St. Louis Board of Aldermen

Twenty-seven people have died in car crashes this year, along with four pedestrians. Drivers have injured another 134 pedestrians and four cyclists.

Mayor Tishaura Jones is pushing the board to pass the legislation, which she unveiled in August after a roundtable with survivors of gun violence.

St. Louis 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge talks guns, the city jail and the Rams settlement money.

The legislation tries to address the proliferation of teenagers openly carrying guns downtown.

The Board of Aldermen chambers and the Kennedy hearing room across the building will get electrical upgrades, allowing for new cameras and TV monitors. Those tools will enable aldermen and the public to participate in meetings remotely.

The program, which will initially target the ZIP codes with the highest number of evictions, is currently funded for just one year. Supporters say they are exploring all sources of funding to continue it in perpetuity.

The budget generated little contention, but the bill that would provide legal counsel to tenants facing eviction prompted debate.

Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer, 1st Ward, says the city’s Water Division has responded to 180 water main breaks since October.

Former St. Louis Alderman Brandon Bosley is accused of working with a local businessman to defraud an insurance company. He is the fourth former alderman to face federal prosecution in less than a year.

The proposed 40% increase, spread out over 2½ years, would be the first water rate hike in St. Louis in more than a decade. City officials say without it, the department will be in a “fiscal crisis” starting July 1.