The Case for a New Memorial Drive

The National Park Service is updating the management plan which governs the use of the Arch grounds. Now is the time to attend meetings and give public comment. The first meeting happened earlier this week, and the next meeting will be from 3:00 pm -6:30 pm on Tuesday, July 1, at the Old Court House.

The meetings are being held open house style, with professional planners from the consulting firm EDAW on hand facilitating the process and recording public input. In addition, planning and design professionals with the National Park Service are present.

I attended the meeting this week at Forest Park to help promote the idea of removing the depressed and elevated lanes of I-70 through downtown, and replace them with a new, landscaped Memorial Drive. Here are some of the possibilities we discussed:

NORTH SOUTH ORIENTATION - PARALLELS RIVERFRONT For years, St. Louis has been devising ways to turn our backs on the riverfront and remove people from downtown. Most major roads lead away from the river or follow an east-west orientation. Broadway, an important north-south running street, on the west side of the Old Court House and away from the riverfront and Arch grounds, would connect with an extension of Memorial Drive on the north side of downtown. Other than Broadway, the first major north-south running through street in downtown is Tucker, 12 blocks west of the river.

A new Memorial Drive recreates the entrance to our city, on a north-south axis parallel to the river, in a way that connects most of downtown's main anchors, including the Mississippi river. For years we have looked for ways to restore the city's connection to the Mississippi river, and a new Memorial Drive could make that happen, and a lot more.

CONNECTIVITY - A new Memorial Drive connects downtown assets and anchors: the Eads Bridge, the Dr. Martin Luther King Bridge, Washington Avenue, the Arch Grounds, exit and entrance ramps to the Poplar Street Bridge; Laclede's Landing, the Edward Jones Dome, the Old Cathedral, the Bottle District, the Riverfront, Lumiere Casino, the Old Court House, and downtown hotels.

VIEWS/DAYLIGHT - The elevated sections of I-70 adjacent to Laclede's Landing, the Edward Jones Dome and the proposed Bottle District block views of the Arch grounds, historic downtown architecture, and much more. Removal of the elevated lanes as part of the plan to rebuild Memorial Drive adds open space, improves views, enhances the walkability, and improves the overall experience of people downtown.

PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS - A plan to improve Memorial Drive has many possible partners and stakeholders, including the Downtown Residents Association, the Partnership for Downtown, Downtown Now, Laclede's Landing, the National Park Service, Lumiere Casino, the Rams, the Cardinals, downtown hotels and businesses, downtown workers, city and regional residents and leaders, the RCGA, and others. Basically, anyone interested in the future and quality of life of downtown St. Louis is a potential partner in this effort.

TIMING - The sooner the better, or timed to coincide with the new Mississippi River Bridge.

LEVERAGES OTHER FEDERAL and LOCAL INVESTMENTS - The new Mississippi River Bridge will lessen traffic demands on the I-70 depressed lanes, and is bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in public investment to the St. Louis region, including a substantial federal share. A plan to rebuild Memorial Drive, made possible in part as a result of the new Mississippi River Bridge, leverages substantial public investment in the new bridge into additional benefits designed to enhance the quality of life for downtown St. Louis and the entire region.

NO SITE ACQUISITIONS OR DISPLACMENT - Unlike most major highway construction projects, this plan requires no private site acquisitions or displacement of existing businesses or residents - a major cost savings. Everything necessary to rebuild Memorial Drive can be accomplished on existing public rights of way. In fact, the National Park Service already owns the land under the depressed lanes and both sides of Memorial Drive adjacent to the Arch grounds.

OPENS NEW SITES FOR DEVELOPMENT - Rather than displacing businesses or residents, there is the real possibility that removal of the old interstate will open up new sites for development with excellent views of the Arch.

TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT - We have learned through the rebuilding of Highway 40 that the closing of an interstate highway doesn't automatically bring on Armageddon. We are surviving the 2-year shutdown of Interstate 64 pretty well.

A new Memorial Drive will make available increased north and south access through downtown, connect drivers to the new Mississippi River Bridge on the north and the Poplar Street Bridge and Interstates 44 and 55 on the south, and gives us the opportunity to fix the rush hour gridlock around the Old Court House by redesigning our traffic system along Memorial Drive.

Timing of signalized intersections along the new Memorial Drive based on peak and reduced traffic periods will minimize delays for traffic entering or exiting downtown during commute hours, while maximizing pedestrian access at all other times.

CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERATIONS - Building a new Memorial Drive and vacating the depressed lanes and removal of the elevated highway section next to Laclede's Landing is not as big an endeavor as it might sound. It's mostly demolition, fill, and the building of a new, landscaped, surface boulevard. There are no high cost bridges or tunnels, and no right of way acquisitions involved.

COST FACTORS - The biggest construction project underway in the St. Louis region is the rebuilding of a 10.9 mile stretch of Highway 40 from the City of St. Louis to Ballas Road in West St. Louis County. The total cost of the project is $535,000,000, with a $420,000,000 construction cost. The I-64 project includes demolishing and rebuilding 25 bridges over the highway, plus the massive reconstruciton of the 40/170 interchange.

The current proposal to build a 3-block lid over Memorial Drive is estimated to cost between $80,000,000 - $100,000,000. One reason for the high cost of the lid plan is that since 9/11, new safety standards for tunnels require extensive ventilation systems. For the same $80,000,000 - $100,000,000 (nearly a quarter the cost of the full I-64 rebuild), how much could we do to build a new Memorial Drive?

From a construction standpoint, since there are no bridges or tunnels to build, the project involves the demolition of the old highway sections, filling in the depressed lanes, and building the new section of Memorial Drive. More work is needed to design and engineer the project, however based on the information we have to date, it might be considerably less expensive to vacate the highway and rebuild Memorial Drive than building the 3-block lid over the depressed lanes.

FOLLOWING BEST PRACTICES - Other regions are improving their downtowns by the removal of highway sections cutting through the heart of their downtown areas. By replacing Interstate 70 with a new Memorial Drive, we would be following a proven strategy of successful urban revitalization, one that restores our connection to river.

LET'S FACE IT - THE CURRENT SITUATION STINKS Our downtown and the Arch deserve a lot better than the current configuration of Memorial Drive and I-70. Memorial Drive is dangerous, univiting and tired. I-70 forms either a moat or a wall dividing the Arch, Laclede's Landing, and the riverfront from the rest of St. Louis.

For one of the most beautiful manmade monuments on the planet, the Arch suffers from some, if not the worst, staging of any of them. No one benefits from the current situation - not visitors, not residents, not businesses, not anyone - well except perhaps for those drivers trying to get out of downtown St. Louis as fast as possible.

This is our opportunity to make a major change to the entire area. The change would be a dramatic improvement - the sort of thing that most people understand intuitively - they just think can't be done due to an assumption that the depressed lanes will always be there, but they don't have to be. Other regions have removed obsolete interstate highways from the heart of their downtowns, and we can too!

PROCESS - Ultimately, this is up to us. Senator Danforth is right when he states that for anything to happen in the effort to improve the access to the Arch Grounds and Riverfront, it will require the local community to buy in to the vision and work together. Key regulating agencies will be looking for a locally driven plan and financing strategy.

TRANSFORMATIONAL PROJECT - Over the past ten years, St. Louis has made phenomenal progress in revitalizing downtown. The removal of the depressed and elevated lanes of Interstate 70 through downtown, from the Poplar Street Bridge on the south to approximately Carr Street on the North, (roughly a one mile stretch), would be another huge step forward in our renaissance. A new Memorial Drive will give people entering downtown and approaching the Arch a true sense of arrival. Travelling a beautifully landscaped boulevard, visitors entering our city will see the Arch on one side and the Old Court House on the other.

Civic anchors will be connected. Daylight and views will be dramatically improved. New prime sites for development will be created. Not only will access to the Arch grounds be improved, but the overall connection between downtown, Laclede's Landing and the riverfront will be improved throughout a one-mile north-south section on the eastern edge of downtown.

Now is our time and this is our opportunity. Whatever we decide, we have this chance to make a major improvement to downtown, our riverfront and the Arch. We are in the planning and decision making phase now. St. Louis will live with the decisions we make today for the next 100-200 years, and for all of us around now, certainly the rest of our lives. If you love St. Louis and are excited about its future, this is an extremely important issue.

The next meeting to discuss the future of the Arch grounds is this coming Tuesday afternoon, July 1, at the Old Court House. If you like this idea or have other ideas about how to improve the Arch grounds, please attend the meeting or send your comments to the new Arch Superintendent, Tom Bradley, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, 11 North 4th Street, St. Louis, MO 63102.

Downtown 2-Ways

Walking through the streets of downtown this morning, I passed the Old Post Office and the under construction Old Post Office Plaza.

The street on the west side of the Old Post Office, 9th Street, also fronting the Roberts Orpheum theater, has reopened. It's operating as a two-way street between Olive and Washington.

Having to look both ways before crossing a narrow downtown street, felt like a throwback to Old St. Louis, and it was a good feeling.

Maybe with one section of a downtown street working as an "un-medianed" two-way, there's a chance for more?

Open Seating?

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day. The city is winning the war on lead poisoning, and the weather outside is perfect.

Walking downtown, there are lots of people outside. Tables at sidewalk cafes are full. It's warm, and a seat at a table under an umbrella is very inviting. Why not have more?

It takes years for a shade tree to grow up and produce shade, but a table under an umbrella offers instant shade.

What do people think of the idea of creating a sidewalk table program for the heart of downtown? There would need to be a sponsor, but we could set it up so anyone could grab a seat for free. Under an umbrella. Watching the world go by.

