[ballwin]
Even if you trust your hairdresser with your deepest, darkest secrets, here’s one from Ballwin with whom you might not want to share your credit-card information. A mugshot shows one Shannon Clerc with her hair a little mussed, but otherwise she looks like she could have been cuffed and escorted out of a PTO meeting. Clerc ran a West County salon (and spa) and somehow persuaded clients to divulge charge card information— with which she charged about 14 grand in several cases of identity theft over the last few years, authorities say. The latest was last month. Reportedly she told longtime customers that she herself had been a victim of identity theft and persuaded them to jot down the pertinent info, including the security code on the back of the card, because she didn’t feel comfortable running their cards through the electronic reader. (And we have some swampland in Gumbo we can sell ya’.) It seems that she even threw her two kids under the bus—cops say she blamed the youngsters for her misdeeds, saying they were messing around with her phone. Wow. Neither of these innocents has advanced beyond elementary school, both being younger than 10! At this writing, Clerc was still at large, her bond set at $10,000. (Why not $15,000—you know, round it up to make it closer to what’s missing?)
[chesterfield]
A citizen of Turkey was sentenced last month in the U.S. federal court here for smuggling ineffective cancer drugs to Chesterfield. Some of the drugs were diluted or otherwise doctored, others were moldy and contained no active ingredients, the feds say. Sabahaddin Akman, owner of a Turkish wholesale drug company, received a 2½-year sentence for the crime; his co-defendant was sentenced last year, also to more than two years in federal prison. Akman admitted to preparing the drugs for shipment in small packages to avoid detection by U.S. Customs. What’s more, to fly under the radar, some parcels were labeled as gifts or product samples, with little or no value declared. Chemotherapy drugs may need to stay refrigerated, yet many of the parcels Akman and his co-conspirator shipped were not. We feel for the patients victimized by this scam, a crime for which words like ‘abhorrent’ and ‘egregious’ were invented.
[glendale]
Let’s call it tax invasion. Area police reports are showing more and more instances of residents whose Social Security numbers have been hijacked by crooks who use them to file fraudulent tax returns. There have been incidents over the past few weeks from Glendale, Des Peres and Webster Groves. Apparently this is just the tip of the iceberg, because the Internal Revenue Service has staffed-up to face the threat nationwide. Last year, the IRS had 3,000 employees dedicated exclusively to fraudulent returns, twice the number from the previous year. In addition, the agency asserts that more than 35,000 of its workers have been trained to help resolve the issue. One problem is easy to solve: Many people still carry their Social Security card in their wallet, which is akin to leaving the car unlocked. It should be kept under lock and key, at home. Be alert to possible identity theft if you receive a notice from the IRS or learn from your tax professional that:
>> More than one tax return for you was filed
>> You have a balance due, refund offset or have had collection action taken against you for a year you are alleged not to have filed a tax return
>> IRS records indicate you received more wages than you actually earned or
>> Your state or federal benefits were reduced or cancelled because the agency received information reporting an income change.
[st. charles]
Irvin Wessler, 93, survived World War II. But he might not have survived the fire that nearly destroyed his house in St. Charles if his neighbors hadn’t pounded on his door and woke him up, firefighters say. Wessler was able to escape through the front door and taken to a hospital to check whether he had suffered smoke inhalation from the fire, which broke out just before 7 a.m. last Tuesday (Feb. 17). Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze in about a half-hour. Officials say it might have been sparked by a space heater in the garage.
[st. louis]
RadioShack had become a dinosaur. As technology hurtled into the future, the omnipresent retailer seemed unable to keep its footing. Its core identity had become fuzzy. Was it a store for electronics hobbyists? A place to buy a phone … or establish service through another company, like Sprint? A stereo retailer, or a haven for computer nerds? A repair shop? It had become all of the above, none of the above—maybe both—and finally slid down the slippery slope into bankruptcy, filing for Chapter 11 protection on Feb. 5. The stores always seemed too small to be all things to all people; the company couldn’t compete with big-box behemoths such as Best Buy. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the electronics retailer will close most of its stores and sell the rest. That’s about 6,500 storefronts, both mall stores and free-standing. About three dozen stores in the metro will be shuttered. I’ll shed a tear. RadioShack was where I bought my first stereo system, and I still have two sets of Optimus speakers from there that have taken a beating and still sound fine after 30 years.
[university city]
Despite unabated grumbling from naysayers and any reports to the contrary, construction on the Loop Trolley will begin next month. Really, we think. Controversy over high bids is history. Lower estimates were received and contractors have been chosen. Visible work will begin with installation of a permanent roundabout near the lion gates (Trinity Avenue and Delmar Boulevard) to increase safety, improve traffic flow and create a landscaped entrance to the Delmar Loop. Track construction is slated for late May, starting on Delmar near Kingsland Avenue. For those who just joined us, here’s the project in a nutshell: The 2.2-mile fixed-track electrical trolley system will run along Delmar and DeBaliviere, connecting The Loop’s restaurant, shopping, and arts & entertainment district to Forest Park, with its terminus at the Missouri History Museum. The project also includes an overhead contact system, 10 station stops, a maintenance/storage facility, and rehab of vintage trolley vehicles. Meanwhile, on the eastern end of the trolley route, authorities are working with Great Rivers Greenway to extend the St. Vincent Greenway from Delmar along DeBaliviere and south to Forest Park Boulevard, with new landscaping and multi-use paths. The trolley will run adjacent to the greenway. Streetcars are nothing new to The Lou, of course; they just haven’t been around for awhile. The Loop derived its nickname from the streetcar system that served the area until 1966.
[kirkwood]
By the end of this month, some of us will be sinophiles … lovers of all things Chinese. First there was Shen Yun, the athletic and dance spectacle from China staged last weekend at Peabody Opera House. And now comes ‘Children’s China: Celebrating Culture, Character and Confucius,’ which opened Saturday (Feb. 21) at the Magic House in Kirkwood with a splashy celebration of the Chinese New Year. Designed for children 3 to 12, the exhibit explores what life is like for children in China today through six immersive environments— among them a restaurant, school, playground and panda reserve. Kids can put on the pith helmet, so to speak, and learn what the Chinese are doing to save the endangered species. Explorers will learn a little about the elaborate characters making up the alphabet, and visit a restaurant where they can discover the unique role that food plays in the culture. The traveling exhibit is free with a $10 museum admission and will close here in September.
Pictured: Kirkwood
