Congressional hopefuls debate at Muleskinners

All four Democratic candidates for the Ninth District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives gathered at Friday’s Muleskinners meeting to answer questions from the Democratic club’s members.

Questions covered topics such as transportation and the War Powers Act, which allows the president to deploy troops without congressional approval as long as Congress is notified within 90 days.

American students blog about experiences at Iraq-US conference in Jordan

I wrote a story a few weeks ago about a former Rock Bridge student who is attending a conference he orgazined between Iraqi and American youth this month in Jordan. One of the students interviewed for the article, Mark Thomas, from Kansas City area e-mail me and told me that he’ll be blogging about his experiences in Jordan. Here is a link to Mark’s blog.

There is also an official Youth Initiative for progress in Iraq blog which will have entries from several of the participants.

More information about the conference can be found here.

‘Striping’ to begin Monday

Park Mark will begin “striping” pavement markings on Monday, July 14, according to the Public Works Department. Crews will “stripe” streets from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through July 31, including weekends.

Streets to be re-striped include Vandiver Drive and Forum Boulevard and bicycle symbols marked on the new bike lanes on Fifth Street, Old Highway 63 and Chapel Hill Road.

Motorists encountering the paint-striping equipment should avoid crossing freshly painted lines and use an alternative route whenever possible.

Trihalomethane research and data update

Columbia Water & Light is now researching the elevated levels of trihalomethanes in the water system, and the University of Missouri’s Water Resources Research Center is collecting data to pinpoint problem areas.

Trihalomethanes (THMs) are chemical compounds that form during the water disinfection process when chlorine is used to break down organic material in the water. THMs produced may have adverse health effects at high concentrations, but they do not present an immediate danger. According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency, there are health risks when a person is exposed to high levels over a period of 70 years.

Still announces third labor endorsement

Mary Still, a candidate for Missouri’s 25th House district, announced her endorsement by Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local Union 733 yesterday.

The union represents university workers at MU, UMKC and Truman State in addition to workers for the City of Columbia and Boone County. Total membership is 825 workers, according to the release.

“This is an important endorsement because these are the people that keep our city and state working,” Still said in a statement. “They are hard workers who pay taxes and are facing many economic challenges. I respect their work and will stand with them on the important issues of prevailing wage enforcement, access to health care and quality public education.”

Still has also been endorsed by the Missouri National Education Association and the United Auto Workers.

She faces off against Sean Spence and Bob Pund in the Democratic primary August 5. The Democratic nominee will then face Republican Ryan Asbridge in the general election.