Local News

A Gay Soulard Clap Back at Wannabe Politician Valentina Gomez

Published

1 year ago

May 16, 2024

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So the insufferable, attention-starved Valentina Gomez, who is vying to be Missouri’s next secretary of state, posted a video of herself jogging through historic Soulard in a tactical vest saying, “Don’t be weak and gay.” This stunt sparked global headlines about Soulard being a (shudder) gay-friendly neighborhood.

Explore St. Louis could spend tens of millions on a marketing campaign and not achieve such a feat. You just can’t buy this kind of press.

You really owned us, hon. 🚨Don’t be weak and gay🚨August 6th is the day we take Missouri back from these corrupt politicians. @Cobratate @TateTheTalisman🔥MAGA pic.twitter.com/sKoY650Dmw— Valentina Gomez (@ValentinaForSOS) May 13, 2024

Nestled just south of Downtown, Soulard is the city’s oldest intact neighborhood, and is sometimes referred to as the French Quarter of St. Louis. Soulardians might be called many things. Gay? Sometimes. But weak? Never. The weak are Gomez’s target audience, who are presumably hunkered down somewhere, anxiously peeking through their blinds at any noise while waiting for the government to come for their guns. By contrast, Soulardians aren’t afraid of shit. They are the honey badgers of urban dwellers.

Days after beloved Bastille bartender Peyton Keene was gunned down on a Soulard sidewalk in 2018, hundreds marched through the streets to mourn him. They did so with musical instruments, decorations and trays of shots for their fellow mourners, but unlike the book-burning, gun-toting, perpetual-trolling xenophobic Gomez, they marched without weapons or body armor. In fact, the day after his murder, Bastille patrons were right back on the sidewalk tables where they’ve always gathered.

As I recall in my book, House of Villadiva, shortly before he was murdered, the gay-as-fuck Keene rushed into danger to help an older woman who tripped while trying to flee violence, and was himself attacked. Soulardians feel certain Keene was killed because he was a witness.

I dunno. That all sounds tougher to me than creating a clickbait troll video for mouth breathers.

Tough is living like a 27-year-old Barbara Clark, who in the 1970s was literally the lone resident for blocks around (sans packs of wild dogs), camping in a cold, leaky, circa 1863 shell of a row house in nearby LaSalle Park she was gut-rehabbing on her own.

Tough is literally tossing belligerent Mardi Gras drunks to the curb, as longtime restaurateur Nadine Soab has been known to do.

Tough is having a gun pulled on you, talking the gunman down, and then calmly resuming your evening — like “Maven of Mardi Gras” Luann Denten.

I hate to give the awful Gomez the attention she so desperately craves, but she unintentionally put us on the map in an enormous way.

So, to the villainous and vacuous Valentina, I propose we keep this symbiotic relationship going a bit longer. Next time, hit up Soulard Market on a Saturday morning. Picture it. Shoppers of every ethnicity and orientation, perusing fresh veggies with a Bloody Mary, while you strut through in a Rambo outfit talking smack. Come on down to our Soulard Pride celebration, or hell, we’ll even give you a float in our massive Mardi Gras parade.

You could create the content your army of trolls loves to watch while they’re cooking meth or removing ticks, while also benefiting local tourism. Unlike the fascinating Soulardians I mentioned above, years from now nobody will be telling heroic stories about you. Nobody will immortalize you in a book, and quite certainly, nobody will find you interesting. Your cheap 15 minutes of fame is almost up, so why not use it to the benefit of all Missourians?

You might drop the “weak” diss though. You could never in a million years achieve the street cred of the typical Soulardian, regardless of how many cringeworthy TikToks you conceive.

Local News

Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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