[chesterfield]
After years of saber-rattling, threatening to secede from St. Louis County and merge with St. Charles County, and whatnot, last month Chesterfield finally sued the state of Missouri over what it claims is an unconstitutional distribution of sales taxes by the county. Chesterfield is home to three shopping malls, plus what has been claimed to be the country’s largest strip mall (Chesterfield Commons), where cash registers ring merrily at stores and restaurants year-round. Sales taxes collected are then rolled over into a county-wide ‘pool’ for redistribution to communities that aren’t blessed with a significant retail presence … as well as to Chesterfield and others that are. Chesterfield’s complaint is that it does not receive an equitable amount back from the pool, to which it believes it is contributing too much in the first place. St. Louis County officials have said that all county residents benefit from being able to shop in Chesterfield and other areas with a large commercial presence … which are? The issue has been a thorn in Chesterfield’s side since the redistribution system was established in the early 1990s. Meanwhile, Chesterfield has grown like an unmown thistle and has been unable to get legislative relief from what it views as an oppressive structure. The city has hired a lobbyist to work in Jeff City. Bob Nation has been a particularly vocal mayor on the issue and commented that the move to sue was carefully considered.
[creve coeur]
With news this year of alleged North Korean hackers temporarily closing down a U.S. film, and Anonymous (of the Snidely Whiplash masks) trying to close down most everything else, it’s refreshing that one person or group is opening up his, her or their wallet(s) and hiding money for folks to find. It’s not a lot, mind you— this time it was $60—but it’s in the quest for cash that before Christmas about 75 searchers at Creve Coeur Park enjoyed themselves, mostly. That is, a family of three left the other scavengers emptyhanded and following the Twitter feed @HiddenCashSTL. The winners came from Kirkwood with their son, 6, and found the cash envelope underneath (eww!) a trashcan. The anonymous benefactor(s) encourage finders to ‘pay it forward’ where they can, but this lucky family planned to spend the money on Christmas presents … although for whom it was not clear.
[ladue]
(We didn’t publish on Christmas Eve, so here’s your holiday news.) I’m sure it was a fake Santa Claus outside the Schnucks at Clayton Road and Lindbergh Boulevard a couple days before Christmas, but the solitary reindeer was real. The SUVs in the parking lot with antlers atop them and a fuzzy red ball where the nose of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer might be situated were not real reindeer. Nor were the Schnucks employees who wore felt antlers on their heads. (My powers of observation from practicing journalism for 30-some years have provided me the wisdom to know the difference.) The reindeer was cute, but tiny. The accompanying Santa wasn’t talking. He was only posing for pictures and letting customers and their kids pet the reindeer, which was about the size of a skinny Saint Bernard. I didn’t have my camera with me, so I called to see whether the attraction would be at Schnucks the next day. No, the woman told me, and they didn’t know where the fat red fellow had headed off to next, either. And I remain convinced that ‘Santa’ was an imposter, because the real guy was working feverishly to complete last-minute toy requests. Powers of observation help, kids. That dude definitely had on a beard toupée.
[maplewood]
Maplewood has become a mecca for java junkies. Off the top of my head, with a little help from Google, there are La Cosecha, The Stone Spiral and Foundation Grounds, plus Strange Donuts and any number of other fine and/or weird dining establishments that probably serve up a pretty good cup o’ joe. Now those have been joined by The Living Room and Arthouse Coffees, which have conjoined to take over much of the late, lamented Black Cat Theater on Sutton Avenue (at 2808). Arthouse Coffees used to be just one door south. That business started about five years ago in the back of an art studio as a hobby, and the single-origin roasts were offered at area farmers markets. This is still not just your grandmother’s coffeehouse. The business has a unique approach and purpose, as described on its website: “Our social mission is to welcome a diverse workforce made up of people with disabilities whose potential has gone unrecognized. We seek employees who face significant challenges to traditional employment, and we do everything in our power to offer a meaningful and long-lasting job experience.” Good for them; good for us all. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Meanwhile, the theater logo is still painted on the outside north wall of the building, and we hope it stays there for old times’ sake, like weather-worn paint has remained for generations on former hardware or feed store buildings in so many vintage downtowns.
Blink and you just might miss Ritz Park. The tiny, ‘pocket’ park opened last fall in a space that used to be a parking lot on ‘grand’ South Grand Boulevard, just north of King & I restaurant. (What? Even less parking on South Grand? Relax. There’s a voluminous lot behind the nearby Commerce Bank building across the street.) It’s designed as a gathering place for humans and canines, with concrete ‘benches’ to facilitate movie nights that once were held in the Commerce lot. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for musical events, maybe smallish symphony performances and a tad bit of Shakespeare, to come. Not officially a city park, the Ritz was developed by the South Grand Community Improvement District as icing on the cake for the project completed over the last few years to widen sidewalks and narrow the street from four to two lanes, which has made for a more strollable neighborhood and less artful dodging for pedestrians attempting to cross … well, jaywalkers. Traffic is much more, shall we say, mellow. The park will feature a green wall come spring; plants will thread themselves through the awaiting stainless-steel screen. One of two water features, a stream that starts from about 5 feet high at one edge of the park and flows through a channel back to the source, appears to be idle over the winter. The park was named after a small movie theater that operated at the spot until the mid-1980s.
[central west end]
Arlene Lilie, after 20-odd years in her two-story space at 4739 McPherson Ave. in the Central West End, is moving on. Where to at this point, nobody knows … including the proprietor herself. Despite calling it the prime location for her tony interior-design firm, 10,000 square feet is more than she wants or needs at this stage, and although she loves her neighborhood of art galleries and fine boutiques, she’s downsizing to better focus on client service. Garth’s Auctioneers & Appraisers from Delaware, Ohio, will be taking over the space and will ‘respectfully’ begin operating in the metro’s auction market this spring; the company bought the revered Selkirk name last year. Lilie—oh, let’s just say she’s 39—has been in business almost 40 years, starting out designing model home interiors for builders. She’s delighted that another company also dedicated to high-touch service will continue in her space. Coyly, she says she won’t be moving very far, and noted that her new location also will include retail—just not as much of it. She looks forward to having more time to travel, but emphasizes she’s not retiring: “No way.” (Pictured, above).
[university city]
For those following Joe Edwards as developments continue to unfold in the Loop Trolley enterprise, it might feel as though they’re on a wild rollercoaster trip. But the latest might signal a section of smooth track, with no loop-de-loops in sight. Edwards says bids that came in recently for various aspects of the project are more in line with what planners had expected. The first-time bids came back about 25 percent too high … around $11 million more than the $43 million anticipated. Planners then went back to the drawing board, so to speak, and repackaged the bids for the trolley, which is projected to run through the Delmar Loop shopping and entertainment district and into St. Louis, with a terminus at the History Museum in Forest Park. U. City officials gave the project’s conditionaluse permit another six-month extension (its fourth), despite grumbling from some council members. Ever the optimists, Edwards and other system proponents say they should be able to authorize the beginning of construction this month. Utility relocation work began over the summer, and project leaders say the trolley should be up and running by the late spring or early summer of 2016. Tru dat.