The money’s being put up by Stray Rescue founder Randy Grim, who was among those to discover the gruesome scene in the 5300 block of Wells Ave. Tuesday.

One dog had been killed by having a window slammed onto its neck repeatedly, and its body was left dangling over the windowsill.

Another had apparently been burned alive.

In all the carcasses of five dogs were discovered in the abandoned residence, described by some as a “gang house”.

One anonymous source told Grim that a sixth dog had also been killed by being hung out of a window.

“The reward (which started at $5,000 on Wed.) has already encouraged people to call with information, and we hope this increase in reward money will motivate citizens to step forward with critical details about the case,” said Grim. “We’re working tirelessly to catch these abusers and get them off our city’s streets.”

Here is what I see: A guy in Stan Kroenke who has an option of taking his team, the St. Louis Rams, out of here if the stadium is not improved. It’s his right, it’s in the contract and he has options.  And I am cool with that.

Here is my question: At what cost? Who is paying what and when?  That is the question no one seems to answer.

I am also wondering: Is Stan Kroenke the most important tenant for the Dome? Yeah, I know he has a few guys around town carrying his water for him.  But at last check, the most the Rams would use the Dome is 12 times a year, playoffs included. (Yes, playoffs. I know its a term we seldom use when we talk Rams, but you never know.)  There are two weeks of conventions that can bring more revenue to St. Louis than the games — when it comes to hotels, restaurants and all the other things that thrive on a convention.

With that said, if the Rams want more, then they should be prepared to contribute — as should the Convention & Visitors Commission — when it comes to conventions.

A new CVC board, by the way, as this group has forgotten who they are working for. They have failed in a manner that makes you wonder…how many other items have fallen through the cracks on their watch?

I am not excited about spending tax money on this venture, especially if the taxpayers are the only ones paying. If the Rams want to step up and get with it, then they can take what they earn to the level of their investment. There has to be a formula to give everyone a sense of feeling that they won.

If the Rams feel this is a one-sided venture taken solely by the city, then they can take their team  — and their water carriers – to whatever community can give them the farm they are seeking.

Mike Claiborne hosts “The Sports Hub” weeknights from 9p-12a on KMOX.

Two men broke into a home in north city Wednesday afternoon and began robbing several people inside.

One of the occupants of the home in the 4700 block of Labadie shot at the suspects, hitting one and possibly the other before the intruders ran off.

However robbery suspect Jerome Burse, 38, collapsed outside the home and was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

The second suspect remains at large.

Those inside the home, including a 7-month-old girl, escaped injury.

The Celtics captain put in 24 points in Boston’s 101-91 Game 3 victory over the 76ers in Philadelphia, putting his knee injury behind him and getting aggressive when it came to pretty much every aspect of the game.

“Whether I shot the ball well or not, everything I was going to do was being with aggression,” Pierce said.

Aggressive might be an understatement. Pierce was in attack mode early on, even if his shots weren’t falling. Early in the first quarter, he missed four shots from close range, but it was the fact he fought for the three put-backs in the paint that showed he was determined to make a difference after scoring just seven points in Boston’s Game 2 loss.

He continued to go strong to the basket, following up his early misses with two ferocious dunks. Pierce finishing with nine points in the first 12 minutes of the game. He ended up hitting six of his 17 attempts from the floor, but did most of his damage at — and getting to — the free throw line. After just two trips to the charity stripe on Monday, Pierce found his way to the line 14 times in Game 3, scoring 11 of his points at the line.

Special Coverage: NBA Playoffs

He made it known to all of Philly when he was making his way to the line, following each drive to the hoop with an aggressive scream that would make Mel Gibson’s “Braveheart” jealous.

“Everything I was going to do was going to be aggressive because they were really collapsing on me on the down-screens, on my jumpers,” said Pierce. “I just tried to get to the hole and I was able to get to the line; able to get to the rim a number of times. It’s something I have to continue to do.”

