(News release) – Missouri Governor Eric Greitens has issued a stay of execution and has appointed a Gubernatorial Board of Inquiry in Marcellus Williams Case
In 2001, a jury convicted Marcellus Williams of the first-degree murder of Felicia Gayle. Williams was sentenced to death. DNA testing of the murder weapon, conducted in 2016, was inconclusive.
In furtherance of the Governor’s constitutional power to grant pardons and executive clemency, state law gives the Governor exclusive discretion to appoint a Board of Inquiry to gather information and make a report to the Governor as to whether or not a person condemned to death should be executed. Section 552.070, RSMo.
Today, Governor Eric Greitens is issuing a stay of execution to appoint a Gubernatorial Board of Inquiry to further consider Marcellus Williams’ request for executive clemency.
“A sentence of death is the ultimate, permanent punishment. To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgment of guilt. In light of new information, I am appointing a Board of Inquiry in this case,” said Governor Greitens.
The five members of the Board of Inquiry to be appointed by Governor Greitens will include retired Missouri judges. The Board shall have subpoena power over persons and things, pursuant to state law. At the close of its work, the Board will report and make a recommendation to the Governor as to whether or not Williams should be executed or his sentence of death commuted.
The executive order appointing a Board of Inquiry can be found here:
(Missourinet) – A Missouri native and retired astronaut is joining NASA’s eclipse broadcast in Jefferson City on Monday.
Dr. Janet Kavandi, Director of the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, says the opportunity is a win-win.
“I’ve never seen a total eclipse. So this will be my first experience as well. I’m really hoping for good weather so that we can actually see it. It’s really even more special since I’m getting to see it in my home state,” she says.
A total eclipse is when the moon blocks the sun, causing the sky to turn pitch black. The eclipse is expected to begin at 11:46 a.m. with the full eclipse at 1:13 p.m.
Kavandi tells Missourinet, mathematicians studying orbital mechanics can determine the exact time when an eclipse will happen.
“They know the relationship between positioning of the sun, the moon and the Earth at one point in time and their models predict exactly when that will happen,” she says.
While growing up in southwest Missouri’s Cassville and Carthage, Kavandi was fascinated with astronomy. Her uncle built engines for a space shuttle at the NASA center in Huntsville, AL. She was also inspired by her high school chemistry teacher.
Kavandi attended college at Missouri Southern in Joplin and Missouri S & T in Rolla. She has been on three space shuttle missions and has logged about 33 days in space.
NASA is streaming Monday’s broadcast online. An interactive NASA exhibit will be on the south lawn of the Missouri Capitol Sunday and Monday. It will include a genuine moon rock artifact returned to Earth by the Apollo 17 crew.
GOWER, Mo. – Plans are underway to replace the bridge on U.S. Route 169 over the Castile Creek. The Missouri Department of Transportation will hold a community briefing on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2017 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the East Buchanan County C-1 School in Gower. Designers and engineers from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the consulting firm Alfred Benesch and Company will be on hand to discuss the construction plans for the new bridge and gather public input.
This will be an open-house style meeting; no formal presentation will be made. The public is invited and encouraged to offer comments at any time during the meeting. Participants will also have the opportunity to document their comments and sign up to be included on project updates via email.
The bridge over Castile Creek was built in 1955 carries approximately 3,400 cars per day and has exceeded its intended lifespan. Most of the state’s 10,376 bridges were designed and built to last 50 years. The bridge will be closed during its replacement. The project is currently scheduled to go out for bid to contractors in June 2018.
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, AUG. 18, 2017 – Missouri State Parks is issuing an advisory not to use a specific brand of solar eclipse glasses and viewers because it cannot be confirmed they meet ISO and CE certification or came from a recommended manufacturer.
The glasses and viewers were sold under the name “PMS Promo Mart” at Missouri state park and historic site stores throughout the state. The name is listed on the inside of the glasses between the lenses. Anyone who purchased the glasses with the name “PMS Promo Mart” should return them to any state park or historic site store or gift shop to receive a full refund.
“We are issuing this advisory as a precautionary measure because we cannot verify that the solar eclipse glasses and viewers meet all the requirements to safely view the eclipse,” said Ben Ellis, Missouri State Parks director. Ellis said they are advising anyone who bought the glasses with the PMS Promo Mart label to NOT use them during the eclipse.
NASA and the American Astronomical Society advise viewers to use only certified solar eclipse glasses or other solar filters to protect their eyes when the viewing the sun or an eclipse. Using any other type of glasses or filters may result in loss of vision or permanent blindness.
“Missouri State Parks apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause but we want to take all possible steps to make sure everyone can safely view the solar eclipse,” Ellis said.
(Missourinet) – State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, says she is not stepping down for saying she hopes President Trump is assassinated. The Democrat made the social media comment and then deleted it. Chappelle-Nadal, who is African-American, says her comment is out of frustration with Trump “causing so much hate” and last weekend’s white nationalists rally in Virginia.
