Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Time for first half of 2007 wrapup

Every six months I offer a review of stories that ran in The Turner Report that were either picked up by local, regional, and state media, or should have been. I am always amazed at how personally people take this. I usually receive criticism for "patting myself on the back," or get cheap shots from people who believe because I write so many posts that I don't do much of anything else.

I would like to remind those people how pathetic it is to keep coming back and reading a blog written by someone for whom you hold such obvious contempt.

Now onto the review. This time, I am going to break it up into six segments, one for each month, to make it a little easier to read.
The first half of 2007 has been successful for this blog. At the beginning of 2005, I was lucky to receive 50 unique visitors per day. The Turner Report now normally averages 500 to 600 unique visitors per day, with gusts of up to 1,400, depending on what stories are running and which ones are cited in other blogs.

So thank you, loyal readers and occasional bypassers for helping The Turner Report grow.

June

June 30- The fact that Rep. Fred Kratky, D-St. Louis, planned to resign and wanted his wife, real estate lobbyist Michele Kratky, to take his place was already known. This post showed that Kratky was pushing legislation that would benefit himself and his future employer.

June 25- Former U. S. Attorney Todd Graves' law firm will defend political operative and blogger Jeff Roe against a libel suit filed by St. Charles County Commissioner Joe Brazil. The post also noted Roe had filed suit against a St. Charles County publication.

June 19- The background of former State Representative Ken Legan, the man appointed by Governor Matt Blunt to the Missouri Ethics Commission, was explored.

June 19- Information from a resume posted on the Internet by Governor Matt Blunt's appointment as Director of the Office of Supplier and Workplace Diversity was featured.

June 19- Rep. Maynard Wallace, R-Thornfield, who said he believes the school start bill did not go far enough, has a track record of receiving campaign contributions from Branson tourism interests.

June 19- Angeletta McCormick Franks, Governor Blunt's appointment as director of the Office of Supplier and Workplace Diversity, is a defendant in a federal lawsuit for actions she took when she was on the St. Louis Election Board.

June 18- Sandra Thomas, the unsuccessful candidate for state auditor in 2006, has set up a campaign committee for another run in 2010, with Joplin CPA Nick Myers again serving as treasurer.

June 18- Former Representative Ken Legan, the man appointed by Governor Blunt to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Ethics Commission, was a magnet for lobbyists' handouts when he in the House.

June 16- Perennial candidate Martin Lindstedt, awaiting trial on statutory sodomy charges, filed a lawsuit against Newton County Circuit Court judges, Sheriff Ken Copeland, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

June 16- This post uncovered more criminal charges against Robin Deardorff, a woman who worked for the Missouri Department of Social Services for months and was only fired the week she was indicted on federal fraud charges.

June 14- The woman who organized alleged shell companies for indicted Carthage brothers Brian and Mark Ellefsen, had taken the Fifth before a federal grand jury investigating a tax fraud scheme.

June 14- A five-minute Case.net check uncovered enough information to have kept Robin Deardorff, indicted for fraud by a federal grand jury, from ever being hired by the Missouri Department of Social Services.

June 13- Convicted hospital embezzler Kim Schlup's payment review was postponed for a ninth time.

June 11- Voucher proponents are pouring money into Governor Matt Blunt's campaign fund.

June 10- Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, has a good start on his campaign for Speaker of the House, donating $50,000 to the House Republican Campaign Committee.

June 8- The appointment of voucher proponent Derio Gambaro to the State Board of Education was not the first successful effort by Gov. Matt Blunt to put a pro-voucher spin on the board. This post examined the record of Debi Demien of Wentzville, Blunt's first appointment to the board.

June 5- In her response to a federal lawsuit, Director of Revenue Trish Vincent denied her office is violating drivers' privacy by allowing a marketing firm to include advertising in driver's license renewal notices.

June 4- Michael Spreng, D-Florissant, topped The Turner Report Missouri House of Representatives Hall of Shame for most gifts received from lobbyists, including $1,020 from AT&T lobbyist Craig Felzien.

June 3- Turnpike Killer Paul Murray will be released from prison on Oct. 21. Murray was responsible for the 1994 murder of Sheila Mayfield of Jasper.

June 3- Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr's libel suit against a Piqua,Ohio, businessman was settled.

June 1
- Longtime Leggett & Platt official Felix Wright left his executive position.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Maybe the reason no one picks these stories up is because they are crap stories that no one cares to read.