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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited JULY 26 – AUG. 1, 2018
Vol. 90 No. 18 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘This place is locked down’
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The toxic twins Stenger and McCulloch avoid each other on campaign trail as both face primary challengers
Protestors pressured St. Louis police to respond to a Gas Mart at Goodfellow and Delmar where two employees had been videotaped kicking a black woman outside the store on Tuesday, July 24. Police then arrested both suspects: Jehad Motan (pictured) and Ahmed Qandeel.
By Chris King Of The St. Louis American
to block business for the convenience store. “We decided that they’re done for the day,” Price said. “They didn’t need to make any more money in our community. I come up here all the time. I have been coming up here for years.” State Representative Bruce Franks Jr. (D-St. Louis), also an activist, contacted Price, and the two summoned other activists and
Four years ago, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch and then-Councilman Steve Stenger were joined at the hip as Stenger campaigned for county executive. Now, with both McCulloch and Stenger running for reelection and facing formidable primary challengers, it’s hard to find the two men in the same room. They are both conservative Democrats with keen political instincts, and their instincts have led each to the same conclusion: McCulloch is too toxic for Stenger, and Stenger is too toxic for McCulloch. Steve In 2014, McCulloch was Stenger Stenger’s biggest booster. He led an aggressive charge against Charlie Dooley, the first black to serve as St. Louis County executive, with unsubstantiated accusations of corruption and unfounded rumors of criminal investigations. McCulloch appeared in advertisements for Stenger’s county executive campaign, citing Bob alleged federal investigations into McCulloch county government and a $3.7 million construction contract being awarded to a Dooley appointee. In one ad, McCulloch stated, “This kind of corruption is a disgrace.” Despite having the full power of the law behind him, McCulloch never found anything on Dooley, as demonstrated by his failure to bring any charges against Dooley. Yet he continued to stir up rumors of corruption about Dooley despite the absence of evidence. McCulloch even gave $100,000 to Stenger’s
See PROTEST, A7
See STENGER, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
Protestors get police to arrest gas station employees videotaped kicking a woman By Ashley Jones For The St. Louis American On Tuesday, July 24, two St. Louis convenience store employees, later identified as Jehad Motan and Ahmed Qandeel, were seen on video kicking a black woman, Kelli Adams, who some describe as homeless, in front of the Gas Mart at Goodfellow and Delmar. “This is a cornerstone to the
neighborhood,” said Wiley Price IV, a community activist who is running for state representative in the district. “Everybody from near and far comes to this gas station, especially since they shut down the gas station on Delmar and Skinker.” Nearly an hour later, members of the community gathered in protest to shut the store down, make sure that Adams received medical attention, and see that the store managers were arrested. Their main goal was
‘We do not welcome ICE in St. Louis’ 21 advocates, clergy arrested during sit-in to protest Trump immigration policy By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
A driver tries to push his way through protestors at the intersection of Tucker and Spruce on Thursday, July 19. About 200 protestors assembled in front of the Robert Young Federal Building where the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office is located.
Twenty immigrant advocates and St. Louis clergy were arrested while occupying the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown St. Louis on Thursday, July 19. With a banner stating “U.S. Funded Kidnapping” and “#AbolishICE,” the group held a sit-in at the office, located at Spruce Street and Tucker Boulevard, starting at about 3:45 p.m. Within 45 minutes, they had all been arrested. The protestors, who were mainly white clergy from various faiths, chanted, “Free the children” while being handcuffed by police. All of them were released and given citations for “making loud noise and being a nuisance.”
See ICE, A6 Photo by Wiley Price
Kelly-Franks challenges Thompson for license collector By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Financial consultant Dana Kelly-Franks has been traveling to churches nationwide for the past four years, educating children 7 to 15 about finance – for free. “What happened to me happened to my mother and it happened to her mother,” said Kelly-Franks, Dana who owns The Firm, at 2757 KellyWyoming St. in Benton Park West. Franks “To protect our children from the financial stress that we deal with, we don’t discuss it with them. But that causes problems when our children get older. If we put the awareness in them very early, we can give them a head start.”
See FRANKS, A6