How To Reach Us:
St. Louis Front Page
P.O. Box 1354
St. Louis, MO 63188
Voice: 314-771-0200
Fax: 314-771-0300
To submit news, contact:
editor@slfp.com
To advertise, contact:
advertising@slfp.com
|
|
Red Cross Helping Communities Battling Floods
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), March 18, 2010 - In the Midwest, as the Red River waters rise again this spring, the American Red Cross is supporting residents of Minnesota and North Dakota who are dealing with the flood threats.
"We're hoping the river doesn't reach last year's record levels. But regardless of what happens, the Red Cross will be there to help everyone who is affected by this disaster," said Joe Becker, Senior Vice President of Disaster Services at the Red Cross.
The Minn-Kota Chapter of the Red Cross has been supporting residents all week as they formed sandbag brigades along the Red River. So far, the Red Cross has served more than 38,000 meals and snacks to citizens helping in this effort. The Red Cross is also distributing clean-up kits and has disaster mental health staff on hand to support community members, letting families know what to expect physically and emotionally in the days ahead.
The Northeast has also been hard hit by floods, as heavy rains drenched the region last weekend. The Red Cross has opened shelters in Connecticut, New Jersey, West Virginia, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, along with providing meals, health services and emotional support to residents. The Red Cross is also distributing clean-up and comfort kits to people whose homes were flooded.
Floods are the most common, costly and deadly severe weather each year in the United States. The public can get the facts on how to be prepared for flooding and other emergencies at www.redcross.org.
Community leaders met at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis to discuss strategies on educating people on the importance of filling in the 2010 Census questionnaire and mailing it back.
|
Census Bureau Implements Strategies to Reach Hard-to-Count Communities
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), March 17, 2010 - Just days after more than 120 million Census forms were mailed out to residents nationwide, U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Director Cedric Grant hosted a roundtable at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis to discuss what is at stake in the decennial Census and to highlight core strategies being implemented to reach hard-to-count communities in the region.
"The 2010 Census is not just an exercise in enumeration. It is an exercise in empowerment," said Grant. "With states across the country in the red, more than $400 billion in federal funding can play a big role in shoring up budgets. Especially in these difficult economic times, the people in Missouri can not afford to not participate in the Census."
Grant met with key area Census partners and Complete Count Committee (CCC) members thanking them for their partnership, cooperation and dedication to obtaining a complete count in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Roundtable participants have been actively engaged in raising Census awareness in the region.
One of those participants, James Buford is the President of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. Buford's organization has been a 2010 Census Partner for more than a year. Buford has worked through his organization to reach the citizens the Urban League serves to educate and motivate them about the vital importance of filling in the 2010 Census questionnaire and mailing it back.
Regional Census Director Dennis Johnson talked to participants about the vital need for participation and reactive programs like the upcoming April event "March to the Mailbox" which will reach out to those areas not returning their Census surveys to further encourage them and engage them in taking part in this civic process that impacts every community.
(L - R) Anna Crosslin, President of the International Institute, County Executive Charlie Dooley, Mayor Francis Slay and James Buford, President of the Urban League of St. Louis held a press conference featuring the "Big Form", a super-sized inflatable version of the actual 2010 Census questionnaire, at St. Louis City Hall today to show St. Louisans how easy it is to answer the 10 simple questions that make up the 2010 Census.
|
Mayor Slay, Charlie Dooley, Community Leaders Urge People to Fill Out and Mail In Census Forms
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), March 15, 2010 - Mayor Francis Slay and County Executive Charlie Dooley joined Anna Crosslin, President of the International Institute and James Buford, President of the Urban League of St. Louis for a press conference at St. Louis City Hall urging individuals to fill out and send in their 10-questions Census forms, which arrive in homes starting today, March 15, 2010.
A giant inflatable 2010 Census "Big Form", measuring 20 feet high; 16.5 feet wide; and 4 feet deep was set up in front of City Hall. The 2010 Census held "Big Sign" events in 13 cities across the country in which participants can learn about the 2010 Census and the positive impact their participation can have on their community.
"The Census is critically important to our City," said Mayor Slay. "St. Louis stands to lose $1300 per year for each person who is not counted. One person not counted in this year's census could cost the City $13,000 over ten years. The City needs that money for everything from roads to schools to Meals on Wheels. Many of the things that people like about their City are funded based on Census data."
The 2010 Census is vitally important to all St. Louisans because it directly affects the amount of federal funding it receives for schools, highways, health care, economic development and many other essential public needs. It doesn't matter who you are or where you live, you should be counted in the 2010 Census because it determines how more than $400 billion in federal funding in distributed annually. The Census also influences political representation because census data is used to allocate the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the states based on population.
The information collected in the Census is kept strictly confidential and is only used for statistical purposes. The Census Bureau is prohibited by federal law from sharing anyone's personal information with any other federal agency or law enforcement.
Census workers will be available to help individuals fill out their Census form in City Hall starting this Friday. Other help sites will be announced later this week. Site hours are Mon 8-12, Tues 9-12, Wed 8-12, Fri 8-12. Replacement forms will be available for people who have lost or not received their Census forms. See related story: Census Bureau Director and Congressman Clay Launch Missouri's 2010 Census in Schools Program
Advertisement
Accent your office, restaurant, hotel or home with exciting fine art prints of St. Louis attractions. For more information, see stlouisphotos.com
|
120 Million Households to Receive 2010 Census Questionnaires
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), March 14, 2010 - The 2010 Census is well underway with the U.S. Census Bureau mailing 2010 Census questionnaires to about 120 million addresses nationwide.
The questionnaires will arrive March 15-17. Residents are encouraged to complete the 10-question census form when it arrives and to return it in the accompanying pre-paid envelope as soon as possible.
