Just a quick moment while I've got a program copying up to a virtual machine. Wanted to let you know about an event this weekend, which is not in St. Charles, but over on The Loop.
The Eighth Annual St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase (SLFS) will be held July 19-24, 2008. This event focuses exclusively on the work of local directors and filmmakers, as well as expatriates with strong local connections who have gone on to use their creative talents in other cities. Submissions will be accepted March 1 - May 31, 2008. Please click (here) for basic event and ticket information. Click (here) for full schedule of seminars, films, and film descriptions.
One of the directors (Wyatt Weeds) is a friend from back in the day. His film is Shadowland and will be shown on Sunday at 7pm. The website for the movie is http://www.shadowlandthemovie.com.
Last night, the St. Charles city council approved a blueprint for funding and operating a proposed community recreation center with the nonprofit ShowMe Aquatics and Fitness organization. City voters will get to vote on a bond issue of up to $30 Million on August 5th. If approved, the initial contract will run for 35 years. Among the features would be an indoor water park, an indoor track, four pools, three gyms, a fitness center, water exercise areas and activity centers for teens and older residents. It would also provide a way for Show Me Aquatics to fulfill their mission of providing barrier free access to for disabled people to swimming and other exercise.
Personally, I think it is a great idea. The city has needed a centralized community center and this will provide one with lots of features. It is a bond issue, which means no tax increase. Revenue generated from the center will be used to retire the bonds. The city tried to get a vote on community center last year and it failed because they didn't have a plan. Now they at least have a plan and a lot of specifics spelled out.
Some other good news came yesterday, when oil prices dropped by just over $6 a barrel. Current trading has oil at just under $137 a barrel. Which is still scary for long term prospects. And the financial markets were very jittery yesterday after the IndyMac collapse over the weekend and the Federal Government saying they were going to make sure Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac didn't have any problems. The share prices kept driving downward for them pretty much all day yesterday. This morning there was a report on the news that the stocks for these two companies may have been influenced by illegal stock manipulation in an effort to drive the price down so somebody could buy it at a bargain price. SEC and FBI are looking into it and apparently have a specific company in mind.
At lodge last night, we had our rehearsal for the second part of the third degree. Most all of the members that will be putting on the third degrees in the next couple of weeks have not had parts before. It was a good walk through. We have 2 of them at our next stated communication on Tuesday. If you are a Master Mason and want to stop by and help, the lodge website is at http://www.psrh79.com. The address and directions are there. Or you can drop me a line and I can try to help you find your best route in.
Showing posts with label community development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community development. Show all posts
7.16.2008
7.11.2008
What happened?
The economic blows to the St. Louis metro area keep on coming. Ford, Macy's, Chysler, The Sporting News, and now Anheuser-Busch. According to an article in the NY Times this morning [http://is.gd/QW8], A-B is back to the table with InBev to hand over the company. Based on the past performance of the folks that are running InBev, I fully expect to see a lot of layoffs from A-B, especially among the white-collar workers. Depending on how things go, I could also see them shutting down the brewery in St. Louis as well, since it is one of the least efficient operations, mainly due to the age. I would also anticipate that a lot of the local charity work may go by the wayside as it doesn't increase the bottom line. St. Louis is already in the double digits for unemployment. This isn't going to help the average person. It will help large stock owners.
What happened? St. Louis city went from the 4th largest city in 1896, to 48 in 2003, and I think it is down to mid-50's now. The metro area has gone from having over a dozen Fortune 500 companies and a few Fortune 100 companies, down to... well if the InBev deal is done not a whole heck of a lot. Where the heck is the leadership from city/county government? Where is the RCGA? What the heck happened?
There are a few things that happened that hastened the doughnut effect and the collapse of the inner city. Basically, bringing home the effect of poor policy decisions without regard to what will happen in the future.
1) City-County Split - Who knew that back when the city government and business owners decided they didn't want to associate with the hicks and poor people in the country (west of Kingshighway at the time) in 1877 that it was going to really come back and bite us?
