in America” from 2008 to 2017 by Best Doctors, Inc.; Achievement of Recognition for Delivery of Quality Diabetes Care: National Committee for Quality Assurance, 2012-2017; Five Star Excellence Award, Provider - Internal Medicine Service, Professional Research Consultants, Inc., 2015. Until her death, Dr. Colbert-

selves in history.”

The field trip’s purpose was to show that historical figures like Maya Angelou and Rosa Parks were “regular women.”

“Before they became known, these were all girls who were in their position,” Walden said. “I wanted to make what they accomplished tangible to them. Maybe she wasn’t from East St. Louis, but I’m pretty sure she went through some of the same hardships, if not more, and she was able to overcome, so you can too.”

Being in this supportive space and seeing the women they could become has certainly changed the girls’ worldviews, but the future of the group is uncertain. The district, according to Walden, is unwilling to fund it because its holistic nature makes it difficult to demonstrate that the program actually improves grades or truancy rates.

However, she hopes Ladies of Distinction continues after she leaves to complete her final year of training for her Masters of Social Work.

Walden has high hopes for participants continuing their education. She connected them with programs like Upward Bound for next year to serve them in a similar capacity.

The fact that every girl in the Ladies of Distinction program is moving on to high school is a success, too. Even the girl who became pregnant halfway through her eighthgrade year will graduate after attending summer school. In high school, the Ladies of Distinction will use the coping and collaboration strategies they learned this year.

“I became more mature,” Trameria Jones said. “I’m learning how to just let things go, and not react to everything.”

n She enjoyed spending time with her extended family, playing the piano, listening to jazz, and attending cultural and volunteer activities.

Threats had been an engaged and informed member in the Saint Louis community for years. She was an active member of Mound City Medical Forum and the Saint Louis Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. where she most recently served as Chair of the Health Committee. Dr. ColbertThreats also had a special interest in certain health issues such as lupus and cardiovascular disease. She participated in walks and gave presentations about healthy living throughout the community.

Final services will be held on Friday, June 23 at St. Alphonsus Liguori

Ladies of Distinction Victoria Murray, Tamyjah Gibson, Damiya Brown, Markayla Jackson, Brandy Johnson, Beyancia Dorris, Dazja Walker, Najjuwah Walden, Roniya Cole, Derrica Branch, Danyae Smith, Teasha Ervin, Zhyria Clark and Elon Mitchell.

Photo by Najjuwah Walden

Continued from A1

the community, in terms of looking at what’s the appropriate buyout area, what’s the appropriate buffer space, but we think we can address a lot of the concerns and questions tonight.”

MSD presented visuals — photos, aerial maps, a video of how the tanks would operate, and renderings of how sewer tanks look or will look in Crestwood, Hazelwood and St. Ann. However, none of them is located in residential areas.

MSD engineer Brad Nevois and MSD spokesperson Lance LeComb fielded the questions, but for community members, they did not provide enough answers – or enough of the answers they wanted to hear.

“My concern is if it’s going to be a healthy thing, and why do they want to put it in a residence area when they got all this area surrounding – you got Ladue, Creve Coeur, Town and Country. and they say it’s for St. Louis City and St. Louis County,” Leon Hayes said. The 47-year-old U. City resident attended the meeting to replace hearsay with facts – and suggested they put the sewage tanks “someplace else.”

“They have always found a zip code to know where the average black man lives – and that’s where it won’t be a

CASTILE

Continued from A1

Montessori Magnet School in St. Paul, and had worked for Saint Paul Public Schools since he was 19. He was a St. Louis County native, and his two uncles, aunt and several cousins still live in St. Louis. He was buried last year in Calvary Cemetery near his grandmother and uncle.

On Friday, Jeronimo Yanez, the police officer who killed Philando, was found not guilty of second-degree manslaughter. He also was acquitted of two counts of intentional discharge of firearm that endangers safety.

“He was a very sweet, young man – a person who complied with the law,” Stacy said of his nephew. “He loved his job. He loved those kids. They all called him ‘Mr. Phil.’ He knew every last one of their allergies. If they didn’t come to school with lunch money, he would buy them lunch. It’s hard to see this man [Yanez] get off scot-free.”

problem,” Hayes said. And while MSD said it is several months away from putting a formal proposal before its board for approval, James Harrell, who has been in his home for 48 years, said the relocation timeline process outlined on handouts they gave to

Castile’s death on July 6, 2016 garnered widespread attention and sparked nationwide protests after his fiancee, Diamond Reynolds, broadcast the shooting’s aftermath on Facebook Live. The video went viral.

After the jury announced the verdict on June 16, Philando’s mother, Valerie Castile, said outside the court that she was disappointed in the state of Minnesota, “because nowhere in the world do you die from being honest and telling the truth,” according to a CNN report.

“The system continues to fail black people,” she said. “My son loved this city and this city killed my son and the murderer gets away!”

The jury deliberated about 29 hours about the July 6 traffic stop and heard two weeks of testimony in which prosecutors portrayed Yanez as a nervous officer who lost control of his traffic stop, CNN reported.

He was too quick to pull the trigger after learning Castile had a gun, based on an unwarranted suspicion that he was a robbery suspect, prosecutors

residents attending the meeting moves too fast.

“They are only giving us eight months to do what they are going to do,” Harrell told The American

“How can they do this this fast? We don’t know anything,” Hayes added.

said.

Yanez, a St. Anthony officer, testified he feared for his life because Castile reached for his firearm, despite being instructed not to.

Many residents said they would rather see smaller tanks placed around the area, spreading the sewage around to other neighborhoods and communities. MSD insists it has to happen in that location.

“We can’t send the problem downstream anymore, we’ve

n “He should not be dead and his

An audio recording captured Castile telling Yanez he had a gun in the car, and the officer telling Castile not to reach for it. Seconds later, Yanez opened fire.

murderer should not be free.”

go through therapy. To be in a car and hear gun fire that close to you and watch your stepfather die in front of you, that’s the worst thing ever. We had to just relive all of that over.”

Castile, who was bleeding heavily in the Facebook video, said he wasn’t reaching for his gun, which he had a permit to carry. Reynolds said Castile was reaching for his ID in his back pocket when he was shot.

Stacy said that he has never watched the video because his loved ones told him that he didn’t want to see Philando take his last breath like that.

Reynolds’ daughter, who was 4 years old at the time, was in the backseat. And for Stacy, that’s what makes the verdict even more difficult.

“What if one of those bullets would have hit the child?”

Stacy said. “The baby had to

Stacy asks his St. Louis community to keep his family in their prayers. They can also contribute to the Philando Castile Relief Foundation, which was established to help other victims of gun violence and “add some

got to take care of it right away,” said Brad Nevois, assistant director of Engineering for MSD.

Lifelong resident Sonya Pointer urged the city council not to grant MSD a special use permit for the tanks.

“This project is massive; it’s

relief as you grieve,” according to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ philandocastilerelieffoundation.

For many in the St. Louis community and nationwide, the verdict reaffirmed the feeling that black people cannot expect justice in cases of police shootings.

“As a black mother, it is clear law enforcement can get away with murder,” stated Amy Hunter, the former director of racial justice at the YWCA of St. Louis, in a

invasive, it has health issues related to it,” Pointer said.

“And no matter what they say, this project should not be in our neighborhood, and the end-all, be-all lies with us, the people, as well as MSD board of trustees.”

Although it is not the preferred course of action, MSD said it has the authority to move forward without community approval or that of elected U. City leaders.

“You can come in here with arrogance – you want to talk to us in a condescending way –but this is an emotional investment for all of us,” Pointer told MSD representatives.

“University City residents –they leave, they come back, our family still stays here, we come here after school and buy houses. This is our community. Do you want it in your neighborhood? This is not right. This is inhumane.”

LeComb asked how many people there had basement backups.

Residents jeered angrily.

“We don’t have a choice about where to go,” LeComb said over taunts.

Tuesday’s meeting was one of many MSD said it would hold with University City residents. In a future meeting, it will have a representative attend to answer questions regarding health and safety concerns.

Facebook post. “It isn’t unlike the murder I see in schools where we kill spirits slowly. It isn’t unlike any institutional racism in any other system. It confirms my tears when my children were born into this world. It heightens my need to pray for them throughout the day and evening. It confirms that black lives don’t matter to many.” Rev. Traci Blackmon, a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement, said simply, “He should not be dead and his murderer should not be free.”

University City residents are against proposed raw sewage tanks proposed by MSD going into any residential area.

The two 30- to 40-foot tanks will have a combined capacity of more than 9 million gallons of waste.

Photo by Wiley Price

Roberts a no-show as Navarro and Vossmeyer present to Young Dems

City residents of the 28th Ward packed into Llywelyn’s Pub in the Central West on Tuesday night to hear from three candidates who are vying to be their next alderman –Heather Navarro Celeste Vossmeyer and Steve Roberts Sr. All three are Democrats, but Navarro will be the name on the Democratic ticket in the July 11 special election to fill the position left open when former alderwoman Lyda Krewson was elected as mayor. (Krewson came and listened in as well.) All three were seeking the endorsement of the St. Louis Young Democrats, the progressive group that organized Tuesday night’s forum.

[Boulevard] and what’s come to be known as the Delmar Divide,” Navarro said. “The first thing we need to do is to start getting over these divisions, whether it’s the Delmar Divide, North/ South. We need to be really intentional about how we define our community.”

Navarro used her work to rebuild Kennedy Park, just south of Delmar, as an example of how to build places where families who would normally never meet can interact and grow together.

However, Roberts was a no show. Only Navarro and Vossmeyer attended the forum to answer questions from the Young Dems and residents.

The St. Louis American reached out to Roberts to ask why he did not attend.

His spokesman responded in an email stating, “He had a prior engagement with voters in the ward as part of his own campaign.”

When asked what the “engagement” was, The American did not get a response. Roberts told the Young Dems he was unable to attend “due to travel.”

Navarro ended up receiving the Young Dems’ endorsement with 83 percent of the vote. Vossmeyer earned 17 percent and Roberts got zero votes.

The first question the Young Dems asked at the forum was: If elected alderperson, how would you use your office to address the systemic racial disparities in St. Louis?

Navarro, who is the executive director of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment nonprofit group, answered first.

“For 13 years, I lived two blocks south of Delmar

“I think we throw around the words ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusion,’ and what that ends up meaning is that we’re looking for people of color who are interested in the same things we are,” she said. “As a community, we need to be radically open to hearing from other people and understand what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes and be willing to be transformed ourselves.”

She said she would use her office to collaborate and build partnerships. She would also use the Forward Through Ferguson report as a guide on how the city should apply a “racial equity lens.”

With every decision facing her as an alderman, Navarro said she would ask the question, “How is this decision either perpetuating or healing racial injustice in our cities and communities?”

“Racial equity is not another bucket,” she said. “It’s a part of every decision, and it has to become who we are.”

Vossmeyer, an attorney at the Thompson Coburn law firm, responded to the question saying that the city needs to basically learn how to talk less and act more in terms of racial equity.

“I hear the term ‘racial equity lens,’ and I understand what that means on one level, but I also think that we need

race, answered questions from the

to go beyond the words,” Vossmeyer said. “We need to start figuring out how we apply that and what does that means in terms of action.”

As former general counsel for the Bi-State Development Agency (now Metro Transit Agency), she was highly active in the Cross County MetroLink extension from Forest Park-DeBaliviere station to Shrewsbury-Lansdowne-I-44 station, which opened in August 2006.

She worked with Bi-State to figure out how to increase minority participation for contractors and their workers on the job, she said.

“We figured out that we can break these contracts into smaller pieces, and we could allow minority contractors to bid on these projects that they typically were not able to get bonding to do,” Vossmeyer said. “These are the types of things that we need to do to level the field.”

For background, minorityand women-owned businesses

at the

earned about $69.4 million from work on the $430-million light rail project between 2004 and 2006, according to Metro’s annual reports.

Before she earned her law degree, Vossmeyer worked for the Home Builders Association when they helped the Board of Aldermen revise zoning codes to allow for more affordable housing, she said.

“When we are looking at these issues, we need to get very specific,” Vossmeyer said. “We need to roll up our sleeves and figure out how it works and get to work. All the rhetoric is great. We can have lots of forums and talk about these issues, but we need to have an action plan. These are things I would like to work on going forward.”

Tax incentive reform

One person in the audience asked about tax abatements on developments. Both responded that responsible development is

a paramount issue for the city right now.

“We have some good tools at our disposal for development and I think we have to analyze how we’ve been using them and what sort of benefits we’ve been reaping at the end of the day from those tools,” Navarro said.

She believes that tax abatements and TIFs can be really helpful in bringing in private development, but the city needs to leverage those for community benefit.

Vossmeyer said, “We need to really look at when we undercut our services, our education system and other things by offering incentives for projects that would have gone forward without these types of incentives.”

The city also can’t discourage growth, she said.

“We can’t ignore the fact that we are competing with Clayton, which is building lots of buildings right now and trying to lure tenants from downtown to Clayton,”

Vossmeyer said. The American reached out to Roberts to get his thoughts on the use of tax incentives. He responded that The American should look at his campaign website. His website states, “For too long our city has required too little from developers in exchange for tax abatements and TIFs. No longer should development incentives be automatic. They must be judged instead on the amount of social, economic, and neighborhood benefit they bring. We must also demand transparency from our elected public officials to avoid all conflicts of interest.” However, Roberts and his brother, Mike, began amassing their personal empire by using their political influence as St. Louis city aldermen in the 1980s. In a 2012 article, Mike Jones, who was called “a veteran of city and county politics and longtime friend of the brothers,” told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that they “used their connections, working as political and minoritycontracting consultants while serving as aldermen. That might raise eyebrows today, but it was common then.” As far as abuse of tax incentives, Roberts received $590,551 in state historic tax credits in 2004 to renovate his luxury home at 1 Westmoreland Place, according to a St. Louis Business Journal report. His home was assessed at $1.8 million in 2017, according to city records. In 2008, the Business Journal reviewed 10 years’ worth of data of historic tax credits used to rehab homes, and at that time, Roberts had received the second highest amount of historic tax credits. First place went to Todd Siwak of the Clayton-based private equity firm Mindseye Group, who received $625,705 in tax credits to remodel his $3.3 million, 21-room home in Clayton in 2007.

Photo by Rebecca Rivas

Celeste Vossmeyer and Heather Navarro, candidates in the 28th Ward aldermanic

community

St. Louis Young Democrats meeting at Llywelyn’s Pub on June 20. Steven Roberts Sr., a third candidate on the July 11 ballot, said he had another engagements in the ward and did not attend.

