Friday, July 10, 2015
Nasheed’s Personal Saga
Unknown to most politicos, Sen. Jamilah Nasheed has a twin brother. As a teenager he commits crimes and was given a life sentence.
Near the end of the last legislative session, she became aware that he had an opportunity to have his sentence revisited because of recent court decisions.
Nasheed recounted her childhood: Jerome and I grew up without parents. Our father died in a drive by shooting while my mother was nine months pregnant with us. She later committed suicide when we were three years old. When my mother died, we moved in with our grandmother in the housing projects. It was a terrible environment for any child. I remember seeing drugs and dead bodies…
Last month at a hearing her brother’s life without the possibly for parole sentence was dropped to a sentence of five more years in prison.
Young Retires From Post
Virginia Young is among the reporters leaving the Post-Dispatch in the latest round of cut-backs. See the St. Louis Business Journal article here.
There may be some Jeff City denizens breathing a little easier at the news. As lobbyist put it: “She was one of the only remaining reporters with the chops to dig past the talking points and find the real story.”
The real question is whether the Post replaces Young, or if they whittle their presence in the building to a single reporter like the Kansas City Star.
Tweet of the Day
Jack Cardetti @jackcardetti: Pretty selfless of @VirginiaYoung & Bill McClellan to take retirement, so others keep jobs. Lee Enterprises wins, the rest of us lose.
Left Unasked
Larry Connors interviews LG candidate Bev Randles for the Allman Report, in Pelopidas’ media studio, and somehow never asks her about her $1 million donation from Rex Sinquefield.
Rebranded JJ Dinner Slated for Busch Stadium
From the Dem Party email blast: I'm excited to share with you that we've confirmed the date for our biggest event of the year, which will feature special guests including U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, Attorney General Chris Koster, Secretary of State Jason Kander, Treasurer Clint Zweifel, Auditor Nicole Galloway, Chairman Roy Temple, and more!
In honor of Missouri's own President Harry S. Truman, we've renamed the annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner and you're invited to attend the 1st Annual MDP Truman Dinner. And this year, we'll be celebrating at a new location - on the field of Busch Stadium in St. Louis!
The Truman Dinner will take place on August 29, and tickets and table sponsorships are available for online order now!
Baker Joins MFFH Advisory Board
The press release: Missouri Foundation for Health is proud to introduce the four new members of its Community Advisory Council (CAC), Judy Baker, Joel Ferber, Sosunmolu Shoyinka and Kimberly Stemley… The 13-member CAC serves as a liaison between Missouri's communities and the Foundation's Board of Directors. The Council members help ensure the Foundation's
Board has a deeper understanding of how its grants are impacting communities and what health concerns need to be addressed. The CAC also oversees the recruitment of highly qualified candidates interested in serving on the Board of Directors.
Haefner Announcement
Rep. Marsha Haefner’s announcement that she’s official in Senate 1: “I was born in Webster Groves and, for over thirty years, my husband and I have raised our family and run our small business in Oakville,” Haefner said. “As a mom and a grandma to young grandchildren, a community leader, and a small business owner, I have a unique understanding of the challenges facing the families of the 1st District.”
Haefner and her husband, Greg, founded their small business, Haefner’s Greenhouses, in 1980 and in thirty-five years of operation, they have employed more than 1,000 local residents. Haefner has also been an active leader in the community. She has been named “South County Citizen of the Year” where she is active in her church and served as a charter member of the South County Chamber of Commerce.
Minimum Wage Moves
Kansas City marches toward raising their minimum wage. See it here. And St. Louis revises its proposal to garner aldermanic support. See it here.
Fort Cuts
The Army announced cuts to the size of the force at Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood, but it was greeted with some relief.
As Sen. Dan Brown expressed on Facebook: Thank you to the elected officials, the military officials and mostly the community and community leaders that got involved in showing support for Ft. Wood. We don't want to lose ANY jobs but it speaks volumes about this community that other bases are losing thousands of soldiers this year and Ft. Wood is losing hundreds! Thank you to everyone involved!
SB 5 Signed
Governor Jay Nixon signed SB 5, the municipal reform bill.
Everybody cheered.
Governor Jay Nixon: “This landmark legislation will return our municipal courts to their intended purpose: serving our citizens and protecting the public.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt: “Government should exist to serve its citizens, not to extort them. Passing this bill is a big step toward ending government by speed trap and taxation by citation.”
Sen. Jamilah Nasheed: “Today is a landmark day for justice in the state of Missouri. Municipalities will no longer be able to fund themselves on the backs of their most vulnerable citizens…”
Ferguson Commission’s Starsky Wilson and Rich McClure: This bill is an important step in addressing the systemic injustices that have occurred in our municipal courts and an important response to the loud and painful outcries we have heard from our community.
Koster Unveils New Website
eMailbag: Corlew Leading Armed Docket Effort
KC Freshman Rep Kevin Corlew effectively carried the legislation (HB1044) aimed at reforming the Jackson Co Circuit Court to have an expedited violent offender docket through the House last year and the House supported the measure 130-15. The judges don't want to be told what to do but this is a no brainier for KC and StL. Mayor Sly James provides testimony before the House Emerging Issues committee along with the Jackson County Prosecutor's office and the KCPD. Time for the Judges to participate in their community.
eMailbag: Common Core Has Two Components
There are two political fights over the Common Core, the fight over the standards and the one on the assessments of the standards. At this point, the standards are still in place in Missouri. The current assessment has been shot down, but the standards remain in place.
And
NBC's popular reality series "The Biggest Loser" is launching a nine-city, cross-country search to find new contestants for the next edition of the hit show. Teams of two (spouses, siblings, parent/adult child, best friends, co-workers) who have at least 80 lbs. to lose are encouraged to apply for the new season…. Casting producers are looking for outgoing and charismatic teams of two who have the personality, desire and competitive edge to vie for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lose weight, change their lives forever and compete for a grand prize of $250,000. Candidates must be at least 18 years of age and legal residents of the United States.
People will not be allowed to line up prior to three hours before the start of the open call. Candidates should bring a non-returnable photo of themselves and their partners.
-- SATURDAY, JULY 18, ST. LOUIS, MO -- 10 a.m. 4 p.m.
Planet Fitness (Overland)
8903 Page Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63114
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Black Caucus Foundation Golf – Norman K. Probstein Golf Course – Forest Park, STL – 7:30AM.
$5K+ Contributions
Democratic Governors Association Missouri - $10,000 from Democratic Governors Association.
Democratic Governors Association Missouri - $30,000 from Democratic Governors Association.
MOTruck PAC - $12,640 from Witte Bros Exchange.
Democratic Governors Association Missouri - $25,000 from Democratic Governors Association.
AGC of MO PAC - $13,000 from Branco Enterprises Inc.
Citizens for Mary Pat Carl - $5,100 from Eugene Benninger.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to former Rep. Cole McNary (51).
Saturday: Sen. Wayne Wallingford, and Claudia Sands.
Sunday: Ferguson Mayor James W. Knowles III (36), and former Rep. Melissa Leach (55).