bridgeton
If all goes according to federal EPA plans, within five years the government will have mitigated the health dangers posed by the radioactive waste that has been buried in West Lake Landfill for decades. Scott Pruitt, EPA administrator, announced Feb. 1 that the toxic material, much of it dating to the 1940s with the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb, will be excavated and a permanent cap installed. The remedy, projected to cost $236 million, also addresses odor and the chance of a new ‘smoldering event’ … an industry euphemism for an underground fire. As with all proposed remedies, there is a 45-day public comment period, which ends March 22. Nearby residents and others concerned will have the opportunity to ask questions, as well as express concerns to the EPA about its plans. Many residents are gratified about Pruitt’s aggressive stance on remediating Superfund sites, which has put West Lake on a fast track. According to a lengthy article on Bloomberg, the Bridgeton landfill “is to be a showcase of Trump-style environmentalism: dismissing climate change, deregulating industry, but taking action on toxic sites.” Anyhow, IMHO, Pruitt is the most distressingly cavalier cabinet member, even more so than Tom Price, the former Health & Human Services Department head who resigned in the face of mounting controversy over his affinity for taking private jets hither, thither and yon. Pruitt travels first class most everywhere and even has taken the short hop from D.C. to NYC in the front cabin. If you ask me, it’s pretty excessive for government work— but you at least have to give him props for tackling an issue that has languished for too long. Oh well. We’ll all be dead by the time the oceans have washed over places like Florida. Pruitt may not care because, as an Oklahoman, his descendants may remain in the area. It’s high ground. Eventually, it may have palm trees.
the grove
Do you have video of your cat serenely riding an iRobot Roomba as it goes about its automatic vacuuming business, changing direction whenever it bumps into furniture and cabinets? The kitten having a bath and loving it? Tail-chasing antics, whether it’s your cat after its own … or the dog’s? A grumpy cat? Hilarious, yes—but they’ve all been done already and are all over the interwebs for everyone to see. So, what else you got? An overdose of cute? Bring it! Submissions are being accepted through next Wednesday, Feb. 28, for the first edition of a shortfilm competition that is looking for meow + wow! It costs only $10 to enter ‘Cat Clips: A Competition in Cuteness!’ to support Animal House Cat Rescue & Adoption Center. Select clips will be screened from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, at Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. in The Grove. The judging panel will award a cash prize of $250 to the top feline film of the evening, and various other prizes will go to second and third-place kitty-cat clips. All proceeds will support the Help Us Heal medical fund at Animal House. All films, 2 minutes max, must be submitted using FilmFreeway with a secure online screener link. (Now, where’s that footage of Ms. Edna batting a cocktail shrimp into submission? OMG … it’s weak! Dang, you should’ve seen what that cute cat was doing right before I started the video!)
tower grove east
Update: The 16-odd cement spheres—‘trafficcalming balls’—at the Shenandoah-Compton intersection were mostly unadorned following the egregious theft of a huge green beanie that had covered the top of one near Kitchen House Coffee in the Tower Grove East neighborhood. Except for one, to which some wag had attached googly eyes like you’d see on a Muppet and a brown mustache cut out of corrugated cardboard. It was worthy of a belly laugh, like you’d get from a really good meme on the Internet. The baristas were amused by the gesture, but they still were pretty peeved that the immense hat, which a whimsical craftswoman had taken many hours and who knows how many yards of yarn to crochet, was gone … and that its thief, a certified slimeball, remains at large. At this writing no one had put up a ‘missing’ flyer featuring a photo of the hat on utility poles throughout the neighborhood … hint, hint. And, to the slimeball—not that we expect anyone as heinous as you reads much—why not return the hat, no questions asked? I mean, the crocheter even had been considering creating a Santa hat for the cement ball. You believe in Santa, don’t you? C’mon. Bring the hat back. There may even be a free latte in it for you from all of us … poured on your head. You know, just to keep it nice and warm.
st. louis
We already have The Loop in The Lou, but a Hyperloop? Maybe. First, from the left coast: Proponents of California’s high-speed rail system, presently under construction, hope to get folks from L.A. to San Francisco and back faster and cheaper than by auto or conventional rail. By 2029, devil may care how much it costs … and that’s about $64 billion at this writing. Meanwhile, Teslacreating, rocket-launching, futuristic entrepreneur and engineer Elon Musk may be smiling inscrutably as he continues to dig tunnels for his higher than high-tech test track to compete with Virgin Hyperloop One, which reached 240mph in December on a fairly short track. That record isn’t likely to last long; it appears that the longer the tube, the faster the potential speed. Sealed vacuum tubes may one day suck travelers from coast to coast hella fast: Pods—suspended in magnetic fields, free of friction or air resistance theoretically could travel at speeds from 650 to 800mph. (Musk says the system is a cross between the Concorde and an air hockey table.) His goal—already shared with the media and investors—is to deliver a fully operational system by 2020. Who knows what could happen next? Eleven years from now, the R&D gang at his Tesla and SpaceX companies may have built a tube connecting L.A. and San Fran for less than the state’s bullet trains, which will reach only 225mph. Of course, all that is in a state that’s bluer than blue. What about a particular red state in the great Midwest? Believe it or don’t, a public-private partnership in the Show-Me State has engaged in an in-depth study to determine the feasibility of building a loop between the StL and KC along the I-70 corridor, as well as analyze its challenges and potential economic benefits. Fans say such a next-gen system would create an innovation corridor across Missouri, making statewide collaborations easier and reducing passenger and freight congestion. The group hopes to determine the next steps over six to nine months, developing cost estimates and funding recommendations to move the initiative forward. Meanwhile, back in California … well, Nevada … expect Musk to just keep going longer and faster.
u. city
In shorts and sandals under a lavender bandana, Dana Holland of Jilly’s Cupcake Bar & Café looks not unlike a pro skateboard coach, so it figures he’d roll his eyes at the title ‘executive chef.’ Bearded and mellow, the two-time Food Network Cupcake Wars champ wears a denim shirt embroidered with his name and ‘Food Dude’ in red thread. Four days before Valentine’s Day, Jilly’s was having one of its infrequent holiday brunches on a Sunday morning that, alas, started out icy. Reservations were calling in to cancel at Jilly’s, on the western end of Delmar, at McKnight. Your faithful scribe was delighted to take the place of a no-show, because what better way is there to start another diet on a Monday than to sample mass quantities on Sunday? But, how and when can one start stopping, when at arm’s length are comestibles and confections ranging from (almost) basic bacon and eggs (with scallion infused hash browns) to Oreo waffles with vanilla cheesecake glaze, spinach and artichoke spanakopita, beef bourguignon with oyster mushrooms, herb-brined and roasted turkey breast with challah dressing and sherry gravy … and the list goes on. We ain’t close to full yet. There’s cheesecake! What’s an itty-bitty sliver to the eyes is a huge slab in the stomach. You’d better make your reservations now for the next Sunday brunch on Easter. Holland says they’ll probably have another one on Mother’s Day—and whenever the heck else he and owner Jill Segal can squeeze it in. For one thing, they’ve got their newish shop on the east coast (of the Mississippi River) in Edwardsville, Illinois, to keep them busier than a pair of one-armed paper hangers. And they make the yuuge, creamy cupcakes for both stores over here. Meanwhile, Holland says, Food Network is the gift that keeps on giving. They still run Jilly’s 2011 and 2013 championship Cupcake Wars shows from time to time.