The owners of Gitto's and Starbucks might not like brown baggers taking up their cafe tables, but certainly people bringing their lunch to work would like a place to sit outside and eat on a nice day like today.

What about the homeless, wouldn't they take up all the free tables? Probably not. They don't seem to congregate outside the Christian Science building next to the Post Office. Besides, we're sharing downtown with homeless people anyway, and a homeless person needs a place to sit for a while the same as everyone else.

Yeah, there are benches in parks already, so why would we need to add tables and umbrellas to sidewalks? The best reason I guess is that it puts more people on the street. For me, personally, given the choice? I think I'd rather sit at a table and chair on the sidewalk than under a tree on a grassy field in a park. That's just me.

I wonder if any other cities have adopted free sidewalk cafe table programs to improve street life? It seems like a low cost way to inject some much sought after pedestrian activity. I like it.

It's Here!

Gas prices in the St. Louis area hit $4.00 per gallon for regular unleaded yesterday, while the news is reporting that Missouri has the lowest priced gasoline in the nation.

Remembering not long ago, when $2.00 per gallon gas seemed expensive, paying double that is borderline surreal.

We're making adjustments, and figuring our future decisions we'll be permanently shifted based on higher fuel costs.

For starters, we're car sharing on the home front, only operating one vehicle. Any car purchased in the future will average a minimum of 30 mpg, and we'll likely share that car as well.

Future residential moves will be withing walkin distance of Metrolink and shopping, and jobs will be in places along the Metrolink line. It's fortunate to have these options in St. Louis.

Having friends living in Jefferson and St. Charles County who deal with long commutes to work makes me wonder how the higher fuel prices are impacting them.

Having family living in California, where gas prices are running around $4.50 per gallon and long drives in heavy traffic are a routine part of the lifestyle, makes me wonder how California and other western states can sustain their car cultures.

Driving the highways on the weekends around St. Louis, and you notice a significant reduction in traffic. There's no doubt that people are definitely cutting back on unnecessary trips.

In the long run, higher fuel prices will encourage greater use of public transportation and walkable, close in communities. This should help make the urban core of the St. Louis region more competitive when people consider their neighborhood choices.

Heart for STL Corporations

St. Louis has enjoyed being headquarters for lots of major corporations. Unfortunately, for the past ten years or so, we've lost some. Southwestern Bell moved to Texas. Boeing bought out McDonnell Douglas. And now, the grandaddy of StL corporations, Anheuser Busch, is facing a takeover threat.

When we lose corporate headquarters, the whole community suffers. Visit the Zoo, and you see the names of many St. Louis corporate sponsors underwriting our free Zoo. Losing a corporate headquarters hurts us on the asset side of our civic balance sheet.

There's a grass roots move to keep A-B a St. Louis based company. Read more about it here: savebudweiser.com

Hard left or hard right?

With so much attention focused on the democratic presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, it's been easy to lose sight of the major showdown about to happen in our country this fall. While the democratic candidates have been fighting to pin down their parties nomination, it's important to remember, they're playing on the same team. The real choice for this country comes in November. And this time around, the choices for president offer Americans a real difference.

For the republicans, we have an older, white, pro-Iraq war, veteran and former P-O-W. For the democrats, we have a young, black, anti-Iraq war, Harvard trained lawyer. While the candidates will work to keep the campaign respectful, there is no telling what their party operatives and supporters might do.

In the end, this election will move our country in one of two completely opposite directions. The economy, oil prices, the war in Iraq, health care, oh, and the economy, will be central themes. How does McCain lift the economy? How does Obama address the issue of rising gas prices? What will Hillary add to the debate? Where are we headed in Iraq and Afghanistan? Where will all those Bush cabinet people go?

Does McCain pick Romney for VP to strengthen his domestic economy hand? Does Obama bring in Hillary to solidify the democratic base? While the primary race between Clinton and Obama was great political theater, it was just a warm up for what promises to be a fascinating and close general election.

Metro Proposing Fare Increases

Metro, our public transit system which includes Metrolink, is predicting budget shortfalls. To maintain current levels of service, the system is proposing rate increases.

Monthly passes for Metrolink are available for $60 (not sure if that gets you unlimited bus ridership as well). One-way Metrolink tickets are $2 apiece.

With the cost of gasoline and downtown parking, Metro fares seem low. I don't know how our rates compare to those in most other regions, but I do know that Metrolink fares are a tiny fraction compared to the fares charged on the Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART).

Increasing public transit fares during tough economic times will be a large pill for some to swallow, especially those living on low and fixed incomes. On the other hand, given the rapidly increasing cost of operating single person occupany vehicles, maintaining the capacity of our public transportation system seems a necessity.

Ridership is growing to record levels. Perhaps increased ridership will offset some of the fare increase?

Goodbye Old Paint!

Today the tow truck from the Kidney Foundation arrived to haul off our 1996 Dodge Caravan. For two years now, the A/C has been dead, and a couple of weeks ago the transmission locked up. A few minor dings primered over, along with noticeable wear and tear on the interior trim, and it was time to make the decision to part with the car.

There's some sadness in seeing the vehicle that's been a part of so many of our memories being towed away for the last time. On the other hand, it's nice freeing up a parking space in front of the house, not having to budget any repair costs for the aging machine, and to remove it from the insurance policy. The one thing I will miss about it is that full tank of gas I paid for just before the transmission died.

Looking forward, there will be more trips by bicycle to the grocery store and the Metrolink Station. That's not a bad thing. And we can take our time thinking about what/if we should replace the dead van with a new one. With the high cost of the gasoline these days, buying a vehicle that averages less than 30 mpg is a tough decision.

On the bright side, if you're in the market for a new vehicle, they say they're practically giving them away. There are ads running promoting $5,000 cash rebates on new vehicles or three-year guarantees on $2.99 per gallon gas prices. I'm thinking an offer of a high mpg car, with a higher mliegage scooter thrown in the deal, just might turn us into buyers!

Dumb question, I know...

Since eating and drinking are prohibited on board Metrolink trains, why is there a Pepsi machine on the 8th and Pine station platform?

Busch Stadium -- It Was Built!

(Since many people leave based on their first impression, the title of this post was changed from the original tongue in cheek version, "Busch Stadium Should Have Not Been Built")

No, not the new Busch Stadium, it should have been built...we're referring to Busch II, the first downtown stadium opened in 1966, about the same time as the Arch.

Busch Stadium should not have been built because it replaced a thriving Chinatown in downtown St. Louis referred to as "Hop Alley". People don't often think of St. Louis as a destination for Asian immigrants, but it did at one time have it's own Chinatown.

Hop Alley was tiny compared to the Chinatowns of New York and San Francisco. I wasn't around at the time, but from what I've read, it was real, and it was located at the site of the former Busch Stadium. When the stadium was built, a number of former uses were removed, to make way for the new ballpark.

Had Busch Stadium remained in North City at Grand and Dodier, Hop Alley in downtown St. Louis would have been preserved, and St. Louis today would be more urban and ethnically diverse. True fact? Maybe so? We really don't know and we can't say. That's not our history, so basing arguments on the premise really can't be proven either way.

As much as St. Louisans loath change, our history is one of steady changes. Today, we have a thriving Asian district along Olive Boulevard. It's much larger than the old Hop Alley, running nearly from the city limits on the east to west of 170 in Creve Coeur and Olivette.

Busch II, our first downtown baseball stadium, was part of a wave of downtown redevelopment which included the Arch and many of the office towers downtown. From an academic perspective, one might ask, what would have happened if instead of downtown, the Cardinals chose to move to the western suburbs? That didn't happen either, but it's fun to think of the possibile outcomes. Some might suggest the Cardinals leaving St. Louis proper would have been good for the city.

They might argue that city leaders would then have been forced to consider a future without major league sports. Older buildings would have been preserved, so there would have been more rehab opportunities. Remember though, this was the 1960s, and historic preservation had not reached the economic leveraging potential we see today. So perhaps, the buildings demolished for Busch Stadium and other new construction would have been lost anyway. We don't know.

Instead, we are what we are today. We continue to evolve and change. Our community has certain tools and values guiding our efforts, and we have different issues and challenges now than we had in 1966.

Will Anheuser Busch remain a St. Louis based company? Will the Arch grounds and downtown be better connected? Will the Rams remain in downtown St. Louis or the region at all? What will come of the St. Louis Centre Skybridge over Washington Avenue?

Lemay is No. 1!

In its April 2008 edition, Fortune magazine rates the the top 100 communities in the country to start a small business. 85th on the list, and the only St. Louis place to be included is...drumbeat please...Lemay, Missouri!

Located at the confluence of the Mississippi River and the River Des Peres, Lemay's history is as old as Carondelet's, and its welcoming business climate makes it a competitive location to start a new company. Factor in its central location, and Lemay businesses have a lower transportation costs as well.

Part of the Hancock and Bayless School districts, Lemay has a stock of older homes, many built in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. One challenge for older communities like Lemay and our other inner ring suburbs is how to modernize their pre and post World War 2 housing stocks to keep them attractive to today's homebuyers.

One of the best routes to preserve historic neighborhoods is to keep them viable over the decades. With Lemay's notice as a good place for business, it can only mean good things for the area's other community betterment efforts.

Hats off to the many people and organizations working to promote the Lemay community, and congratulations for this recognition by one of the country's leading financial advice publications!

Dave Murray: A Stand Up Guy

After having waded through water in the alley, sitting for hours at rain-delayed youth baseball tournament games, and watching cars navigate the shoulder lane on I-44 like motor boats, to say the weather forecasters blew it this weekend would be the understatement of the year.