“Paul is just a grinder,” head coach Doc Rivers said following the win. “He really is. You look at him at times and you wonder, ‘How is this guy getting open?’ He just has great fundamentals. He never does it with speed. He just knows how to play basketball. He’s a throwback guy, that he knows how to play basketball. We jokingly call him our ‘professional scorer’ and that’s what he is in a lot of ways.”

“[Pierce] played great for us tonight,” said point guard Rajon Rondo, who scored 23 points of his own while dishing out 14 assists. “Paul has been struggling scoring, but he has been doing the intangibles. On those [first-quarter] drives, he didn’t get some calls early in the game and thought they were fouls, so he went out and was aggressive and finished strong.”

Recap: Thunder Go Up 2-0 On Lakers

Pierce had been just 5-for-20 in the series in the first two games, but helped the Celtics send a message as they took a 2-1 series lead. While he only added four assists, he credited the team’s ball movement for getting the offense going.

“Our offense finally came alive,” Pierce said. “We moved the ball. We knew that’s what we were going to have to do to score 100 points.”

“We just wanted to come out and establish who we are as a team,” Pierce said.

They certainly did that. Now they just need to keep it going on Friday night.

Physicians at Barnes Jewish Hospital’s Trauma Center say 20 percent of all injury accidents happen because of distracted driving.  Texting while driving is a huge contributor to that statistic. Dr. Lori Popejoy lost a son to distracted driving.

“I am the mother who buried her child, when our family gathers for holidays, it’s with the knowledge and the underlying sadness that our children are gone.” ” As the Highway Patrol told us when they came to our home, your son paid a very high price for a mistake, for a simple moment of distraction.”

Washington University surgeon Douglas Schuerer says texting while driving has become commonplace for many people:

“Looking directly at texting, there’s a study that shows texting while driving decreases your reaction time eight times worse than being legally drunk at point 08.”

Box Score | Playoffs Schedule

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Kevin Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left, and the Oklahoma City Thunder scored the final nine points to rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.

Oklahoma City trailed by seven with 2 minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to take a 2-0 lead.

Game 3 is Friday night in Los Angeles.

Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who came up empty on their last six possessions after Bynum’s hook shot made it 75-68 with 2:09 remaining.

Game 2 Photo Gallery (Photo:Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

After struggling throughout the second half, the Thunder suddenly came alive after Scott Brooks called timeout following Bynum’s basket that gave Los Angeles its largest lead of the game.

James Harden drove for a layup before Durant used his height advantage to reach up and tip away a pass from Bryant, who he was guarding. Durant ran out for a right-handed dunk at the other end before Russell Westbrook forced another turnover by aggressively challenging an outlet pass to Bryant along the sideline.

Harden made the next stop, blocking Bryant’s jumper on the next Lakers possession and getting a layup in transition off it to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.

Bryant couldn’t connect again, this time on a 3-pointer, to give the Thunder the ball back with the chance to take the lead and Durant was able to make it happen.

Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer from the right side with about 5 seconds left after Metta World Peace couldn’t get the ball to Bryant on the inbounds play. Durant was then fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made his first try before missing the second on purpose – failing to hit the backboard or rim for a violation.

The Lakers got a desperation try but World Peace’s long pass for Bynum was intercepted by Harden.

Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which matched its lowest scoring total of the season but still gutted out the win.

Historically, the loss makes a huge difference. Los Angeles is 29-12 when splitting the first two games of a seven-game series and has lost 17 of 19 when falling into a 2-0 hole. The Lakers’ last comeback was in the 2004 West semifinals against San Antonio.

The Thunder have won all nine of their series after leading 2-0, dating back to the franchise’s days in Seattle.

In a game that was nip-and-tuck throughout, the Lakers started inching away early in the fourth quarter while Westbrook was on the bench.

Bryant drilled a jumper from the left wing and Blake followed with a 3-pointer before World Peace hit one of two free throws for a 69-63 advantage with 7:27 remaining – the Lakers’ largest lead to that point.

Westbrook returned then but only provided the briefest of sparks for the struggling Oklahoma City offense, and Bynum’s second straight basket – on a left-handed hook shot at the left block – made it 75-68 with 2:09 to play.

