NO DEAL!!! UPDATED: Albert Pujols to Cease Contract Talks for 2011 Season, Rejects Latest Contract Proposal

The St. Louis Cardinals and slugger Albert Pujols will head into the 2011 season without a contract for future years. The two sides were unable to work out a contract extension by Wednesday's deadline set by the first baseman. The team confirmed it made a long-term offer, but said they couldn't reach a deal. The three-time NL MVP has said he won't get involved in contract talks once he reports to Spring Training. He is expected in camp tomorrow. The 31-year-old is believed to be seeking a deal worth more than the ten-year, 275-million-dollar pact Alex Rodriguez has with the New York Yankees. Last season, "Prince Albert" hit .312 with 42 home runs and 118 RBI.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa says Major League Baseball's Players' Association is putting pressure on first baseman Albert Pujols to hold out for a record-setting contract. La Russa spoke Tuesday at the Cardinals' spring training facility in Jupiter, Florida. La Russa said he feels Pujols' stature as the best player in the game is creating pressure from the union to raise the salary bar for others, and that doens't allow him to consider factors outside of money.

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Pujols and Cardinals set deadline for contract negotiations

Feb 14, 2011

St. Louis (KSDK) - Sources tell NEWSCHANNEL 5's Frank Cusumano that Cardinals management and Albert Pujols have agreed to make no announcements involving the slugger's future with the team until after Stan Musial receives the Medal of Freedom Tuesday.
The deadline to reach an agreement has now been extended to 11:00am Central Time Wednesday. Pujols had been expected to break-off negotiations Tuesday if no agreement had been reached.  He said he will not negotiate his contract once he arrives at Spring Training.
Both sides have agreed they don't want to take anything away from Stan Musial's big day Tuesday at the White House. The Medal of Freedom is the highest honor a civilian can receive.
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Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols has rejected a contract proposal from the team's management, and, barring an unexpected turnaround, will announce Tuesday he will cease contract talks for the season, a person close to Pujols has told USA Today.
The Post-Dispatch is putting together a detailed story and will post it online as soon as possible.
Pujols, 31, is seeking a 10-year contract, according to the person who requested anonymity because of the sensitive state of the negotiations. He is eligible for free agency after this season.


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'Alternative Panama Canal' China and Colombia plan to create "dry rail canal"

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China and Colombia announce 'alternative Panama Canal'

BBC
 14 February 2011
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Colombia has announced it is negotiating with China to build an alternative to the Panama Canal.

The proposed transport route is intended to promote the flow of goods between Asia and Latin America.

The plan is to create a "dry canal" where the Pacific port of Buenaventura would be linked by rail, across Colombia, to the Atlantic Coast.

Trade between Colombia and China has increased from $10m in 1980 to more than $5bn last year.

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'Caramel Coloring' Linked to Cancer, Found in Some Soda Cola other Food

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Caramel Coloring in Soda: What You Should Know About This Innocent-Sounding Ingredient

Michael F. Jacobson

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for Science in the Public Interest

February 16, 201
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For many of us, a daily drink of cola is pretty common, but the Center for Science in the Public Interest has some serious concerns over dark colored sodas and is now is asking the Food and Drug Administration to ban certain "caramel coloring."
"The government conducted studies several years ago showing contaminants in the caramel coloring that caused cancer in laboratory animals," says the CSPI's Michael Jacobsen.
The caramel coloring found in some sodas is made by reacting sugars with ammonia resulting in what some studies found were carcinogenic chemicals. That type of caramel coloring can also be found in things like some soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, whiskey or even dark beers.
The CSPI says it's all unnecessary.
"Caramel coloring doesn't add nutritional value it's not a preservative its only there for the color," Jacobsen says.
As part of a broader law, California is considering warning labels on soda cans.
The Beverage Association of America said the CSPI is using scare tactics, insisting there is no evidence of carcinogens in soft drinks. Some doctors say there's really not much danger.
"You'd have to drink about 10,000 bottles of coke a day for a lifetime in order to get that amount to see any effect," says Vanderbilt University Professor of Biochemistry Dr. Fred Guengerich.
The FDA says it is assessing the potential risks and will then decide if regulation is needed.

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http://cspinet.org/new/201102161.html
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Socialism American Style, Obama Health Human Services Is Bigger Than LBJ Entire Government

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Socialism's Trajectory: Obama's HHS Is Bigger Than LBJ's Government

Wednesday, February 16, 2011
By Terence P. Jeffrey

www.cnsnews.com
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Anyone who doubts that the trend toward socialism is pushing America toward ruin should examine the historical tables President Obama published Monday along with his $3.7 trillion budget.

