Thursday, May 17, 2012
Area State Senator Jane Cunningham was hospitalized overnight in Jefferson City after feeling light-headed Wednesday at the state capitol.
Missouri State Senator Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield) should be back at the State Capitol following a brief hospitalization overnight Wednesday. Cunningham's Chief of Staff, Kit Crancer, told Patch Thursday morning "the Senator is doing well and will be released later today." According to the Twitter account for the Missouri State Senate, members in the chamber were updated on her health this morning and learned that she would return to the Capitol Thursday. Cunningham represents the City of Hazelwood as part of her district, which will be eliminated in its current state through redrawn maps, come the November election. Because of this, she is not running for re-election since state legislative redistricting essentially left her without …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
The State Senator represents Hazelwood as part of her district and was reportedly feeling light-headed Wednesday.
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting State Senator Jane Cunningham, (R-Chesterfield) was hospitalized Wednesday evening. Her Chief of Staff, Kit Crancer, told Patch late Wednesday he took Cunningham to Saint Mary's Hospital and she was admitted. The reason: she was feeling light-headed during a debate on education. "I expect that she'll be fine," he said via email. The AP says Cunningham was undergoing tests Wednesday night. The state legislative session ends Friday. Cunningham represents the City of Hazelwood as part of her district, which will be eliminated in its current state through redrawn maps, come the November election. Sign up for the Patch Newsletter, including Breaking News Alerts.
Friday, April 6, 2012
A state senator from the area has pushed a measure to double the time it takes teachers to get tenure from five to 10 years.
Efforts have been underway to eliminate tenure for public school teachers in Missouri, but those have largely come up short in the state legislature. The Columbia Missourian reported Tuesday that the "debate came to halt when a divided (state senate) chamber approved an amendment to keep tenure in place while a special task force examines teacher pay and effectiveness." But the issue hasn't entirely died. On Thursday, Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, amended her original version of the bill; now, that version has gotten first-round approval in the state senate. It would double from five to 10 years the number of years a teacher must serve before earning tenure. MissouriNet reports that, according to Cunningham, "the tenure system …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The Senate Reapportionment Commission, which consists of five Democrats and five Republicans, approved the final map on a vote of 10-0. See where Hazelwood rests now that the dust has settled.
A bipartisan commission gave the final nod to new Missouri Senate districts Monday after making minor changes that are designed to balance the 34 districts in population. The Senate Reapportionment Commission is made up of five Democrats and five Republicans. The final map was approved on a vote of 10-0. Stipualations of the plan, require that St. Louis City and St. Louis County will drop from having eight Senate districts and a portion of a ninth, having seven districts and a portion of another one. Commissioners noted that St. Louis and St. Louis County lost a total of 46,256 people from 1990 to 2010, while other areas of the state grew. Hazelwood's current Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield is majorly impacted. Her 7th District was …
Friday, March 9, 2012
There are still unresolved legal issues in the effort to draw new political lines.
After more twists and turns than a Six Flags roller-coaster, redistricting has been nothing short of a harrowing experience. But is it possible that state Senate redistricting could be reaching some sort of conclusion? Maybe. And that's because Friday is the deadline for feedback for a tentative Senate map that was approved by a bipartisan commission a couple of weeks ago. The lines have to be redrawn every 10 years to conform to population shifts throughout the state. The response, of course, hasn’t been universally favorable. While some lawmakers, such as Sen. Brian Nieves (R-Washington), have been content with their reconfigured districts, others, such as Sens. Jim Lembke (R-Lemay) and Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield), have not been as…
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Take a look at bills already filed by state lawmakers representing the City of Hazelwood.
Missouri state lawmakers will be back in Jefferson City as the 2012 legislative session opens at noon Wednesday. Much like 2011, issues tied to job creation and managing a tight state budget figure to be front and center. Lawmakers were able to prefile bills starting Dec. 1, 2011 for consideration in 2012. Below is a look at some of those filed by State Senator Jane Cunningham, the only state lawmaker representing the City of Hazelwood who has began filing. State Represenative Margo McNeil has not prefiled bills as of Tuesday afternoon, but many of those she co-sponsored last year dealt with education. Here's a summation of some of the bills she sponsored last year:
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Incumbents scrambling to avoid primaries, at least in the St. Louis area.
For the most part, last week’s great redistricting earthquake threw a number of lawmakers into the same state legislative districts. But rather than spurring primary fights, at least some incumbents are making plans to move. Such was the case with Sen. Jane Cunningham, a Chesterfield Republican who was drawn into the same district with Sen. John Lamping (R-Ladue). But instead of a confrontation, Cunningham instead will run in the nearby 27th District, which features parts of western St. Louis County and northern Jefferson County. Similar situations happened across the state and region with House races. For instance, state Rep. Scott Sifton (D-Affton) announced he would run in the new 93rd District as opposed to facing Rep. Genise …
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed new legislation eliminating controversial item.
Democratic Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law Friday legislation that eliminates the ban on social media use by public school teachers. The ban on use between teachers and students of internet sites like Facebook was on hold by court order after Chesterfield's State Sen. Jane Cunningham, a Republican, pushed through a bill earlier this year that was seen as antiquated by some but played on parents' fears about potentially predatory school staff. The ban would not allow teachers to communicate through texts and emails with students, unless a third party was involved. Texting and email are a primary form of communication for young people now. When Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) objected to the social media ban, a court order…
Monday, October 17, 2011
State Senate to decide Monday on conference committee fate for economic development bill.
Members of the Missouri State Senate will be back at work Monday, with the clock ticking down on time left in the special session called by Governor Nixon. Lawmakers have until November 6 before the session expires, by statute. Monday afternoon, the State Senate will gavel into session to consider the fate of Missouri's Presidential primary. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, once a House bill to move the primary to March stalled in the Senate, the state GOP decided to move to a caucus system to protect Missouri's number of delegates. Senators will also vote on whether to send economic development legislation, which includes the so-called "Aerotropolis" China Hub bill to a conference committee to resolve differences with the House …
Friday, September 30, 2011
Governor Nixon calls on lawmakers to pass an economic development package or go home.
Politics often gets described in metaphorical strategy akin to sporting events. If someone were to take a look at the status of the Special Session of the Missouri Legislature, they might describe parties involved as "getting chippy". Three weeks after the session started, one piece of legislation, a fix to the so-called "Facebook" law regarding teacher and student communication has been passed, even though some might argue the actual bill itself is outside the scope of what Governor Jay Nixon added to his call for the session. Another bill, which could boost the high tech sector in Creve Coeur, has also been passed, but is now tied to the fate of legislation seen as the main foundation for the session itself, an economic development bill …
Ashley Nevilles
5:01 pm on Saturday, May 19, 2012
It's good to hear she's doing ok. more ›