Until that point, Oklahoma City had made only 7 of 27 shots in the second half while committing eight turnovers.

After getting ripped apart by the Thunder’s pick-and-roll attack and giving up 119 points in Game 1, the Lakers made it an emphasis to put up more resistance in the rematch and it showed. Matt Barnes shuffled back and forth around three Nick Collison screens to contest Harden’s jumper and preserve the Lakers’ 22-21 lead after one quarter.

The Lakers’ defense was at its best just after halftime as they got out of a 48-45 deficit by holding Oklahoma City scoreless for the first 4 minutes and allowing just two baskets in the first 8 minutes. But Los Angeles still couldn’t create any sort of a cushion and Westbrook’s wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner – after World Peace airballed a similar shot on the opposite end – had the Thunder back within 57-56 with 3:31 left in the third.

Notes: The NBA on Wednesday fined Devin Ebanks $25,000 for actions related to his Game 1 ejection and Bynum $15,000 for failing to speak to reporters Tuesday. Bynum, who has had recent disciplinary issues within the team, talked at the Lakers’ morning shootaround Wednesday and called it a make up for skipping the previous day. “I think he’s learning. Is he going to be a perfect citizen the rest of his career? I don’t know,” coach Mike Brown said. “He’s bound to make mistakes. I think everybody makes mistakes.” … World Peace has said he supported Scott Brooks to become Sacramento’s coach back in 2007, when Brooks had been an assistant under Eric Musselman. “Little does he know, if I would have got the job, I was going to ask for him to be traded,” Brooks joked. He then called World Peace, or Ron Artest at the time, the third-best two-way player at the time behind Bryant and Kevin Garnett. … Harden caught World Peace with an inadvertent elbow to the face in the first quarter.

What started as a $5-a-head surcharge now gives adult entertainment clubs an annual payment of the club’s choice: $3 a patron or a fixed amount depending on revenue. That amount would be $5,000, $15,000, or $25,000 if the revenue is, respectively, less than $500,000, between $500,000 and $2 million, and more than $2 million.

The money would shore up funding for rape crisis centers. Advocates of the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields), say there’s a connection between the consumption of alcohol at strip clubs and such problems as sexual assault.

If strip clubs objectify women, what’s the difference if customers are drinking alcohol or not? Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon says the research only supports the argument that the trouble occurs when alcohol is involved. Hutchinson says live nude dancing is constitutionally protected free speech, anyway.

The bill now exempts clubs where liquor is not served.

HB 1645 has passed the Senate Public Health Committee.

Copyright IRN

It worked twice, and the Eastern Conference finals are all even, as a result.

David Clarkson scored a tip-in goal off Adam Henrique’s shot 2:31 into the third period to break a tie and lift the Devils to a 3-2 victory over the Rangers that squared the series at one game apiece on Wednesday night.

“It’s a very hard building to play in, and 1-1 sounds much better than down 2-0,” Devils captain Zach Parise said. “We’re happy. We would have liked to have snuck out of here with two wins, but it didn’t happen.

“We’ll take 1-1.”

For the third straight series, the Rangers are wondering what went wrong in Game 2 after they took the opener. They stressed how important it would be to grab a 2-0 lead, which would have been their first two-game edge in this postseason, but didn’t provide the necessary effort to get it done.

New York was riding high after its 3-0 series-opening win on Monday night, but now has relinquished home-ice advantage again.

“You need to improve as a hockey team every game,” said succinct and disappointed coach John Tortorella, who declined to say what areas were deficient.

Game 3 will be Saturday in New Jersey.

Clarkson built off the momentum created by Ryan Carter’s deflected goal late in the second that tied the game, 2-2. Ilya Kovalchuk had given the Devils a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal in the first. Defenseman Bryce Salvador added two assists, and Martin Brodeur stopped 23 saves for his 108th playoff win.

Clarkson has three goals in this postseason, and every one has been a winner, including the clincher against Philadelphia in Game 5 of the second round.