Last week, the forecast was for a beautiful weekend. The Post Dispatch said it would perfect weather to go to the pool. Yet, by Monday afternoon, it was clear Mother Nature had different plans. Some parts of the region had 6 or more inches or rain over the weeked.

In a show of class, on the 5:00 pm newscast on Channel 2 Monday afternoon, weatherman Dave Murray gave a stand up, apology for his blown forecast. He did it with class, and cautioned, never trust a St. Louis warm front. Seeing a weather man owe up for a rotten weather prediction was a breath of fresh air.

It's interesting in these days of advanced radar, computer models, etc, that in St. Louis, weather predictions remain a tough call. Through it all, some stations are now making 7-day forecasts? They're kidding, right?

Metrolink Comings and Goings

In the week-plus since the car died, I've been a regular rider on Metrolink. Having light rail available as an alternate to driving your own car sure is a nice option. It's economical, it's relaxing, and it opens your eyes to all sorts of things you never see from behind the wheel of a car.

We have a funny way about names here in St. Louis. They get changed, but we don't
always go with the changes. Like Metro. I think the whole public transit system of Bi-State now operates under the name Metro, but for me, I'll always think of the trains as Metrolink.

They say we're really like a small town here in St. Louis, and it's true. Without fail, every day I've ridden the train, I've bumped into one or more friends and business associates. The other day, one of my colleagues working in another downtown office was waiting at the station. We hadn't seen each other for awhile, so I walked up to him, we shook hands, and started to chat. Seated next to him was a woman, seemingly minding her own business. Not for long. She made me her business.

"Hey, you wanna move?", she said. "Huh?" I'm thinking...move? "Why?" I asked. "You're blocking my view." "Blocking your view? Of what". (We were in an underground station. She motioned to the west bound tunnel. We were waiting for a train coming from the east. At that point my friend muttered, "...people in their own world..." He stood up and we walked a few feet down the platform, and continued our conversation.

At the other end of the line, while exiting the station, a guy walking up the stairs is holding his MP3 player in his mouth like an infant's binky. Okay. I'm thinking, maybe some variation on a Peter Frampton voice box? That was different.

Every day is something new. More and more people are riding the trains. Ridership is growing and setting new records every week. With the price of gas these days, it's no wonder. Just yesterday I saw diesel at $4.65 per gallon. It's gotten insane.

So you've heard of the "last straw"? The last straw implies that there are some preceding, final straws. Yesterday, one of those final straws for me was waiting at the Clayton station. He, better stated the views he represented, were among the things leading up to our departure from our old church. In meetings, he espoused views justifying slavery based on a biblical context.

The seat next to me is empty. I'm hoping, don't sit here...don't sit here...don't sit here. There were lots of other empty seats...He sits down right next to me. Wonderful. I keep my head forward, and slightly turned away. He doesn't say a word. Good. Maybe he doesn't recognize me. We're sitting next to each other passing a few platforms.

He's holding some official looking documents in his hands, and he's dressed like a lawyer. I'm curious. Taking a quick glance at the title, they're called "The Law and the Gospel". Oh brother. I guess things really don't change that much.

Today on the train, we're riding through one of my favorite parts of the trip: the industrial section near the Grand Avenue platform. Here you're passing alongside lots of other rail lines. Stopped at the station, I see about a half dozen pigeons and one other bird pecking into the coal-looking rocks between the rails of the next track. They looked to be eating, but what sort of food would they find there? In between a pile of railbed rock. It was odd.

Then it dawned on me. A passing freight train must have dropped some grain or something down onto the tracks. It's the last place you'd think a tiny creature would get a meal, but sure enough, they liked it just fine.

One of the nice things about Metrolink is that it's very uncomplicated. You're either going west bound or east bound. With the exception of the trip out to Lambert, it's pretty much a one-track line. And the engineers give lots of updates and announcements. There's not a whole lot of thinking required. You get on board, chill for 20 or 30 minutes. Then you get off and you're there. A connection between work and home that is made via Metrolink has got to be one of the best quality of life options there is in St. Louis.

With the outrageous price of gas these days, and no relief in sight, maybe St. Louis is ready to up the pace of Metrolink expansion? I would definitely vote in favor of that happening.

A good reason to move: sleep!

When we moved to a quieter, 2-way street with lots of shade we thought we found just right house. Great neighbors. Pretty brick houses. Great holiday decorations. Tops in block parties. Walking distance to everything. A lush backyard as seen in the photo above. We love the house and the neighborhood.

Lots of kids making friends with young son. Parks and churches nearby. People taking good care of their houses. What more could you want in a neighborhood? Everything seemed perfect. And it was! There's just one tiny problem. The place isn't just perfect for us - the wildlife likes it too. Too much. Not inside-outside!

All that lush vegetation in the backyard? It's the perfect habitat for rabbits, mice, squirrels, birds, possum, raccoon, foxes, everything. We're in the city, and it's living on the set of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Which is okay. We like having wildlife in the area. This time of year the singing birds are everywhere. And it's neat to see the occasional fox. We love the rabbits. It's all good. All good except for one thing: our dog can't stand it. She's half beagle, half shepherd. To her, the situation is totally unacceptable. And she's made it her job to do something about it. And she does.

Every night, without fail, between 3 and 4 am, she gets up to get to work. And she can't do her rounds without someone with her, for if she does, she will bark to alert us humans of her successes in flushing the wildlife from the yard. And good neighbors that we try to be, we can't have her out there in the middle of the night barking at every rabbit and squirrel she rousts from the yard. So daddy gets to accompany her on her "job".

Now you know that a happy dog needs to have a job, right? They do. And we want our dog to be happy. So, bleary-eyed and half awake, out I go, wrapped in a blanket, toting a flashlight, and dozing on a folding chair, to accompany loyal Hollie, as she protects us from the invading hoards of field mice, squirrels, and cotton tail rabbits. It's all very sweet really. But it's wreaking havoc on my sleep pattern. Something's gotta give, and we certainly won't give up the dog. And I've got to be able to get at least six hours of sleep. So what to do?

It dawned on me this morning. The only solution is we move. Not because we have a kid "reaching school age". Or because we have an "old house". Or because of the "1% earnings tax". No, I guess we'd be moving because we love our dog too much. That's a good reason, isn't it. Or is it crazy? We move because we love the dog too much?

Love of dogs is something that must be pretty important to St. Louis. We've got our own Dog Museum, and we've got an amazing person in one Randy Grimm of Stray Rescue. STL Rising wishes to thank fellow St.Louisan, Randy Grimm, for his love of dogs and his selfless acts of service rescuing stray dogs from the streets of our region. For his years of effort, Stray Rescue was just awarded the $1,000,000 top prize in a national contest to continue its efforts.

According to the sponsors of the contest, one of the reasons Stray Rescue was chosen was the way the St. Louis community rallied around Grimm's Stray Rescue program. Thanks to Randy Grimm and Stray Rescue for all the good they do to help save dogs from the streets and bringing positive attention to St. Louis.

St. Louis getting national attention for pulling together as a community for a worthwhile cause....that's about the best kind of news we can get, isn't it? And so while we may need to find a different house on a block where the backyard doesn't transform nightly into a scene from Where the Wild Things Are, that's certainly no reason to move too far away. A downtown condo maybe? Or maybe one in a converted old school? Something along Metro? Pave the backward? Hmmm. I wonder if they offer "test rests"...

Online discussion looking for a larger audience...

Start on page 28 and read backwards...

A new project for Charlie Brennan?

When it comes to promoting the good things about St. Louis, KMOX's Charlie Brennan is a one-man PR machine. The historic red line downtown, books about St. Louis, and plaques like the one of Mr. and Mrs. Dred Scott in front of the Old Court House are just a few of things he's done to help tell the story of St. Louis.

We come to depend on people like Charlie Brennan to get the word out about this place. After all, we're not a very self-promoting sort of people. We tend to be humble, low-key, self-deprecating, and modest. And it's too bad really. There really are a lot of good things to tout about St. Louis. Like Forest Park.

The transformation of Forest Park is nothing short of amazing. It has gone from a tired, scary for some, expanse of green space - albeit dotted with interesting attractions - to a seamless place of beauty and serenity. At the heart of it all is the Grand Basin at the foot of Art Hill.

When you're standing there, in front of the Grand Basin, you're in the exact spot where the 1904 World's Fair took place. But would you ever know it? What about out of towners? Would they? They've possibly heard of the 1904 World's Fair (it's one of the few things we do talk about...). So they might know the Fair happened in Forest Park. But the park is so big, would they know where in the park the Fair was held? Probably not.

Is there a marker, perhaps a bronze relief with an image of the Fair, mounted atop a brick or stone pedestal, describing the Fair? Wouldn't something like that be a nice addition to the promenade that runs along the edge of the Grand Basin, from where you can look across the water, to Art Hill, and upward to the Art Museum?

"....Here in the summer of 1904, St. Louis staged the 1904 World's Fair. This Grand Basin and the Art Museum on top of Art Hill are the only remaining landmarks from the Fair. The Fair ran from April to December of 1904, and was the first place...." etc. For a town so proud of its World's Fair, I can't think of a historical marker in Forest Park memorializing it. Is there one?

If not, wouldn't that be an ideal project for Charlie Brennan? After all, isn't he our town's number one historical and civic ambassador? Maybe so, but the idea of electing Charlie Brennan to do the work is symptomatic of another St. Louis trait: We like other people to do things for us.

The blogosphere is a good place to see lots of people calling out other people to do things. But beyond the blogs, overall, it's part of how we are. We find problems. We cite them. Then we expect others to take responsibility. Maybe it's all part of human nature.

