Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalSt. Louis-area students want to read challenged books to understand race in America
Mya Walker reads two or three books a month. She enjoys literature that depicts unfamiliar experiences, particularly by authors of color or those who are LGBTQ.
The Francis Howell North High School senior said the works offer lessons in life that teachers or parents may not know how to discuss with their students or children.
“The next couple books that I plan on reading are 'The Bluest Eye' by Toni Morrison and some of the books that are being challenged,” Walker said. “I just really enjoy reading things that are new and different to me; it’s really, really important.”
According to the American Library Association, the novel by Morrison, a Nobel Prize laureate, is one of the 10 most challenged books of 2021. Some people want the book removed from school library shelves because they say it contains sexually explicit content and describes child sexual abuse.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2022-04-21/st-louis-area-students-want-to-read-challenged-books-to-understand-race-in-america
Missouri Senate passes bill funding charter schools without using public school money
A bill funding Missouri’s charter schools using state money awaits another House vote after members of the Senate passed it on Wednesday.
Senators voted 29-5, with the bill receiving broader bipartisan support compared to the House version, which earned few Democratic votes.
Under the bill House members passed by a vote of 85-67 more than a month ago, millions in public school funds from both Kansas City and St. Louis Public Schools would have been used to fix a so-called “glitch” in the funding formula to make up the difference in charter school funding.
Charter schools, which are independent schools that receive state funding, are for now only located in St. Louis and Kansas City. Currently, public schools receive more money per student than charter schools.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-04-20/missouri-senate-passes-bill-funding-charter-schools-without-using-public-school-money
Missouri Senate candidates raise millions in run-up to August primary
The main contenders to succeed Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt are stocking up funds for the state’s wide-open August primary.
Based on campaign finance data from the beginning of January to the end of March, Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz added the most to his campaign account. That’s because the Sullivan Republican put another $1 million of his own money toward his election effort.
Not counting self-funding, Democrat Lucas Kunce raised the most money during the quarter — around $850,000. After spending more than $710,000, the Jefferson City native has about $942,000 in cash on hand. Because Democratic Senate contender Trudy Busch Valentine entered the contest late in the fundraising quarter, she didn’t file a campaign finance report.
Among the 21 Republicans who are seeking to replace Blunt, U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler brought in the most non-self-funding donations into her candidate account, with more than $497,000. That was more than Attorney General Eric Schmitt (about $480,000 raised), former Gov. Eric Greitens (roughly $378,000), Congressman Billy Long (about $215,000), Schatz (around $90,000 without his $1 million of self-funding) and attorney Mark McCloskey (more than $70,000).
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-04-20/senate-contenders-pile-up-funds-in-run-up-to-missouri-primary
Amazon faces two new lawsuits over deadly tornado at Edwardsville warehouse
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
Two more lawsuits have been filed against Amazon and the companies that oversaw the construction of the Amazon warehouse where six people died in a tornado in December in Edwardsville.
A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed on behalf of Deon January, the mother of the late DeAndre Morrow, according to a news release on Tuesday from the attorneys for January.
Morrow, 28, died when the warehouse walls and roof collapsed in an EF3 tornado packing winds of up to 150 mph on Dec. 10. The building is on Gateway Commerce Drive near the intersection of Interstate 255 and Interstate 270.
A previous wrongful-death lawsuit was filed earlier this year on behalf of Alice and Randy McEwen, the parents of 26-year-old Austin McEwen, who died in the tornado.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-04-20/amazon-faces-two-new-lawsuits-over-deadly-tornado-at-edwardsville-warehouse
How a gay St. Louis pastor triggered a war within the Presbyterian Church in America
Greg Johnson describes himself as a “gay atheist teenager” who fell for Jesus — and found himself at the center of evangelical Christianity’s internal battles over sexuality.
For nearly 20 years, Johnson has pastored Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, right across from Forest Park. He says he’s been gay and celibate the entire time. When he came out to his church, he said he received a standing ovation and shouts of “We love you, Greg” from congregants.
But since Johnson went public with his orientation in Christianity Today, pastors in his denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, have tried to banish clergy who identify as gay, even if they commit to celibacy.
Johnson has fought that. He says orientation is largely fixed — but believes there is still a place for people like him in conservative churches.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-04-20/how-a-gay-st-louis-pastor-triggered-a-war-within-the-presbyterian-church-in-america
Pritzker signs final first-term budget for state of Illinois ahead of re-election push
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed his final first-term budget into law Tuesday, a roughly $46 billion spending plan buoyed by pandemic-driven revenue windfalls and a current-year surplus that helped the state pay down debts and offer temporary tax relief.
