bridgeton
In May on Fox & Friends, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said the federal agency finally will address a Superfund site that has languished on the list since 1990. No previous administration’s EPA has worked on remediation of the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton during the intervening 27 years, nor even come to a decision about how to clean it up. The landfill famously contains toxic nuclear waste dumped there during the Manhattan Project, which researched, developed and manufactured the first atomic bombs, two of them dropped on Japan in the closing weeks of World War II. Today, meanwhile, an adjacent landfill is smoldering underground, at present less than a quarter-mile from the toxic waste. More than six months ago, Pruitt told Fox the EPA “will soon have a plan in place” and that it’s “very focused on West Lake.” (The landfill is among more than 1,300 such sites!) Pruitt visited St. Louis in the spring as part of a ‘campaign’ to show that Trump’s administration was committed to environmental cleanup, as well as to lambast the Obama administration for its ‘regulatory overreach.’ Pruitt told KMOX that the previous administration was “more concerned about showing up in Paris to talk about CO2. They were more interested in putting bumper stickers on their cars to say they’re pro-environment as opposed to actually doing things to fix the environment.” Well, now we’re the only country on the planet to have withdrawn from the Paris Climate Accord, and the EPA is headed up by a climate-change denier and former attorney general of Oklahoma, a major producer of fossil fuels. Meanwhile, where are the agency’s ‘boots on the ground’ in North County? The EPA will make a decision in January on how to address West Lake, Pruitt said earlier this month. And, to the EPA’s credit, the agency under Pruitt has listened seriously to health concerns about contamination, residents say. Sounds like there could be good news soon for some St. Louisans … but what about our warming planet? Is that just ‘fake news’? Scientists say it’s not.
the grove
Layla at 4317 Manchester in The Grove—a neighborhood so hip it almost hurts—claims to be the one and only joint in the StL both for burgers and shawarma sandwiches. It’s also one of only four pubs in the metro that host weekly Trivia for Geeks Who Drink. Yes, that’s a thing. It’s based on ye olde Anglo-Saxon tradition of trivia contests in U.K. pubs. Who knew? You may even meet your next significant other—one who’s even less insignificant than your last one—especially if you’re looking for a civil engineer or professor of Urdu. (That’s a Middle Eastern language, for you all-American engineers or otherwise hopelessly scientific geeks, some of whom may be fluent only in Linux.) None of this really matters, anyhow, which is precisely the point of trivia contests. Although free booze and food may be at stake. Layla hosts contests on Tuesday nights. Then, you have three other pubs and two other days of the week to be a tipsy geek. On Wednesday nights, you can fall all to pieces, or all fall to pieces, at Pieces, the way-cool, completely puzzling pub featuring board games and such at 1535 S. 8th St. in Soulard. And on Thursdays, you can play right down the street from Layla at HandleBar at 4127 Manchester. Another option for Tuesday nights is Blueberry Hill in the Delmar Loop. Say you’re terrible at trivia? You can at least come up with a cool name, like, ‘I’m Really Bad At This’ or ‘Make Trivia Great Again’ or ‘Titanic Swim Club’ to go along with the clever themes cooked up by the hosting pubs. (Those are all real team names. About half of the others aren’t suitable for a family publication.) For a few weeks, HandleBar’s theme was ‘Men Are Trash I,’ ‘Men Are Trash II’ … all the way up to ‘IV’ … as once-mighty males in entertainment and government, all accused of sexual harassment, fell like so many Confederate monuments.
forest park
If you’re still scratching your head about what to give that one person who already has everything, why not give them Forest Park? It is, indeed, the gift that keeps on giving. Plus, it’s just the right size, will never break or wear out, and is impossible to misplace. The Forest Park Forever (FPF) nonprofit is selling a photography book—Forest Park: Snapshots of a St. Louis Gem—featuring 60 images of nature, friends and family, events, and awe-inspiring historic structures, some of which date to the 1904 World’s Fair. Hometown folks and visitors alike can’t help but snap photos anytime they’re in the park, which (if you don’t know by now) is bigger than Central Park in NYC. The magic inside the book includes: skaters at Steinberg Rink, Pagoda Circle in spring splendor, the Spanish Pavilion and the exquisitely landscape ‘architected’ (thank you, Ivanka Trump, for one of 2017’s words of the year that won’t make it into Merriam-Webster) slope in the foreground, the Great Forest Park Balloon Race and wide-eyed schoolkids crouched over a turtle. All proceeds from sales of the $14.95 book benefit FPF, which hopes to keep caring for our beloved city park … forever. The book is available online or in the FPF office at the Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center.
u. city
In U. City’s search for its next city manager, Gregory Rose’s star shone brighter than any of 50 other candidates from across the nation. Rose will start work Dec. 28. He looks to bring more jobs to the community and to encourage economic expansion. Other objectives include ensuring safety and improving services. A tall order, yes? Well, Rose has been here and done that … almost. Rose is already familiar with the ins and outs of city hall in U. City, having served as its deputy city manager from 1997 to 2001. His city government experience also includes working in North Las Vegas, both as assistant city manager and city manager, and in Hyattsville, Maryland, as city administrator. Most recently, Rose was city manager for Maricopa, Arizona, where he negotiated agreements for commercial development, eliminated the general fund deficit and established the city’s first comprehensive capital improvement plan. Rose is a member of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, a credentialed member of the International City/County Managers Association, and was chair of the Central Arizona Governments’ Management Committee for 2015- 2016. The Jefferson, Texas, native holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration and a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas. Rose served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He and his wife, Sonya, have two adult children.
sunset hills
Since we’re living longer, on average, the need is increasing for suitable living options, exponentially it seems. According to a 2010 Pew Research study, 10,000 more baby boomers turn 65 each and every day. Even more must be turning 65 nowadays. (Why, they all used to be so young!) So ‘retirement facilities’ must offer opportunities for active seniors who naturally start to slow down and become less independent over time. A $201 million expansion at the faith-based nonprofit Friendship Village complexes in Sunset Hills and Chesterfield will reinvigorate the senior communities with additional apartments and expanded assisted-living and skillednursing buildings, plus rehabilitation clinics, therapy gyms and fitness classrooms. Each campus will feature a new chapel. On the 52-acre campus in Sunset Hills, the Devonshire—a new four-story building with an eye-catching sky bridge—will include 76 apartments from 858 to 1,613 square feet. On its 36 acres, Friendship Village Chesterfield will build Rockhurst, a three-story building with views of Faust Park with 52 apartments in the same range of sizes as its Sunset Hills counterpart. The Trillium Center will have expanded wellness space featuring centralized creative arts, a fitness classroom, clinic, therapy gym, beauty salon and game room—outside will be courts for bocce ball and horseshoes. There even will be an ice cream parlor! Among activities available at one or both Friendship Village communities are tai chi, yoga, water exercise, Wii Fit, personal fitness training, painting, woodworking, continuing education classes, and on-site musical and theater performances. FV Services Inc. is the newly formed parent company of the two Friendship Village communities. The work at both sites is projected for completion by summer of 2020.