Volunteering others to do work is cheap talk. Ideas are free. Everyone has them. Accomplishing stuff takes time, resources, and commitment. That's where we are faced with choices.

Do you choose to make a difference? Where do you see the priorities for our time, resources and commitment?

NPS to Start Dialogue Re. Future of Arch Grounds

Did you know that the National Park Service controls the land under the I-70 depressed lanes? That's one of the things involved with any changes to Memorial Drive, the depressed lanes, or the Arch grounds. It's all under the control of the National Park Service.

Yesterday, the National Park Service announced that it will revisit the "management plan" for the Arch, a document that dates back over 40 years. A lot has changed in 40 years, so the National Park Service has decided to engage the public in a discussion about how to position the Arch and its surroundings for the next generation or two.

One suggestion is to build a "walkway" over Memorial Drive, however, the idea of ceding land from the NPS to the City of St. Louis or some other local authority was not expressly mentioned as part of the agenda.

It will be interesting to see how much is available for review and discussion, but the good news is that this is a start. The timeframe for receiving public input is estimated at 18 months.

KMOX Reports on North St. Louis Land Acquisition Activity

KMOX has picked up on the story of private land acquisitions taking place on the near north side. The pattern of land acquisitions suggests a development plan may be in the works. Reporter Kevin Killeen interviewed a state representative, however, he was unable to get any comment about the acquisition activity from the ownership group.

While the story has been covered widely in the blogs, and was featured in the RFT, the mainstream media has given the issue minimal attention. Perhaps with wider media attention, a major announcement of a development proposal may be coming soon?

Red Light Cameras Hard at Work

Over the past couple of years, "red light cameras" have been popping up at signalized intersections across the metro. The camera snaps a picture of cars running a red light, and then the owner of the car is mailed a violation notice with a fine. Based on the number of flash bulbs going off, the system is generating a lot of traffic fines.

A longer standing tradition here in St. Louis is the right of way given to cars driving in funeral processions. To newcomers, it's a little hard to get used to. Cars in parade formation drive right through red lights.

Yesterday, the two practices faced off right in front of me. The light was red, a funeral procession continued right through the red light, and there was the red light camera, busily snapping photos of every car driving through the light. There must have been thirty or forty of them.

What happens now? Do these drivers have to fight the tickets? Will they get them? Do they assume when a long line of cars runs a light in succession, it's a funeral procession so they don't bother sending the tickets?

Blogger has a problem

The security codes to make new posts, the ones where you have to enter the anti-spam letters in the box, have become nearly impossible to read. For me at least. Has anyone else noticed this?

Why does blogger schmoosh the security letters so close together that they are nearly impossible to read? Sometimes it takes me four or five tries to get a post past the spam blocker. Is it just me, or is my increasingly advancing age rendering me more and more incapable of functioning in this (youth dominated/sight advantaged?) internet world?

(ps: I'm now on my third try to enter this post...maybe its an Apple thing?)

(okay, this is ridiculous,,,now its the fourth try...)

(the first round of editing has me back dealing with blogger's spam blocker gatekeeper..here we go again...)

Hillary for the win?

About 6 weeks ago, Barack Obama was looking solid to win the democratic nomination for president. However, since the whole Reverend Wright (sp?) eruption, the democratic nomination now looks totally up for grabs.

Hillary has a strong base in St. Louis. Our mayor endorsed her campaign early on, while Senator Claire McCaskill has been a strong Obama backer.

Both candidates offer new direction for the country. Would one be better for St. Louis?

Maybe we'll see an Obama/Clinton ticket? Does anyone believe that will be the ultimate outcome of the Democratic National Convention?

If it were, then do the democrats prevail versus John McCain in November?

Centene and the Art of the Deal

After a failed eminent domain attempt in Clayton, Centene offered to build its corporate headquarters at Ballpark Village. For reasons never fully explained, Centene withdrew its Ballpark Village plans, and is now once again poised to re-up its Clayton Missouri headquarters expansion effort.

Given all the recent history of Centene's site location efforts, real estate observers will be interested to follow the next round of negotiations. There is no question that the 1,000 or so Centene jobs are an attractive economic development opportunity for any community.

As a decision maker, where do you think the negotiation leverage rests now? Does Clayton offer tax incentives to re-lure Centene?

Impacting change

Outside of our professional lives, we face many choices about the issues that are important enough to us that we want to become personally involved. We all filter them through some sort of internal screening process to set our own priorities. Yet, if we are to positively impact the situation, we must come up with an effective approach. How do you decide how to proceed? A few examples...

Your neighborhood has a problem property. You want something done about it. What's the best thing to do?

There are lots of historic buildings in your community, and you're concerned about preserving them. How should you proceed?

The school near your home needs better athletic fields, but they are landlocked. How can you help them get a "home field"?

A local nonprofit does important work, but the funding to continue their operation is at risk. What should you do?

Every day we encounter different challenges and opportunities, especially in active communities like St. Louis. There are tradeoffs, positives and negatives, and lots of different perspectives and competing priorities.

If you have a goal to see some certain outcome, what is the best way for a single person to make a real impact toward achieving the desired result?

Do you have a pet project you'd like to see happen? For some, the preservation of the San Luis Apartments has become an important issue. There is a plan to tear the building down and create a parking lot to serve the needs of the Arch Diocese. Some would rather see the building preserved. Competing priorities, different perspectives. A neighborhood priority? Maybe, maybe not.

A pet project of mine? One is the revamping of the connection between the Arch/Riverfront and downtown. I believe it's a major concern impacting our city/region and that we can do better. A lot better.

However, it's also one of those things where a single person doesn't carry much weight. So why should I get involved? The Arch connection to downtown involves a myriad of public agencies, lots of money, and many institutions and individuals. It's a complicated situation, but that makes it more interesting! It could take years.

The only way something will happen is for the community to come together around a feasible solution. We want to build a better community, but we also don't want to waste precious time. Perhaps the real challenge is to figure out how to pick your battles?

STL Rising: From the In-Box

AFRICAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE FESTIVAL

(forwarded with permission)

Dear Friends of the Community:

The "African-American Heritage Festival Committee" (AAHFC) proudly presents the Third Annual "African American Heritage Festival" at the beautiful and refurbished Fairground Park. The city's Northside has always been and will always be the cultural base for the Black community. With many former Northside residents spread over the metropolitan area, we invite you all to this festivity because you are still members of this proud community.

The AAHFC is planning this exciting event for Sunday May 18, 2008. The festivities will begin at 1:00 p.m. and we will party and play until 6:00 p.m. The ENTIRE FAIRGROUND PARK will be filled with plenty of action for everyone so come all and bring your entire family. There will be fishing, boat rides, games, sporting events, music, entertainment, booths and concession stands and much, much more!

Anyone wishing to participate in the event must RSVP to Ms. Harris via fax at (314)381-8534 or call (314)385-0145 to confirm your space. Booth space is now available but it won't be for long so you need to call to confirm your space by May 13, 2008. Time is of the essence. All booths and concession stands are $50.00. Please make checks/money orders payable to "African American Heritage Festival". Ms. Harris will provide all the information to obtain the permits for booths and concessions.

All proceeds from this event will be donated to the charitable organization of the Alderman's choice within the 1st, 3rd, and 21st Wards of your Northside community. Be proud of your community and its heritage. Come out to this wonderful event. This event is for YOU! Please call if you have any questions and we thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Bennice Jones-King - Alderwoman, 21st Ward
Charles Quincy Troupe - Alderman, 1st Ward
Freeman Bosley, Sr. - Alderman, 3rd Ward

Metropolis STL Figures Prominent in 2008 STL City Schools Story

An article in today's Post about young city families with kids reaching school age highlights the stories of a number of former Metropolis St. Louis members.

The article is about the choices families face in trying to balance their desire to live in the city with finding suitable educational opportunities for their children. From homeowner to Special Administrative Board member, former Metropolis St. Louis members are making their stamp on the city.

KWMU To Feature Neighborhood Histories

Tune in to Don Marsh's St. Louis On The Air show today at 11:00 am, 90.7 FM, to hear a discussion about neighborhood histories as a marketing and economic development resource. It promises to be an interesting conversation. Marsh's teaser for the show didn't reveal any of the guests. Anybody know?

STL Cardinals: Community Partner

Being forever in search of sources to underwrite community projects, I just happened upon one you might want to check out for yourself. We're talking about the Cardinal's "consignment ticket sales" program.

If you have access to a large group of Cardinal fans - and in St. Louis, who doesn't? - you have the opportunity to make an easy $3,000 - $5,000 for your community group. Here's how the Cardinals explained it to me...

Make a plan to sell 300-500 tickets through your organization. Work out a game date with the Cardinals. The Cardinals then print out the tickets, and in 3-5 business days, they get them to you. You enter into a contract to purchase the tickets, but there is no payment required up front. About 2 weeks before the date of the game, on "settlement day", you make payment to the Cardinals for the tickets according to the contract.

Here's how it helps your organization. Depending on the face value of the ticket, the Cardinals discount the price. Discounts of up to $10 per ticket are available. Work it right, and your organization can clear $10 per ticket. Sell 300-500 tickets, and that translates to $3,000 - $5,000 to your program or project's bottom line. Not bad for a day at the ballpark!

Work out your arrangements early in the season - like now - for a game say in August or September, and you have more than 2 months to sell the tickets. That's not too hard. For your efforts, enjoy a fun night out with your group; your organization gets its name on the Busch Stadium scoreboard and perhaps a plug on KTRS radio; you bring in cash for your program or project; so it's a win all around.