“Mr. Clutch? I don’t know about that,” Clarkson said. “I’m going to skate up and down and finish the checks and just bounce off people. It’s just a great feeling to be able to contribute. To get a tip on that felt pretty good.”

New Jersey had 26 attempted shots blocked in Game 1, five more than they got through to goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils cut the blocks to 16 on Wednesday and managed to get 27 on goal — two more than New York.

“That team blocks so many shots,” Clarkson said. “It’s unbelievable how many. I think we found a way to shoot it and get sticks on it, and definitely that was big for us.”

Marc Staal and Chris Kreider scored power-play goals in the second for the top-seeded Rangers, who received 24 saves by Lundqvist.

New Jersey got even at 2 when Salvador wound up for a shot at the blue line and fired a drive that Carter — with his back to the net — brilliantly deflected past Lundqvist with 1:51 left in the second. Marian Gaborik stood up straight in front of Salvador, but didn’t drop down as many of his teammates have to try to block the shot. For that, he was pinned to the bench by Tortorella, even through New York’s power play in the third.

Gaborik returned to the ice with 8:40 remaining as the Rangers pressed to tie.

The Devils kept the pressure on the Rangers at the start of the third and wiped out the good work the Rangers displayed in the second.

“It was a much different reaction when we went down by a goal than it was in the first game,” Parise said. “We didn’t change the way we played, and I think that was a big difference. We were comfortable with how we were playing.

“All I think they got was really on their power play.”

After spending much of the first trapped in their own end, the Rangers rebounded to erase their early deficit and briefly take the lead thanks to the previously inept power play.

With Alexei Ponikarovsky off for interference, Staal fired a shot that sailed wide of the net and struck the back boards before popping back in front and pinballing into the net off Salvador and Brodeur at 2:23. The goal was originally credited to Derek Stepan, who was in front, but the puck managed to miss him both on the way toward the net and on the bounce back.

“I saw most of the pucks, but the Rangers came out hard,” Brodeur said. “They were around me a lot, and there were some bad bounces. It’s such a tough place to play sometimes here. There are bad bounces, and the boards are terrible.”

Staal nearly netted another moments later when he ripped a drive that Brodeur had to lunge fully to his left to snare with his glove.

Kreider, the rookie from Boston College, scored for the second straight game to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 12:19. Anton Stralman let go a shot from above the right circle that ticked Kreider’s stick and fluttered past Brodeur for the rookie’s fourth goal. He had to wait to get it because it was first given to Stralman before being changed during a commercial break.

But that was hardly the longest delay of the night. Before Kreider’s power-play goal, the action was stopped for about eight minutes as arena workers struggled to get the door to the Devils’ penalty box opened. Travis Zajac stood patiently as he waited to have a seat in the box. He even managed to laugh as did New Jersey coach Peter DeBoer and the usually stoic and agitated Tortorella.

Zajac, who first was sent to the Rangers’ box, stayed in New Jersey’s sin bin for only 1:47 before Kreider scored the Rangers’ second power-play goal of the night.

New York registered the first six shots of the period before New Jersey had its first about eight minutes in, but the teams were even at 17 through 40 minutes.

Lundqvist had a bit of glove magic of his own midway through the second when a shot by Anton Volchenkov was deflected by Kovalchuk but tracked and grabbed by Lundqvist.

The Devils got their elusive first goal of the series, and the all-important lead in the game, when Kovalchuk connected on the power play late in the first period.

After Brian Boyle was sent off for slashing Parise, the Devils continued their puck-possession prowess in the Rangers’ end. New Jersey moved the puck all around the zone in search of a clean shot that could get past the diving New York defense and perhaps challenge Lundqvist, who made 21 saves in the series-opening win.

Marek Zidlicky curled with the puck to the center of the blue line and slid a pass down to the left circle to Kovalchuk, who calmly and patiently drifted in and snapped a shot up and under the crossbar in the upper corner of the net for his sixth goal of the playoffs and fourth on the power play.