"The 2010 Census is easy, important and safe," said Census Bureau Regional Director Dennis R. Johnson. "It's important for families to take 10 minutes to answer the 10 questions in the 2010 Census because of the impact of the 2010 Census has on our local communities. I encourage everyone to participate."
Census Bureau research shows that for every 1 percent increase in households that respond by mail, taxpayers save about $85 million in operational costs associated with census takers going door to door to follow up with households that did not mail back the form. In the 2000 Census, 72% of households in the nation mailed back their questionnaires.
The more than 120 million households that receive the 2010 Census form by mail represent about 90 percent of all residential addresses in the country. Census workers last week started hand-delivering census forms to another 9 percent of addresses in areas where many households lack traditional city-style postal addresses.
AT&T Rolls Out First All-Electric Cargo Truck
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), March 14, 2010 - AT&T has announced that its first all-electric cargo truck, the Smith Newton, is now servicing the St. Louis, Missouri, area as part of AT&T's commercial fleet.
The rollout of the Smith Newton comes on the heels of an announcement that AT&T will be one of the first purchasers of the Ford Transit Connect Electric, the first fully-electric commercial vehicle to be widely sold in the United States.
The Smith Newton provides AT&T with a new alternative fuel option. The zero-tailpipe-emission Smith Newton runs free of normal engine noise and vibration, and it stores electric energy through a process called regenerative braking.
first accepted the keys to the Smith Newton in 2009, and is now using the truck primarily to transport cargo to various AT&T locations within its St. Louis service territory.
"We are focused on driving down our dependence on imported sources of fuel and are open to alternative fuel resources that can reliably power our expanding fleet," said Jerome Webber, vice president, AT&T Fleet Operations. "This is an investment that will pay off by reducing our emissions and boosting our fuel savings, and we're proud to take these first steps in Missouri."
AT&T operates more than 77,000 vehicles in its commercial fleet. The Smith Newton and - by the end of 2010 - the Ford Transit Connect Electric - are part of a $565 million planned investment announced in March 2009. AT&T expects to spend an estimated $350 million to purchase about 8,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, and approximately $215 million to replace 7,100 fleet passenger cars with alternative-fuel models.
Auto Service Contract Fraud Tops Consumer List
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), March 14, 2010 - Attorney General Chris Koster said his office is creating a task force to look at sales practice guidelines designed to stop auto service contract fraud, the number one complaint to the Attorney General's office in 2009.
"Senator Scott Rupp and I have invited business people and regulators with a stake in this issue to serve on the Missouri Auto Service Contract Task Force," Koster said. "We created this panel to discuss issues that have arisen from marketing service contracts and to develop industry guidelines to eliminate consumer deception and confusion in the sale of these products."
Koster said the Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration began regulating service contract providers and administrators in 2008, but some independent marketers are not licensed and have continued to run roughshod over consumers. He said his office filed or settled 12 cases involving independent service contract marketers in 2009.
Koster said these marketers have used misleading letters, postcards, and telephone sales marketing to lure consumers into purchasing service contract coverage without providing basic information about that coverage. This was done with such tricks as misleading consumers to mistakenly believe their current vehicle warranties were about to expire and confusing some consumers into believing that they were extending the manufacturer's coverage. He said while consumers believed they were extending auto warranties, they were actually purchasing service contracts or automotive additives. Customers later realized that the low limits to their coverage rendered the service contract virtually worthless, but due to delays or restrictions on cancellation they were unable to get a refund.
Koster said some direct marketers using the auto additive scam would send customers a bottle of fluid, with instructions to immediately add it to their vehicle. Customers were instructed to install the additive in order for the warranty to be valid. But they later were denied a refund and told the purchase is non-refundable if the product has been used.
"This is a classic 'bait and switch' scheme that preys on consumers' fears of not having adequate vehicle warranty coverage," Koster said. "These businesses lure vulnerable consumers into purchasing 'auto warranties,' and then switch to sell them into service contracts and auto additive warranties with inferior or negligible repair coverage, while making it almost impossible for the consumers to cancel the contract or get refunds."
Property Sales Bring In Extra Funds for Road Projects
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), March 14, 2010 - A state highway property sales blitz has generated more than $675,000 for road and bridge projects that will make Missouri highways smoother and safer.
The Missouri Department of Transportation tried something new last November - an all-out attempt to sell multiple properties across the state in a short period of time. The agency identified 21 highly marketable properties, then advertised them for sale by auction or sealed bid over a five-day period. The realty blitz brought in $676,739 and transferred land the state no longer needed to build, improve and maintain the highway system to interested property buyers.
The parcels, which ranged in size, shape and use, sold for as much as $120,000.
Gregory Wood, Realty to Roads Project Director in MoDOT's Right of Way Division, said buyers are interested in the highway property for various reasons, whether it's to add to an abutting property they already own or to independently develop it.
"Selling the properties in a concentrated block rather than one at a time helped us to generate interest among property buyers and move idle land out of our inventory," Wood said. "It has proven to be a useful tool for us."
Because the effort was so successful, MoDOT will hold a second sales blitz from April 26-30.
Thirty-two pieces of property ranging from a quarter of an acre in size to 200 acres will be offered for sale to the public at that time.
"We have made it a priority to get rid of land we're no longer using and put the proceeds toward better and safer roads and bridges," Wood said. "It not only makes good business sense, but it ultimately benefits travelers on our highway system."
Information on state highway property for sale, including the four parcels not sold as part of the recent blitz, can be found at www.modot.org/realtyforsale.
|
STL-News is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group as a special feature of the Saint Louis Front Page for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com
All rights reserved world wide
© 1996 - 2010 Moore Design Group.
|
|
St. Louis Restaurants
Archived St. Louis News:
|
