Combating COVID crisis in St. Louis jails
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St. Louis American See page A12
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City, County unite to ‘Reopen STL’
Vol. 93 No. 6 COMPLIMENTARY
Medicaid expansion struggle continues Senate votes 14-20 against funding it
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Lavina McCoy, owner of Gourmet Soul restaurant, hands Demond Winston his curbside order on Tuesday, May 4, in downtown St. Louis. McCoy is happy that dining restrictions will be lifted starting next week.
Restaurants face less restrictions
By Sophie Hurwitz Of the St. Louis American County Executive Sam Page and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones together served up some good news for area restaurateurs and citizens on Monday. They announced a joint executive order on the continued reopening of businesses in the St. Louis region. The days of the city and County working independently on COVID19 response have ended. “You may have heard me say these past few months [that] St. Louis deserves a more regional approach to our big issues,” Jones said. “Well, today, I’m proud to take a big first step with the (County Executive) to introduce new reopen STL health orders that align the city and the county’s COVID-19
responses for the first time.” Page said “Thousands of people a day toggle between the city and the county to work, attend school, dine out, shop, and worship.” “While the responses of the city and county have been similar, they have not always been in sync.” Businesses will no longer be under capacity restrictions based on a percentage of fire code capacity of an indoor space. Maximum capacity will continue to be “limited by the requirement of social distancing.” Tables still must be six feet apart and other COVID safety protocols must be followed. Bar and restaurant curfews are loosened, as establishments can again stay open until 3 a.m. instead of
n “You may have heard me say these past few months [that] St. Louis deserves a more regional approach to our big issues.” St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones
See REOPEN STL, A6
Chief Barton: Highest priority is racial divide
Part I of II
The road to transforming policing This is part one of a collaboration between The Missouri Independent and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting looking at how the fight for police reform in St. Louis has evolved. Part two publishes next Thursday. Subscribe to the Reveal podcast to hear the audio version of this story when it’s released on Saturday.
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American
See BARTON, A7
See MEDICAID, A7
By Rebecca Rivas For The Missouri Independent and Reveal
Chief’s first full year was controversy filled
It has been an undeniably tough year for embattled St. Louis County Police Chief Mary Barton. As Saturday marked her first full year in the position, she reflected on the past months - and what she wants to accomplish in the coming year. She told the St. Louis American her highest priority is addressing the racial divide and racism within the department, issues that have defined the first year. Last June, less than three months into her tenure as chief, Barton faced public criticism for telling the St. Louis County
A court battle is likely in the state’s future after the Missouri Senate last week voted against paying to expand the state’s Medicaid program, scheduled to roll out July 1 after a majority of the state’s voters approved the constitutional amendment in 2020. At this stage, it is unclear what will happen this summer as those newly eligible for the program seek coverage. “As elected officials, we have a responsibility and that is to uphold our oath to the Constitution, but also the will of the people,” State Sen. Brian Williams (D-St. Louis) said. “So, it’s very frustrating and disappointing that we didn’t fully fund Medicaid expenditures.” The Senate voted April State Sen. 28 after hours of debate. Brian The funding failed to pass, Williams with a vote of 14-20 to reject — four Republicans broke ranks with the rest of their party and voted in favor of funding the expansion. The Missouri House had previously separated the expansion funding and passed the budget bill without it. Williams noted that the fate of the expansion is now in the hands of Gov. Mike Parson, as lawmakers are required to present a budget to the governor by Friday, May 7. Williams said that even though the House and Senate voted to exclude expansion funding, Parson could decide to include funding in the budget. It will then go back to the General Assembly where lawmakers will work on a solution. Parson has previously said he doesn’t support expanding Medicaid, but he supports
Photo by David Kovaluk / St. Louis Publis Radio
St. Louis County Police Chief Mary Barton said her highest priority is addressing the racial divide within the department.
Ten days after Michael Brown, it was 25-year-old Kajieme Powell. Two months later, it was 18-year-old VonDerrit Myers Jr. All in the St. Louis region. Had it not been for the Ferguson uprising, the deaths of these Black men would have likely gone unnoticed, except for a small, dedicated group of activists who have been tracking police shootings since the 1960s. They’d long been troubled by the local police’s treatment of Black residents and its culture of impunity, the opaque investigaSee POLICE REFORM, A9