In fiscal 2011, according to these tables, the Department of Health and Human Services will spend $909.7 billion. In fiscal 1965, the entire federal government spent $118.228 billion.

What about inflation? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator, $118.228 billion in 1965 dollars equals $822.6 billion in 2010 dollars. In real terms, the $909.7 billion HHS is spending this year is about $87.1 billion more than the entire federal government spent in 1965.

1965 was a key year in the advancement of socialism in the United States.

From 1776 until 1965, Americans generally did not rely on the federal government for health care unless they served in the military or worked in some other capacity for the federal government.

But in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson and a Democratic Congress enacted two massive federal entitlement programs -- Medicare and Medicaid -- that fundamentally altered the relationship between Americans and the federal government by making tens of millions dependent on the government for health care.

Prior to 1937, the Supreme Court correctly understood the Constitution to deny the federal government any power to create and operate social-welfare programs. The Constitution held no such enumerated power, and the 10th Amendment left powers not enumerated to the states and the people.

From George Washington's administration to Franklin Roosevelt's, Americans took care of themselves and their own communities without resorting to federal handouts.

FDR sought to change what he believed was an unrealistic reliance on families in American life.

He used the crisis of the Great Depression to pass the Social Security Act of 1935, compelling Americans to pay a payroll tax in return for the promise of a federal old-age pension. This was blatantly unconstitutional. That same year, in Railroad Retirement Board v. Alton, the Supreme Court had justly slapped down a law mandating what amounted to a Social Security program for the railroad industry alone.

FDR attempted to defend the railroad pension law as a legitimate regulation of interstate commerce, justifiable under the Commerce Clause -- the same argument the Obama administration has used to defend the individual mandate in Obamacare.

The Court scoffed, suggesting that if the federal government could mandate a federal pension for railroad workers, the next thing it would do would be to mandate health care.

"The question at once presents itself whether the fostering of a contented mind on the part of an employee by legislation of this type is, in any just sense, a regulation of interstate transportation," the Court said answering FDR's argument. "If that question be answered in the affirmative, obviously there is no limit to the field of so-called regulation. The catalogue of means and actions which might be imposed upon an employer in any business, tending to the satisfaction and comfort of his employees, seems endless. Provision for free medical attention and nursing, for clothing, for food, for housing, for the education of children, and a hundred other matters, might with equal propriety be proposed as tending to relieve the employee of mental strain and worry."

When Social Security went to the Court in 1937, FDR used a different strategy. He argued that Article 1, Section 8, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which gave Congress the power to levy taxes to "provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States," meant the federal government could do virtually anything it deemed in the "general welfare" of Americans even if it was otherwise outside the scope of the Constitution's other enumerated powers.

FDR's interpretation of the General Welfare Clause effectively rendered the rest of the Constitution meaningless.

To persuade the same court that ruled against him in the railroad case to rule for him in the Social Security case, FDR proposed the Judicial Reorganization Act. This would allow him to pack the court by appointing an additional justice for each sitting justice who had reached age 70 and six months and not retired.

Faced with a potential Democratic takeover of the court, and thus a federal government controlled entirely by FDR's allies, Republican Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes and Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts flip-flopped from their position in the railroad case. They quietly voted in favor of Social Security and took the steam off FDR's court-packing plan.

That year, federal spending was 8.6 percent of gross domestic product, according to President Obama's historical tables.

When LBJ enacted Medicare and Medicaid -- and began fulfilling the court's prophecy in the 1935 railroad-pension case -- federal spending was 17.2 percent of GDP.

When George W. Bush expanded Medicare with a prescription drug benefit in 2003, federal spending was 19.7 percent of GDP. This year, federal spending will be 25.3 percent of GDP.

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Blogger Teacher Fights For Her Job, called unidentified students, rude, disengaged, lazy whiners

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Teacher Suspended For Blogging About 'Lazy Whiners' Fights For Her Job

by Mark Memmott NPR
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February 16, 2011
There's been a growing buzz on the Web in the week or so since it was first reported that a Philadelphia-area high school English teacher has been suspended for writing, in a blog, things like this about her students:

"They are rude, disengaged, lazy whiners."

Today, one of the most-read stories on the Internet is this report from The Associated Press in which the teacher, 30-year-old Natalie Munroe, talks about why she said such things (in a blog meant for her family and friends and that did not identify her school or any students) and how she wants to keep her job at Central Bucks East High School.