Karla Frye assumes leadership of Community Women Against Hardship

Karla Frye has been connected – by proximity, by partnership, and eventually, as an employee – with the nonprofit Community Women Against Hardship since its founding in 1988. She worked for the Greater St. Louis Association of Black Journalists (GSLABJ) at the time, and CWAH cofounders Betty Lee and Gloria Taylor held planning meetings in the GSLABJ office.

Her first exposure to CWAH happened during one of those planning meetings for the first People’s Campaign Against Poverty – a holiday fundraising campaign partnership between the St. Louis American and CWAH.

“I always kind of had my eye on them, and knew about them, seeing them in the paper year-after-year,” Frye said.

Later, she left St. Louis to become an ordained minister. After working as a journalist, a teacher, and running her church’s nonprofit, she settled on social services work, and found her way back to St. Louis. At the same time, she began to volunteer with Community Women in the early 2000s.Through her own nonprofit, the Coalition for Healthy African American Relationships and Marriages, she ran workshops with CWAH clients.

Now that Frye is the chief operating officer of CWAH –and will soon take over most of the duties of the nonprofit’s founder and current CEO, Gloria Taylor – the Coalition for Healthy African American Relationships and Marriages is “more or less on hiatus,” Frye said. Though that group still hosts speakers and events, most of Frye’s efforts are directed towards CWAH.

As Taylor moves toward retirement, Frye has been taking on more and more responsibility within the organization. “It’s been an exciting six

months,” she said, “And we have already seen some of the transformation we envisioned in our strategic planning and succession planning.”

That transformation for a group like CWAH is no easy thing. Its multi-pronged services include educational programs, parent outreach programs, career training, a food pantry, and a free clothing boutique.

Karla Frye, however, will be able to use her years of experience in varied career fields to handle the varied nature of running CWAH. Her expanded role, she said, “Has been a blessing, because somehow I’ve always managed to make the connections between all of that.”

CWAH started succession planning last year.

“We looked at the operations, which is the main part of what she had been doing for years, with one staff person. So really, what she was doing was a job for two, and maybe three,” she said.

Taylor is scaling back her role to focus on outreach and program development.

“She hopes to become a consultant for other nonprofits and community organizations,” Frye added. She will help other organizations with start-up, management, and community engagement.

Frye is making some more changes at CWAH, by increasing the educational programs offered – from cradle-to-college, and career services that make connections for youth, streamlining operations, and serving new needs in the com-

munity as they come up.

“While there’s so much good that is going on, one of the challenges that we see is the fact that there’s more need now,” Frye said. “as I drive through the community, I always see possibilities. For instance, when I see people who are searching for food, it makes me think about the fact that there’s hunger and food deserts, but boarded up grocery stores at the same time. There’s so much need, and that’s a challenge because we know we can’t do everything, we just want to do what we do well.”

Frye’s and the organization’s overarching goal is simple: to bring more of the low- and middle-income families they serve towards success, which may mean home-buying, taking classes, a scholarship for college, or a new job.

“What we’re pushing is success for families. So as they deal with each of their issues, they set goals, and meet them at whatever level would mean something,” Frye said, “So success is defined as the family identifying their own strengths and weaknesses, and then goals that come out of that. We look at how our programs fit the goals they’re trying to achieve.”

Streamlining programs, and keeping the focus on success for families, is more urgent now than ever, in an age when there is uncertainty around federal funding for nonprofits. Often, the “big nonprofits” as Frye puts it, get the bulk of volunteer and donation support, while “mom-and-pop nonprofits” get left behind. Community Women Against Hardship, however, won’t let that happen.

“We have a definite niche,” in the community, Frye said, and “As this changes, we need to see how we can be more effective and continue the successes that we have.”

Ownership dispute moves monument to the courthouse

The City of St. Louis won’t be able to free itself from the monument that glorifies slavery and the Confederacy until after Independence Day, as the fight to remove the monument has moved from Forest Park to the Courthouse. On Monday, June 19, Judge Robert Dierker put a halt to dismantling the structure until July 6 to determine ownership. Last week, the Daughters of the Confederacy claimed it was the rightful owner and gave its deed to the Missouri Civil War Museum, who offered to move it at no cost to the City, with a promise not to re-erect it in St.

Louis City or County.

A statement from Mayor Lyda Krewson’s office said, “I believe the city owns the monument but that will ultimately be determined by the courts. There are a number of statues in our parks and around our regions. If someone were to come forward and claim to own another statue, what will the outcome be?”

The City does not want it re-erected anywhere. Already, the city has spent thousands of dollars in labor and equipment rental to remove the monument.

The Great IllinoisMissouri divide!

Poor people, and especially people of color, should be troubled about the budget cuts implemented by Governor Bruce Rauner of Illinois and Governor Eric Greitens of Missouri. These two wealthy politicians do not give the impression that they understand the disparity between the rich and poor, and how their unprecedented cuts to programs for poor and working-class families increase hardship and poverty.

And with President Donald Trump’s proposal to cut Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and other programs and entitlements which benefit disabled and low-income Americans, we should prepare for years of suffering. It is as if the country and the Bi-State region are run by Curly, Larry and Moe. They seem to have no compassion for poor and working class people. They overlook that people should be the focus of social and economic actions. How can poor people be protected from blights and social ills, including disease, narcotic and drugs, and violence if programs are eliminated from federal and state budgets? How can we survive if positive change cannot be truly workable, and we are deprived of fundamental freedoms, including the right to food, education, and health care? Trump, Rauner and Greitens forget that the opportunity to develop one’s full human potential should be respected. For them to eliminate programs that have helped our communities for years would dramatically impact persons with the lowest incomes. Oh, I almost forgot that they do not have a clue of what it is to be poor, and it would never occur to them the struggles that are faced daily

by Blacks and Latinos and other so-called minorities. Rauner’s plan is to slash spending and revamp the state’s pension system, execute term limits and destabilize public employee unions. Because of political bickering, funding for facilities such as schools, hospitals, and criminal justice has been delayed for the past two years. Eric Greitens cut $146 million from the state budget in because of dwindling funding in state revenue, and he’s proposing additional slashes for next year’s plan, which takes effect in July. Harris-Stowe State University, the historically black university is confronting a more than $900,000 reduction in next year’s budget which is devastating.

Bernie Hayes

These so-called ‘leaders’ will be up for re-election and you must remember their deeds. When they come to your churches, mosques, synagogues and places of business, you must remember how they have impacted your life and your family’s life. You must remember what changes and funding practices have been made in educational institutions and what that will mean to your children’s future. You must register and you must vote. Dr. King said “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.”

Please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10 pm and Sunday Evenings at 5:30 pm on KNLC-TV Ch. 24. I can be reached by fax at (314) 837-3369 or e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net. Or on Twitter : @berhay Be Ever Wonderful!

Karla Frye

Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Workers descend after dismantling the top of the Confederate Statue in Forest Park on Thursday, June 8 in St. Louis’ Forest Park. The statue, estimated to weigh nearly 100 tons, does not yet have a new home according to the City of St. Louis.

Hat luncheon raises $450K for Forest Park

By St. Louis American Staff

Through ticket sales, sponsorships and a raffle, the nonprofit conservancy Forest Park Forever raised more than $450,000 for critical maintenance of the Park during its Hat Luncheon annual fundraiser on June 8.

The group welcomed more than 1,100 supporters to the World’s Fair Pavilion for the event, which is the single largest annual fundraiser for Forest Park.

Guests donned fancy and creative millinery for the Stifel Hat Contest with prizes awarded in several categories: Best Table Theme, Dapper Dudes, Fascinator, Romantic, Vintage, Whimsical, and People’s Choice.

This is the 27th year for the sold-out luncheon, presented by The Women’s Committee of Forest Park Forever and co-chairs Vanessa F. Cooksey, senior vice president of Community Affairs for Wells Fargo Advisors and Carolyn G. Farrell, a community leader and longtime Forest Park Forever volunteer.

Forest Park Forever President and Executive Director Lesley S. Hoffarth (center), poses with 2017 Hat Luncheon co-chairs Carolyn G. Farrell and Vanessa F. Cooksey. The June 8 event raised $450,000 for critical maintenance of Forest Park.

KMOX News Anchor Carol Daniel served as mistress of ceremonies and shared the stage with speakers including Mayor Lyda Krewson, Forest

Park Forever Board member Larry Thomas and Forest Park Forever president and Lesley S. Hoffarth, executive director.

Sigma Gamma Rho introduces new members

The East St. Louis Alumnae Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. introduced its new members to the community during a Golden Reception at the Rotunda of the East St. Louis City Hall on Saturday, June 10. The reception was a meet-and-greet for area professional women who were inducted international sorority and was open to the public.

Schnucks launches Double Up Food Bucks

By St. Louis American staff

On Wednesday, June 20, Schnucks launched Double Up Food Bucks at all 56 of its Missouri stores. The program, which is in partnership with Fair Food Network and a grant from the MidAmerica Regional Council (MARC), will run as long as local produce is available.

Double Up Food Bucks is a healthy food incentive program that doubles the value of SNAP dollars spent on locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, to help low-income families choose healthy fresh foods and support local farmers. Aside from Schnucks, it is currently available at many farmer’s markets across the St. Louis Area.

“When a customer pays for locally grown produce with their SNAP/EBT card, they earn a dollar –for-dollar match, up to $25 per day, that they can use for their next purchase of any fresh fruits and vegetables at that or any other Schnucks store in Missouri,” said Joanie Taylor, director of Community Relations for Schnucks. In-store signage will help customers identify which produce products are locally grown and eligible for Double Up Food Bucks.

“Double Up is a win-winwin,” Double Up Food Bucks

can look for

Program Director Noah Fulmer said. “Local families bring home and eat more healthy foods, local farmers sell more produce, and the local economy benefits from more money staying in the community.”

SNAP/EBT customers can sign up to participate in Double Up at any Schnucks store, or at www.schnucks.com/dufb.

Double Up Food Bucks, which was pioneered by Michigan-based Fair Food Network in 2009, helps lowincome families eat more fresh

fruits and vegetables while supporting family farmers and growing local economies. The Double Up Heartland Collaborative is scaling up healthy food incentive programs across Missouri and Kansas. By 2019, Double Up will be in 117 grocery stores and 68 farmers markets, reaching more than 316,000 SNAP recipients in both states. To find a list of all participating groceries and farmers’ markets, go to DoubleUpHeartland.org.

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. is an International Social Service organization founded on November 12, 1922 on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana to promote “Greater Service and Greater Progress.”

anti-basileus and membership chairperson.

“There were seven founders of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., and we have seven women, who have been inducted to continue the organization’s’ focus on community service in East St. Louis,” said Sheila Williams, Chapter

“We want the community to know that Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. is here to help and serve in the Metro East area,” said Chapter Basileus Denise Randle-Merritt. “We also want our new members to know that we are pleased that they have joined us on the journey of promoting community progress through service.”

Photo by Gara Elizabeth/Forest Park Forever

Customers

the “Fresh Local” signs to identify local produce at Schnucks.

Representatives from MU Extension prepare and serve healthy recipes featuring local produce.

New Downtown YMCA opens at The MX

location at 6th and Locust

Al Mitchell was elected to serve on the Gateway Center for Giving Board of Directors. He is president of the Monsanto Fund. The center strengthens philanthropy and promote community impact by providing programming, research and networking opportunities to grantmaking organizations in the St. Louis region. See www. centerforgiving.org.

Subria A. Whitaker was selected for the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation’s inaugural class of legislative research fellows. She is from Chicago’s South Side, living in Morgan Park. She holds a BA with Distinction in Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Sport Administration from Northwestern University.

Michael Whitley joined the Myrtle Hilliard Davis Comprehensive Health Centers, Inc.’s Community Advisory Board. He is development director for The Saint Louis Public Schools Foundation. Myrtle Hilliard Davis CHC is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) serving more than 30,000 patients annually across four unique site locations in the St. Louis region.

By Melinda Oliver

For The St. Louis American

The Downtown YMCA at The MX has returned to its original roots. In an effort to bring fitness and a family-friendly environment to downtown St. Louis, the non-profit has rebuilt with a state-of-the-art facility in their original location at the corner of 6th and Locust. The new facility is centered around serving the diverse residents of the city through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. The YMCA financial assistance program helps individuals who cannot afford membership, and its chronic disease prevention program helps combat prediabetes, diabetes and obesity. Absent are the swimming pool, track and rac-

n Team member De’Shaun Sykes describes the Y as a place that tailors to the “mind, body and spirit.”

quetball courts that were at the old downtown Y, the location has new weight-training equipment and still offers some popular fitness classes, like kickboxing and BODYPUMP. Hot Yoga is a new class for the downtown Y. There is traditional weight training, group exercise studios, and an outdoor patio to host classes. The locker rooms include private changing rooms, showers, and steam rooms.

Team member De’Shaun Sykes describes the Y as a place that tailors to the “mind, body and spirit.” He stated that what sets the Y apart is its inclusive, welcoming environment and commitment to the community around them.

“The Downtown YMCA at MX believes deeply in social responsibility,” Sykes said. “Our doors are open to anyone or any family who is interested in what we do here and living their best lives.”

The Downtown YMCA held its ribbon cutting ceremony on June 5 and is now open for business. Among those who attended the ribbon ceremony are community leaders, downtown business representatives and elected officials.

For more information, call 314-436-4100 or visit www.gwrymca.org.

Esther Shin: new leader of Urban Strategies

Non-profit paved the way for $29.5 million grant

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

Esther Shin has taken the helm of Urban Strategies Inc., a leading nonprofit agency for neighborhood revitalization, at a monumental time for St. Louis city. Urban Strategies, based in downtown St. Louis, paved the way for the City of St. Louis to land a $29.5 million federal Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant to transform the Near North Side. This seed money is expected to leverage more than $2.6 billion in other public, private and philanthropic support to revitalize a part of North city which has long been neglected – bringing new housing, infrastructure, economic opportunities and supportive services to the neighborhood. The city’s Near North Side Choice Neighbor hood Initiative encompasses Carr and Columbus Square neighborhoods, along with portions of Old North, St. Louis Place and the $1.75 billion

Next National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) West intelligence new facility.

The strength that Urban Strategies brings to the table in this project is their ability to keep residents at the center, Shin said.

Esther Shin

“Without strong community engagement, this is not going to work,” Shin said. “In five years from now, we want residents to be able to speak to how this has improved their lives. This is not an exercise in expending $29.5 million. We don’t want this to be a plan that sits on the shelf.”

One part of the transformation is revitalizing more than 340 subsidized housing units in Preservation Square. That means the families living in these units will be displaced for a time, and that’s where Urban Strategies comes in. They have already hired three case managers

n “In five years from now, we want residents to be able to speak to how this has improved their lives. This is not an exercise in expending $29.5 million. We don’t want this to be a plan that sits on the shelf.”