2) Railroad - When the decision was made not to build more bridges across the Mississippi into downtown St. Louis, the railroads decided to move the center of the country to Chicago. I believe there are more rail lines going from Chicago to Kansas City than between Chicago and St. Louis.
3) Streetcars - With the destruction of the streetcar system, we not only got rid of a very efficient method of transportation we also encouraged people to get cars and drive them everywhere. Which worked for a time and opened up the areas that people and would travel. The downside is that people stopped investing in the local businesses and establishments. Instead we now have big box stores where you have to have a golf cart to travel the whole store and there are either not enough salespeople or they just don't want to help.
4) Interstates everywhere - When we allowed the interstates to plow through the middle of the city, we cut it up like a pizza pie and destroyed neighborhoods. It encouraged the westward expansion of the suburbs and exurbs. Also encouraged the development of strip malls in the middle of nowhere. Bleh.
But there are a few positive signs. People are moving back into the city, although the rate has substantially decreased because of the credit crisis. There are a few businesses re-locating to downtown St. Louis. Lofts are still being sold and the downtown nightlife is still going, although it isn't near what the potential is.
There are a few things that we can do to help turn it around, but it isn't going to easy or popular. Especially with the large number of NIMBYs we apparently have in the area.
1) Think regionally, not parochially. It isn't politically correct, especially here, but there it is. Louisville was in a similar state to St. Louis, losing population & businesses. They took the step to re-integrate the city of Louisville with the surrounding cities in the county. This successfully raised the city from the mid-60's to the lower teens. This also helped to make more federal funds available to them and they have been successful in getting more businesses to relocate there. St. Louis is also going to just have to deal with connecting into St. Charles, Franklin, and Jefferson counties. There are many people that live in these counties and work in St. Louis.
2) Extend mass transit. We're going to have to do it. Gas prices are only going to keep on going up and salaries have been fairly stagnant for the last 7-9 years. Oil actually went up $5 a gallon overnight to hit $146 for the first time. The middle class and lower wage earners are paying a much larger percentage of their income on fuel costs. Encouraging the use of mass transit reduces expenses for the average person and helps cut pollution. With appropriate planning, fixed rail streetcars can help local businesses that are situated near trolley stops. Get the transit out into St. Charles, Franklin, and Jefferson counties. Granted there are some trade offs since the populations of those counties is somewhat spread out. But for example, transit could be extended into downtown St. Charles and then St. Charles county could have transit from outlying areas converge onto that point. Lets make it easier for people to use it and they probably will.
3) Long-term planning for housing. We have to work smarter to get the housing needs of the area taken care of. The credit crisis isn't going to be over for at least another year or two. We probably have not even hit the bottom yet. By planning, I mean that cities have to look and work more closely with home builders. We can't afford closed off subdivisions any more. If we're building in an undeveloped area, we need to make sure that it can accommodate connection to transit. We need to build in a way that encourages and makes it easier to take alternative modes of transit, whether that means bicycles, walking, or something else.
OK, enough of my rant. I'll get off the soapbox now. At least it is Friday and I'm definitely ready for the weekend. I think it is time to brew up a new batch of beer. I've got the ingredients for a honey cream ale, so I'll probably be doing that this weekend sometime. Woot!
What happened? St. Louis city went from the 4th largest city in 1896, to 48 in 2003, and I think it is down to mid-50's now. The metro area has gone from having over a dozen Fortune 500 companies and a few Fortune 100 companies, down to... well if the InBev deal is done not a whole heck of a lot. Where the heck is the leadership from city/county government? Where is the RCGA? What the heck happened?
There are a few things that happened that hastened the doughnut effect and the collapse of the inner city. Basically, bringing home the effect of poor policy decisions without regard to what will happen in the future.
1) City-County Split - Who knew that back when the city government and business owners decided they didn't want to associate with the hicks and poor people in the country (west of Kingshighway at the time) in 1877 that it was going to really come back and bite us?
