@stlouisamerican
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St. Louis American The
CAC Audited DECEMBER 19 – 25, 2024
Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928
stlamerican.com
McKee’s troubled urgent care center shut down
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American
See McKEE, A7
Photographer and ‘American’ contributor Bill Greenblatt passes at 70
Photo by Gabrielle Hays / PBS NewsHour
From left, Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Inc. members Lois Collier Jackson, President Yvonne Jones and Wanda Claxton Trotter continue the legal battle to remove the name Homer G. Phillips from developer Paul McKee’s urgent care center.
Making a list and checking it twice Zymir Jefferson, 7, a student at Lift For Life, checks his list at the Delta’s Winter Coat Give-A-Way Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024.
COMPLIMENTARY
‘He covered St. Louis like a blanket’
‘Reckless disregard for city’
The Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Association is steadfast in saying it never opposed the opening of an urgent care center at Jefferson and Cass. Its trade infringement lawsuit against developer Paul McKee was filed to strip the name “Homer G. Phillips Hospital” from its walls. Recent happenings at the facility show that the name of Homer G. Phillips is being further disgraced by what has transpired within its walls. KSDK reported on Tuesday that the center had furloughed employees because of a blood shortage, according to a letter from its board of directors. In addition, its staff had not been paid for their work recently. Yvonne Jones, Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni, Inc., president said, “It is situations such
Vol. 96 No. 37
By Kenya Vaughn and Alvin A. Reid The St. Louis American If there was a moment worthy to be photographed, William “Bill” Greenblatt was there with every intention of filing. That was whether it was a protest, a celebrity first pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game or a three-alarm fire – which was his specialty as the official photographer for the St. Louis Fire Department. Just about every major news scene over the past few decades included him on site with a camera William ‘Bill’ around his neck, and Greenblatt another on his shoulder. Greenblatt died on Sunday, December 15th after a battle with cancer. He was 70 years old. “Bill will be fondly remembered for his work behind the camera lens, but even more so for his selflessness and witty sense of humor,” his family said in a statement on his passing. “A friend to anyone who has ever met him, Bill
See GREENBLATT, A7
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Cream of crop
Bold Spoon wins $75K Arch Grant By Sylvester Brown, Jr. St. Louis American Arch Grants, a local nonprofit dedicated to attracting and retaining “extraordinary entrepreneurs” to the St. Louis region, recently announced the winners of its 2024 “Startup Competition” who were awarded a total of $1.7 million in grants. This year’s winners represent a wide range of industries including Art Tech, medical and biochemical research,
educational innovation, AI, robotic and agricultural technology, and much more. Readers of the St. Louis American may be familiar with one $75,000 Arch Grant awardee, Rachel Burns, founder of Bold Spoon Creamery. In 2022, it chronicled Burns and her husband Corey Wilkinson’s journey from making fresh-batch ice cream for friends and family out of their University City home in 2017, to selling their products door-to-door during the
BUSINESS
Estel Foods expands McDonald’s franchise portfolio to St. Charles The store, located 2321 Upper Bottom Road, is the 26th store in James E. ‘Jimmy’ Williams Jr.’s portfolio. This year also marks his 26th year as a McDonald’s franchisee.
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pandemic in 2020. The product is now on the respective shelves of local businesses and tourist sites including SmokeHouse Market in Chesterfield, and Fresh Thyme Market at the City foundry Straub’s, Schnucks, CITYPARK, Enterprise Center and the Dome at America’s Center. In 2021, Burns and Wilkinson sold their home and bought a 57-acre farm
See BOLD SPOON, A6
Metro Boomin celebrates single moms By Kenya Vaughn The St. Louis American When music superstar Metro Boomin began presenting Christmas giveaways to benefit single mothers and their children, he was hardly a household name. One of the first of them was held in the multipurpose room of the Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church, a small but mighty congregation located across from Reliable Funeral Home in Midtown. “One day, We’re gonna do this at The Dome,” Metro said. The North County native, born Leland Tyler Wayne, was emerging as one of the hottest producers on the Atlanta hip hop scene. But he was still early in his career. In fact, Metro was barely out of his teens. Less than a decade later, Metro presented his Single Moms Are The Real Superheroes Holiday Soiree at Stifel
See MOMS, A6
SPORTS
It’s showtime at Midwest Showdown Shootout
The Midwest Showdown Shootout, a top early-season high school basketball showcase, will tip off on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, at Ritenour High School.
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