Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalSt. Louis County police forces often don't reflect communities
About 67 percent of Ferguson’s residents are African-American, but only 7 percent of the city’s commissioned police officers are black.
That lopsided representation, brought to light after a black teen was killed by a white police officer two weeks ago, has city leaders pledging to try harder to improve race relations.
The disparity is common among communities in St. Louis County with significant black populations. Many police departments do not reflect the communities they serve.
No known agency tracks the racial makeup of police departments, so the Post-Dispatch contacted 36 St. Louis County police departments in cities where at least 10 percent of the population is African-American. In 30 of the 31 communities that responded, the percentage of black residents is higher than the proportion of black officers.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/st-louis-county-police-forces-often-don-t-reflect-communities/article_a29dc3e4-91bb-5cf5-9b30-9ebb95c5e1c6.html
In wake of Ferguson, McCaskill plans hearings on 'militarization' of police
WASHINGTON • Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Thursday she will hold hearings sometime in September "to examine the militarization of local police departments" in the wake of the police response in Ferguson after the shooting death of Michael Brown, 18, by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson.
It will be before an oversight subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs that McCaskill chairs.
McCaskill issued a statement Thursday saying the hearing will "examine federal programs that enable local police departments to acquire military equipment, such as the Defense Department's 1033 program for surplus property and grants made through the Department of Homeland Security." Local law enforcement officials will be among the witnesses, McCaskill's office said.
McCaskill last week urged the police response in Ferguson be "de-militarized." She has declined comment, including again on Thursday, on whether she agreed with Gov. Jay Nixon's decision to call in the National Guard, which occurred after McCaskill's call to demilitarize the police response.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/gateway-to-dc/in-wake-of-ferguson-mccaskill-plans-hearings-on-militarization-of/article_b4598857-df14-5925-b213-056ed7ea9160.html
U.S. House in June rejected attempt to pare military equipment to local police forces
WASHINGTON • The House of Representatives in June rejected a proposal to rein in a program to send excess military equipment to local police departments. The program has been criticized in connection with police response to demonstrations in Ferguson.
Five of six members of the House from the St. Louis area voted against an amendment to a Pentagon budget bill offered by Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., which failed by a vote of 355-62. Here is an analysis by the independent campaign donations oversight group MapLight of the vote, and of defense-industry donations to members of the House.
Among the members voting against it were Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, who has been among the most vocal critics of what he calls a "militarized" police response in the aftermath of the Aug. 9 police shooting death of Michael Brown, 18.
"The scenes that we saw in Ferguson, Missouri, this past week, with a militarized police force facing down innocent protesters with sniper rifles and machine guns is totally unacceptable in America," Clay told CNN on Sunday.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/u-s-house-in-june-rejected-attempt-to-pare-military/article_6e0a6abc-9aff-5cb0-81bd-9ec024417f0c.html
Of 163 arrests since shooting, 7 from Ferguson
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) -- Police records show that 163 arrests have been made in the Ferguson protest zone since the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, but just seven are residents of the St. Louis suburb.
Brown was killed Aug. 9 by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, spurring widespread protests, along with some rioting and looting.
St. Louis County spokeswoman Candace Jarrett provided information to The Associated Press on Thursday with the name, address and birth year of each person arrested, and the charges against them.
It shows that 128 people have been arrested for failure to disperse, 21 for burglary-related charges, four for assaulting police officers. Others were charged with crimes such as trespassing, peace disturbance and destruction of private property.
http://www.kmov.com/news/local/Of-163-arrests-since-shooting-7-from-Ferguson-272171341.html
Highway Patrol troopers fix basketball goal for Ferguson children
(KTVI) – With all the tension surrounding the shooting of Mike Brown in Ferguson, police haven’t gotten the best publicity.
But Wednesday was one of the more calm days in Ferguson. That was the day two Missouri State Highway Patrol Troopers went out of their way to help some kids in the community.
The troopers noticed a basketball goal without a net and no children around to play on it. So they went to Target and purchased a net and basketball with their own money.
Captain Ron Johnson said when the troopers came back and put the net up, children around the neighborhood came out, thanked them and started playing basketball. Johnson said the children were extremely grateful.
http://fox2now.com/2014/08/21/highway-patrol-troopers-fix-basketball-goal-for-ferguson-children/
Noranda Loses Bid To Obtain Lower Electrical Charge From Ameren
As expected, the Missouri Public Service Commission has blocked the effort by Noranda Aluminum Inc. to get its electrical bill cut by about 25 percent.
Ameren contended that the cut would have forced rate hikes for most other Missouri customers in the state.
The question now is whether Noranda’s parent company follows through with a threat to close the smelter, near New Madrid, Mo., and the largest non-agricultural operation in southeast Missouri. Noranda employs about 900 people.
The commission announced Wednesday that it voted unanimously, 5-0, to reject Noranda’s request to lower the rate it is charged to $30 a megawatt hour, down from the $41 a megawatt hour that it pays now.
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/noranda-loses-bid-obtain-lower-electrical-charge-ameren
Some Invisible Public Officials Have Actually Played A Role In Ferguson
Since the unrest in Ferguson began almost two weeks ago, some high-profile officials and candidates – including the nominees for St. Louis County executive – have seemed to be disengaged or no-shows.
But, in fact, several have been in Ferguson all along. They just haven't told the press or the public about it.
That’s particularly true of the two candidates for county executive, Democrat Steve Stenger and Republican Rick Stream. Each says he’s visited Ferguson at least four times.
“I just wanted to listen to people; I’ve tried not to get in front of the cameras,’’ said Stream. “I didn’t want to make it appear that I was trying to make some politically grandstanding act.”
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/some-invisible-public-officials-have-actually-played-role-ferguson
Relationship with cab companies could change with new union
San Francisco taxi drivers’ newly organized union joins a national alliance that is the first independent-contractor affiliate of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.
AFL-CIO members have traditionally come from employer-employee arrangements, seeking better wages, hours and conditions. This fight has different goals: the survival of an industry under siege.
The San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance was voted into formation by local cabdrivers Wednesday as a way to seek a greater political and legal leverage against Uber, Lyft and similar app-based ride services. Cab companies in The City that talked with The San Francisco Examiner following the union vote said they didn’t feel pitted against drivers in the labor effort — at least not yet.
http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/relationship-with-cab-companies-could-change-with-new-union/Content?oid=2877654
Attorney General Eric Holder in St. Louis
The United States Attorney General visited St. Louis and visited with leader to discuss Ferguson and the shooting of Michael Brown.
http://www.stltoday.com/gallery/news/multimedia/attorney-general-eric-holder-in-st-louis/collection_6b91b6d0-bc79-584f-9374-9a7543154c34.html#4
Photos at link from St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Target seeking to improve operations in U.S., Canada
Target Corp., Minneapolis, is taking steps to improve the performance of its U.S. and Canadian business segments following lower earnings and flattish sales during the second quarter ended Aug. 2, company executives told investors.
Some industry analysts said they expect more challenges for Target before things turn around.
“Target continues to struggle with retailing basics in both its U.S. and Canadian divisions," said Kelly Tackett, U.S. research director for Planet Retail, London. "In its home market, improving store-level execution and delivering newness and excitement in marketing and merchandising must be at the top of the to-do list.
http://supermarketnews.com/retail-financial/target-seeking-improve-operations-us-canada
I got a real kick out of the highlighted comment by Kelly Tackett, which said rather nicely, they don't have a clue as to what is going on in their stores.
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