Army Corps of Engineers to Decide on Levee Breach this Weekend

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will wait until this weekend to decide whether to punch a massive hole in a Mississippi County, Missouri levee to protect Cairo, Ill.

The mayor of the small city isn't waiting that long to take action.

Three schools would be closed, and several others would undergo vast transformations, under a $273 million dollar budget proposal  unveiled last night by St. Louis Public Schools superintendent Kelvin Adams.

The proposed spending plan also marks a shift in budgeting philosophy for the district. Money in the past has been distributed to schools based on the number of people that work in the building.

Starting next year, the money would be allocated as a grant to schools based on several factors, including the percentage of special education and low-income students, average daily attendance, and whether the school is a magnet/choice school. Within reason - for example, they'll still have to meet state class size limits - principals will be able to set their own staffing plan.

"The whole challenge for a principal is to have ownership, and have control of the resources," said Adams, a former principal. "If I decide I want to have a larger third grade class - I have a great, dynamic third grade teacher, I'll put that teacher in that classroom," Adams said.  "But I may have a smaller fourth grade class because maybe things aren't working as well in my fourth grade group."

More details are after the break.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon (D) this evening signed into law a compromise dog-breeding bill, the result of last week’s agreement between some supporters and opponents of voter-approved Proposition B.

First, Nixon signed a bill this morning that stripped several regulations out of Prop B, including the 50-dogs-per-breeder cap and requirements for larger cages and annual veterinary exams.

Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are on the ground in St. Louis to assess the damage from last week's tornadoes. Their findings will be part of Missouri's request for Federal assistance.

FEMA investigators are gathering data on a variety of factors-including the number of displaced people, effects on the local economy, and how much property was uninsured.

Josh DeBerg is a spokesperson for FEMA. He says the main criteria for federal aid boils down to a question of resources.

The U.S. House of Representatives has plans to take a look at patient safety lapses at the John Cochran VAMC in north St. Louis.

Rep. Russ Carnahan, a Democrat, pushed for the hearings after two separate problems with sterilization at Cochran.

Despite the onslaught of rain and thunderstorms, the Missouri Department of Transportation says it will move ahead with planned road closures over the weekend.

Several interstate lanes and ramps will be closed while dozens of repairs to the roadways are made.

Deanna Venker, with MoDOT, says the numerous closures might seem like they’d cause a huge headache, but they will actually reduce the impact on drivers.

“We’re trying to incorporate as much work as we can in to these closures when we have to do them,” Venker said.

Updated 6:38 p.m.:

Missouri lawmakers have sent Gov. Jay Nixon a new version of a bill rewriting a voter-approved law on dog-breeding.

Wednesday's quick action by the state House and Senate came after Nixon began the day by signing a previously passed bill repealing key sections of the "Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act" approved by voters last November.

Illinois businesses waiting for long-overdue tax refunds aren't getting any good news from the state capitol.

Illinois owes about $850 million to roughly 36,000 businesses that overpaid their income taxes. Some have been waiting since 2008 to get their money.

Gov. Pat Quinn proposed borrowing money to pay the refunds, but legislators have shown little interest in that idea.

Budget proposals being considered by Democratic lawmakers would do little to chip away at the backlog.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation repealing part of a voter-approved dog-breeding law in an agreement with lawmakers to consider more changes to breeder regulations.

Nixon signed the legislation Wednesday. It eliminates a cap on owning 50 breeding dogs and rolls back various requirements on dogs' living conditions. Instead, breeders would need to provide appropriate space for dogs based on regulations set by the Department of Agriculture. Operators would pay more for licenses and help finance a program that crack down on unlicensed breeders.