"They get angry when you ask them to think or be creative," Munroe said of her students in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. "The students are not being held accountable."

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TOP DOG, Scottish Deerhound Best in Show at Westminster, Big Hit on Facebook

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Scottish deerhound is best in show at Westminster

Feb 16, 2011
By BEN WALKER
NEW YORK (AP) 
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Hickory just might like the big-city life.
A Scottish deerhound that loves to chase deer and rabbits on a 50-acre farm in Virginia did more than fine at Madison Square Garden this week, winning best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club on Tuesday night and the title of America's top dog.
"She's not used to lights, camera and noise," handler Angela Lloyd said.
Whatever, Hickory will get a couple of Manhattan treats on Wednesday - steak at famed Sardi's restaurant and a trip to the top of the Empire State Building.
The 5-year-old Hickory became the first of her breed to capture the purple-and-gold ribbon and shiny silver bowl.
By dog world standards, it was an upset. OK, maybe not quite as big as the Hickory Huskers winning the Indiana high school state basketball championship in the film "Hoosiers," but quite a surprise nonetheless.
"I think Hickory could feel my lead that I was excited and went with it," Lloyd said.
Judge Paolo Dondina of Italy thanked every person and dog inside the arena, then picked Hickory from a best-of-seven final show ring that truly sounded international - along with a Scottish deerhound, there was a Pekingese, Portuguese water dog, Chinese shar-pei, smooth fox terrier, bearded collie and black cocker spaniel.
A couple of those pooches on the green carpet ring with Hickory were among the country's top-rated show dogs. The 85-pound Hickory wasn't on that list, though she wagged her long tail the most at the end after beating out a total of nearly 2,600 entries. No doubt, owners Sally Sweatt and Cecilia Dove and Dr. Scott Dove were equally thrilled after her 16th best-in-show overall.
"The quality of all of the dogs were outstanding," Dondina said. "This animal is like in the heavens. It's not of this world."
The 135th Westminster was considered a wide-open field from the start. A smooth fox terrier that was the No. 1 show dog of 2010 recently retired and an Australian shepherd that won the big AKC/Eukanuba event did not enter.
Hickory won the hound group Monday night, then had to wait around all day for her big chance. That was a lot to ask for a kind of dog that feels most comfortable in the woods, but she clearly managed to do just fine.
The 31-year-old Lloyd had won at Westminster before - in 1998, she was honored for her handling in the junior showmanship for youngsters who hope to work in the dog world.
"People who own, breed, show dogs dream of this day," she said.
Among the owners who showed earlier in the day: Brig. Gen. Rhonda Cornum, an Army surgeon who was shot down from a helicopter during the Persian Gulf War and briefly held as a prisoner of war. She was at the Garden showing a Gordon setter.
Cornum was clear on which was more difficult, ascending in the show ring or in the military.
"No question, it is dogs," she said.
Sitting high up in section 118, Linda Melvin kept her eyes fixed on those Gordon setters competing on the floor. A seat away, her daughter fixated on her cell phone.
Krista Piller was busy posting on Facebook: "Wants a big dog to win the WKC dog show this year."
"I'll being putting up more, too," Piller wrote.
From the stands, to the rings to backstage, people were a-twitter - iPads, Blackberries, Droids and then some at an event that started in 1877. Signs of social media were everywhere at the Westminster Kennel Club show.
Proving, in fact, that it is indeed possible to teach an old dog show new tech tricks.
"It is now uploaded!" exclaimed Lorraine Shore of Sequim, Wash.
In town with a pair of German pinschers, her peeps worldwide could see on YouTube how her favorite pooches fared.
"From Germany to Australia to California, people are waiting for my postings," she said. "People who have never been here, now they've experienced Westminster."
Westminster had 49,000 friends on Facebook by late Tuesday afternoon, said Susi Szeremy of the kennel club's social media team, and the number quickly zoomed to more than 60,000. There are about 2,400 followers Tweeting along - litters of twitters.
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'Parent Trigger Bill' would give parents dissatisfied with local schools three options

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Bill would let parents "pull trigger" on failing Missouri schools

By Virginia Young post-dispatch.com
February 16, 2011
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JEFFERSON CITY -- Parents unhappy with their children's public schools could demand new management, admission at other public schools or scholarships to cover private school tuition under a bill presented to a House committee this morning.
Comparing the school choice drive to the civil rights movement, the bill's sponsor, House Majority Leader Tim Jones, said the long history of failure in St. Louis Public Schools demanded consideration of "ideas that are revolutionary."
His bill, known as the parent trigger, would give dissatisfied parents three options. If 51 percent of them signed a petition, they could force:
-- The school to be turned into a charter school with new management.
-- The school to be closed and their children transferred to better public schools in the same district.
-- The public to pay for vouchers covering most of the cost of private schooling.
A similar law was passed in California last year, and parents in the Compton Unified School District became the first to use it, turning in petitions in December to turn their school over to a charter operator.
Noting that this was his first year to introduce the bill, Jones, R-Eureka, said the parent trigger concept was "as brand-new as you can get" and would need some work to be "Missourianized."

