Stories from Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Concluding a longtime Cape Girardeau shopping area is blighted, the city council approved financial incentives Monday for a local businessman to redevelop the site and create a “family entertainment hub.” The council authorized creation of the tax-levying Cape Dogwood Community Improvement District and approved property tax abatement for the 10-acre site in the Town Plaza area, southwest of the intersection of Independence Street and Sheridan Drive...

Agreements were renewed in regular action at the Jackson Board of Aldermen meeting Monday night. Catalyst Commercial Inc. will provide retail market analysis and strategy services for another year at a rate of $950 per month, under a contract unanimously passed at the meeting...

A circuit judge rejected arguments Monday from the State of Missouri and Cape Girardeau city and county governments that they bear no responsibility for the Common Pleas Courthouse basement stairs that are the subject of a personal-injury lawsuit. The state claimed it was the county’s responsibility, the county maintained it was the state circuit court’s responsibility, and the city insisted the responsibility rested with both the county and the state...

After more than a year of collaboration between the district and the Air Force, a new JROTC program is ready to launch this fall at Central High School in Cape Girardeau. To lead the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, or AFJROTC program, the district hired two instructors, both Air Force veterans: retired Col. Michael Goodin and retired Master Sgt. Frank McMahon...

Today is Tuesday, March 20, the 79th day of 2018. There are 286 days left in the year. Spring arrives at 12:15 p.m. Eastern time. Today's Highlight in History: On March 20, 1854, the Republican Party of the United States was founded by slavery opponents at a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin...

Of all the social services and programs out there today, we can think of few that are more important to individuals than the Homebound Meals program. Delivering hot meals once a day to needy seniors is a lifeline. Not only does it ensure some level of nutrition, it allows for social interaction and serves as a check-in on the homebound...

The City of Cape Girardeau has term limits for its mayor and city council members. This April, Harry Rediger will term out as mayor of Cape Girardeau after serving eight years. The City of Cape Girardeau will honor Rediger for his service and dedication. But I would like to offer a special "Thank You" for myself and the City of Jackson...

Is it my imagination or are children being used to promote an agenda? I don't think it's my imagination, and I don't like it. On March 14, students across the nation participated in school walkouts on the one-month anniversary of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 innocents were murdered by Nikolas Cruz. Yes, students are rising up and speaking out...

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration on Monday banned all use by Americans of Venezuelan cryptocurrency, saying its introduction is intended to skirt U.S. sanctions. In a separate move, the administration also slapped sanctions on four current and former senior Venezuelan officials accused of corruption and mismanagement...

LOS ANGELES -- Eva Longoria is a master of multitasking. The 43-year-old actress is producing a new pilot, continuing her work with the Time's Up initiative, launching her clothing line on HSN and preparing to welcome her first child with husband Jose "Pepe" Baston...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento animal shelter is seeking supplies and cash donations to care for nearly 300 rabbits taken from a single property. KTXL-TV reported the bunnies are of varying ages and not available for adoption because they are part of an investigation. ...

MOSCOW -- Now that President Vladimir Putin has overwhelmingly won re-election for another six years, some are wondering whether he will try to stay in power in Russia for life. Chinese leader Xi Jinping recently managed it, scrapping term limits -- and was among the first world leaders to congratulate Putin on his victory Sunday. Leaders across the former Soviet Union also have guaranteed themselves lifetime presidencies...

BEIRUT -- Turkey's president vowed Monday to keep up the pressure against a U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia after his troops captured the Syrian town of Afrin, threatening to expand the military offensive into other Kurdish-held areas across northern Syria and even into neighboring Iraq...

CHICAGO -- In a study of women with menopause-related sexual discomfort, gels worked as well as prescription hormone tablets at reducing symptoms. The researchers say the results suggest low-cost, over-the-counter moisturizers might be the best option...

MANHEIM, Pa. -- Pennsylvania Lottery officials say the winning Powerball ticket worth almost $457 million was sold at a convenience store in Lancaster County. Officials said the ticket was sold at Speedway in Manheim. The store earns a $100,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. It was the only winner of the huge March 17 jackpot, the eighth largest ever...