2) Railroad - When the decision was made not to build more bridges across the Mississippi into downtown St. Louis, the railroads decided to move the center of the country to Chicago. I believe there are more rail lines going from Chicago to Kansas City than between Chicago and St. Louis.
3) Streetcars - With the destruction of the streetcar system, we not only got rid of a very efficient method of transportation we also encouraged people to get cars and drive them everywhere. Which worked for a time and opened up the areas that people and would travel. The downside is that people stopped investing in the local businesses and establishments. Instead we now have big box stores where you have to have a golf cart to travel the whole store and there are either not enough salespeople or they just don't want to help.
4) Interstates everywhere - When we allowed the interstates to plow through the middle of the city, we cut it up like a pizza pie and destroyed neighborhoods. It encouraged the westward expansion of the suburbs and exurbs. Also encouraged the development of strip malls in the middle of nowhere. Bleh.
But there are a few positive signs. People are moving back into the city, although the rate has substantially decreased because of the credit crisis. There are a few businesses re-locating to downtown St. Louis. Lofts are still being sold and the downtown nightlife is still going, although it isn't near what the potential is.
There are a few things that we can do to help turn it around, but it isn't going to easy or popular. Especially with the large number of NIMBYs we apparently have in the area.
1) Think regionally, not parochially. It isn't politically correct, especially here, but there it is. Louisville was in a similar state to St. Louis, losing population & businesses. They took the step to re-integrate the city of Louisville with the surrounding cities in the county. This successfully raised the city from the mid-60's to the lower teens. This also helped to make more federal funds available to them and they have been successful in getting more businesses to relocate there. St. Louis is also going to just have to deal with connecting into St. Charles, Franklin, and Jefferson counties. There are many people that live in these counties and work in St. Louis.
2) Extend mass transit. We're going to have to do it. Gas prices are only going to keep on going up and salaries have been fairly stagnant for the last 7-9 years. Oil actually went up $5 a gallon overnight to hit $146 for the first time. The middle class and lower wage earners are paying a much larger percentage of their income on fuel costs. Encouraging the use of mass transit reduces expenses for the average person and helps cut pollution. With appropriate planning, fixed rail streetcars can help local businesses that are situated near trolley stops. Get the transit out into St. Charles, Franklin, and Jefferson counties. Granted there are some trade offs since the populations of those counties is somewhat spread out. But for example, transit could be extended into downtown St. Charles and then St. Charles county could have transit from outlying areas converge onto that point. Lets make it easier for people to use it and they probably will.
3) Long-term planning for housing. We have to work smarter to get the housing needs of the area taken care of. The credit crisis isn't going to be over for at least another year or two. We probably have not even hit the bottom yet. By planning, I mean that cities have to look and work more closely with home builders. We can't afford closed off subdivisions any more. If we're building in an undeveloped area, we need to make sure that it can accommodate connection to transit. We need to build in a way that encourages and makes it easier to take alternative modes of transit, whether that means bicycles, walking, or something else.
OK, enough of my rant. I'll get off the soapbox now. At least it is Friday and I'm definitely ready for the weekend. I think it is time to brew up a new batch of beer. I've got the ingredients for a honey cream ale, so I'll probably be doing that this weekend sometime. Woot!
2.20.2008
Back in the Saddle again
I am one of the unlucky individuals that fell victim to the flu. I spent all of last week in a huddled mass in bed, consecutively freezing and boiling. The worst seems to finally be over, but I am still totally exhausted. I did get the flu shot last year, but as was mentioned in an article in the paper last month, this season’s flu shot seems to have hit wide of the mark. I’ll just keep on plodding though work and life and just hope that my wife and daughter don’t pick up the nastiness.
I just read about a great little program that the city of St. Charles has developed to help out low to middle income home owners in the city. The city’s Community Development Department is offering low and no interest loans to families that qualify through its Home Improvement Loan Program.
The program is a way for families to be able to take care of their homes without breaking already tight budgets. To qualify, the family must own and live in their own home and fall within certain income guidelines, which are determined by the number of people in the home and the household’s gross income.
