15thWardSTL.org

This Monday come on down to the Carpenter branch of the St. Louis library (on Grand across from Schnucks) and check out the candidates forum.

Candidates for the Missouri Senate’s 5th district, the Missouri House’s 59th and 67th districts, and the 15th ward committeeman/comitteewoman candidates.

It’s Monday April 14th at 7:00 pm.

Bring your questions!

I received word last night that Steve Patterson of Urban Review has been hospitalized. Without his personal approval, I won\'t discuss the details here. However, at this point his prognosis is good. I\'m sure he would appreciate well wishes either e-mailed directly to steve@urbanreviewstl.com or posted here.

I would like to extend my personal support and hope for a speedy recovery.

Full disclosure: I have not done my homework. In the interest of convincing both remaining loyal readers of this blog that I am serious about updating regularly, I am getting this out quickly rather than spend a lot of time on research.

This Feb. 5th, registered St. Louisans will not only have the opportunity to support the aspirations of Barack Obama or another candidate for the Democratic or Republican nomination, they will also get to vote on whether or not to hike the city sales tax another 1/2 cent, in the interest of, among other things, \\\"...funding police and fire pensions...\\\".

After vetoing the bloated Economic Development Bill several weeks ago, Governor Blunt called the state legislature into special session to recraft the legislation. According to PubDef, an amendment was offered by Rep. Nasheed to strip the Paul McKee $100 million tax credit out of the bill. The amendment was defeated 86-62.

67th District Representative Mike Daus voted in favor of the amendment. He also stood up for fiscal responsibility and a more level playing field by joining a smaller minority to vote against the entire package.

Once again, Tower Grove South (but not 15th Ward) resident Christian Herman is stirring the pot. This time she's taking on City Hall and the LRA! Several weeks ago, she posted an open letter to Mayor Slay regarding the LRA-owned building at 3460 Oak Hill on her blog.

The following is an excerpt of a letter she received back from Deputy Director of Development Barbara Geisman. Among other things, Geisman promised to look into why it has taken so long to find a developer and to have the building secured from the elements.

In preparation for my move, I'm paring down my large collection of St. Louis planning-related memorabilia and some other design items.

This is also a fundraiser for the Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden. Each item is free with a minimum $1 donation, unless noted otherwise. All proceeds will go towards the garden.

To claim an item (or multiple), simply e-mail me at swilkeshapiro@gmail.com - when something is claimed, I'll cross it off this list. I'll e-mail instructions for picking up your items on an individual basis.

This offer closes on, August 9, 2007, at 11:59pm - anything left after this time will be immediately recycled.

Here is a list of what's available on a first come first served basis:

Never forget that you have the right to know what your elected representatives are doing and how public decisions are made!

Alderman Craig Schmid (20th Ward) has sponsored a bill to re-confirm the City's compliance with the State "Sunshine Law". So-called sunshine laws require that public business be conducted in public, that records be kept, and that those records are made available for inspection when requested.

Certain information involving personnel, real estate, and other proprietary information may be restricted.

James Proctor, of recent South Grand McDonald's fame, will be replaced on the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission when his term expires in November. He is the "Restaurant and Industry" representative on the Commission. It is interesting that someone so invested in the success of the St. Louis tourism industry would have been so set against dense pedestrian-oriented development in one of our developing destination commercial districts on South Grand.

The Convention and Visitors Commission is funded by 11/15 of a 3.75% hotel tax on City and County rooms. My calculations from data in their annual report indicate that the CVC receives almost $9 million per year from this tax. The mission is "To increase visitor demand and visitor spending."

The St. Louis American Political Eye just published a stunning rebuke of 15th Ward Alderwoman Jennifer Florida. During the recent President of the Board of Aldermen campaign, she was on the short list to join Lewis Reed's staff.

When newly elected aldermanic prez Lewis Reed was getting ready to be installed there was a groundswell within his campaign staff not to give Alderwoman Jennifer Florida the top-paid chief of staff job she had pushed and prayed for. Before Reed was officially sworn in, Florida made the rounds with him, darting in and out of meetings, side-by-side, attempting to accompany him everywhere except to the aldermanic male restroom across from chambers.

Too bad this had to be written as an inflammatory opinion piece and not a true analysis of the circumstances that led to Reed's decision.

Thanks to the tip-off from Christian Herman.

Representative Mike Daus has begun sending out a periodic e-mail newsletter discussing State legislation and issues. The most recent installment includes brief articles on MOHELA, education vouchers, minimum wage, and Medicaid. In addition, he provides links to other useful web sites (including 15thWardSTL - thanks).

You can sign up for this mailing list at http://67thdistrict.blogspot.com