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Cori Bush Staffer Fired After Confrontation With Jennings Mayor | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

February 8, 2023

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click to enlarge Jennings City Council Still from video of January 23 Jennings City Council meeting.
Late last month an outreach representative from Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush’s office was let go from her job a few days after getting into a confrontation with the mayor of Jennings. Aja Owens, 41, says that she was fired on January 27. Four days prior, Owens was filmed yelling at Mayor Yolanda Austin at a Jennings City Council meeting. Owens is a former Jennings City Council member who is currently running against Austin for mayor. This leads Owens to believe the termination was politically motivated. When asked if she felt like Austin had pressured the Bush office to fire her, Owens said, “absolutely.” A spokesperson for Cori Bush said in a statement that the congresswoman’s office, “considers internal personnel matters confidential and will not comment publicly on its staffing decisions, except to say that the office values our team deeply and conducts all personnel matters in compliance with the Congressional Accountability Act and applicable House Rules.” Owens says she wasn’t at the meeting as a representative for the congresswoman’s office and therefore didn’t violate any congressional rules. She says she is seeking legal representation in regards to the termination. “I was there in my personal capacity,” Owens said. “I never miss a meeting.” The argument at the January 23 city council meeting was about Fairview Village Senior Living, a 50-unit senior living facility that was vacated after a pipe burst over Christmas. The facility has gotten negative press recently for delays that have prevented residents from moving back in.
Many of the facility’s residents have been in the Hilton Garden Inn by the airport and receiving help from the Urban League. Owens tells the RFT that she has been delivering food to them as well, in her capacity as a private citizen. She says she’s long taken an interest in Fairview Village because it was in her ward when she was a Jennings city councilwoman. At the council meeting, Owens says that the mayor told those assembled that the Urban League would no longer be assisting the residents because Owens had told them not to. “She slandered my name, which is why I stood up to defend myself,” Owens says. The RFT reached out to Austin via email but has not heard back. A video clip from the city council meeting obtained by the RFT via a Sunshine Law request seemed to begin mid-meeting as Austin said, “Aja Owens from the United States Representative office of Cori Bush came in and said from this day forward she would be taking care of–” At this point, Owens stood up and began shouting at Austin. “Change what you said,” she said, as she approached the front of the room. “You will never lie on me,” she shouted. “That was a lie and you need to correct it.” Owens stepped onto the dais where the mayor and council members were seated as she continued to accuse the mayor of lying. click to enlarge Courtesy Aja Owens Aja Owens with Fairview Village Senior Living residents.

According to Owens, the Urban League hasn’t stopped helping Fairview Village residents and she never asked them to. Owens said that if Jennings residents thought she told the Urban League to stop helping seniors, it would damage her politically in the race against Austin. The Urban League confirmed to the RFT that they are committed to helping the seniors displaced from Fairview Village. Two police officers eventually escorted Owens out of the room. The entire confrontation lasted about 90 seconds. Owens said that she subsequently received a letter saying that she’s banned from city council meetings. The city council meeting was on a Monday. That Friday, January 27, Owens said she was fired from Bush’s office over a Zoom call. “I’m devastated, disappointed,” Owens said. “I’m just shocked.” We welcome tips and feedback. Email the author at [email protected] or follow on Twitter at @RyanWKrull. Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

10 months 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

10 months 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

10 months 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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