🌱 2019 Carjacker Sentenced + High School Musical Award Nominees

Happy Friday, St. Louis! Here's everything you need to know about what's happening locallytoday.

First, today's weather:

Sunny, but very cold. High: 26 Low: 15.

Here are the top 3 stories in St. Louis today:

1. A St. Louis woman was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for a deadly carjacking that occurred in 2019. Keombra Auray James pleaded guilty on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to a felony charge of aiding a fatal carjacking. The owner of the car, photographer James "Anthony" Sapone, was shot by another carjacker during the incident and later died at the hospital. (STLtoday.com)
2. 24 area schools have been selected to participate in the St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards. The finalists were selected by The Fabulous Fox, The Muny, and the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation. The high school students will compete across 14 different categories in the competition this May. (fox2now.com)
3. A St. Louis-area bookkeeper has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for stealing $670,000 from a trust fund that provided money for several charities. 69-year-old Paula K. Smith of O'Fallon was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in July to mail fraud and money laundering charges. In addition to the prison time, Smith must repay the money. (The Missourian)

From our sponsor:

Tackling a big to-do list around the house to start the new year? Our partners at Thumbtack, the home services app, have made hiring trusted local pros for pretty much any job extremely easy and intuitive. In minutes, you can find a painter, plumber, roofer or someone to help with small jobs such as trash hauling or appliance repair. And Thumbtack's rating system can give you confidence that you're hiring a quality pro you can count on. Click here to get started.

Today in St. Louis:

• Free Vaccination Clinic At Central Branch Library (9:30 AM)
• Grab And Go After School Meals At Lewis And Clark Branch Library (3:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Wednesday was #NationalPopcornDay! Popcorn is one of the many millions of plants represented in the Missouri Botanical Garden's herbarium. Grab a bowl of your favorite salty snack and learn more about the role that corn plays in our longstanding tradition of preserving plant diversity. (Facebook)
• The Fabulous Fox Theatre is hosting a sweepstake. Enter for a chance to win four tickets to the opening night of Mean Girls on Broadway, plus a $250 Lululemon gift card! (Facebook)
• The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is looking forward to a year of great music with optimism! The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has included three SLSO concerts in its list of 35 entertainment events to anticipate this year. (Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Lowered Costs for 2022, Get Your Cannabis Card from Home! (January 22)
• JobNewsUSA.com St. Louis Job Fair - 1000s of Jobs in Multiple Industries! (January 27)
• Add your event

Job listings:

• Topps Paving & Sealing LLC Maryland Heights MO (Details)
• Add your job listing

Loving the St. Louis Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved:

• Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe
• Get your local business listed in front of readers

You're all caught up for today. See you all tomorrow morning for another update!

— Helen Eckhard

About me: Helen Eckhard is a marketing assistant at Lightning Media Partners. She is a self-professed logophile who is currently pursuing her master’s degree in library science. Outside of work, you can find Helen constructing crossword puzzles, knitting, or devising increasingly crafty ways to kill off characters in her mystery novels.