St. Louis Observer: July 29, 2022
Flash floods twice this week cause regional damage; Lux Living tenants seek help with slumlords; City polling places for Aug. 2 Election Day changed
Editor’s Note
This week, St. Louis experienced a “1,000 year flood.” In a matter of minutes, parts of every interstate in the region sat under feet of water. Cars and dumpsters alike floated down residential streets. Rushing water flowed over commuter train tracks and main thoroughfares. Boats rescued residents trapped in their homes, some by up to seven feet of water in neighborhoods in North and South County. What our region witnessed was, in no simpler terms, a climate disaster.
Two days later, heavy rains returned and more of our region flooded, the ground still saturated from the previous storm.
Since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans nearly 17 years ago, we have watched natural disaster after natural disaster impact communities of color more frequently and with more intensity than white neighborhoods. Even the delivery of federal aid favors white disaster survivors over Black and Latino disaster survivors.
The St. Louis Floods of 2022 have shown to be no different.
At the time of publishing, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has failed to request help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the last necessary step to open up funding, staff, and other resources to those impacted by the flood. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and County Executive Sam Page signed their respective executive orders to request federal support on Tuesday. Federal assistance cannot be deployed until that formal request has been submitted by the governor, who has been meeting with European fossil fuel executives as two of Missouri’s largest counties struggle with extreme weather events caused by climate change.
In the meantime, resources that are more immediately available are being compiled and shared by cities & municipal governments.
Some of the effects of climate change are now irreversible, and even if every person on the planet significantly changed their personal habits, there would still be little impact on rising temperatures and extreme weather events. Less than 100 corporations are responsible for more than ⅔ of all carbon emissions - the largest driver of global warming.
With no plans by Congress, the Missouri Legislature, or the St. Louis Board of Aldermen to act on the obvious arrival of climate change, the need to support the critical advocacy work of environmental justice groups has never been greater. The Sierra Club of Missouri, the Sunrise Movement, and the St. Louis DSA Green New Deal Caucus are just a few grassroots organizations that have been working to organize around tangible actions that cities can take to help minimize the impacts of climate change: replacing lead water pipes, establishing greener systems of mass public transit, building bike lanes, and phasing out fossil fuel infrastructure.
But something must be done - and fast. In the span of 48 hours, parts of our region saw more than 12” of rain, and climate experts are telling us that this is our “new normal.” We may not be able to stop climate change, but mitigation - especially after this week - may still be able to save lives.
In the News
Police, prosecutorial, and judicial accountability
The Sunset Hills police chief has joined a growing list of law enforcement officials who have been arrested for intoxicated driving this summer. Chief Stephen Dodge was arrested in June by Missouri Highway Patrol for driving a boat at Lake of the Ozarks while intoxicated. St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar was pulled over for drunk driving in Camden County, also near the Lake, and Hazelwood Police Chief Gregg Hall was pulled over for drunk driving in O’Fallon. None of the three men have been criminally charged for their intoxicated driving. [Riverfront Times/Ryan Krull]
Economic development & housing
MetroLink has closed parts of both the red and blue lines after this week’s extreme flooding caused damage to the light rail tracks, communications systems, and signals at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station. Although MetroLink is providing shuttles between stations, alternative transportation is not an option for all regular MetroLink riders and the timeline for restoration of service is unclear. [Riverfront Times/Benjamin Simon]
Robinson Farms NxtGen, Missouri’s largest Black-owned resort has opened, including five separate venues across 95 acres of rolling hills and farmland around Cape Girardeau. “Land producing something or providing the ability for you to do something, that’s where you begin your wealth,” said Drucella Robinson-Perkins, one of 12 siblings who co-own the estate. [St. Louis American/Ashley Winters]
