Our story for Tuesday’s Post-Dispatch includes this: “On March 1, the Metropolitan Sewer District began charging properties 12 cents for each 100 square feet of area that does not absorb water, such as roofs, patios, driveways or parking lots. Lance LeComb, a spokesman for the district, said everyone should be billed because nearly all storm water eventually reaches the district’s storm water system, which includes creeks.”

Turns out, it means about 71,000 households are receiving bills from MSD for the first time. And some people aren’t happy about it. They include households with septic tanks, for example, who don’t get any…

In today’s Post-Dispatch, our Jefferson City reporters write about what we might — or might not — expect from the final week of the Missouri Legislature

Our Springfield correspondent writes about the unhappy marriage between Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn.

We all know that what happens in Jefferson City and Springfield determines much of what happens with our roads, our schools, our taxes and more. But do you pay much attention to what bills are being debated? Or are we so locked in on the national scene that we neglect the state activities that, in many ways, have…

Susan Weich and her mother both were diagnosed with breast cancer. Several other female relatives have had the disease too.

In her column for Mother’s Day, Susan talks to her 14-year-old daughter about her chances of getting breast cancer. She struggles to make her daughter understand the risk factors without frightening her.

When is the right age to talk to kids about their family medical history?

A 22-year-old Alton man died Tuesday night after a St. Charles County sheriff’s deputy shocked him with a Taser. James S. Wilson allegedly was punching his sister outside a West Alton convenience store when the deputy arrived. Wilson threatened the deputy and lunged at him, police said.

A department inquiry has found that the deputy followed its use-of -force guidelines. However, Wilson’s death has renewed the debate about the use of the weapon.

Do you think police should use Tasers?

The National Park Service announced on Thursday it will soon begin accepting public input for improvements to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Officials with the park service want our advice and guidance on how to make the park easier to get to and more enjoyable for visitors.

“It’s a public engagement process and that’s what we’ve been wanting,”said Walter L. Metcalfe Jr., a veteran lawyer who has been tapped by City Hall to lead a group charged with improving the Arch grounds.

In Friday’s story, we learn that despite years of trying, former U.S. Sen. John Danforth has been unable to…