“We had to keep going to the net, and I think we were doing some good things,” Clarkson said. “We’ve been playing some good hockey and we’ve got to continue to do it. That is a big win for us.”

The Devils didn’t record a shot on goal until 6:01 in when Patrik Elias put a wrist shot in on Lundqvist, but New Jersey finished the first period with an 8-5 edge in shots — despite having six more blocked by the Rangers.

Whether Brodeur was kidding or not about wanting Rangers to be injured by blocking shots, the home team wasn’t deterred from getting in front of drives. New York forward Brandon Prust was doing a bit of a dance in front of the dangerous Kovalchuk, trying to deny any potential drive, even though he was defending without a stick.

“We have to try to get in lanes,” Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said. “Try to limit their time with the puck. If we do that, they are not going to have time to shoot.”

When Kovalchuk finally scored later in the period, he let out a big yell — part celebration and an exclamation of relief — as he skated in front of the glass behind the net.

“We have built some momentum,” Brodeur said. “And now, we have to try to take that into our building, and make our building a tough place to play.”

NOTES: The Rangers were 10 for 61 (16.4 percent) on the power play in the postseason before Wednesday. This marked the second time they netted a man-advantage goal in consecutive games, but the fourth time they scored two in a game. … The Devils returned defenseman Peter Harrold to the lineup and sat rookie Adam Larsson. Harrold replaced Larsson in the lineup late in the season and started the first nine postseason games. Larsson played in the previous five games.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

“Of the first twelve years of this century, seven of the nine worst years for extreme storms in the Midwest occurred,” said Dr. Stephen Saunders, president of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization.

He was lead author on a study called “Doubled Trouble: More Midwestern Extreme Storms”, which looked backed at the past fifty years of weather data to identify the alarming trend.

Since 1961, the report shows that Midwestern states have had an increasing number of large storms.

What’s more, storms were not only more frequent but more damaging as well.

The largest of the storms (those dropping three inches or more of precipitation in a single day) increased the most, with their annual frequency jumping by 103% since 1961.

Missouri and Illinois have both seen an increase of more than 80% in those types of rainstorms.

Dr. Saunders said their reports also clearly identifies the cause of this extreme weather trend — Global Warming.

“And now we’ve documented how great the increase has been in the Midwest and linked the extreme storms to flooding in the region,” according to Saunders. “A threshold may already have been crossed, so that major floods in the Midwest perhaps now should no longer be considered purely natural disasters but instead mixed natural/unnatural diaasters. And if emissions keep going up, the forecast is for more extreme storms in the region.”

Karen Hobbs is senior policy analyst for the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which helped compile data for the study.

She says as was made clear in Joplin, Missouri and several other places in recent years, violent storms threaten people’s property, their economy…even their lives.

“Clearly there is a need for comprehensive climate legislation that would enact mandatory limits on global warming pollution,” Hobbs said.

She also called on federal lawmakers to protect the current Clean Air Act Authority of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and work to overcome barriers to investment in green sources of energy.

Doug Knight, who runs Knights Action Park in Springfield, says he had to cut hours and employee pay last time the minimum wage went up. It’s the largest theme park in Central Illinois, but Knight says it’s getting hard to compete.

“If my expenses go up, I have to raise my prices,” he says. “How high can I raise my prices and expect to hang onto my customers before I lose them to somebody else in another state that charges less for a product like mine?”

A Senate committee has approved a measure to increase Illinois’ minimum wage to roughly $10 an hour. It would provide a flat 50-cent increase to $8.75 on July 1, then add more to return the wage to “historic levels:” $10.03 today is what $1.60 was in 1968. The wage would then increase annually on July 1 based on changes to the Consumer Price Index.

The bill eliminates the training wage, which allows businesses to pay training employees lower than minimum wage. Restaurants are concerned as this measure eliminates the tip credit, which allows them to pay tipped employees 60 percent of the minimum wage.

