Letters, July 13, 2006
Educating Rita: In her letter regarding Randall Roberts' June 14 story "Ruckus on Cherokee," Gravois Park Block Link Neighborhood Association president Rita Ford indicts Roberts for not doing his "homework." But she erroneously succumbs to hearsay as grounds for deductive reasoning.
Given that Ms. Ford was not present at the Radio Cherokee conditional-use hearing on July 3, she is unaware of what was said by whom. The proceedings are public record, so I suggest she do her homework and brush up a bit on her research skills. Attacking purported falsehoods with hearsay is highly flawed logic.
If the RFT prints this letter, thankie, thankie for the additional "free publicity."
Galen Gondolfi, Radio Cherokee, St. Louis
Music, July 13, 2006
Day, brightened: I was so happy to open my e-mail and see Andrew McMahon's beautiful face looking at me in Julie Seabaugh's story "In Sickness and in Health." It truly made me happy, as I want everyone to know about Andrew's life and what he's been through. He is one of the most amazing performers that music has to offer us, and I can just hope that every single person can experience a live show just once. They will be changed forever, because I certainly have been.
Jessica Popp, Jackson
A to Z, July 13, 2006
One vote for Strawfoot: I was a bit surprised when I saw the nominees for this year's Riverfront Times Music Awards and found Strawfoot noticeably absent from both the Americana and New Band categories.
In all the time I've been going to local shows, none has made a greater impact, or helped a genre and accompanying bands, more. There are few shows in town that produce a larger, more enthusiastic crowd than Strawfoot. I really believe an injustice has been served to one of the hardest-working bands in St. Louis, a band that has dedicated itself not only to promoting the music scene, its bands and St. Louis as a whole.
Jason Hodge, St. Louis
Make that two votes for Strawfoot: As an independent record producer and engineer, I cannot believe you overlooked the best Americana/Roots band in the St. Louis area: Strawfoot. Not even a nod? Not even a mention? I guess y'all don't really have a pulse on what the "good" bands are doing?
Aaron Williams, St. Louis
Feature, July 6, 2006
Blame it on the boondoggles: Regarding Malcolm Gay's "The Little City That Couldn't," the problems of the city of Pine Lawn are really a story of misplaced priorities. Area politicians will spends hundreds of millions of dollars on boondoggles while neighborhoods continue to deteriorate. A record of sorts will be set this year with the completion on two billion-dollar boondoggles: the "runway to nowhere" at the airport and the eight-mile MetroLink extension that is hundreds of millions of dollars over what it was supposed to cost.
No one is a bigger supporter of the "boondoggles before neighborhoods" strategy than County Executive Charlie Dooley. When Dooley first ran for the county council in 1994, the developers and other special interests contributed nearly $100,000 to his campaign. They have kept the money flowing ever since and Dooley backs them virtually 100 percent in return.
Pine Lawn and many neighboring cities were in the council district Dooley represented for nearly ten years until he became county executive when Buzz Westfall died. (Westfall was also a big boondoggle supporter.) While many areas in his district declined, Dooley always supported the big projects backed by the concrete cartel.
A notable example of this was Dooley's support of $110 million of county tax dollars to help finance the new Busch Stadium. County residents were overwhelmingly opposed, but it didn't matter to Dooley. Nearly $300 million of county tax revenue is now going for downtown sports stadiums.
In 2004 a University of Missouri study found St. Louis County lost $2.6 billion in household income from 1993 through 2003. As neighborhoods deteriorate and become more dangerous to live in, more people and businesses have moved out of the county. Misplaced priorities come with a steep price.
Tom Sullivan, Clayton
Music, July 6, 2006
South city style: Thank you so much for "Casey on the Beat," Annie Zaleski's article on Casey Reid. He is so talented, and it is about time someone besides Lo-Fi Saint Louis published something about him.
The south-city music scene is really blossoming. Continue to keep your ear to the south side; maybe even think about listening in a little more.
Brian Heffernan, St. Louis
Cafe, April 27, 2006
Flavor savor: I recently read and enjoyed "Roll Out the Barrel," Rose Martelli's review of Square One Brewery. Rose, for a beer novice, you did a good job of presenting the beers in an appealing manner. But I'm writing in a bit of a disagreement with the food critique. Having sampled many of the restaurants reviewed in RFT on a consistent basis, I'm afraid I just can't agree with the bland, dull, etc. comments surrounding the food I've eaten at Square One. My food was well prepared every time, with the perfect amount of spice to complement my beer selections.
I won't critique your critique except to disagree. I know everyone has different tastes, and I am one person. But my family and friends agree the food is well above average and worth the drive. We happen to also be fans of craft brew.
I suppose I'm mainly writing in confusion as to your food comparisons. For standard bar fare with national chains, I can't imagine Square One's food not excelling. That's their market and competition. They aren't in the same category as specialty ethnic semi-gourmet places, and don't claim to be.
The next time my friends go hang together for beer and a bite to eat, you are more than welcome to join us. We're open to opinion from every direction. Besides, we'd be happy to continue your education toward real beers. Remember, with just barley, hops, yeast and water in all their current variations, there are about 22,000 different beers from the combinations. I'm guessing you've sampled a few from Square One and a couple dozen from various Schlafly festivals.
Keep on writing. We're reading.
Randy Sanders, O'Fallon
COME AND GET IT
Rose Martelli has answered the Riverfront Times dinner bell for the last time.
Restaurant owners tempted to heave a sigh of relief should know that RFT contributor Ian Froeb has graciously agreed to fill in on an interim basis. Additionally, the paper is hereby accepting applications for the position of freelance restaurant critic. Think you've got the requisite discerning palate and rapier-like writing touch to match? Send résumé and writing samples to:
Tom Finkel, editor
Riverfront Times
6358 Delmar Boulevard, Suite 200
St. Louis, MO 63130
No phone calls, please.
