Tim Lloyd

Tuesday night the St. Louis County Council passed a new ordinance that in part requires contractors have a U.S. Department of Labor approved apprentice program.

That provision drew criticism from some civil rights groups who said it was unfairly pro-union.

“You know there are any number of minority owned contractors who are not union contractors,” said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis branch of the NAACP.   “We’ve fought this fight a hundred times about this language and how it excludes them simply because they’re not tied to the union.”

The St. Louis Zoo held an open house Tuesday night to launch the planning process for its expansion into the recently purchased 13.5 acre Forest Park Hospital.

David McGuire is vice president for architecture and planning at the zoo and says it might take decades to complete the expansion project.

The initial planning phase is expected to last six to eight months, and McGuire says at the end of the day adding the new site will mean the zoo can extend its mission. 

For years, there’s been interest in trying to develop more housing, business and recreation around MetrLink stations in the St. Louis area.

Tuesday evening the East-West Gateway Council of Governments will begin hosting a series of community meetings to gather feedback on one such effort. 

Paul Hubbman of East West Gateway Council of Government is project manager for the study.

He says one of their goals is to understand why business development around MetroLink stations has been slow to materialize.

This weekend hunters across Missouri have the opportunity to harvest white tail deer in three state parks, including Babler Memorial State Park in Wildwood. 

Missouri Department of Natural Resources Spokeswoman Renee Bungart says the managed hunts are a critical part of maintaining ecosystems in the parks.

“Deer over population can reduce habitat suitability for birds and other native wildlife,” Bungart says.  “They can seriously damage our rare or ecologically important native plants.”

Bungart says hunters were randomly selected by a computer drawing. 

Hundreds of St. Clair County residents lined up this morning to settle their outstanding warrants for misdemeanors and traffic violations as a part of Clean Slate Day.

The event was hosted by Power of Change Church in Cahokia.  Bishop Henry Phillips said Clean Slate Day offers a welcoming environment for people to clear up legal issues that could limit their job search.  

“Hundreds of people have come from all over the county to get their warrants dealt with simply because of the environment,” Phillips said.