Highway Hell

Feature, July 19, 2007

Nut up and get over it already, St. Louis! Look, the highway engineers mentioned in Chad Garrison's "Road Warrior" have determined that Highway 40, particularly some of the bridges, are crumbling and beyond repair. The ramps are awkward to navigate and the highway in general is in need of repair. Similar construction projects have occurred in Detroit and Chicago and who knows where else. I was living in Detroit when the John C. Lodge Freeway went under the knife.

Will it be painful for commuters to endure during the construction? You bet. Will some businesses be adversely affected by the construction and rerouting of traffic? Ditto. That said, I don't care if you keep the highway open and stretch construction out over more years and close it one side at a time and do it as quickly as possible; each scenario includes painful results.

Let's just get the damn thing done and move on. People in this region are so reluctant to change that it is sometimes crippling. Greg Gibson, Overland

Letters, July 12, 2007

Joe writes in: In response to Paula Rosmanitz's letter to the editor about the St. Louis Walk of Fame and nominee Mickey Carroll [see Chad Garrison's "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," June 28], I would like to point out that I personally like Mickey Carroll. I've known Mickey for years and appreciate all of the work he's done for charities. Ms. Rosmanitz wondered why Mr. Carroll's nomination is being held back "until the last minute." This pause gives his supporters more time to gather accurate information to send to the St. Louis Walk of Fame and thus increases his chances of being included on the ballot. It was intended as a nice gesture.

The form letter that Mr. Carroll's supporter, Linda Dodge, has circulated and had friends submit includes false biographical information. I discussed the letter with her and she admitted Mickey never appeared in the Spanky and Our Gang/Little Rascals series. It is important that St. Louis Walk of Fame information be accurate. I also explained the nomination process, and that having many people send in identical nomination sheets does not increase a nominee's chances of being put on the ballot. One letter is all that is necessary. Once the information is entered into his file, the letter is thrown out. This has been the case for almost twenty years for other nominees as well.

In that same issue of the RFT, Cynthia Kaye asked why Sheryl Crow, who is from Kennett, has not been on the ballot, seeing that she spent time in the St. Louis region before launching her music career. I sympathize with Ms. Kaye. It's a question we have wrestled with for a few years. The main reason is that Sheryl Crow is from Kennett and is proud to call it her hometown. Would the citizens of Kennett think St. Louis is reaching a little too much, or would they think it's appropriate? A similar predicament arose many years ago when Mark Twain was nominated; we wondered if he spent enough formative or creative time in St. Louis and how the citizens of Hannibal would react. It was concluded that St. Louis has so many greats we could celebrate in art, entertainment, literature, music, science, sports and other categories that we didn't have to reach outside our own metropolitan area. Joe Edwards, University City

Last week's restaurant review, "Southtown Bound," praised the chicken tamales served at Lily's. The tamales are indeed terrific, but the filling is pork, not chicken.

CLUBS EDITOR

Riverfront Times is looking for a part-time (25 to 30 hours a week) clubs editor to contribute to our music section. Must be knowledgeable about — and fascinated by — the local nightclub scene and possess a desire to put that knowledge to work in building the RFT's clubs coverage. Please e-mail résumé and writing samples to [email protected] or send to:

Annie Zaleski, music editor

Riverfront Times

6358 Delmar Blvd., Ste. 200

St. Louis, MO 63130

No phone calls, please.