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Balloon release for siblings killed on I-170

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

BERKELEY, Mo. - Crystal Bounds was the mother of three and a dedicated kindergarten teacher. Her brother, Harvey McGee, was the father of two and known as a hard worker at the Renaissance Hotel in Berkeley. He celebrated his 29th birthday on Friday.The siblings were remembered Tuesday night in the parking lot of the Renaissance Hotel, where a crowd gathered to light candles and release balloons. The victims’ children created a GoFundMe to help with their future.The siblings exited their vehicle and were on I-170, just south of I-70, when they were struck and killed early Saturday morning, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The investigation into their deaths continues.Derrick Leonard, a brother of Bounds and McGee, helped create a collage capturing good memories and turned those images into t-shirts for family members to wear.“Just so we can all remember the good times that we had together,” Brown said. Family mourns siblings struck and killed on I-170  The number of ...

St. Louis man says American Airlines lost prosthetic leg, won’t reimburse him

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS - “Dealing with a prosthetic leg is not as easy as people think it is,” said Michael Williams, a St. Louis resident.He said dealing with an airline that lost your prosthetic leg is even harder.“You can’t do this to somebody that’s disabled. Just say, 'Hey, we lost something of yours, but we’re not going to pay for it,'” Williams said.But that’s what he said American Airlines told him. This all started in 2020. Williams was flying from Indianapolis to Charlotte on his way home to St. Louis.“The special-made leg, I put it in my suitcase. I put the sticker on it that says "fragile," he said. "I gave it to the young lady at American Airlines when I was checking in. When I get to St. Louis airport, they roll me downstairs to baggage claim. I’m sitting there waiting for my luggage to come off, and never comes off.” Family mourns siblings struck and killed on I-170  Williams said he followed all of AA’s delayed or damaged baggage protocols, verified what was missing, and submit...

Not one scheduled criminal trial began as new special assistant prosecutor is sworn in to help

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS - FOX 2 monitored at least five different courtrooms Tuesday to witness frustration from both victims' families and judges.In one courtroom, Judge Rex Burleson warned prosecutors to get cases moving. Judge Michael Noble was in another courtroom, demanding answers from the prosecution that he never seemed to receive.Outside the courtroom, Suketha Rankin said, “I’m here for it all.” Rankin fights for justice for her son and granddaughter, who were murdered in their car in the Central West End in January 2021.“That’s why I fight so hard,” she said. “I am the voice. I won’t be silenced. Everybody wants fairness for the suspects. We’re victims.” Family mourns siblings struck and killed on I-170  Rankin is one of many people who continue facing justice delays. FOX 2 checked on several courtrooms in which trials were scheduled to begin, but the listed prosecutors have resigned. That’s when we learned attorney Rufus Tate Jr. had been sworn in as a special assistant prosecutor to...

EPA addresses Westlake landfill cleanup efforts

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

BRIDGETON, Mo. - The EPA discussed the plans for the cleanup efforts at the Westlake Landfill site on Tuesday. Officials said over the last four years they've been collecting data, testing soil, and working out a plan for the excavation process.Rep. Tricia Byrnes had urged residents earlier to attend the meeting with EPA to express their concerns about the toxic waste in the area. Morgan Wallen cancels 6 weeks of shows, taking vocal rest Tom Mahler is the remedial project manager for Operable Unit 1 and said the area where they are seeing radiologically impacted materials is larger than the original estimates.“This is a more complex excavation piece of the remedy, and this is kind of a more complex remedy than a typical site," Mahler said. “Shortly after 2005, the responsible parties started bringing fill materials that they expected to use to construct an engineered cover. Those materials were placed, in some cases, on top of where we now know RIM to be.”

You Paid For It - Saving taxpayers millions by recycling ambulances

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. - The St. Charles County Ambulance District says it’s saving millions by recycling ambulances.They send the old ambulance about two hours away to Osage Ambulances down in Linn, Missouri, to be remounted. It’s where the old top of the ambulance is attached to a new chassis.St. Charles County Ambulance District Deputy Chief Jeremey Hollrah said there are big savings for taxpayers. He estimated about $2 million in savings since 2018."About every seven years, based off mileage and wear and, tear, we take the ambulance and actually do what’s called a remount process," Hollrah said. "We’ll send it off to the manufacturer, where they actually take the box part of the ambulance off and put a new chassis underneath it. You get multiple uses out of the box, and you get a brand-new chassis underneath it, which actually gives you 25 years out of the box and seven years out of the chassis." Morgan Wallen cancels 6 weeks of shows, taking vocal rest "The basics would be t...

