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Uneasy Street: Granite City

Laid-off steelworkers are 'ecstatic' as callbacks continue in Granite City

By Mary Delach Leonard, Beacon staff
Posted 5:23 am Fri., 6.19.09
The good news continues in Granite City, where about 600 laid-offsteelworkers will be back at work by Tuesday as the re-opened U.S.Steel plant continues to ramp up to make steel again. The mood of the workers is "ecstatic,'' said union president DanSimmons. U.S. Steel surprised the presidents of union localslast week with its unexpected decision to restart the idled plant,where 1,600 workers were laid off in December, followed by another 400in February.

Some Granite City steelworkers may be back on job next week

By Mary Delach Leonard, Beacon staff
Posted 12:07 pm Fri., 6.12.09
About 30 or 40 laid-off steelworkers should be back on the job early next week as U.S. Steel's Granite City Works plans to resume at least limited operations, according to the local United Steelworkers. Operations would begin at the plant as soon as possible. Maintenance workers will be among the first called back and should be notified over the weekend.

Hiring at new Granite City coke plant raises questions -- and hope -- for laid-off steel workers

By Mary Delach Leonard, Beacon staff

Posted 6:37 am Thu., 6.11.09

Word that SunCoke Energy has started to hire for its new coke-making facility in Granite City could mean little -- or everything -- to more than 2,000 laid-off workers from the idled U.S. Steel plant next door. U.S. Steel has a 15-year agreement to buy the coke and steam produced at the new plant. Does that mean that the U.S. Steel plant, and its laid-off workers, will be working again soon?

Granite City schools try to prepare students for a life beyond the steel mills

By Robert Joiner, Beacon staff

Posted 5:39 am Tue., 5.19.09

Harry Briggs, superintendent of the Granite City school district, was a high-school student there in the '60s when jobs at the steel mill were plentiful. Today, Briggs tries to make sure that Granite City students are educated for college and a variety of careers, while the district itself prepares to adjust to a future of decreasing tax revenue from the plant.

Lured by affordable housing, young people discover they can go back home

By Elia Powers, Beacon staff
Posted 6:57 am Thu., 5.14.09
With affordable homes, plenty of green space and easy access to St. Louis, Granite City is an attractive option for people wanting to start a family. Young people who grew up in Granite City, like Michael Halbrook (right), have decided to return to their home town to raise their families there.