“An average profitable restaurant has a margin of 5 percent right now,” says Mike Noonan of the Illinois Restaurant Association. “If we’re to eliminate the tip credit, and take that 40 percent credit away, restaurants all over will have to close.”

“If you’re willing to work a 40 hour week, you shouldn’t live in poverty,” says sponsoring State Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood). “An individual working 40 hours on our current minimum wage, they make about $16,000 a year.”

Opponents contend it shouldn’t be someone’s goal to raise a family on a minimum wage, and favor fostering an economy which encourages people to get an education so they can get good paying jobs with benefits. Plus, opponents say an increase in the minimum wage does little to help the wage earner, as higher wages mean businesses have to make up for it by charging more for their products, only serving to increase inflation even further.

The measure, S.B. 1565, passed a committee on a party line vote, all Democrats in favor, all Republicans against, and it now moves to the full Senate.

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Washington University researchers — led by Julia Grant — looked at data from more than six thousand twins and found that those who began drinking or using drugs as young teens or who became dependent on alcohol, nicotine or marijuana early in life were less likely to finish college than those who didn’t.

“Particularly the early substance use is likely to have very long-term effects on educational attainment  but other lifetime milestones as well.”

Such as marriage, parenthood and employment. Grant says this study provides further evidence that it is critical to continue public health efforts to reduce underage drinking, smoking and use of drugs.

At a Walmart store in Fenton, a 20-year-old man was shopping with a relative.

To pass the time, he took not one…not two…but three sausages from the meat counter and wolfed those down.

But that apparently didn’t fill him up, so he made a trip through the frozen food aisle and scarfed down some ice cream.

Finally, he grabbed a burrito from the deli plus a soda to wash it down.

But little did he know that he was about to be all washed up.

An off-duty police officer waiting in line to check out witnessed the whole thing and the grocery thief was arrested as soon as he left the store.

Doug
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You have to like any film that begins with a dedication  “In loving memory” of deceased North Korean Premier Kim Jong-il.

The most bankable and offensive comedy star in movies right now, Sasha Baron Cohen, stars as General Admiral Aladeen, supreme murderous ruler of a tiny but oil rich country in North Africa known as Wadiya. He runs the land with his brother Tahir at his side, played by Ben Kingsley. They even hold hands, although Tahir is always planning unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Aladeen.

Aladeen comes to New York City to address the United Nations, supposedly to sign a promise to make his country a democracy. But things go awry, and Aladeen finds himself without clothes and his famous black beard in the big apple, until he’s befriended by the PC owner of vegan type store, played by Anna Faris, the self-proclaimed queen of goofy comedy spoofs.

At this point, stop worrying about the storyline. Suffice it to say that the film is comically offensive on almost any and all fronts. It is frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious, and it spoofs a lot of what is actually going on in global politics.

But be forewarned. You’re going to need a very broad sense of humor to enjoy this movie. There are many well-known performers and SNL personalities in featured roles like John C. Reily, Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, Fred Armisen and Chris Elliott.

“The Dictator” proves even evil despots with no taste can be very popular.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645170/

The bill given final approval Wednesday night requires interstate truck drivers to provide the state proof from a medical professional that they are healthy enough to drive.

Truck drivers already carry around medical certification cards. Submitting the information to the state is intended to allow it to be entered into a nationwide database that also tracks such information as invalid licenses and driving violations.

Missouri missed a Jan. 30 deadline to be in compliance with the federal mandate. But by passing the bill now, lawmakers hope to avoid a penalty of the loss of 5 percent of its federal highway funds.

© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

They all happened within several days.  In one of the cases a 37 year old woman was in a parking lot at a K-Mart on Lemay Ferry when four men pointed a gun at her and took her purse.

At a Kohl’s parking lot on Watson Road, there was a similar incident.  And, still another at the MacKenzie Point Shopping Center in the 7800 block of Watson Road in Shrewsbury, a 35 year old woman was getting out of her car when another car pulled up.

One man inside pointed a gun at her and demanded her purse and her cell phone.   In every case the suspects were in a green Chevrolet Impala.