Members of the Raphael Apartments Renters’ Association are seeking City and state intervention at the Lux Living-owned apartment building, where the heat & hot water routinely go out, the elevator frequently breaks, and water leaks create massive holes in the ceiling between floors. Ownership has repeatedly refused to respond to residents’ complaints of elevated lead levels found in child tenants, raw sewage coming up through kitchen sinks, and other habitability issues. Lux Living’s status as a slumlord has now threatened its ability to seek future financial assistance from the City on its development projects. [Riverfront Times/Benjamin Simon]
Further reading
Voters are urged to check & confirm the locations of their polling places, ahead of Tuesday’s election. A number of polling locations have changed following redistricting, and the new voter ID law (requiring photo identification) is not in effect for the August 2 primary. [St. Louis American/Staff]
The Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council has released a three-year, $275,000 grant to fund restorative justice training through its Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline (SToPP) program. Black students in Missouri are referred to the police at the rate of 6.3 per thousand, compared with 5.1 per thousand white students, and students with disabilities are referred at a rate of 9.1 per thousand. The SToPP program aims to train teachers and administrators to confront unconscious bias or racist preconceptions that often contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. [Missouri Independent/Mili Mansaray]
Indigenous organizations across the Midwest are building and developing food sovereignty programs to address & combat systematic food insecurities caused by the federal government’s historic role in displacing Native American peoples, plants, and animals. Community-centered groups like Kansas City Indian Center and First Nations Development Institute in Colorado have been instrumental in connecting indigenous persons and tribes with funding & resources to develop food sovereignty and traditional good growing programs. [St. Louis Public Radio/Lauren Hines]
Immigration advocates and elected officials in St. Louis are urging the federal government to move forward with issuing nearly 400 visas for Afghan refugees who have been stranded in Albania. Individuals and families who assisted U.S. armed forces during the war in Afghanistan have been stranded for nearly a year while bureaucratic obstacles have prevented them from arriving in St. Louis. The Afghan Rescue Project has worked with the International Institute of St. Louis to arrange housing and resettlement support once the visa hurdles have been cleared. [St. Louis Public Radio/Sarah Fentem, Farrah Anderson]
Beyond the Paywall
To read these below articles in full, please visit SLPL.org and access these articles through the Digital Content tab. St. Louis City & County residents can read these publications for free using their library cards.
“Jury sides with Missouri prison worker in latest discrimination case,” by Kurt Erickson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Audit found staff issues at St. Louis County Jail, could not address inmate deaths,” by Dana Rieck and Kelsey Landis, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Jay Ashcroft being sued over Missouri Senate boundaries in North St. Louis County,” by Kurt Erickson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“New gates, more cops: Will an extra tax help south St. Louis neighbors feel safer?” by Austin Huguelet, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Republican attorneys general sue U.S. agency over LGBTQ school guidance,” by Kimberlee Kruesi, Associated Press
Legislative Update
St. Louis City Board of Aldermen
The St. Louis City Board of Aldermen currently is in recess. The Board will reconvene on September 16, 2022.
BB 26 and BB 29, sponsored by Ald. Green, would put before City voters the ballot issue of enacting a surcharge on developers who reduced the number of units for housing rehabs and redevelopment. The bills were assigned to the Neighborhood Development Committee on May 13.
BB 47, sponsored by Ald. Clark Hubbard (Ward 26), will strengthen the City’s Civilian Oversight Board and would add paid support staff, as well as create the new Division of Civilian Oversight within the Department of Public Safety. Finally, this bill would legislatively create the Public Integrity Unit through the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. The bill was passed by the full Board of Aldermen on July 15 and has been delivered to Mayor Jones to sign.
BB 56, also sponsored by Ald. Clark Hubbard, would allocate emergency funding for rental and other housing assistance. The bill was perfected and passed by the entire board on July 13.
BB 61, sponsored by Ald. Annie Rice (Ward 8), establishes the Reproductive Equity Fund that would assist pregnant people in St. Louis with logistical support to access abortion services in other states. The bill was passed by the full Board of Aldermen on July 15 and was signed into law by Mayor Jones on July 21.
Learn more about how a bill becomes a City ordinance.