Walgreens said it would not distribute the abortion pill mifepristone in the 21 states in which Republican attorneys general sent letters threatening legal action against retail pharmacy chains if they dispensed it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/03/health/walgreens-abortion-pills.html

Missouri lawmakers are seeking federal compensation for radioactive contamination in St. Louis region, a legacy of the Manhattan Project. https://bit.ly/3mqMXvy Reporting by Kurt Erickson in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. #stlouis #radioactive #atomic

‘A tough place to make a difference’: Book recounts progressive struggles in St. Louis https://buff.ly/3y8yabl #stlouis #leftist #progressive

Straub’s opened its Clayton store 75 years ago, promising shoppers “your marketing will be a thrilling daily experience.” The company, which calls itself “St. Louis’ favorite grocery,” is still in business, with four St. Louis area locations. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 4, 1948) #stlouis #food

Almost two dozen parents of children seen at Washington University’s Transgender Center say their experiences sharply contradict the examples supplied by whistleblower Jamie Reed, a case manager who left the St. Louis center after being employed there for more than four years. Story by Colleen Schrappen in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch https://bit.ly/3J3vMsx #stlouis #transgender

“A couple of months ago, I was talking to a friend in Illinois who noted that she could not find anyone to talk to at the newspaper in Springfield, the state capital. All the reporters and editors were gone that day and the paper was just running Associated Press wire stories in its pages.” (Jon Lauck, “The Shredding of Midwestern Newspapers,” Middle West Review) https://bit.ly/3IMwQA2 #journalism #midwest #stlouis

Babe Ruth, a quarter century apart, in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 28, 1923 and Feb. 28, 1948. #stlouis #baseball #babe

A St. Louis charity got $4 million to fight the opioid crisis. Neighbors wonder where the money went. https://bit.ly/3kxxlpj (Jesse Bogan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb. 27, 2023) #stlouis #opioid #nonprofit

Illinois lawmakers in 1874 passed legislation to require public schools to educate Black children. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) empowered white racists to build separate schools. In 1897, Alton constructed Lovejoy and Douglass schools for Black children. Black parents refused to send their kids. In 1898, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured 8-year-old Arthur Odey, reportedly the only student at Lovejoy. (Records show his actual name was likely Albert Otey.) https://bit.ly/3ItehjX #blackhistory

30 years ago today, Mayor W.W. Herenton warns the people of Memphis he won’t tolerate any civil disobedience during the corruption trial of U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr. Herenton, the first African American elected to lead Memphis, and Ford, the first African American to represent a Tennessee congressional district, were political rivals. Ford, acquitted in April 1993, left Congress in 1997. “King Willie,” after nearly 17 years as mayor, quit in 2009. https://bit.ly/3kw4SjJ #memphis #blackhistory