I am not resigning. When POC are respected by this WH & they are willing to do real work, I’ll sit down with them. People are traumatized! https://t.co/rmsL4pQSTg
The Charlottesville rally protested the planned removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Trump has denounced the removal of monuments to Confederate figures as “sad” and “so foolish.”
The Secret Service is reportedly investigating her post. Chappelle-Nadal tells Fox Two television station in St. Louis that she should not have posted the comment.
“If there are legislators who are cheating on their wives and legislators smoking marijuana in their offices and they’re not asked to resign, I’m not going to resign for a mistake that I’ve owned up to,” she says.
Chappelle-Nadal tells St. Louis television station KMOV she doesn’t want anyone assassinated.
“He (Trump) should not be president. He should be impeached,” she says.
Several state and federal Missouri lawmakers in both major parties have called for her resignation.
I will not sit idly by and let this kind of behavior transpire in our state. Senator Chappelle-Nadal should resign immediately. pic.twitter.com/wlM7MQMJmU
Chappelle-Nadal, who has been a fierce fighter for the people of Ferguson and those in her district dealing with nuclear weapons contamination, says on Twitter that she wishes there was the same level of concern about radioactive waste causing cancer.
Republican Senator Roy Blunt addresses gathering at Missouri State Fair. Photo courtesy Missourinet.
(Missourinet) – More than 60 percent of Missourians do not have access to high-speed broadband internet. The majority of them live in rural areas.
Missouri’s two Senators are offering different approaches to bringing increased broadband access to those communities.
Both Republican Roy Blunt and Democrat Claire McCaskill addressed the issue Thursday at the State Fair in Sedalia. Blunt favors repealing net neutrality as a part of the solution.
Net neutrality is a concept adopted under the Obama administration in which Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all data it transmits equally. The providers are not currently allowed to discriminate or charge different fees for access to high speed delivery.
The idea to do away with net neutrality has been championed by new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai, an appointee under the Trump administration. The plan would let ISPs charge content providers such as Netflix to deliver data to customers through an “internet fast lane.”
Blunt contends the new revenue stream would encourage ISPs to build out broadband infrastructure into rural areas that are otherwise not profitable.
“The more you open up the economic potential for the service that somebody is putting in, the more likely they are going to put the service in” said Blunt.
Broadband providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast contend that allowing them to profit through a tiered delivery of content will enable them to invest in infrastructure build out.
There’s been a building unity among Missouri Republicans to support the elimination of net neutrality. Lieutenant Governor Mike Parson said he agrees with Blunt that loosening regulations on ISPs would give them motivation to build out broadband access.
“That’s going to allow us to have quicker access to those availabilities for the state of Missouri, rural Missouri, which has always been a problem” said Parson during a recent interview with Missourinet.
Sen. Claire McCaskill
Net neutrality defenders contend it prevents broadband suppliers from blocking or discriminating against any content that rides over their networks.
Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill said she agrees. She said net neutrality must be preserved in order to keep high speed access on a level playing field.
“I think there’s other ways that we can find the resources to get internet access into rural areas without making the internet unfair” McCaskill said.
Internet companies in favor of keeping the rules in place include Netflix, Facebook and Twitter.
McCaskill favors a new program announced earlier this month by the FCC. It calls for the federal agency to begin an auction in 2018 that will provide nearly $2 billion over 10 years specifically to expand high-speed Internet access in rural areas.
According to McCaskill, utility co-ops that serve a large swath of out-state Missouri would be empowered to provide broadband service.
“This auction that’s coming up is an opportunity for rural co-ops to access funds that would allow a build out of fiber broadband all across rural Missouri.”
Blunt says FCC Chairman Pai’s plan to do away with net neutrality will complete the process of bringing high speed internet to rural areas.
“There are two ways to look at this. I think the new chairman’s way to look at this is much more likely to encourage rural broadband than the chairman that he replaced.”
Blunt and McCaskill made their comments while appearing at separate events the state fair in Sedalia Thursday.
(News release) JEFFERSON CITY – In preparation for a large number of visitors to Missouri and the potential for increased traffic and eclipse-related issues, the State Emergency Operations Center will be activated beginning Friday morning and continuing through Tuesday, Aug. 22, to monitor conditions and respond to possible requests for assistance.
Just as Missourians have been preparing for the chance to witness the total solar eclipse that will span the Show-Me State, Missouri’s emergency managers and response agencies have been planning, too. The Department of Public Safety, State Emergency Management Agency, Missouri State Highway Patrol and other state response partners, including the Missouri Department of Transportation and Department of Natural Resources, have been working together on a coordinated response plan since March.
“This will be a unique event, but we’re utilizing the experience gained from other major events that bring in large numbers of people, increased traffic and that have the potential to tax local resources,” Department of Public Safety Director Drew Juden said. “Preplanning and coordination with our state and local partners have been essential, and strong communication throughout the event period will continue.”
At the local level, many communities and businesses have been making adjustments to reduce traffic, including changing trash collections schedules, deliveries and work schedules.
(Missourinet) – The way money for roads is distributed in Missouri is often called into question by residents.
