Five local businesses to receive $50,000
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BOA Resolution 138 passes resoundingly
Sen. May joins others rejecting McKee’s ‘cultural appropriation’ Boyd (22nd Ward) did not vote. Alderman James Page’s 5th Ward is where the controversial The St. Louis Board of center is located. He voted presAldermen on Friday, Dec. 10 ent. In September, Page said “I’m emphatically stood against develtrying to see this as a positive, not oper Paul McKee and his refusal a negative,” when asked about use to remove the name Homer G. of Homer G. Phillips’ name and Phillips from a three-bed medireaction of outraged constituents. cal facility near the NGA site at Collins-Muhammad and Boyd Jeffrey John Collins James Jefferson and Cass. both represent northside wards. Boyd Muhammad Page Following a health commitA copy of the resolution will be tee action on Thursday, Dec. 9, sent to McKee and the hospital’s Resolution 138 deeming McKee’s action as “cultural approboard of directors. They can appear before the Board to ask priation” was passed by the Board of Aldermen with 22 yes or answer questions. votes out of 29. During Thursday’s health committee meeting, McKee Alderman Jack Coatar (7th Ward,) Alderman Joseph attorney Darryl Piggee said improved health care should be Vollmer (10th Ward) Alderwoman Carol Howard (14th the center of discussion. Ward,) Alderman Tom Oldenburg (16th Ward) Alderman See BOA, A6 John Collins-Muhammad (21st Ward,) and Alderman Jeffery By JoAnn Weaver The St. Louis American
n “Sometimes what you think is important to you is not important for the community at large.” – Alderwoman Sharon Tyus
Tidings of joy Gifts galore were available during the St. Louis Art Works Holiday Extravaganza on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. Dozens of local artists were on hand, and some sold their work as they were being completed on site.
Vol. 93 No. 38 COMPLIMENTARY
COVID-19 cases surge as omicron variant hits St. Louis Masks still recommended, not mandated
By JoAnn Weaver The St. Louis American As COVID-19 cases continue to grow exponentially, public officials continue to advocate for public health orders, including mask mandates. St. Louis County and Jackson County filed a motion to appeal the Cole County ruling or to ask for a new trial to preserve the regulations that have enabled local public health authorities to address all matters of public health, not just COVID-19 Monday, according to County Executive Sam Page’s Facebook page. “The ruling almost 130 miles away that could gut public health and take away healthcare for our most vulnerable was not appealed by the attorney general, which comes as no surprise,” Page said. The county executive called parents who are not taking COVID-19 seriously a “menace to society,” and their beliefs “carnival quackery” as a pandemic continues. “Another variant is spreading, vaccine acceptance is lower than it needs to be, hospitals here and around the country are sounding the alarm,” he said. In a Facebook post, Page wrotthere will not be a mask order in most public buildings in St. Louis County until at least two more council members vote for one. “I have asked the council to take up a mask order in whatever form it thinks state law requires,” he said. Page notes school districts have their own authority to set rules to keep faculty, staff, See MASKS, A7
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
North City to get a ‘bank in their own backyard’
Urban League partners with Simmons Bank to open branch By Dana Rieck The St. Louis American
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis announced a partnership with Simmons Bank Wednesday, which will establish a full-service bank branch on the first floor of the league’s headquarters, formerly the Old Sears Building. The branch will be the only bank located in the approximately 4.5 mile stretch along Kingshighway Boulevard from Vandeventer Avenue to Natural Bridge Avenue, according to Allan Ivie, president of community affairs for Missouri at Simmons Bank. He said this branch, set to open in summer 2022, will alleviate a banking desert. “So, when this branch opens, the neighborhood residents and small businesses will have a bank in their own backyard,” he said during a media event. The bank branch will be about 2,500 square feet feaSee BANK, A6
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis AMerican
A press conference was held Wednesday, Dec. 15, to announce that the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Simmons Bank have joined together to put a full service bank branch at the UL headquarters at 1408 N. Kingshighway formerly the Old Sears Building. The bank is slated to open in the summer of 2022. Pictured are Allan D. Ivie, IV, President of Community Affairs for Simmons Bank, Michael P. McMillan, President & CEO of the ULSTL, Tony Thompson Jr. representing Kwame Building Group and Karl Grice, President and founder of Grice Group Architects.
Board passes historic new ward map City wards cut from 28 to 14
By Dana Rieck The St. Louis American With an almost unanimous vote, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen finalized a historic new ward map Tuesday cutting the number of the city’s wards in half from 28 to 14. Aldermanic President Lewis Reed and 27 alderpeople voted in favor of the map. Alderman Jesse Todd, Ward 18, was present but abstained from the vote. Todd represents parts of several north city neighborhoods, including Academy, Central West End, Covenant Blu Grand Center, Fountain Park, JeffVanderLou, Kingsway East, Lewis Place, Midtown and Vandeventer. He told The St. Louis American he did not vote because he had a conflict of interest “I have spoken with and have been working with a few groups, it is those groups [that are] considering filing a lawsuit to keep 28 wards,” Todd said. “If they do, I will support the lawsuit. Therefore I have a conflict of interest. Reducing the wards will make aldermen and [alder] women less accessible to their constituents and less accountable.” Todd also noted he believed reducing the wards would mean higher campaign costs. See WARDS, A7