Posted 10:49 a.m. Tues., 12.29.09 - Starting Jan. 1, it will be illegal in lllinois for all drivers to text and drive. In Missouri, a similar law bans texting while driving only for teens -- although some legislators would like to see a ban on all drivers. While there's no debate that distracted drivers can cause accidents, there is debate on just how many accidents and fatalities a texting ban will prevent. Traffic safety officials predict a decline.

Posted 2:42 p.m. Mon., 12.28.09 - Reena Hajat (right), the executive director of the Diversity Awareness Partnership, has won a number of local awards for her work in fostering mutual understanding across different races, cultures and religions. An appreciation of diversity seems to come naturally to Hajat, the daughter of a Muslim and Hindu, who grew up in Chicago.

Posted 4:34 p.m. Sun., 12.27.09 - Since being appointed St. Louis' chief of police little more than a year ago, Daniel Isom has had his hands full -- and not just with fighting crime. Perhaps just as important, Isom has been working to boost police morale and instill public confidence in a police department rocked by a towing scandal, police thefts and other unseemly developments. Isom discussed these and other issues in a recent Beacon interview.

Updated 11:22 a.m. Thurs., 12.24.09 - When columnist Sylvester Brown and the Post-Dispatch parted company in April, the two questions that immediately came to mind were: What will you do next? And do you plan to sue?  To take the second one first, Brown says that after conferring with attorneys, he decided not to take his departure to court.

Posted 2:29 p.m. Wed., 12.23.09 - In the wake of the arrest of a man distributing handbills against tax-increment financing for a north St. Louis development project, the ACLU has filed suit in federal court challenging a St. Louis law that bans such leafleting. The suit says that using handbills to spread a political message "is an efficient and cost-effective method" to reach people in a short amount of time. (Photo by Rachel Heidenry taken during the 2008 election)

Updated 12:06 p.m. Wed., 12.23.09 - Town and Country's pre-Christmas effort to reduce the number of deer was "extremely successfully completed," with 112 deer killed by sharpshooters and 100 more sterilized, Alderman Fred Meyland-Smith said. But with only $10,000 budgeted for next year for deer control, compared with $150,000 this year, he's not certain how well the program will be able to continue.

Posted 5:10 p.m. Mon., 12.21.09 - The St. Louis County Council took final action Monday to place a proposed one-half cent sales tax on the April ballot to provide more money for Metro, the region's financially strapped public transit system. The vote was 4-3, the same as last week's preliminary tally. If approved by the voters, the tax could raise up to $80 million a year, depending on the economy. Metro says some of the money would go to restoring cuts made last spring.

Posted 6:30 p.m. Sun., 12.20.09 - Nine months ago, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn called on lawmakers to hike the state income tax to ease severe budget problems. But they declined, and today the state's finances remain in turmoil, with no easy solution in sight. Now, with the Illinois legislature scheduled to resume in mid-January, what lawmakers might do to brighten the budget picture remains uncertain.

Posted 2:06 p.m. Wed., 12.16.09 -  On Thursday night, Dec. 17, Martin Duggan will sit in the provocateur's chair for his last "Donnybrook." The so-called DonnyBlast show will be aired from the Sheldon Concert Hall at 7 p.m. on KETC/Channel 9.

Earlier this year, the Beacon's Kristen Hare talked with Duggan and wrote a three-part profile.

Posted 10 p.m. Sun., 12.13.09 - Cecilia Nadal thinks of herself as a bit of a gypsy, gathering strands of this culture and that. That's probaby why the nonprofit organization she founded is called Gitana (Spanish for gypsy). Gitana uses music, dance and drama to promote diversity and global awareness. But Gitana is just the latest way that Nadal has worked to build bridges between people.