According to management personnel at the state Department of Transportation (MoDOT), there’s a divide between urban dwellers and those who live in the countryside. Each thinks the other is being super served, while they’re suffering with substandard roads.
Freshman state House Republican Bruce Degroot of Chesterfield says people in his suburban St. Louis district are highly skeptical they are properly funded.
“The general consensus of the people that I spoke to that wanted to talk about roads and bridges felt that roads and bridges needed to be fixed, and that they were generally in worse shape in the St. Louis area than they were in the rural areas” said Degroot. “And they wanted to know why.”
Missouri’s transportation system is divided into seven districts for roads. Of those, the St. Louis region receives the largest allocation for funding – $293 million per year. St. Louis, which has the largest population base, also has the most concentrated distribution of money since it has the smallest land mass.
Kansas City, which is the second most populated region, gets $272 million, while the southwest region, which includes Springfield and Joplin, receives $214 million.
MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna contends the complaints about poor roads and suspicions of regional favoritism are byproducts of insufficient funding.
“All of these arguments that are centered on reallocating the funds, are diversions from the primary issue, which is the fact that we haven’t kept pace with inflation on the rates that we’re paying into the transportation network” said McKenna. “And it’s starving the entire system.”
The current motor fuel tax of 17 cents-per-gallon hasn’t been raised since 1996. Many of the licensing and registration fees, the other major funding source for roads, haven’t been increased since the 1960’s. MoDOT has pegged the need for additional funding at $825 million-per-year.
GOP House member Degroot accepts that the St. Louis region is getting the largest chuck of road funding. But he claims he can’t find out if the arrangement is fair because MoDOT won’t reveal how much money the region contributes to road funding.
“How much do we put in the pot? Nobody could tell me, which sounds crazy. I said I run my own family’s finances, and I know that’s on a much smaller scale than a state budget, but certainly you should know where your money comes from. And nobody could tell me, which raised all sorts of red flags to me.”
McKenna counters that MoDOT has no knowledge or control over how money is collected. “I’m not the Department of Revenue. I don’t collect the revenue. We receive the amount of money in the state road fund. We forecast that total amount of money. And then we allocate based of those factors.”
According to McKenna, distribution of money for roads is based on components that reflect the total miles traveled in each of the state’s seven regions.
“We use population. We use employment data. We use miles of road. We use square footage of bridge deck. And we use vehicle miles traveled. Those are the primary criteria that we use to allocate resources to each of our regions.”
Degroot remains unconvinced that St. Louis is being fairly treated because he can’t get an accounting of how much money the region is pouring into to the road fund.
“What I’m afraid of, and it makes me very suspicious that they won’t give me that number, I think we’re putting a significant amount more than what we’re getting out.”
Degroot has written a letter expressing his suspicions to the 21st Century Missouri Transportation System Task Force. The Task Force was established in a bill passed by the state legislature this year. It’s charged with figuring out how much money the state can raise for roads and determining how that funding will be acquired.
It’s composed of nine Missouri residents, along with two state senators, two House members, and designees from the Governor’s office, MODOT, the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Department of Economic Development.
The task force is holding its next in a series of monthly meetings is Wednesday, August 23rd in Springfield.
(Missourinet) – The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City will host a roundtable discussion on ag security Friday morning at the American Royal.
Friday’s roundtable will feature two powerful U.S. Senators and the Acting Homeland Security Secretary.
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and Kansas Senator Pat Roberts (R) will participate, along with Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke.
McCaskill is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and Roberts chairs the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
McCaskill, Roberts and Duke are expected to discuss the role of the Homeland Security Department in protecting America’s food supply, as well as in protecting Missouri and Kansas farmers.
The Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City’s website says the group “advocates growth and awareness of the food, fiber, agri-science and related industries in the Kansas City region.”
Friday morning’s event begins at 10 at the American Royal in Kansas City.
27 year old Jacob M. Johnson. Photo courtesy Missourinet.
(Missourinet) – The Missouri Highway Patrol says a third person has been charged in connection with the death of Clinton Police Officer Gary Michael.
Twenty-seven-year-old Jacob Johnson of Clinton has been charged with hindering prosecution of a felony. He’s accused of giving Ian McCarthy a ride out to the Bucksaw area, where McCarthy was eventually taken into custody Aug. 8th. Johnson’s being held on a $25,000 cash-only bond.
Johnson was first arrested on August 9, three days after the Sunday when Officer Michael was shot and killed during a traffic stop. Records show he was released on August 11.
The Highway Patrol says he was taken back into custody in Henry County and booked at 6:40 p.m.
Ian McCarthy was charged last week with first degree murder in the shooting of Michael during the traffic stop. He’s alleged to have jumped out of his car and fired at the officer before driving a few blocks, crashing the car and fleeing on foot. Before dying, officer Michael returned the gunfire, wounding McCarthy. McCarthy was arrested after a two-day manhunt.
William Noble is accused of throwing the rifle used by McCarthy into a body of water, knowing it had been used in a crime.