NEW YORK -- A New York City council member launched an investigation Monday into the Kushner Cos.' routine filing of paperwork falsely claiming zero rent-regulated tenants in its buildings, saying the deception should have been uncovered long ago because the documents are online for all to see...

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve's first meeting under Jerome Powell's leadership will likely end Wednesday with an announcement the Fed will resume its modest interest rate hikes. But investors will be most attuned to what Powell signals at his first news conference about whether and how he might steer the Fed's policymaking differently from his predecessor, Janet Yellen. Will he, for example, be inclined to step up the pace of Fed rate hikes?...

WASHINGTON -- More Republicans are telling President Donald Trump in ever blunter terms to lay off his escalating criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller and the Russia probe. But party leaders are taking no action to protect Mueller, embracing a familiar strategy with the president -- simply waiting out the storm...

NEW YORK -- A Trump-affiliated firm under scrutiny for inappropriately obtaining data on tens of millions of Facebook users created profiling algorithms that "took fake news to the next level," a former employee said. Chris Wylie said the firm, Cambridge Analytica, secured personal data in order to learn about individuals and then used it to create an information cocoon to change their perceptions...

NEW YORK -- Worried about catching a cold or the flu on an airplane? Get a window seat, and don't leave it until the flight is over. That's what some experts have been saying for years, and it's perhaps the best advice coming out of a new attempt to determine the risks of catching germs on an airplane...

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- A self-driving Uber SUV struck and killed a pedestrian in suburban Phoenix in the first death involving a fully autonomous test vehicle, prompting the ride-hailing company Monday to suspend all road-testing of such autos in the U.S. and Canada...

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi's governor signed the nation's most restrictive abortion law Monday -- and was slapped with a lawsuit less than an hour later. The law and responding challenge set up a confrontation sought by abortion opponents, who are hoping federal courts will ultimately prohibit abortions before a fetus is viable. Current federal law does not...

AUSTIN, Texas -- The hunt for the serial bomber who has been leaving deadly explosives in packages on Austin doorsteps took an even more sinister turn Monday when investigators said the fourth and latest blast was triggered along a street by a nearly invisible tripwire...

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- President Donald Trump brandished the death penalty as a fitting punishment for drug traffickers fueling the opioid epidemic during a speech Monday. The scourge has torn through the rural and working-class communities, which in large numbers voted for Trump. And the president, though he has come under criticism for being slow to unveil his plan, has seized on harsh sentences as key to stopping the plague...

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Just ahead of Kenya's disputed 2017 election, video clips started spreading on social media of a slick-looking CNN broadcast asserting President Uhuru Kenyatta had pulled far ahead in the polls. But the CNN broadcast was fake, splicing together real coverage from CNN Philippines with other footage with the network's iconic red logo superimposed in the corner...

The Cape Girardeau County Salary Commission will hold its first meeting in several years Monday to discuss a request from the public administrator for a pay increase and to consider possible pay increases for county elected officials; Public Administrator John Ferguson is requesting his basic salary be increased from $4,000 to $10,000, in accordance with recently passed legislation...

Doug Niemeier, 70, of Cape Girardeau died Sunday, March 18, 2018, at Saint Francis Medical Center. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Funeral Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Donny Ford officiating. Burial will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield with military rites by Missouri Honors Team...

Loretta Lott, 82, of Scott City died Monday, March 19, 2018, at Monticello House in Jackson. She was born Jan. 21, 1936, in Eddyville, Illinois, to Abner and Bertie Bailey King. She and Clifton Ray Lott married May 18, 1956. He preceded her in death May 12, 2000...

Willie Mae Lockridge, 24, of Cape Girardeau died Friday, March 16, 2018. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Kingdom Life Prophetic Ministries in Cape Girardeau, with the Rev. William Rogers officiating. Burial will be at Fairmount Cemetery in Cape Girardeau...

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Hunter Joseph Lane, 19, of Perryville died Tuesday, March 13, 2018 in Perryville. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Young and Sons Funeral Home. A private memorial service will be held for family only at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the Rev. Matthew Marks officiating. Burial will be in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Wendell Honey, 74, of Olive Branch died Monday, March 19, 2018, at Landmark Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at Ford and Sons Mount Auburn Home in Cape Girardeau. Funeral will follow at 11 a.m. at the funeral home, with the Rev. Tyler Tankersley officiating. Burial will be at Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery in Cape Girardeau...

