Archive for the ‘Government, Politics, Law and Order’ Category

Here’s a nice salute to certain veterans with Missouri license plates denoting specific military honors.  The Columbia, Mo. City Council approved an ordinance allowing free parking at city-owned facilities and parking spaces for those vets with tags honoring Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, P.O.W., Silver Star and Bronze Star recipients.

The holiday Grinch in all of this? The University of Missouri, which told the city it will continue to collect parking tolls from the veterans despite the special honors for their bravery and sacrifices. Apparently Mizzou wasn’t satisfied that qualifications to receive the special honors plates must be approved by both the Missouri Dept. of Revenue and the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs.  Maybe the powers that be forgot that the centerpiece of campus life, the Gothic Memorial Union and its clock tower, was dedicated as a memorial to Mizzou people who gave their lives in military service.

Thomas Hill, CEO of Summit Materials, and Thomas Dunne, Sr., continue to sharpen their pencils on a possible acquisition of some or all of Earth City-based Fred Weber, Inc. Summit has a $1 billion credit line with Blackstone Capital Partners VLP. . .The Rev. Larry Biondi is rarely spotted outside his own campus, unless a meal is involved.  Thus, a rare personal appearance Monday to testify in front of the St. Louis Preservation Board marked the seriousness with which St. Louis University’s president regarded a request to demolish four historic structures near the university’s medical center in order to accommodate a new $75 million outpatient center.  Biondi won approval to demolish two of the structures, but will have to return next year with a different plan (or find a willing judge to throw out the decision) if he wants the two other structures – an office building and a smokestack - demolished.  All four structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. . .To address what she calls “the growing speculation about whether Rep. Jamilah Nasheed will seek the newly redistricted 5th Senatorial seat” – speculation that she herself is fueling – Nasheed has sent out a media advisory announcing that she will make an announcement about her plans on Jan. 3.  In the meantime, we can only – speculate.

A disclosure by the University of Missouri Curator Craig Van Matre has folks up in arms at UMSL, Mizzou, Kansas City and Rolla.  Van Matre, a Columbia lawyer appointed by Guv. Jay Nixon, disclosed to the Columbia Daily Tribune that the field of four finalists for the university president included “a candidate currently in academic management, a woman and a minority candidate.” None of this was publicly known, of course, because the Board of Curators picked the new president, Timothy Wolfe, in a process shrouded in secrecy worthy of the College of Cardinals winnowing the field for St. Peter’s Throne.  Wolfe is a white businessman with a bachelor’s degree from Mizzou, and he had been unemployed since last summer. He’s succeeded another white businessman, Gary Forsee, who was also unemployed before his hiring as president, because he was sacked as the CEO of Sprint. In an op-ed for the Columbia Missourian, Mizzou emeritus prof William “Gene” Robertson admonished, “Scrutiny of decision making is an inherent element that is prized at universities.  That process is assumed to be instrumental to educating future leaders.  Secret behaviors lead to notions of deviousness, which should not be considered at the beginning of new president’s tenure.”

Local GOP big shot Sam Fox, who heads Mitt Romney’s Missouri finance team, is expressing some trepidation about his candidate’s short term prospects. “I would feel much better about the outcome of this campaign if the primary were three months off rather than three weeks away,” Fox says in today’s N.Y.Times. Asked bout stoppingNewt Gringrich’s rising popularity in the days ahead, Fox admits, “I don’t think there is much that (Romney’s campaign) can do.”

State Sen. Jason Crowell, known as a brick wall on two spindly legs for his filibusters in the Mo. Senate when he opposes legislation, is term-limited, winding up his last year of legislative service and he is not seeking another office. So – why did Noranda Corp.of New Madrid donate $10,000 this week and two previous donations of $10k donations earlier this year – bringing to a haul of $30k from the aluminum smelter he has been protecting in the lagislatture? Not bad for a country lawyer from Cape Garagedoor. For those keeping score, Noranda is the largest consumer of electrical energy in the eastern half of Missouri – yet it pays a dramatically lower industrial power rate,even lower than the poorest customers of Ameren.  It’s probably a coincidence that Sen. Crowell’s filibusters historically blocked any legislation that could have  raised Noranda’s electric bill.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Tolen has been disbarred. by the Kansas Supreme Court. Tolen had been sentenced to 65 years in prison for 34 counts of second degree sodomy for which he was convicted and one count of witness tampering.

Melanie Moon

There are now two vacancies on the St. Louis County Circuit bench with Judge John Ross moving up to Federal Judge and also  Jim Hartenbach. Ross may be replacing Judge Charles Shaw, who has taken senior status. Word on the street is that Bruce Hilton will get one of the slots having missed twice.  Also, Gov. Jay Nixon is running out of time to appoint a Mo. Supreme Court Judge. While the commission nominated Michael Manners, George W. Draper, iii, and Joe Jacobson, smart money is on Draper, who is an African-American and the court has had no others since Ronnie White’s departure. Deadline is Oct. 31. . .What happens in Vegas stays on Facebook! That was Channel 5′s

Rich Gould

Mike Bush near the casino pits at the Mirage Hotel. . .The telly show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?,” will present a special edition, “Play It Forward,” airing the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 2. News teams from across the nation will be featured as contestants and KPLR Ch. 11′s Melanie Moon and Rich Gould have been beckoned to play as a two-person team with Meredith Vieira hosting. The anchor duo will donate their winnings to Variety the Children’s Charity of our town. . . Rex Burlison, Guv. Nixon’s pal, will be sworn in for the bench of St. Louis Circuit Court at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Old Post Office. . .Tongues are wagging that Bob Cockerham, a major rainmaker at the Brown & James Law Firm, may be exiting. . .There has been a mass exodus from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since new exec director Debbie Kersting took over the reigns more than a year ago. Wrote outgoing Janice L. Hawk, a member of its board: “In my opinion, the continuing lack of respect shown by the executive director, along with a disregard on my efforts in behalf of the L&LS have made it impossible for me to stay”. . A tip of the clicker to St. Louis Symph maestro David Robertson, who was made Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by Marie-Ann Toledano, Cultural Attache of the Consulate General of France in Second City.  The award, which was established in 1957 as part of the National Order of Merit by President Charles de Gaulle, recognizes significant contributions to the arts and literature. . .Carolyn Dielmann Connolly and Shelley Barr are jamming for The Trump Network. Connolly is the heiress of Creve Coeur Mayor Harold Dielmann; Barr is the sprig of the late, famed restaurateur Sheldon Waldman of whom Barr says, “He was a diamond in the rough, but I loved him”.. .A new billboard in the Waldo nabe of K.C. is sponsored by Tivoli Jewelers and portrays two men eyeing a ring in one of its stores.. . .The Kirkwood Amtrak Train Station on Argonne Drive will be the site of a public open house meeting at 5:30 p.m., Oct. 26 at which the Missouri Dept. of Transportation will seeks input on the movement of goods and people in Missouri by rail. A plan will guide the development of both freight and passenger service for the next 20 years for the Missouri Statewide Rail Plan.