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St. LouiS AmericAn The
91 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
CAC Audited FEBRUARY 13 – 19, 2020
Vol. 91 No. 47 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Chaplain preaches at New Horizon Barry C. Black led prayers during impeachment hearing By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Pastor B.T. Rice described the end of the impeachment hearing of President Donald J. Trump when introducing his friend Chaplain Barry C. Black, the chaplain of the U.S. Senate, who spoke at the celebration of the 22nd anniversary of Rice’s church, New Horizon Christian Church, on Saturday, February 8. Black leads prayers for the U.S. Senate and led
‘We have nothing to show for it,’ alderwoman says of NorthSide Regeneration
prayers during the impeachment hearing, which had concluded three days before. “At the end of the hearing, they were thanking the ranking members,” Pastor Rice said. “They were thanking the ushers, the pages, the secretaries, the administrators. But they failed to thank the chaplain – the one who brought solace to the place, the one who brought the holy ghost.” Chaplain Black did not need to be brought up See BLACK, A6
Progress of McKee’s projects under scrutiny
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Chaplain Barry C. Black
Saying that developer Paul McKee Jr.’s publicly funded projects have made “satisfactory” progress in 2019 is “not a correct reflection of reality,” according to Mayor Lyda Krewson’s chief of staff. On February 5, Krewson vetoed a bill that reviewed the annual progress of 21 tax increment financing projects (TIFs). The Board of Aldermen passed the bill without much debate on January 17. The main target of the mayor’s contention was the NorthSide Regeneration project, where the bill listed the TIF amount as $490.6 million. The development project covers much of Paul North St. Louis and was McKee Jr. originally awarded a $390 million TIF amount. (The mayor’s spokesman is checking if this is a typo.) “We are going to have them scrutinize closer,” said Steve Conway, the mayor’s chief of staff. “We need to make sure when you say that something is making progress that it’s actually making progress.” When asked how McKee’s NorthSide development project has impacted North St. Louis, Conway said, “That’s about a two-hour answer. The city is taking a legal position on where he’s at on those things.” See McKEE, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
Children’s Center has really taken shape University City Children’s Center students Charlette Smith (4) and Marlyn Jones (5) work on shapes with teacher Marquise Williams during the center’s 50th Anniversary celebration Friday, February 7.
In 2017, 74 percent of African-American youth in Missouri who went through this process were certified to be tried as adults, compared to 26 percent of their white peers. In 2018 data, it was 56 percent of African-American youth compared to 50 percent of white juveniles.
Juvenile or adult? Public defender challenges MO’s system of certifying how youth will be tried By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American A case before the Missouri Supreme Court could fundamentally change how children and teens navigate the criminal justice system. In The Interest of D.E.G. vs. Juvenile Officer of Jackson County, Kansas City Public Defender Tim Honse is arguing the law must be changed to allow minors who
are made to stand trial in adult court the chance to fight to change that decision without having to go through the entire adult criminal process first. In the current Missouri system, if someone under the age of 17 is suspected of committing a crime or misdemeanor of a certain severity, they are generally put through a cursory hearing to See JUVENILES, A6
Janitors win wage hike Threat of strike, direct action bring CleanTech back to the table By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American On Monday, February 10, the SEIU Local 1 janitors’ union announced that they won a new contract after months of advocacy, civil disobedience, and n “The vast a threat of strike. majority of the The new agreement, which will last for 2,100 people three years and that we’re cover 2,100 janitors, talking about includes various are Africannew benefits and pay raises that vary American.” somewhat across the – Rev. Darryl Gray union depending on seniority. According to union representative Nick Desideri, the average wage increase is around 14 percent; if a janitor’s current hourly pay is $10.50 per hour, that would bring them up to $11.97. Over a full-time workweek, those increases add up, though See JANITORS, A7
Photo: National Association of Social Workers