Republican Sen. Jane Cunningham, of Chesterfield, was driven to St. Mary’s Health Center by her chief of staff Wednesday afternoon. The aide says Cunningham was undergoing tests in the emergency room Wednesday evening.

Sen. Rob Schaaf, who is a family physician from St. Joseph, says Cunningham complained of being light-headed but did not appear to have more serious symptoms.

Cunningham appeared to be conscious as she left the Capitol in a wheelchair.

© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

In a 28-3 vote the Senate passed a measure Wednesday that caps the amount of tax credits available for historic buildings at $75 million, down from its current cap of $140 million. Only about $110 million of this credit was used over the past year.

The cap on the historic preservation credit came as part of a compromise between state senators on how to deal with the state’s tax credits, an issue that brought last year’s special session to a standstill.

In addition to the cap, the compromise allows additional tax credits to be allotted for the attraction of amateur sporting events to the state as well as putting a one-year sunset on other “benevolent” tax credit programs, such as one for food banks. Supporters of the compromise said the deal came out of the need for tax credit reform to rein in state spending while still allowing Missouri to attract businesses.

Despite the compromise in the Senate, House leadership said the historic tax credit changes were not acceptable for the House.

The bill also has the unintended consequence of killing a bill that was supposed to increase due diligence standards for public officials involved in economic development projects.

The original bill, sponsored by Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, was born out of the failure of an artificial sweetener plant in Moberly after a China-based company had promised to bring over 600 jobs to the state.

The company, Mamtek U.S. Inc., defaulted on a $39 million dollar bond payment to the city, which has since said it will go into default. The collapse of Mamtek spurred an investigation by Missouri lawmakers into the economic development project that resulted in multiple pieces of legislation, including Barnes’, creating greater due diligence standards. Under the legislation state and local economic development officials would have to share all information regarding business seeking incentives for starting projects in the state.

The measure also would have created a rating system for the Department of Economic Development to use to evaluate the programs, while also requiring background checks for officials of start-up companies.

Even though the bill with the Senate tax credit compromise still contains the due diligence language, Barnes said he would not touch the bill if it came before the House body because he thinks the added measures exceed the scope of the bill, making it unconstitutional. Barnes did say his proposals could still be passed if the governor mandated the changes from the DED or if other vehicles for the measures were passed by the General Assembly.

Barnes also said he would continue to work on increasing due diligence standards until they were passed into law, even if it meant filing new legislation next session.

The state Senate’s Executive Committee approved the plan 9-5 Wednesday. But even the sponsor says more work is needed before it could become law.

The current minimum wage in Illinois is $8.25. The legislation would increase that by about 50 cents a year until it reaches $10.55. That matches the buying power of the minimum wage back in 1968, when it was just $1.60.

After that, it would go up by the cost of inflation each year.

Democratic Sen. Kimberly Lightford says her proposal is still being negotiated.

Opponents say the increase would force businesses to cut hours and employees.

© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Supporters of the bill say that it protects the conscious rights of physicians and health care providers, as well as their religious freedoms since it prohibits these providers from punishment if they do not provide certain medical services, such as contraception or abortion.

House Floor Leader Tim Jones, R-St. Louis County, said the bill was a response to the “onerous” federal health care mandate that was signed into law in 2010. That law is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“This bill protects some of our most fundamental religious rights,” Jones said.

Opponents of the bill state, however, that the measure would restrict access to certain types of health care. Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis County, said the bill “affects only health decision that women make” and that it was perpetuating the war on women.

“This bill is specifically about limiting access to birth control, which has been extremely popular since 1960,” Newman said while speaking to Rep. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City, who also spoke against the bill.

The bill’s handler in the House, Rep. Sandy Crawford, R-Dallas, said she was not fighting a war against women and that she would be “appalled” if she had to conduct some of the practices she said health care providers were forced to participate in.

The measure also states that health care providers do not have to obtain medical insurance to cover practices that violate their religious beliefs and that pharmacies cannot be mandated to supply certain medications or devices.