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State Rep. Tim "Tickets" Jones, R-Eureka

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'Kill Switch' Internet Bill Alarms Privacy Experts, viewed as heavy-handed approach

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'Kill Switch' Internet bill alarms privacy experts

By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY

Feb 15, 2011
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SAN FRANCISCO — A raging debate over new legislation, and its impact on the Internet, has tongues wagging and fingers pointing from Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C.

Just as the Egyptian government recently forced the Internet to go dark, U.S. officials could flip the switch if the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset legislation becomes law, say its critics.

Proponents of the bill, which is expected to be reintroduced in the current session of Congress, dismiss the detractors as ill-informed — even naive.

The ominously nicknamed Kill Switch bill is sure to be a flashpoint of discussion at the RSA Conference, the nation's largest gathering of computer-security experts that takes place here this week.

The bill — crafted by Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Tom Carper, D-Del. — aims to defend the economic infrastructure from a cyberterrorist attack. But it has free-speech advocates and privacy experts howling over the prospect of a government agency quelling the communication of hundreds of millions of people.

"This is all about control, an attempt to control every aspect of our existence," says Christopher Feudo, a cybersecurity expert who is chairman of SecurityFusion Solutions. "I consider it an attack on our personal right of free speech. Look what recently occurred in Egypt."

Its critics immediately dubbed it Kill Switch, suffusing it with Big Brother-tinged foreboding. "Unfortunately, it got this label, which is analogous to death panels (during the health care debates)," says Mark Kagan, director of research at Keane Federal Systems, an information-technology contractor for the government.

The disruption to communications and economic activity "could be catastrophic," says Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Opposition and execution

Cyberthreats aside, deep questions persist over what critics claim is the bill's heavy-handed approach, what it means to free speech and whether it can be enforced practically.

The crux of the issue, to computer-law expert Fertik and others, is if the Internet is a national asset, should it be nationalized?

"Determining where the Internet connects to infrastructure is hard to define and impose," Kagan says.

"In its current form, the legislation offers no clear means to check that power," says Timothy Karr, campaign director for media-policy group Free Press, a non-profit organization.

A 1934 federal law that created the Federal Communications Commission allows the president to "authorize the use or control" of communications outlets during moments of emergency of "public peril or disaster." The Lieberman-led bill would be considered a specific extension of that and let the nation's chief executive prioritize communications on the Internet, says Fertik.

A provision in the bill lets the president take limited control during an emergency and decide restrictions. "It, essentially, gives the president a loaded gun," Fertik says.

"Say there is a mounted attack from a terrorist group on the Internet," Fertik says. "(The law) could present the president with a kill switch option. But what are the conditions, and how far does (the law) go?"

The debate extends to minutiae in the bill's wording.

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Weaken Child Labor Law Missouri, Mocked by Jay Leno, LISTEN TO JOKE HERE

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The Missouri Statehouse received a nod Tuesday night from comedian Jay Leno, who mocked a Senate bill that would significantly weaken child labor laws.

"And in Missouri, Republican state Sen. Jane Cunningham has introduced a bill that would eliminate her state's child labor laws," Leno said at the conclusion of his monologue on "The Tonight Show."
"Well, yeah, I mean, why should the 10-year-olds in China be getting all the good factory jobs?"

Specifically, the bill would legalize employment for children under the age of 14, end inspections of facilities employing children, and remove restrictions on the number of hours a child may work.

A Senate panel has not yet heard the legislation, but that could soon change: Cunningham, of Chesterfield, chairs the General Laws Committee, which has been assigned to hear the bill.

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Aspen Leasure, Hermann Missouri, on Dean's Honor Roll Wichita State University Fall 2010

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Aspen B. Leasure of Hermann, has been named to the Dean's Honor Roll list at Wichita State University.

To be included on the dean's honor roll, a student must be enrolled full time (at least 12 credit hours) and earn at least a 3.5 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

WSU enrolls more than 14,500 students and offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in six undergraduate colleges.