– Esther Shin

who will serve each household in Preservation Square – about 625 currently and that number will grow, Shin said. “We obviously hope they come back,” Shin said. “If they choose to move into a different

Erica R Williams founded a nonprofit organization called A Red Circle, which will focus on racial equity and social equality, particularly in North St Louis County. She serves as executive director. She was also named the Chairwoman of the Legislative Committee of the Missouri Democratic Women’s Caucus.

Rance Thomas received North County Incorporated’s Annual “Sustaining Our Community” Award. He is president and cofounder of North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice. This award honors individuals, organizations, and businesses that have shown a commitment to the North County community in the areas of community service, business development, sustainability, and public service.

Subria A. Whitaker

Michael Whitley

Erica R. Williams

YMCA board members and Mo. Sen. Jamilah Nasheed cut the ribbon to officially open the downtown YMCA at the MX on June 5.

Photo by Wiley Price

Commerce Bank opens new Natural Bridge Banking Center

Commerce Bank’s marked the official opening of its new location on Natural Bridge by cutting a ribbon made of money. The new location, at 4402 Natural Bridge is located across the street from the former location that was occupied by Commerce Bank since 1974.

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (5th Dist.), St. Louis 21st Ward Alderman John CollinsMuhammad and 21st Ward Neighborhood Stabilization Officer Sharie Taylor were among the community leaders who joined bank officials for the ceremony on Tuesday, June 13.

The money ribbon was constructed out of $500 in twenty-dollar bills, and it was donated after the ceremony to Charley’s Body Shoppe, a non-profit organization that provides educational and artistic training to women and youth through fundamentals of dance and exercise.

Commerce Bank sees this updated location as a way to recommit to the North St. Louis community, where they have been involved for more than 40 years.

“Commerce Bank remains committed to the north St. Louis neighborhood and the surrounding business district,” said Fran Fanara, Commerce’s

senior vice president and St. Louis retail group manager.

“We continue to invest in this area through this new and improved banking center so we can best serve the needs of our customers in this community.” The new banking center

includes the traditional transaction line, two consulting rooms to hold private conversations and meetings with a personal banker, and the ability to video conference with product specialists. It has lobby hours and drive through open Monday-

Saturday and a 24-hour ATM.

The existing drive through and drive-up ATM remain at the location.

Plans for the building across the street that formerly housed the banking center are yet to be determined, but Commerce

continues to have conversations with the City of St. Louis, the neighboring Julia Davis library and other community leaders to determine how to put the building to best use for the neighborhood.

“We have developed excel-

lent relationships through this location over the years and look forward to growing our customer relationships and being a part of the fabric of this community well into the future,” Fanara said.

Centene expands 2018 ACA insurance Exchange participation

Adds Missouri, Kansas and Nevada

Centene Corporation announced on June 13 that it will begin offering insurance under the Affordable Care Act

in three new states in 2018: Missouri, Kansas, and Nevada. It will also be expanding its offerings in six existing

markets: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Texas, and Washington.

Centene, headquarted in Clayton, Mo., increases the number of individual healthcare plan issuers in Missouri

from four to five, and from three to four in Kansas and Nevada. These plans, offered on the health insurance marketplace HealthCare.gov, allow individuals to purchase health insurance online.

Between December 2016 and March 2017, the number of exchange members Centene serves grew from 537,200 to 1.2 million. Ninety percent of those customers are eligible for federal subsidies on their insurance.

“Centene recognizes there is uncertainty of new healthcare legislation, but we are well positioned to continue providing accessible, high quality and culturally-sensitive healthcare

SHIN

continued from page B1

location, we will facilitate that.”

Last year, several families were forced out of their homes through eminent domain to make room for the NGA building, which will be just north of the former Pruitt-Igoe housing project footprint. While many residents in the Near North are optimistic about potential improvements, they are also unsure about how they can remain in the area with plans for high-cost housing, led by developer Paul McKee Jr., going up around them.

“We have not been involved in that [eminent domain] process, but we are really sensitive to it,” Shin said.

The Choice Neighborhoods grant is “not going to be a panacea,” she said. But she does have a message for families who have been once living in the north side and want to return.

“The volume of housing is going to increase and there are going to be affordable housing within the Choice neighborhoods area both on rental and home owning side,” Shin said.

They are also are partnering with the nonprofit development group Rise to offer affordable homeownership opportunities, as well as fix up existing homes. There’s $4.5 million budgeted for this work.

n Between December 2016 and March 2017, the number of exchange members Centene serves grew from 537,200 to 1.2 million.

services to our members,” stated Michael F Neidorff, president and CEO of Centene.

Centene’s announcement stands in contrast to those providers who are decreasing coverage. It did not, however, state whether their Missouri

Getting results

On Jan 1, Shin became president of Urban Strategies, succeeding the group’s longtime leader Sandra Moore. Shin has been with the organization since 2000 and has served in several capacities. Urban Strategies has been involved in neighborhood revitalization efforts in 24 cities and more than 30 neighborhoods across the country, while serving more than 20,000 families.

Shin said the group has been a national leader in their field, particularly around serving low-income families.

“I think what we’ve done a great job of stabilizing communities,” Shin said. “What I would like to focus on is not just stabilizing households and families, but also move them towards thriving.”

She said it’s great when a community transforms and there’s brand new housing and landscaping.

“But if inside that household, that family is still making less than $10,000 a year, then the family is stable but not really thriving,” Shin said. “That’s where I’m really focusing on in terms of the programmatic work.”

In her 17 years of experience at Urban, she said they have looked at results in terms of “counting the number of bodies” that earn employment or go to job training or enroll their children in an enrichment program. Shin’s goal as

insurance offerings will cover the 25 Western Missouri counties currently without an ACA insurer. Centene stated it is committed to working closely with regulators and policymakers to collaborate on the actions that stabilize the market and offer affordable and high quality coverage options.

Centene’s announcement came three weeks after Blue Cross Blue Shield Kansas City announced it will no longer offer coverage on the Exchange in 2018, leaving 67,000 Missouri and Kansas customers uninsured.

president is to re-envision the “results framework.”

The trick is to balance between “tailoring and standardizing” practices in each of the communities where they work. What they can bring into every community is financial empowerment, she said.

“Not just financial literacy but financial empowerment,” Shin said.

That means making sure families are increasing credit scores by 100 points and getting one-on-one financial coaching, she said. Years ago, Urban Strategies led the application process and was the grantee for a federal Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant. Without this, the city couldn’t have applied for the implementation grant for the Near North Side. There are about 11,800 people living in the Near North Side – 966 residents live in the Preservation Square multifamily housing development, according to the Near North Side Transformation Plan. About 82 percent of them are black and 31.6 percent are children. Shin said that the “race equity piece” is critical to Urban’s work.

“Many of the families we serve are people of color – and that’s not by accident,” Shin said. “The system in place doesn’t favor the families we serve. I’ve been really trying to elevate that in discussions. The system is what it is for a reason.”

Commerce Bank moved into a new facility at 4402 Natural Bridge, across the street from the site it occupied since 1974.

Money Smart Grads

Congratulations to the SIUE Head Start/Early Head Start Parents for completing a 10-week financial literacy class sponsored by the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, Associated Bank in East St. Louis and the SIUE Jackie Joyner-Kersee Head Start/Early Head Start Center. Associated Bank awarded each graduate with $300 for themselves and $700 to start a Bright Start savings account for their child or grandchild.

Reunions

397-5570. You may also use Facebook , BHS72 Reunion Committee.

Beaumont High School, Class of 1978 will celebrate its 40-year reunion in 2018. For further information, please contact: Marietta Shegog Shelby, 314-7995296, madeshe@sbcglobal. net.

Beaumont High School Class of 1972 is celebrating 45th class reunion August 11 -13, 2017. Activities have been planned for a fun filled weekend you don’t want to miss. Please direct all inquiries and registration request to Sharon Webb Steele at (314) 757-2799 or Linda Howard at (314)

Cleveland High School is hosting a reunion for all attending 1980-1984 on August 19, 2017 at Catering To You Banquet Center (12775 New Halls Ferry Rd., Florissant, MO 63033) For information, please contact Babette Perkins-Anderson at 314-345-0939.

Celebrations

Band Book

Congratulations to The Jazz Edge Orchestra on the publication of the commemorative book The Jazz Edge Orchestra 19902015. The book compiles photos, news articles and memorabilia to serve as a testament to the talented musicians who have spent more than twenty-five years performing in the St. Louis community. For copies, please contact Dr. Don Cook at dr_doncook@ hotmail.com, $25 plus shipping.

Hadley Tech Classes of 1962-1963 are having their 55th year reunion on October 13-15, 2017 at the St. Louis Airport Marriott. For more information, please contact Hellon (Merritt) Jefferson at 314-307-3681, Ora (Scott) Roberts at 314-222-3662, Wilhelmina (Gibson) Baker at 314-630-9647, Pearl (Tillman) Holden 314-6850466 or Virdell (Robinson) Stennis at 314-773-8177.

Mr. Eldridge Bryant, Sr. is hosting a reunion for his students at Lafayette and Monroe Elementary Schools in SLPS from 19992000. For more information, please contact him at: 314489-0532 or eldridgbrya@ sbcglobal.net.

Birthdays

Happy 2nd Birthday to Brandon Johnson Jr. on June 27! “One of the greatest titles in the world is parent, and one of the biggest blessings in the world is to have parents to call mom and dad.”

Happy Birthday to our dear friend, Patrice Jefferson, who celebrated her 26th birthday on June 19. May God bless you with many more! We love you—enjoy!

Always, DarLinda & Cierra

McKinley Goldbugs Class of 1987 is planning their 30-year reunion, July 7-8. 2017. For details please contact Freddie Clemons at freddieclemons568@yahoo. com or go to McKinley Goldbugs Facebook site for more information.

O’Fallon Technical High School Class of 1967, will be celebrating its 50th reunion on September 15-17, 2017. If you have not received a letter or e-mail, please call 314630-8452 with your contact information, and a committee member will contact you. Save the date, there will not be another 50th.

Soldan High School Class of 1967 will be holding its 50th

class reunion September 29-30, 2017. For additional information, please contact Nona Binion Simpkins at 314-361-3799or Melvia Forniss at 314-725-8103.

Soldan is having its 12th All-Class Alumni Picnic August 12, 2017 at Tiemeyer Park, 3311 Ashby Rd., St. Ann, MO 63074 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. The picnic is free. Bring your own basket or grill and grill out there. Food truck will be on site. T-Shirts will be sold for $15.00. You have until August 6, 2017, to get your grad. year put on the sleeve. For more information, call (314) 413-9088.

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

Louis, MO 63103 FREE OF CHARGE

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to:

Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103

Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@ stlamerican.com

Congress targets bureau that returned $12B to consumers

By Charlene Crowell Center for Responsible Lending

On April 5 a committee hearing before the House Financial Services Committee was supposed to be one of two mandated sessions required by the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This spring, as in past years, Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) appeared to testify before Congress on the past year’s efforts and achievements. Instead of affording Director Cordray the chance to speak about consumer trends and concerns captured in a 50-page report on 2016’s efforts, nearly six hours of partisan attacks called for his dismissal and an end to the CFPB as we know it. According to committee chair, U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, “Not only must Mr. Cordray go, but this current CFPB must go as well.”

Somebody needs to call a timeout for behavior that devolves a congressional hearing into an extended partisan tirade. That kind of behavior neither respects consumers nor the oaths lawmakers took to speak and act in support of the American people. As the tone of any public forum is set by those entrusted with leadership roles, shame on the committee chair and all committee mem-

bers who shirked their sworn governmental duties. For the record, either Director Cordray or his staff has appeared more than 60 times before lawmakers since CFPB began. Indulging partisan attacks while ignoring a document that attests to the real-life concerns of consumers and their finances is an inappropriate use of public resources.

What was lost in a marathon attack was CFPB’s service to America’s consumers that more reasoned minds would have heralded. Since CFPB opened its doors:

• $12 billion was returned to 29 million consumers harmed by financial companies;

• 97 percent of complaints sent to businesses received timely replies; and

• More than 1 million consumer complaints were filed –1,136,000 to be exact.

“With the help of complaints,” noted Director Cordray, “we dig deeply into potentially unfair practices, so we can prevent minor issues from becoming major problems. We also use complaints to identify opportunities to educate and empower consumers about the marketplace and their rights and to understand what the rules of the road should be when we consider and undertake rulemaking.”

“Through the questions they ask us, the stories they tell us, and the complaints they submit, the voices of consumers remain foundational to the bureau’s work,” added Director Cordray. For example, the story of

a California consumer was included in the report.

“We had actually lost over $1,000…For a very frustrating month, we tried everything to reach the company for an explanation and finally put in a complaint with CFPB. Within two weeks we received a response from the company and a check for the difference. We are so grateful to CFPB and this avenue of resolution.”

“Time after time the CFPB has shown to be an effective agency and has kept our financial sector accountable to the public,” noted Yana Miles, senior legislative counsel with the Center for Responsible Lending. “With Director Cordray at the helm, CFPB has helped restore financial freedom for millions of working families.”

And many of those working families included black and Latino consumers who are frequently targeted for financial abuse. For consumers of color, CFPB’s actions are strongly welcomed. Before the bureau’s creation, consumer protection was shared by several federal offices and holding predatory lenders accountable was on a long list of other duties. With CFPB, consumer protection is the sole focus, violations are verified and enforcement actions return hard-earned monies to families.

“The CFPB leveled the playing field between consumers and financial companies in a way that no other regulator had previously,” said Paulina Gonzalez, executive director of the California Reinvestment Coalition. “It stopped scammers, created real consequences for illegal behavior by corporations, and increased trans-

Annual job fair matched employers with job seekers

Shabita Dickson interviews with Jerrett Washington, a talent acquisition officer for Schnucks Markets on Monday, June 5 during 1st District Congressman William Lacy Clay’s 12th Annual Career Fair. The event was held on the campus of HarrisStowe State University. There were 113 employers participating who had face-toface interactions with throngs candidates seeking to feel about a thousand available job openings.

“The quality and variety of job opportunities at my Career Fair this year was better than ever before,” Clay said. “We truly offered something for everyone, regardless of their educational level, work history or area of interest. Having a job is more than just a paycheck, it’s an opportunity to take care of your family and build a brighter future.”

