Local News

Is St. Louis Threads as Good as St. Louis Twitter? | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

[ad_1]

click to enlarge WIKIPEDIA Threads is the new social media app taking the world by storm. But how is the St. Louis corner of the social media app faring?

You’ve been hearing about Threads, the new Twitter alternative from Meta, the parent company of old-school social media mavens Facebook and Instagram.Launched last week, many people flocked to Threads mostly to leave the dumpster fire that is Twitter. Currently, Threads has 100 million sign ons. And St. Louis royalty Nelly joined the fold just yesterday, so St. Louis Threads is officially official. (His first Thread was #STLARMY with the flexing muscle emoji.) But St. Louis Twitter is hard to replicate. Is Threads a possible contender? Here’s what we know.When joining Threads, it is easy to follow everyone you follow on Instagram, since the two are linked. If your Instagram feed is similar to your Twitter feed, then hopping on Threads will feel similar. But if you’re like most people, you’ll find your Thread feed is full of messages from people whose thoughts you don’t usually read. It’s like hearing your Instagram account. “Shut up and show me photos!” might cross your mind more than once.After you adjust whom you follow so you can get that St. Louis Twitter feel, even with Nelly, the energy just isn’t there yet. You can’t report uneven sidewalks and overflowing dumpsters to @stlcsb. You can’t get traffic updates from @MoDOTSTLTraffic. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has only created two threads (as of this morning). Sauce Magazine is on there but not threading. (And in the spirit of full disclosure, RFT is still mostly in lurking mode on the app — but follow us anyway @riverfronttimes!)Huge voices from St. Louis politics are missing: Virvus Jones is not picking fights with alderpeople. But we also couldn’t find alderpeople like Cara Spencer or Rahseen Aldridge. Heck, our governor isn’t even on there (but Mike Kehoe is, and so are Tishaura Jones and Wesley Bell).Plus, you’ll notice nothing is linked or embedded in this story. That’s cause Threads doesn’t have a web client or a desktop version of their app. So we can’t even share threads in articles without a bunch of hoop jumping. Boo.So no, Threads is not giving like Twitter is giving. But you should consider joining anyway. (Unless you’re one of the troglodytes who populates our comments section. You guys can stay on Truth Social.) That’s because social media platforms are fun to join when they’re in their early days. No spam, very few bots (but they’re there), and like and follow goals feel attainable.Plus, a lot of the comments on Threads are about the platform itself. People are currently advocating for influencers on the platform to be called knitters and wondering what we should call the messages on Threads. On Twitter, we called them tweets. On Threads we call them? (We are currently advocating for calling them Threats, but for the sake of clarity we just called them Threads here.)And the vibe on Threads is positive. The most viral thread we’ve seen so far is one asking if it’s OK to recline your seat on a plane, which got more than 1,500 responses. The Whitney Museum has become the platform darling with on point jokes like, “Threads is my favorite social media platform because no one here has ever made me cry.” It later added: “This is not an invitation to try to make me cry.” Or “Omg guys I’m not an intern,” after the account started to become popular and people kept saying that the social media intern at the Whitney was doing a great job.There are lots of issues with Threads and the right-wing rage complex is already crying about censorship (Libs of TikTok is on there), but the platform feels personal in a way that social media hasn’t been in a while. Like a cozy group of folks meeting for a coffee klatsch. Plus, blessedly, Josh Hawley isn’t on there, which probably is reason enough to join.
Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

[ad_2]

Source link

Local News

Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

[ad_1]

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.

[ad_2]

Source link

Local News

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

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

[ad_1]

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.”

[ad_2]

Source link

Local News

St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

[ad_1]

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.”

[ad_2]

Source link