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Hillary Marsch, Hermann Missouri, Rebecca C. Grutsch, Berger MO, Perfect 4.0 Dean's List UCM - 13 AREA STUDENTS LISTED - CONGRATULATIONS!!!

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Hermann High School Graduate, Hillary M. Marsch, and Rebecca C. Grutsch, Berger, achieved  a perfect 4.0 grade point average during the fall semester at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.

Their hard work put them on the Universities fall 2010, 1st Dean's List (perfect 4.0 GPA), along with 4 other area standout students,  Jonathan C. Pund of New Florence,  Stephanie C. Brandt of Chamois, Micah J. Berry of Owensville and Jason F. Hobein of Owensville.

Each semester, the UCM Dean's List is divided into two parts. The first list includes the names of students who have achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average, and the second list includes the names of students who attained a grade point average of 3.50 to 3.99.

Area student's achieving 2nd List Honors (3.5 to 3.99 GPA) were; 
Maura Baumstark of Hermann, Madison Cameron of Rhineland, Shane V. Nicks of Owensville, Kristine D. Farrell of Rhineland, Amanda D. Keilholz of Chamois,  Adrienne N. Hale of New Haven and Spencer N. Stark of New Haven. 


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Bookseller Borders Files Bankruptcy Protection, Will Close 30 Pct. of Stores

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Borders files for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection

Associated Press
February 16, 2011
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Bookseller Borders, which helped pioneer superstores that put countless mom-and-pop bookshops out of business, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, sunk by crushing debt and sluggishness in adapting to a rapidly changing industry.
The 40-year-old company plans to close about 200 of its 642 stores over the next few weeks. All of the stores closed will be superstores, Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said. The company also operates smaller Waldenbooks and Borders Express stores.
Borders Group Inc. President Mike Edwards said in a written statement that cautious consumer spending, negotiations with publishers and other vendors and a lack of liquidity made it clear Borders "does not have the capital resources it needs to be a viable competitor."
Borders plans to operate normally and honor gift cards and its loyalty program as it reorganizes.
The company will receive $505 million in debtor-in-possession financing from GE Capital and others to help it reorganize. In January, Borders said it was considering a bankruptcy filing after it received a conditional $550 million loan from GE Capital that required it to secure financing elsewhere.
According to the Chapter 11 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, Borders had $1.28 billion in assets and $1.29 billion in debts as of Dec. 25.
It owes tens of millions of dollars to publishers, including $41.1 million to Penguin Putnam, $36.9 million to Hachette Book Group, $33.8 million to Simon & Schuster and $33.5 million to Random House.
Activist investor William Ackman, whose Pershing Square Management Co. has a nearly 15 percent stake in the company, also stands to be a big loser.
He offered to finance a $16-per-share Borders-led takeover bid for rival Barnes & Noble in December, but nothing materialized.
It has been a long fall for the Ann Arbor, Mich., company, which 15 years ago appeared to be the future of bookselling. But big-box bookstores have struggled as competition has become increasingly tough as books become available in more locations, from Costco to Walmart, online sales grow and electronic books gain in popularity.
Borders also suffered from a series of errors: failing to catch onto the growing importance of the Web and electronic books, not reacting quickly enough to declining music and DVD sales, and hiring four CEOs in 5 years without book-selling experience.
Even as the book industry shifted around it, Borders seemed to be in denial and focused on adding superstores, said Michael Norris, senior trade analyst at Simba Information.
"Books and content just became so available at so many other locations, online and offline, the 'grow, rinse, repeat' mindset just wouldn't work anymore," he said.
In addition, Americans are simply buying fewer books. Sales fell nearly 5 percent in 2010 to 717.8 million from 751.7 million last year, according to Nielsen, which tracks about 70 percent of book sales but doesn't include Walmart stores.
At its peak in 2003, Borders operated 1,249 stores under the Borders and Waldenbooks names, but now it operates barely half that. Its annual revenue has fallen by about $1 billion since 2006, the last year it reported a profit.
Borders' rival Barnes & Noble, which has 29.8 percent of the book market compared with Borders' 14.3 percent according to IBIS World, has done better by adapting to e-commerce and electronic books more quickly and keeping management stable.