Between the three budget-related bills signed Tuesday — House Bill 900, House Bill 4700 and Senate Bill 157 — as well as a supplemental appropriations bill Pritzker signed last month — Senate Bill 2803 — the plan includes $500 million beyond statutory requirements to the state’s beleaguered pension funds; $1 billion to the state’s “rainy day” fund which currently has a balance of just $27 million; and an estimated $1.8 billion in tax relief, much of which is temporary.
At a signing event at Chicago State University, Pritzker touted the spending plan as proof of his fiscal leadership as he seeks a second term, contrasting the three-plus years under his leadership with that of his Republican predecessor, Bruce Rauner.
“Do you remember just five years ago when our state was held hostage by the former governor and the majority of the Republican Party?” Pritzker asked rhetorically. “Violence interruption programs were destroyed. DCFS shutdown 500 residential beds for our state’s most vulnerable children. The developmentally disabled were forgotten. Our state’s unpaid backlog of bills piled up to nearly $17 billion and our state suffered eight credit downgrades while sending five of our universities into junk credit status.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-04-20/pritzker-signs-final-first-term-budget-for-state-of-illinois-ahead-of-re-election-push
Ballwin artist's Ukrainian Easter eggs are a hit
Katherine Alexander makes Ukrainian Easter eggs — and that’s earned her not only a huge following on TikTok, but also helped her raise more than $6,000 to help Ukraine.
But Alexander had neither thing in mind when she began getting serious about the art form. She’d learned how to make what’s called pysanky from her Polish mother, then put it behind her to focus on her career as a music educator. She spent nearly a decade as orchestra director for the Webster Groves School District.
Then, after leaving her job to take care of her children, she found herself with too much energy in the evenings. Returning to pysanky gave her something to do with her hands — and an outlet for her creative energy.
“About five years ago, that's when I started making them almost compulsively every night,” she recalled on Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air. “I had to get to 8 o'clock when the boys were tucked in and I could work on this art.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-04-18/ballwin-artists-ukrainian-easter-eggs-are-a-hit
Qatar's history: a rich past of heritage and archaeology
Qatar 365 has visited some of the Qatar’s most intriguing historical sites – from heritage houses, ancient forts to reconstructed palaces. But what are the challenges of telling the untold stories? And how can future generations benefit from lessons from the past?
Msheireb’s Heritage Houses
Four heritage houses as part of Msheireb Museums, showcase the foundation for the transformation of Qatar. Dating back to the early 20th century, they are part of the redevelopment of downtown Doha.
Bin Jelmood House aims to explain this social period throughout civilizations, as Msheireb Museums’ exhibitions manager, Fahad Al-Turky, explains, ‘part of the mission here is to honor the contribution the slave people made, their cultural and economic contributions, and to tell the history that is oftentimes not told in this part of the world.’
The public can also experience the house of the son of the founder of Modern Qatar as it unravels the story of the Msheireb area. At Radwani House one can explore traditional Qatari living and view the site of one of the first archeological digs in the city. Company House, home to the country’s very first oil company, unveils the changes after the discovery of oil and arrival of electricity.
https://www.euronews.com/2022/04/20/qatar-s-history-a-rich-past-of-heritage-and-archaeology
Six months on from elections, Iraqis frustrated by political deadlock
Six months on from elections that failed to deliver a new president or prime minister, Iraq remains in a state of complete political deadlock. A dispute between the two largest political blocs has led to a boycott of parliament, meaning quorum cannot be reached. Ordinary Iraqis are feeling the economic consequences of this standoff. FRANCE 24's Lucile Wasserman reports.
Long delays are typical when forming a government in Iraq – with power-sharing talks between political blocs typically lasting around five and a half months. But six months on from Iraq's last parliamentary elections, those discussions are simply not happening.
The biggest winner at the polls, Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, refuses to include his top rivals, an alliance of pro-Iran parties, in any forthcoming government.
Ordinary citizens are suffering from the fallout from this standstill. Construction manager Muhannad al-Asadi usually has 10 projects on the go on the outskirts of Baghdad, but the political situation has brought most of his work to a halt.
"Most of the funds for infrastructure projects for roads, sewage, electricity, etc. are all funded by the federal budget," al-Asadi said. "Since the government hasn’t been formed, the budget hasn’t been submitted, let alone approved."
https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20220419-six-months-on-from-elections-iraqis-frustrated-by-political-deadlock
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