Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalMissouri court upholds PSC's renewable energy rules
A Missouri appeals court on Tuesday upheld Public Service Commission rules outlining how the state’s renewable energy law is implemented.
The opinion from the Western District Court of Appeals reverses a lower court order concerning the impact of the green power mandate on electric rates. Earlier this year, a Cole County Circuit Court judge had declared the rules “unlawful and unreasonable” and remanded the matter back to the PSC.
Tuesday’s court decision is a victory both for the PSC, which spent months developing the rules, and renewable energy advocates, who filed a brief on the commission’s behalf.
Henry Robertson, a lawyer representing Renew Missouri, said the lower court ruling could have had a “crippling effect” on efforts to advance green power in the state if it had been upheld.
http://www.stltoday.com/print/business-section/f3c9a503-cb8f-5baa-baf4-3b29f4eade13.html
Mo. Supreme Court Expands Public Sector Collective Bargaining
The Missouri Supreme Court has ruled that not only must public bodies like school boards and cities collectively bargain with their employee unions, but that bargaining must be done in good faith.
The Court issued two rulings Tuesday - one dealing with unionized teachers at a St. Louis charter school, and the other dealing with police officers in University City and Chesterfield who wanted to unionize.
"Essentially, they're complete victories for the labor side," said Bruce Feldacker, a labor attorney who is an adjunct professor at Saint Louis University law school. "There's no question that governmental employers have a much clearer duty to bargain in good faith to teach and agreement now than was the status before these two rulings."
The ruling in the police officer case overturned 55 years of precedent. In a 5-1 decision, the Court ruled that Article I, Section 29 of the state constitution imposes on public bodies the duty to bargain with its employees with the intent of reaching an agreement. An earlier ruling from 1957 said that Article I, Section 29 means that employers cannot block employees from organizing, but do not have to negotiate with the union.
http://www.news.stlpublicradio.org/post/mo-supreme-court-expands-public-sector-collective-bargaining
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announces plea in mortgage forgery case
JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced a plea deal today in a high-profile mortgage forgery case.
Lorraine Brown, president of DocX — a Florida-based document processor that assisted lenders with thousands of mortgages — will be sentenced to two to three years in prison for charges of forgery, perjury and making a false declaration.
According to Koster, Brown instructed employees who were not authorized to sign mortgage documents to sign the names of others who were authorized.
“Surrogate-signing crosses the threshold into criminal activity,” Koster said. “This agreement brings to justice the person most responsible for these activities and upholds the principle that when you sign your name to a legal document, it matters.”
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/5c085c99-3902-5528-9188-76e12480718e.html
For those tasked with taking the Thanksgiving Day Photos this may be of interest
This is a wonderful opportunity for great family pictures. After all, this may be your only chance all year to photograph the entire family together from the newest baby to great grandmother. But if you want to transform your so-so snapshots into memorable Thanksgiving photographs for the family album, here are a few simple guidelines to follow.
The most important guideline is to know exactly what you want to be the subject of each picture. If it's Great Grandmother, when you look through the viewfinder make sure that she's the most important thing in the frame and try to eliminate anything that distracts from her. If the subject is the carved turkey, do the same for it.
The second key element to capture in your Thanksgiving photograph is the spirit of the occasion, and we have already defined the spirit of Thanksgiving as family and togetherness.
http://www.photographytalk.com/photography-articles/1786-how-to-capture-thanksgiving-with-your-camera
Barge industry warns of crippling water woes on Mississippi River
ST. LOUIS • Barge industry leaders on Friday renewed their warnings of far-reaching economic losses in the Midwest if water levels on the Mississippi River continue to drop to levels that disrupt shipping.
Severe drought conditions coupled with the reduced flows expected from the upper Missouri River later this month have prompted the American Waterway Operators and the Waterways Council to warn that river commerce could come to a standstill by early December.
“Slowing down or severing the country’s inland waterway superhighway would imperil the shipment of critical cargo for export, significantly delay products needed for domestic use, threaten manufacturing production and power generation, and negatively impact jobs up and down the river,” said Craig Philip, chief executive officer at Ingram Barge Co., based in Nashville, Tenn.
Philip and other industry officials spoke during a Friday morning news conference in St. Louis, alongside Maj. Gen. John W. Peabody, commander of the Mississippi Valley Division of the Army Corps of Engineers, and Rear Adm. Roy A. Nash, commander of the Coast Guard’s 8th District.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/609d1e7f-70de-513d-a90e-cfc7d1aaef2c.html
R.I.P. St. Louis Hostess Plant; Most Delicious Field Trip EVER!
Interesting blog post on closing of St. Louis Hostess PlantIt was with a heavy heart (and a sweet tooth of nostalgia) that I read news yesterday of Hostess Brands closing its St. Louis bakery. Apparently the maker of Wonder bread and Twinkies is in bankruptcy (How is that possible? Are we not still a nation of fat asses?!) and has promised to close any bakery where workers honor a labor strike.
That threat proved real on Monday after St. Louis employees refused to cross the picket line. Some 365 local employees of the factory will lose their jobs. And while that is extremely unfortunate for the workers and their families, the fourth-grader in me cannot help but think of the thousands of St. Louis kids with no connection to the bakery other than this: For generations the Hostess plant was the most kick-ass school field trip ever.
I still vividly recall my trip to the plant on North Broadway. I'd spent my entire elementary school career waiting for that moment. Older kids at the bus stop had gloated about it since I was in kindergarten. And now I had arrived. My classmates and I were finally old enough to -- as a friend put it at the time -- "go to the place where Ding Dongs are made."
more at link.
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/gutcheck/2012/11/st_louis_hostess_plant_closes.php
Raley's, Nob Hill Reach Agreement with Union
The nine-day strike against Raley’s and Nob Hill stores ended today when a tentative agreement was reached between Raley’s management and United Food and Commercial Workers – UFCW 8-Golden and UFCW Local 5 - in Northern and Central California. The agreement, which will not be made public until it is ratified by union members, ends 15 months of negotiations between the two sides.
"This is very exciting because this contract provides us with the cost savings we need to fund our vision and the initiatives to make us more competitive in the 21st Century," said Mike Teel, president of West Sacramento-based Raley's. "I greatly appreciate the incredible effort put forth by our employees and company during this time as well as thank the many customers who continued to support us. As one of the last large family-owned grocery chains, it will be great to have everyone back working again."
http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/industry-intelligence/id36689/raley-s-nob-hill-reach-agreement-with-union/
Hostess Closing St. Louis Facility, Two Others, Following Strike
Hostess Brands Inc. is permanently closing three bakeries following a nationwide strike by its bakers union.
The Texas-based maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs says the strike has prevented it from producing and delivering products.
Hostess warned earlier this month that the strike, by about 30 percent of its workforce, could lead to bakery closures. It said Monday that it will close bakeries in Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati that collectively employ 627 workers. The company has about 18,300 employees.
Thousands of members of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union went on strike earlier this month to protest wage and benefit cuts. Officials say the company stopped contributing to workers' pension last year. The union rejected the company's contract offer in September
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/hostess-closing-st-louis-facility-two-others-following-strike
It's Sesame Street Day!
1969 – National Educational Television (the predecessor to the Public Broadcasting Service) in the United States debuts the children's television program Sesame Street.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_Street
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