Economic Development

Half the Sky, All the Hope

Local Control Will Likely Have to Wait, Again

Special Session in Jeff City is not going according to plan.​Remember the scene in Juice when Bishop, Q, Raheem and Steel rob the corner store? They had everything all planned out. They timed the police patrols. They brought gloves, masks, and a gun. They knew old man Quiles, the owner, would be ... More >>

Local Control Bill in Legislative Limbo as Senate and House Debate Economic Development Package

​The state Senate leadership, notably Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, has said that they will likely not be debating or voting on any other bills this special session until after the two legislative chambers pass the economic development bill. The economic development bill, they poin ... More >>

Jenny Turner of Boenker Farms On the Family's Plans to Open a Winery and Café

Image viaWe heard it through the grapevine that Jenny Turner plans to convert some of Boenker Farms' land into a winery.​In these uncertain times, opening a business is an intimidating venture. Jenny Turner and a handful of her ten siblings have persevered through years of waiting and cutting ... More >>

Donna, St. Louis Zoo Elephant, Treated for Tuberculosis

This is not an actual photo of Donna.​Oh, you poor pachyderm! The St. Louis Zoo's 40-year-old Asian elephant, Donna, is being treated for tuberculosis. Dr. Randy Junge, director of animal health at the zoo, told the Post-Dispatch that the staff is hopeful Donna will make a full recovery. She's bei ... More >>

Students Protest Speech by Peabody Energy CEO Greg Boyce at Wash U Research Symposium

Photo by Keegan HamiltonWash U students had a message for Peabody Energy's Greg Boyce at the Symposium for Global Energy Future​Greg Boyce, CEO of Peabody Energy, the world's largest privately held coal company, stepped to a podium Saturday afternoon at Washington University's Symposium on Global ... More >>

A Good Day for Science in St. Louis -- Science Center, Danforth Center to Expand

danforthcenter.org​You may have already seen the news splashed across this morning's Post-Dispatch. The St. Louis Science Center will announce today that its moving ahead with a $9.5 million expansion to create a new exhibition hall. But that wasn't the only science-related news leaked yesterday. ... More >>

Dr. Peanut: A St. Louis pediatrician battles child malnutrition in Haiti with peanut butter

danforthcenter.org​You may have already seen the news splashed across this morning's Post-Dispatch. The St. Louis Science Center will announce today that its moving ahead with a $9.5 million expansion to create a new exhibition hall. But that wasn't the only science-related news leaked yesterday. ... More >>

Artgasm: This Weekend's Art Openings, May 14 - 16, 2010

With great events like these, it's hard to pick just one. Hit up the Fine Print, Rare Book and Paper Arts Fair or the Grand Center Spring Art Walk, then get inspired at the Urban Renewal Project, showcasing work by Employment Connection clients -- homeless, U.S. Veterans and ex-offenders who took tr ... More >>

State Sues Paul McKee's NorthSide Regeneration

Paul McKee​Ever since Paul McKee revealed his plans for a massive redevelopment project in north St. Louis, residents of the neighborhood have feared the developer might use eminent domain to seize their properties. That hasn't happened -- not yet anyway -- though eminent domain is now officially ... More >>

St. Louis Wins Decision Vs. Eminent Domain Mural

ij.orgRoos and his sign.​The U.S. District Court of Eastern Missouri today ruled in favor of St. Louis City in a suit over a well-known sign south of downtown. In 2007 activist Jim Roos painted a mural on the side of a building with the message: "End Eminent Domain Abuse." At the time, the buildin ... More >>

North Side Rancor: A quartet of legal eagles aim to shoot down Paul McKee's grandiose vision to regenerate St. Louis

ij.orgRoos and his sign.​The U.S. District Court of Eastern Missouri today ruled in favor of St. Louis City in a suit over a well-known sign south of downtown. In 2007 activist Jim Roos painted a mural on the side of a building with the message: "End Eminent Domain Abuse." At the time, the buildin ... More >>

Overhauled South Grand Wins Praise from Urban Planners for Being Completely Great Street

Astute city-watchers will have noticed some changes on the six-block stretch of South Grand Boulevard between Arsenal and Utah in the past few months: fewer driving lanes, new stoplight patterns, wider crosswalks and those weird little bulb things to keep impatient drivers from trying to cut ahead a ... More >>

That Pinnacle Casino Boss Who Tried to"Muscle" a St. Louis County Councilman? His Career Sleeps With the Fishes.

Last week, Daniel Lee, CEO of Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment, unsuccessfully attempted to "muscle" St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger into voting against re-zoning land in North St. Louis County to clear the way for the construction of a new casino by a Pinnacle rival. This morning, the P ... More >>

Did A Vegas Casino Boss Try To Make A St. Louis County Councilman An Offer He Couldn't Refuse?

Image Via​Reporter Paul Hampel has an incredible story in today's Post-Dispatch about the CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. (the Vegas-based company that owns Lumiere Place, the Admiral and the new casino in Lemay) attempting to "muscle" a member of the St. Louis County Council before Tuesday's v ... More >>

St. Louis County Council Clears Way For North County Casino

Image Via​While thousands of St. Louis county voters took to the polls yesterday to decide important issues like a smoking ban and increased 911 funding, the fate of the largest stretch of undeveloped Mississippi River waterfront in the St. Louis region was left in the hands of six members of the ... More >>

Conservation Area Casino Faces Final Vote by County Council Tomorrow

The construction of a sprawling 376-acre resort and casino next to the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area in North St. Louis County faces it's most critical vote yet tomorrow night.The St. Louis County Planning Commission already gave the initial go ahead to rezone the massive swath of land in a floo ... More >>

