[ballwin] She’s got the fresh face of Nashville yesterdays, a fine singing voice, and … a ukulele? It’s a Gibson Les Paul, to be sure, so maybe it’s just a really good, but itty-bitty, guitar. It all works marvelously. Madison Applegate, 16, sent a video performance of her song ‘Thoughts of You’ to a nationally syndicated morning radio show in hopes of winning a songwriting contest, The Big Break. Her song has emotional heft. Her performance is honest and unfettered. She made it to the group of eight and was up early one morning pacing her room at home in Ballwin when she got a call alerting her that she’d made the final four. Just from the demo, I hear a single … which, with a video, was her grand prize because … she won! This talented young lady richly deserves the acclaim. Her charming demo—the camera starts tilting to the side at the end—is way better than much of the formulaic pabulum that makes it on the air nowadays at most any click on the dial. Proceeds from the song, released June 30 on Amazon and iTunes, benefit Kidd’s Kids, named for Kidd Kraddick, host of the syndicated show. Ms. Applegate really did a fine job, and we wish her well.
[chesterfield] The mayor of Chesterfield is Bob Nation. With a surname like that, it might make sense, kind of, for the city to secede and join St. Charles County. But let’s not any of us fix bayonets just yet. As chief executive of one of St. Louis County’s largest ‘tax-pooling’ cities, Nation and his predecessors have long held that Chesterfield pays more than its fair share into the county pool. The 30-plus ‘point-of-sale’ cities get to keep the sales tax they generate. Now with cash registers ringing merrily at two outlet malls, Chesterfield Mall and all over this big burg of 47,684, a dichotomy that has existed since the sales-tax formula was rejiggered in the early 1990s is becoming egregious, city officials maintain. In a recent report to the city council, hizzoner again brought up the concept of joining St. Charles County. Maybe he realized that sounds a little silly, because the rhetoric had softened somewhat by a later Business Journal article. But something needs to be done, Nation maintains. Maybe the city could become independent of the county, like the City of St. Louis did in the 1870s … well, unless they merge (again). Or, we could welcome a brand-new Chesterfield County to the Show-Me State. Perhaps most likely, the city of Chesterfield could sue the county over the constitutionality of its tax-allocation structure. Founded just yesterday (1988), Chesterfield has a sales-tax generator running full tilt in the valley, first with an expanding Chesterfield Commons and now the malls … and hotels, and restaurants. Ouch: Sometimes growing pains hurt most right around the back hip pocket.
[creve coeur] Another sprout in the sproutland! Bio Research and Development Growth Park … aka ‘Bridge’ Park … has scored a modest-sized German research firm to locate there, in the Danforth Plant Science Center in Creve Coeur. The company, with a name only a scientist could love, KWS SAAT AG, has said it will begin this year to adapt existing lab space at the park and build a new greenhouse. A portion of the deal comes by way of incentives, but for any who think there’s no quid pro quo with tax abatement or incentives, think again: The company has to generate good jobs; in this case, 75 within 10 years, to receive $1.75 million in incentives from the state. Company officials say KWS passed over bioscience hotbeds such as Boston, the S.F. Bay Area and North Carolina’s Research Triangle for the incentives here. Of course, the existing infrastructure and a high concentration of plant-science experts at Washington U., the Botanical Garden, Monsanto, etc., didn’t hurt, either.
[kirkwood] Bubba, his unfortunate nickname, was rebuked by his passenger for texting while driving. But no, said Bubba. He was sending an email …whereupon he added that he normally performs such tasks while driving with his knees. True story. Anyhow, our beloved Missouri, a red state if ever there was one, is among six where texting while driving is still legal. But one of its wealthiest, progressive (some would say) communities has decided to take the matter into its own hands, with the city council last month proposing a $1,000 fine for anyone convicted of texting while behind the wheel. (The measure, which passed its first reading unanimously, was to have its final vote after this edition of the magazine had already gone to press.) Florissant, Manchester and St. John already have similar ordinances. At present, state law prohibits only young drivers from texting behind the wheel. Wonder how that’s working for us. Might as well cut off their oxygen. One last thought: Perhaps the red-light cameras that are becoming unemployed here and there throughout the region could be strategically redirected to catch drivers in the act of texting. (“Why, officer,” says Bubba, “I wasn’t texting. I was reading my Kindle.”)
[ladue] Since the state took over the financially strapped (read, bankrupt) Normandy School District, which means ‘officially’ that it is unaccredited no longer, most districts that accepted students are sending them back. To be sure, a lot of this is purely a numbers game: Three districts—Francis Howell, Ferguson-Florissant and U. City—took nearly 600 of the displaced students for the 2013-14 school year. They will resume their studies at what is now referred to as Normandy Schools Collaborative. Ladue took in 30, and the district says they’ll stay because continuity for the kids is more important than relatively modest financial considerations. Kudos to the Ladue School Board, as well as to its peers at Parkway, which will keep its 33 transfers, and Maplewood, which will keep its 10. Anybody who’s had to change schools for whatever reason—divorce, company transfer, military orders—may remember it as insult added to injury. At this writing, Clayton hadn’t decided whether the 19 who transferred there may stay another year. Same goes for the four who went to Rockwood. Don’t touch that dial.
[maplewood] Well, this just about takes the (stale) cake. A man who claims to dumpster-dive in an effort to feed the homeless has sued a Maplewood police officer for what the suit terms excessive force. Seems the fellow was in a dumpster behind the Deer Creek shopping plaza at about 1 a.m. of a February morning when he was arrested … the dead of winter? OK, discarded food must keep longer when it’s cold. The suit claims the man required stitches on his chin and suffered a sprained wrist and cracked ribs during the arrest. The federal filing not only targets the officer, but seeks unspecified financial damages from the city for allegedly failing to train its officers properly. Wow … the whole nine.
[rock hill] For any of those worried whether The Esquire was going to survive, the prognosis for the venerable movie theater is good: It’s coming back better than ever, if not bigger. Wider seats and other amenities mean capacity of the Richmond Heights theater will be reduced somewhat, but a full-service bar and more concession options are on the expansion menu—plus, reclining seats. As anyone who’s fallen asleep to a boring movie can tell you, there’s nothing like dozing off in a recliner. Some say the enhanced services offered at some theaters sully the experience for those who actually came for the show, not to snarf, slurp and smooch, and that too many distractions take away from the main attraction. This is certainly not the case at the Moolah Theatre in Midtown, which is kind of like relaxing in a huge living room with scores of friends, most of whom you’ve never met. On the way out, come September, Esquire-goers will be able to tell you whether their reviews of the new space are positive or negative. AMC says ticket prices ‘should’ remain the same. (Meanwhile, will somebody get an usher to wake up that guy snoring loudly in the recliner?)
[sunset hills] Newly named Kitun Park, the city park at 12343 Eddie & Park Road, boasts a new feature: a dog park where mutts and purebreds will have 2 acres of fenced-in, grassy space to run off-leash. (Kitun? Isn’t anyone worried about that cats-and-dogs thing? Of course not: Kitun was the last name of Alex Kitun, the first mayor of Sunset Hills, 1958 to 1965.) The ribbon-cutting to celebrate the naming of the park was held the last weekend in June, and the dog park opened for canines and their two-legged friends on July 3. Drinking fountains at two levels—higher for homo sapiens, lower for canis lupus familiaris—will be available for thirst-quenching. Vaccinations for dogs must be up-to-date, and an additional $40 tag is required for dogs belonging to residents of Sunset Hills and Crestwood who wish to use the dog park. Non-residents can get a tag for $55.
by Bill Beggs Jr.