Missouri starts processing Medicaid expansion applications
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St. Louis American See page A12
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CAC Audited OCTOBER 7 – 13, 2021
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Black community plans to challenge McKee
Vol. 93 No. 28 COMPLIMENTARY
2021 Salute to Education
Diggs named Stellar Performer in Education
Urban League VP helping give kids a Head Start
Sophie Hurwitz The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Former Homer G. Phillips nurse Zenobia Thompson speaks to a group gathered at the Southside Senior Center Sept. 30, 2021 about trying to stop an urgent care facility near the site of the new NGA from continuing to be named after Atty. Homer G. Phillips whose name was on the legendary former hospital in The Ville neighborhood.
Recalcitrant developer ducks reporter’s inquiry By JoAnn Weaver The St. Louis American The movement to strip a three-bed health facility of the name Homer G. Phillips is gaining momentum - and developer Paul McKee apparently knows it. A St. Louis American reporter on Wednesday asked McKee for a comment on his use of the name, and was directed to speak to his attorney. Community leaders gathered at the Southside Wellness Center on Sept. 30 to protect the cherished Homer G. Phillips name. “We thought it was wrong for Paul McKee to place Phillips’ name on a three-bed hospital and we felt it was wrong for him to disgrace such a powerful leader who is responsible for so many Black doctors and nurses,”
said Ollie Stewart, the meeting’s organizer. Nurses, developers, and other leaders who attended are insistent that the past effects their action against developer Paul McKee. Zenobia Thompson, a retired Homer G. Phillips Hospital nurse and activist, said a St. Louis American article on a panel discussion at Saint Louis University, where the use of Homer G. Phillips’ name was sharply criticized and sparked reaction, drew much community response. “People were concerned, so Ms. Ollie agreed to set up a meeting and we worked to reach out to community members and representatives,” Thompson said. “We will proceed with strategizing on what we feel
n “We thought it was wrong for Paul McKee to place Phillips’ name on a three-bed hospital and we felt it was wrong for him to disgrace such a powerful leader who is responsible for so many Black doctors and nurses.” – Ollie Stewart
See McKEE, A7
NGA neighbors will have say in nearby development
SLDC executive director: public input to be sought By Karen Robinson-Jacobs The St. Louis American Residents in the ”highly distressed” neighborhoods near the $1.7 billion under-construction facility for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will be polled starting in the coming weeks about what type of ancillary development will best serve the needs of the residents and its newest occupant. Neal Richardson, executive director of the St. Louis Development Corporation, spoke about seeking public input, and about guarding against displacing current residents, at a panel discussion Wednesday at The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s 2021 Symposium at the America’s Center. The four-day gathering held this week has been described as the largest annual gathering of geospa-
See NGA, A6
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
As construction continues on the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, it was announced Wednesday that residents and business owners in nearby neighborhoods will have input into what type of development should be built.
Dr. Gwendolyn Diggs has spent the past 26 years following her calling to work on education, educating children of all ages throughout those 26 years. She has worked in administration in Jennings School District, Ferguson-Florissant School District, and the National Institute for School Leadership in Washington, DC. On Friday, November 5, Diggs will receive the 2021 Stellar Performer in Education Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Award Virtual Gala. In addition to the celebration of outstanding educators, the foundation and its partners will award over $2 million Dr. Gwendolyn in education grants and Diggs college scholarships to high-potential, local students of color during the virtual gala. Diggs began her most recent role as the vice president of Head Start/Early Head Start for the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis in 2019. That means she has spent a large portion of her tenure there helping very young children — some of them too young to even be asked to wear masks regularly — begin to grow up during COVID-19. See DIGGS, A6
Steward again lands on Forbes 400 list $5.8B net worth ranks him 182nd
St. Louis American staff David Steward, co-founder and chairman of St. Louis-based World Wide Technology, was listed as No. 182 on The Forbes 400 list, with a net worth of $5.8 billion, up from $3.7 billion last year. Forbes used stock prices from September 3, 2021 to calculate net worths for the list. More than twice as many people joined The Forbes 400 this year compared to last year, with nearly two-thirds of them making their fortunes in finance David and technology. There are Steward 44 new names on the list, which now requires a minimum net worth of $2.9 billion, up $800 million from a year ago. For the prior three years, the cutoff had been $2.1 billion. Fifty-one billionaires dropped off the ranking, including Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey—both were overtaken by other billionaires. Winfrey first appeared on The Forbes 400 in 1995, with a net worth of $340 million. Today she owns $2.6 billion worth of real estate, Weight Watchers stock, the See STEWARD, A7