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Editors' Picks

Nation
- Romney wins Nevada caucuses: The former Massachusetts governor tightened his claim to dominant front-runner status in what had been a turbulent Republican presidential race. | Washington Post
- Eight sailors discharged from the Navy after a hazing incident: They allegedly assaulted and choked a sailor as part of a rite to initiate the sailor into a new department. | AP
- Supreme Court throws out Texas redistricting map drawn by judges: Minority groups complained they were denied sufficient voting power by Republican lawmakers who sought to maximize GOP electoral gains. | AP
- After opposition grows, Senate delays vote on online piracy: Talks are expected to continue between the warring sides — Hollywood and content providers are on one side and Silicon Valley and the tech community on the other. | Politico
Region
- Sen. Kirk's condition upgraded to good as he continues recovery from stroke: The Illinois Republican watched the Super Bowl Sunday as he continues to visit with family and friends. | NilesPatch.com
- Opponents of Express Scripts-Medco merger, including big grocery chains, make their case to FTC: The agency is weighing whether it has enough evidence to stop the $29 billiion deal. | Reuters
- Kinloch's new city manager is parolee: Eric Mason left prison a year ago after serving time for writing bad checks. | STLtoday
- Joplin leaders endorse long-term recovery plan: It outlines projects that can be undertaken from housing to economic development affected by the catastrophic May 22 tornado. | Joplin Globe
World
- Prolonged stalemate between Fatah and Hamas ends: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will head a joint government that will prepare for new elections. | Washington Post
- Winner of 2010 Tour de France found guilty of doping, stripped of title: The Court of Arbitration for Sport also suspended Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador for two years. | LA Times
- U.S. closes embassy in Syria: As violence intensified, it pulled all diplomats and U.S. staff out of the country. | Washington Post
- Deadly cold snap cripples Europe: It has claimed nearly 300 lives, bringing air travel chaos to London and dumping snow as far south as Rome and even North Africa. | ABC
Econ.
- Home sales rise in December to their highest level since last January: Historically low mortgage rates and a pickup in employment may be giving Americans the confidence to purchase homes that have fallen in value. | Bloomberg
- New claims for jobless aid fall by 52,000, more than expected, to lowest level since April 2008: Another report showed the cost of living was little changed in December for a second month as stores cut prices to boost holiday sales. | Bloomberg
- Industrial output rises in December on strong manufacturing: Production increased 0.4 percent last month after falling 0.3 percent in November. | Reuters
- Wholesale prices drop unexpectedly in December: The producer price index fell 0.1 percent, the second decrease in the past three months. | Bloomberg
Edu.
- Nixon says Missouri universities should not make up lost state funding with big tuition hikes: He said they should try to keep increases at no more than annual cost of living. | AP/Springfield News-Leader
- Students in St. Joseph want to make jumping jacks the official state exercise of Missouri: They pressed a state representative to introduce the bill, saying it honors a Missouri war hero, John J. Pershing, reportedly, the inventor of the jumping jack. KBIA/KWMU
- Rockwood puts $43 million school bond issue on April ballot: Recent controversies in the district had derailed earlier plans to seek more financial support. | STLtoday
- Washington U. tuition rises 3.8 percent to $42,500 for next school year: Housing will also increase about 3.9 percent and meal plans by 2.7 percent. | Student Life

'The Road Show' improv

Brent Jones | St. Louis Beacon

This Saturday was the debut of a new show by The Improv Shop that will bring out of town improv teams to St. Louis to play for — and with — a local audience. The Road Show brought teams "Everybody Grok" and "Felt" from Chicago.

We talked to Eric Christensen, producer of the Road Show and member of local improv team "Ted Dangerous"; Katie Nunn, member of "Ted Dangerous" and improv coach; and Melanie Penn and Ranjan Khan, members of local teams "Melanj" and "Magic Ratio"; about the St. Louis improv scene and why it's important to welcome teams from other cities to perform here.

See a larger version of the slideshow

Topics

Will record flood of 2011 lead to changes in Mississippi River management

Beacon Washington correspondent Robert Koenig looks at past efforts to control the Mississippi and why the 2011 floods might lead planners in a new direction. Read more about St. Louis and disasters.

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Voices

'Real' TV from Snooki to Mitt

M.W. Guzy fears his daughters' affection for trash TV might have been genetically inherited, as he finds himself drawn to the anybody-but-Mitt show, playing on a loop on cable "news' channels.
Letter from Honduras: Family in December

Miguel Dulick recounts a trans-Honduras tour that, again, reminded him of the power and joy of keeping siblings and parents connected.
A speech business leaders won't give

Ken Schechtman says that publicly traded business will not -- perhaps cannot -- put doing the right thing ahead of legally maximizing profits.

Beacon Roundtable

Roundtable for Feb. 2 - Missouri Primary, redistricting, a Komen controversy and fighting crime with moneyball

In this week's Beacon Roundtable, Dick Weiss, Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies, Robert Joiner and Dale Singer sit down to talk about the Missouri primary and redistricting, the controversy around…
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Beacon Blog

We apologize for the inconvenience

Editor Margaret Wolf Freivogel says the problems that froze the Beacon's site in the past are being fixed: Thank you for your patience.
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On chess

Women's world champion cruises in Gibraltar

Ben Finegold checks out the women's play at the Tradewise Gilbraltar Chess Congress, particularly the chess played by 17-year-old Hou Yifan of China.

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