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
|
|
|
ST. LOUIS NEWS TODAY - Wednesday, June 23, 2004
|
Fair Saint Louis Riverfront Bike Ride Features Major Portion of the Confluence Greenway
ST. LOUIS, MO. (SLFP.com), June 23, 2004 - More than 2,500 area participants are lacing up their running shoes and dusting off their bicycles in anticipation of the Fair Saint Louis biking and running events, which will take place the morning of Sunday, July 4.
The 3K and 10K run/walk and Riverfront Bicycle Ridewill offer fun and athletic challenges for people of all ages, no matter what their fitness level.
Riverfront Bicycle Ride
Riders can register from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. under I-70 at Washington Avenue and Memorial Drive, near the Missouri entrance to the Eads Bridge. Bicyclists of all ages are encouraged to participate in this ride, which showcases a large portion of the magnificent Confluence Greenway now being developed along the Mississippi River from the Gateway Arch to St. Charles, Missouri and Grafton, Illinois.
The ride terrain is mostly flat with a few small hills and provides nearly continuous views of the Mississippi River. Cyclists can choose routes of 14 to 48 miles. The shorter routes go up the St. Louis Riverfront Trail to the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing and Rest Area, and the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge. The longer routes continue along the Confluence Bikeway in Illinois. Turn-around points and comfort stations are the Lewis & Clark State Historic Site in Hartford and Russell Commons Park in Alton, Illinois.
Tickets for the ride are $5 for adults and $1 for children under 13 years of age. Everyone pays this flat fee; there are no discount coupons for this ride. Cycling helmets are not required, but ALWAYS recommended.
Services provided include SAG (service and gear wagon), mechanic, route markings and map. TYCO Healthcare Mallinckrodt is hosting participants at the welcome and comfort stations along the ride route. Company volunteers are on hand to distribute free water and assist riders.
Fair St. Louis visitors can drive their bikes and enjoy the option of free bicycle parking. Volunteers from Trailnet will be on hand to park and watch bikes for two days of the Fair, July 3 and 4. Riders can drop off their bicycles at Washington Avenue and Memorial Drive starting at 10:00 a.m. All bikes must be picked up before 5:00 p.m. each day.
More information and directions to the start of the Fair Saint Louis Riverfront Ride can be found at www.trailnet.org or by calling (314) 416-9930.
3K and 10K Run/Walk
The Eads Bridge will serve as the starting point for participants in the 3K and 10K run/walk. The 3K run will begin at 7 a.m. and the 10K at 7:30 a.m. Both runs will end on Memorial Drive under the Gateway Arch.
The 10K run will feature a "Challenge Run" format where start times will differ based upon age and gender groups. This unique format gives all runners the chance to be first to cross the finish line.
The St. Louis Track Club is once again managing the Fair's running events. Those interested in participating are encouraged to call the Track Club at (314) 781-3926 or visit online at www.stlouistrackclub.com.
Fair Saint Louis (www.fairstlouis.com) works for St. Louis by offering the largest three-day Fourth of July festival in the United States, supporting local community organizations, and contributing to downtown improvement projects. Through these efforts, the Fair brings together all segments of the community, showcasing the civic pride and spirit of the people of Greater St. Louis.
Missouri Receives Payment to Offset Loss of Tax Revenues
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PRNewswire), June 20, 2004 - Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton has announced that Missouri will receive $2,157,494 under the Payment In Lieu of Taxes Act to compensate county governments whose jurisdictions contain tax-exempt federal lands.
"These important dollars help states offset the loss of tax revenues to counties that contain federal lands," Norton said. "This money helps pay for essential services such as firefighting, search-and-rescue operations, and a host of other badly needed on-the-ground services."
The money distributed to Missouri will go to 72 counties eligible under the PILT program for tax revenue lost because of the federal land in their jurisdiction. The $2,157,494 that Missouri receives this year represents a $23,912 increase over Fiscal Year 2003. The counties receiving the largest payments are Wayne, Shannon, and Reynolds.
The Bureau of Land Management - Eastern States has responsibility for 30,000 acres of public lands and about 40 million acres of sub-surface federal mineral estate in the 31 states east of and bordering the Mississippi River.
Major programs include: Energy and Minerals, Wildland Fire Management, Wild Horse and Burro Adoptions and Compliance, Natural Resources, Lands and Realty, Cadastral Survey, and General Land Office Records. Nationally the Bureau of Land Management has responsibility for about 260 million acres of public lands that contain invaluable resources, minerals, recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat.
Schnucks, Dierbergs Pay Restitution for Video Rental Surcharges
JEFFERSON CITY, MO. (SLFP.com), June 20, 2004 - The St. Louis-based Schnucks and Dierbergs grocery store chains have agreed to change the way they price the renting of videos after an investigation by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.
The investigation, which began last year, raised concerns about a surcharge included on customers' receipts that looked like a sales tax and was typically assessed at the same rate as the local sales tax. The money collected from the surcharge was not remitted to the state of Missouri and local taxing authorities.
Because both grocery chains paid a use tax to the state at the time they purchased the videos, they were not required by state law to collect sales tax with each rental. Nixon alleged Schnucks and Dierbergs collected more in the surcharges than the stores actually paid through applicable use taxes.
"Customers who saw this extra fee on the receipts likely thought this was a genuine tax, when it was not," Nixon stated. "Schnucks and Dierbergs have removed the disguises and now openly communicate the cost of renting videos to their customers."
In agreements approved Thursday (June 17) by Cole County Circuit Judge Thomas Brown, Dierbergs and Schnucks agreed not to add a surcharge on future video rentals unless required by law. The stores also will pay $110,000 each to the Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund.
The Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund is used to further consumer education and to help with enforcement of Missouri consumer protection laws.
In 2003, the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office recovered more than $20.2 million in restitution and penalties for consumers and state taxpayers. More than $18.5 million of this amount went directly to Missourians and nearly $1 million was directed to public schools.
$45 million in Federal Funds May Improve Voting in Missouri
ST. LOUIS, MO (PRNewswire), June 20, 2004 - The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, created by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), will send Missouri $45 million in federal funds to improve the state's elections.
"The HAVA legislation will help us achieve or goal of making it easier to vote and tougher to cheat. I am pleased to see the commission is moving forward to get these valuable resources to the states so we can continue to prepare for the upcoming election," said Senator Kit Bond in a statement.
The Help America Vote Act, provides states valuable resources to improve the administration of elections, provide access to the disabled and update election technology.
The Election Assistance Commission is sending Missouri $44,914,650 in Title II funds. In April of 2003, Missouri received $17,348,011 in Title I funding.
Today's $45 million will help Missouri meet the new federal mandates, which includes creating a statewide voter registration system, which will be used to eliminate many of the registration and voter list problems experienced in St Louis during the 2000 election.
The funds will also be used to meet HAVA's other mandates, such as providing provisional balloting, providing voters additional information on their rights under the laws, ensuring the voting technology meets minimum standards to reduce voter error and improve security and implementing key anti-fraud provisions of the legislation.
Senator Bond, along with Senator Dodd, were the principal sponsors for HAVA. Bond, outraged over vote fraud in St. Louis, brought the national spotlight to Missouri's own vote fraud problems during the 2000 elections and pushed for the bills' key anti-fraud provisions.
|
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 - 2008 Moore Design Group .
|
|
Click here for
AD Rates
|
|