Surely there must be limitations on such an offer, so for more information, call the St. Louis Cardinals group sales office at 314-345-9370 and ask about the "consignment ticket sales" program. It could turn out to be a real winner for your organization!

"Pulse" or "Linked In"?

As we get more connected through the online world, companies offering professional networks through the internet appear to be a growing trend.

To date, most of the inquiries I've received have been through the "Linked In" network. However, since Friday, I've had two inquiries from highly reputable people, on the "Pulse" network. Is Pulse trying to outwork Linked In? Is there a difference?

Online professional networks make sense, but I wonder which ones are the best. How many would you join?

Well, I just joined Pulse. (The system prompts said "Plaxo". Aren't they a part of "Big Pharma"?) Upon entering the Pulse system, there were many of my Linked In contacts!

Small world meets big world?

STL Rising: Earthquake Reports

We were already up - the dog was barking for no apparent reason - and then out of nowhere the whole house started to shake. My first reaction was that a massive gust of wind had just slammed into the house. The only curious thing was that it had lasted so long, twice really, first a short blast, followed by a second, longer one.

The shaking was violent; we could hear it. The next thing we thought was we had just had an earthquake. One's first reactions following an earthquake where everything seems okay are relief and possibly some excitement. However, in an earthquake, one's perspective quickly changes.

The likelihood is, wherever you are during an earthquake, things are probably worse somewhere else. Coming from California, we've felt a lot of earthquakes. This morning's quake was the strongest one I've ever felt outside of the 1989 Loma Prieta quake in Northern California.

We were attending the World Series game between the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants when the earthquake hit - that's a whole 'nother story - and sure enough, while the shaking was bad at Candlestick Park, it was much worse in other places. Living along the San Andreas Fault line, you live in wait for the "Big One".

Fortunately, our Midwest shaker ended before things got out of control. So far, there are no reports of serious damage. The quake is reported to have been centered 127 miles east of St. Louis, registering 5.4 on the Richter Scale. Compared to the California quakes we've been through it felt stronger than that. Hopefully things are okay in central Illinois.

I'm thinking the stronger shaking we felt from a medium magnitude quake has something to do with the solid bedrock spread out under this midwest.

Rock, Meet Bottom

There is a space in time in any musical performance where one beat falls exactly between two others. As part of the natural wiring of our brains, we feel that point. When a note is played slightly off beat, we sense that too.

John Bonham, drummer for the classic rock band Led Zeppelin, had an uncanny ability to hit that mark with perfection. The heavy beat behind all of Zeppelin's music was based on Bonham's signature rhythm. The bottom of something, like in music, is looking for a firm stop. It establishes a critical turning point for us to know that something is preparing to resolve in the other direction.

It is becoming more and more apparent that parts of our city have also found their bottom and are now coming back up. N. Grand is a good example. Yesterday, I was part of a group of about thirty people attending a meeting of the Federal Reserve's 2008 Exploring Innovation series. We met at the new offices of Justine Petersen, located at 1023 N. Grand. 1023 N. Grand was once an abandoned building owned by the city's Land Reutilization Authority.

Justine Petersen has renovated the former LRA building into an exquisite headquarters office to serve their homeownership and micro enterprise lending programs. In addition, the building has storefront space for lease fronting N. Grand.

The building is located about five blocks north of the Fox Theater in what some would generally consider North City, but what is also an expansion of the city's burgeoning Midtown district. The meeting was well attended, and many people parked their cars for free along the side street.

1023 N. Grand is a stately old office building, once housing doctors and lawyers. Much of the original charm is intact, especially noticeable when entering through the main N. Grand entrance. It is during the down phase of a community when such properties become abandoned, and a credit to the people at Justine Petersen for seeing potential in the same building and becoming a partner in the revitalization of another part of our city.

As in music, there is art in identifying that precise moment when things begin resolving in a positive direction. Petersen Housing made magic through their efforts. Around town, there is an increasing sense that more and more of our neighborhoods are going through the same positive turnaround. Can you feel it?

STL Rising: Strategic Planning for the SLPS

On Saturday, I was part of a 1000+ person effort to carry out strategic planning for the St. Louis Public Schools. The effort is being led by the Special Administrative Board of the St. Louis Public Schools, supported by hundreds of volunteers.

The SLPS is embarking on an effort to increase the district's performance according to the 30 MSIP (Missouri School Improvement Program) benchmark measures. The event took place at Vashon High School and opened with introductions by SAB members Rick Sullivan, Melanie Adams and Richard Gaines. Gaines is heading up the strategic planning process.

Participants were divided into groups, each focusing on a different area of school performance. I was placed in the "Reading at Grade Level" section. Under this section, meeting standard means one of two things: either a student is reading at grade level, or he/she is placed into an intervention program to improve reading ability. In the SLPS, approximately 20 percent of students are rated at reading at a proficient or advanced level.

Our reading subgroup consisted of about 30 participants, assisted by a facilitator. We began by identifying strategies. Then we voted on the strategies to be forwarded to the SLPS for possible implementatation. The commitment by the SLPS is to keep the community informed of the results of the strategic planning process and the success in implementing the plan.

Our group voted to endorse five strategies (in no particular order):

1. Provide reading labs and specialists
2. Increase professional development for all teachers
3. Reduce class size, and provide in-class differentiation based on student ability (cost factor to do this a concern)
4. Test students before they start first grade or kindergarten to determine reading level. (MAP testing begins in third grade)
5. Focus more resources on k-2nd grade students.

In attendance at the event were many community leaders including:

Aldermen Dorothy Kirner, Jeffrey Boyd, and Craig Schmid
State Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford
Many former SLPS board members
The Sup't of the Normanday School District
The CEO of Energizer (Chairman of the Education Committee of Civic Progress)

A very positive video was shown at the start of the day, with the theme, "One Community, One School, One Child At a Time".

For more info on how you can become involved, please click here.

Blogs and citizen involvement

Blogs have opened a new channel for citizen communication, and St. Louis has a lively blogosphere devoted to urban issues. Nonetheless, most people don't read blogs, so information exchanged over the internet is missed on the majority of citizens.

While blogs are an excellent, free, and widely available option to distribute information, to fully engage the community, we need a diverse communications program that does the best job of reaching as many citizens as possible.

Neighborhood priorities are often set through citizen groups working together the old-fashioned way-in face to face meetings, usually held one evening a month. The internet is a fast paced way to distribute information, but it's doubtful that it will ever take the place of neighbors getting together in person to work on community goals.

Eminent Domain Forum Tomorrow

(From the flier)

The St. Louis Public Library, in conjunction with the League of Women Voters of St. Louis, is proud to sponsor an Educational Forum on Eminent Domain and Affordable Housing.
------
The forum will address the meaning of eminent domain and how it may impact housing. The audience will become familiar with government and private organizations that support housing developments in the metropolitan area.

Panelists include Jim Holtzman, Director of the St. Louis County Office of Community Development; Terry Kennedy, Alderman of the 18th Ward, Bill Malek, President Gateway Capital Mortgage Corporation; Avis Laden-Hill, Family Support Manager, Habitat for Humanity; Attorney Anthony Martin, Ombudsman from the State of Missouri; and Rick Bonasch, Director of Technical Assistance of the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance.

Light refreshments will be served from 9:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Saturday, April 5, 10:00 am to 12:30 pm

Schlafly Branch | 225 N. Euclid Ave. | St. Louis, MO 63108+1505 | 314.367.4120 | www.slpl.org

Neighborhood Vignette

This weekend we had guests from southwestern St. Louis County stay for a couple of days. They are young musicians working on a project with us. Since the project started, they've been spending more and more time in our area.

I asked what their impression was comparing our city neighborhood to the suburban area where they are more familiar. These are two high school aged young men. Both of them liked it a lot.

Prior to getting started on this music stuff, neither of them had really spent any time in the city at the neighborhood level in their lives, and these two are lifetime St. Louis area residents.

They liked the style of housing, they liked the way there were lots of neighborhood kids their age to meet and hand around with. And they liked the way it was much more walkable. They liked it alot. What the heck! If it takes putting up with some head banging music once in a while to convert the youth of St. Louis into a better appreciation of city neighborhoods, it's worth it!

Preservationists and urbanists rally to save CWE building

The San Luis Apartments, located just west of the New Cathedral on Lindell, is slated for demolition by its owner, the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Concerned St. Louisans are working to prevent the demolition and preserve the building.

Meanwhile, reports around the blogosphere are that the Archdiocese plans to replace the building with a surface parking lot. The Archdiocese has a major presence in the city's Central West End. The timeframe for the proposed demolition is unclear. Whether the San Luis Apartments has any remaining residents is also unclear.

The story has been well covered in the blogs, however, there has been minimal if any mention of this plan in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. It has been hard to find information presenting the Archdiocese' side of the story.

Ultimately, the building may come down. There will be those in favor of the demolition and those opposed. The built environment, especially in an old city like St. Louis, presents us with many choices, and there are wide differences of opinion on how to do things.

It will be interesting to see how the Archdiocese responds if there is a strong grass roots movement emanating from the community to preserve the building.

Opening Day 2008 Ballpark Village Update

In what promises to be a very interesting season in Cardinal baseball, there are a number of concerns facing Cardinal Nation.

In the latest of a series of troubling developments, Centene has backed out of its commitment to build at Ballpark Village. There is no firm plan for construction of the project.

City leaders have been patient with Ballpark Village proponents, but based on the latest news reports, that patience appears to be running out.

While the ownership group commits to building Ballpark Village, opening day is about a week away, and the site continues to be a visual blight on downtown, sitting right next to the new Busch Stadium. To the casual observer, Ballpark Village appears more like a Superfund site than a prime development opportunity.