The House passed the measure with a 117-37 vote Wednesday and sent it back to the Senate. The bill’s original sponsor, Sen. John Lamping, R-St. Louis County, requested the House and Senate go to conference over the bill because he felt the House changes “watered down” the original bill.

Police officers, led by Public Safety Director Eddie Roth, moved in late Wednesday to clear a two-acre piece of land that the Rev. Rice had hoped to fashion into a tent city for the homeless. The area had been deemed condemned for occupancy, based on Rice’s failure to secure permits.

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Rice and three others, who appeared to be volunteers, were arrested for occupying a condemned space.

“Now I know what the homeless go through every night. They have to move out of the parks or they get arrested this way,” Rice said to reporters as he was led into the back of a police wagon. “We have to have some place for them to go, and I still think they need a tent community. A transitional tent community.”

There were fewer than a dozen tents dotting the green patch of land, at Vandeventer and I-44, at the time of the sweep. Those who’d set them up willingly took them down.

(KMOX/Michael Calhoun)

Neighbors who had been upset with the encampment in their backyards watched. Some applauded.

Four of the homeless campers accepted offers to be driven in a van to an emergency AmeriCorps shelter in Soulard.

“We understand that Rev. Rice sometimes uses poor people as props, and we didn’t want them just sort-of cut loose,” Roth said.

Rice rented the land for $1 a year in his effort to replace recently closed homeless camps along the riverfront.

Nasheed said today she plans to take the decision from the St. Louis City Circuit Court , to a higher court.

Nasheed is running for the seat currently held by Robin Wright-Jones. Jones had no comment.

Charlie talks with STL Cardinals Broadcaster Mike Shannon about yesterday’s win against the Chicago Cubs and the upcoming series against San Francisco.

John Regenbogen, Exec. Dir., of Scenic Missouri discusses the Missouri legislature vote to allow more digital billboards in Missouri.

Today, Kevin pays tribute to the St. Louis Business Journal reporters and KMOX correspondent…

 ST. LOUIS (KMOX/AP) – For nearly three decades when the business community wanted to hear or read what was going on in St. Louis, they knew they could get the full story on KMOX and in the St. Louis Business Journal from reporter Rick Desloge.

Columbia police say Berkstresser hit a parked car in an off-campus neighborhood early Tuesday but failed to stop. He was arrested several hours later and released on bail after posting a $4,500 bond. No injuries were reported.

Leaving an accident scene is typically a misdemeanor offense in Missouri but Berkstresser could face a felony charge because property damage to the other car exceeded $1,000.

The redshirt freshman backs up starting quarterback James Franklin. He worked with the first team for most of spring practice after Franklin injured his shoulder. Franklin is expected back by the fall.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

The “focused deterrence” program, called the KC No Violence Alliance, was announced Tuesday by Kansas City Mayor Sly James, police chief Darryl Forte and Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

Besides arresting the worst offenders, the program also will offer those who want to reform job training, education and health care.
Similar programs in cities like Boston, Indianapolis and Cincinnati have resulted in significant drops in homicides and gun-related crimes, The Kansas City Star reported.

“I’m confident it will yield similar positive results,” Forte said.

A $74,000 grant from the Greater Kansas City Local Initiatives Support Corp. will be used to hire a project manager and to help the University of Missouri-Kansas City collect and evaluate data to determine where and on whom resources should be focused.

Those considered to be the worst offenders will bear the brunt of the concentrated effort, Baker said.

“Get ready,” Baker said. “Because we’re ready.”

Others involved in KC NoVA are the U.S. attorney’s office, the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission, the Missouri Board of Probation and Parole and various social service agencies, faith-based organizations and community leaders.

“We’re in this for the long haul,” Forte said. “We know that next month there is not going to be a huge decrease. We didn’t get into the problem overnight, and we’re not going to get out of it overnight.”

Baker said it was the first time she can recall such a collaborative effort in the 15 years she has worked as a prosecutor in Jackson County.

“If we do nothing we already know what will happen,” Forte said.

___

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)