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Slay tells CNN that MoDOT breaking federal law with stimulus plans

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 4, 2009 - CNN has captured St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay going ballistic over the Missouri Department of Transportion's decision to spend only a fraction of the stimulus infrastructure money in St. Louis.

Slay asserts on camera that the state is "breaking the law'' by directing much of that construction money to outstate Missouri, where fewer people live and drive.

Slay has been complaining for days. But on Wednesday, one of his April opponents -- former state Sen. Maida Coleman, now running as an independent -- slammed the mayor for failing to get more MoDOT money for the city.

His "ally" may be CNN, which aired this "investigation'' Wednesday of Missouri's first stimulus project -- a rural bridge over the Osage River, south of Jefferson City. 

Jo Mannies is a freelance journalist and former political reporter at St. Louis Public Radio.