State workers to receive raise

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - Missouri state workers will be getting a small bump in pay.

Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, known as AFSCME have negotiated a one-time, 2 percent pay increase for the upcoming fiscal year.

Jeff Mazur is a spokesman for the Union. He says even with the raise, Missouri ranks dead last in employee pay.

"Missouri state workers are actually the lowest paid of any state workers of any state in the nation," Mazur says. "In fact just this time last year some data from United States Census Bureau showed that they earn fully 34 percent less than the national average for a state worker."

Mazur says these employees in question work primarily in the Department of Mental Health, State Veterans Commission and Department of Corrections.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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St. Louis to host convention about conventions

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - The City of St. Louis is hosting what tourism officials are calling the “Super Bowl of Conventions" this weekend.

The members of American Society of Association Executives are responsible for booking some $60 billion in convention activity annually.

All told, some 5,000 hospitality industry reps and executives will be in St. Louis from Saturday to Tuesday.

The purpose of the convention is for those reps to try to convince 1,500 different associations to hold annual meetings in their city.

Brian Hall of the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission says hosting the event gives St. Louis a huge advantage. Since roughly 20 percent of conference attendees will book their annual meeting in the host city over the next five years.

"And that results in about $186.5 million if we’re able to book one-in-five meetings for a future date here in St. Louis," Hall said. "Which is obviously a huge opportunity for us.”

The event will kick off with a free concert under the Gateway Arch at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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McCaskill asks President for alternatives to breaching Birds Point

The flooding along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers has placed the Army Corps of Engineers in difficult situation: the Corps is weighing a decision to flood thousands of acres of farmland, or try to save homes.

The Army Corps says it’s going to wait until the weekend before deciding whether or not to intentionally blow up a levee and flood some 130,000 acres of Missouri Farmland.

A law enacted in 1928 allows the Army Corps to blow up the levee at Birds Point to reduce flood risk for the nearby town Cairo, Illinois.

The plan has raised the ire of folks on the Missouri-side of the river.

Senator Clair McCaskill has sent a letter to the President asking for alternative measures, while also acknowledging that decision is difficult.

“The Army Corps of Engineers has a very difficult choice here and while we certainly prefer and are asking them not to blow the levee…ultimately they have got to make a very difficult calculation,” McCaskill said.

Cairo Mayor Judson Childs says people's lives should be considered ahead of farmland.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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Mo. House rolls back Puppy Mill law

When voters approved the “Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act”, commonly called “Proposition B”, few guessed the issue of puppies would so divide state lawmakers….they were wrong.

The dog-breeding issue has pit urban vs. rural, with rural lawmakers largely opposed to greater regulation.

The House voted to on Wednesday roll back portions of the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, commonly called “Proposition B”.

Barbara Schmitz is the Director of the Missouri Humane Society. She says the move is slap in the face of state voters.

"Well, it’s a travesty that both the House and the Senate have voted in support of a measure that would roll back something that the voters just spoke to a few months ago," Schmitz said.

Schmitz says the bill remove requirements for cage size, access to water, and regular veterinary care. "SB113 unfortunately goes through and systematically strips away the increased protections that Prop B provides," she said.

Governor Nixon’s office has given no indication if he will approve or veto the measure.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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Nixon says he would embrace federal rail money

Missouri is one of a handful of states applying for some $2.4 billion in federal funding for high-speed rail projects that Florida rejected last month.

Governor Jay Nixon was in Kirkwood Tuesday to announce Missouri’s application for nearly one billion dollars in new funding.

In recent months rail projects have become politicized with many GOP lawmakers calling for states to refuse the funds.

For his part, Nixon, a Democrat, says he sees rail as a good investment for Missouri.

"From my chair I don’t look at this as a partisan issue, I mean dollars that weren’t available have been made available. And we have a very very small amount of state resources that we have to be put up, I mean 4.5 million dollars to potentially get a billion dollars," Nixon said.

Missouri’s application is earmarked for Amtrak’s St. Louis to Kansas City line.

The project would complement a high-speed project already underway between St. Louis and Chicago.

President Barack Obama has championed 53 billion dollars in high-speed projects to spur job growth across the country.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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Missouri GOP on McCaskill

Republicans are attacking Senator Claire McCaskill for failing to own up to her own rhetoric about openness and accountability.

The state Republican Party is calling on McCaskill to release tax records associated with a controversial airplane at the center of a tax and accounting scandal.

Lloyd Smith is the Director of state GOP. He says the only way to know if further problems exist is to release the full tax records associated with the airplane.

"She’s called for transparency time and time again—yet when its up under her own roof the only time she answer the tough questions is when reporters jerk back the curtain and expose LLC’s in Delaware and LLC’s in Missouri…that’s when she answer the questions," Smith says.