Interest rates vary from 3 percent for a 10 year loan to a no-interest loan with payments deferred until the home is sold. The homeowner must live in the home in order for the payments to be deferred.
Qualified repairs include general maintenance, roof repairs and replacements, upgrades or renovations to the home’s electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems or water heaters, window replacement, new siding, insulation and weatherization, foundation repair and waterproofing.
I, for one, am impressed by the effort. Only time will tell how well it works. Personally, this could be a wonderful resource for the home owners that are just barely making it. It has long been the American dream to own a home. And it will definitely become more difficult in the near future, especially with the credit crisis only now starting to really come to a boil. The number of foreclosures is skyrocketing to levels not seen in a very long time. Helping people stay in the city of St. Charles, rather than moving onto a subdivision someplace else in the county should certainly be a goal for our city administrators.
I would like to see our dream in the city of St. Charles be that of a community helping its own. When a storm comes in and leaves my neighbor with a hole, I’d provide them someplace to camp out until they could move back home. If everybody resolved to help at least one neighbor, we really would be the envy of the surrounding cities.
If you need information or want to apply for the loan, call the Department of Community Development at 636.949.3222. For assistance with the application call Anita Telkamp at 636.949.3224.
By the way, on Sunday, the Department of Agriculture announced a recall of 143 million pounds of beef, after health code violations were found at a slaughterhouse in California. The USDA believes that most of the beef has already been consumed, but do not know of any cases of illnesses they think might have resulted from eating the beef. A video was recently released showing the slaughter of "downed" cattle. Downed cattle are those that have become too weak to stand or walk, possibly because of illness or disease. Federal regulations require that downed animals be re-checked for disease by an inspector. And the really burning gall is that the majority of this meat was for the school lunch programs across the country.
I just read about a great little program that the city of St. Charles has developed to help out low to middle income home owners in the city. The city’s Community Development Department is offering low and no interest loans to families that qualify through its Home Improvement Loan Program.
The program is a way for families to be able to take care of their homes without breaking already tight budgets. To qualify, the family must own and live in their own home and fall within certain income guidelines, which are determined by the number of people in the home and the household’s gross income.
Interest rates vary from 3 percent for a 10 year loan to a no-interest loan with payments deferred until the home is sold. The homeowner must live in the home in order for the payments to be deferred.
Qualified repairs include general maintenance, roof repairs and replacements, upgrades or renovations to the home’s electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems or water heaters, window replacement, new siding, insulation and weatherization, foundation repair and waterproofing.
I, for one, am impressed by the effort. Only time will tell how well it works. Personally, this could be a wonderful resource for the home owners that are just barely making it. It has long been the American dream to own a home. And it will definitely become more difficult in the near future, especially with the credit crisis only now starting to really come to a boil. The number of foreclosures is skyrocketing to levels not seen in a very long time. Helping people stay in the city of St. Charles, rather than moving onto a subdivision someplace else in the county should certainly be a goal for our city administrators.
I would like to see our dream in the city of St. Charles be that of a community helping its own. When a storm comes in and leaves my neighbor with a hole, I’d provide them someplace to camp out until they could move back home. If everybody resolved to help at least one neighbor, we really would be the envy of the surrounding cities.
If you need information or want to apply for the loan, call the Department of Community Development at 636.949.3222. For assistance with the application call Anita Telkamp at 636.949.3224.
By the way, on Sunday, the Department of Agriculture announced a recall of 143 million pounds of beef, after health code violations were found at a slaughterhouse in California. The USDA believes that most of the beef has already been consumed, but do not know of any cases of illnesses they think might have resulted from eating the beef. A video was recently released showing the slaughter of "downed" cattle. Downed cattle are those that have become too weak to stand or walk, possibly because of illness or disease. Federal regulations require that downed animals be re-checked for disease by an inspector. And the really burning gall is that the majority of this meat was for the school lunch programs across the country.
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