We know that you listen to us on air and check our website for news and information about our region. We hope that you look at our website every day, but we know that's not always possible. So, once a week, on Friday, we will highlight some of the website's top stories of the week.
After the grand jury, change is still on the agenda
The St. Louis Business Council鈥檚 Reinvest North County Fund announced on Thursday they鈥檙e awarding $119,500 to support businesses and school districts. And some key players within the St. Louis business community promised relief to riot-stricken businesses as well as millions of dollars to help bolster the region鈥檚 poorest communities. But can those efforts make a difference? At least two professors with experience in community building efforts noted that a high-profile effort to rebuild Los Angeles after the riots in the early 1990s there fell flat. They worry that big companies are more focused on philanthropy than with empowering communities.
The 16-member commission met for the first time Monday at the Ferguson Recreational Center. The nine black and seven white members are tasked with tackling St. Louis鈥� systemic racial and economic divides. The Rev. Starsky Wilson, co-chairman of the commission, said the members plan to talk about changes to policing, municipal governance and systemic poverty. He said the 鈥渆ntire world鈥� would be watching to see how St. Louisans respond to the aftermath of Brown鈥檚 shooting death.
Since 2000, police departments in Missouri have to report information about their traffic stops 鈥� including the race of the person pulled over. , the data have shown that minorities are disproportionately stopped and searched -- in spite of the state requiring police departments to come up with policies that combat the use of race in traffic stops. So why is it so hard to get rid of bias in policing?
Our new map compiles information about the protests and violent unrest that erupted last week. by day (Nov. 24-29) and type of event. Protest, street closures, fires, arrest and other information are color coded.
Former two-term Ferguson Mayor Brian Fletcher said Thursday that he鈥檚 seeking a City Council seat in April's election. Fletcher has been a vocal proponent of Ferguson, launching the committee in August, and strong opponent of Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, even .
A lost life, a grieving community
The St. Louis region鈥檚 Bosnian community long has been touted as the largest in the world outside of Bosnia itself. But, as some local activists add ruefully, their numbers have yet to translate into political clout. That frustration has been front and center since last weekend鈥檚 murder in south St. Louis of Zemir Begic, a 32-year-old Bosnian-American who was beaten to death by three teenagers wielding hammers.
Senior moments
If medical tests found that you had risk factors that could possibly lead to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease when you are in your mid-60s, would you want to know? What if you were a freshman in college, just starting out on your path to adulthood? Would that change your answer? That鈥檚 one of the questions that students in a new course at Washington University are pondering as they look into what their futures may hold 鈥� and learn lessons that may be useful to anyone, no matter their age.
The big picture
Mickalene Thomas is an artist who examines what it means to be a black woman. So what does her work suggest when juxtaposed with an ad for a strip club? How about when it鈥檚 displayed just off West Florissant Avenue, a few miles down the road from Ferguson? Thomas鈥� 鈥淎 Moment's Pleasure鈥� is scheduled for installation this week on an east-facing billboard It鈥檚 part of a project that will rotate the work of several artists on billboards along the interstate.
