Archive for October 2022

The June 7 resignation of Lewis Reed left the post of president of the Board of Aldermen vacant and opened up a chance for candidates to run citywide without having to give up their seat.

Jack Coatar, currently the 7th Ward alderman, was one of two who jumped at the opportunity and talks about his campaign on this episode of the Politically Speaking podcast. An episode with Coatar’s opponent, 15th Ward Alderwoman Megan Green, will air next week. The winner will serve until another election in April.

“I was considering whether or not I was running for re-election for alderman in what is now the 8th Ward,” he said recently on the podcast. “And then, you know, in light of indictments and resignations, there was an opportunity to step up in a big way.”

Here’s how Coatar defined “stepping up”:

• The board still has more than $200 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money to appropriate. Coatar would want to see that dedicated mostly to physical infrastructure, like pedestrian safety improvements.
• He wants his colleagues to take their oversight role more seriously, especially about the fact that the city has spent little of the first round of ARPA money. “Every week, the board should be having hearings, asking questions about what’s getting done at City Hall, how money’s getting spent, how resources are allocated, and how the departments are functioning and where they have shortfalls and need help,” he said.
• While Coatar supports non-police interventions, such as sending mental health workers to certain police calls, he said the city needs to make sure it is paying and staffing its police department appropriately. 
• Aldermen have been meeting almost exclusively on Zoom for nearly three years, but Coatar said the Friday full board sessions need to be back in person, even if it’s not in their chambers at City Hall.

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @rlippmann

Follow Jack Coatar on Twitter: @JackCoatar

On the latest episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, John Payne of Legal Missouri 2022 joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Sarah Kellogg to discuss his group’s backing of Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana.

Amendment 3 would also set up a system to expunge marijuana-related offenses from people’s records and direct the proceeds to, among other things, veterans health care, drug addiction programs and public defenders.

Payne and other supporters of the proposal are banking on the notion that legal marijuana is popular among a diverse slate of voters. He pointed out that conservative-minded states like Montana have legalized the drug.

Still, Amendment 3 is not without its critics. State Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, recorded an episode of Politically Speaking last week laying out the reasons not to vote for the constitutional amendment. You can listen to that episode here.

Here’s what Payne talked about during the show:

• How Amendment 3 would work — including the process for increasing the number of licenses that are available to participate in the cannabis industry.
• Why having a limited system with only a finite number of licenses makes sense for the state, especially since some Missourians may not be comfortable with a proliferation of marijuana-based businesses.
• Criticism that the amendment still has a limit on the amount of cannabis someone can possess, as well as allowing for fines against people who smoke marijuana in public.
• How the expungement process would work under Amendment 3.

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Sarah Kellogg on Twitter: @sarahkkellogg

Follow Legal Missouri 2022 on Twitter: @LegalMo22 

[WLHA 008]: We Live Here! | Junior Lara | Auténtico Podcast Originator and the Work for Future Generations

Today, Gabriela and Alejandro take us back to our roots with Junior Lara. In 2018, Junior and Gabriela started “Auténtico Podcast”, now in its partnership form with St. Louis Public Radio as what you now enjoy as “We Live Here Auténtico!”

What does living Auténtico mean to you?

Being bold enough to be yourself, whoever you are meant to be, accents and all, like in my case. But never letting go that sense of community which is so important in our “Latino-ness. Being bold enough to take feedback, use the thing that would apply or make sense and never losing yourself or completely change who you are.

Junior Lara

About Junior

Junior Lara is Senior Manager of Client Engagement in the healthcare industry, has served as president of a corporate Toastmaster club and is fluent in English, Spanish and French. Junior serves on the board of the BALSA Foundation as Business Director helping first time entrepreneurs perfect their pitches.

In this episode of We Live Here Auténtico, we go on a journey to self-acceptance and connection with Auténtico podcast cofounder, Junior Lara.

Junior and Gabriela founded Autentico podcast so they could talk to business owners and Latino professionals about their journeys and lessons learned with the hope to inspire each other and fill the need they saw in St. Louis.

Listen to what it took to for Junior to grow from the Dominican Republic to what it means for him to see the vision now!

Plus, a celebration of life of trailblazer, Minerva Lopez Montaigne. Minerva was an advocate for the Hispanic Community in St. Louis, namely, residents and business owners of Cherokee Street.  She was a business owner and worked hard to keep the traditions and culture of Mexico alive and well in St. Louis.

Missouri voters will have the opportunity in the November election to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

If Amendment 3 passes, it will be the second time in four years that Missouri voters have legalized the use of marijuana, having approved medical use in 2018.

However, Amendment 3 has received pushback on multiple aspects, including from some state lawmakers who are in favor of legalizing marijuana.

One of those is Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove, D-Kansas City, who was a co-sponsor of the Cannabis Freedom Act, a bill legalizing recreational use that didn’t get far in the legislature but has been outspoken in her opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment.

Amendment 3 campaign manager John Payne will be featured on a future episode of the podcast.

On this episode of Politically Speaking, Bland Manlove joined the show to talk about the amendment.

Here is some of what she talked about:

• Her criticisms of Amendment 3, including its possession limits and expungement language.
• Whether the proposed amendment is a natural consequence of inaction by the Missouri legislature.
• Why having a limited number of licenses to sell marijuana perpetuates a lack of equity within the cannabis industry.
• How she would craft a legal marijuana system in Missouri.

Follow Sarah Kellogg on Twitter: @sarahkkellogg

Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum

Follow Ashley Bland Manlove on Twitter: @Manlove4M