Clay expressed appreciation to employers who participated and the help and hospitality provided by Dr. Dwaun Warmack and Harris-Stowe State University.

parency into the marketplace so that people are better equipped to make important financial decisions. Consumers want, need, and deserve a strong agency that stands up for their interests,”

A similar reaction came from Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “It is disappointing but not surprising that payday lenders, debt collectors, for-profit colleges, and other industry groups have turned to their allies in Congress and the

courts in an effort to weaken the bureau so they can keep exploiting financially vulnerable Americans.”

In the throes of the foreclosure crisis, consumers and their advocates spoke up, stood up and insisted on changes to ensure that never again would irresponsible lending practices jeopardize the nation’s economy.

Director Cordray and his staff have worked to bring financial justice to the millions who have been harmed. Perhaps now is the right time

for people to stand up and be heard once again. According to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, the Ranking Member on the House Financial Services Committee, “The Consumer Bureau and Director Cordray are doing exactly the job they are supposed to do, and they are doing it well.” Charlene Crowell is communications deputy director for the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org

Photo by Wiley Price

Charlene Crowell

Living It

Strength

beyond the pain

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“She has grown up realizing that you have to keep your dignity and honor above all because that’s the only thing no one can take away from you – they can take your crown, they can take your dignity but they can’t take how high you hold your head,” said actress Cherie Corinne Rice of her character Queen Hermione in Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ presentation of

A legend made

Nichol Stevenson with her son Maximus at the Café Soul benefit concert featuring Eric Roberson last month at the Mandarin House

Benefit jam session to support Nichol Stevenson’s battle with Leiomyosarcoma

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Nichol Stevenson had a side pain that wouldn’t relent, so she went to the emergency room.

From the emergency room she was admitted to the hospital – where she underwent tests, fibroid surgery and a hysterectomy, but was still unclear about what was going on with her health.

n “Music heals and that has been the catalyst for what we have been doing over the past 11 years with Café Soul.”

- Nichol Stevenson Café Soul Co-founder

“One of the doctor’s came making rounds about the fifth day. It was a female doctor and there weren’t a lot of them,” Stevenson said. “I said, ‘Can I ask you something? Do I have cancer?

And she said ‘Yes.’

It just turned my life upside down in a matter of hours.”

On December 30, Stevenson learned she has Leiomyosarcoma (stage 3b). The rare cancer represents only one-to-three percent of all diagnoses.

“I was numb the first few days – and in the

“The Winter’s Tale.” Rice is as thrilled to return to the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis Stage bearing the crown of Hermione.

“What she endures is not that different from what black women have had to do forever,” Rice said. “You can take everything from us, but at the end of the day we remain this rock

to

and

Biopic

fails legacy of Tupac and lead actor’s solid portrayal

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Tupac Shakur was a fascinating, mesmerizing figure who gave hip-hop a complex anti-hero that had everyone’s attention during his lightning-speed ascension to the top of hip-hop. The film charged with bringing his life to the big screen is anything but. “All Eyez On

Rapper Prodigy, one half of the influential hip hop duo Mobb

Photo by J. David Levy

June 25

at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park.

“All Eyez on Me” goes from the womb to the grave, yet somehow never gets to the heart of Tupac.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

How to place a calendar listing

1. Email your listing to calendar@stlamerican. com OR

2. Visit the calendar section on stlamerican.com and place your listing

Calendar listings are free of charge, are edited for space and run on a space-available basis.

concerts

June 23 – 24, Jazz St. Louis presents Lamar Harris –Ballad of Atlantis. Jazz at the Bistro, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 571-6000.

Fri., June 23, 7 p.m., The Jazz Edge Orchestra Tribute to Wes Montgomery and book release concert with special guest soloists Eric Slaughter, Rick Haydon and Gregg Haynes, The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd. For more information, call (314) 5341111.

Sat., June 24, 8:30 p.m., Pyso Entertainment presents G-Herbo Live. Lux, 2619 Washington Ave., 63014. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Sun., June 25, 3 p.m., All-N-

1 Entertainment presents Its All About The Kidz Concert Come out for King Imprint, Team Rocket, The Lit Kidz, Sponge Bob, and vendors. Mandarin Banquet Hall, 8004 Olive Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 6903660.

Sun., June 25, 7 p.m., Hang

10 Productions presents the STL R&B Concert Series – Movie Sound Track Edition. Dueling Piano Bar, 7376 Manchester, 63143. For more information, call (314) 266-9826 or visit www. hang10productions.com.

Sun., June 25, 8 p.m., RockHouse Entertainment, LLC and Three Kings Entertainment Company present Dru Hill. 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. thepageant.com.

Fri., July 7, 9 p.m., Liquid Assets presents Young Jeezy. The Ambassador, July 7 – 8, Jazz St. Louis

presents Good 4 the Soul –The Music of Prince. Jazz at the Bistro, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103.

Sat., July 8, 8 p.m., The Fabulous Fox presents Jill Scott. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com.

Sun., July 9, 8 p.m., Live Nation presents the Against All Odds Tour feat. Meek Mill and Yo Gotti. Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 14141 Riverport Dr., 63043. For more information, visit www. concerts1.livenation.com.

Sun., July 9, 8 p.m., 95.5 The Lou and RockHouse Entertainment present Ladies Night Out with After 7. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

local gigs

Sun., June 25, 3 p.m., All-N1 Entertainment presents Its All About The Kidz Concert Come out for King Imprint, Team Rocket, The Lit Kidz, Sponge Bob, and vendors. Mandarin Banquet Hall, 8004 Olive Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 6903660.

June 30 – July 1, Jazz St. Louis presents Anita Jackson Jazz at the Bistro, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103.

Sun., July 2, 3 & 6 p.m., JPEK CreativeWorks Theatre presents A Legends Revue: Marvin Gaye Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. kranzbergartscenter.org.

special events

Thur., June 22, St. Louis

County NAACP 81st Freedom Fund Leadership Dinner: Rise Together. St. Louis Ritz Carlton Hotel, 100 Carondelet Plaza, 63105. For more information, visit www.naacpstlcounty.org/ freedom2017.

Fri., June 23, 9:30 p.m., Sofrito: The Afro Latin Dance Experience. Lucha, 522 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sat., June 24, 9 a.m., Operation Food Search’s Shop Out Hunger Day. Volunteers will be staffed outside of more than 120 grocery stores collecting nonperishable food items and donations that will stay in each area’s community. For more information, visit www. operationfoodsearch.org.

Sat., June 24, 9 a.m., Women Walk to Empower. Be a hero and help a deserving woman achieve her goals by joining us for a 1.5 mile walk. Spanish Lake Park, 12500 Spanish Pond Rd., 63138. For more information, visit www. eventsabovetherest.com.

Sat., June 24, 10 a.m., CREF

presents A Listening Session. To address abuse, neglect and juvenile offenses for juvenile justice change. Greater St. Mark Church, 9950 Glen Owen Dr., 63136.

Sat., June 24, 11 a.m., Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc., Omicron Theta Omega Chapter presents Pink Pizzazz Jazz Brunch: Pearls in Paris. Featuring Donald Gill & Smooth Jazz. Norwood Hills Country Club, 1 Norwood Hills Country Club Dr., 63121. For more information, call (217) 369-5936.

Wed., June 28, 1 p.m., Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc. presents the 2017 SYNLOD College Fair. St. Louis Union Station Hotel, 1820 Market St., 63103. For more information, email ncaldwell@maryville. edu.

July 5 – 7, “This Is Hunger” Free National Exhibit. Come on a compelling journey into the lives of everyday Americans, and gain awareness about who struggles with hunger and why. United Hebrew Congregation, 13788 Conway Rd., 63141. For more information, visit www. thisishunger.org.

RockHouse Entertainment, LLC and Three Kings Entertainment Company present Dru Hill. See CONCERTS for details.

Sat., July 8, 8 a.m., Antiques Roadshow. The hit Nine PBS series stops in St. Louis in search of hidden treasures for an all-day appraisal event. America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza, 63101. For more information, call (314) 512-9021 or visit www. ninenet.org.

comedy

June 22 – 24, The Laugh Lounge STL presents Shaun Jones. 11208 W. Florissant Ave., 63033. For more information, visit www. brownpapertickets.com.

June 22 – 24, Funny Bone St. Louis presents Kountry Wayne. 614 Westport Plaza, 63146. For more information, visit www.stlouisfunnybone. com.

June 22 – 24, Helium Comedy Club presents John Witherspoon. 1151 Saint Louis Galleria, 63117. For more information, call (314) 727-1260.

July 6 – 9, Funny Bone St. Louis presents Guy Torry 614 Westport Plaza, 63146.

Sun., July 16, 7 p.m., Helium Comedy Club presents Meet Me in St. Louis…Dammit feat. Anthony Session. 1151 St. Louis Galleria St., 63117. For more information, visit www.helimcomedy.com.

Mon., June 26, 7 p.m.,

Left Bank Books hosts author Cleve Jones, author of When We Rise: My Life in the Movement. 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.leftbank.com.

Thur., July 6, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author Don Winslow, author of The Force. Based on years of research inside the NYPD, Winslow presents a story of greed and violence that reveals the tensions between the police and the diverse citizens they serve. 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, visit www. slcl.org.

Sat., July 8, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author Roxane Gay, author of Hunger. Explore what it means to be overweight in a time when the bigger you are, the less you are seen. 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131.

Wed., July 12, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Joanna Dee Das, author of Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora Das examines how Dunham struggled to balance artistic dreams, personal desires, economic needs, and political commitments in the face of racism and sexism. 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108.

Thur., July 13, 7 p.m., Left

Hang 10 Productions presents the STL R&B Concert Series – Movie Sound Track Edition. Dueling Piano Bar. See CONCERTS for more info.

Featured Event

Bank Books hosts author Edward Moore, author of The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues

A paradoxical marriage brings together the people of Plainview with Blues guitarist Eli Walker, who once vowed to never set foot in the town again.

Wed., July 19, 7 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents The Making of an All-American City: East St. Louis at 150. Hear from the book’s contributors about this collection of insightful essays that cover East St. Louis’s turbulent history. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Fri., June 23, 5:30 p.m., Through Darkness to Light: Photographs Along the Underground Railroad Opening Reception. Join Photojournalist Jeanine

Michna-Bales as she discusses her historical journey along the underground railroad The Griot Museum of Black History, 2505 St. Louis Ave., 63106. For more information, call (314) 241-7057.

Sat., June 24, 2 p.m., St. Louis Art Museum presents A Conversation with Andre Leon Talley. The former editor-at-large for Vogue magazine will bring his legendary style savvy to discuss his insights on the intersections of contemporary menswear and fashion history. 1 Fine Arts Dr., 63110. For more information, visit www. slam.org

Sat., June 24, 9 a.m., Loop Arts Fest 2017 – Chalk the Loop. Accomplished artists and novices of all ages are invited to create their own chalk masterpieces on the sidewalks of the Delmar Loop. For more information, visit www.visittheloop.com.

Thur., July 16, 6 p.m., Good Journey Development

Foundation cordially invites you to Art in Our World Beauty Ngxongo is an exceptional artist from South Africa and will demonstrate the wonders of Zulu Basket Weaving. Exodus Art Gallery, 5075 Delmar Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. goodjourney.org.

lectures and workshops

Fri., June 23, 8:30 a.m., Domestic Violence Court of St. Louis County hosts Finding Safe Solutions Training topics covered include understanding domestic violence, enhancing interviewing and screening skills, and more. SLU Law School, 100 N. Tucker Blvd., 63101. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Sat., June 24, 10 a.m., The Free Lance Economy and Starting a Home Based Business. An informative session with experts who will give you insight into building your own home business. Diner’s Delight, 1504 S. Compton Ave., 63104. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Mon., June 26, 2:30 p.m., Bilingual International Assistant Services presents Resilience and Strength: What We Can Learn from Refugees. A panel program to illuminate refugee stories. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Tues., June 27, 5 p.m., Grace Hill Women’s Business Center Legal Clinic. Join us to discuss contracts, operating agreements, types of legal entity, etc., that will be beneficial to the growth of your business. 2125 Bissell St., 63107. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Wed., June 28, 5 p.m., The Professional Organization of

Women invites you to The Modern Woman’s Balancing Act: Health, Career & Relationships. Panelists will provide insight on ways to implement a balancing act. Edward Jones, 12555 Manchester Rd., 63131. For more information or to RSVP, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Wed., June 28, 6 p.m., Left Bank Books and St. Louis Public Library present Reflections on Race & Justice. Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. slpl.org.

theatre

June 22 – 24, St. Louis Summer Players presents Bye Bye Birdie. Rock and roll star

For more information, call (314) 725-6555 or visit www. cocastl.org.

June 29 – July 1, JPEK CreativeWorks Theatre presents Topdog/Underdog Abandoned by their parents as teenagers, Lincoln and Booth, were forced to learn to survive on their own. Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www.kranzbergartscenter. org.

Through July 2, Stages St. Louis presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Follow the ragsto-riches story of Joseph, his eleven brothers, and the miraculous coat of many colors. 111 S. Geyer Rd., 63122. For more information, visit www.stagesstlouis.org.

July 7 – 16, First Run Theatre presents Dreaming in Black and White. In 1963 Virginia, dreams and fears collide when Pearlene, a black caretaker, is hired to help care for Sonny, a white man with heart disease. 726 LeLand Ave., 63130. For more information, visit www. firstruntheatre.com.

Conrad Birdie is joining the army, but before he reports, will he get one last kiss?

Missouri Baptist University, 1 College Park Dr., 63141. For more information, visit http:// www.stlsummerplayers.com.

Through June 23, Opera Theatre St. Louis presents The Trial. It’s strange enough that Josef K finds himself arrested on his 30th birthday — stranger still that no one seems able to explain why. Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Rd, 63119. For more information, visit www.operastl.org.

June 23 – 24, COCA presents Disney’s The Lion King Jr The African Savanna comes to life with Simba, Rafiki and an unforgettable cast of characters on their journey from Pride Rock. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130.

health

Sat., June 24, 6:30 a.m., The Epilepsy Foundation invites you to Seize the Day 5K. Join us as we raise funds to continue the fight against seizures. Kirkwood Park, 111 S Geyer, 63122. For more information, call (314) 781-4949 or visit www. SeizetheDaySTL.kintera. org/2017.

Tues., June 27, 6:30 p.m., Maplewood Public Library presents Four Pillars of Health. In this wellness talk, you’ll be inspired to adopt a more active lifestyle based on the four key pillars of physical health. 7550 Lohmeyer Ave., 63143. For more information, call (314) 781-2174.

Through July 9, Small Business Majority’s

Missouri Healthy Business Healthy Community Workplace Wellness Challenge, FREE community-based competition where small businesses in southwest Missouri l compete against St. Louis area businesses to win special prizes, which will be awarded at the end of the competition and provided by local sponsors. Visit http:// smallbusinessportal.org/ benefits/wellness or call 314718-0377 to register.

spiritual

Sun., July 2, 5 p.m., BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups invites you to Valiant Rising African Gospel Concert 700 S. Broadway, 63102. For more information, call (314) 436-5222.

