Collateral Damage

Veteran child activist Ruth Ehresman of Vision for Children at Risk breaks down the pros and cons of Amendment 3 to raise the cigarette tax. She comes down clearly and firmly in favor of it passing. it's not a perfect solution, yet progress.

Doug Moore, journalist with the Post-Dispatch, joins DJ in studio to talk about his recent work with Stephen Deere, taking a look at the recent absentee ballot situation that led to Bruce Franks Jr. winning the 78th district State Rep. position in a revote.

Alex Ihnen, the man behind Next STL and the podcast, Future Great City, joins DJ in studio to talk about his work on these platforms, his day job with the Duchtown South Community Corporation, and what he thinks St. Louis needs.

Susan Sneed and Brittini Gray join DJ to talk about Metropolitan Congregations United work around the breaking the School to Prison Pipeline campaign.

Mike Jones, member of the State Board of Education and the Editorial Board of the St. Louis American, joins DJ in studio to talk about public education in St. Louis, his recent article on how the GOP has lost its soul, and how black athletes have always been on the cutting edge of politics in America.

Bruce Franks Jr., candidate for State Representative for the 78th district, joins DJ in studio to talk about the close results of his recent primary race against Penny Hubbard. He discusses the possibility of a recount or revote of the ballots and the reasons he believes there were voter irregularities. He also talks about why he is running, his work in the community, and the importance of involving the disenfranchised voters of his district. (recorded Aug. 15)

Virvus Jones stops by Collateral Damage to break down the national, state, and local elections results from Aug. 2. the former city comptroller and alderman also discusses next March's mayoral primary where his daughter Tishaura Jones, the city treasurer, is a likely candidate. Virvus says he wants her to run, but that it's up to Tishaura.

Reverend Susan Sneed and Jim Sahaida from Metropolitan Congregations United, Yaphett El-Amin of MOKAN, and Aldophus Pruitt, local NAACP President, discuss what they see as the failure of the Metropolitan Sewer District to follow their Community Benefits Agreement as it relates to minority contracts.

Matthew Carroll-Schmidt joins DJ in studio to talk about his bid for Committeeman in the 6th Ward. He also discusses how the August 2 vote is the election for Democrats, and how grassroots dissatisfaction with the party has led to a more contested primary. Also, near the end, he tells how he protested the appearance of a speaker at an Archon science fiction-fantasy confab, due to the speaker's racist views.

Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio joins DJ Wilson to talk about upcoming primaries in Missouri, how national conventions are no longer impactful, the possibility of a Dubie vs. Blunt race, and why Michael Jordan is not worthy of adulation.