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Not one scheduled criminal trial began as new special assistant prosecutor is sworn in to help

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

ST. LOUIS - FOX 2 monitored at least five different courtrooms Tuesday to witness frustration from both victims' families and judges.In one courtroom, Judge Rex Burleson warned prosecutors to get cases moving. Judge Michael Noble was in another courtroom, demanding answers from the prosecution that he never seemed to receive.Outside the courtroom, Suketha Rankin said, “I’m here for it all.” Rankin fights for justice for her son and granddaughter, who were murdered in their car in the Central West End in January 2021.“That’s why I fight so hard,” she said. “I am the voice. I won’t be silenced. Everybody wants fairness for the suspects. We’re victims.” Family mourns siblings struck and killed on I-170  Rankin is one of many people who continue facing justice delays. FOX 2 checked on several courtrooms in which trials were scheduled to begin, but the listed prosecutors have resigned. That’s when we learned attorney Rufus Tate Jr. had been sworn in as a special assistant prosecutor to...

EPA addresses Westlake landfill cleanup efforts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

BRIDGETON, Mo. - The EPA discussed the plans for the cleanup efforts at the Westlake Landfill site on Tuesday. Officials said over the last four years they've been collecting data, testing soil, and working out a plan for the excavation process.Rep. Tricia Byrnes had urged residents earlier to attend the meeting with EPA to express their concerns about the toxic waste in the area. Morgan Wallen cancels 6 weeks of shows, taking vocal rest Tom Mahler is the remedial project manager for Operable Unit 1 and said the area where they are seeing radiologically impacted materials is larger than the original estimates.“This is a more complex excavation piece of the remedy, and this is kind of a more complex remedy than a typical site," Mahler said. “Shortly after 2005, the responsible parties started bringing fill materials that they expected to use to construct an engineered cover. Those materials were placed, in some cases, on top of where we now know RIM to be.”

You Paid For It - Saving taxpayers millions by recycling ambulances

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. - The St. Charles County Ambulance District says it’s saving millions by recycling ambulances.They send the old ambulance about two hours away to Osage Ambulances down in Linn, Missouri, to be remounted. It’s where the old top of the ambulance is attached to a new chassis.St. Charles County Ambulance District Deputy Chief Jeremey Hollrah said there are big savings for taxpayers. He estimated about $2 million in savings since 2018."About every seven years, based off mileage and wear and, tear, we take the ambulance and actually do what’s called a remount process," Hollrah said. "We’ll send it off to the manufacturer, where they actually take the box part of the ambulance off and put a new chassis underneath it. You get multiple uses out of the box, and you get a brand-new chassis underneath it, which actually gives you 25 years out of the box and seven years out of the chassis." Morgan Wallen cancels 6 weeks of shows, taking vocal rest "The basics would be t...

Cardinals president frustrated over lack of movement on sports betting legislation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Frustrations with the Missouri Legislature have reached a tipping point for the St. Louis Cardinals over the issue of legalized sports betting.In a one-on-one interview, Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III told FOX 2 that Missouri’s top pro sports teams are shifting their focus to putting the issue before voters.When it comes to doing interviews, DeWitt is typically pretty measured. His passion is coming out of this issue after hitting road blocks in the Missouri Legislature four to five years in row, as neighboring states have legalized sports betting.“We feel like it’s kind of ‘Groundhog Day’… (Legalization) is going to happen, whether it’s this year, next year, the year after, or in five years,” he said. “For us to throw away this money that’s sitting there in the state of Missouri is just insanity.” Morgan Wallen cancels 6 weeks of shows, taking vocal rest Once again, a sports betting bill easily passed in the Missouri House only to get bogged down in the Missouri ...

St. Charles looks to introduce EV charging stations to Frenchtown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

ST. CHARLES, Mo - The City of St. Charles will soon introduce electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. They will be one of the first in the county.St. Charles engineers said it will be ground zero for paving a path to the future, and it all starts with electric charging. Two stations will be installed, and they hope for more.Electric vehicles are driving up sales and catching the eye of St. Charles."It's a forward-thinking thing that we can do as a city," said Dan Mann, director of engineering for the City of St. Charles.Using city street funds, his team bought two charging stations worth $5,000 each to be used in historic Frenchtown. They'll be installed in the next two months, starting their EV charging pilot program. Family mourns siblings struck and killed on I-170  "This is something that's really common for private development in other areas," Mann said. "Where a lot of people are installing these EV charging stations at their business or Walmart parking lot, so it really fi...