July 5– July 7, 7 p.m. nightly, Southern Mission Baptist Church presents a Three Church Revival, Wednesday, July 5, Southern Mission Baptist Church with Bishop Arthur Jones, 8171 Wesley Ave., Kinloch, MO 63140; Thursday, July 6, Liberty Community Worship Center with Pastor Jason Durham, 11221 Larimore Rd., Spanish Lake, MO 63138; Friday, July 7 First Missionary Baptist Church of Kinloch with Bishop John Mitchell, Jr., 4400 Parker Rd., Florissant, MO 63033. For more information, call (314) 521-3951.

July 24-July 28, Missouri Midwest Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, under the leadership of Bishop Elijah Hankerson III, presents its COGIC Second Annual Holy Convocation, Theme: “In This Changing World, Let Us Hold On To Our Unchanging Faith” 1 Corinthians 15:58;Colossians 1:9-23; II Timothy 3:1-17; Jude 3-4 Kennerly Temple Chruch of God In Christ, 4307 Kennerly Ave. St. Louis, Missouri 63113. For more information Call Pastor Travis J. Cox 314-761-5148.

The Fabulous Fox presents Jill Scott. For more information, see CONCERTS.

Vernon. Stevenson said that those who plan to attend can expect an organic night of music that will be a “down home good time.”

hospital for three weeks to lay there and think about the diagnosis,” Stevenson said. “First I thought I was getting ready to die. I thought, ‘I’m going to die and I have a four-year-old son. This doesn’t make sense.’” She decided that she was going to battle the disease with all of her might.

“Anybody who knows me knows that there wasn’t a fight with my name on it that I didn’t show up for,” Stevenson said. “I show up and I kick [expletive] – and cancer is no different.”

She completed proton and radiation therapy this spring and will be starting two aggressive forms of chemotherapy July 6.

“From December to March I kept it to myself,” Stevenson said. “But anybody who knows me knows that I don’t sit on the sidelines. I thought that this was a great opportunity to come forward and share my story.”

Before she became ill, Stevenson was working feverishly on House of Soul – a full time music venue that would house the popular monthly open mic series she started 11 years ago with Angela Brown as well as local and national soul music acts.

Her love of presenting live music and her health to raise awareness have intersected via benefit shows. The first, held last month, featured nationally renowned soul singer Eric Roberson.This weekend, the musical family she’s acquired through Café Soul are teaming up to present a benefit jam session on Sunday at The White House in Centreville, Illinois. The benefit, titled “East St. Louis Supports Our Own,” will be hosted by Tracie Ford and features Corey “SaxMo” Allen, Greg Lewis Jr., Montez E. Coleman, Zane Slack, Joaquin Musick, Truenessia Combs, Orlandus J. Cherry and Titley

“Music heals and that has been the catalyst for what we have been doing over the past 11 years with Café Soul,” Stevenson said. “Music keeps me moving – and keeps me going down the path where I’m going. It empowers and uplifts me as I try to get through to the next phase of the process.”

Proceeds for the show will benefit Stevenson’s medical expenses and costs of everyday living for herself and son Maximus.

“Life doesn’t stop. I take few deep breaths and I have a few people that I can lean on,” Stevenson said. “I’m taking it one day at a time and I’m still learning about the journey of a being cancer patient – knowing the things that you go through and knowing that I’m going through chemo and I will lose my hair and that I will physically look different. But I’ve decided that if I’ve got to give up four months of my life to be here for my son as long as I can, then I will sacrifice four months.”

She’s asking for prayers and wanted to thank the overwhelming support she has received since coming forward about her illness – and hopes that her story will inspire others to be proactive about their health, particularly in the African American community.

“We can’t continue to diagnose ourselves. We have to go to the doctor,” Stevenson said. “We are facing a crisis that goes beyond just cancer. We have to go to the doctor – and you have advocate for yourself.”

The East St. Louis Supports Its Own Benefit Jam Session will take place on Sunday, June 25 at The White House, 7301 Lake Drive in Centerville, Illinois. Doors open at 5 p.m. For more information, call (314) 225-6674.

Continued from C1

is yet to be eclipsed more than twenty years after his death. His life played like a wellwritten Hollywood movie with an unexpectedly tragic ending. With all of the dots laid out by Shakur, somehow “All Eyez on Me” misses the mark on every cue as far as connecting them. What the viewer sees is a stereotypically bad madefor-television style drama that would lower the bar for Lifetime if the film appeared on the television network known for famously cheesy celebrity biopics.

In the film, Shakur’s life flashes before everyone’s eyes over the course of two hours and twenty minutes.

Screenwriters Jeremy Haft, Eddie Gonzalez and Steven Bagatourian take the easy way out. The story is initially framed around Shakur’s participation in a media interview while in prison – a shortcut that allows them to flicker across his life without putting in any serious work with respect to crafting a film with depth and intention.

At the very beginning of the film, a pregnant Afeni Shakur unleashes a monologue on a reporter who asked her how it felt to be free after successfully representing herself in the case that had her imprisoned for most of the time Tupac was in her womb. Overacted and underwritten, Danai Gurira’s introduction of Afeni sets the tone for the entire film. “All Eyez on Me” goes from the womb to the grave, yet somehow never gets to the heart of Tupac.

As anticipation built for the film, the big worry seemed to be if newcomer Darius Shipp Jr. would be able to truly embody the character beyond the novelty of being a lookalike. “All Eyez on Me” is the

PLAY

Continued from C1

that people can’t understand how we’ve been so strong. Hermione is a perfect example of that – and for her to be played by a black woman –people will be able to see that strength, power and dignity that they are used to seeing from us throughout history.”

“The Winter’s Tale” continues through Sunday, June 25th at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park.

The play is different than most of Shakespeare’s work in that it is a tragedy and a comedy within the same play.

Rice plays a queen wrongfully accused of adultery by

actor’s first film – and he beat out dozens for the role that eventually resorted to online auditions and open casting calls. Ironically, if Shipp hadn’t been forsaken by Boom and the screenwriters, his Tupac could have had an effect comparable to Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Ray Charles in “Ray.”

Cory Hardrict is also impressive in his role as “Nigel.” How the assumed gangster character managed to maneuver his way into Tupac’s inner circle is among many convoluted sidebars that were never quite flushed out enough to make sense, but he was still one of the few bright spots in the film.

“Notorious” star Jamal Woolard managed to regress with the reprisal of his role as Notorious B.I.G. Gurira’s Afeni Shakur shows potential, but the performance is so extra

her king and is forced to suffer unspeakable consequences. At a time when she should be filled with excitement as she awaits the birth of her second child, she must prove herself innocent after her husband accuses her of an affair and questions the paternity of her unborn baby. Her life and her baby’s life depend on successfully convincing the king that she has not strayed from her marital bed.

The consequences of the accusations result in unspeakable tragedies – and yet the play somehow transitions into a lighthearted comedy.

“Shakespeare is really brilliant at knowing what an audience needs,” Rice said.

“A lot of people look at ‘The Winter’s Tale’ and think it’s

that it comes off as a poorly done Viola Davis as Afeni Shakur impersonation. Guirira bears an uncanny resemblance to Davis, but she should study Davis’ ability to add softness via subtle and authentic nuances.

In addition to the subpar writing and direction, there are a few glaring factual errors that won’t sit well with Tupac fans – particularly his performance of “Hail Mary” during his House of Blues album release party for the album that served as the title of his biopic. The single was released after his death.

Instead of providing answers and insight, “All Eyez on Me” leaves the viewer with more questions – and not in the way that one would hope. “All Eyez on Me” does not compel the viewer to research the rapper. Nor does the film add intrigue

very confusing – there’s death and tragedy, and then it ends as a comedy. It seems a little schizophrenic on the page, but what we learned in rehearsal and through performance is that you cry – and then you need to laugh. Shakespeare does that thing of really priming you for laughter by putting you in a really emotional place where you are desperate for something to laugh at.”

Rice said that “The Winter’s Tale” director Bruce Longworth did a phenomenal job of preparing the audience to be uplifted.

“The very last scene of the first act is the start of the comedy,” Rice said. “As the audience goes into intermission, they just start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“The Winter’s Tale” also stars Myke Andrews, Rachel Christopher, Chauncy Thomas, Cassia Thompson as well as Shakespeare Festival favorites Whit Reichert, Jerry Vogel and Anderson Matthews.

Christopher’s performance as Paulina is among the production’s biggest highlights as Hermione’s closest confidante and the fiercest defender of the queen’s honor.

to the enigmatic elements of his personal life – or address the inner turmoil he must have faced as he teetered between his revolutionary roots and gangsta rap persona. There was so much more to Tupac than what was on the surface, and with his death the world was left to wonder what would’ve come out of his endless potential.

But the biggest question that will haunt the audience of “All Eyez on Me” is, “What was the point of telling us everything we already knew on film in a way that was less entertaining than reading a Wikipedia page?”

“All Eyez on Me” is now open in theatres nationwide. The film is rated R with a run time of 150 minutes.

Paulina also takes it upon herself to move the story into happily-ever-after. Rice knows that people might be confused about the comedy-within-a-tragedy format of the play, but feels that the range of emotions within the play actually reflects the human experience.

“Hurt and pain is a part of the human experience

Understanding how to forgive is an even bigger part of the human experience,” Rice said. “We do that more often than we think we do – but when it’s on the page or it’s on the stage we question it.

No matter how badly we hurt, we all want the opportunity to get back to happiness. Somehow and someway we find ourselves loving and laughing again – and that’s what this play is about. It’s about our desire to move forward and be back to that place of joy.”

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ presentation of “The Winter’s Tale continues through Sunday, June 25 (8 p.m. show time) at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park. For more information, visit www.sfstl. com.

NICHOL

Demetrius Shipp Jr. as Tupac and Dominic L. Santana as Suge Knight in a scene from the film “All Eyez on Me.”

Nichol Stevenson with singer Eric Roberson at a recent Café Soul event.

n “I told you a jump shooting team could not win a championship; now you’ve won two.”

– Charles Barkley, congratulating the Golden State Warriors on their second NBA title

Great White Hype’ will become racial reality this summer

St. Louis Prep Year in Review

Kirkwood, Vianney win Class 6 & 5 football titles

By Earl Austin Jr.

Of the St. Louis American

It was a tremendous year of high school sports in the St. Louis metropolitan area. During the 2016-17 school year, athletes and teams stepped up in a big way to produce state championships and achieve regional and national recognition in the process. Before we officially close the books on 2017, here is a look back to what was a special season in St. Louis.

East Side Dominates Illinois: After having its season cut short by a teacher’s strike in 2016, East St. Louis came back strong last fall by winning the Illinois Class 6 state championship. The Flyers were talented and equally determined as they rode the talents of such standout players as Jeff Thomas, Reyondus Estes, James Knight, Jarrell Anderson and Lamontre Harey to bring another state title back to the “City of Champions.”

Kirkwood takes Class 6 Crown: The Kirkwood Pioneers culminated a brilliant season by winning the Class 6 state championship in football.

Kirkwood defeated Kansas City area powers Rockhurst and Blue Springs en route to winning their second state title. The Pioneers were a talented group led by do-it-all quarterback Reece Goddard, two-way performer Tahj Telfair, Joseph Jordan and a host of other tremendous players.

Vianney Takes the Gold: Thought to be a year away with all of its young talent, the Golden Griffins jumped the shark to win the Class 5 state championship in football. After upsetting Metro Catholic rival Chaminade and staging a big rally to defeat Staley, Vianney went on to defeat Fort Zumwalt North in an all-St. Louis championship game. Junior quarterback Tionne Harris was the ringleader of this talented group of championship performers along with big-play performers Kyren Williams and Cam Coleman.

Statesmen Reign Supreme: The Webster Groves Statesmen won the Class 5 state championship in boys’ basketball with a dominating victory over Lee’s Summit West. The Statesmen rode the dymanic duo of guard Courtney Ramey and forward Carte’are Gordon as they defeated state championship teams from three different states during the season. It was the third state championship for Webster Groves.

V. Get Ready to Roll: The Vashon Wolverines won their second consecutive Class 4 state championship in boys’ basketball. After a thrilling overtime victory over St. Mary’s in the sectionals, the Wolverines rolled through Sikeston, Kearney and Bolivar to win the state championship. It was the end of a great era as

In a fight billed as “No Excuses,” Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev sure emerged with a lot of them.

After being stopped in the eighth round by WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward, Kovalev and his team blamed low blows, the referee, the promoter and anything else they could think of to delegitimize Ward’s stunning KO victory. In reality, Kovalev simply couldn’t take it to the body.

began to tire around the sixth round. His mouth was open. He grimaced at every landed body blow, once even turning away from his opponent despite the fact that referee Tony Weeks had not called for a break in the action.

Ward (32-0-0, 16 KO) put on a masterful performance. Though Kovalev pushed the action during the first half of the fight, Ward navigated the ring well. He unleashed well-timed counter-punches and body shots. Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KO) was very active and used his jab early. Unlike the first fight, when he dropped Ward in the second round, in the rematch, he never really got through Ward’s excellent defense.

Once again though, Kovalev

Kovalev and the KO-deniers believe that was the problem. They believe Weeks allowed Ward to punch below the belt for the entire fight, especially the ending. Some believe Ward should have been disqualified for low blows rather than having his hands raised in victory. Others believe Weeks should’ve issued a standing eight count to Kovalev. They are all wrong. Effective body punching is an art form. Pitchers in baseball are called a Rembrandt if they are able to paint the corners of the plate. I guess that makes Ward a punching Picasso.

Even if the punches strayed a little below the belt, when an umpire is calling the low strike,

Earl Austin Jr.

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Ward

Kovalev

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

‘The Great White Hype’ will become racial reality this summer

Get ready, America. Get ready for a summer filled with more partisan bickering, more divisiveness and more racial bitterness.

Washington, D.C. will give us our share, but the real nastiness will be coming from Las Vegas.

Welcome to Floyd

Mayweather vs. Conor

McGregor. By the night of August 26, we won’t be as tired of this nonsensical boxing match as we will be disgusted by it. The event will sell out in Las Vegas. A vast number of foolish individuals will spring for the Showtime pay-per-view telecast. But this so-called fight will only gain viral national (and international) momentum when it becomes a race war. Any day now, one of the fighters or someone from one of their camps is going to say or do something that will cause the racial wheels to start grinding.

Maybe President Donald Trump will Tweet that he favors McGregor. That will stir the racial pot.

