A major water resources bill approved Wednesday by the U.S. Senate calls for more public-private partnerships in river and harbor infrastructure, speeding up environmental reviews and studying ways to maintain Mississippi River navigation during severe droughts and floods.
Missouri and Illinois U.S. senators are among the 67 urging the White House to “take direct action” to end the disturbing backlog in processing veterans’ disability claims. In the VA's central region, the Chicago office has the highest and the St. Louis office the fifth-highest percentage of disability claims pending for more than 125 days.
As the Senate moved toward approving the “marketplace fairness” bill that aims to help states force online retailers to collect sales taxes, Missouri backers agreed that plan would require action from the state Legislature to have much impact in the state. Illinois is closer to enforcing collection of state sales tax in some cases.
In a severe blow to the campaign after the Sandy Hook mass shooting to tighten the nation’s gun control laws, the Senate on Wednesday defeated a bipartisan compromise on background checks and defeated a proposal to ban assault weapons.
A bipartisan proposal on the thorny issue of background checks – proposed by four senators, including U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. – may help pave the way for votes on the first major gun legislation in a decade. A key Senate vote comes Thursday.
With speeches, ads and new vote ratings, advocates of new laws to stem gun violence are trying to turn up the pressure this week on GOP lawmakers who are trying to block action on gun control. A cloture vote has been scheduled for Thursday to block a possible filibuster.
With federal funds shrinking but river commerce rising, Illinois lawmakers want to jump-start major infrastructure projects – such as rebuilding key locks and dams on the Mississippi River – by allowing public-private partnerships. Another bill would give the Army Corps more leeway to maintain navigation during droughts, floods.
After nearly three months of debate following the mass shooting of first graders at a Connecticut school, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday will start the process of determining what legislation is feasible in the effort to deter gun violence.
Two months after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook School in Connecticut -- and a month after the White House proposed initiatives to lessen gun violence -- prospects in Congress for significant gun control legislation remain in doubt.
An aggressively optimistic President Barack Obama urged Congress Tuesday night to tackle an ambitious domestic agenda that included raising the minimum wage, reforming immigration and gun laws, revamping the tax code, improving education and addressing climate change.
gun control · gun violence · Second Amendment · Tornadoes · missouri taxes · Veterans · Mississippi River flood control · Gas prices · Energy policy · Keystone pipeline
Dick Durbin · Claire McCaskill · Roy Blunt · Roy Blunt · Barack Obama · John Shimkus · Ann Wagner · Bill Enyart · Gabrielle Giffords
Mississippi River · Harrisburg, Ill. · Chicago · Scott Air Force Base · Newtown, Conn. · Missouri River
U.S. Congress · Federal Emergency Managment Administration · FEMA · Army Corps of Engineers · National Rifle Association
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Meeting in St. Louis next week, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will have its first opportunity as an assembled group to consider what to do after the Vatican issued a mandate for change this spring. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.
When a family of four goes to the St. Louis Zoo, they can be forgiven for not knowing it will cost them $60, $72 if they park. If they can't pay, the alternative is to tell the kids they can't do what kids do at the zoo.
Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley gave reporters less than a half-hour’s notice today when he announced that conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh’s sculptured bust will be formally installed in the Capitol at 1 p.m.
Developers on the south side come in all shapes and sizes, with ambitions that vary from single buildings to entire city blocks. In the first of a two-part story, Jason Deem talks about building community.
Author M.M. Costantin, who has lived near the Loop for more than 40 years, compiled a photo book that shows Delmar when it was bustling, when it was dangerous and when it came back to life.
They arrived four years ago as fifth-graders, behind in their work and not used to rigorous classes, but they've advanced rapidly and have a strong academic grounding for high school.
The Beacon's Mary Delach Leonard and Rob Koenig extensively covered flooding in 2011 in Missouri. Now this coverage is compiled in an iBook. Read the stories.
This year’s 13th Shakespeare Festival production is a lucky one for local orchestra ensemble “The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra," chosen to compose the music for "Twelfth Night."
“We speak in old language in a new witty way with contemporary feel,” Sean Curran said about the OTSL production of "Pirates of Penzance," which is set in the 1870s. Much of the Gilbert and Sullivan satire, however, focuses on still-relevant human foibles, government officials’ ineptitude and opera excesses.
The feeling is openness, with soaring, airy spaces planned for easy and logical circulation and planned to reveal art not only to its best advantage but also appropriately and respectfully. Still, the building is notable more for its architectural reticence than its audacity.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Developers on the south side come in all shapes and sizes, with ambitions that vary from single buildings to entire city blocks. In the first of a two-part story, Jason Deem talks about building community.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Twenty winners will split a million dollars and a wide array of professional services after this year's Arch Grants competition. Victors will also see one-on-one business mentoring in their prize package. The diverse group includes everything from biotech concerns to fashion enterprises.
Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are on the rise in St. Louis, especially in bioscience, technology and alternative energy. The Beacon's InnovationSTL section focuses on the people who are part of this wave, what they're doing and how this is shaping our future. To many St. Louisans, this wave is not yet visible. InnovationSTL aims to change that. We welcome you to share your knowledge, learn more about this vibrant trend and discuss its impact.
The Academy of Science-St. Louis hosts tours of EarthDance, an organic farm, and the Monsanto Agronomics and Breeding Facility May 21-22. The workshop is meant to prompt discussion and answer questions about these two competing philosophies of food production.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Vernon Bowman's challenge to Monsanto Co.'s patent on its Roundup Ready soybean seeds was billed as a David vs. Goliath contest. Goliath won and won big. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an Indiana soybean farmer had violated Monsanto's patent on its genetically engineered soybean seeds.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
Paying professors less, increasing online courses and raising class size might make the bill cheaper, but the value of the degree will be less, as well. It's not that there are no solutions, but the easy ones create their own problems.
When the Civil War broke out, Grant rejoined the military. He may not have liked it, but it was what he was good at: fighting. The battle that cemented his reputation began 150 years ago yesterday.
Democracy is our answer to perhaps our most difficult ethical problem: How do we ethically protect the social cooperation that makes our society strong, while respecting the rights of individuals to pursue vastly divergent visions of the good life and deeply conflicting moral and political beliefs?
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.