Cardinals president frustrated over lack of movement on sports betting legislation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Frustrations with the Missouri Legislature have reached a tipping point for the St. Louis Cardinals over the issue of legalized sports betting.In a one-on-one interview, Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III told FOX 2 that Missouri’s top pro sports teams are shifting their focus to putting the issue before voters.When it comes to doing interviews, DeWitt is typically pretty measured. His passion is coming out of this issue after hitting road blocks in the Missouri Legislature four to five years in row, as neighboring states have legalized sports betting.“We feel like it’s kind of ‘Groundhog Day’… (Legalization) is going to happen, whether it’s this year, next year, the year after, or in five years,” he said. “For us to throw away this money that’s sitting there in the state of Missouri is just insanity.” Morgan Wallen cancels 6 weeks of shows, taking vocal rest Once again, a sports betting bill easily passed in the Missouri House only to get bogged down in the Missouri ...

St. Charles looks to introduce EV charging stations to Frenchtown

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

ST. CHARLES, Mo - The City of St. Charles will soon introduce electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. They will be one of the first in the county.St. Charles engineers said it will be ground zero for paving a path to the future, and it all starts with electric charging. Two stations will be installed, and they hope for more.Electric vehicles are driving up sales and catching the eye of St. Charles."It's a forward-thinking thing that we can do as a city," said Dan Mann, director of engineering for the City of St. Charles.Using city street funds, his team bought two charging stations worth $5,000 each to be used in historic Frenchtown. They'll be installed in the next two months, starting their EV charging pilot program. Family mourns siblings struck and killed on I-170  "This is something that's really common for private development in other areas," Mann said. "Where a lot of people are installing these EV charging stations at their business or Walmart parking lot, so it really fi...

Redlands masseur arrested for sexual battery

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

Police arrested a Redlands masseur on Tuesday for the alleged sexual battery of a customer.The suspect was identified as 44-year-old Wenjie Chen, by the Redlands Police Department.The incident took place while Chen was working at China Foot Massage on March 19, according to police.During a massage, the victim said Chen "inappropriately touched her breasts." The incident was reported to the police a few days later, authorities said.Chen, who also goes by the nickname “Jerry,” was arrested on sexual battery charges. Police believe there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward.Anyone who may have been a victim or has additional information is asked to contact Detective Steve Truong at 909-798-7643 or email [email protected].

Here's how much Black Californians could individually receive in reparations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

California’s reparations task force has voted to approve recommendations on how the state may compensate and apologize to Black residents for generations of harm caused by racism and discriminatory policies.The recommendations include financial payouts which, if approved by the State Assembly, could total hundreds of billions of dollars, experts say.The panel’s vote approved a detailed account of historical discrimination against African American Californians in areas such as voting, housing, education, disproportionate policing and incarceration, and others.CalMatters, a non-partisan, nonprofit news organization, has created a calculator to help residents estimate how much they could individually receive under the task force’s proposal.The tool, titled, “How much reparations are African American residents owed?” includes a breakdown of the itemized amounts for “Health Harms,” “Mass Incarceration & Over-policing,” Housing Discrimination” and “Devaluation of Businesses.” Califo...

Martinez mercury spill larger than first thought

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:45 GMT

(BCN/KRON) -- A mercury spill that closed the Amtrak station in Martinez on Monday was bigger than initially thought, officials from Contra Costa Health (CCH) told the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The station remained closed as of Tuesday night and Amtrak is using the old train station a few blocks away at Ferry Street and Marina Vista Avenue. CCH issued a Level 2 hazardous material public health advisory in regard to the spill. The advisory impacts parts of downtown Martinez. "A Public Health Advisory has been issued for areas of downtown Martinez near the Amtrak Train Station," CCH said. "Minor mercury contamination has been detected in the street on Marina Vista Avenue to Alhambra Avenue to Buckley Street to Berrellesa Street. Residents are advised to avoid walking in the street. If you must be in the area, please remain on the sidewalk. Cleanup will be occurring for the next several days in the area. For more information, please visit cchealth.org" Image from Contr...