Citizen’s Distributing Flyers On Pyramid/McDonald’s Issue in 15th Ward

St. Louis Citizens in opposition to the proposed suburban-style McDonald’s on South Grand are using today’s election as an opportunity to reach active voters in the 15th Ward. The 15th Ward is that of Alderwoman Jennifer Florida who is Volunteers concerned about the future of Grand are distributing a flyer to people at two polling places in the ward:

Mann School, 4047 Juniata (map)

Fanning School Gym, 3417 Grace (enter from Giles, map)

If you can volunteer to help pass out flyers please go to one of the above locations. Polls are open until 7pm. Please help convince our elected officials and greedy developers that we want and demand better development along South Grand.

– Steve

Dr. King, The Lorraine Motel and the National Civil Rights Museum

Thirty-eight years ago history was forever changed by an assassins bullet(s) in Memphis Tennessee. Two weeks ago I stood in front of the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum, and wept. There it was the balcony where a strong leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was taken down in his prime. I knew the National Civil Rights Museum was located in Memphis but I wasn’t expecting to see it upon my arrival.

It was evening and the old motel signs were on as well as the balcony lights. I was overcome with emotion. Seldom can you stand in a single spot where history was changed. I had several of those moments on my trip. The next day I found myself in front of Little Rock’s Central High School where nine African-American students were denied access in 1957 simply based on their race. Two days later I was walking the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial with my family. My niece’s husband is a survivor of the bombing, he was in the Journal Record building across the street from the blast. His name is on the wall of survivors which is organized by building.

But back to Memphis.

I arrived on Tuesday afternoon two weeks ago. I’d been through Memphis on the way to Atlanta a few years ago but I never stopped to see anything. This time I went out of my way to check out the city and, in particular, its streetcars. That evening, looking for a good dinner spot, I spotted the Lorraine signs while on the streetcar loop. The old hotel was a block away, down a slight hill. It was as I made my way toward the hotel from the streetcar stop that I started getting emotional. How different would our cities and lives be had Dr. King’s life not been taken?

The next day I ventured back to the area south of downtown Memphis where the National Civil Rights Museum is located, attached to the former Lorraine Motel. My schedule didn’t allow for time to see the museum but I wanted some daytime pictures. Besides, the $12 admission fee seemed a bit steep especially considering I’m usually not a fan of static museum displays. Then I saw something totally unexpected.

An anti-museum banner at a table on the edge of the grounds. Yes, a protest calling for people to boycott the National Civil Rights Museum.


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Removing Highways to Restructure the St. Louis Region

Rather than spend hundreds of millions on rebuilding highway 40 (I-64 to the rest of the map reading world) we should just tear it out completely. Don’t look so confused, I’m totally serious. This is not a belated April fools joke.

Our highways in the middle of urban areas are relics to the cheap gas economy that is quickly coming to an end. In addition to removing highway 40, we should remove all the highways within our I-270/I-255 Loop: I-55, I-70, I-44, and I-170

I’ve not gone crazy nor have I been smoking anything.

And before you scroll down to the comments section to explain all the conventional wisdom reasons why this won’t work I ask that you hear me out first. I know we cannot just remove the highways and leave the balance of our political entities, zoning and other systems in place and expect this to make a lick of sense. Therefore, I have some basic assumptions & qualifications that would need to accompany the removal of any or all highways in our main urbanized area of the region. The likelihood of this coming together in our lifetime is slim but as the economy changes we will need to change and adapt to remain competitive with other regions.

Keep in mind that 60 years ago men took maps and drew lines where we’d wipe out entire neighborhoods for highways and housing projects. In hindsight, huge mistakes were made that disrupted lives and cost millions. Today we are still dealing with the aftermath of these poor decisions. So I’m taking a map and looking at ways we can undo damage previously done without inflicting new damage.
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