STL Rising encourages the Cardinals to begin 2008 by doing some spring cleaning at the Ballpark Village site. The current condition of the Ballpark Village site is not consistent with the Cardinals tradition of operating at the highest level of quality, class, and corporate citizenship.

While development projects are often more difficult and complex than expected, with the general public not aware of the many legal, financial, and marketing challenges ongoing, the public is very aware of the physical state of the site.

The Cardinals are seriously hurting the image of their team by failing to maintain the Ballpark Village site in a presentable fashion. Many are calling for the Cardinals to do something now with the site.

The question is, what should be done? What about bringing the site to grade, removing the Ballpark Village Parking Lot", planting sod, and building one or two small diamonds for amateur games?

New Soulard Forum

Certain to entertain...

http://gumbotheforumforsoulard.blogspot.com/

One LRA Building

I remember back in the 80s when we first moved to St. Louis and we lived in West County. I worked in Clayton, and was a loan officer making a lot of FHA loans. I heard stories about "$1 houses" being for sale in the City.

Having come from California, that was hard to believe. Especially for solid brick houses! How could it possibly be true? It turned out it wasn't. Maybe urban legend, maybe truth. However, if there was ever a time in the City of St. Louis where you could buy homes for a $1, I never saw it.

The City has an agency responsible for dealing with the inventory of abandoned real estate, the Land Reutilization Authority, or "LRA". LRA was created as a state chartered redevelopment agency with the purpose of receiving properties acquired through public foreclosures, typically for the failure to pay real estate taxes.

By the time the LRA gets a building, it has truly hit rock bottom. The city regularly holds tax sales, and like mortgage foreclosure sales, these are public auctions. They are advertised in the newspaper.

Anyone can bid at these sales and buy the properties for the back taxes. The ones no one purchases wind up being transferred to the LRA. There they are held in inventory. There are a lot of them. They range from complete buildings to tiny, remnant, unbuildable parcels.

For the most part, there is very little demand for these properties-evidenced by their failure to draw a bid at the tax sale. The demand for LRA properties can be increased when they are packaged together into a group as part of an overall redevelopment program.

The idea of a $1 building? It doesn't mean much when the cost for renovation is substantial, and often, on an LRA building, higher than the after rehab value of the property. Nonetheless, the LRA does work to maximize the sales prices of LRA buildings.

Which gets to the point of this post. What about one LRA building? How can we guage the best use of a single LRA building? The answer depends a lot on who you're talking to.

If you're the neighbor of an abandoned, LRA building, you might want it demolished for public safety purposes. If you're a preservationist, you might want to see it stabilized for historic preservation purposes. If you're a rehabber, you might want to buy it for rehab to either live in, rent, or resell.

If you're a commercial developer, you might want to buy it for a $1 to tear it down as part of a new strip center. If you're a new home builder, you might want to buy it for a $1 to tear it down and build a new "green" home. There are lots of possibilities. How about the city tearing it down to create a new greenspace, park or "bio-swale"?

The truth is, there is no one answer. It all depends. What are the circumstances involved beyond the building itself? They are what really determines the future of that one LRA building.

Neighbors to assist with Islamic community center repairs?

Update: Info corrected thanks to comments provided below. Thanks to the anonymous commenter.

On the Southampton listserve, there is discussion concerning the vandalism which has been visited on an Islamic Community Center located in the 5400 block of Lansdowne in the City's Southampton neighborhood.

The building is located on the "Wherry Wedge", one of the main entry points to the Southampton neighborhood and the area's emerging Macklind Avenue neighborhood commercial district.

The Post covers the story here

At least seven, large plate glass windows have been broken. The cost for repairs will be significant, into the thousands of dollars. It was suggested on the Southampton Neighborhood listserve that local neighborhood associations and churches take up a collection to help offset the cost of damage.

To move this effort forward, it would help to set up an account with a local bank to accept donations. If you or someone you know might interested in helping out, please feel free to comment below or contact me at rbonasch@sbcglobal.net for more information.

We will update this site as more information becomes available. Thanks.

Hwy 44 through downtown to be extended?

Highway 44, part of the interstate highway system that replaced old Route 66, starts in St. Louis at Interstate 55 and runs southwest through Tulsa and Oklahoma City, where Interstate 40 then takes you the rest of the way to California.

In St. Louis, 44 ends when it meets 55. 55 then continues east and north, across the Mississippi and north to Chicago. For a short distance through our Metro East, 55 and 70 share the same road till they split at Troy, Illinois. The interstate in front of the Arch, including the depressed lanes, is part of Interstate 70.

With the new Mississippi Bridge, this may soon change. If 55 crosses the Mississippi at the Poplar Street Bridge, and 70 crosses to Illinois north of downtown at the new Mississippi Bridge, what will they call section of interstate including the depressed lanes in front of the Arch?

According to a lively discussion at the Urban St. Louis forum, the plan is to designate the stretch Interstate 44. The majority view at Urban St. Louis seems to favor removing the depressed lanes altogether, although there appears to be a lack of direction in how to do so.

According to an inquiry with the Federal Highway Administration, decisions to close sections of interstate highways are deferred to the individual states. So MODOT has the deciding voice in policy affecting the future of the depressed lanes.

If a St. Louis delegation of community leaders were to rally around a plan to vacate the depressed lanes in front of the Arch, the next step would be to seek the cooperation of MODOT.

How to make a good impression, part two

St. Louis has lots of organizations at the community level. There are lots of opportunities to provide input on all sorts of community initiatives. However, if you want to have a positive impact on the results, you need to apply your efforts in the most effective way possible.

With the internet, print newsletters, and countless other means of community organizing and public communication, where would you start if you were trying to influence change or policy in the community?

League of Women Voters to Host Eminent Domain Forum

Eminent domain can be a powerful tool for revitalizing distressed areas. Its use has also been at the center of controversies concerning the defense of private property rights, definititions of blight, and what constitutes a public purpose.

For many, public purposes are limited to public infrastructure like roads, schools, airports, and other public facilities. However, does the acquisition through eminent domain of a dilapidated, often vacant, privately-owned building, for a private redevelopment, either to return it to the tax roles or simply improve the health and safety of the neighborhood, also constitute a public purpose?

To shed light on the issue, the St. Louis League of Women Voters is sponsoring a forum entitled, "Eminent Domain and Affordable Housing". The forum will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2008, at the Schlafly Branch Library, Euclid and Lindell, from 9:30 to 12:00 AM. Yours truly will be serving as one of the panelists.

There will be no charge for the event, and it is open to the public. For more information, please contact the League of Women Voters of St. Louis, 314-961-6869.

Addition by Subtraction

We are taught in math classes that whenever you remove a negative, the net result is positive. When it comes to thinking about planning options, sometimes considering addition by subtraction opens up a whole new set of choices. The same idea can be applied to the I-70 depressed lanes separating the Arch grounds and riverfront from downtown St. Louis.

The image above is a computer generated perspective of the I-70 depressed lanes and Memorial Drive between the Arch grounds and the Adams Mark Hotel. The image shows that currently there are 12 traffic lanes between the Arch grounds and the Adams Mark.

If the depressed lanes were removed, there would be space for a 6-lane configuration of Memorial Drive, with valuable land reclaimed for redevelopment. With limited funding resources, developing the reclaimed space with a mix of commercial and residential uses would provide a source of revenue to help fund the capital cost of building the new Memorial Drive.

City Readies Commercial Site at 44/Hampton

The Post Dispatch is reporting that the City of St. Louis has completed the site assemblage at the northeast corner of I-44 and Hampton by purchasing the former MSD headquarters.

The site assembly paves the way for a 26-acre, mixed use development, at a high traffic count/good visibility/strong demographic location. The site was a diamond in the rough, housing City Street Department and MSD facilities for years. The City will offer the site for development proposals later this year.

With the new Drury Inn nearby, and the established Hampton business corridor as anchors, the redevelopment possibilities for this site are significant. Maybe even an IKEA?

How to make a good first impression

Thinking more about the idea of removing the depressed lanes between the Arch grounds and downtown, and looking at how such a plan might get community support, perhaps the most important aspects of the concept are the economic development possibilities for St. Louis.

If drivers entering downtown arrived on a newly aligned and landscaped Memorial Drive, at grade with intersections with the rest of the city's street grid, they would get a completely different first impression of our city than they do now.

Currently those drivers blow through downtown sunk in the depressed lanes of Interstate 70. What a negative first impression that is!

With traffic instead entering the city on a surface level roadway, slowing for signalized intersections, with views of the Arch, the Old Court House and the rest of downtown, drivers will have the sense of "having arrived". They are "in" the city instead of stuck on a highway. They have more choices. They could make turns down Washington Avenue, or Market Street, or onto Laclede's Landing, or park and tour the Arch grounds and riverfront and go on to explore downtown.

The thousands of cars now passing through downtown without even slowing down, are now possible visitors, customers, tourists, restaurant and hotel patrons in our city. There is no doubt more people would stop and visit. They would be lined up at our front door and we would have the welcome sign out. We could put up signs: "This is St. Louis, Missouri!"

The Land Between the Bridges

Yesterday's announcement that a deal has been reached to build a new bridge over the Mississippi river is big news for Missouri, Illinois, St. Clair County, and the City of St. Louis. The new bridge will relieve a lot of traffic congestion from the Poplar Street Bridge.

Drivers on Highway 70 travelling between Illinois and Missouri will no longer be required to drive through the depressed lanes through downtown St. Louis. Meanwhile, Interstate 64 drivers will still have direct access between Missouri and Illinois across the Poplar Street Bridge.

