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RFT Reviews the Week June 12 to June 18 | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

June 19, 2023

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click to enlarge David Freese turned down going into the Cardinals Hall of Fame this week… probably because the team sucks so bad.

MONDAY, JUNE 12. The Denver Nuggets win the NBA championship — proving once again that bad karma means nothing when you’re filthy rich. Seriously, fuck that guy Kroenke and his back-to-back-to-back pro sports titles! Also, quelle surprise, another (recently former) member of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen is revealed to be corrupt. A new indictment accuses Brandon Bosley of engaging in fraud related to a 13-year-old Toyota Prius. We don’t know whether to be embarrassed that Bosley’s scheme was so petty — or proud that, despite his vaunted name, voters threw him out before the U.S. Attorney’s Office forced the issue.

TUESDAY, JUNE 13. Novelist Cormac McCarthy dies, and eulogies remind us that he toiled in obscurity until he was 58 years old — only to be lauded as one of the greats at his passing at age 89. It’s a story that gives hope to a lot of writers who are nowhere near as talented! Meanwhile, that old buffoon who won’t stop running his mouth pleads not guilty to dozens of felonies, basically alleging he squirreled classified documents away in a tacky-ass Mar-a-Lago bathroom. Which, if you think about it, makes the crimes of our local pols seem at least somewhat rational in contrast. Thanks, Trump.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14. A bunch of people involved with the mortuary at Harvard Medical School are charged with trafficking in human remains, which we mention just because we hate the smug pricks who got into Harvard. Meanwhile, the Cardinals again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. That’s five straight losses and the worst record in the National League. It’s all-Missouri suckitude; the Kansas City Royals are somehow even worse.

THURSDAY, JUNE 15. The Board of Aldermen votes to raise our water rates 44 percent, with future automatic increases tied to inflation. While we’d never expect Mayor Tishaura Jones to let a crisis go to waste, we’re still surprised by the size and speed of this rate hike. Meanwhile, rubbing salt into our water-logged wounds, the Cardinals lose again.

FRIDAY, JUNE 16. Russian hackers have come for Mizzou! Also, KMOV reports that even the downtown police substation has been vandalized, but it turns out the SLMPD abandoned the substation years ago — so it’s just the usual downtown squalor and maybe not even news.

SATURDAY, JUNE 17. City SC falls to Nashville. Meanwhile, despite being voted in, David Freese says he won’t join the Cardinals Hall of Fame, surely because even he doesn’t want to be associated with a team this shitty. Just to teach him, the Redbirds win 5-3, snapping a six-game losing streak.

SUNDAY, JUNE 18. In the wee hours, 11 teens are shot at a party that oddly takes place at an office suite at 14th and Washington. One dies; a 12th teen is gravely injured after being trampled. In response, Mayor Jones calls for recreation centers to stay open later, which precisely no one thinks will solve the problem but also can’t hurt. Meanwhile, a torrential downpour causes flash flooding on three different St. Louis highways and interrupts Father’s Day cookouts. Bah humbug!

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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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