A group of neighbors are threatening legal action against the out-of-state owners of the old St. Alexius hospital campus in south St. Louis if the problems plaguing the property aren’t taken care of in 60 days. The letter from the neighbors accuses property owners Jeffrey Ahlholm and Lawrence Feigen of “willfully and maliciously” abandoning the buildings of the Jefferson campus of the shuttered hospital near Cherokee Street and Jefferson Avenue. The letter says the two men left a significant amount of valuable machinery and medical equipment on the premises, turning the eleven buildings into a haven for squatters and burglars.
This story was commissioned by the River City Journalism Fund Ta’janette Sconyers, a psychologist hired to work with youth at the St. Louis Juvenile Detention Center, found herself grappling with her own anxiety and despair over conditions inside the facility. It got so bad that she took a leave to protect her mental health.
What doesn’t kill you tastes amazing — and may still be dangerous. St. Louis Bread Co., better known as Panera to the rest of the world, announced that the chain will phase out its controversial (but again, delicious) charged lemonade following two highly publicized deaths of people who’d consumed the beverage. College students facing finals (and exhausted journalists everywhere) can still buy the drink, but not for long.
Student organizers are urging actress Jennifer Coolidge to skip Washington University’s commencement ceremony in protest of how the university responded to Pro-Palestine protests on campus. Coolidge was selected by the university to be the keynote speaker at graduation on Monday. Now, activists with Resist Wash U and the St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee have published a video montage on social media pleading with her to boycott the ceremony.
A second person is now facing charges stemming from a burglary spree that occurred over two nights in April involving smash and grabs at 11 south St. Louis businesses. Glenn Ray, 21, was hit with 31 felony and misdemeanor charges on Friday. His alleged co-conspirator in the burglaries, Leslie James, 18, was charged two weeks ago, done in by the fact that he allegedly committed the crimes while wearing an ankle monitor.
One week after the RFT broke news about infighting within the nine-person group tasked with re-imagining the charter for the City of St. Louis, the chairwoman of the group was removed from her position after a vote of no confidence by the other members. Last week, the RFT reported that five members of the Charter Commission had sent Chairwoman Jazzmine Nolan-Echols an email calling on her to apologize for comments she made during an April meeting to Christine Ingrassia, director of operations for the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and a non-voting member of the Charter Commission. At yesterday's meeting, the chair’s removal was begun by commission member Travis Sheridan, who initially called on Nolan-Echols to resign.
Randy Heisner and Chuck Powers, who hope to open a new bar on South Kingshighway in a few months, have the perfect origin story for two would-be saloon keepers: For 20 years, they hung out together at the bar that used to be located on site. For pretty much their entire friendship, the bar was Cotter's Sports Bar, a low-key St. Louis neighborhood spot at 4610 South Kingshighway in Bevo Mill. As Heisner tells it, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the bar's longtime owner sold it, but the new owner wasn't able to make it work.
St. Louis’ favorite Filipino barbecue fusion restaurant is set to become even more of a permanent fixture in town. The concept, run by husband and wife Charlene Lopez-Young and Darren Young, is working on opening a brick-and-mortar storefront at 3405 South Jefferson. “It feels really good but really scary at the same time,” Lopez-Young says.
Renowned environmental activist Erin Brockovich wrote a letter to members of a key Missouri Senate committee, urging them to vote against a bill that she says would grant immunity to pesticide manufacturers. Brockovich’s letter to the Missouri Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee addresses House Bill 2763, saying she’s “gravely concerned” about the harm it could cause. The bill has already passed the Missouri House and is scheduled to be heard in executive session with the committee today.
Before there were theories about the devastating effects of social media or video games or Tide Pods on young brains, there was one about comic books. “Back in the day, Dr. [Fredric] Wertham was really good about scaring parents about what appeared in comics,” says William Harroff. “He decided comic books are responsible for juvenile delinquency in my generation, the Baby Boom generation.”
After a soft opening this past weekend, Good Company (4317 Manchester Avenue) officially opened for business on April 30 in the former Layla space in the Grove. The cocktail bar and restaurant is co-owned by Jordan Goodman and Kyle Gillespie, who also own Good Ice, a local company that specializes in boutique custom ice cubes and sculptures. So, yes, there’s some impressive ice-trickery here. It’s hard to miss the ice sculpture, which changes nightly (naturally) and sits center stage behind the bar.
The realization that Nachomama’s (9643 Manchester Road, Rock Hill; nachomamas-stl.com) turns 30 this year is a bit like being told you’re three decades older than you thought you were. Because part of me is still back there in the mid-1990s, waiting in some old banger in the drive-thru line for cheese quesadillas and a margarita for the road. But it’s true: The beloved Rock Hill Tex-Mex restaurant – the one with peppers and onions painted on its roof – celebrated its birthday on April 17.
On and off the field, Battlehawks quarterback Manny Wilkins Jr. is five. Or, make that 5IVE. “Everything in my life kind of revolves around five,” he explains.
A Missouri woman’s lawsuit against one tech company worth billions of dollars is being bankrolled by another tech company worth billions of dollars. As it so happens, both firms were founded by the same St. Louis native. Chloe Happe, a resident of Lincoln County, Missouri, says in her lawsuit filed in federal court last week that she was wrongfully terminated from her job at payments processing company Block (formerly Square) because of “constitutionally protected speech” she made on X (formerly Twitter).
Are you an employee of Washington University looking for a paid gig after-hours that would allow you to rub elbows with the school’s boys in blue while also tattling on protestors? Well, the university has the perfect opportunity for you. In an email allegedly sent to a group of university employees and subsequently leaked to the RFT, Wash U’s marketing & communications department says it has “a pretty urgent need” for one to two people who would be willing to “embed” with the Washington University Police Department to take video of tonight’s protest, which is planned for the edge of campus.
Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance Part 1 & Part 2 is a brilliant exploration of the legacy of AIDS on the lives and communal history of gay men. Last week, Tesseract Theatre Company stunned audiences with the beautifully connected and performed Part 1. This week, Director Stephen Peirick and an exceptional cast complete the story with a truly unforgettable and affecting Part 2, the St. Louis premiere of the heartfelt and moving conclusion.
Last month, on April 16, the Saint Louis Zoo (1 Government Drive, stlzoo.org) welcomed a female Grevy zebra foal — Roxie. The adorable foal, who weighed 95.8 pounds at birth, was the first ever animal born at the Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park, a safari park under development in north county. “This is both a joyful and historic moment for WildCare Park," said Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Park Director Sabarras George in a statement.
Ahead of commencement and in the aftermath of a Pro-Palestine protest and 100 arrests, Washington University says it plans to fence in its campus and increase security. The fence could be seen being erected around parts of campus this morning. In an email sent to employees and students, the university says it will change how its Danforth campus can be accessed.
Slumlord Dara Daugherty took the stand earlier this week in St. Louis Circuit Court and testified that she had relinquished one of her most problematic properties, a home on Virginia Avenue in Tower Grove East. But in an order issued yesterday, Judge Jason Sengheiser indicated he has some doubts about that. He wrote that after careful examination of Daugherty’s testimony, her demeanor and the other evidence presented in court, he finds her testimony of having sold the property “not credible.”
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