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Spotlight on St. Louis Area Neighborhood Activities - Updated June 15, 2010

St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay joined local officials for a press conference, at The St. Louis Dream Center, to roll out the City's program, called "The School's Out Café".

The School's Out Café Opens for the Summer
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), June 7, 2010 - St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay joined local officials for a press conference, June 8, at The St. Louis Dream Center, to roll out the City's program, called "The School's Out Café" provides free, nutritious meals to City residents. The St. Louis Dream Center, located at 4324 Margaretta, provides meals and other assistance to disadvantaged children, families and homeless individuals.

When schools are in session, thousands of the City's children are provided with breakfast and lunch at school. During the summer months, however, many are without this essential nutrition. To help meet that need, the City's Department of Human Services has served as a sponsor of the USDA funded Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) for over 35 years. The Department of Human Services was awarded funding from the got breakfast? Foundation to help promote this summer's program and increase the number of children who have access to meals.

"Families come to rely on the nutritious meals their children receive during the school day," said Mayor Slay. "This program will ensure that our City's children continue to get nutritious meals when school is out for the summer. These meals will keep our children healthy and will help their parents' pocketbooks. This is an excellent program - and is needed now more than ever."

This year's meal program will run from June 8th through August 13th. Breakfast and lunch will be served at over 90 sites throughout the City and county. Any person age 18 years of age or younger and persons 19 or older who have been determined by a state or local educational agency to have a mental or physical disability, can eat FREE at any of the sites.

Every summer meal site will be identified by a "School's Out Café" yard sign and the meal site locations will be posted on the City of St. Louis website st.louis.missouri.org under "Featured Links." The public should also call the Dept. of Human Services - Youth Nutrition office at 314-657-1695.

Gov. Nixon Signs Bill Reforming Missouri's DWI Laws
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), June 6, 2010 - Governor Jay Nixon has signed into law a sweeping reform of Missouri's DWI laws.

House Bill 1695 will crack down on repeat DWI offenders and those with higher blood alcohol levels by requiring them to spend more time in jail; move more cases from municipal courts to state courts, where penalties are tougher; mandate better record-keeping for DWI cases so that repeat offenders can be properly tracked; and offer offenders opportunities to complete treatment instead of going to jail.

"This is a milestone for Missouri in the fight against drunk driving, as significant as lowering the blood alcohol content limit to .08 in 2001," Gov. Nixon said during a bill-signing ceremony at a Missouri State Highway Patrol motor vehicle facility in St. Louis. "Repeat DWI offenders will spend more time in jail if they don't get treatment, the most dangerous offenders - those with the highest blood alcohol levels - will be treated more harshly, and records will be kept to track all DWI offenders. The bottom line is that Missouri's roadways will be safer."

The bill, which passed both houses of the General Assembly unanimously, was one of Gov. Nixon's top legislative priorities. Last November, he convened a DWI summit of law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, court officials, representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others involved in DWI issues, saying Missouri must close gaps in its DWI laws and take a comprehensive approach to a complex problem.

In a circuit that has a DWI court program or other court-ordered treatment program, drivers with blood-alcohol levels of at least .15 will be required to spend 48 hours in jail and those with a BAC of .20 or above will be required to spend at least five days in jail, unless they complete the DWI court requirements. Prior offenders who do not complete DWI court requirements or minimum community service requirements shall serve a minimum of 10 days in jail, while persistent offenders (two or more priors) shall serve a minimum of 30 days in jail.

The new law expands the ability of prosecutors to bring evidence of prior DWI offenses through the use of criminal history records, certified driving records maintained by the Department of Revenue or the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Driving While Intoxicated Tracking System (DWITS). The law also closes a loophole that currently permits a DWI offender with a single prior offense to have that offense expunged from his record even if that offender has a new DWI charge pending.

"This is the comprehensive approach we needed to take to close loopholes that have allowed repeat drunk drivers to keep putting innocent lives at risk," Gov. Nixon said. "This law will mean that more chronic offenders will go to jail and others will get treatment, when that is appropriate. Most importantly, this should mean that fewer families will have to answer a knock at the door in the middle of the night and learn that a loved one's life has been cut short by a drunk driver."

Archived St. Louis Community News and Information:

Gov. Nixon Signs Bills to Benefit Missouri Veterans and Families

Grace Hill Celebrates the Historic Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing

Kingdom House Receives Funding for Youth Programs

Home Farming Movement Creates Community Farm in St. Louis Neighborhood

Arson Can Threaten Health and Vitality of Neighborhoods and Communities

St. Louis Cardinals to Host Green Week

St. Louis City Partners with Boeing for 2010 Open Streets

Walk Run 'n Roll for People of All Abilities

Missouri's Second Show-Me Green Sales Tax Holiday

It's Not too Late to Fill Out and Turn in Your 2010 Census Form

Walmart Foundation Funds Meals On Wheels

Foreclosure-Relief Business Finally Shut Down

Hibernian Parade Puts Spotlight on St. Louis' Irish American Community

Aldermen to Hold Final Public Hearing for Input on Potential Elimination of Earnings Tax

St. Louis City Announces New Procedure to Protect Unattended Property, Keep Parks Clean

Hardee's 10th Annual Rise and Shine for Heat Raises More Than $85,000

Life Skills Receives $20,000 Grant from Verizon

Gateway to College National Network Expands Programs

41st St. Louis Observation Honors Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

City of St. Louis and County Donors Give Big Boost to Heat-Up St. Louis

Anheuser-Busch Employees Donate $225,000 to Three Local Charities

St. Louis Receives Award for Municipal Excellence from the National League of Cities

H1N1 Flu Vaccine Now Available to Everyone

AmerenUE Launches '$100 for 100' Program in Missouri

"Hope Is Moving In" Program Opens at Clay Elementary School

AmerenUE Helps Police See Crime from a Different Point of View

Carondelet Park Rec Plex Opens with Parade and Ribbon Cutting

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