Bishop honored with Memorial Museum San Francisco Temple celebrates life, legacy of beloved founder
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Vol. 83 No. 49
CAC Audited MARCH 8 – 14, 2012
COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Clay, Sharpton host voting rights forum
See story video at www.stlamerican.com
Chief chimes in on local control initiative
Launch campaign against GOP voter photo ID initiative
Isom concerned about personnel and civilian review issues
By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Like any candidate, U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay wants your vote. But more importantly, he first wants to protect your right to vote at all. That’s why Clay has assembled an impressive lineup for his Voting Rights Symposium to be held 9:30 a.m. Friday, March 16 at Harris-Stowe State University’s Emerson Center, 3026 Laclede Ave. Clay will be joined by the Rev. Al
By Rebecca S. Rivas Of The St. Louis American
See FORUM, A6
Photo by UPI/Bill Greenblatt
First Lady Michelle Obama greeted supporters at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in St. Louis on Monday. She later spoke at a campaign event for her husband, President Barack Obama, at Peabody Opera House.
First Lady campaigns NAACP honors Lyah in St. Louis Lyah Beth LeFlore, right, and Shirley Strawberry won a 2012 NAACP Image Award.
Beth LeFlore STL native and her co-author Shirley Strawberry win 2012 Image Award By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American “When I was nominated before, I wanted to win – but you don’t mind losing to Barack Obama,” said best-selling author and acclaimed producer Lyah Beth See LeFLORE, A6
Touts health reform, saving auto industry By Jo Mannies Of The Beacon At a campaign stop for her husband at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis on Monday, First Lady Michelle Obama was introduced by a physician who praised President Obama’s most contentious policy achievement, the Affordable Health Care Act. Mrs. Obama was introduced by Dr. Naga Yalla, a physician who talked movingly about her family’s own medical issues that she said has helped make her strong supporter of
Dr. Nalla said that President Barack Obama’s leadership in pushing through health insurance changes was critical for her son’s future.
President Obama and his health care reform. Four years ago, Yalla and her husband, also a physician, gave birth to a son who suffered a fractured skull and brain damage during delivSee OBAMA, A7
For a police chief, having the ability to hire, discipline and fire employees is paramount, Police Chief Dan Isom said at a public forum last week. Yet none of that is defined in the “Safer Missouri” ballot initiative for local control of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. At the Board of Aldermen’s March 1 local control forum at Harris-Stowe State University, Isom expressed concern about who was going to determine the structure and controls of the department. “In this ballot initiative, the Civil Service Commission determines that – not the chief, not anyone else,” Isom said. “So who are those people going to “And be? Those are the things that concern me but haven’t been when we talked about.” are talkOnly three groups were ing about involved in deciding how to transwrite up the ballot initiative for local control: Mayor Francis G. parency, Slay’s office, the St. Louis Police how is Association and A Safer that going Officers Missouri – a group funded by to be any Rex Sinquefield, the billionaire different conservative policy activist. The than what language they created will appear on the November 2012 ballot if we are the signature-gathering effort doing funded by Sinquefield succeeds. right Community organizations and the Board of Aldermen – who now?” have been fighting for local control for years – were not at the – Chief deal table for the ballot language. Dan Isom Over the past 150 years, the police department has gone through ups and downs in terms of establishing rules that create order, Isom said. However the ballot initiative does not address which of those rules is going to transfer over. “And when we are talking about transparency, how is that going to be any different than what we are doing right now?” Isom asked. “That’s where a civilian review board comes in. Civilian review is a good thing for the police department.” Civilian review, he said, builds public trust. “This is an issue of building more trust in our police department – which is ultimately going to help us to do a better job,” he said. “If we don’t See ISOM, A7