Barbara Jean Hoffmeister, 70, of Jackson passed away Sunday, March 18, 2018. She was born Nov. 28, 1947, in Kennett, Missouri, daughter of Harrison and Athine Fanning Toole. She and Harold Hoffmeister married April 11, 1992, in Gordonville. Barbara worked at Southeast Missouri State University. ...

Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the following calls: Sunday n Medical assists were made at 2:55 a.m. East Riverside Drive; 11:53 a.m. on South Henderson Avenue; 12:53 p.m. on Locust Street; 1:39 p.m. on North Fountain Street; 2:12 p.m. on Good Hope Street; 6:30 p.m. on North Sprigg Street; 7:39 p.m. on South Kingshighway; 8:11 p.m. on Woodlawn Avenue; and 9:37 p.m. on Wisteria Drive...

Robert Wayne England, 73, of Cape Girardeau passed away Saturday, March 17, 2018, at Missouri Delta Medical Center. He was born Aug. 3, 1944, in Cape Girardeau to Robert and Dorothy Elizabeth Jones England. Robert spent several years as an auto mechanic and later worked for the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department...

MARBLE HILL, Mo. -- Mary Theda Cannon, 82, of Marble Hill died Sunday, March 18, 2018, at Woodland Hills in Marble Hill. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Hutchings Funeral Home in Marble Hill. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be at 2 p.m. Monday in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Eula Croy Bruce, 98, of Advance passed away Monday, March 19, 2018, at Advance Nursing Center. She was born April 1, 1919, in Stoddard County, Missouri, the daughter of Walter Allen and Louvina Pixley Croy. Eula and John Bruce were united in marriage Aug. 2, 1941, at Benton, Missouri, and he preceded her in death April 9, 1972...

Thelma E. Bollinger, 83, of Jackson died Sunday, March 18, 2018, at Life Care Center in Cape Girardeau. Friends may call from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Don Estes officiating. Interment will be in Pulliam Cemetery near Scopus, Missouri...

The Cape Girardeau Police Department released the following items. Assault n Assault was reported in the 1800 block of Westridge Drive. Subject is in custody pending charges. JACKSON The Jakson Police Department released the following items...

ST. LOUIS -- An eastern Missouri doctor has been indicted for allegedly prescribing fentanyl and other opioids to women with whom he had personal relationships. The Drug Enforcement Administration said Monday 62-year-old Philip Dean of Warrenton also is accused of lying to Medicare and Medicaid programs...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Fraternity chapters at the University of Missouri are still studying a consultant's October report warning the school to change the culture of Greek life on campus, chapter officials said. University dean of students Jeff Zeilenga told the Columbia Daily Tribune on Friday the school is still looking at the recommendations from Dyad Strategies...

WASHINGTON -- Abortions in the U.S. are very safe but getting one without facing delays and false medical information depends on where women live, a broad examination of the nation's abortion services states. Friday's report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine shows abortion increasingly is performed early in pregnancy, when it's safest. ...

ST. LOUIS -- Gov. Eric Greitens is expected to ask a judge to move up his criminal trial to start in two weeks, more than a month earlier than scheduled. Attorneys for the Republican governor at a St. Louis Circuit Court hearing Monday also said they anticipate asking for a bench trial...

Highway 51 in Perry County will be reduced to one lane with a 10-foot width restriction while crews are on the Chester (Illinois) Bridge over the Mississippi River. Crews will be on the bridge from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday...

Jeffrey Burgess Jr. uses hand-caught bait to catch a bluegill while fishing Monday in the lagoon at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau.

Lord Jesus, we praise you for you are the Light of the World. Amen.

Son to Michael Christopher and Katelyn Monique Martin of Jackson, Southeast Hospital, 10:57 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018. Name, Lincoln Vance. Weight, 6 pounds, 8 ounces. Second child, first son. Mrs. Martin is the former Katelyn Vance, daughter of Tim Vance and Celine Vance of Kelso, Missouri. She is a kindergarten teacher with the Nell Holcomb School District. Martin is the son of Jack Martin and Mary Martin of Jackson. He is the assistant principal at the Jackson Middle School...