Maybe Mayweather will drop an insult on McGregor’s heritage – on purpose.

Maybe McGregor drops a veiled racial insult on Mayweather – unwittingly or on purpose. McGregor, a UFC champion, is fighting one of the best boxers of all time. There will be no kicking, choking or gouging. He is an overwhelming underdog with no real chance of winning. If Mayweather adamantly trains for the fight and takes this fiasco seriously he’ll move to 50-0 and knock McGregor out early in the bout. So how do you really get interested in the fight during this summer of 2017? Make “The Great White Hype” a real event. The 1996 movie starred Samuel L. Jackson and Damon Wayans and featured the black heavyweight champion of the world taking on an unknown white boxer named Terry Conklin -who is labeled Irish even though he wasn’t. The champ scores a firstround knockout and Jackson – playing a Don King type character named the Rev. Fred Sultan – cashes in big time. There is a scene where a senior citizen white woman walks up to a Las Vegas sports book window and calmly says, “I’d like to be $5 on the clean-

cut white boy.”

This phenomenon has already started.

There has been an initial rush of wagers posted since the fight was announced last week – most of them less than $500 and most of them on McGregor. A $100 bet on McGregor would net a gambler $500 if he were to win the fight.

If you bet $500 on Mayweather and he wins, you would win $100. The bout is about entertainment, but it’s going to get ugly before it gets here. I’m going to ignore it as best I can and my advice is that you do the same.

Tatum to see green –or tumble?

ESPN’s “The Best of Enemies” 30-for-30 documentary was well done and made those of us old enough recall the days of the 1980s when the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics met in the NBA Finals three times in four seasons.

Magic Johnson has the final sentence in the three-part documentary: “One thing is for certain. I will always hate the Boston Celtics.” I still feel the same way

about the Celtics, but it’s a respectful hate, if there is such a thing.

The NBA Draft is tonight (June 22) and it appears that the Celtics are going to select St. Louis product Jayson Tatum with the third overall selection.

The Celtics traded the No. 1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in return for the third pick and a 2018 first-round draft choice. Most mock drafts have the 76ers selecting Markelle Fultz and teaming him with Ben Simmons, the 2016 firstround pick that didn’t play last year because of a lingering foot injury.

The Celtic hate I still carry is because I’m an avowed Lakers fan. I hope the Lakers pass on guard Lonzo Ball and select forward Josh Jackson, but it’s looking like Ball will go to L.A.

However, if Jackson goes to the Celtics – and some pundits are predicting that – Tatum could start tumbling down the draft. Based on team needs, small forward Jonathan Isaac could go fourth to Phoenix, guard De Aaron Fox to Sacramento, point guard Dennis Smith to Orlando and power forward Lauri

Markkanen to Minnesota. Awaiting at No. 8 are the dysfunctional and desperate New York Knicks. Hopefully, Tatum is selected long before this horrible scenario plays out. The Knicks could use an intelligent, skilled player like Tatum, but Tatum would be better off beginning his career elsewhere.

Coleman in command

Tennessee sprinter Christian Coleman announced this week that he is leaving the college ranks and has signed to be represented by Emanuel Hudson of HSInternational sports management.

Coleman won indoor national titles in the 60 and 100 meters races, respectively and outdoor titles in the 100 and 200 meters.

He is the second sprinter in NCAA history to complete the double-double. Former Tennessee star and Olympic champion Justin Gatlin accomplished the feat in 2001.

Coleman shattered the NCAA record in the 100 meters in the national semifinals last week with a sizzling 9.82 finish. This topped the previous record by 0.07 of a second.

His 9.82 in the 100 is the fourth fastest by an American and tied for ninth in the world rankings. His 200 times for both indoor (20.11) and

outdoor (19.85) are second in NCAA history. Coleman’s 6.45 in the 60 meters tied a NCAA record. His proud grandmother, Doris Coleman, is a graduate of Sumner High School, Harris-Stowe State University and the University of MissouriSt. Louis and she still resides in the area.

Coleman’s father, Seth Coleman, is a graduate of Hazelwood East and he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, where his family now resides.

“We are all rooting for him,” said Doris Coleman, as her grandson begins his pursuit of an Olympic gold medal.

“It would be nice for the metropolitan area to help the University of Tennessee and Atlanta support him!” By the way, she said she doesn’t mean financially, just in spirit.

Coleman is competing in the U.S. Track & Field Championships that begin today (June 22) at Sacramento State University and then in the IAAF World Championships in London in August.

Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows, including Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box” on KFNS. His Twitter handle is #aareid1

Alvin A. Reid

Welcome to Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor. By the night of August 26, we won’t be as tired of this nonsensical boxing match as we will be disgusted by it.

Christian Coleman won indoor national titles in the 60 and 100 meters races, respectively and outdoor titles in the 100 and 200 meters.

InsIde sports

Three African-American players from St. Louis selected in Major League Draft

Congratulations go out to three young African-American baseball players from St. Louis who will get to chase their dreams of becoming professional baseball players.

D.J. Stewart of Westminster Christian, former Hazelwood Central standout Derrik Watson of Murray State, and former Affton standout Anthony Herron of Missouri State were selected in last week’s Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

Stewart, an Eastern Illinois signee, was taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 39th round. Stewart enjoyed a dominant senior season in leading the Wildcats to a third-place finish in the Class 4 state tournament. As a pitcher, Stewart compiled an 8-1 record with 70 strikeouts, only 10 walks and an earned run average of 0.53. He was just as formidable at the plate with a batting average of .409 with 35 runs batted in.

CLUTCH

Continued from C5

With Earl Austin Jr. to the head turned his legs into jelly and sent him into staggering across the ring, Kovalev did the right thing in trying to hold onto Ward. For much of the fight, Ward allowed Kovalev to put him into headlocks on the inside. However, once he knew his opponent was hurt, Ward was able to break away from attempted clenches and tried to close the show. Rather than take a knee and allowing himself a breather, Kovalev allowed himself to be forced to the ropes, where Ward continued the vicious body assault. Ward’s final blow appeared to land below the beltline. However, it’s impossible to see clearly because Kovalev was bent over with both hands down. Because Kovalev had cried wolf with so many legal blows, Weeks was not inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. After three unanswered power punches, with his hands at his waist, his butt sticking outside the ropes and his head exposed, Kovalev was vulnerable. Had he taken a knee, he would’ve had a chance to recover. Still, the writing was on the wall. Ward was simply the better man.

That’s not to say that

PREP

Continued from C5 the careers of seniors Daniel “Peanut” Farris, Levi Stockard, Koray Gilbert and the rest of Vashon’s tremendous senior class graduates on top.

Northwest Academy Makes History: The Hornets made history by winning their first state championship as they defeated Whitfield for the Class 3 state crown in boys’ basketball. It also gave the Public High League two state titles as Vashon followed up a week later in Class 4. Northwest was led by dynamic senior point guard Ryan Warren and rebounding machine Jamar Williams and a talented supporting cast to take home the state title with a dramatic second-half rally against Whitfield.

Kirkwood Girls are Queens of the Court: After suffering a heartbreaking loss in last year’s Class 5 state championship game, Kirkwood returned to Columbia and achieved redemption as they defeated Lee’s Summit for its first state championship. The Pioneers were led by do-it-all senior forward Lauryn Miller, who closed out a glorious career with a state title. Guards Jayla Everett and Mikayla Wallace

Watson, a 6’2” 175-pound right hand pitcher, was taken by the Colorado Rockies in the 25th round. After graduating from Hazelwood Central, he went on two have two productive years at Southwestern Illinois College before matriculating to Murray State. Watson was an excellent relief pitcher during his twoyear career with the Racers, appearing in 33 games and logging 41 innings in relief.

Herron is a 6’1” 210-pound pitcher who was taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 19th round. A 2014 graduate of Affton, Herron started his collegiate career at Jefferson College in Hillsboro where he compiled a 15-4 record with an impressive 219 strikeouts in 149 innings. He was a National Junior College Athletic Association AllRegion 16 selection. Herron was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals out of high school

Weeks’ stoppage was ideal for fight fans. If he had waited another two second, Kovalev would’ve probably been knocked down. Or he may have been in a position where he was being held up by the ropes, which could have been considered a knockdown. We’ll never know whether he would’ve been able to rise off the canvas. My guess is that he would’ve beaten the count only to get knocked out before the round ended.

It’s the referees to job to protect a fighter in danger when he is unable of defending himself. That appeared to be the case with Kovalev. Weeks made the right call, even if it’s one that is not popular with fight fans.

Let’s address those calling for a standing eight count. Per the unified boxing rules, adopted in 2001, “There is NO Standing Eight (8) Count” in boxing. Referees repeat this rule before every sanctioned fight. That means Weeks options were to either continue to let a defenseless fighter get pummeled or to step in and halt the fight.

Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, agreed with the KO ruling. “It’s rather interesting at the end that when Ward hits him in the stomach at the end, he sat on the ropes. And the

also came up big in the state tournament.

Incarnate Word is back on top: After an uncharacteristic fourth-place finish in the Class 4 state tournament in 2016, Incarnate Word returned with a vengeance and dominated the field in winning another state title, the eighth in the school’s history. The Red Knights used a suffocating defense and the excellent play of guard Sonya Morris to roll to yet another state championship.

before heading to Jefferson College. He was also previously drafted by the New York Mets. He is currently at Missouri State University.

Celtics-Lakers

Rivalry Revisited

The ESPN 30 for 30 series of documentaries has given us some of the greatest television in terms of looking back at sports history. But ESPN’s most recent production, “Best

of Enemies” on the history of the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers rivalry is the best one yet, in my honest opinion. If you are in my age bracket, you lived through that glorious era and were riveted by the greatness of these players and teams. If you are a young person, you need to sit down with your parents at watch it to get an idea of how wonderful these all-time greats are. I’ve never been so excited to watch an ESPN

30 for 30 as I have been watching this one. I watched it three times in two days. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, James Worthy, Dennis Johnson.

Just a few other things to keep in mind while watching this show on how great these teams were: Bob McAdoo was a 6’10” jump shooter who was a three-time NBA scoring champion and certified bucket-getter. He came off the bench for those Lakers’ teams in the ‘80s.

When healthy, Bill Walton was one of the best centers who ever played the game. The great ’86 Celtics team brought a healthy Walton off the bench. Mychal Thompson was once the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. He came off the bench for the Lakers. Simply amazing stuff.

punch looked good,” Bennett said. “Weeks was in good position to see where those blows landed and they’re right on the

McCluer South-Berkeley girls go back to back: The tradition of McCluer SouthBerkeley girls’ track was on display once again as the Bulldogs won another state championship, this year it was in Class 3. The Bulldogs were led by the dynamic sprint duo of seniors Raheema Westfall and Octavia Cato. Westfall won the 100- and 200-meter dashes while Cato was right behind in second place. Edwardsville boys are on

belt line. Are they close? Sure. But do they look good? Yeah.” Before calling Bennett biased or accusing the NSAC

track: The Edwardsville Tigers won their second Illinois Class 3A state championship in three years by edging Southwestern Conference foe East St. Louis. The Tigers received state-championship performances from Travis Anderson in the 110-meter high hurdles and A.J. Epenesa in the discus to lead the way.

John Burroughs runs the track: The Bombers won the Class 3 state championship by a mere two points as they

of corruption, please understand that Bennett has allbut-confirmed that the NCAC will overturn Guillermo

won the 4x400-meter relay on the last event of the day. JBS unveiled its freshman phenom in Brandon Miller who won the 800-meter run and anchored a pair of relays to state titles. Miller is one of the top young performers in the country.

Falcons track reach the Summit: Rockwood Summit survived a spirited competition to win the Class 4 state championship. The Falcons were led by super senior Rayvon Allen, who won the long jump and

Justin Love to Mascoutah Congratulations to former Saint Louis University basketball standout Justin Love, who was recently named the new head boys’ basketball coach at Mascoutah High (Illinois.). Love has been an assistant coach at Belleville West for the past few years. There is a special place for Love in the hearts of all Billikens’ fans after he led SLU to the NCAA Tournament in 2000. Love led the Billikens on that improbable “Miracle in Memphis” run when they won four games in four days to win the Conference USA Tournament and earn the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Love joins the fraternity of former SLU players on the sidelines as head coaches with Corey Frazier (John Burroughs), Justin Tatum (CBC) and Erwin Claggett (SLUH).

Rigondeaux’s controversial KO victory over Moises Flores on the Ward vs Kovalev undercard. The bout will be declared a no-contest due to the fact that Rigondeaux’s punch landed after the bell. The shame in the so-called controversy is that once again, Ward is denied the full accolades and praise that he should be given for defeating one the best fighters in the world for a second-consecutive time. There should be no doubt that Ward is the #1 fighter in the world. With all due respect to Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford, Roman Gonzalez Gennady Golovkin, Rigondeaux and others, nobody else can match Ward’s resume. The real low blow is that the whining and excuse-making from Kovalev’s camp and his fans are taking away from a great victory and a great champion.

“I knew this was going to be different,” Ward said after the fight. “He fought a good fight the first time but when I went back and looked at it, I computed it and tonight I came out all right.

“Can I ask a question? Am I No. 1 now?” Yes indeed. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter@ IshmaelSistrunk

triple jump and ran a leg on the first-place 4x400-meter relay team.

ROTC Commands the Track: Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC won its second Class 2 state championship in boys track to continue its recent tradition of excellence. The Commanders rode the individual talents of hurdler Antonio Norman, middle distance standout James Allen and jumper Kelsey Cole to take home another state championship.

D.J. StewartDerrik Watson Anthony Herron

Andre Ward celebrates his second-consecutive victory over Sergey Kovalev.

