Mark Maxwell

Two education-related bills are now heading to the governor. One would raise the fine for passing a stopped school bus from $130 to $500 — taking effect at the start of next school year if signed. The other would allow Missouri school districts to hire armed volunteer or paid guards called "Missouri Rangers," who would complete at least 160 hours of training before working alongside existing school resource officers. Governor Mike Kehoe has until mid-July to act on both.

I asked South City Alderman Shane Cohn a blunt question on behalf of his constituents: what's in the $230 million Rams settlement bill for South Side residents? Is it really just a slightly less broke water department?
His answer was more urgent than that.

Cohn says the St. Louis Water Division has burned through all of its reserves. It cannot issue bonds without a cash infusion. Water rate increases are already being discussed to fund infrastructure repairs that have been deferred for decades.

The Rams bill puts $30 million toward water infrastructure, structured as an interest-free loan the Water Division has to repay by 2036. Cohn says that's not a consolation prize. It's a lifeline.

He also wants more than the $5 million currently in the bill for vacancy enforcement, a problem he says hits Southeast City neighborhoods just as hard as North City.

Public hearings on Board Bill 22 begin Tuesday at City Hall.