[ballwin]
Money talks. Money publishes. Last year, the magazine again named Ballwin one of the best places to live … in America, that is. It also got a nod from the mag in 2011 and 2005. Meanwhile, the city has gotten plaudits in various national real estate rankings over the past few years. Now comes the Business Insider website with its list of the 50 best suburbs in the U.S. of A., with Ballwin coming in at No. 46, right between Berkley, Mich., and Kasson, Minn. (Elm Grove, Wis., is No. 1.) The lion’s share of these great towns is squarely in the Midwest. ‘Great Flyover,’ harrumph—NYC and L.A. may be great to visit, but who can afford to stay there? But back to our backyard: Why has Ballwin been such a pleasant place to populate? A low crime rate, good schools and solid household income (median: $83,441). Of course, there’s a downside, in the you-can’t-get-there-from-here (very fast) variety. At 25.2 minutes to drive downtown from far West County, it has a commute that takes more time than the national average. But our winter weather is comparatively tropical, at least during the recent Arctic chill. Ballwin last week was more balmy than either the aforementioned Michigan or Minnesota towns. In Kasson on Nov. 18, it was 12 degrees at dawn; in Berkley it was 11. Here, it was 13. Time to uncover the pool, Margie!
[eureka]
National Teen Driver Safety Week last month was particularly poignant at Eureka High School, still heartsick from the August 2013 deaths of three teens, including twin sisters Kathleen and Lauren Oliver—and from the death of Natalie Timm in a late-September wreck. Donated by the bereaved parents of the Oliver girls, a bronze wildcat sculpture was installed at the school last May. (The EHS mascot is the wildcat.) Educators used the tragedies as a teachable moment and say students seemed to pay attention. Nationwide, auto accidents are the leading cause of death for teens, but the number of fatal crashes has been declining. It’s just that these three hit so close to home.
[maplewood]
This is a story about the Tiny Little Monster that grew. Should we be scared? Hardly. A year ago, Tiny Little Monster, a Maplewood graphic arts and T-shirt production company, had but two employees: co-owners Jenny Rearick and Sloan Coleman, who moved from a home production outfit to a retail location at 7207 Manchester Road a year ago. But in no time that proved too small to do it all, too. The women-owned business has just moved production to a warehouse at 7518 St. Elmo, just south of Greenwood Boulevard. And now, Tiny Little Monster has a staff that’s four times its original size. (Yep, we did the math ourselves.) Today, there are eight employees. Nowadays, it’s kind of like Monsters Inc. up in here. That is, they’re not just in it for themselves. In addition to creating and selling their own designs, Tiny Little Monster supports other locally owned businesses by working with area artists to sell their books and novelty items. The ‘ferociously independent’ shop does custom printing and will help customers create their own design. A recent project was for Lulu’s, a vegan restaurant on South Grand in the city. The shirts read: ‘Eat Like You Giva Yam.’
[richmond heights]
Stealing a car is one thing, but taking advantage of a disabled hospital visitor or patient is quite another. In recent months, a woman posing as a hospital valet driver got away with not one, but at least two vehicles left idling at the curb of SSM St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond Heights. In one ‘valet’ job, the driver took off with a 91-year-old woman inside, dropping her off at a gas station in St. Louis. Who knows how many nice rides—one a Dodge Charger—this car thief has taken from right under the noses of their drivers (and the real valets)? Well, cops were on the lookout, as they usually are, and caught the imposter trying to get away with another vehicle outside Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur. She was charged with two counts of car theft and also got her comeuppance for giving the elderly woman a ride she didn’t want: felonious restraint.
[st. charles]
Alas, another area person who apparently just couldn’t keep her hands out of the kitty. Thousands of dollars are missing from an account meant for a St. Charles High School graduation party, and the treasurer of the school’s Booster Club is suspected of using the $9,000 on herself, partly for gambling. The woman entrusted with the fund is charged with a felony for making off with the nine grand, reportedly half of what planners need for the spring 2015 party, and the other boosters are at loose ends. Now they have to raise the needed money in half the time, and they’re turning to the school’s families and the community for help. Any area branch of Regions Bank is accepting donations for SCHS, attention ‘Booster Club.’ Hmm. This gives one cause to wonder whether the alleged thief had any luck on her trip(s) to the boat.
[st. louis]
Can’t we all just get along? Rodney King famously said these words during the 1992 L.A. riot, sparked when he was the victim of a police beating. It took tremendous generosity of spirit for him to make that pronouncement. In St. Louis, and nationwide, many anxiously awaiting a grand jury decision on the fate of police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown hope people here will muster some of that generosity. Demonstrators have milled around the county courthouse demanding justice and blocked streets in the Delmar Loop. Not helping is another controversial police shooting in the Shaw neighborhood. And the rhetoric on both sides can be inflammatory. MoKaBe’s, a coffee shop long known for its community activism, posted on its Facebook page that after the verdict, it will be open 24 hours a day for an indefinite period to serve as a ‘safe space’ for protesters who need to grab a snack, charge their cell phones or use the restrooms. Some folks don’t like that idea. A civilian employee of the city’s police department who I know says he’ll never go there again. Internet haters have expressed much worse. But the proponents of nonviolent civil disobedience at MoKaBe’s appear to be unfazed. Their new T-shirts read ‘Race Traitor.’ And a banner decrying institutionalized racism hangs on the side of the building, at South Grand Avenue and Arsenal Street at the southeast corner of Tower Grove Park, where demonstrators often are situated.
[sunset hills]
Some of the folks who wrote him in now want him out. Mark Furrer, mayor of Sunset Hills, won as a write-in candidate whose platform consisted, essentially, of QuikTrip resistance—he vowed not to allow a company gas station and C-store to be built on a popular parking area at Gravois Road and I-270. Furrer probably wishes his civil service consisted of such mundane issues, but he ran into some real trouble over the summer. The mayor faces felony charges for allegedly running racing cyclist Randy Murdick off the road and leaving the scene (albeit temporarily; he returned shortly thereafter). Officially, he’s on the hook for second-degree assault and first-degree property damage. Citizens have shared with city officials their concerns about Furrer’s suitability; some aldermen have been vocal themselves about their desire for the mayor’s ousting. Furrer complains that he has been railroaded with false accusations. At any rate, his case proceeds; he had a hearing at the county courthouse recently. And the city council, having heard formal pleas for his removal from residents, (part of the impeachment process) is planning to take up the issue in December.
[university city]
Don’t engage the other driver. Don’t even make eye contact. That’s the simple warning from cops to anyone on the receiving end of road rage. There often seems to be no rhyme or reason to this alarming, dangerous, potentially life-threatening behavior. Recently a road rager rammed a car in U. City, then chased the motorist to Olivette, firing shots into the vehicle as the driver attempted to enter I-270. Fortunately, that driver or a witness reported the shooter’s license plate, which brings us to another heads-up from police: Don’t attempt to get the license number until the car has passed. That is, unless you’re too startled to get it at all! Awhile back I was southbound on I-170, in the right lane at the Brentwood exit, when a nice-looking new convertible zipped all the way over from the left lane, cutting in front of me by a few feet. The driver ‘flipped the bird’ and yelled some choice words as he hurtled down the ramp. I was too stunned to catch the plate—or the phrase!