Photo by HBO Boxing

got a

meet

Asha came through to support filmmaker Jon Alexander’s second screening of his ‘St. Louis Made’ docu-series Thursday @ The Fashion Incubator

Swag Snap of the Week

Life more abundantly from John Legend. I’ve been rocking with John Legend since he came through with “Get Lifted” back in 2004 – and he keeps giving me reasons to stay on board. Thursday night he put on a show fit for Busch Stadium at The Fox with his “Lightness and Dark” tour. I know it’s only June, but it’s going to take a whole lot to top him for my favorite concert of the year. The show was so good that I forgave the hassle of the metal detectors and lightweight TSA pat down he put me through. It was his request – I’m guessing because of the Ariana Grande concert tragedy. The opening act was scooting across the stage as I got to my seat – and I arrived at the door 30 minutes early. Gallant was giving me a cross between Seal and Miguel after they downed a whole case of Red Bulls. My neck hurt watching him sprint across the stage, but he had a nice voice. John Legend gave us old and new hits and a seamless, timeless manner that has me ready to call him one of the greatest of our generation if we are judging on live show and album quality combined. Turning up with Tank and the Bangas. That NPR Tiny Desk Concert hipped the granola crowd to New Orleans funk/hip hop/soul fusion band Tank and the Bangas to the point folks had to be turned away from The Old Rock House Wednesday night. It was a hotbox for real, but I was so caught up in the rapture of the band that I didn’t realize I was on the verge of blacking out until I got a sip of the cool post rain breeze. The lead singer was serving Taystee from “Orange is the New Black” realness – and was doing the absolute most with her vocals, facial expressions and quiet twerk sessions. I was checking for every second of it. Between the shaggy heads and flip flops I was able to scope out some of some of my favorite folks getting their life as well – like Raquita Henderson, M.K. and Alex Stallings, Vanita “Applebum” Thompson and my spiritual leader Rebeccah Bennett and her wonderful husband Salim Kenyatta. I don’t know how Tank and the Bangas kept that energy up the whole set, because I was exhausted just watching them. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they did a second line on out the door in lieu of a final bow. I know most of y’all haven’t heard of Tank and the Bangas yet, but you will soon.

BBD’s old school R&B bash. I was still traumatized by long lines I was forced to linger in the parking lot for Future when I made my way to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater Friday night for BBD’s “Three Stripes Tour.” History did not repeat itself in that respect because there were only 4,000 folks out there and grown people know how to exit like they have some sense, but I did get life from that stage for the second time in a row. Most of y’all showed up late thinking that SWV wouldn’t be hittin’ on a single thing as far as their stage show. I’m here to tell y’all that they actually got it all the way in. I know … I’m just as shocked as those folks reading this with a side eye right now. They were quietly my favorite part of the show. Who else liked to have fallen out of their seat when Teddy Riley scooted out with Guy to give us the original lineup! And they put on a good show too. Aaron Hall apparently lost a few bottom teeth, but he found one of his old boxes of Pro-Line texturizer and conked his hair up into a juicy frohawk to make up for it. There were a couple of wayward notes from him, but otherwise I can’t say that I was mad at their set at all – well except for when he launched into a geriatric gyration routine. I’m convinced now more than ever that BBD has found the fountain of youth. Ricky Bell did all of the work, but I was grateful to see that they all still look as good as they did in their “Poison” days.

Throwback Chicago hip-hop. Before there was Chance The Rapper or Kanye, Crucial Conflict, Do or Die and Twista were representing for the Chi Town hiphop scene. It was a Chicago rap reunion when they came to the Marquee Friday night. They deserve props for being hip-hop pioneers, but the show was pretty regular. I don’t know what the Crucial Conflict were going through as far as their clothes and hair – especially the one growing the afro puff in the back of his head, but I still got amped to “Hay.” And Do or Die wasn’t the same without the crooning of the late great Johnny P. Twista was okay, but I was expecting more. It was still a cool night. Front and center for Frizzfest. Saturday afternoon I wandered over to Tower Grove Park for Frizzy by Nature’s Frizzfest. The kinks, coils, fluff, ‘fros, twists, locks and curls were in abundance as the ladies and gentlemen gathered to celebrate natural hair in all of its glory. I was really feeling the energy of the afternoon. They had healthy food, art and product vendors and it was like Afro Punk without the concert. Hey, maybe that’s something y’all can incorporate into the event next year if you plan to make it an annual affair.

Shoutout to Slumfest. I scooted over the S.L.U.M. Fest Saturday night at 2720 to catch all of my favorite underground rappers bless the microphone. Shout out to Finsta for making sure a sista stays hooked up with the VIP treatment. I came in to my boy Smitty slaying the tables as always. Let me just say that Domino Effect does not get the props that they deserve on the STL rap scene as I shout out all of the rappers who did their thing on stage.

Basking in the black boy joy. Sunday night I stopped through TLT Productions’ presentation of Black Boy Joy at The Kranzberg. Listen, I have never seen somebody do so much with so short of a set in all of my days of beating the streets as I did with JiZoo – and that’s saying a whole lot. He played the guitar, sang, rapped, changed into a fur vest, worked in some Kirk Franklin “Stomp” style choreography that wouldn’t quit in addition to a fire-breather and a spoken word artist special guests. This all went down in the span of three songs, y’all! Everybody on the bill of black boy joy did their thing though – Jime, Golliday, Corey Black and headliner Tre’G all got it in.

Charisse, Kenneth and Meagon gave props to local hip-hop artists by stopping through SlumFest 2017 Saturday night @ 2720

NeferTiTi and Love Jones couldn’t help but jam to Nappy DJ Needles Friday night @ Blank Space

Ricky Rock supported his sister Leslie “Frizzy” Hughes and his Wife Valerie at Frizz Fest 2017 on Saturday

Murphyboy and SuperEgo Mitch gave St. Louis a throwback Chi-Town rap set closed out by Twista that featured Do or Die and Crucial Conflict Friday night @ The Marquee

Newlyweds Tink and Q continued carried the celebration of their nuptial right on over to Mood Friday night

InnerGy presented Frank Lyles with a cash prize for winning the comedy competition during ‘Word Up’ Tuesday night @ Patois

James and Rolanda had a ball @ The BBD, SWV and Guy Friday night @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Drea Vocalz came by Black Boy Joy to catch Hello Jizzo live in concert on Father’s Day @ The Kranzberg Arts center

Rita and Derek got their weekend started by dancing the night away Friday night @ Club Vision

Pinky Thomas of Pinx Dance Academy

chance to

and greet with R&B veterans BBD when they brought their “Three Stripes” Tour to Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Friday night. SWV and Guy also contributed to the throwback R&B show that made for an especially good time.

Photos by V Lang

St. LouiS american Career Center

FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for Firefighter/Paramedic. Apply at www.richmondheights.applicantpro.com/jobs/ by Wednesday, June 28th. EOE

NORTHWOODS POLICE DEPARTMENT

is now accepting applications. Applications can be obtained at 4608 Oakridge Blvd., Northwoods, MO 63121. Applicants must be P.O.S.T. Certified to apply for this position.

SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS

Normandy Schools

Collaborative

Now Hiring School Bus Drivers

We offer paid training and a starting rate of $15.00 per hour

Apply at: www.normandysc.org

PUBLIC WORKS LABORER

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for Public Works Laborer. Apply at www.richmondheights.applicantpro.com/jobs/ by Wednesday, July 5th.

Assistant Teaching Professor

The Department of Biology at the University of Missouri–St. Louis invites applications for a full-time, nine-month position as an Assistant Teaching Professor. The position is a non-tenure track, renewable appointment beginning in August of 2017. Teaching responsibilities will include Introduction to Biology, Vertebrate Anatomy lecture and lab, Vertebrate Physiology lecture and lab, and additional courses to be selected based on applicant expertise and department need. Teaching will involve lecture, laboratory, and supervision of graduate teaching assistants. Some evening teaching is to be expected. The successful candidate also will participate in advising of undergraduate Biology majors. Optional summer teaching is possible.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. in an appropriate discipline and previous teaching experience, with relevant post-doctoral experience desirable. Salary with benefits will be commensurate with experience. The application should include a cover letter, Curriculum Vitae, a statement of teaching interests and experience, and contact information for three references. The application materials should be combined into a single PDF or Microsoft Word file and uploaded online at http://www.umsl. jobs. For additional information, contact Dr. Wendy Olivas at olivasw@umsl.edu. Review of applications will begin June 30, 2017 and continue until the position is filled.

UM-St. Louis does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability or status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam Era in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in its programs and activities. UM-St. Louis is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity.

PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER

Webster University has an opening for a full-time Public Safety Officer. Please apply online at http://webster.peopleadmin.com/postings/2513. No phone calls please. Webster University provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, national origin, ethnicity, age, protected veteran or disabled status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

De Smet Jesuit High School seeks highly qualified candidates for the full-time position of Director of Diversity and Inclusion for the 2017–2018 school year. Successful candidates will have a master’s degree in education or academic field and a minimum of three to five years of experience in providing diversity-related programming to adolescents. More information is available at https://www.desmet.org/ about/careers. Send a resumé, cover letter, and three references to Katie Martin, Assistant to the President, at kmartin2@desmet.org. Application materials will be accepted through July 14.

YOUTH LEADER SPECIALIST I/II

Youth Leader Specialist I/II positions at the St. Louis City Family Court Juvenile Division - Includes Full Benefit Package detailed info at www.stlcitycircuitcourt.com EOE

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Application for the position of Adminisrative Assistant at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, 4300 Delmar Blvd. are being accepted. Please call the church for an application and further information (314.531.6390). Or email your request to: galileedelmar@aol.com

to patrol a specific area to protect life and property and enforce laws and ordinances using tactful and courteous treatment of the public and conscientious and efficient performance of duties. The Police Division is a 24-hour per day, seven days a week service; therefore, work involves shift, weekend, holiday, and overtime assignments.

Applicants must be twenty-one years of age at the time of filing the Employment Application. United States citizen. High school diploma or equivalent. No prior police or law enforcement experience is required. Applicants must possess and maintain a valid Missouri driver’s license while employed by the City of St. Louis. Applicants must meet eligibility standards for licensing as a peace officer, as determined by the Missouri Department of Public Safety, Peace Office Standards & Training (POST) Program. Bi-weekly rate of pay for a Police Officer (Trainee) is $1,539.00. For Police Probationary Officer, the annual rate is $41,815.28. To apply, visit the City web site at http://stlouis-mo.gov/jobs. Additional information concerning the Police Officer (Trainee) process can be found on the St. Louis Police Division’s website at http://stmpd.org.careers.shtml Or contact: City of St. Louis Department of Personnel 1114 Market Street, Room 700 St. Louis, MO 63101 (314) 622-4308 Applications

PARTNERSHIP SALES & SERVICES MANAGER

Explore St. Louis has an immediate opening for a Partnership Sales & Services Manager within our Partnership Department. Primary duties include; generating new partners and secure retention of current partners, through telephone, email and personal visits. This position will generate new sales and work to maintain lasting partners. Will be required to conduct sales visits to potential clients and locations and will identify and develop accounts as assigned.

The ideal candidate will be able to build and maintain business relationships; must have knowledge of the St. Louis community, area attractions and venues. Experience with the hospitality industry preferred. Bachelor’s degree and 3-5 years sales/marketing experience. Must be able to work a flexible schedule and obtain and keep a valid driver’s license. Applicants please email resume with cover letter to jobs@explorestlouis.com. NO PHONE CALLS! EOE.

PUBLIC WORKS LABORER

The City of Richmond Heights is accepting applications for Public Works Laborer. Apply at www.richmondheights.applicantpro.com/jobs/ by Wednesday, July 5th. EOE

ASSISTANT

PSA – Policy Reporting

Entry-level position with the objective to become accountable within a self-directed work team. Responsible for electronic reporting of workers’ compensation large casualty policy data. Accurate and timely electronic submission of Pre Proof of Coverage and Post Proof of Coverage transactions within the WCPOLS format.

To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

SCHOOL BUS DRIVER NEEDED

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis is looking for a school bus driver. Interested? Apply at bgcstl.org/careers OR call 314-335-8017.

LIFE GUARDS NEEDED

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis is looking for Life Guards to monitor swimmers in our INDOOR pool. Interested? Apply at bgcstl.org/careers OR call 314-335-8017.

The Gatesworth is HIRING Full-time Housekeepers Full-time Houseman/ Floor Tech Days, Evenings, and Over-nights

Please send your resume to recruiting@thegatesworth.com.

FIELD EDUCATION COORDINATOR

The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis invites applications for Field Education Coordinator in the Office of Field Education.

A primary purpose of this position among others is to develop, affiliate, support, maintain and monitor local, national, and international graduate-level practicum placements for the Office of Field Education.

For a full job description and to apply, please visit https://jobs.wustl.edu and search for job posting 37082.

To find out more about our excellent employment benefits, please visit http://hr.wustl.edu.

Washington University is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, genetic information, disability, or protected veteran status.

BENEFIT COUNSELOR

insurance benefits. Benefit Counselors communicate with members face to face, over the telephone, and through written correspondence. Benefit Counselors must apply complex statutory language and contractual provisions and procedures daily. The position requires a bachelor’s degree and three years of professional or technical experience in

St. LouiS american Bids & Public Notices

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The St Louis County Department of Human Services is seeking Homeless Services Program consulting proposals for the use of Continuum of Care (CoC) Planning Grants. Consulting services are to address improving the effectiveness of the CoC Coordinated Entry system, developing the capacity of the CoC to evaluate projects, engaging stakeholders in generating more successful applications for funding projects that meet the needs of homeless populations, and developing new strategic action plans..

This Request for Proposal seeks a vendor under CoC Planning Grants I and II to provide consultation services June 26, 2017 through October 30, 2018. Proposals are due June 21, 2017 at 2 PM CST. Please visit http://www.stlouisco.com for more details.

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 631032555 until 10:00 a.m. on July 20th, 2017 to contract with a company for: Local Area Network Equipment.

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9014 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.2735 to request a copy of this bid.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropol-

itan St. Louis Sewer District will receive RFQ’s in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 631032555 until 10:00 a.m. on July 20, 2017 to contract with a company for: CHEMICAL GROUT. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9015 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314-768-6254 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: Telelog Rain Gauge Equipment at the Sulphur Yard Rehab Division. The District is proposing single source procurement to Telelog for this equipment because the New Telelog Rain Gauges have extended battery life and new modems for reading transmissions. Any inquiries should be sent to ameyer@stlmsd.com Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Detailed Plan for Kimmswick Great Streets Project

East-West Gateway is seeking qualifications from consultants to develop a detailed plan for the Kimmswick Great Streets Project. A DBE goal will be set for this project. Submittals are due no later than 1:00 p.m. on July 17, 2017. Submittal details and specifications can be obtained at www.ewgateway.org or by calling 314-421-4220 ext. 263.

SEALED BIDS

for Renovation of Building 1029, Missouri National Guard, Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, Project No. T171301 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 7/20/2017. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on July 17th, 2017 to contract with a company for: IBM Spectrum Protect Capacity Licenses.

Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9013 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.2735 to request a copy of this bid.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

BID PROPOSALS

The Contractor Loan Fund is seeking proposals from qualified firms and/or individuals for Audit and Tax Services. Proposals are due 4:00pm on August 31, 2017. The complete RFP package may be obtained online from CLF’s website http:// clfstl.org/ or by contacting Suzanne Agin at 314-342-2992 or agins@stifel.com

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Williams Creek P-523 Mechanical Upgrades (IR) under Letting No. 12853-015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Tuesday, July 25, 2017, at a place designated.

Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for: Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing

Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District) will receive sealed bids for Poepping St 500 Block Combined Sewer Replacement (IR) under Letting No. 12537015.1, at this office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 02:00 PM on Wednesday, July 26, 2017, at a place designated.

Bids will be received only from companies that are pre-qualified by the District’s Engineering Department for:

SEWER CONSTRUCTION – St. Louis City drainlayer’s license required

Plans and Specifications are available for free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 1712 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis MO 63110. All bidders must obtain a set of plans and specifications in order to submit a bid in the name of the entity submitting the bid.

The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

BID PROPOSALS

The Contractor Loan Fund is seeking proposals from qualified firms and/or individuals for Audit and Tax Services. Proposals are due 4:00pm on August 31, 2017. The complete RFP package may be obtained online from CLF’s website http:// clfstl.org/ or by contacting Suzanne Agin at 314-342-2992 or agins@stifel.com

SEALED BIDS

for Parking Structure

SEALED BIDS

to Replace HVAC & Roof, Various, Fulton Treatment Center, Fulton, MO, Project No. H1603-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 7/13/2017. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

Advertisement for Sidewalk and Apron Repair (2017, June) NOTICE

Rehabilitation & I m p r o v e m e n t s , Fletcher Daniels S t a t e O f f i c e Building, Kansas City, Missouri, Project No. O1615-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 7/6/2017. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

to R e p

VAV and Controls, B

Center, St. Louis MO, Project No. M1612-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 7/20/17. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

ST. LOUIS COUNTY PUBLIC NOTICE

St. Louis County as an Urban Entitlement County is eligible to apply for and receive federal funds from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership and Emergency Solutions Grant programs. St. Louis County is also the Lead Agency for the St. Louis HOME Consortium. The St. Louis HOME Consortium is a group of contiguous units of local government that have joined together for the purpose of receiving a HOME allocation and administering a HOME Program as a single grantee. The members of the St. Louis HOME Consortium include St. Louis County, the City of Florissant, the City of O’Fallon, the City of St. Charles, Jefferson County and St. Charles County.

The St. Louis HOME Consortium has prepared a draft of its Fiscal Year 2017 Action Plan which is an application for federal funds which will be provided by HUD for the aforementioned programs. This draft 2017 Action Plan includes proposed activities that the St. Louis HOME Consortium plans to undertake utilizing funds that should be made available on or about August 31, 2017. Copies of this draft 2017 Action Plan will be available for public review and comment beginning Friday, June 23, 2017 thru July 13, 2017, at the following locations during normal business hours (8 am – 4 pm Monday thru Friday).

St. Louis County Government Centers

• West-74 Clarkson-Wilson Center Chesterfield, MO 63017 (314-615-0900)

• North-21 Village Square Hazelwood, MO 63042 (314-615-7400)

• South-4546 Lemay Ferry Road

St. Louis, MO 63129 (314-615-4000)

St. Louis County Department of Planning

• Office of Community Development - 41 S. Central, 5th floor, Clayton, MO 63105 (314-615-4414)

St. Louis County Library System

• Headquarters Location - 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131 (314-994-3300)

City of Florissant

• Government Building - 1055 Rue St. Francois, Florissant, MO 63031 (314-839-7680)

City of O’Fallon

• City Hall - 100 N. Main Street, O’Fallon, MO 63366 (636-240-2000)

City of St. Charles

• City Hall Community Development Office - Ste. 303, 200 N. Second Street, St. Charles, MO 63301 (636) 949-3222)

Jefferson County

• Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation5217 Highway B, Hillsboro, MO 63050 (636-797-5336)

St. Charles County

• Administrative Building - 201 N. Second St., St. Charles, MO 63301 (636-949-7900)

All comments regarding the draft of the 2017 Action Plan should be put in writing on or before July 13, 2017 and directed to:

Mr. Jim Holtzman, Director Office of Community Development 41 S. Central Avenue, 5th floor Clayton, MO 63105 Phone: (314) 615-4414 (VOICE) (314) 615-5467 (TTY)

1-800-735-2966 (Relay Missouri TTY Callers)

1-800-735-2466 (Relay Missouri Voice Callers) EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Notice is hereby given that a public hearing to solicit citizen comments regarding the St. Louis HOME Consortium draft 2017 Action Plan will be held:

Monday, July 10, 2017 at 5:30 p.m. St. Louis County Government Center, 5th floor 41 S. Central Ave., Clayton, MO 63105

For more information, special accommodations, or to submit written comments if you are unable to attend the hearing, contact Mr. Jim Holtzman, listed above.

PUBLIC NOTICE REQUEST FOR BID

IMPACT Strategies, as the selected General Contractor, is requesting Subcontractor proposals for the Building Demolition, Water Main Relocation, Site Grading, Retaining Walls, and Precast Structural Concrete Parking Structure scopes of work for the new Ackerman Toyota project in St. Louis, MO. Building Demolition and Water Main Relocation work are expected to begin in early August, with the balance of packages following in fall of 2017. This is a taxable project and will require certified payroll based on the prevailing wage rates for the city of St. Louis, MO.

There will be an Informational/Pre-Bid Meeting held at Employment Connection (2838 Market St, St. Louis, MO 63103), on Thursday, June 29th, 2017 from 3:30 – 5:00 PM. A separate walk-through will be held at 1:00 PM on July 5th, 2017 to give bidding demolition contractors access to the existing building. If you wish to attend this walk, please plan to meet in the parking lot behind the building.

As a St. Louis City Works project, the Ackerman Toyota project will comply with the Workforce Diversity Goals as governed Ordinance 69427 of the City of St. Louis. In addition to meeting the workforce labor hour percentages designated for apprentice, minority, women, and City Resident workers, the project has an overall goal requiring 25% MBE Subcontractor/Vendor Participation and 5% WBE Subcontractor/Vendor Participation. Please note the amount, and type, of participation included in your bid on your written proposal.

For more detailed bid information, please reference the project’s “Instructions to Bidders”. The Instructions to Bidders, along with all drawings and bid documents, are available for view at the MOKAN plan room, online via IMPACT Strategies’ ftp site, and Cross Rhodes Print & Technologies. To access IMPACT’s ftp site, please call (618) 394-8400. Bids are to be submitted to IMPACT Strategies, Inc no later than 4:00pm on Thursday, July 13th, 2017.

Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Assessment Proposal to Develop Public Ice Center in Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park

Purpose of Notice:

St. Louis County is proposing to develop a public facility in Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. The parkland was purchased in part using a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant and the land is protected under Section 6(f)(3) of the federal LWCF Act of 1965. As such, construction of a public facility within the park requires National Parks Service approval and the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

The purpose of this notice is to provide for the exchange of information regarding the effect of the proposal on the community. This purpose is in accordance with and pursuant to NEPA and the LWCF Act.

Project Description: The proposed St. Louis Ice Center is a multi-purpose ice sport public facility that will offer outdoor recreational opportunities not currently offered within the Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. The public Ice Center will offer hockey, figure skating, speed skating, ice dancing, synchronized skating, sled hockey and more. During the off-season, the public facility will also offer indoor field hockey, floor hockey, and in-line skating.

The public Ice Center is needed to fulfill an immediate need for ice skating facilities in St. Louis County and the surrounding area. The St. Louis community does not currently have enough facilities to accommodate the current demand, let alone future growth of these outdoor recreational activities.

The proposed public Ice Center will consist of four sheets of ice, three indoor and one outdoor. It will occupy a 40-acre site within Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park, which contains 2,114 acres. The public facility will complement and enhance the many other outdoor recreational opportunities the park has to offer by serving as a trailhead for the new Fee Fee trail, providing convenient restrooms and parking to all park users, and bringing new people to the park from all over, especially during the winter months when the park is traditionally under-utilized.

Public Comment Period: The National Park Service (NPS) is the federal agency responsible for compliance with the LWCF Act and NEPA, and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) administers the LWCF grant program on behalf of NPS. St. Louis County is issuing this public notice on behalf of the NPS and MDNR to encourage public review and comment on the proposed project and its probable impacts. Comments received will be forwarded to the appropriate state and federal authorities for consideration.

Comments will be accepted beginning Thursday, June 22 and must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, 2017. The Draft EA is available at www.stlpartnership.com/icecenter. Printed copies are available for purchase for $30.00 from The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership.

BID REQUEST

KCI CONSTRUCTION REQUESTS

SUBCONTRACT PROPOSALS FOR THE MSD LOWER MERAMEC PUMP STATIONS FLOOD MITIGATION PROJECT. PROPOSALS ARE DUE IN OUR OFFICE BY 10 A.M. ON JULY 18, 2017. PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING IN OUR OFFICES AT: 10315 LAKE BLUFF DRIVE, ST. LOUIS, MO, 63123. 314-894-8888. A PRE-BID MEETING WILL BE HELD IN OUR OFFICE AT 3:00 PM ON JULY 6, 2017. KCI IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

LETTING #8645

TERMINAL 1 BAGGAGE CLAIM DRIVE TO TICKETING DRIVE STAIRCASE at St. Louis Lambert International Airport

Sealed proposals will be received by the Board of Public Service in Room 208 City Hall, 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Mo. Until 1:45 PM, CT, on June 27, 2017 then publicly opened and read. Plans and Specifications may be examined on the Board of Public Service website http://www.stlbps.org/planroom.aspx (BPS On Line Plan Room) and may be purchased directly through the BPS website from INDOX Services at cost plus shipping. No refunds will be made.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies). ). Mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2017, at 10:00 AM in the Ozark Conference Room 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 (Announcements).

Religion

Lifting a voice in gospel and educational ministry in ESL

By Sophia Hurwitz

For the St. Louis American

The Rev. Dr. Leeanna Hill has been many things in life. First and foremost, she’s been part of the Baptist Church as long as she can remember, and is a minister at the Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church.

She is also a registered nurse, has worked in the East St. Louis, Illinois school system and is the leader of the gospel group, The Voices of Joy, God’s Chosen Few.

Her favorite scripture, Philippians 4:13, summarizes her life philosophy: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

“It lets you know that if you have a defeat in one thing, you can get yourself back up, because the Lord wants you to be the best, and you can still pursue success,” said Hill. “So many people, once they have a failure in life, they stop. They think, I’m not good enough. They’re fearful, they’re doubtful. But if you know that God is going to help you make it because He got the whole world in his hands, that will give you the strength to move on.”

She was inspired towards that spirit of perseverance by her grandmother, who raised her and her siblings in East St. Louis, Illinois.

“Her name was Mother Cora Bowman. She raised my sisters and my brothers, and she always was a motivator,” Hill said. “She always said that we could do anything that we start out to do. And so, she incorporated and instilled that in us at an early age.”

Her grandmother always

wanted her grandchildren to be nurses, so that is what Hill and her sister became. Later, Hill also got degrees in science, and health education administration.

“I’ve been going to school all my life, really. I love education. And what I love about it most, is that you find out how much you don’t know. It’s not so much what you do know,” she said. “You’re getting with people you can network with that really know more than you. And then they will encourage you to move on, to become somebody in life.”

The theme of being motivated and becoming a motivator

yourself, runs through Hill’s work in the schools as well as in the church. She is known for referring to her students, not just by their first names, but as ‘professors.’

“Jesus had 12 disciples following him. I thought about ‘professor’ because, God gave me that. See, when you say ‘professor,’ that stimulates the brain cells, because ‘so a man thinketh, so he is in God.’ So when I would call my students professors, the parents were motivated, and the administrators were motivated, and my students were motivated,” she explained. “I wanted to encourage the young people. They

weren’t so-called gifted, but I was going to make them gifted. They were going to become gifted, because of the word. Words mean something. If you call a student ‘silly,’ that sticks with them, sometimes for a lifetime. But ‘professor,’ that’s high esteem. That means you soar with the eagles. So my students are soaring high.” She said many former students are now ministers, CEOs and some have earned doctorates.

Hill published a book about her teaching philosophy, “Motivating Students to Higher Heights of Academic Achievement.”

“I wrote the book when I was getting ready to retire from District 189, because I wanted to leave a legacy of something that all teachers, administrators, supervisors, parents, and students could use,” she said. Her book’s message of motivation is powerful enough that when she sent a copy to Michelle Obama, she was invited to come back to the White House for a personal tour. “And I saw the Obamas’ dog!” she exclaimed.

In education, in touring with Voices of Joy, and in preaching, she spreads her message of positivity and hope.

“It’s just like a tape recorder,” Hill said. “You’ve got to stay with the positive, you can tape over the bad things. You can use the tape again, tape over the negative things, and put the positive things in. Stay in the positive, because it will come to pass. ‘I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.’ You can be anything you want to be in life.”

Card-carrying courage

Just how hard is it to be a card-carrying Christian these days? Republicans, Democrats, the NAACP, the ACLU all carry cards and encourage likeminded people to become cardcarrying members. You can get a car for just about any group or organization. Now when it comes to being a spiritual card-carrying man or woman of faith, the results can be devastating. Someone scream “incoming” for there is indeed an artillery barrage headed our way. Scripture suggests that for those accepting Jesus Christ as a way of life was no easy task for early practitioners. Crucifixion, becoming lion pate for fun and games, beheadings and at a minimal, labeled outcast were normal expectations for those who believed and then lived according to the Word of God. Is today so different?

Once one takes up the standard of this revolutionary thinking, once you commit, once you decide to live humbly and mercifully in love and forgiveness, isn’t it interesting the kind of attention you attract?

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a raring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9. Looking around the world today, it would be naïve not to recognize that religious persecution is still a critical component of man’s inhumanity to man. Real and fake news will show you that people all

over the world are being annihilated for the God they worship. We sometimes take for granted the religious freedom we have in this country and I believe that has lulled us into a false belief that being Christian is easy. Well it’s not. It’s empowering. It’s enlightening. It’s eternal. But it is not easy. The good news is we are not alone and never have been. Living for God is probably the best realty check. Its reward is an inner understanding of the workings of the universe that affords one the idea that physical life is temporary while the spiritual is eternal. Many of us believe in life after physical death. The faithful have some insight into this. Life as we know it can be cruel. We have come to think that eternal life is just the opposite. Rationalizing the difference is where and when faith resides. Is it any wonder then that belief in a deity that invites humility, demands love and recognizes mercy is cause for ruthless and radical reaction among those who would live otherwise?

If life after death is a fact that most can agree upon, then I believe it stands to reason the our membership card is most assuredly a ticket into a kingdom blood-bought and faith-preserved for believers; the same believers who are shunned and persecuted and murdered today and yesterday in the name of God. I continue to be moved by the acts of faith in the bible. This is not ancient history; not if you profess Jesus is still Lord.

Columnist James Washington

CD by Leeanna Hill and the Voices of Joy, God’s Chosen Few