The rerouting of interstate traffic between Missouri and Illinois gives us the opportunity to revisit the purpose of the depressed lanes. Presently, they connect Interstate 70 drivers to the Poplar Street Bridge and connect Interstates 70/55 and 44 in Missouri through downtown St. Louis. Once the new bridge is built, the primary purpose for the depressed lanes will be to connect Highway 70 drivers to Interstates 55 and 44.

Downtown's connection to the riverfront and Arch grounds is negatively impacted by the depressed lanes. The depressed lanes are unsightly. They form a moat dividing downtown from it's greatest public resources, the Arch grounds and the riverfront. Hence, various plans have been discussed for years to improve the connection. None have yet been implemented.

The connection between our downtown and the Arch grounds/riverfront is not unlike Chicago's connection to Lake Michigan and San Francisco's connection to its waterfront. People are naturally drawn to water.

In Chicago, the interstate system terminates into Lakeshore drive. Parks and the lake are easily accessible throughout the length of downtown. Metered traffic signals and wide crosswalks create safe pedestrian access in the area. Now, as attractive as the Chicago lakefront already is, there is a movement on to further open up the area. Creating inviting public spaces in America's downtowns is a growing trend.

In San Francisco, the Loma Prieta Earthquake led to the removal of the Embarcadero Freeway along the San Francisco waterfront. The Embarcadero Freeway was an elevated interstate delivering drivers from the Bay Bridge halfway around the waterfront to Fisherman's Wharf.

After the 1989 quake, the Embarcadero Freeway was removed and replaced with a surface level promenade roadway. Writers likened the change to having the "braces removed" from San Francisco's watefront. There is no comparison between the before and after conditions.

The Embarcadero Freeway was a loud, big, shadow casting structure dividing San Francisans from their waterfront. It's removal brought daylight, quiet, room for landscaping and other beautification. A trolley car line has been added to the mix.

Imagine if we could do something similar with our Memorial Drive? Filling in the depressed lanes and replacing them with an attractive, landscaped, surface level promenade, with wide sidewalks and signalized intersections. Does the new Mississippi Bridge make that possibility more feasible?

The main change would be for drivers connecting to points north and south through St. Louis City. The traffic on 55/44 and 70 would be transitioned onto a new Memorial Drive surface roadway past the Arch grounds and Laclede's Landing. It would add a few minutes to the drive. Some people would oppose the change. However, with all the hype leading up to the Highway 40 closure, we have a good example, "right here in St. Louis", of how well drivers adapt to changing traffic patterns.

What do you think? Would it be worth a few extra minutes' drive through downtown (with a much improved view of the Arch) to improve downtown's connection between the riverfront and the Arch grounds?

Short lived title?

I heard on the news today that Los Angeles just won a world wide competition for having the best tasting tap water. Lousy air, but great tap water.

Huh? I thought STL just won the title for the best tasting tap water in the US not more than a month ago. This must be some leftover get-evens for the Rams choosing STL over LA.

Trivia Night Ideas

St. Louis is home to trivia nights. Go to California, and they've never even heard of them. Trivia nights are a tried and tested money maker for worthy causes.

Trivia nights have been popular here for more than ten years, and they generally follow a set formula. Ten rounds, ten questions, celebrity emcees, free popcorn, and usually free beer. Not a bad formula.

However, more and more, it seems we are seeing the trivia hounds out in force, sandbagging the competition. They show up with a variety of specialists in an effort to ace each category. Really people, is it supposed to be so serious? Then when they win, the divvy up the $120 or so dollars in prize money to about $12 apiece. How about giving it back?

These are supposed to be fundraisers! Return the prize money. Isn't it enough to win with a score of say 96 out of 100? C'mon, loosen up a little! Okay, so here's a few suggstions to change up the trivia night routine ...

Reduce the number of rounds from 10 to say 5 or 7, max. Bring in a warm up band for the start, and then quit earlier so the band can play for a half hour or so, while everyone helps to clean up.

Create the option for random team selection. Go as a group, or drop your names into a hat and draw names out to form teams. Meet and greet. Mix it up a little.

Okay, I know. St. Louisans hate change. Maybe it's best to leave well enough alone...

City sales tax increase: pro or con?

City voters recently approved a sales tax increase to help fund costs of providing public safety services and pensions for city police and firefighters. The issue didn't get a lot of attention, and passed easily.

Since the vote, I've been thinking about the increased sales tax we pay in STL City. Are we pricing ourselves too high? Is there a limit to how much we can raise sales taxes before they start to hurt our economy? There must be, and I'm not smart enough to know how much that is.

So I'm thinking about the sales tax rate-ranging from 8.24-9.74%-and wondering, hmmm, maybe it's a cost worth paying in order to have the convenience of living close in to work and all the amenities we have in our neighborhoods and the city? City voters must agree.

On the other hand, say you live in an outlying area. There, sales taxes might be lower, but other costs enter the picture, especially related to transportation. In terms of a household's bottom line, higher transportation costs take a big bite out of the budget, so maybe things are about even?

Western states take big hit in housing slump

From Yahoo News:

The states suffering the biggest drop in sales in the fourth quarter were Nevada, down 44 percent and Wyoming, down 42 percent. Other states with big declines were New Mexico, down 39 percent, Oregon, down 38 percent and Arizona, down 37.6 percent.

STL Band Rising

Tell Tale Heart, a rock/emo band out of St. Louis, will appear tomorrow night at the Pageant.

Joel Dodson, lead vocalist and guitar player for the band, is a high energy, dynamic performer. Drummer Andrew Carter and bassist Alex Hammond both sing and round out the band's full sound. A sampling of their music can be heard at the myspace link above.

STL Rising has a limited number of complimentary tickets available. The show starts at 8:00 PM.

If interested, please email me at rbonasch@sbcglobal.net by 5:00 PM today. Tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis.

High tech marketing advances

Interested in marketing trends? Check out this virtual tour:

www.hooksell.com

Making the case

This morning I rode Metrolink to work. The cost? $2. Cheaper by far than driving and paying to park. Along the way, we had a relaxing tour of the inner ring communities of St. Louis. Some of the stations are decorated with public art. The train was pretty full. For us, it was wonderful, and the train certainly improves the quality of life for the places it serves. On the other hand, public transit critics will say that the cost per rider mile is not justified and that public transit is not cost effective. I'm guessing those same critics are really torn over the public art.

Some experts predicted that Y2K and the Highway 40 shutdown would lead to near apocalyptic events. Not so much. They tried to make the case, but their case did not hold up. It turns out they were mostly incorrect.

Back on Metrolink, between Savvis and the Sheraton, we passed the nearly completed Multi-modal transit center. It's looking wonderful and will be another gem in our civic fabric. It links many forms of transportation, in the heart of our region. Access for visitors will be improved, as will their experiences arriving and departing. Compared to Amshack, we have made a light-year improvement. Yet Amtrack is a consistent financial drain and struggles each year to stay in business. Why spend the money? Every year the case must be remade to do so.

Last night tragic events unfolded in our neighboring community of Kirkwood. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. Many of these people are known personally to us and our friends. Based on news reports, a man with a lot of serious problems snapped and went on a killing rampage. People are immediately trying to create a connection between his neighborhood and race background and his actions last night. Given the heavy debt and serious business problems he faced, that seems a more provable connection.

Over in Illinois, a plan to build a soccer stadium and surrounding supportive uses is being considered. University professors are citing academic data evidencing that these developments are not good investments. Town leaders and many area business interests support the project. The ongoing narrative sounds similar to the debate over the new Busch Stadium. Looking at the impact of Busch Stadium, what we know for certain is that when the Cardinals are in town, street life downtown skyrockets. When there is no game, activity is way off and some restaurants are closed.

Historic buildings sit vacant in city neighborhoods. We have lots of these buildings. Attracting investors to rehab them requires a case be made that redeveloping the buildings is a worthwhile pursuit. The case can be made over time. Our job is to develop the foundation and build the case for sustained progress. What are we doing today to make things better tomorrow? Are we doing the right things? What else should we be doing?

Gateway to Community Involvement

Are you looking for ways to become more involved in your community? Do you have a desire to serve? The Operation Brightside program in the city of St. Louis is one of the best ways to get your feet wet in the area of public service.

While Operation Brightside works year round on community improvement projects, "Project Blitz" is their annual spring cleanup. Volunteers are needed across the city on eight Saturdays, beginning March 29. Now is the time to sign up.

Individuals or organizations can sign up to help. You can work in your own neighborhood, or help in another. There are special projects focused on downtown. If you want to get more civically engaged, Operation Brightside is a good place to start.

By participating in Operation Brightside you will meet lots of good people, good neighbors, all working together to make our communities better places to live. For more information, please call (314) 772-4646 or visit them online at Operation Brightside.

Feeling Young?

With voters headed to the polls today, the presidential primary races have boiled down to four top candidates: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and John McCain.

For the republicans, McCain appears to have a big lead over all of his republican opponents. His overall victory today looks to be a lock.

On the democrat side, things are much less clear. Over the past few weeks, Obama has nearly drawn even with Clinton.

Do you think voters are swayed in the direction of candidates they most identify with on a personal level? Never mind the policy distinctions. Rather, if they consider themselves more similar to one candidate or another, do they pick that candidate?

I ask this question, because in this country, we have an obsession with youth and youth culture. We have a national obsession with being young, with prolonging youth, and with fighting off old age. As the popular expression goes, "50 is the new 40".

Given our cultural obsession with youth, does that help one candidate over another? Obama appears to be attracting younger voters. But what about middle aged voters? Do they choose Obama because he makes them feel young?