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Navy Veteran Face Felony Charge, St Charles County Man used Pot to Ease Constant Pain Rather Than Morphine

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St. Charles County man says he used pot to ease constant pain

BY SHANE ANTHONY   
St Louis Post Dispatch  
February 16, 2011
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  Feb. 14, 2011--Ken Unger, 52, of O'Fallon, Mo., says he grew marijuana to treat his persistent back pain. On Sept. 9, 2010, police raided Unger's home and he was charged with felony possession of marijuana. Dawn Majors dmajors@post-dispatch.com

O'FALLON, MO. • A Navy veteran who says he used marijuana to ease constant pain wants St. Charles County prosecutors to drop a felony charge that accuses him of growing the drug.
Ken Unger, 52, of the first block of Hornbean Court in O'Fallon, was charged in September with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. His arrest came around the time prosecutors decided to drop charges against Kenneth Wells, a St. Charles County man who grew pot in his house for what he said was medicinal use. Now Unger is asking for the same treatment in his case and is supported by an Oakland, Calif., organization known as Green Aid: The Medical Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund. Unger's case is featured on the organization's website.
Unger said he used marijuana to control pain without prescription painkillers such as morphine. He said prescription drugs provided little relief and interfered with caring for his 12-year-old son.
"He deserves more from me than somebody sitting there completely plowed all day long on heavy narcotics," Unger said.
St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas said his office had not been contacted by Unger or his attorney, Ruth Beerup, regarding a medical marijuana defense.
"Until such time we are contacted by counsel or the defendant, we're proceeding as we normally would with this particular charge," Banas said. He declined to comment further.
Unger said he was serving in the Navy in Grenada in 1983 when he was struck on the head by a crane hook. The blow compressed his spine, he said, and the injuries led to chronic, painful health problems that prevent him from working.
Unger said he eventually started using painkillers prescribed by Veterans Administration doctors.
Police searched Unger's home in September after receiving information he was growing marijuana.
Police said they found 48 marijuana root systems in Unger's basement. Unger says police actually found two marijuana plants and about four root systems.
Unger said prosecutors offered to recommend five years of probation and 30 days in jail if he agreed to plead guilty. He said he can't take that deal, though, because it would require drug testing, and he can't go back to using morphine.
"I'm not living like that anymore," he said. "Living on morphine is like being dead."
Unger may face an uphill battle challenging the law. Wells was released because prosecutors said they were concerned a jury might be sympathetic to his plight. Banas warned at the time, though, that others should not assume they could grow marijuana with impunity.
Missouri law does not allow medical use as a defense, said Ben Trachtenberg, visiting associate professor of law at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

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Medical marijuana patient Ken Unger persecuted by cops in Missouri

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New Haven Missouri, Olive Street Bridge Replacement Bids Accepted

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New Haven Aldermen Accept Bids For Bridge Replacement

by dfox
02/15/2011
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A plan to replace New Haven's aging Olive Street bridge took another step Monday evening when aldermen accepted the low bids for the project. The bids were submitted by Vedder Excavating, New Haven, and KJ Unnerstall Construction, Washington. Now, the city will enlist the help of the Missouri Department of Transportation.
 
"This is a federally funded project administered by MoDOT," City Administrator Steve Roth explained. "The board's action [Monday] night was to accept all the alternates, then to ask for MoDOT's concurrance in awarding the contracts to the low bidder."


Shortly after a contract is finalized, a contractor could be on scene, possibly by April or May, Roth said.
The city is not only looking to replace the bridge on Olive Street, but also realign the road to correct a sharp turn.

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'Move Your Caboose' Hermann Missouri City Aldermen Accepted Ownership of Iconic Train Caboose to facilitate Move

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The city of Hermann took action Monday evening towards moving the iconic train caboose from its location at the corner of First and Gutenberg Streets.   During their meeting, aldermen accepted ownership of the caboose so it can eventually be moved to the city's new train station.  In exchange, the city will allow the Masons to continue their use of the corner area for future fundraising events.

The caboose had been owned by the Hermann Masonic Temple Association, but had to be transferred to the city to facilitate the move. 

Eventually, the caboose will be part of a museum at the new train station, although the move likely will not occur for about a year.

The city should begin seeking bids for the train station construction within the next few months.  

The caboose is approximately 60 years old, and has stood at the corner of First and Gutenberg for nearly 20 years.

In other city business:


The Hermann Board of Aldermen will study new flood insurance rate maps that will soon be provided by the State Emergency Management Agency.

   The city was given a heads up on the pending new countywide flood insurance maps, which will need to be adopted by ordinance. Upon adopting the new ordinance, SEMA will then forward it to FEMA. The effective date will be July 18, 2011.

   It is necessary for the city to adopt such an ordinance to be eligible to participate in the national flood insurance program.


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