Forum Tonight to Discuss Eminent Domain, Paul McKee's Northside Development Project

The North Side Community Benefits Alliance is inviting city residents to attend a forum tonight to discuss developer Paul McKee's massive redevelopment project for north St. Louis. ij.orgChristina Walsh​Leading tonight's meeting (6 p.m. at the Shining Light Pentecostal Church) will be Christina Wa ... More >>

Joe's trolley, the suffering of the Jews and a casino on bottomland

The North Side Community Benefits Alliance is inviting city residents to attend a forum tonight to discuss developer Paul McKee's massive redevelopment project for north St. Louis. ij.orgChristina Walsh​Leading tonight's meeting (6 p.m. at the Shining Light Pentecostal Church) will be Christina Wa ... More >>

A Sprawling Casino Next To A Conservation Area?

photo by Keegan HamiltonThe Columbia Bottom Conservation AreaLocated at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers just north of St. Louis, the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area is among the last stretches of undeveloped riverfront near the city. The Missouri Department of Conservation, t ... More >>

Missouri's Eminent Domain Battles Caught on Film in "Begging for Billionaires"

www.ij.orgJim RoosBegging for Billionaires, a documentary feature examining eminent domain "abuse" in Missouri, makes its initial screening next month in (of all places) Minnesota.  The film -- nine years in the making -- debuts May 2 as a "Best of Fest" selection at the Minneapolis-St. Paul In ... More >>

Maplewood Official is Cuckoo for Clooney

Yesterday, my colleague Kristen Hinman wrote an open letter to George Clooney after observing the actor dining at Niche restaurant last Saturday.Hinman's letter (published in Daily RFT) elicited a quick e-mail from Maplewood Community Development Director Rachelle L'Ecuyer who e-mailed in to tell us ... More >>

Café Crumbles: Michael Lieb continues his fight to open a coffee shop in Belleville

Yesterday, my colleague Kristen Hinman wrote an open letter to George Clooney after observing the actor dining at Niche restaurant last Saturday.Hinman's letter (published in Daily RFT) elicited a quick e-mail from Maplewood Community Development Director Rachelle L'Ecuyer who e-mailed in to tell us ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 5.14

Yesterday, my colleague Kristen Hinman wrote an open letter to George Clooney after observing the actor dining at Niche restaurant last Saturday.Hinman's letter (published in Daily RFT) elicited a quick e-mail from Maplewood Community Development Director Rachelle L'Ecuyer who e-mailed in to tell us ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Thursday, 4.24

Yesterday, my colleague Kristen Hinman wrote an open letter to George Clooney after observing the actor dining at Niche restaurant last Saturday.Hinman's letter (published in Daily RFT) elicited a quick e-mail from Maplewood Community Development Director Rachelle L'Ecuyer who e-mailed in to tell us ... More >>

The Economist on Food Costs

Yesterday, my colleague Kristen Hinman wrote an open letter to George Clooney after observing the actor dining at Niche restaurant last Saturday.Hinman's letter (published in Daily RFT) elicited a quick e-mail from Maplewood Community Development Director Rachelle L'Ecuyer who e-mailed in to tell us ... More >>

Leave Greenberg's Art Alone

Hey America: Stop it with your eminent domain and wimpiness, already!

Tax Credit Update

Hey America: Stop it with your eminent domain and wimpiness, already!

Mid-America Jihad?

Leaders of a now-defunct international aid charity face charges of funneling money to Iraq.

Kris Kristofferson

8 p.m. Wednesday, October 25. The Pageant (6161 Delmar Boulevard).

Lot in Life

William Peppes’ property suffered a plane crash and a murder. But eminent domain proved his toughest challenge.

Brave New Town

Some call it a well-ordered paradise. Others say it's just plain sprawl.

Doubting Thomas

Alderman Tom Bauer's stealth schemes are raising eyebrows

Hell No, We Won't Go!

A south St. Louis neighborhood raises a ruckus over plans to demolish homes for a shopping center

Extreme Makeover

Rollin Stanley is a hotshot city planner -- which begs the question: What the hell is he doing in St. Louis?

Best Bureaucrat

Rollin Stanley

Best Speaker Series

Washington University Assembly Series

Passing Gas

Jackass-riding Alderman Tom Bauer and QuikTrip join forces to test the limits of eminent domain

The Greening of McRee Town

There was nothing wrong with the Missouri Botanical Garden's downtrodden neighbor to the north that a bulldozer couldn't fix

Palast Guard

Crusading investigative journalist Greg Palast looks out for the little guy

To Dwell in Possibility

A tour of the city with the Landmarks Association's Carolyn Toft presents views of what is and what could be

Selling Out

To save Maplewood, some residents have to go

Letters

Week of Sept. 5, 2001

The Gospel According to Paul

Developer Paul McKee Jr. envisions WingHaven as a "New Urbanist" planned community where everyone will live, work and get along. So why does it look so much like suburbia?

Wrecking Brawl

For eight years, the city has kept Mark Finney from replacing the historic Syndicate Trust Building with a parking garage. He says, "Buy it or get the hell out of the way." It's time to put up or shut up.

Base Motives

Well-heeled cities and developers keep TIF reform at bay

Best Role Model

Bill Willert

Bobby Watson and Horizon

Wednesday-Saturday, Oct. 13-16; Backstage Bistro

SEEING THINGS

For a few lucky Wash. U. alumni, home is where the art is

Bringing Down the House

Neighbors want to buy and fix it. A building inspector recommends saving it. And yet the Housing Authority insists on tearing down 5950 Enright. The story of a house -- and a city's demolition craze.