ST. LOUIS > Zoo euthanizes bear • The St. Louis Zoo announced Tuesday that grizzly bear Ernie was euthanized last week. The 21-year-old bear suffered from ulcers throughout his abdomen.

Jack Grisham, vice president of animal collections, said he is unsure what caused the ulcers. He said grizzly bears live 15 to 30 years.

"We'll get test results in the future, but there is no guarantee we are going to find anything," said Grisham.

Ernie arrived in St. Louis with his brother Bert in 1991 after their mother was shot by wildlife agents in Alaska. Bert is healthy and will stay at the zoo.

The zoo recently said goodbye to another favorite, Smoke the chimpanzee. He was euthanized June 22 because of an infected abdomen. (Diane Toroian Keaggy)

ST. LOUIS > Festival postponed • Downtown sculpture park Citygarden has canceled Saturday's Flamingo Festival because of the extreme heat. The festival has been rescheduled for 2-4 p.m. Sept. 10.

The party will feature a costume contest, parade, music and other family activities as well as edible pink treats. (Diane Toroian Keaggy)

OVERLAND > City considers expanding free trash pickup • Overland has offered free trash service for the past three years to residents whose income is no more than 150 percent of federal poverty guidelines. The City Council is considering raising the qualification level to 160 percent, to include more people. A total of 108 households now qualify under the 150 percent guideline.

The council agreed on Monday night to consider the change, beginning in August; later, the council also will consider asking voters to approve the city's first park sales tax, a half-cent, on the November ballot.

Increasing the income threshold for trash payment assistance was promoted by council member Ken Owensby. City trash service bills are about $22 a month. But Owensby was quick to oppose the sales tax proposal, saying residents couldn't afford it and the election cost itself would be a waste of funds.

Councilman Jerry May said the council got a city attorney's opinion in 2008 that the free trash service program is illegal, but other members disputed this. An attorney's opinion will now be secured in writing, the council agreed.

In the meantime, Overland is one of the few St. Louis County cities where voters can approve a park sales tax but have not yet done so, officials said. Projections show that it would produce $1 million for parks and/or stormwater services annually. (Special to the Post-Dispatch)

ST. LOUIS COUNTY > MSD cleans up sewage spill • Crews with the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District were cleaning up and making repairs Tuesday after a sewer line broke and leaked sewage in north St. Louis County.

The spill happened Monday after a sewer main broke near Blossomwood Court in Florissant. The broken main leaked into a tributary of Coldwater Creek. About 68,000 gallons of sewage leaked into the tributary.

No one was injured.

MSD is asking residents to stay away from the area for at least 48 hours as a precaution.

The sewage spill was reported to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, as required by law, MSD said. (From staff reports)

JEFFERSON CITY > State gets help for bridge preservation • Missouri is getting nearly $145,000 to help preserve two of the state's historic covered bridges.

The state Department of Natural Resources announced the grants Monday. The funds come from the Federal Highway Administration's National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program.

One project is planned at the Sandy Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site near Goldman in Jefferson County. The other will take place at the Union Covered Bridge State Historic Site in Monroe County.

Among other things, the department will use the money to remove graffiti from the Sandy Creek bridge and install two infrared cameras with motion sensors to record activities at the bridge.

The money will also go toward repairing 2008 flood damage at the Union Covered Bridge and hiring a structural engineer to inspect the bridges.

WILDWOOD > Council asks for more study on request to expand development • The City Council voted Monday to send back to the planning committee plans for a proposed addition to a housing development.

Pulte Homes wants to add more than 20 homes to the Enclaves at Cherry Hills, south of Manchester Road at Old Fairway Drive.

The council wants to determine what changes, if any, would be needed to the city's master plan due to the development's density.

Discussion of the development included a resident of the Enclaves accusing its trustees of trying to extort $50,000 from Pulte Homes to add to the development.

The resident, Ed Silberberg, argued his opposition to the plan in both a letter to the City Council and at a public hearing Monday. Attached to Silberberg's letter were printouts of emails on the topic with references to money and dollar amounts.

One email was from Holly Ferris. Ferris, a resident of the development and a committee volunteer, served as a City Council member until resigning in June 2010, citing personnel reasons.

"The 'buy in' seems like a good compromise," the email read.

Douglas Cameron, a trustee, accused Silberberg of pulling information out of context.

Councilwoman Tammy Shea said she felt the accusation was extreme and said the trail of emails suggested more of a "pay-to-play" arrangement.

Reached Tuesday, Ferris denied there was a pay-to-play arrangement. But she did note the homes would be added to 185 already there, and additional families would be using the development's facilities, such as walking trails and a pool. Pulte needs to invest some money, she said. (Special to the Post-Dispatch)