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RFT Reviews the Week July 3 to July 19, 2023 | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

July 11, 2023

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click to enlarge WIKIPEDIA Cocaine (way less than this) was found at the White House this week.

MONDAY, JULY 3. Harrowing new details emerge on the two St. Louisans killed by Saturday’s storm. Sebastian Montes tells the Post-Dispatch he and other neighbors repeatedly called 911 after a tree struck a woman waiting out the storm in her car. Apparently emergency workers only came because a neighbor thought to call a personal connection at a fire department in the county, and someone else walked to the nearest firehouse — and then finally EMS workers were on their way. St. Louis: Where a carrier pigeon is faster than 911 dispatch. Details are equally grim in Jennings, where people apparently called for 45 minutes before getting help for a five-year-old boy whose bedroom was hit by a tree. Both the Jennings boy and the St. Louis woman died. Meanwhile, more than 40,000 remain without power. Ameren says they should be back on the grid by Wednesday or Thursday, leading to groans that could be heard for miles.

TUESDAY, JULY 4. This year’s mysteriously truncated Fair St. Louis features one night of fireworks on the Arch grounds, no bands and no additional vendors. And … it’s kind of great. It’s what happens downtown afterwards that sucks — illegal fireworks light up street corners downtown and in a broad swath of city neighborhoods until the not-wee hours of the morning. The Post-Dispatch reports that the region actually ran out of ambulances — a teen hit-and-run victim had to be taken to the hospital in a police cruiser. Sigh.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5. The planet sets a new record for global heat. St. Louis is surely doing its part, but not to worry — everything’s fine! And forget all that: There’s coke in the White House, and the nation’s tabloids are riveted by what is surely some low-level staffer’s personal stash.

THURSDAY, JULY 6. An aldermanic committee gives initial 7-0 approval to Alderwoman Cara Spencer’s bill banning the open carry of firearms without a concealed-carry permit. Aldermen also advanced a bill that would require police to provide more information — and business cards — to people they stop and search. Alas for Mayor Tishaura Jones: Text records garnered via a Sunshine request that go viral today show that she has a visceral hatred for Spencer, her closest rival in the most recent mayoral election. We can only imagine that today’s group text with Virvus Jones and Richard Callow is fire. Meanwhile, in Jefferson City, Governor Mike Parson vetoes a ban on, of all things, celebratory gunfire. Let the bullets fly in Missouri!

FRIDAY, JULY 7. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter celebrate 77 years of wedded bliss — like, how is that even possible? Back in St. Louis, the messed-up QuikTrip at Gravois and Chippewa sees its second deadly shooting in a week, while Mayor Jones apologizes for her bitchy texts.

SATURDAY, JULY 8. Some damn study names St. Louis the best place to live without a car — and every single St. Louisan without a car collapses in gales of bitter laughter.

SUNDAY, JULY 9. House Minority Leader Crystal Quade is running for governor, and has a kick-ass kickoff video making her case. Someone’s gotta be the Democrat led to the slaughter in the gubernatorial race, but we have to wonder about state Senator Karla May’s just-announced challenge to Josh Hawley. After all, both Lucas Kunce and Wesley Bell are already all in, so this is less about helping the party and more about, well, hurting it. Gotta tip a hat to the fundraisers who’ve managed to find yet another candidate to earn commissions from.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

12 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

12 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

12 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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