MONDAY, JULY 31. It’s been the hottest month in history for America’s hottest big city …. That’s Phoenix, not St. Louis, but you could have fooled us. Adding to the misery, the Teamsters say trucking giant Yellow Corp. is shuttering. About 500 area workers are now suddenly out of a job with little notice and no severance. Also: RIP, Paul Reubens.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 1. Former Interim Police Chief Michael Sack sues the city after he didn’t get the job, supposedly because he’s white — never mind that they hired a different white guy. In Bonne Terre, the state of Missouri executes Johnny Johnson, the fourth person from St. Louis County to be killed by the state in the past year — Bob McCulloch’s legacy in action.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2. South City Hospital is closing, yet another blow to south city. But hey, guess who just filmed a spot for Explore St. Louis? None other than homegrown NBA star Jayson Tatum. Bring on the tourists!
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3. Former President Donald Trump appears before a magistrate in D.C. and pleads not guilty to yet another set of criminal charges. Let’s hope they stick, or at least that he disintegrates into a pile of dust like a proper villain. Some good news for once: Yelp dropped its inaugural list of “Top 100 Places to Eat in the Midwest,” and No. 1 is none other than St. Louis’ own Blues City Deli. Congrats to Vinnie Valenza and crew, as well as the other local hotspots in the top 10: Malinche Mexican Culinary Experience of Ellisville, Songbird (located in Forest Park Southeast) and Arzola’s Fajitas + Margaritas (which, along with Blues City Deli, gives Benton Park two spots on the list). Woot!
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4. Eighty-four protesters — and bystanders caught up in protests that broke out after former St. Louis Police Officer Jason Stockley was not found not guilty of murder — finally get their payday: a total of $4.9 million, or an average of $58,000 per person. Per person, says the Post-Dispatch, it’s one of the largest class action settlements in U.S. history. That’s what you get when police round up people with no care for probable cause and beat them and cuff them and insist they “own the night.” Not included in the total: the $162K we had to pay the interim police chief who kettled his way into that mess and then was pissed that he didn’t get promoted. (Not Michael Sack — that was the previous interim chief, Larry O’Toole.)
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5. It’s Missouri’s annual back-to-school tax holiday and the portal to hell we call the Brentwood Target parking lot is worse than ever. Also, it’s ridiculously humid, so why not do it like Nelly and take off all your clothes? Yes, St. Louis has a naked bike ride, and it’s as epic as ever.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 6. Early risers wake to watch the U.S. Women’s National Team lose. What in the Megan Rapinoe was that kick about? The soccer star last missed a penalty kick in 2018; now she ends her international career with a devastating L. Meanwhile, the New York Times speculates that GOP voters have tired of the “war on wokeness” — alas, it’ll take months for that sentiment to reach flyover country. Further proof the gambit is toast: Barbie just crossed the line into the $1 billion club, despite attacks from anti-woke conservatives who aren’t into feminism (even if they love the Barbie look). Greta Gerwig is laughing all the way to the bank.
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