Redlands masseur arrested for sexual battery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

Police arrested a Redlands masseur on Tuesday for the alleged sexual battery of a customer.The suspect was identified as 44-year-old Wenjie Chen, by the Redlands Police Department.The incident took place while Chen was working at China Foot Massage on March 19, according to police.During a massage, the victim said Chen "inappropriately touched her breasts." The incident was reported to the police a few days later, authorities said.Chen, who also goes by the nickname “Jerry,” was arrested on sexual battery charges. Police believe there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward.Anyone who may have been a victim or has additional information is asked to contact Detective Steve Truong at 909-798-7643 or email [email protected].

Here's how much Black Californians could individually receive in reparations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

California’s reparations task force has voted to approve recommendations on how the state may compensate and apologize to Black residents for generations of harm caused by racism and discriminatory policies.The recommendations include financial payouts which, if approved by the State Assembly, could total hundreds of billions of dollars, experts say.The panel’s vote approved a detailed account of historical discrimination against African American Californians in areas such as voting, housing, education, disproportionate policing and incarceration, and others.CalMatters, a non-partisan, nonprofit news organization, has created a calculator to help residents estimate how much they could individually receive under the task force’s proposal.The tool, titled, “How much reparations are African American residents owed?” includes a breakdown of the itemized amounts for “Health Harms,” “Mass Incarceration & Over-policing,” Housing Discrimination” and “Devaluation of Businesses.” Califo...

Martinez mercury spill larger than first thought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

(BCN/KRON) -- A mercury spill that closed the Amtrak station in Martinez on Monday was bigger than initially thought, officials from Contra Costa Health (CCH) told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The station remained closed as of Tuesday night and Amtrak is using the old train station a few blocks away at Ferry Street and Marina Vista Avenue. CCH issued a Level 2 hazardous material public health advisory in regard to the spill. The advisory impacts parts of downtown Martinez. "A Public Health Advisory has been issued for areas of downtown Martinez near the Amtrak Train Station," CCH said. "Minor mercury contamination has been detected in the street on Marina Vista Avenue to Alhambra Avenue to Buckley Street to Berrellesa Street. Residents are advised to avoid walking in the street. If you must be in the area, please remain on the sidewalk. Cleanup will be occurring for the next several days in the area. For more information, please visit cchealth.org" Image from Contr...

DeJong hits tiebreaking homer as Cardinals beat Cubs 6-4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Paul DeJong loves playing at Wrigley Field.The Friendly Confines have been very friendly to the veteran shortstop.DeJong, Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar homered, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 on Tuesday night for their season-high third straight win.DeJong put St. Louis in front when he opened the ninth inning with a drive to left-center off Javier Assad for his third homer this year. Dylan Carlson then tripled and scored on Andrew Knizner’s bloop double into shallow right field.It was DeJong’s sixth homer in the ninth at Wrigley and No. 14 overall for his career at the ballpark. DeJong grew up in Antioch, Illinois, about 60 miles north of Chicago, and played college ball at Illinois State.“It’s just fun to be here,” DeJong said. “This is like coming home for me, and it’s like a big rivalry, so everyone is excited to come to Wrigley.”Chris Stratton (1-0) got four outs for the win, and Giovanny Gallegos worked the ninth f...

Dodgers lose Syndergaard early but still beat Brewers 6-2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:59 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers had struggled against left-handed pitching all season and hadn’t solved Milwaukee’s Eric Lauer throughout his entire career.They ended both those slumps emphatically Tuesday night.Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Miguel Vargas homered to help the Dodgers withstand Noah Syndergaard’s early exit in a 6-2 victory over Lauer and the Milwaukee Brewers. The Dodgers had been hitting an MLB-low .193 against lefties this season before breaking through against the left-handed Lauer.“He’s had a lot of success against us, so it was good to kind of hit him around a little bit,” Betts said. “The main thing is we got the win.”Lauer had gone 7-1 with a 2.37 ERA in 11 previous starts against the Dodgers. The only active pitcher who has made at least 10 starts against the Dodgers with a better ERA is San Diego’s Yu Darvish (2.36).He wasn’t nearly as successful this time.Lauer allowed four runs – three earned – in 3 2/3 innings. The unearned run w...