Green Remix

With years of disinvestment in some neighborhoods resulting in thousands of vacant lots today, we are presented with a unique opportunity. We get a do over and our timing could not be better.

As the nation gets behind the greening of our society, St. Louis, an old city, has the asset, vacant land, to rebuild our neighborhoods green.

Recently, I visited a LEED certified new home built in St. Louis. The builder is projecting a mid-summer electric bill on a mid-sized two story home at only $80 per month!

Can you imagine entire blocks built new with energy efficient, "green" construction methods?

Going green on a large scale would be one more way we could set St. Louis on a course for sustainable growth.

Middle Third Rising

Every year St. Louis is supposed to receive 19 inches of snow. It's been years since we've received our full share, and, to the dismay of school-aged kids all over St. Louis, an even bigger disappointment over the drought of snow days.

So far this season we've had one good snow, back in mid-December, ranging between 4 and 7 inches of heavy snow. Today and tomorrow, we're supposed to get another 6-10 inches. This snow will put us over 10 inches for the year, and most likely give kids across town day of sledding and no school.

With another two months or so of cold weather left this winter, maybe this year we'll see our full share of winter's white blanket?

Wanna see something cool? Check out how a covering of fresh snow makes the most forlorned, abandoned building look a little more loved.

Bad Mood Rising?

Michael Allen is reporting at Ecology of Absence that the city has denied an application for a demolition permit for the building located at 5286-98 Page. The building sits on the southeast corner of Page and Union, and is an important building contributing to one of our city's National Register Historic Districts.

The property is owned by the Berean Seventh Day Adventist Church. They are proposing to tear it down and replace it with a surface parking lot. Someday they may build on the lot.

City staff recommended denial of the demolition permit and the Preservation Board voted to uphold the staff recommendation. Now Allen is suggesting the next step may be a lawsuit by the church to force the city to issue a demolition permit.

The building is an attractive corner commercial building, with a substantial amount of its original metal work still in place. Lynn Josse wrote the original historic district nomination. She wrote of the pedestrian scaled nature of the old neighborhood.

Perhaps the current stand down over the proposed demolition will provide the opportunity for all sides to meet over a plan for preservation.

CSB Tree in Forest Update

Following up on a previous post re. downtown street trees in need of pruning, STL Rising is pleased to report that said pruning has been completed, the trees look excellent, and that our city's customer service system worked to a "T". Thanks to all involved.

The original call was referred from the Foresty Division to the Citizen's Service Bureau ("CSB"). The CSB representative took down the information, assigned it a work order number, and referred the item to the appropriate city department. Within the allotted time frame (about two weeks), the work was completed, and the situation was resolved in a fully satisfactory manner.

If you're looking for assistance on a city service matter, the number to reach the Citizen's Service Bureau is: 314-622-4800.

Top Ten STL Historic Sites

What would you include? Here's my list:

1) Cahokia Mounds
2) Eads Bridge
3) Grant's Cabin
4) Jefferson Barracks
5) the Arch (not the grounds)
6) Clemens House
7) DeMenil House
8) Cambell House
9) Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Convent Church and Reliquary
10) Lafayatte Square or Soulard neighborhoods-tossup

Scholarship Opportunity

Announcement:

Papa John's Proudly Presents:

"Officer Norvelle Brown Fundraiser"

DAYS: SAT & SUN DATES: 1/26/08 & 1/27/08

Order Papa John's in any of the St. Louis, St. Charles or Metro East Papa John's on the above dates and Papa John's will donate back to the The Officer Norvelle Brown 7th District Scholarship 20% of your total order.

Please be sure to mention that you are a supporter of the "Officer Norvelle Brown" when placeing your order.

Valid for Carry Out or Delivery

Fundraiser Valid at Any St. Louis, St. Charles & Metro East Papa John's Locations

Papa John's

Better Ingredients

Better Pizza

For more information, please contact the St. Louis area Papa John's restaurant of your choice.

Your neighborhood's voice

In our neighborhood city, we have a wide range of neighborhood types. Populations, businesses, and housing patterns all vary. What direction is your neighborhood headed, and is there a public voice communicating that message? In some neighborhoods, that voice calls for historic preservation and increasing small businesses activity.

In other neighborhoods, the call is for new housing and infrastructure development. In some neighborhoods, the area has been working for years to find its voice. In other places, it may be hard to hear or find the voice of the community.

Is it possible for there to be more than one voice? Can you think of situations like that? What about the quieter places, those where the voice is harder to hear?

What about your neighborhood? Do you think you know the voice of the community? Do you think it has one? How would you describe it? Is your own voice a part of it?

Where do we go from here?

One of the lessons I learned too late was the idea that in many situations, let's say most situations, when there's some kind of problem, or concern, or whatever situation, that we think is about us, it's maybe equally or even moreso about someone else. Whatever it is. It's not always about you! None of us are that important or irreplaceable.

Let me say that as of yesterday, I am now totally convinced that our mortgage servicer is definitely not irreplaceable, and that whatever the issue is between us and them, it's definitely not us-it's them!

Last October, the loan on our house was sold to one of the country's largest mortage holders. They are huge. HUGE! And ever since they purchased the loan, the servicing has been A JOKE! A HUGE JOKE! But it's not funny anymore. In fact, it's gotten so unfunny that yesterday I placed a call to the Consumer Affairs Department of Attorney General Jay Nixon's office.

You know what they told me? They get these kinds of calls all the time! Apparently, lousy servicing of mortgages is a growing problem for consumers. And we're trying to make our payments! Imagine if you're facing foreclosure? We're getting the runaround - trying to make our payments made. If you're struggling to make your payments, then what?

With all the trouble in the mortgage and credit industries these days, we need to be more aware than ever about the importance of good loan servicing, and how to find help when we need it.

Our problems started with ___________ (insert massive financial institution name with huge disfunctional call center system here) when we tried to get our payments set up to make online. You would think this would be a pretty simple process. But no!

I'm not much of a tech person. I've never bought anything online and I don't do any online bill paying. This blog is about it when it comes to my techie powers. My wife, Kerri, she's the tech-goddess of our household. She's does everything online. And before our loan was sold, we made our payments electronically every month, like clockwork.

So when it came to setting up our new loan online, we figured it would be no big deal. We figured wrong. It has been impossible. The Company apparently models its internal operation like a Keystone Cop brigade. When it comes to incomptence, they are amazing. The runaround has gotten so bad, it's become like a bad nightclub routine. On my last call to them I said to the nice lady on the phone, "Ma'am, you're making me feel like a comedian, and you guys are giving me LOTS of material!" Not funny.

And problems with mortgage companies are no laughing matter. They can wreak havoc on the national level as well as do damage at the local level. Today's news reports that Citigroup lost $20,000,000,000 through their mortgage portfolio (that's twenty billion dollars) over the last year with their stock price falling nearly 50%.

If you're facing concerns with your home loan, do not wait for help to find you. Take action! Engage the mortgage company as soon as you feel there may be a problem. Locally, Beyond Housing has teamed up with the Homeownership Preservation Foundation to provide assistance to homeowners facing possible foreclosure. They have set up a toll free number to call for assistance. For more information, dial 888-995-HOPE.

The earlier you contact the mortgage holder, the better. Lenders are motivated to avoid foreclosure, and the earlier you contact them, the more options you have to work out a plan to protect your home. Bringing in an expert advocate to assist you through this process can help you work out a solution together with the lender.

As for us, we're still trying to get set up to make our payments online. Maybe next month?

SoHa Pizza Rising

Soon to open at the northeast corner of Macklind and Finkman, in the city's Southampton/Princeton Heights area, is "Sammy's Pizza". Sammy's Pizza will reopen another of the surging Macklind Avenue commercial district's small-scaled, historic, corner-commercial buildings.

The operator is a member of the Racanelli family, known for their pizza restaurants in UCity and Webster Groves. Construction is underway this week. More information about the new restaurant is available in the current issue of Sauce Magazine. From the Sauce article, the owner is promising a family-style restaurant with a feel reminiscent of his Italian mom's dining room back in New York City.

From a walkability standpoint, within a half-mile walk of this location there are probably 1,500 homes. Maybe more. And that walk takes you past historic homes, down tree-lined streets, with many other interesting stopping places along the Macklind corridor.

A tree in the forest

St. Louis is blessed with wonderful resources. We have the nation's best tasting and highly abundant public drinking water. And we have a tremendous urban forest. Nearly every block in the city is shaded by mature street trees. And our parks are lush green landscapes.

One of those trees I pass by every day presents a hazard. It's a young tree, so the lower branches are at eye level. One might say "they present a blinding hazard". I want to bring a pair of pruning shears to work one day and prune the little branches out of everyone's way. That'd be quick, and no one would be worse for the wear, would they? The Forestry Department might rather a phone call to have one of their crews attend to the young tree.

We have good people working in many city departments. Yesterday I heard a presentation on new community centers being built in both north and south St. Louis. Plans are for these developments to incorporate "green" building techniques.

Working across the city, you see city workers fixing things, working with neighbors, and overall working as a partner with residents and businesses to improve the quality of life for all of us. On a tight budget, they do a good job. We can do more by supporting their efforts and working together. The upcoming Operating Brightside season is a good opportunity for city residents to work with city departments to keep St. Louis beautiful.

Meanwhile, the question remains, pruning shears or telephone call...pruning shears or telephone call...I'll make the call.

St. Louis Style

Ted Wight has some great historic STL house photos over at his blog.

Click here to see a photo of a home that once stood at the site of the Metropolitan Square office building.

Click on the image for a larger view. The picture provides a great look back into Old St. Louis.