The plane is co-owned and leased through two LLC’s operated by McCaskill’s husband, millionaire businessman Joseph Shepard.

McCaskill has issued a check to St. Louis County for over $290 thousand in back taxes on the plane. She claims it was an oversight.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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McCaskill admits failure to pay taxes on personal airplane

Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill’s campaign for re-election next year took a hit on Monday.

The Senator admitted she neglected to pay close to $290 thousand in back taxes on an airplane she co-owns with her husband.

McCaskill’s first problems with the airplane came amid reports that she improperly billed the government for travel to a political event.

She has returned that payment.

However, McCaskill says a deeper investigation of the plane discovered a failure to pay $287 thousand dollars in back property tax … an oversight that she takes full responsibility for.

"I know what people are going to think about this, because I know exactly what I would think—how in the world does something like this happen? Ultimately the problem is I didn’t do what I should have done. I should have been the one to take responsibility and check and make sure that it had been done properly," McCaskill says.

Missouri is one of the few states to charge property tax on airplanes. Unlike other taxes, owners are required to self report.

The GOP Senatorial Committee is demanding the release of tax records for the LLC that owns the plane, along with information on each of the flights she took. The Missouri Republican Party has filed an ethics complaint against McCaskill.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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Two federal marshals, one city police office shot in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, MO (ST. LOUIS PUBLIC RADIO) - Two federal marshals and one city police officer were shot in St. Louis early Tuesday morning.

One victim remains in critical condition.

The suspect opened fire on officers when they arrived to arrest him shortly before 7AM.

One deputy U.S. Marshal was shot in the head, the other in the ankle. A city police officer was hit in his protective vest and also received a grazing wound to the face.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay said the incident is a sad reminder of the dangers faced by officers every day.

"This is a tragic example of what our law enforcement officers go through, the risks that they undertake and their families," Slay said. "We need to support them, we need to think about them, and for the injured officers we need to keep them in our thoughts."

Authorities returned fire and killed the shooter. Police would not specify what the man was wanted for.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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No contract extension for Pujols and Cardinals

First basemen Albert Pujols is entering his eleventh season as a St. Louis Cardinal … and now, it’s looking like it could be his last. 

The Cardinals and Pujols failed to come to terms for a contract extension, clearing the way for Pujols to become a free agent at the end of the year.

But, might there still be time to reach a deal?

Matthew Leach writes about the Cardinals for mlb.com. He says that Cardinals ownership may be waiting for Pujols to reach free agency in order to let the market establish itself.

"The team has been very tight-lipped and they haven’t actually divulged what their strategy is," Leach said. "But sort of reading tea leaves and sort of putting two and two together and trying to get a read on what’s going on here, I think there’s a distinct possibility that to some extent they are calling a bluff here. And they’re saying, 'If that’s what you think you can get, tell you what, find out if that’s what you can get.'"

Pujols, who is 31 years old, is reportedly looking for a 10-year deal that would make him the game’s highest-paid player. The Cardinals are leery of a contract that would keep Pujols through his 41st birthday. Few players in the testing era continue to perform at a high level after their mid-thirties.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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U.S. corn reserves at lowest level since 1996

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reporting that reserves of corn have hit their lowest level in over 15 years. The high demand for corn could put upward pressure on food prices in 2011.

The USDA says demand for corn in the ethanol industry is up 50 million bushels after record-high production in December and January. That has left the United States with the lowest surplus of corn since 1996.

Scott Gerlt is a Crop Analyst with the University of Missouri. He says high corn prices could increase the cost on everything from ethanol to food and feed.

“The corn market is definitely a changing market. With ethanol policy we have a lot more demand and so we are going to have a lot more pressure on prices. Because even though we have a lot of supply there’s just so much demand a lot of that supply is getting used up and we’re just not left with much at the end of the day,” Gerlt says.

Corn prices have already doubled in the last six months, rising from $3.50 a bushel to more than $7 a bushel.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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Ed Martin runs for Senate

Fresh on the heels of his failed bid for U.S. Congress, St. Louis Republican Ed Martin has announced his candidacy for Senate.

Martin made the announcement via YouTube video on Monday.

So far Martin and former-Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman have announced their intent to run, and there is speculation that others may join the race.

Martin says he feels that primaries are a healthy process and need not hurt the Republican Party.

"I think it will be great," Martin said. "I mean, the hard part is when competition damages people and gives people false impressions. But, I’m confident that we can talk about the central issue—size, scope and cost of the federal government."

In a statement, Martin highlighted Senator Claire McCaskill’s support of the bank bailouts and President Obama’s healthcare overhaul.

Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio

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